The GEC and PRIME machines have all performed well during the last month and we are not aware of any serious user problems. The IBM and ATLAS10 systems have both had problems but fortunately they have not prevented us from getting through the work. This reflects the fact that the work just does not seem to be coming through as we had expected. The storage overwrite problem on the IBM 3081D continues to cause difficulties and we typically have to IPL the MVT system at a rate of about once per day because of it. The problem is being actively investigated. Just for the record, the bad start up after Xmas was caused by a bad cable and had nothing directly to do with the fact that we had a shutdown.
Prime have delivered the new P9950 to UMIST and by the time you read this it should be in full service. Other Prime upgrades which will impact the users will be the subject of a Prime User Note in the near future.
This issue contains a copy of the paper submitted to the CCC Working Party looking at the Future Strategy for SERC Computing by the Joint Daresbury and Rutherford Appleton User Liaison Committee. The Working Party is meeting with the RAL User Liaison Committee on 27 January having already visited Daresbury at the end of last year. There is an important article on the FR80 replacement program which is now being implemented as a result of the CCC meeting in December. Any user who feels this will affect his or her work should contact us as quickly as possible.
You will have noticed that FORUM is a little heavier this month because of the very large listing all magnetic tapes in the Archive Store. If the list is of no relevance to you please throw it away.
Finally I have to inform you that as a result of further cuts in complement we have been forced to reduce the frequency of FORUM to six per year and the next issue will therefore cover two months. You should expect to receive it in early April.
Due to financial cuts by the Boards, the Central Computing Committee decided on 14 December to close the FR80 service as soon as possible and not later than 1 July 1984.
The FR80 produces three forms of output: hardcopy, microfiche and film. The hardcopy service will be replaced by a XEROX 8700 laser printer and an IBM 4250 electro-erosion printer. The XEROX 8700 provides mixed text and graphics output at 300 dots per inch and can print on both sides of separate A4 sheets. The IBM 4250 is also capable of mixed text and graphics and produces very high quality output - 600 dots per inch - on special aluminium coated paper which is particularly suited for use as masters for offset litho printing. Both devices will be operated online.
Microfiche will be produced by an online NCR 5330 fiche recorder; this has no graphics capability. Improved support for titling and indexing are available.
There will be no local production of 16mm and 35mm film output. Negotiations are taking place with ULCC regarding use of their DICOMED film recorder by SERC supported users for film output.
The decision to close the FR80 was made because of the high cost of maintenance, staff and consumables. The current stringent financial climate and the age of the machine have made it necessary to bring forward the whole replacement programme into 1984. We are confident that the more modern devices, all being operated online, will provide users with faster turn round and output of equivalent quality.
The new hardware will start to arrive in February but significant software developments are necessary to make the new service as compatible as possible with the old. In the short term, hardcopy and microfiche output routed to the FR80 from CMS and MVT will be rerouted to the XEROX 8700 and NCR 5330 respectively. Plans for MVS will be announced later. Other interfaces to the XEROX 8700 and IBM 4250 from SCRIPT, TROFF and GKS will be provided as quickly as possible.
Any user who believes that he will have problems as a result 0f the FR80 replacement should contact Chris Osland or Paul Thompson as soon as possible. We shall try to accommodate individual requirements but, as the timescale is short, users anticipating problems must come forward quickly.
The Daresbury and Rutherford Appleton Laboratories User Liaison Committees held a joint meeting at RAL on 2 December 1983. The major agenda item was a discussion on the Future SERC Strategy for Computing with an objective to submit the views of the meeting to the CCC Working Party 1ooking at this subject.
Dr Manning attempted to focus the discussion by summarising the three meetings of the Working Party to date. The meeting received a total of nine written submissions, one from each of the two Laboratories and the other from various user groups. The discussion was largely based around these papers.
The meeting agreed to bring the following Points to the Working Party's attention:-
There is an overwhelming case for the provision by SERC of central facilities which should provide:-
The successful exploitation of experimental data is not possible without such large central facilities.
There are many examples of centrally supported software without which the successful analysis of experimental data and advances in Computational Science could not have been achieved (eg the Collaborative Computational Projects at Daresbury). The success of the Interactive Computing Facility (ICF) was largely due to the strong central support.
Centralisation does not necessarily imply centralised funding (ie CCC) or geographical centralisation.
Despite Point number 3 above there was considerable debate on how to define the dividing line between single Board funding and Central funding. Individual views varied depending on the particular interest and there was not a general agreement on this issue.
Although the possible takeover of funding of computing at Daresbury by Science Board appears logical it is certainly not so straightforward at Rutherford Appleton where there is no dominant board.
The view was expressed that Direct Board funding is generally more successful but it was recognised that it is not practicable in all cases.
The Joint User Liaison Committee invites the CCC Working Party to take note of the above points when discussing the Future Strategy for SERC Computing.
We plan to withdraw all remote card readers from service on 31 March 1984. A card reader will remain in the Atlas Centre (R27) for the time being.
