GNP Computers introduces NEBS certified communications server for high-availability applications.one of Sun Microsystems' largest resellers and a leading manufacturer of telecommunications and Internet servers, Tuesday introduced the GNP GNP See: Gross National Product WorkServer, a NEBS-certified, high-availability communications server See network access server, modem server, terminal server and communications controller. (operating system) Communications Server - IBM's rebranding of ACF. targeted at the telecommunications and commercial markets. NEBS is the Bellcore standard for availability and reliability under adverse conditions such as earthquake, shock, temperature and humidity extremes, airborne contamination and acoustic noise. The WorkServer is based on the Sun Microsystems SPARCengine and can use a Sun SPARC (Scalable Performance ARChitecture) A family of RISC CPUs from Sun that runs mostly under Sun's Solaris, but also under Linux and BSD operating systems. After development began in the mid-1980s by David Patterson of the University of California at Berkeley and Bill 5, 10, 20 or UltraSPARC motherboard as its CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. . GNP has added functionality to the server such as remote power cycling, on-line maintenance and sophisticated diagnostics, which are typically only available with much more expensive and proprietary systems. "Because the server includes a standard Sun SPARC engine and standard Solaris, our customers are able to use their existing software tools and applications. This speeds their products to market and makes their systems dramatically more cost effective," said Ken Kalb, vice president of sales and marketing at GNP. "We're offering nearly all of the functionality of a million-dollar fault-tolerant Tandem computer for one-tenth the price. The high availability feature makes the GNP WorkServer an extraordinary solution for the telco market where continuous availability is essential. Customers who will not tolerate service outages will no longer have to pay a premium for this feature," Kalb continued. High-availability applications include Internet access, voice-activated speed-dialing systems, wireless communications, advanced intelligent networks, toll fraud, billing authentication and digital signal processing See DSP. Digital Signal Processing - (DSP) Computer manipulation of analog signals (commonly sound or image) which have been converted to digital form (sampled). . Remote Diagnostics and Power Cycling The WorkServer is designed for deployment in any environment, even in locations far from the central office and the network systems administrators. The server's alarm and diagnostic system will send an alarm to anywhere in the world, alerting operators to a software or hardware problem. If the problem cannot be resolved via console commands, individual modules of the system can be turned off and on remotely, returning the part to a known initial state. Power cycling can also work automatically. If any critical part malfunctions and risks loss of data or equipment, the server can perform a remote shut-down of the affected module. In addition, environmental alarms and sensors measure temperature and vibration. In the event of fires and earthquakes another machine can take over control and provide continuous service. High Availability and Maintainability Utilizing off-the-shelf and custom-designed middleware, the GNP WorkServer can maintain an availability standard of 99.999 percent uptime. A "hot" standby system immediately brings alternate components online should any critical component fail. The WorkServer supports on-line maintenance permitting operators to repair a module without disrupting services. For ease of maintenance, the WorkServer also uses a modular system that allows for simple plug-and-play repairs and replacements. The cables are wired through the server's mid-plane to eliminate 99 percent of the cabling. This speeds service and greatly reduces craft error. Availability and Specifications The GNP WorkServer will start shipping in September, with the UltraSPARC version available in the first quarter of '96. The price ranges from $35,000 to $300,000 depending on the number and type of CPU modules and the degree of customization required. GNP offers standard 19-inch and 24-inch frames as well as the standard 27-inch Telco frames, all of which can be configured with as many as 10 CPUs per frame. The product is available with either -48 VDC VDC Volts Direct Current VDC Venture Development Corporation VDC Vehicle Dynamic Control VDC Village Development Committee (Nepal) VDC Virtual Data Center VdC Verband der Cigarettenindustrie or 110/220 VAC (Volts Alternating Current) See volt and AC. power supplies. It can be configured with SunOS or Solaris 2.x operating systems and includes such options as X.25, ISDN ISDN in full Integrated Services Digital Network Digital telecommunications network that operates over standard copper telephone wires or other media. , T1, synchronous and asynchronous Refers to events that are not synchronized, or coordinated, in time. The following are considered asynchronous operations. The interval between transmitting A and B is not the same as between B and C. The ability to initiate a transmission at either end. serial, FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) Often pronounced "fiddy," it was a LAN and MAN access method that had its heyday in the mid-1990s. FDDI was an ANSI standard token passing network that transmitted 100 Mbps over optical fiber up to 10 kilometers. , ATM, Datakit, fast Ethernet, Ethernet, SCSI SCSI in full Small Computer System Interface Once common standard for connecting peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, etc.) to small and medium-sized computers. SCSI has given way to faster standards, such as Firewire and USB. and RAID devices. About GNP Computers GNP Computers is an engineering and manufacturing firm with headquarters in Monrovia, Calif. Founded in 1981 by graduates of Caltech and maintaining close ties to the university, the company specializes in rapid, cost-efficient project realization for the telecommunications industry, systems integration and the development of commercial communications products for RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. workstations. -0- NOTE: Embedded Systems Conference, San Jose, Calif. CONTACT: GNP Computers Ken Kalb, 818/305-8484 or Windham/Lang Group Erica Zeidenberg, 415/563-4545 |
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