Server

Bull has announced its entry into the Itanium 2 server sphere: the NovaScale range.

Based on Bull's FAME architecture - which it claims is a kind of SMP-and-then-some system - NovaScale supports Windows Server 2003, Linux and soon, Bull promises, its own GCOS operating system. Each OS can run simultaneously on the same machine.

NovaScales are based on Intel's E8870 chipset, but Bull's FAME Scalability Switch technology "federates the four-way processors boards and optimizes memory and I/O".

The range comprises three models: the NovaScale 4040, 5080 and 5160. The former is a compact model supporting up to four processors. It costs 25,000 euros. The 5080 and 5160 support respectively up to eight or 16 processors, from 900MHz with 1.5MB of cache, or 1GHz with 1.5-3 MB of cache. Prices start at 85,000 euros and 95,000 euros, respectively. ®