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DIGITAL DELIVERS THE INDUSTRY'S
MOST OPEN COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE '90s
--- Accelerating the VAX Family and Extending the Leadership
UNIX-based RISC Family, All Integrated Through Network
Application Support --
BOSTON, MA -- July 11, 1989 -- In a major announcement today,
Digital Equipment Corporation significantly increased VAX family
performance, while lowering VAX system prices, and extended its
UNIX-based RISC systems to a complete family with leadership
price/performance across the line. At the same time, the company
expanded Network Application Support (NAS) which enables
organizations to combine high-performance UNIX-based systems with
all of the functionality and richness of VAX/VMS systems, across
a network of multivendor systems, servers and desktop devices.
Now that competitors have just figured out the answers to the
questions users were asking in the 1970s and 1980s, the questions
for the 1990s have changed. "Users want their software
applications to work together across a global network, on
hardware and operating systems from a variety of vendors," said
Kenneth H. Olsen, President, Digital Equipment Corporation.
"With NAS, Digital provides the computing environment for the
'90s today, combining the benefits of open computing with the
innovative advantages of vendor-specific systems, all working
together across the network."
Accelerating VAX Systems Into The '90s
"Today Digital is accelerating VAX into the 1990s," said
William R. Demmer, Digital's Vice President of Midrange Systems.
"Digital continues to enhance VAX technology, taking VAX 6000
series performance to higher and higher levels, while decreasing
the price of this performance, all on a single platform that has
designed out obsolescence. And today, Digital also is making
aggressive enhancements to the low end of the VAX family with new
MicroVAX systems and servers."
VMS, the industry's most robust, feature-rich operating
system, was also further enhanced with a new version today. The
VAX family with VMS offers the most functional computing
environment, with the widest range of software applications,
available from any vendor.
Introduced today were:
o the new VAX 6000 Model 400 systems, a major
enhancement to the popular VAX 6000 line. They
deliver up to 85 percent more performance than
today's VAX 6300 systems -- with dramatic
price/performance improvements. The Model 410
provides 85 percent more performance at only 30
percent higher price than the VAX 6310. At the top
of the line, the Model 460 provides 60 percent more
performance, for no additional cost compared to the
6360. The VAX 6000 Model 460 is the most powerful
VAX system available to date -- with up to 36 times
the performance of the VAX 11/780. The VAX 6000
Model 400 kernel prices start at $239,000 and
system prices start at $257,000; they are available
immediately.
o the VAX 6000 Model 210, a new, lower-priced entry
model in the VAX 6000 family, provides performance
of 2.8 times the VAX-11/780 system. Priced 30
percent lower than the previous entry VAX 6000
system, it can expand by thirteen times within the
same cabinet, all the way to the VAX 6000 Model
460. Kernel prices start at $129,000 and system
prices start at $147,000; they are available
immediately;
o upgrades from existing VAX 6000 systems to today's
new Model 400 systems. The unique VAX 6000 platform
strategy designs out obsolescence by allowing
customers to add new processor technology for
increased performance as it becomes available.
These upgrades can be completed in minutes, all
within the same cabinet; and
o the intention to extend the VAX architecture by
adding vector processing to the VAX 6000 Model 400
systems. This will provide dramatic increases in
performance for compute-intensive applications.
o MicroVAX 3100 and VAXserver 3100 systems, which
lower the entry-level price of the MicroVAX family
by up to 40 percent, with 2.5 times the
performance. These systems offer improved
price/performance for users in branch offices,
retail operations, and small businesses. Complete
server systems, including storage, are priced from
$6,680, and are available immediately.
o VMS Version 5.2, supporting the new VAX system
introduced today. New features include an increase
in the number of computers in a VAXcluster system
from 42 to 96, VAXcluster support for the license
management facility (LMF), backup and security
enhancements, and increased centralized system
management capabilities. The new VMS version is
available in September, with no increase in price.
Introducing Leadership UNIX-based RISC Family
"On January 10, Digital introduced the DECstation 3100 and
entered the UNIX-based RISC market with both industry-leading
performance and pace-setting price/performance in the workstation
market," said Domenic J. LaCava, Digital's Vice President of Low
End Systems. "Today's announcement extends this leadership and
gives users the most complete family of RISC-based open systems
on the market."
ULTRIX, Digital's implementation of the UNIX operating
system, is the most open, standards-compliant UNIX-based
operating system available in the industry.
Today, Digital announced four new members of the DECsystem
UNIX-based RISC family, as well as additional third-party ULTRIX
applications. They are:
o the DECstation 2100 workstation, which delivers 10
integer MIPS performance, and is the lowest priced,
color RISC-based workstation in the industry. Priced
from $11,450 for an 8-plane color system, and $7,950
for a monochrome unit, these workstations are ideal
for a broad range of applications including CASE
(Computer Aided Software Engineering) and technical
publishing. They are available now;
o the DECsystem 5400 computer, with 16.6 integer MIPS
processing power, is available with up to 2.4
gigabytes of storage in a compact, desk-side
enclosure, and in a cabinet with up to 9.7 gigabytes
of storage. The DECsystem 5400 computer will support
the hundreds of Q-bus options available from Digital
and third parties. It offers exceptionally high
performance in compute-intensive, UNIX-based
timesharing or client/server applications for
workgroups or departments. DECsystem 5400 system
prices start at $49,900, and are available in 60 days;
o the DECsystem 5800 computers are Digital's highest
performance RISC systems. The DECsystem 5810 delivers
18.7 integer MIPS performance with dramatic expansion
capability built in -- it easily can be upgraded in
the field to the DECsystem 5820. The DECsystem 5820
dual processor delivers up to 36 integer MIPS.
Supporting up to 128 megabytes of memory and 38.8
gigabytes of storage, the systems will be extended to
256 megabytes of memory and 115 gigabytes of storage
in the next release of ULTRIX. An announcement on
these and other new ULTRIX enhancements will be made
before the end of the year. The new systems are
excellent choices for a large department or data
center resource, as a server or a timesharing system.
DECsystem 5800 series kernel prices start at $99,900
and entry system prices start at $121,500. They are
available in 90 to 120 days; and
o over 100 vendors of engineering, electronic
publishing, laboratory, financial, office and software
development applications, as well as Q-bus hardware
option vendors, already have committed to Digital's
RISC systems. In addition, Digital's Innovators
Program has been adopted by over 50 leading
universities worldwide to produce over 100
applications.
Industry's Most Open Computing Environment For The '90s
Digital today unveiled the next phase of Network Application
Support, the company's unified software environment for the '90s.
Digital introduced additional services that allow developers to
write and users to run applications that work together on the
widest variety of systems, servers and desktops in the industry.
Based on international and industry standards, NAS is more
than a local area networking approach for desktop devices from
multiple vendors. It is a broad set of programming services that
enable software applications to work together across a variety of
systems and servers from various vendors, as well as support the
most popular desktop devices.
With NAS services, programmers can develop applications for
VMS and ULTRIX systems using common programming interfaces and
services, reducing development training, time and costs. MIS
operations can deploy a wide range of applications on a variety
of systems, with consistent user interfaces and programming
interfaces, reducing user training time, maintenance and support
costs. With NAS, users easily can run applications with
information accessed, shared or communicated from other
applications or databases, anywhere on the network.
Today's enhancements to NAS include:
o VAX SQL/Services, an option to Digital's strategic
relational database system at no additional cost, offers
a consistent way for applications and users to access
information from Digital and IBM databases, anywhere on
the network. It is available today. Digital also
announced VIDA for DB2, a powerful tool that, through
the new VAX SQL/Services, enables information to be
shared between Digital's relational database and IBM's
DB2 database. Available today, server software is priced
at $35,700 and client software prices start at $7,229;
o Conversion Services, supporting VMS and ULTRIX
workstations, industry standard PCs, and Macintosh
systems, they enable users to share revisable text, data,
graphics and images with any other user on the network.
Available through the CDA Converter Library in 30 days,
and priced at $200; and
o DECprint Services enable documents and images to be
printed on any Digital or supported third party output
device anywhere on the network, without having to specify
formats or characteristics. Implemented in a variety of
printer software products available today.
Other Announcements from Digital
Also included in today's announcement were:
o the intention to offer a low-cost, network-based windowing
display terminal that supports both DECwindows and X
Window System applications. The windowing terminal will
combine the advantages of a workstation-like display with
the low cost and easy system management of a terminal;
o the PrintServer 20 and PrintServer 40 PLUS networked
departmental PostScript printers, and the LN03 Image
Printer, a Postscript desktop laser printer for printing
images and compound documents;
o specialized VAX 6000 server, VAXclusters, and transaction
processing application development configurations;
o new versions of Digital's WPS-PLUS word processing
software which give users increased flexibility with NAS
services, and a new version of VAX VTX corporate videotex
software which enables access to text, graphics and images
through the CDA (Compound Document Architecture)
Architecture and DECwindows graphical user interface; and
o seven vendors added to the growing list of third-party
companies that support NAS. They are: Chemical Design
Ltd., Execucom Systems Corporation, Information
Dimensions, Inc., Monotype International, Shaffstall,
Inc., Palette Systems, Inc., and WordPerfect Office
Technologies; and
o a Cooperative Marketing Program (CMP) agreement with
Eastman Kodak Company to market jointly the Kodak
Ektaprint 1392 printer, Model 24 (see separate release);
and
o a CMP agreement with Keyword Office Technologies, Ltd. to
market jointly Keyword's document interchange products,
giving VT, PC and Macintosh users the ability to exchange
revisable documents.
Digital Equipment Corporation, headquartered in Maynard,
Massachusetts, is the leading worldwide supplier of networked
computer systems and services. Digital offers a full range of
computing solutions and systems integration for the entire
enterprise - from the desktop to the data center.
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NOTE TO EDITORS:
FURTHER INFORMATION ON ALL PRODUCTS IS INCLUDED IN THE FACT
SHEETS AND BACKGROUND MATERIAL.
ALL PRICES ARE IN U.S. DOLLARS; ALL SYSTEM AND SERVER PRICES
INCLUDE ONE-YEAR PRODUCT FOUNDATION WARRANTY.
EDITORIAL CONTACTS:
VAX 6000 and DECsystem 5810, 5820:
Sarah Miller (508) 264-5420
Myles Falvella (508) 264-5986
MicroVAX 3100:
Steve Kallis (508) 493-6915
DECsystem 5400
John Satterfield (508) 493-6647
DECstation 2100
David Bouffard (508) 493-8717
Printers:
Karen Quatromoni (508) 493-1306
ULTRIX:
Peter Kobs (603) 381-2926
Network Application Support (NAS):
David Farmer (603) 884-1195
DECwindows:
Judy Finman (603) 881-2934
VMS:
Linda Giragosian (603) 381-2384
The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation:
CDA, DECprint, DECstation, DECsystem, DECwindows, LNO3,
MicroVAX, Network Application Support, PrintServer, Q-bus,
ULTRIX, VAX, VAX VTX, VAXcluster, VAXserver, VAX SQL/Services,
VIDA, VMS, VT, and WPS-PLUS.
Third-party Trademarks:
Apple and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer,
Inc.
UNIX is a registered trademark of American Telephone & Telegraph
Company in the United States and other countries.
IBM and DB2 are registered trademarks of International Business
Machines Corporation. X Window System is a trademark of
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
PostScript is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.
Kodak and Ektaprint are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company.
CORP/'90/597
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