Unisys ES7000 features new design

Unisys Monday will announce a variation of its Windows-based 32-way enterprise server that has a price and design configuration intended to attract midrange users.

At its data center lab here, Unisys this week previewed part of its ES7000/500 “Dylan” line to show off a new design configuration. The processors are built in modules, which the company says will let users quickly assemble large systems in building-block fashion in a matter of hours.

The ES7000, which can scale up to 32 processors, was previously available with a minimum of eight processors, starting at about $80,000. Unisys is now offering a four-way version with a starting price of $35,000. The company is calling it a “pay-as-you-grow” approach.

The move may be attractive to IT managers who are interested in having a symmetrical multiprocessing server environment but have been scared off by the price, said Jean Bozman, an analyst at IDC. According to the research firm, worldwide server revenue has fallen from $60 billion in 2000 to $44 billion in 2002 as a result of the economic downturn.

Unisys also has upgraded its Server Sentinel management tools with features that include self-healing functions.