A Brief History of the IBM AS/400
and iSeries
1988
IBM introduces
in June the IBM Application
System/400, a new family of easy-to-use computers designed for small and
intermediate-sized companies. As part of the introduction, IBM and IBM Business
Partners worldwide announce more than 1,000 software packages in the biggest
simultaneous applications announcement in computer history. The AS/400 family
includes six processor models, offering a 24-fold growth range in main memory,
a 48-fold storage capacity range and a 10-fold performance range, as measured
in commercial transactions processed per hour. It offers double the performance
of the System/38 and five times that of the System/36. (By the time the first
AS/400 shipment is shipped, more than 2,500 applications are available, along
with unprecedented support, education and follow-on products. Meanwhile, IBM has sold more
than 250,000 System/34, System/36 and System/38 computers worldwide, making it
the most widely-used midrange family in the industry.)
1989
Early in 1989, IBM
introduces the B70, a new high-end model of the Application System/400, which
offers a faster processor and main memory, and the ability to expand disk
storage and attach more local workstations and communications lines. Also
announced are enhancements that make it easier for customers to expand other
AS/400 models, the B10 and B20. The company also increases the memory capacity
available with entry-level models and introduces three higher-speed matrix
printers for use with the AS/400 family.
Later
in the year, two new Application System/400 processors that can operate at
speeds up to 20 percent faster than earlier, comparably-priced models, are
rolled out, along with an improved operating system that simplifies the migration
of software from less powerful IBM
System/3Xs to the AS/400.
1990
IBM broadens its AS/400 product line in
August, unveiling two low-cost processors that are designed for small
businesses and departments of larger companies. Also added is a low-end
processor to the Application System/Entry series. The entire AS/400 family is
enhanced with hundreds of hardware and software products, including operating
system improvements, new data storage products, expanded memory, better systems
availability and numerous advanced applications.
1991
The
AS/400 line is renewed from top to bottom with 11 processors. A new $12,000
AS/400 entry-level model and a new version of the AS/400’s operating system are
introduced.
1992
IBM completely
refreshes the Application System/400 product line in February with an enhanced operating system
and 13 powerful new E model processors that boost system performance by up to
70 percent and offer the industry’s first use of 16-million-bit memory chips. IBM introduces in
September a new, four-way AS/400 Model E95, giving customers 20 percent more
throughput than with the current high-end, three-way Model E90 and twice the
processing power of the AS/400 of less than eight months ago. IBM ships its 200,000th
AS/400 computer ( a 9406 Model E35 to be installed at the main brewery and
headquarters of Heineken Netherlands), in December while 300,000 of its
predecessor systems — the System/36 and System/38 — remain in service. (Since
1988, the reliability of the AS/400 family has improved more than 20-fold and
the quality of its operating system has improved six-fold and price/performance
has shown gains of 30 percent a year.)
1993
A
new F model Application System/400 is unveiled that is up to 60 percent more
powerful and offers price/performance improvements averaging 26 percent. Later
in the year, three new high-performance AS/400 Server Series models are
introduced — the 9402 Server Series Model 100 and 9404 Server Series Models 135
and 140.
1994
A
new generation of AS/400 computers called the AS/400 Advanced Series is
introduced in May, including the AS/400 Advanced System, AS/400 Advanced Server
and the AS/400 Advanced Portable. The AS/400 Advanced 36 — a replacement option
for the IBM
System/36 using a powerful, new 64-bit RISC
processor based on PowerPC architecture — debuts, as does the Portable One
Model P02, a fully functional portable AS/400. IBM ships its 250,000th Application
System/400, a model F80, to The Coca-Cola Company in Belgium.
1995
The AS/400
Advanced Portable, a low-cost, compact version of AS/400, is announced.
1996
IBM introduces the AS/400 Advanced Series, to
support Lotus Notes and provide easy Internet access, AS/400 Advanced Entry for
the owners of small businesses, and a new AS/400 Advanced 36 business computer.
The company announces in August a new
family of AS/400e series servers to help small and medium-sized companies and
departments of large enterprises to take advantage of business opportunities on
the Internet.
1998
The
AS/400e server 170 and AS/400e server 150 are introduced in February, followed
by the AS/400e model S40 and 650 and AS/400e model 170 in August. During 1998, IBM delivers an
AS/400 to a customer every 12 minutes of every workday.
1999
IBM
announces a powerful new line of AS/400e servers with faster processors,
increased performance and greater flexibility to handle multiple application
workloads on a single server. The versatile new server line consolidates
multiple server models into a smaller, more powerful family. A new entry
server, a two-way Model 170, provides more than twice the performance of the
model announced the year before.
2000
IBM introduces
the IBM eServer,
a new generation of servers featuring mainframe-class reliability and
scalability, broad support of open standards for the development of new
applications, and capacity on demand for managing the unprecedented needs of
e-business. The new servers feature technology from IBM’s high-end
servers applied across the entire product line, and include: the eServer
iSeries -- the high performance, integrated business server for mid-market
companies.
IBM begins
volume shipments of the new line of
AS/400e
servers powered by the world’s first
production
microchips made of silicon-on-insulator transistors and copper wiring.
2001
World Access, a global provider of
telecommunications services, purchases the largest-ever IBM eServer iSeries
system -- the eServer i840 -- to process billings for more than 100 million
telephone calls per day.
IBM announces
the worldwide availability of iSeries Connect, an integrated software product
to help
small to mid-sized customers link their businesses to expanding global
e-marketplaces.