Data General serves up OS mix

Unix and NT can run together on the Aviion 25000 server via DG AVFlex.

Unix and NT can be run on the same server using Data General's latest. hardware range.

The company's Aviion 25000 uses non-uniform memory access (NUMA) technology and 450MHz Pentium II Xeon processors.

DG's AVFlex services and products provide partitioning of servers into multiple DG-Unix and NT systems. AVFlex also provides disaster recovery clusters built with DG servers and Clariion Fibre Channel storage systems.

The server system works in blocks of four processors and can be configured with up to 16 blocks. It can run multiple applications and can be partitioned dynamically to allocate more processing power to particular applications when necessary.

The system can also be partitioned to run many different or identical OSs at the same time. Richard Foden, DG's European product marketing manager, said: "OS duplication is often used for Y2K application testing."

Foden said running partitioned NT and Unix on the same server is a major benefit to customers looking for the flexibility that a mixed environment offers.

"There is still a lot of nervousness about deploying NT on a large scale so this way the user has a well-protected hybrid environment," he added.