RS/6000 7044 Model 170 Technical Overview
The IBM RS/6000 family is a scalable, software-compatible line of RISC UNIX workstations, servers, and supercomputers powered by IBMs AIX operating system. On February 7, 2000, IBM announced two exciting additions to this family, the 44P Models 170 and 270.
This paper provides a brief history, a general description, and a technical overview of the 44P Model 170 including: the 64-bit copper technology of the POWER3-II processor, the error checking and correcting (ECC) memory subsystem, the advanced packaging design, the built-in service processor, the sophisticated graphics support, and other selected features.
History
The original 43P Model 140 graphics workstation and entry-level workgroup server was introduced on October 8, 1996. This uniprocessor system offered a variety of processing speeds and features. The 43P Model 240, introduced at the same time, was the first RS/6000 workstation/workgroup server to offer expandability to 2-way symmetric multiprocessing (SMP). On October 5, 1998, IBM introduced both the 43P Model 150 and the Model 260. The Model 150 offered enhanced performance over the Model 140. The Model 260 is a 1- or 2-way SMP system utilizing the 64-bit 200 MHz POWER3 processor.
General Description
The RS/6000 44P Models 170 and 270 extend the IBM line of powerful and affordable workstation/workgroup servers with state-of-the-art, 64-bit, copper POWER3-II processors. The 44P server family, manufactured in Rochester, Minnesota, USA and Santa Palomba, Italy, offers ideal solutions for both high-performance 2D or 3D CAD/CAM users and companies that require a compact system for commercial computing solutions, such as Lotus Notes, business intelligence, Web server applications, software development, and firewall applications.
Minimum Configuration and Optional Features
The Model 170 minimum configuration includes a single POWER3-II 64-bit processor with a choice of either a 333 MHz processor with 1 MB of Level 2 (L2) cache or a 400 MHz processor with 4 MB of L2 cache. Currently, the 400 MHz processor option is the fastest POWER3-II processor available in the RS/6000 product family. Each processor is equipped with 64 KB of data and 32 KB of instruction Level 1 (L1) cache. A 10/100 Mbps Ethernet controller, one Ultra SCSI controller, one external Ultra2 SCSI controller, and the service processor are integrated on the system planar.
In addition, the Model 170 has 256 MB of ECC synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), three disk bays, three media bays, a 9.1 GB 1” Ultra SCSI disk drive, six PCI slots, a 32X CD-ROM drive, a 1.44 MB 3.5-inch diskette drive, and an operator panel. The operator panel has a 2 x 16 backlit LCD for system status and diagnostic information. Microphone and headphone jacks are built into the operator panel. The following ports are included: keyboard, mouse,
