Mylex Helps Unisys Set Four New TPC Benchmark Records; Ultra 160 RAID Controller Enhances Performance By Reducing I/O Bottlenecks, Scaling to Support Large Data Centers

Business Wire, Nov 29, 2000

Business Editors/Technology Writers

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 29, 2000

Mylex, an IBM company and leading supplier of RAID controllers, today announced that its eXtremeRAID(TM) 2000 RAID controller has helped the Unisys e-@ction Enterprise Server ES5085R to win performance and price/performance records for both TPC-C and TPC-W benchmarks.

The TPC-C benchmark measures throughput in business transactions per minute, and simulates system performance in an order-processing environment. TPC-W is a transactional web benchmark that simulates a business-oriented transactional web server in an internet commerce environment for businesses that market and sell over the Internet. Both benchmarks are performed under the strict specifications of the Transaction Processing Performance Council (http://www.tpc.org) and are designed to provide an indication of real-world server performance and price/performance.

According to the new benchmark results submitted on November 14, the Unisys ES5085R achieved the top 8-way Intel-based server performance of 61,390 tpmC (Transactions Per Minute), and the best overall 8-way server price/performance of $13.00 per tpmC. The TPC-C configuration included seven Mylex eXtremeRAID 2000 Ultra 160 RAID controllers used to manage a total of 262 disk drives. The Unisys ES5085R is based on eight 700MHz Intel Pentium III Xeon processors and 32GB of memory, running on Microsoft's Windows 2000 Datacenter Server operating system and SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition database.

The Unisys ES5085R also achieved the top TPC-W e-business performance record at 3,008 web interactions per second (WIPS) @ 10,000 items, and the top price/performance rating of $82/WIPS @ 10,000 items. The Unisys server was equipped with four 700MHz Intel Pentium III Xeon processors, two GB of memory, Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition. The reports for both benchmarks are posted at http://www.tpc.org/.> "Mylex has helped us to compete strongly in a market segment once dominated by UNIX/RISC technology," said Bill Maclean, vice president of product management, Enterprise Server Business, Unisys Systems and Technology. "We will continue to work closely with Mylex to provide our customers the best server performance at the best price."

"eXtremeRAID 2000 has yet again proven its powerful performance," said Eric Herzog, vice president of marketing for Mylex. "We are proud to continue providing Unisys with world-record setting solutions."

eXtremeRAID 2000 Leverages Latest Technology to Maximize Performance

Mylex's eXtremeRAID 2000 has helped server OEMs set 15 TPC performance and price/performance records over the past 6 months by integrating several advanced technologies, including a Mylex RAID coprocessor and firmware, a 233MHz Intel(R) StrongArm(R) on-board RISC processor, a 64-bit PCI bus and multiple Ultra 160 SCSI LVD buses. The controller delivers performance of approximately 14,000 I/Os per second.

Each controller features four Wide Ultra 160 SCSI channels that support up to 60 drives, allowing system configurations of more than 4.32TB of high performance storage per controller. In Windows NT and 2000 environments, each server in the network can hold up to 32 eXtremeRAID 2000 controllers.

Availability

The Unisys ES5085R configuration as tested for TPC-C will be available on January 15, 2001. The Unisys server and all Unisys content in the TPC-W test configuration are available now. Information about pricing and availability of Unisys' servers can be found at http://www.unisys.com.

The Mylex eXtremeRAID 2000 is available as an option with the Unisys ES5085R, as well as through Mylex's worldwide OEM partners. The controllers may also be purchased through Mylex's worldwide channel network, which includes distributors, resellers and systems integrators.

About Mylex

Mylex, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IBM Corporation (NYSE: IBM), produces high-performance RAID controllers and complementary computer products for network servers, mass storage systems, workstations and system motherboards. Mylex products are sold globally through a network of OEMs, major distributors, VARs and system integrators. Mylex is headquartered at 34551 Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont, CA 94555, and can be reached by phone at 510-796-6100 or toll free at 800-77-MYLEX, by fax at 510-745-8016, or on the Internet at http://www.mylex.com.

IBM, Mylex and eXtremeRAID, are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. and its subsidiaries. All other referenced product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Unisys is a registered trademark, and e-@ction is a trademark of Unisys Corporation. All referenced product names are trademarks of their respective companies.