Compaq Affirms Commitment To Alpha

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October 20, 1998 (12:00 AM EDT)

By Joe Wilcox,

Compaq is living up to a commitment made in January to stand by Digital Equipment's Alpha processor and AlphaServer line.

The Houston-based computer company, which acquired Digital in June and quickly set to ramping up AlphaServer volumes through the channel, Monday renamed the AlphaServer line, added a new logo and look, and rolled out the long-awaited Alpha 21264, or EV6, processor. Compaq said earlier in the summer it would drop the Digital name from the product line.

Single and two processor systems will fall under the DS, or Departmental Solution, name and four- and eight-way systems, such as existing AlphaServer 4000 and 4100 servers, will became part of the Enterprise Solution (ES) series.

High-end AlphaServer 8200 and 8400 systems will be renamed as part of the GS, or Global Solution, series. Compaq also changed box colors to blue for consistency with its existing products.

The GS60 and GS140, respectively, replace the AlphaServer 8200 and 8400, which come with up to 12 or 28 gigabytes of RAM, 85 terabytes of SCSI storage and run Digital Unix, OpenVMS, or Windows NT.

An entry-level GS60 with 4 GB of RAM and Digital Unix or OpenVMS lists for $199,000, and the entry-level GS140, for $399,400. Both systems come with the Alpha 21264 processor. The GS60 supports up to six CPUs, and the GS140, up to 14.

The announcement is a major repositioning of the AlphaServer line and a demonstration Compaq is committed to adding value above the Wintel server performance space, officials said.

Margaret Ann Bolton, Compaq's director of Alpha server marketing, said the Alpha product line is a clear differentiator for Compaq against its traditional competitors.

"Having Alpha in the line really gives Compaq as a corporation a leverage, if you will, against a single processor vendor and reliance on Intel explicitly as its one source of CPUs," Bolton said. "Compaq not only has Alpha as a line extension to Intel, but also it gives Compaq a leverage, a choice of options to base our systems, and we can completely tailor a solution to an end user's needs regardless of the operating environment or architecture."

Compaq also unveiled several promotions designed to make AlphaServers more attractive to VARs and their customers.

Compaq is offering through Dec. 14 25 percent off 2-GB memory boards for the AlphaServer 4000/4100 and 4-GB memory boards for the AlphaServer 8000 or GS series. Compaq is also expected to reduce the price of DS series servers by up to 16 percent.

Compaq also committed to adding the Alpha 21264 processor to its NT-based ProLiant server line in the first half of 1999, filling some of the space now occupied by the AlphaServer 800, 1200, and 4100.

"Those resellers who are carrying the full breadth of the product line really have an advantage on how they can position themselves as a full-service supplier to their customers," Bolton said. "It's aimed at the enterprise, which is really where the money is."