ftServer® W Series 4300 System: The ftServer® W Series 4300 system is an entry-level business-processing application server with three times the system performance and eight times the I/O bandwidth of its predecessor, at a lower price. Like all Stratus® systems, this newest Intel® processor-based server delivers better than 99.999 percent uptime reliability in continuous 24/7 operation.

MAYNARD, Mass., Sept. 12, 2005 – Stratus Technologies today announced the ftServer^® W Series 4300 system, a new business-processing application server with three times the system performance, and an eight-times improvement in system I/O bandwidth at a lower price than its predecessor. As the second model in the Stratus^® ftServer W 4000 Series, the new server possesses the industry’s most advanced technology for continuously available processing, including:

• Capability for online software upgrades, a new technology for a fault-tolerant architecture supporting the Microsoft^® Windows^® operating system (for delivery in Q1 2006 - see related press release)

• Newest Stratus-designed chipsets that leverage off-the-shelf, industry-standard hardware and software to consistently attain 99.999 percent uptime reliability

• Third-generation ftServer system architecture with greater component density, increased integration, improved reliability, and simplicity of use

• Advanced remote servicing technology that proactively manages and anticipates potential problem areas, while relieving demands on IT staff

• State-of-the-art enterprise SATA storage systems, a new class of cost-effective hard drives with reliability and performance comparable to SCSI drives

"The W 4300 system is an elegantly designed, technology-rich server, as it must be to surpass the legacy of its predecessor, the ftServer W 3300 server," said Greg Enriquez, Stratus senior vice president, Field Operations. "The 3300 system has been the most successful server in the company’s history, representing nearly half of the total Windows-based units sold since June 2001. So, we have skimped on nothing to make the ftServer 4300 model the most technologically advanced, highest quality system possible, and an even better value for applications requiring unsurpassed availability."

The ftServer 4300 model is an affordable 1- or 2-way SMP fault-tolerant server for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating environments. It features Intel^® Xeon^TM 3.2 GHz processors with 1MB iL2 cache, up to 8 GB of memory, an 800 MHz front side bus, and enterprise SATA hard drives supporting up to six physical disks, all packaged in a 4U rack or pedestal form factor. (Download complete system specifications.)

Instead of four customer-replaceable units (CRU) like the model 3300 mid-range server design, the third-generation ftServer W 4300 is a two-CRU design, with each unit containing CPU and I/O in a 2U module. Each CRU resembles a single Intel server. The two units connect to a common back plane and, through the Stratus-engineered chipsets and Continuous Processing^® technology, form a continuously available, fully redundant server with better than 99.999 percent uptime performance. The dual-CRU design, with the traditional CPU and I/O logic combined on a single board, reduces system cost and complexity, and aids cooling and power consumption. Fewer components and higher density result in increased reliability and lower cost.

Online Software Upgrade Breakthrough
Like the ftServer 4600 system announced in June, the new server uses next-generation, Stratus-designed chipsets. Not only does this new silicon embody 25 years of Stratus research and fault-tolerant engineering expertise, it also enables breakthrough software updating capability called Stratus ftServer W Series Active Upgrade^TM technology. A new capability for hardware fault-tolerant technology, the Active Upgrade process will allow system and application software updates, as well as hot-fix OS patches, to be applied online as fast as, and more easily than, a clustered system performing a rolling upgrade. The Active Upgrade process splits the one logical server into two independently running physical servers. While one physical server continues to run the application, the other is updated with new software. The two sides are then remerged, resynchronized and returned to fault-tolerant, lock-step operation. Active Upgrade technology will be available as a product in the first quarter 2006.

Only Stratus systems offer a fault-tolerant remote access controller – the Virtual Technician Module (VTM) – that, in turn, connects to the fully fault-tolerant Stratus ActiveService™ network to help ensure the highest reliability possible. The VTM has its own hardened drivers, power, and network connections. Regardless of the server’s operational state, the VTM allows a service engineer to remotely perform advanced diagnosis, troubleshooting, and remediation. With the exception of physically swapping parts, virtually any task that can be performed onsite with the actual server can be performed remotely, such as powering up, viewing the boot screen, or downloading software updates, for example.

Also in the new server, the base disk subsystem is now available with WD Raptor^® enterprise-class Serial ATA (SATA) hard drives from Western Digital. This new class of hard drives features comparable reliability (1.2 million MTBF) and performance (10,000 RPM, 4.5 ms seek) to SCSI drives, but at significantly lower cost. In testing conducted by Stratus, hot-pluggable WD Raptor drives outperformed SCSI in similarly configured ftServer models. The ftServer 4300 system uses six physical (three logical) internal 74 GB WD Raptor 10,000 RPM SATA drives. Externally, the new server supports a full range of attached EMC storage including Clariion^®, AX 100 and Symmetrix^®, as well as the Stratus Fibre Channel JBOD array.

About Stratus Technologies
Stratus Technologies is a global solutions provider focused exclusively on helping its customers achieve and sustain the availability of information systems that support their critical business processes. Based upon its 25 years of expertise in server and services technology for continuous availability, Stratus is a trusted solutions provider to customers in manufacturing, life sciences, telecommunications, financial services, public safety, transportation & logistics, and other industries.

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For more information

• Stratus ftServer W Series 4300 product description