From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_INVALID,DKIM_SIGNED, MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 5851 invoked from network); 6 Aug 2023 11:52:49 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (2600:3c01:e000:146::1) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 6 Aug 2023 11:52:49 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 46DCC429EE; Sun, 6 Aug 2023 21:52:45 +1000 (AEST) Received: from out1-smtp.messagingengine.com (out1-smtp.messagingengine.com [66.111.4.25]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id DD4AB426D1 for ; Sun, 6 Aug 2023 21:52:37 +1000 (AEST) Received: from compute3.internal (compute3.nyi.internal [10.202.2.43]) by mailout.nyi.internal (Postfix) with ESMTP id 267FF5C0086; Sun, 6 Aug 2023 07:52:36 -0400 (EDT) Received: from mailfrontend1 ([10.202.2.162]) by compute3.internal (MEProxy); Sun, 06 Aug 2023 07:52:36 -0400 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=ronnatalie.com; h=cc:content-transfer-encoding:content-type:content-type:date :date:from:from:in-reply-to:in-reply-to:message-id:mime-version :references:reply-to:reply-to:sender:subject:subject:to:to; s= fm2; t=1691322756; x=1691409156; bh=Tg74VX4NJvSYWHqKybHZ5cEuN/vk 6Kdn6eTAdA2nf+g=; b=ZxKFdeAn+NU2Y8J0ZUT3lzeXLxaukEDa3Jwz7LEKmhu2 SbQHURg5EWoIWMPUlqEsJ/yPlqmO91QibCzpc6fYQwJcD2aHT+XN8s1S+ti86LoD 8W9d6IrKXjTiIXOYFKMjLi1AYtxL+A4SAXaUnPF4QN2655ZbSdUKgHSryPMoJysh PjoqBMq1oO4lyD/u47khvHjJwMb865x4WS2sam8geBclR91z1CRAaAZyVOcpbv2G vbdKRt8pPy3DafKynlP+qlHvZE9dz+BjkpYakxR+tU0MWmcOeqRlnwwNOt7566u0 KZENyFR1rC4nV+CTuJne5gRzc92iuYE11AZJ0m0uIg== DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d= messagingengine.com; h=cc:content-transfer-encoding:content-type :content-type:date:date:feedback-id:feedback-id:from:from :in-reply-to:in-reply-to:message-id:mime-version:references :reply-to:reply-to:sender:subject:subject:to:to:x-me-proxy :x-me-proxy:x-me-sender:x-me-sender:x-sasl-enc; s=fm3; t= 1691322756; x=1691409156; bh=Tg74VX4NJvSYWHqKybHZ5cEuN/vk6Kdn6eT AdA2nf+g=; b=ex0MRJxE1i0YoLVKiTGsKH1kMClcqRFDcm45rRaER7SV2zY7TUq 9xPGei9/BOiNmXtpR2nlAsSLZzZ30Zr8zy7pxWpiQgL3YxM8RlnFXuY6sAh+HSl7 FA0/7sVfCjS9ovMOp4ofAcn4vZhsd9Ufqru5sUr3twjmDqeFgUguCCOc4opHy28e HcJK6wG3dk+xQXxgRS2PYhOi/u3N8aMQeViUJAa/l6Qg0LriLAGsGgBL4NjxUDO6 se+KclssQNISNHcsE3az6IxZRst43ysKBjYLt8OtEme9+Xz+pwq3qg8J1C7PkaD6 BXkJmsvToiGpNuGo2pPxnHX1TYIRpfsA8bg== X-ME-Sender: X-ME-Received: X-ME-Proxy-Cause: gggruggvucftvghtrhhoucdtuddrgedviedrkeekgdeghecutefuodetggdotefrodftvf curfhrohhfihhlvgemucfhrghsthforghilhdpqfgfvfdpuffrtefokffrpgfnqfghnecu uegrihhlohhuthemuceftddtnecunecujfgurhephffvufffkfgjfhhrfgggtgfgsehtqh ertddtreejnecuhfhrohhmpedftfhonhgrlhguucfprghtrghlihgvfdcuoehrohhnsehr ohhnnhgrthgrlhhivgdrtghomheqnecuggftrfgrthhtvghrnhepieehgeefveettdetge fgleekieetledtfedttdeigeekhfelledvjeevteegueehnecuvehluhhsthgvrhfuihii vgeptdenucfrrghrrghmpehmrghilhhfrhhomheprhhonhesrhhonhhnrghtrghlihgvrd gtohhm X-ME-Proxy: Feedback-ID: iaba146ad:Fastmail Received: by mail.messagingengine.com (Postfix) with ESMTPA; Sun, 6 Aug 2023 07:52:35 -0400 (EDT) From: "Ronald Natalie" To: scj@yaccman.com, "The Eunuchs Hysterical Society" Date: Sun, 06 Aug 2023 09:28:06 +0000 Message-Id: In-Reply-To: <4726704a3c0e056d6e4d5dd1dc582116@yaccman.com> References: <7C8CADAB-65AA-4841-AFA1-569A9651E56D@planet.nl> <4726704a3c0e056d6e4d5dd1dc582116@yaccman.com> User-Agent: eM_Client/9.2.1841.0 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-ID-Hash: VMP6QOZFXR4N763YSSGJJJN5I6PD6VBG X-Message-ID-Hash: VMP6QOZFXR4N763YSSGJJJN5I6PD6VBG X-MailFrom: ron@ronnatalie.com X-Mailman-Rule-Misses: dmarc-mitigation; no-senders; approved; emergency; loop; banned-address; member-moderation; nonmember-moderation; administrivia; implicit-dest; max-recipients; max-size; news-moderation; no-subject; digests; suspicious-header X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.6b1 Precedence: list Reply-To: Ronald Natalie Subject: [TUHS] Re: Early multiprocessor Unix List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: The first foray into multiprocessor UNIX for us was to build one of the=20 Purdue University dual vaxes (where they took the SBI terminator out,=20 built some special cables to flipped around, and to stick a second CPU=20 in that location. Not too much later we got a multiprocessor Gould=20 SEL machine (also with Purdue=E2=80=99s hack to BSD as the OS). BRL had contracted to buy a Denelcor HEP, which was a MIMD machine=20 capable of running 32 or so parallel tasks. Each one could be divided=20 into multiple processes (what we would call a thread the days). The=20 regular memory had a semaphore per word (called a full-empty bit) that=20 allowed you to create a bunch of threads and let the hardware itself=20 schedule them. There were four Process Execution Modules (each with 8=20 processors) that were interconnected by a fast memory switch, alll 10800=20 ECL. The thing was booted up from a PDP-11/34 front end through an interface=20 aptly named the =E2=80=9Clow speed bus=E2=80=9D. Mike Muuss suggested we = could put=20 UNIX on the thing and nobody could come up with a reason why not, so we=20 ported the same 4 BSD kernel that the dual vaxes were using. Oddly,=20 there were some bad things in the BSD kernel that needed to be fixed=20 (notably =E2=80=9Cconversion by union=E2=80=9D that wouldn=E2=80=99t work o= n this architecture).=20 After the initial boot up, we found that the thing couldn=E2=80=99t ru= n=20 I/O=E2=80=99s very quickly as they I/Os were routed through the =E2=80=9Clo= w speed bus.=E2=80=9D=20 The hardware designer (Burton Smith) and me literally designed a new= =20 I/O interface on napkins at the local steakhouse, the Golden Corral, and=20 built the thing out of spare parts. I donated another PDP-11/34 to=20 the task. The I/O system was a fun system, the thing had 32 Unibuses connected to=20 a memory cache for the main processor. You could hit the CSRs on the=20 Unibuses virtually through mapped memory addresses. Interrupts=20 weren=E2=80=99t the traditional sense but rather a new kernel task was spaw= ned=20 to handle it. -Ron