Unisys Debuts Mainframe Line With Metering TechnologyUnisys Debuts Mainframe Line With Metering Technology

Unisys Corp. on Monday introduced the ClearPath Plus Libra 500, a mainframe line that includes a business model featuring pay-for-use metering technology.

The Libra 500 series includes Utilization Sentinel, which lets customers measure their usage and pay for extra resources as consumed, says Chander Khanna, VP of platforms for Unisys Systems and Technology. By year's end, Utilization Sentinel is scheduled to be available on all ClearPath mainframes.

The series lets customers choose from multiple operating systems and processor types depending on their requirements. Options include Unisys' mainframe MCP operating system on either mainframe processors or Intel's Xeon processors; or modules running Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise and Datacenter Editions on Xeon or Itanium processors.

Modules can be added and removed as needed, ensuring a customer's initial investment is sustainable and expandable on an incremental basis, Khanna says. "This modular technology can be mixed and matched, racked and stacked, all within a single cabinet," Khanna says.

The series is available now; pricing ranges from $300,000 to more than $18 million.