At the time of writing the upgrade and relocation are in progress but by the time this appears in print the main phase will be complete and the machine back in service. See also Rapid Response No 11. Jan 80.
The 1091S has about twice the power of the previous 1070. It is based on a KL10E CPU with 512k words of M05 memory, 3 data channel/controllers (RH20S) and 3 communications channels (DTEs) all internal to the processor cabinets. It allows larger jobs both in physical and virtual memory and should of course show an improvement in response. Another benefit is a considerable relief of a chronic shortage of disk space over the last 2 years, giving us 560 Mbytes of storage now and 800 eventually. The two TU77 tape drives, working at 9 track, dual density 1600/800 bpi, and 125 ips are much superior to the earlier ones.
Installation of the V7.01 monitor release has coincided with the arrival of the 1091S. Many new versions of the commonly used systems programs and a completely new version of the network code have now been installed. The latter has been installed in all the POP-11 based communications processors on the network. Work is still in progress on the PDP-8 based remote stations (DN92 and DC72s). Although a new (7.01) version of the monitor has been built it cannot be run until the whole network has been brought to the same level, and the 1091S has come into service on 27 Oct with the 6.03A version of the monitor. The TOPS-10 V7.01 operating system provides a few more commands for Users and with the GALAXY V4 spooling system which follows later, will simplify operator tasks, a necessary improvement in view of the re-location of the machine (see Operations below). An archiving system (FM5) has been introduced. It will further improve the disk storage position.
Each DTE supports a front end processor:
GRETNA, the SRC gateway is firmly in service and in addition to providing interactive terminal access to all SRCNET hosts also supports file transfer to them, including the IBM systems at Rutherford and Daresbury Laboratories. These later links replace the 2780 link on the KI-10 although the route by which output is returned to the user is cumbersome at present. Files can be transferred between Edinburgh and the York DECsystem-10 also, and to the GEC MUMs - and later, transfer to the PRIME MUMs will be possible as well.
To achieve economies in staffing costs the 1091S machine has been set up in the main ERCC machine room where it will be serviced by ERCC operators in parallel with the other machines there. This has the advantage of extending the former 2-shift operator service to a full 24-hour one over a 365 day year (less public holidays and air conditioning plant maintenance weekends!).
Fortunately, because much of the 1091S equipment is new, it was possible to set it up in the new location whilst maintaining service on the old machine. The service was closed from 20-27 Oct whilst disk drives and peripherals were moved downstairs and communications rationalised and re-connected.
To assist the UMIST staff in assuming their responsibilities as a PRIME installation and as central SRC support for PRIME machines, Edinburgh has taken over user support of the remote users of the UMIST DECsystem-10 until that machine closes down about May 81, although the population supported will decrease as groups transfer to the UMIST PRIME or other machines.
Rapid Response 12 sec.3 listed the packages currently available in this area. This is the first of several articles which describes them in more detail. It covers the digital system simulation packages ISPS and DDLSIM and the digital logic simulator DIGSIM. All are currently available on ICF DEC-10s only but can be accessed via the network. Details can be obtained from Dr John McLean at RAL.
This package allows interactive simulation of a digital system described in the language ISPS which is the computer implementation of the Instruction Set Processor (ISP) language. This allows a digital system (of which digital computers are a subset) to be described at the register transfer level or at the programming level. The ISPS language was designed to describe digital systems. The ISPS simulator was designed to allow the user to set break points and interrogate the status of hardware at any point during the simulation. The simulator can also be used to initiate separate processes, which can be complete ISPS descriptions, and hence simulate concurrent systems.
ISPS has many other advanced features including those which allow the user to gather data on the cost-effectiveness of hardware and to simulate hardware faults. At present there are about 20 ISPS descriptions of popular computer architectures. These descriptions can be used to create simulators which can 'execute' code for the target machine. In order to simplify the process of using these simulators, special purpose cross-assemblers have been developed for four popular 8-bit microprocessors. These cross-assemblers (for the 8085, 6502, 6800 and 680l) can produce code in a form suitable for direct entry into the corresponding ISPS based simulators. Alternatively, they can be used as conventional stand-alone absolute cross-assemblers.
This package allows batch simulation of a digital system which has been previously described in the language called DDL. This process is controlled by a file of previously prepared simulation statements. DDL is a block structured register transfer language specially designed for describing digital hardware. It can handle combinational and sequential circuits and superficially it appears to have many APL-like constructs. The simulator is very versatile and can be used to simulate a large class of digital systems from register transfer descriptions to combinational networks. Therefore, it fills the gap between the ISPS simulator and conventional gate level simulators. However, the size of digital system which it can handle is much more limited than that normally associated with either end of the simulation spectrum.
The original DDL software has poor error checking facilities and the corresponding error messages are somewhat obscure. To overcome this problem, the DDL description and the DDL simulation control file are pre-processed by programs which carry out extensive error checking and issue meaningful error messages. This procedure has the added advantage that it gives the user the option of writing descriptions in an extended language which is much more readable than the original abbreviated notation.
This is a suite of interactive programs which allows the user to prepare data for the main batch mode logic simulation program, and to display graphically the resulting network. After the rigorous statistical simulation has been completed, the results can be analysed by interactive post-processing. This logic simulator differs from most conventional logic simulators on three important points:
There are now 11 PRIMEs, consisting of 3 750s, 5 550s and 3 400s. With the delivery of the 750 to UMIST the support of the PRIMEs is being gradually moved to UMIST. Unfortunately due to temporary staff shortages the support of PRIMEs has been strained but is now improving. During the next few months the software on all the sites will be replaced with the latest version which also includes codes for connecting to the SRC network. The new systems will be more reliable and include new useful facilities.
There are now 16 GEC computers running ICF systems. 7 of these were not ICF funded. There has been only one new release of the software. This was introduced in October. As well as being more reliable it includes a large number of useful enhancements for user convenience and efficiency. The new system is also required to further the convergence to the Post Office network standards.
All the machines have continued to be highly reliable.
SRC - Whilst happily the PDP10s recently joined and the PRIMES will soon join the SRC network, the GECs are spearheading the development of facilities which make the network easier to use. During the next six months all the machines should attain a uniformly high standard of reliability and facilities.
DEC 10 - The gateway between SRC network and the PDP10S at ERCC is now fully operational, see Section 4.
PRIME - The target date for connecting the PRIMEs to the SRC network was the end of 1980. That date was pessimistic and one of the PRIMEs has now been connected to the network since the beginning of October with both interactive and file transfer traffic. There is still a considerable amount of work to tie up the loose ends. Over the next few months the remaining PRIMEs will be connected as experience and confidence in the product increases.
GEC - Several useful developments have taken place. These include the provision of a network status facility to enable the state of the network to be monitored easily. Several facilities to make the network more convenient have been included: in particular to allow print and plotter output to be automatically returned to the nearest printer and plotter.
Asynchronous Protocol - Several sites are now using this provision. There have been several problems with the PDP11 versions but there is now a student devoting his time to improving the software. There was a presentation of the system at Networkshop and it is hoped to develop an agreed university standard.
York University has provided the SRC with a much needed gateway between the X25 based SRCnet and the ICF DECnet networks. The contract was managed by the Joint Network Team. The Gateway (already called GRETNA) consists of a small computer which logically exists on both networks and is physically sited at ERCC. The Gateway is designed ultimately to support interactive terminal access (ITP), file transfer facilities (FTP) and remote job access (RJEJ. Only the first of these is available on a service basis at present. The second is available in provisional form and the third will be in the New Year.
Terminal users may look through this Gateway from either side and login to Host computers on both networks. The Gateway performs the necessary protocol translations. To users on either side of the Gateway it appears to be a Host in its own right but the commands that it can process are limited to those necessary to set up a terminal to Host link.
Two classes of commands are supported:
Documentation on the use of the Gateway is provided in a comprehensive form in the Edinburgh DEC 10 Installation Manual Part 3 Section 3A55C. Online documentation is also available. Enquiries about use of the Gateway should be directed to your installation management or User Interface Group in the Computing Division.
The SIGCAAD completed its work and made a number of proposals (summarised below) which were submitted to the ICFC.
These three proposals were accepted by the ICFC and incorporated into the Pre- and Post-Processor Implementation Programme.
These six proposals were accepted but the ICFC felt that it would not be practicable to transfer existing CAAD programs to a single machine and would encourage future effort to concentrate on a machine for development work. The last should be incorporated into the normal HELP system if possible.
On the advice of the Building Subcommittee the ICFC rejected these two proposals as being more appropriate to SRC grant funding.
When staff become available to implement this programme a Steering Group will be set up to monitor their activities. For further details contact P Kent at RAL, Atlas Centre.
David Lindsay Bowen has recently been appointed as an AI systems programmer to succeed Allan Ramsay, who has left to take up a research fellowship at Sussex.
Dr J A M Howe has taken over as chairman of AISIG from Dr Sloman. Dr Howe is already responsible for the AI programmers funded by the ICF.
A Lisp based algebraic system REDUCE has been mounted on the DEC-10 at Edinburgh. It will be maintained but not extended. Allen Ramsay has installed the AI community's standard WPOP on a DEC-20 in Liege.
The SIG now has two long term aims. The most important is to ensure that software supported by the ICF funded programmers is fully utilised by the existing ICF community. The second is to make a contribution to the assessment of personal computers for the third phase of ICF development.
Two courses have so far been run at RAL for ICF electromagnetic software. The second covered the packages BIM2D, PE2D and TOSCA and was successfully completed by 16 people in April 1980.
An open meeting of the SIG was held on 13 November, the theme being 3-D Computations. The invitation to this gives advance notice of a further course on the programs BIM2D, PE2D and TOSCA, which is to be held 6-8 Jan 1981 at RAL. Application forms may be obtained from N J Diserens. The course may include THESUS/GFUN training. Additional courses are being planned for the period April-June 1981.
A newly designed AL54 Application form is being produced by the SRC. It is hoped that it will help applicants to specify computing requirements more accurately and in greater detail, thus enabling Computing Facility Managements to deal faster with applications.
Major changes in the form are:
The form is designed to be completed and submitted prior to SRC grant application. It will be brought into use before the grant round closing date 15 December 1980. Stocks will be available from: MUM Managers, University Computing Services, SRC Laboratories, and SRC Central Office(Swindon).
The procedure for reporting faults on ICF Terminals is being modified to try to improve control of the maintenance contract and monitor the performance of the equipment.
Holders of an ICF terminal should, in future, report all faults directly to the Computing Division RAL.
When the fault is reported it will be assigned an Incident Report Number which will be notified to the person reporting the fault. Please ask for it and use it when referring to the fault.
If an engineer is called to the site to carry out repairs please ensure that the fault is cleared before the engineer leaves.
Holders of terminal equipment have been notified by letter of this change in procedure.
DBOS is a library of FORTRAN subroutines providing the application programmer with the ability to construct a disk oriented data base management system within his program. It is particularly suitable for those developing computer-aided architectural design software. Originally recommended by the Pre- and Post-Processors Working Party, it is now mounted on the ICF GEC machines for user assessment.
For further details and a copy of the manual, contact Ian Benest at RAL.
The Bradford University graph-drawing package SIMPLEPLOT is being purchased for use on ICF machines. This package produces graphs of a quality good enough for publication. The subroutines are easy to use and a wide range of facilities for page layout and annotation of graphs is available, in addition to the graph- and surface-drawing routines. SIMPLEPLOT is being modified to use the GINO-F graphics package, allowing access to a wide range of graphics devices. SIMPLEPLOT should be available on all ICF machines in the near future, and user manuals will be distributed at that time. For further information please contact your local MUM manager.
The SPAG Signal Processing System is now available on the GEC 4070 at Cranfield. Time could be provided for prospective users to try out the system on the Cranfield machine prior to moving it to their own GEC 4000 machine. The system offers the following facilities:
This package has been developed over the last 10 years by systems and vibration analysts as a development tool to improve analysis techniques. The programs not involving analogue input have been implemented on the MUM system. Input data to the standard programs is assumed to be digital. A dedicated micro computer system has been developed to perform the analogue to digital conversion and to store and transfer the resulting data files.
For further information contact P Kent at RAL Atlas Centre.
The DACD support team will be holding a series of tutorials in 1981 covering the analogue circuit analysis packages listed below. Tutorials will include lectures, worked examples and practical sessions and each one will last a full day. All the tutorials will be held at RAL Atlas Centre as follows:
Further details and application forms may be obtained from Dr John McLean at RAL.
This workshop is jointly sponsored by IUCC and SRC. It will be held at Sheffield University from 23-25 March 1981. Research workers, computer centre staff and users will be discussing ways of improving the methods used to advise and guide users, particularly the inexpert.
Areas covered will be Advisory Services (local and remote, Departmental), Help systems, Information Services, Training (advisers and users), User views, Package Support.
Contributions from all sections of the community are welcome and should be directed to: Mr A Gilmour Director, Computer Centre University College of Swansea.
RAL Computing Division expects to send representatives from User Interface Group (responsible for all user support) and would welcome user contributions involving experience of the ICF. If you wish to participate in this way please contact P J Hemmings, RAL Atlas Centre.
Because of financial restrictions throughout SRC it has been necessary to postpone the ICF User Meeting arranged for 21 November. It will be rearranged as soon as the financial situation permits.
From the date of this issue Jed Brown is Editor of Rapid Response and Mrs Muriel Dickson is responsible for production. The Rutherford and Appleton Library continues to be responsible for maintaining the distribution list for the newsletter.
