Conference ricks::dechips

644.0. "Intel's I20 BUS & NEW I960 for PPro" by ROM01::OLD_CIPOLLA (Bruno Cipolla) Tue Feb 04 1997 12:23

    +  INTEL HAS I20 BUS & NEW I960 RISC CHIP TO SELL PENTIUM PROS
    
    Intel Corp this week will take the wraps off a new version of
    an i960 input-output processor optimized for use as an I20 bus
    controller, hears Client Server News. The move could give the
    company an insurmountable lead in producing silicon for the
    nascent high-performance input-output scheme (CI No 3,065).
    Intel has cast the new i960RD chip, which it's been quietly
    sampling for the past few weeks, as a Pentium Pro coprocessor
    that can sit right on the motherboard. It's hoping that by this
    time next year, just about every Pentium Pro-based server
    shipped will include the i960RD as standard. Until now I20, the
    high- performance standard input-output bus that Microsoft Corp
    is counting on to give NT the same kind of performance as
    midrange and even mainframe computers, was expected to be the
    province of add-in boards. By tailoring the i960RD to hook
    directly to a Pentium Pro, Intel in one fell swoop has
    outmaneuvered both would-be I20 bridge silicon makers and
    processor competitors. In effect, Intel has taken I20 and
    converted it into a Pentium Pro sales channel. "The payback for
    Intel comes at the platform level," said Intel Enterprise
    Computing input-output division marketing manager Jim Kearns,
    who confirmed the strategy. "We're going to sell more Pentium
    Pros." Kearns said that the i960RD on a motherboard can be
    hooked to additional i960-based add-in boards for more power.
    
                         Flood of announcements
    
    The i960 is about to spark a flood of announcements by server
    OEM customers and motherboard vendors. The first out of the
    gate looks to be Micronics Computers Inc, which is set to
    unveil the M6DPd, a dual-Pentium Pro design using Intel Corp's
    440FX PCIset and the i960RD. On the system side, Dell Computer
    Corp last week was already touting an I20-ready server.
    Hewlett-Packard Co hasn't said anything yet, but sources say
    it's doing i960RD benchmarks for Intel, so an HP I20-ready
    server can't be far off. A string of similar announcements
    based on the i960RD will lead up to the I20 special interest
    group's second compliance workshop on February 20-21 in
    Redmond, Washington, where the Intel technology is expected to
    be performing live and in person. Microsoft, which is promising
    an I20 device driver development kit before the end of the
    quarter, will support I20 in NT 5.0, is hosting the thing.
    Novell, which has already released its driver kit and is
    promising an I20 NetWare Loadable Module by June, hosted the fir
    st workshop in December. The Santa Cruz Operation Inc has also
    promised I20 support in its forthcoming 64-bit Gemini Unix
    implementation, due out around mid-year.

It's I2O, not I20.  See www.i2osig.org for more info.