IBM 8100
Encyclopedia
See also: IBM 8000
series, canceled in 1961
The IBM 8100 was at one time IBM
’s principal distributed processing
engine, providing local processing capability under two incompatible operating systems (DPPX
and DPCX
) and was follow-on to IBM 3790
.
In 1978 IBM announced the 8100 Information System and the Distributed Programming Processing Executive (DPPX).
These products were intended to provide turnkey distributed
processing capabilities in a centrally controlled and managed network.
It never saw much success, and became moribund when host-based networks went out of fashion.
This, coupled with IBM's recognition that they had too many hardware and
software systems with similar processing power and function,
led to announcement in March 1986 that the 8100 line
would not be expanded and a new System/370
compatible processor line, ES/9370,
would be provided to replace it.
In March 1987, IBM announced that it intended to provide in 1989
a version of DPPX/SP that would run on the new ES/9370.
A formal announcement followed in March 1988
of DPPX/370, a version of DPPX that executed on the
ES/9370 family of processors.
DPPX/370 was made available to customers in December 1988.
reveals its lineage as the culmination of a line of
so-called Universal Controller processors internally designated
UC0 (8-bit), UC.5 (16-bit) and UC1 (32-bit).
Each processor carried along the instruction set and architecture
of the smaller processors,
allowing programs written for a smaller processor to run on a larger one
without change.
The 8100 had another interesting distinction in being one of the first commercially available systems to have a network with characteristics of what we now call local area networks, in particular the mechanism of packet passing. It was called the "8100 Loop" or "R-Loop" and it supported various attached terminals (such as the 3104), printers (such as the free-standing 3268-1) and other devices. Topologically this arranged terminals in a ring, with redundant sets of wires which allowed for a break in the wire to be tolerated simply by "turning back" the data on each side of the break.
The 8100 also supported a terminal called the 8775 (which shared the same case as the 3279 colour display terminal for IBM's mainframes and, like the 3279 was designed at IBM's UK Development Lab at Hursley Park, England) which was the first to ship with the ability to download its functionality from the host computer to which it was attached.
What was notable about the machines was that they were designed to be "office-friendly", not requiring special power supplies or cooling systems, and running quietly. Their size also made them attractive in this environment.
by R. Abraham, B. F. Goodrich;
IBM Systems Journal,
Volume 29, Number 1, Page 90 (1990)
IBM 8000
The IBM 8000 series was an ill-fated transistor-based successor to the IBM 7000 series. Important engineers on the project included Fred Brooks and Gerry Blaauw. Despite some technical successes, the project became a political football, amid IBM's search for a unified product line...
series, canceled in 1961
The IBM 8100 was at one time IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
’s principal distributed processing
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
engine, providing local processing capability under two incompatible operating systems (DPPX
DPPX
Distributed Processing Programming Executive was an operating system introduced by IBM, pre-installed on selected computer models in the 1980s.-Brief history:*It was first introduced on the IBM 8100 model, which was released in 1978...
and DPCX
DPCX
DPCX was an operating system for the IBM 8100. IBM hoped it would help their installed base of IBM 3790 customers migrate to the 8100 and the DPPX operating system...
) and was follow-on to IBM 3790
IBM 3790
IBM 3790 was a computer system announced in 1975, one of the first distributed computing platforms. It preceded the IBM 8100, announced in 1979....
.
In 1978 IBM announced the 8100 Information System and the Distributed Programming Processing Executive (DPPX).
These products were intended to provide turnkey distributed
processing capabilities in a centrally controlled and managed network.
It never saw much success, and became moribund when host-based networks went out of fashion.
This, coupled with IBM's recognition that they had too many hardware and
software systems with similar processing power and function,
led to announcement in March 1986 that the 8100 line
would not be expanded and a new System/370
System/370
The IBM System/370 was a model range of IBM mainframes announced on June 30, 1970 as the successors to the System/360 family. The series maintained backward compatibility with the S/360, allowing an easy migration path for customers; this, plus improved performance, were the dominant themes of the...
compatible processor line, ES/9370,
would be provided to replace it.
In March 1987, IBM announced that it intended to provide in 1989
a version of DPPX/SP that would run on the new ES/9370.
A formal announcement followed in March 1988
of DPPX/370, a version of DPPX that executed on the
ES/9370 family of processors.
DPPX/370 was made available to customers in December 1988.
Architecture
The 8100 was a 32-bit processor, but its instruction setreveals its lineage as the culmination of a line of
so-called Universal Controller processors internally designated
UC0 (8-bit), UC.5 (16-bit) and UC1 (32-bit).
Each processor carried along the instruction set and architecture
of the smaller processors,
allowing programs written for a smaller processor to run on a larger one
without change.
The 8100 had another interesting distinction in being one of the first commercially available systems to have a network with characteristics of what we now call local area networks, in particular the mechanism of packet passing. It was called the "8100 Loop" or "R-Loop" and it supported various attached terminals (such as the 3104), printers (such as the free-standing 3268-1) and other devices. Topologically this arranged terminals in a ring, with redundant sets of wires which allowed for a break in the wire to be tolerated simply by "turning back" the data on each side of the break.
The 8100 also supported a terminal called the 8775 (which shared the same case as the 3279 colour display terminal for IBM's mainframes and, like the 3279 was designed at IBM's UK Development Lab at Hursley Park, England) which was the first to ship with the ability to download its functionality from the host computer to which it was attached.
Product range
- 8130 (various models) - Processor unit
- 8140 (various models) - Processor unit
- 8150 (various models) - Processor unit
- 8101 - External disk unit
- 8809 - External tape unit
What was notable about the machines was that they were designed to be "office-friendly", not requiring special power supplies or cooling systems, and running quietly. Their size also made them attractive in this environment.
Further reading
Porting DPPX from the IBM 8100 to the IBM ES/ 9370: Feasibility and overviewhttp://domino.research.ibm.com/tchjr/journalindex.nsf/0/a1d0b9f8d42f592185256bfa00685c30?OpenDocument;by R. Abraham, B. F. Goodrich;
IBM Systems Journal,
Volume 29, Number 1, Page 90 (1990)