From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.2 (2018-09-13) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, LOTS_OF_MONEY,MAILING_LIST_MULTI,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.2 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (minnie.tuhs.org [45.79.103.53]) by inbox.vuxu.org (OpenSMTPD) with ESMTP id a04d4096 for ; Tue, 15 Oct 2019 00:28:34 +0000 (UTC) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id A94DA9BDA0; Tue, 15 Oct 2019 10:28:33 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4F1E79BD87; Tue, 15 Oct 2019 10:28:02 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 876789BD88; Tue, 15 Oct 2019 10:27:58 +1000 (AEST) Received: from smtp-out-4.mxes.net (smtp-out-4.mxes.net [198.205.123.69]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 9D27593EF1 for ; Tue, 15 Oct 2019 10:27:46 +1000 (AEST) Received: from Customer-MUA (mua.mxes.net [10.0.0.1]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by smtp.mxes.net (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 85F5727367 for ; Mon, 14 Oct 2019 20:27:45 -0400 (EDT) From: Ronald Natalie Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Mime-Version: 1.0 (Mac OS X Mail 12.4 \(3445.104.11\)) Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2019 19:27:44 -0500 References: <20191010205546.GA29154@minnie.tuhs.org> <87h84f4kle.fsf@vuxu.org> <20191013194603.GB68749@server.rulingia.com> <0b49b06e-7fd7-8b0d-c568-ea11c36347df@kilonet.net> <4AA7BE7E-30B6-4F47-B745-657DDE2260E1@gmail.com> <0A4E13BD-C4B5-4D03-8226-3FCF2293A0A3@ronnatalie.com> To: The Eunuchs Hysterical Society In-Reply-To: Message-Id: <5BEB9BF4-9357-4F59-8F0C-8D417130549E@ronnatalie.com> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.3445.104.11) X-Sent-To: Subject: [TUHS] Supercomputer UNIX (was Aga moments). X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.26 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" I=E2=80=99ll omit comments on Data Generals, DEC-10/20, and other = non-UNIX stuff. We had a series of three supercomputers at the BRL. The first was the = Denelcor HEP which was pretty much purpose built for us. Originally = slated to be an Analog, then Hybrid, it ended up as a MIMD ECL-logic = digital machine. Denelcor was stalled on what OS to use and was = writing their own proprietary one when we stepped in and told them we = would put UNIX on the thing. The thing was slated to share the main = computer center room with the last Cyber 7600 ever build. We had = taped out the location of all the cabinets on the floor around this = building pillar. Shortly after I started at the labs, I flew out to = Denelcor and noted that the machine was sitting on their floor in our = configuration except they had tape where our building pillar was. It = was kind of a fun research exercise. The thing had 4 PEMs which each = could run 8 independent (what we would call in UNIX) processes. The = hardware could also schedule for each of these up to 256 (what we would = call in UNIX) threads. All the memory had two semaphores on each word = (full/empty bits) and the various load/store operations could be told to = =E2=80=9Cwait for full=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cwait for empty.=E2=80=9D The I/O on the thing was a box that had 32 individual UNIBUSs on it. = It=E2=80=99s memory showed up on the common memory bus (really a big = network) without the semaphore bits. I wrote all the UNIX IO code to = drive this stuff and found out that it was taking forever to start I/Os. = This was because they had put the control logic on this secondary bus = called (aptly) =E2=80=9CThe Low Speed Bus.=E2=80=9D The LSB=E2=80=99s = primary function was to get the machine booted up (which involved = programming the network swtich for the regular memory channel). = Confronted with the problem at the local Golden Corral one night, Burton = Smith the original designer and I designed a new control system to use a = spare PDP-11/34 I had that would connect things up direct to the = highspeed memory. It ran the same pidjin OS that our internet routers = ran (LOS=E2=80=A6no time for sharing, uniprocessor system). Tthe thing excelled at highly parallelizable stuff like Mike=E2=80=99s = raytrace code and really all it ever got used for is to make a movie = =E2=80=9CA Shell=E2=80=99s-eye view of a tank.=E2=80=9D It got shutdown and promplty replaced with the Army=E2=80=99s first = =E2=80=9Creal=E2=80=9D supercomputer, a Cray X/MP. This particular = machine was slated for delivery to Apple, but the Army used = =E2=80=9Cemergency=E2=80=9D authority to get Cray to give it to us. = We pretty much insisted on runing UNICOS (Cray=E2=80=99s UNIX) rather = than Cray=E2=80=99s prorpietary OS. As I recall, the X/MP didn=E2=80=99= t really require anything special as far as facility goes. There=E2=80=99= s a picture in my files somewhere of me standing in the middle of the = thing peering out. One of my last jobs at BRL was to be on the selection board for the Cray = 2 there. That as the previous poster states, required a lot of = specialized facility work. It wasn=E2=80=99t installed before I left, = but it was my signature that was on the $25 Million dollar procurement = paperwork for that thing. Amusingly, Mike wanted to call the two machines Patton and Rommel (hey, = it=E2=80=99s the army). We named the XMP Patton, but then one of our = interns whose last name was Patton managed to wreck his car and kill = himself so the powers that be decided that the Patton name would = officially dedicated to him and nixed the idea of Rommel. The Cray 2 = was named after long term director of the laboratory, Robert J. = Eichelberger (father of modern shaped charges). The problem is that = Eichelberger wasn=E2=80=99t a workable name on the network, and RJE had = bad connotations with regard to old mainframe submittals. The machine = was officially known as =E2=80=9CBob.=E2=80=9D