AST servers come with 300-MHz Pentium II

The Premium HS server line incorporates the latest PC server technology, including "hot-pluggable" hard drive subsystems.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor

Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.

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Brooke Crothers

Oct. 16, 1997 3:45 p.m. PT

AST announced new server computers using the 300-MHz Pentium II processor and boasting advanced features that target computing environments at large corporations.

The Premium HS server line incorporates the latest PC server technology including "hot-pluggable" hard drive subsystems that can be swapped out while the computer is still running, up to two 300-MHz Pentium II chips, and hardware based on the new I2O standard.

The server's modular chassis comes with 12 hot-pluggable drive bays, which can store a total of 108GB of data.

The dual 300-MHz Intel Pentium II processors use Intel?s newest 440LX chipset. The Premium HS line is also among the first available to incorporate intelligent I2O-ready Ethernet and RAID hard disk controllers, using Intel i960 processors.

I2O makes it more cost-effective for computer vendors to boost server performance since I/O (input/output data transfer) technologies are standardized. To date I/O designs in servers have been implemented as expensive, proprietary designs. This is expected to change as an increasing number of vendors adopt the standard, including Compaq, the world?s largest sever manufacturer.

The HS Server supports Intel's LANDesk Server Manager software and AST's Percepta Pro server monitor agents for early detection of problems and fault tolerance.

Scheduled to be available in late October through AST-authorized resellers worldwide, the Premium HS Server line is expected to start at a street price of $7,349.