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Making It Happen

One of the first steps in meeting Bay Networks’ new shipping operational requirements, according to Briggs, was to upgrade the IBM RS/6000 server.

The RS/6000, a model 370 server, was originally chosen for its networking processing power and data storage capabilities. The new upgraded RS/6000, a model 390 server, is much faster and includes 32 Mb of RAM and 2 gigabytes of hard-drive storage, plus a 16-port (RS232) async adapter, an eight-port (RS 422) async adapter, two ethernet LAN adapters and a four-cartridge, auto-loading tape back-up unit.

Neopost/ASAM programmers also developed a procedure on the server to maintain a group or “stack” of shipping manifest systems (rate servers) to process packages in parallel. The Neopost/ASAM shipping manifest system rates each package based on its weight, carrier, method of shipment and customer routing instructions. In all, five shipping manifest systems, loaded on Pentium®-based personal computers, are used to deliver the manifesting power needed to meet the required throughput of information.

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