The concept of an Atlas Data Store was developed and implemented over several years. The idea was to provide an automated filestore for users' and system data that could be accessed conveniently from computers connected via local or wide area networks, as well as from the mainframes in Atlas, speedily and without using unfamiliar commands. The capacity of the filestore would be limited only by the technologies of the day rather than by inherent system design.
The Data Store incorporated the successive Masstor, StorageTek and IBM automated tape handling systems described in this section. It also required major and continuous developments of software to provide the required functionality and to keep abreast of the evolving network architectures and operating systems of the time as well as the transition away from mainframe-centric facilities.
The development of the Data Store can be followed through the links to newsletter articles provided by this page.
