Unisys mainframe does Web services

Unisys last week introduced a mainframe that features Web services support.

The ClearPath Plus Libra 185 supports Microsoft .Net and Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) application development, Web services, and utility computing. It also includes new resource-provisioning options.

Unisys is adding .Net and J2EE to its software development toolkit, called Enterprise Application Environment, to let customers to create applications that combine COBOL with .Net and J2EE modules.

To allow administrators to integrate current applications with .Net and J2EE applications, the mainframe will support XML; the Simple Object Access Protocol; Universal Description, Discovery and Integration; and other Web services standards.

The ClearPath Libra 185 operates 25% faster than its predecessor, the Libra 180. It is capable of delivering more than 10,500 MIPS and has a more than 400% increase in capacity. It increases the number of partitions per processor from two to eight.

The ClearPath Libra 185 mainframe also has 250% more memory than previous versions and uses new I/O technology that gives it greater I/O throughput. It uses a metered-style provisioning of resources that lets businesses adjust performance as business needs change and pay for only the processing power they use.

The mainframe contains as many as 32 CMOS processors and 24 Intel Xeon MP processors. It has up to 64G bytes of memory and can run Unisys ClearPath MCP, Virtual Machine for ClearPath MCP, Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, Windows 2003, and SCO UnixWare.

It starts at $1.1 million and is available now.