3. SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This section summarises the major conclusions and recommendations presented in greater detail in the report. Specific recommendations are made for the provision of hardware and staff for the period 1976-78. Budgetary figures are provided for the period beyond 1978.

3.1 Conclusions

3.1.1 User Needs for Interactive Computing

There is a substantial and immediate need for additional interactive computing for engineers engaged on SRC funded research. The existing user population (including research students) is about 900 with a requirement for processing power for interactive use of about 7 Atlas units compared with about 2 units available from SRC funded interactive computers. It is estimated that the user population will increase to about 1300 by 1978 and it is judged that a deliberate attempt should be made to increase the computing power available for interactive purposes to about 28 Atlas units by 1980 (See Sections 5.4 and 6.5.1).

3.1.2 User Needs for Access to Large SRC Computers

Besides their needs for interactive computing some engineers will continue to need access to the largest available batch processing machines and some engineers will require access to large processing power through the interactive system. The latter will require a link to the 360/195 at Chilton. It is estimated that the demand on the 360/195 from this source will rise to 0.4 of a 360/195 by 1979 (See Section 5.6).

3.1.3 Computer Costs

For small computers the costs of central processor power, memory and to a lesser extent, peripherals are decreasing rapidly and are expected to decrease further over the next five years. The processing power of "small" machines is increasing and mini computers (eg GEC 4080) have reached about 1 Atlas. Costs of software are increasing as a proportion of the total investment in computing (See Appendix 2).

3.1.4 Communications

Future communication costs in the UK are uncertain. The recommendations given below are very dependent upon the provision of an integrated interconnected system. The proposals for the period 1976-78 can be implemented using star networks including the substantial system already set up by the SRC. The existence of a general purpose switching network would improve these facilities and is essential for the longer term proposals (See Appendix 1 and Section 6.5).

3.2 Hardware Recommendations for Period 1976-78

It is recommended that:

1. A central system of at least 3 x Atlas should be installed at Chilton to satisfy the needs of 600 users (Cost £lM) (Section 6.2.1).
2. The UMIST PDP KA1O interactive system should be enhanced to provide a general service for 150 users. The facility should cease to be associated with a specific research project and should be a general SRC Engineering Board facility. The Director of the Rutherford Laboratory should be responsible for it. (Cost £160K) (Section 6.2.1).
3. The Edinburgh PDP1O system should continue to be treated as a general SRC Engineering Board facility but should be expanded to provide a service for 250 users. The Director of the Rutherford Laboratory should be responsible for it. (Cost £220K). (Section 6.2.1).
4. Funds should be provided for the enhancement of 5 existing mini computers in university departments to bring them to multi-user capability. The aim should be for them to satisfy 50 users each. (Cost £160K). {Section 6.2.1).
5. Two multi-user minis should be purchased for development purposes. The Rutherford Laboratory should be responsible for this development in conjunction with university groups. The aim of this work should be to assess accurately the future capability of such systems rather than to provide facilities in the short term. (Cost £160K) (Section 6.2.1).
6. A sum of £540K should be provided for the purchase of terminals (Section 6.2.2).
7. A sum of £50K should be provided for capital equipment for network research (Section 6.2.3).
8. A sum of £620K should be provided for communications equipment (Section 6.2.3).

These recommendations will involve capital costs of £3.0M and will provide facilities for 1250 users by 1978 although the processing power falls considerably short of the requirements at that stage (see Section 6.5.1).

3.3 Other Recommendations for Period 1976-78

It is recommended that:

1. A strong attempt should be made to reduce unnecessary duplication in development of software packages and to provide adequately documented software for general use. The general policy should be to provide given packages only at a single site and all users can then gain access through the interconnection of all facilities. Qualified staff should be provided at Chilton to assess user needs and to mount selected packages (including industrial and commercial packages where appropriate) at the relevant machine. No staff for writing new packages should be provided until a case is made and accepted. (Section 6.3.1).
2. Preparation of some of the existing applications software for general service must be one of the first tasks undertaken. In particular an interactive FORTRAN library should be established and co-ordinating and documenting for all levels of graphics software should be started. (Section 6.3.1).
3. A Bulletin or Newsletter related to the work of the proposed interactive service should be established and published regularly. (Section 6.3.2).
4. Resources should be made available to finance applications workshops, conferences and development of the Meeting House function. (Section 6.3.3).
5. Encouragement should be given to British manufacturers to provide suitable multi-user minis by the early notification of specifications and future requirements. This also applies to terminal and communication equipment. (Section 6.2.1).

The recommended direct staff at Chilton and at universities is given in Table 6.4 in Section 6.4.3 and the recurrent costs arising from this and other sources are summarised in Table 6.6 in Section 6.4.5.

3.4 Recommendations for Period beyond 1978

1. It is recommended that a further review be made in 1977/78 to establish definite plans for the considerable enhancement that will be required to the proposed system, particularly in processing power. (Section 6.5).
2. For budgetary purposes capital and recurrent expenditure is estimated on the assumption that multi-user minis become cheaper than current prices by a factor of two by 1980 in real terms, and that improvements to hardware and software continue. Table 6.8 in Section 6.5 gives these budgetary estimates and Table 6.9 combines the total estimates for the whole period 1976-81. The total capital is £4.0M and recurrent expenditure reaches £1.3M per year in 1981.

3.5 Management

Central to the whole of the plan presented is the concept that the SRC should provide an integrated and co-ordinated service for interactive computing for engineers. To achieve these ends it is recommended that:

1. An Engineering Computing Facilities Committee should be appointed by the Engineering Board with duties as described in Section 8.1. A Users' Sub-Committee should also be appointed. (Section 8.1).
2. The Director of the Rutherford Laboratory should be responsible for implementing the recommendations of this report and should have overall responsibility within the SRC for all the facilities concerned. (Section 8.1). It will be essential if the needs of users are to be adequately met for the facilities to be run by staff who arc, familiar with engineering needs, with the hardware and software available to meet these needs, and with the progress of relevant engineering research. (Section 6.4.1).
3. Suitable arrangements should be negotiated with universities and polytechnics at which computers or terminals are to be located. (Section 8.2).