IBM Closes One Chapter, Opens Another In Enterprise Server Evolution

Fourth-Generation IBM S/390 Servers Set New Levels of Performance, Security

FISHKILL, New York, June 9, 1997 ... IBM today announced a new generation of microprocessor-based S/390 mainframe-class servers that deliver performance comparable to previous systems built with older, more costly technology. The S/390 Parallel Enterprise Server - Generation 4* (S/390 G4 Server) marks the end of the road for IBM servers using bipolar processor technology.

In addition to new levels of performance, the CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) -based S/390 G4 Server helps meet customers' network computing needs by providing one of the most secure systems for conducting electronic commerce, thanks to its advanced hardware and software encryption capabilities and firewall technology designed to foil unauthorized access.

"With today's announcement, we're providing customers with some of the most powerful, versatile and secure enterprise servers ever," said Linda Sanford, general manager, IBM S/390 Division. "We're responding to their top two concerns -- How will they handle the millions of secure transactions coming as they move into the world of electronic commerce? And how will they integrate the dozens to hundreds of disparate departmental systems spread throughout their businesses?"

Also announced today was a new version of the OS/390* operating system, which includes 20 new components. OS/390 Version 2 provides the punch customers need to conduct secure business over the Internet and prepare them for a tidal wave of transactions coming with the move to e-business. Enhancements to OS/390 are designed to meet a broad range of customer needs in server integration, business intelligence, application deployment and systems management. Components that will roll out over multiple releases include firewall technology, a CORBA-compliant application development and deployment framework, open-standard Java** technology to help integrate mission-critical applications across the enterprise, systems management functions based on IBM and Tivoli TME 10** Framework, and Workload Manager for batch management.

Other announcements include:

• Enhancements to IBM S/390 Parallel Sysplex* clustering architecture that further expand upon IBM's goal to deliver unmatched levels of continuous computing and virtually unlimited processing capacity.
• A number of new e-business solutions designed to improve network security, aid Web site development and help customers conduct business across intranets and the Internet.
• Three new models of IBM S/390 Multiprise 2000* servers designed to provide customers with a more evenly graduated range of systems.

"The S/390 G4 Server announcement closes one chapter in one of the most ambitious technology evolutions ever undertaken," said Sanford. "Establishing S/390 on CMOS, a semiconductor technology with a faster growth curve than the previous bipolar processors, required a multiyear transition plan and a great deal of close work with our customers. In 1993, we told customers that by 1997 our CMOS systems would be comparable in performance with our bipolar machines. We plan to continue the evolution of S/390 as a balanced platform that will help drive our customers' successes into the next century."

S/390 G4 -- Higher Performance, Advanced Security, Greater Capacity

The S/390 G4 Server family has 14 models built on the fourth generation of S/390 CMOS technology. Announced only nine months after the introduction of the S/390 Parallel Enterprise Server - Generation 3*, these servers offer performance boosts ranging from 20 to 33 percent over S/390 G3 Servers, depending on the model.

Among them is a uniprocessor model based on a microprocessor operating at 370MHz that can offer performance beyond that of IBM's last, most powerful bipolar-technology uniprocessor system.

The S/390 G4 Server features a cryptographic coprocessor to provide customers with advanced security for electronic commerce. By carrying out encryption functions through hardware, the cryptographic coprocessor provides customers with a higher level of throughput and transaction security than can normally be provided by software alone. The cryptographic coprocessor's encryption implementation is certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Other enhancements include larger central processor memory that has been doubled to 16 gigabytes (billions of bytes), and a more powerful coupling facility with higher-speed coupling links that can significantly improve efficiency in a Parallel Sysplex system cluster.

In addition, IBM announced that previous generation CMOS-based S/390 servers can be upgraded to S/390 G4 Servers. The S/390 G3 Server family will continue to be available to offer customers the widest range of price/performance.

OS/390 Offers New Function

Also announced today was the next level of S/390's strategic operating system, OS/390 Version 2. OS/390 consists of more than 70 related components that build upon the S/390 strengths of scalability, reliability, data integrity, security and systems management found in MVS*, OS/390's predecessor. Enhancements will be available over multiple releases that are expected to be available beginning in September. With OS/390 Version 2, customers can expect:

• Component Broker Series* -- Consists of the Component Broker Toolkit and the Component Broker Connector that together provide a sophisticated, object-based software execution environment, easy-to-use tools to build distributed applications and system management functionality.
• Lotus Go Webserver** -- A highly scalable, secure transaction-processing enabling Web server solution that allows customers to build Internet and intranet sites.
• Workload Manager (WLM) for batch management -- A component of OS/390, WLM now supports automatic scheduling and balancing of batch workload across a Parallel Sysplex system cluster.
• TME 10 Framework -- Integrated into OS/390, TME 10 functionality will now provide IT managers with a strategic distributed computing management solution that incorporates the functionality of IBM's SystemView* system management technology.
• Firewall Technology for OS/390 -- This additional software component builds upon existing S/390 security capabilities to offer customers additional protection from unauthorized network access.

OS/390 is certified as a Year 2000-ready operating system by the Information Technology Association of America.

Parallel Sysplex Offers Industry-Leading Continuous Availability and Scalability

Parallel Sysplex architecture, an advanced clustering technology, was first announced in 1993 to help deliver what customers most value -- continuous computing support for mission-critical applications. That's 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week availability. At the same time, Parallel Sysplex architecture offers outstanding scalability, allowing up to 32 separate S/390 servers to be linked together to operate as a single system.

Today's enhancements to Parallel Sysplex include a new range of more powerful coupling facilities, used to create system clusters, that are based on the same fourth generation of CMOS semiconductor technology as the S/390 G4 Server. Standard with the new S/390 G4 Servers are HiPerLinks between the servers and the coupling facility that offer up to 20 percent higher throughput between the S/390 servers and the coupling facility.

New e-business Software Functions

IBM is responding to customers' desires to build new applications and link existing data and applications through intranets and the Internet. New products include:

• Net.Commerce for OS/390 -- Helps enable businesses and institutions to quickly establish electronic storefronts on the World Wide Web.
• Java for OS/390 -- Allows customers to deploy traditional S/390 commercial applications using the network-ready, object-oriented Java technology.
• Net.Data for OS/390 -- Enables users to access S/390 business-critical applications via the Internet/intranet from anywhere in the enterprise.

The Industry's Hottest Applications and Top Business Solutions

IBM has worked closely with developers to bring more than 1,700 new or modernized applications -- many UNIX or industry-specific -- to S/390 servers. Key business applications from vendors like JD Edwards, SAP AG, Baan, PeopleSoft, Lotus, Sterling, SAS Institute, Walker, Oracle and many others are available or are being developed to take advantage of S/390's outstanding networking and reliability, availability, serviceability and scalability.

To help customers pilot and test new applications on S/390, IBM is now offering Application StarterPak. It's an S/390 server offering that provides yet another option for customers to begin deployment of these new applications.

New Multiprise 2000 Models

IBM also is expanding its S/390 Multiprise 2000 (S/390 Multiprise) line with three new models and significant enhancements to the system's optional Internal Disk. The S/390 Multiprise is an ideal platform for customers with older S/370* and S/390 processors who want to migrate to a more powerful, Year 2000-ready system. With the new models, the S/390 Multiprise family offers customers 16 systems that provide a more evenly graduated price/performance range and increased scalability in a single server.

For S/390 Multiprise customers who need even more power and performance, IBM announced its intention to provide an upgrade path from the high-end models to the S/390 Parallel Enterprise Server family in 1998.

Editor's Note: IBM news releases and fact sheets are available on the Internet, via the IBM Home Page at http://www.ibm.com.

* Indicates a trademark or registered trademark of IBM Corporation.

** Lotus and Lotus Go Webserver are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation.

Tivoli is a trademark of Tivoli Corporation.

Java is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.