New Unisys mainframe delivers 50 percent increase in performance and pay-per-use metering.

Unisys Corporation (NYSE:UIS) has unveiled the next generation of ClearPath Plus Dorado mainframes. The new Dorado mainframes provide increased power and compatibility with a wide variety of open source software and standards-based environments. These improvements extend Unisys strategy of maximizing the economic value customers receive from their mainframes.

Equipped with new processors providing a 50 percent increase in computing power over previous models, the new Dorado mainframes support a pay-for-use business model that includes Unisys Utilization Sentinel--software that provides measurement, management, and reporting capabilities. Dorado customers can now instantly access extra system resources, precisely measure overall usage and pay for these extra resources in small increments, only as consumed.

"We trust the Dorado with the heart of our business--our reservation system--which must be available at all times to give our cruise guests the best experience right from the beginning," said Doug Eney, vice president, Information Systems Engineering, Carnival Cruise Lines. "Working with Unisys we've seen that the mainframe no longer needs to exist in splendid isolation. We've been able to fully integrate the Dorado with the rest of our systems while keeping our most sensitive applications as secure as ever. With the Dorado we've got the best of both worlds."

A major facet of the Unisys strategy for maximizing data center integration is support on Dorado for a wide variety of open source software and standards-based environments. For the first time, Unisys is offering full support for Linux on the Dorado, working with both Novell and Red Hat. Complete Java and J2EE environments utilizing the JBoss application server are now available on the ClearPath Plus Dorado mainframes. These environments include The Jakarta Tomcat project from the Apache Software Foundation, Microsoft integration tools and the .Net development environment.

Unisys today also unveiled its Application Modernization Service (see separate release), a comprehensive set of service offerings designed to help customers take advantage of the Dorado's new capabilities to build an open, business process-focused infrastructure using resources already in place. This approach allows a new generation of applications and application developers to access one of the most secure and dependable platforms on the market--the Unisys ClearPath Plus Dorado mainframe.

"With the new generation of Dorado servers, Unisys is taking a bold step in its commitment to maximizing mainframe economic value," said Chander Khanna, vice president, Systems & Technology, Unisys. "We are confident even more customers will love their legacy systems due to the increased benefits offered on the new Dorado mainframes--increased performance, access to a wide variety of open standards tools and applications and simplified cost control. We are modernizing legacy systems that any CIO would be proud to inherit."

The new Unisys ClearPath Plus Dorado is available in three models: the 150, 280 and 290. The Dorado 150 and 290 models are the pay-for-use offerings for the mid-range and high-end users, respectively. All of the new models provide one or two domains, and can be configured with up to 32 OS 2200 and Intel processors in various combinations. Additionally, all models are capable of running OS 2200, Windows, Linux and Unix.