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Data General Corp. is targeting the General Services Administration schedule with its recently introduced Aviion AV 20000 an Intel Corp. microprocessor-based system that uses Non-Uniform Memory Access technology.

The AV 20000 Data General's most powerful server is designed for large-scale computing in such fields as on-line transaction processing and data warehousing. With an entry-level four-way model priced at less than $70 000 Data General is positioning the AV 20000 as a cost-effective alternative to reduced instruction-set computing-based symmetric multiprocessing servers from such companies as Digital Equipment Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc.

Data General has submitted an application to include the AV 20000 on its GSA schedule. Volume shipments of the product are scheduled to begin later this summer.

Data General has taken a modular approach with the AV 20000 allowing organizations to build systems based on what the company calls "scalable building blocks." Each block consists of an Intel motherboard with four 200 MHz Pentium Pro processors up to 4G of memory and dual PCI I/O channels with 12 slots. In its initial version the AV 20000 can run up to 32 processors and up to 128 processors in clustered configurations.

"There's lots of growth capacity " said Steve Aucoin director of product marketing at Data General. "There are some areas of computing in the government sector where they need that scalability insurance."Bob Sakakeeny an analyst with The Aberdeen Group said the AV 20000's scalability provides a growth path for midsize organizations. "Those folks are increasing in some dramatic ways the use of computing power to run the business " he said.

The systems will ship with DG/UX Data General's Unix operating system.