SGI bows compact VOD, streaming server

Putting its advanced 'NUMAFlex' modular-computing design into a smaller
package, Silicon Graphics Inc. has introduced a new server and storage system
for video-on-demand and streaming-media professionals.

For $24,000, the new 'Origin 300' server holds two or four 64-bit processors,
up to 4 gigabytes of memory and two disk drives in 3.5 inches of rack space. Its
predecessor, the 'Origin 3000,' takes up about twice that.

The 'TP900,' at $6,000, is a new addition to SGI's 'Total Performance'
product line of disk-based storage systems. It supports eight 73-GB SCSI (small
computer system interface) drives for up to 584 GB of storage, according to the
company. Data throughput is said to be in the 320-megabit-per-second
range.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.