Three New Unisys ClearPath Mainframes Multiply Capacity and Simplify IT Management

Business Wire, April 22, 2002

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

BLUE BELL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2002

Triple Systems Capacity, Double Partitions for Boosting Windows Server Consolidation, Introduce Workload Pricing to Align Costs With Customer

Usage and Support Storage on Demand

Unisys today announced three new ClearPath Plus servers that not only feature substantial increases in performance, but also include an array of innovations that make customers' information infrastructures easier to manage.

The new mainframes let enterprises consolidate both their core, strategic, business-critical solutions and Windows-based solutions hosted on commodity servers to simplify systems management and save energy and space costs.

Applying the ability of the Unisys Cellular MultiProcessing (CMP) server architecture to combine mainframe scalability, performance and reliability with industry-standard Intel technology, ClearPath Plus supports an expanded range of operating environments. These include Unisys MCP and OS2200 operating systems, Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server.

All these environments can be combined in a single, centrally managed server.

"The new ClearPath Plus servers realize our vision to combine the performance of mainframes with the benefits of open, standards-based Intel and Microsoft technology," said Kevin McHugh, vice president of Unisys Platform Marketing. "They enable enterprises to simplify their information infrastructures by consolidating many solutions onto one, manageable platform. The savings in hardware costs and IT skills can be substantial."

With the new ClearPath Plus servers, Unisys also introduced Storage on Demand, a feature that gives enterprises maximum flexibility in sizing their storage resources to their business requirements.

Complementing the Capacity on Demand feature introduced last year on ClearPath Plus servers, Storage on Demand enables enterprises to access added storage resources for unexpected surges in workload, providing access to more storage capacity in minutes.

Both Capacity on Demand and Storage on Demand give an enterprise the flexibility to adjust its IT investments to its changing business and financial outlook. In addition, these capabilities provide a potential, added competitive advantage by providing the agility required to transform challenges into revenue opportunities.

Another innovation introduced with the new ClearPath Plus servers is the workload pricing concept. Designed to more closely align cost with the value customers derive from their particular use of a ClearPath Plus server, workload pricing provides substantial discounts for use of ClearPath Plus partitions devoted to application development instead of production work.

Customers who order servers with partitions designated for application development receive 50-percent discounts on the partitions, plus an array of application development tools. Partitions that use Unisys advanced 4GL development tools are priced 40 percent lower than the standard - for development and production use.

Performance and feature enhancements for three new ClearPath Plus products

The products introduced today bring new performance advantages and functionality to the Unisys ClearPath Plus product line:

ClearPath Plus CS7201 - To maximize the ability to consolidate multiple server workloads onto one server, Unisys has increased the server's capacity by 325 percent, compared with the mid-range MCP-based ClearPath server it replaces. The number of partitions, or servers within a server, has been doubled to eight on the ClearPath Plus 7201.

ClearPath Plus CS7201 server availability, performance, ease of management and scalability have been put to the test in the demanding day-to-day operations at Fort Jackson Federal Credit Union, which recently ordered a ClearPath Plus CS7201.

"As Fort Jackson Federal Credit Union continues to expand its services to a membership that is literally worldwide, the need for electronic services grows at a very rapid rate," said Bill Koehler, chief executive officer, Fort Jackson Federal Credit Union. "High systems availability is an absolute requirement with almost instantaneous response, whether in the surrounding area where we serve local members through our brick and mortar branch network, or worldwide mobile membership through our electronic network. We feel the ClearPath Plus CS7200 is just the platform that will give us the edge we need to serve and grow in the future."

ClearPath Plus CS7402 - Taking advantage of the modularity and flexibility of the CMP server architecture, ClearPath Plus CS7402 uses Unisys custom CMOS processors to deliver maximum online transaction processing performance for OS2200 solutions. The performance range is 20 to 50 MIPS for a single processor and to 200 MIPS for a four-processor, single-image configuration.

ClearPath Plus CS7402 can be configured with up to four partitions, enabling enterprises to locate production and development within one server and consolidate solution workloads - based on OS2200 or Intel technology - in a second domain. Users can upgrade a ClearPath CS7402 to high-end CS7802 performance in the cabinet.