Sequent Unveils Roadmap for Integrated UNIX and Windows NT in the Data Center
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Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. has outlined a three-year roadmap delivering on the promise of NUMA and declaring the end of tough choices between operating systems and architectures for deployment of mission critical applications. Currently, Sequent offers tightly integrated UNIX and Windows NT application and database servers optimized for leading ERP and decision support solutions. The NUMACenter roadmap lays a path to the industry's first microprocessor-based single system managing mixed workloads and resources with vertical or clustered scalability.

Over the period of the roadmap, Sequent will phase in new capabilities to address performance, manageability, flexibility and operational stability in a heterogeneous single system environment. NUMACenter leverages Sequent's successful NUMA-Q architecture and such best of breed partners as Computer Associates, EMC, Intel and Oracle.

Sequent's NUMACenter roadmap outlines the phased introduction of single system scalability to 252 processors, dynamic partitioning, management of heterogeneous resources and work loads, 99.99+ % system availability and very large consolidated storage support and management.

In 1998, Sequent will introduce the first NUMACenter systems running partitioned UNIX and Windows NT with shared resource and storage management, as well as optimized programs for rapid deployment and guaranteed performance and availability of specific ERP applications and decision support solutions in mixed-OS implementations.

Jeff Pancottine, vice president, global marketing for Sequent said, "Sequent is delivering a solid path with NUMACenter to a more flexible managed environment. This allows our integrator and end user customers to deploy solutions today that can evolve over time without having to place a bet on the speed or direction of Windows NT development."

According to John Miner, vice president and general manager of Intel Corp.'s Enterprise Server Group, "Sequent is one of the industry leaders for developing high-end Intel Architecture-based systems. Combining the NUMA-Q architecture with the processor developments in the IA-32 and the future IA-64 architecture will produce a well-managed multi-tier environment at excellent price points, addressing a variety of computing needs for the enterprise."

Frank Farese, vice president, Reseller Channels at EMC, said, "The NUMACenter environment will provide a consolidation point for multi-tiered and mixed mode applications and databases, as well as related networking and enterprise storage resources that belong in a professionally managed environment. This consolidation will provide customers with the highest levels of information sharing, availability, management and protection."

"Computer Associates is pleased to offer its support for Sequent's multi-OS, multi-tiered systems," said Yogesh Gupta, CA senior vice president of product strategy.

"As the leader in enterprise management, CA has built a reputation for managing sophisticated heterogeneous environments such as those based on the NUMA architecture whether they be Unix, Windows NT, or other popular operating systems. CA continues to enhance the business value of our client's IT infrastructures by improving the availability, reliability and manageability of their systems through the advanced management capabilities of Unicenter TNG. "

The NUMACenter Computing Environment

In the Fall 1998, Sequent will launch phase one of a multi-tier, multi-OS capable system aimed at managing the chaos, complexity and resulting cost of back office systems. This next generation NUMA-Q data center server will support up to 64 of Intel's next generation Pentium Pro processors in both NUMA-Q and standard high volume quad configurations and up to 64 GB of memory. NUMACenter will run multiple partitioned instances of UNIX and Windows NT configured for vertical or clustered scaling within a single managed environment.

All NUMACenter systems will support Sequent's data center proven DYNIX/ptx UNIX operating system. New releases of DYNIX/ptx will contain APIs that provide a migration path for application data to Sequent's Merced-based systems running its IA-64 UNIX developed in partnership with Digital. The new IA-64 UNIX will be based on Digital UNIX and incorporate key technologies from DYNIX/ptx and offer integral Windows NT and UNIX interoperability.

Current Sequent implementations of the multi-tiered UNIX and Windows NT environment offer enhanced performance between application server and database server tiers through 100base-T Ethernet. Next generation NUMACenter systems will provide fibre channel and switch-based interconnects between the server tiers for further significant scalability and availability gains.

System resource partitioning in phase one will enable application and database server consolidation, cost center-oriented management and ease of application and system software upgrades. Multiple tiers contained within a partitioned system will have access to shared systems management, back-up and storage.

Existing NUMA-Q 2000 customers will be able to insert next-generation Pentium Pro processor-based quads alongside current generation Pentium Pro quads to achieve a boost in system performance.

Application Deployment Programs

Applications are undergoing tremendous change on the route to multi-tier, multi-OS component based application architectures like Oracle's NCA and Microsoft DNA. To address this change Sequent will introduce a series of ERP-application-specific deployment programs and expand on its decision support system offerings for the NUMACenter environment.

These programs will combine services and best practices with specific characterization of the system for an application or decision support solution. This will often include guaranteed service levels for the number of users, response times or availability that a specific mixed UNIX and Windows NT configuration will support.

"System integrators and end-user customers are looking for solutions that are ready to deploy, perform well and can be sustained over time on a specific platform without any surprises. Our Application Advantage and Decision Advantage programs are designed to eliminate the guesswork and deliver a level of service guarantee like they provide their own user community," Pancottine said.

The first Application Advantage ERP-specific program, to be launched this spring, will package more than ten years of Oracle Applications-related deployment and capacity planning expertise.

Sequent's successful Decision Advantage programs for decision support systems bundle professional service best practices and the scalable NUMA-Q architecture with leading partner tools and applications in areas like data mining and one-to-one relationship marketing.

Sequent will also rollout comprehensive programs in 1998 for thin-client architecture support and targeted mainframe migrations characterized for NUMACenter.

New Architecture Opens New Doors

As a pioneer in the introduction of commercial symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) systems, Sequent recognized the need for higher scalability and performance than offered by end-of-life "big bus" SMP architectures which lacked efficient scalability above a dozen to 20 processors. At the same time, Sequent understood that its customers would require compatibility with existing systems to protect hardware and software investments.

Sequent's NUMA-Q 2000 (Non-Uniform Memory Access) architecture is a quantum leap for mainframe alternative computing. NUMA-Q 2000 overcomes the inherent limitations of SMP performance and scalability by linking four Intel Pentium Pro microprocessor-baseboards or "quads" via an innovative interconnect technology called IQ-Link.

Sequent's IQ-Link is designed to move data between up to 63 quads (252 processors) while operating system and applications software continues to operate as one large shared-everything SMP system without re-coding.

Both industry standard and application-specific benchmarks, and a large number of production data center sites, have delivered abundant proof of the platform's performance and scalability.