kent@omni.com (Kent Winton) (07/27/90)
OMNI 400 NETWORK COPROCESSOR OPTIMIZES SUN SPARCSERVER PERFORMANCE New Subsystem Off-loads Networking Tasks for SPARCserver 400 Series Products MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif, July 3, 1990 -- OMNI Solutions, a leading supplier of server technology products, today announced the immediate availability of the OMNI 400 Network Coprocessor. Designed for Sun Microsystems' most powerful servers, the 22 MIPS SPARCserver 490 and SPARCserver 470, the Network Coprocessor unleashes the full processing power of the server CPU for running user applications by assuming the burden of network communications processing. The use of the Network Coprocessor in a Network File System (NFS) environment results in maximum performance for the Sun SPARCserver in any application, because it frees the server CPU to function more productively as a compute engine. "Users expect to have the full 22 MIPS of the server CPU available to address the computational tasks they bought the system for," said Dr. Ronald G. Cornell, president and CEO of OMNI Solutions. "But in a networked environment, the SPARCserver must handle both data link traffic and NFS requests. Even under moderate network traffic, this frequently results in the user's tasks taking more than twice as long to execute. The OMNI 400 Network Coprocessor returns the full power of the server CPU to the user." With the Network Coprocessor, the entire workgroup experiences dramatic productivity gains when the server system is used for NFS file serving and any combination of the following tasks: * Database applications such as Informix, Oracle, Ingres, and Sybase, * CASE and CAD applications * Multi-user applications using timesharing or X terminals For instance, a CAD engineer can run a compute intensive simulation on the server during any period of the day instead of having to schedule it for overnight processing as is often done in workgroup environments. Large databases residing on a server can be accessed and used transparently at maximum processing speed regardless of the NFS load on the server. In the CASE environment, software development engineers can take advantage of the increase in server CPU productivity by running large compiles and builds on the server where local access to data stored on high performance IPI or SMD subsystems can significantly reduce turnaround time and engineer wait time. In addition to enhancing productivity, the Network Coprocessor also increases the server's networking capacity, allowing twice as many Ethernet ports and clients to be attached and served effectively. THE OMNI NETWORK COPROCESSOR FAMILY The OMNI 400 Network Coprocessor consists of a standard 9U VME module which plugs into a slot in the SPARCserver 400 Series backplane, network protocol processing software running on the Network Coprocessor's on board 68020, and host utilities. The OMNI software is fully NFS compatible and entirely transparent to both the Sun operating system and user application software. From one to eight Network Coprocessors can be installed in the SPARCserver 490. From one to six Network Coprocessors can be installed in a SPARCserver 470. OMNI also offers the OMNI 300 products which provide similar functions for the Sun SPARCserver 300 Series and earlier models of Sun VME based servers. Network Coprocessing enables these systems to effectively combine application processing with file serving for the first time. PRICING AND AVAILABILITY The OMNI 400 Network Coprocessor lists for $12,950 and is available immediately direct from OMNI Solutions. Expansion Network Coprocessors for use in the same system are available for $7,950. OMNI Solutions, headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., was founded in 1988 and is a leading supplier of server technology products including the OMNI 400 Network Coprocessor, the OMNI 300 products, and the OMNI File System. OMNI Solutions is located at 381 East Evelyn Avenue, Mountain View, Calif., 94041. Telephone 415/966-1024. For additional information, please contact: Kent Winton kent@omni.com Greg Michael gcm@omni.com OMNI 400 Network Coprocessor, OMNI 400, OMNI 300, and OMNI File System are trademarks of OMNI Solutions. NFS, Sun-3, Sun-4, SPARC, and SPARCserver are trademarks of Sun Microsystems.