IBM plans to port AIX Unix

Manufacturing giant looking at effect on existing products

IBM has confirmed it is looking at porting its AIX flavour of Unix operating system to Intel?s next-generation IA-64 chip architecture, writes Cath Everett.

Dave Turek, director of brand management for the company?s high-end SP server range, said that at the moment the port is merely a feasibility project, and the company is still assessing how such a move would fit with existing IBM architectures and products.

These are likely to be IBM?s own PowerPC chip architecture and RS/6000 server lines.

?We are looking at the possibility of porting AIX to IA64. We need to understand the technology issues, we have assigned some people to it, and we will look at it very carefully,? Turek said.

US reports have claimed that Big Blue would formally announce its strategy by the end of the year.

The reports said IBM would continue to develop AIX boxes based on its PowerPC chip, and would position the Intel machines as complementary offerings.

A report issued last Thursday by Steve Milunovich and Robert Hanson, analysts at Merrill Lynch, said IBM was expected to work closely with Intel on specifications for future Unix systems.

During September, IBM will announce new Intel server products to expand its range, based on the new Xeon processor.

These models will have an embedded processor, which while common in AS\400s or mainframes, is an innovation in an Intel server. The embedded processor will provide direct maintenance access to the motherboard.

? Report by VNU Newswire.