Digital Offers First RISC-Based Unix Computer Systems

SAN FRANCISCO, March 1, 1989 -- PRNewswire -- Digital Equipment Corporation (NYSE: DEC) today announced the addition of a general-purpose system to its family of RISC-based UNIX computer systems.

The DECsystem 3100 computer can be designed in a variety of configurations to serve from four to 64 users. Starting at $20,400, a 4-user DECsystem 3100 configuration with 8 Mbyte memory and a 332 Mbyte disk offers industry-leading price/performance for a general-purpose, UNIX-based system.

Typical applications include commercial departmental and branch office computing, laboratory data reduction, engineering simulations and analysis, and any environment where UNIX applications must be shared by a number of users. Also the DECsystem 3100 system can be a compute or file server in a distributed computing environment.

"By lowering the cost per seat, Digital now makes this powerful new RISC technology accessible to a broader range of UNIX users and applications where speed is crucial," said Dom LaCava, vice president of Digital's Low End Systems Group.

DECsystem 3100 computer configurations include licenses for the ULTRIX operating system, TCP/IP, NFS, DECwindows / X Window System, and an optimizing C compiler for the RISC architecture.

Through the X Window System, users in a network can use the DECsystem 3100 as a compute server to off-load compute intensive tasks from their local workstation. In addition, the systems can be used in a traditional multiuser mode via remote network logins or through Digital's DECserver family of Ethernet-based terminal servers.

The DECsystem 3100 computer is based on the powerful R2000/R2010 RISC chipset from MIPS Computer Systems Inc., providing 14 MIPS and 3.7 single precision Linpack Mflops of performance. System memory is expandable is a total of 24 Mbyte in 4 Mbyte increments. Prices for typical DECsystem 3100 computer configurations are:

4-user system -- $20,400, (8 Mbyte memory, 332 Mbyte disk drive)

8-user system -- $22,004, (8 Mbyte memory, 332 Mbyte disk drive)

16-user system -- $37,704, (16 Mbyte memory, two 332 Mbyte disk drives)

32-user system -- $55,604, (24 Mbyte memory, three 332 Mbyte disk drives)

Optional Tape Drive (95 Mbyte) -- $4,956

The DECsystem 3100 computers may be ordered now and will be shipping in volume within three months.

Digital Equipment Corporation, headquartered in Maynard, Mass., is the leading worldwide supplier of network computer systems and services. Digital offers a full range of computing solutions for integrating the entire enterprise, from the desktop to the data center.

NOTE: DECsystem 3100, ULTRIX and DECwindows are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark of American Telephone and Telegraph Company. NFS is a trademark of Sun Microsystems. X Window System is a trademark of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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/CONTACT: Robert Price, 508-493-4297 or David Bouffard, 508-493-8717, both of Digital Equipment Corporation/

(DEC) CO: Digital Equipment Corporation ST: Massachusetts IN: CPR MF -- NE010 -- 4526 03-01-89 15:02 EST

ILLUSTRATION: table CAPTION: (DECsystem 3100 computer configurations.)