Fujitsu Siemens introduces 128-way Solaris server

£5m a pop

By John Leyden • Get more from this author

Posted in Hardware, 23rd July 2001 17:06 GMT

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Fujitsu Siemens has announced the availability of what it claims to be the world's most powerful Unix server, the 128-way Primepower 2000.

The Primepower 2000, which is based on 563MHz Sparc64 processors, recently captured a SAP R/3 benchmark record. And Fujitsu claims that running Oracle 8.1.7 on its Solaris 8.0 platform, the server ran 1.8 times faster than its nearest competitor (not named) at 90 per cent of its overall capacity.

Fujitsu said it is the only vendor that can support a range of Intel and Solaris-based servers and took a dig at Sun by suggesting that its Primepower 2000 out performed recently introduced 750MHz UltraSPARC III-based servers.

We're not sure that's an entirely fair comparison because Sun has yet to introduce an UltraSPARC III-based replacement for its top of the range (64-way) E10000 server, which is pitched at the same high-end mainframe replacement segment Fujitsu is going for here.

The Primepower 2000 comes with dynamic reconfiguration and other features associated with high-end Solaris servers. With the needs of growing businesses and (particularly) application service providers in mind, Fujitsu will provide the Primepower 2000 through a capacity on demand program.

That's just as well because the server comes in at around £5 million a time, so it's difficult to see Fujitsu Siemens selling many of them. ®