> I fail to see how it could be cost effective. Wouldn't it be cheaper for and > easier for real-time to provide the pipe and the rack space for a few dozen > SMP intel boxes all setup with virtual domains. I think the luggers would save > money by doing it this way. it's all a question of scalability. 2 racks will get you a couple dozen x86 machines; which each might support a good number of virtual machines (VMWare GSX), or lots of domains hosted there. that's enough for most people's needs. but if you want to host a *lot* of actual virtual machines (which some people really want); and give them all kickass I/O; and share resources between them (so at any given moment, they have most of the power of the whole machine available); a mainframe makes sense. It's a niche machine; we have to admit that. it's just a matter of determining whether we fit that niche. :) Carl Soderstrom -- Network Engineer Real-Time Enterprises (952) 943-8700