In August 1993 Mitsubishi Electric began selling the MELCOM ME/S8000 series of UNIX servers that were software compatible with the MELCOM ME/S7000 series but featured faster processing speeds, larger storage capacity, and greater reliability. The servers were supplied as OEM equipment from Hewlett-Packard, after which Mitsubishi Electric made modifications to improve their reliability. The series consisted of four models - ME/S8020, ME/S8050, ME/S8070, and ME/S8090 - and each model was available in either a deskside or a floor-standing configuration.
The servers scored as high as 141 on the SPECfp CPU performance test and had a maximum memory capacity of 768 MB and magnetic disk capacity expandable to 100 GB. Each server was equipped with an optical magnetic disk unit and a 1/2-inch-cartridge auto-loading magnetic tape unit. The larger servers also provided superb expandability with as many as 11 optional I/O slots.
To boost the server’s reliability, Mitsubishi Electric added file-mirroring file redundancy that is transparent to application programs. The main memory’s battery backup allowed the server to resume processing automatically on recovery after a power outage. And for systems requiring especially high reliability, multiple computer configurations could be set up that shared data using multiport disks. Optical fiber, which isolated signals from the effects of electrical noise, ensured high-quality data transfers between multiport disks and the CPU. System operability was also increased by the capacity to swap multiport disk units while online.
| ME/S8020 | ME/S8050 | ME/S8070 | ME/S8090 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | PA-RISC（48MHz） | PA-RISC（48MHz） | PA-RISC（64MHz） | PA-RISC（96MHz） | |
| Performance | SPEC fp92 |
62.4 | 62.4 | 81.6 | 141.6 |
| SPEC int92 |
37.8 | 37.8 | 50.5 | 78.3 | |
| Main memory | 32-512MB | 64-768MB | 64-768MB | 64-768MB | |
| Cache memory （instruction/data） |
256KB/256KB | 256KB/256KB | 256KB/256KB | 256KB/256KB | |
| Internal disk capacity | ［Deskside model］ 1.35-4.05GB ［Floor model］ 1.35-12.2GB |
［Deskside model］ 1.35-4.05GB ［Floor model］ 1.35-12.2GB |
［Deskside model］ 1.35-4.05GB ［Floor model］ 1.35-12.2GB |
［Deskside model］ 1.35-4.05GB ［Floor model］ 1.35-12.2GB |
|
| External expandable disk capacity（max.） |
［Deskside model］ 24.3GB ［Floor model］ 16.2GB |
［Deskside model］ 32.4GB ［Floor model］ 24.3GB |
［Deskside model］ 32.4GB ［Floor model］ 24.3GB |
［Deskside model］ 32.4GB ［Floor model］ 24.3GB |
|
| Multiport disk capacity（max.） |
- | ［Floor model］ 31.4GBx2 |
［Floor model］ 31.4GBx2 |
［Floor model］ 31.4GBx2 |
|
| No. of optional slots | 3（single-height） | 11（single-height） | 11（single-height） | 11（single-height） | |
| Dimensions ［mm］ （w x h x d） |
［Deskside model］ 424x533x430 ［Floor model］ 600x800x1400 |
［Deskside model］ 424x533x430 ［Floor model］ 600x800x1400 |
［Deskside model］ 424x533x430 ［Floor model］ 600x800x1400 |
［Deskside model］ 424x533x430 ［Floor model］ 600x800x1400 |
|
