From: mg@chorus.fr (Michel Gien)
Subject: Distributed Unix System on Transputers
Followup-To: poster
Organization: Chorus systemes, 6 av. Gustave Eiffel, 78182 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 00:35:17 GMT

ARCHIPEL AND CHORUS SYSTEMES ANNOUNCE THE FIRST TRULY DISTRIBUTED UNIX
SYSTEM ON THE TRANSPUTER

Paris, 10 August 1992 -- Today Archipel and Chorus syste`mes announce
the first transputer-based, distributed UNIX system. Built on Chorus
microkernel technology, Archipel's VOLVOX-TS family will be
available in September. The advance has been made possible by
integrating the Chorus operating system, CHORUS/MiX, into
Archipel's state-of-the-art VOLVOX MIMD (Multiple Instruction
Multiple Data) machines.

"Now parallel processing power is available in the UNIX Open Systems
environment, providing the execution power of a supercomputer at a
fraction of the cost," says Hubert Zimmermann, chairman and ceo of
Chorus syste`mes. "In the past this power has been available only
through proprietary operating systems. This severely limited access to
third party software applications and tools, and the ability to tap
the large experienced base of UNIX programmers. The VOLVOX-CHORUS
architecture changes all that."

CHORUS was designed from the beginning for multiprocessor
configurations, whether they be shared or distributed memory
architectures, utilizing microkernel technology with integrated
distribution. In other words, CHORUS has been a MIMD operating system
architecture from day one. It is also a UNIX System V compatible
operating system.

VOLVOX machines are high performance parallel computers, designed and
marketed worldwide by Archipel. The VOLVOX-TS line is built on
transputer technology using the INMOS T805 processor. Later VOLVOX-TS
versions will employ the T9000 transputer. Each processor has its own
memory and communicates with other processors using on-chip
communication facilities. The Chorus microkernel inter-process
communication functionality is mapped directly on to the T805
communications resulting in very high performance communications.

Applications can be distributed across the processors to increase
processing performance while the peripherals and functionality of each
processor are made available transparently to the programs on all the
other processors. This means, for instance, that as one transputer
supports a file and disk system, all the other transputers have access
to those files as if they were local. "The VOLVOX system can appear as
a single processor machine even though it can have up to 64
processors," says Alain Rosset, chairman of Archipel. This makes the
system much easier to use and apply especially for the non-specialist
user. With the T9000, the compute-node number will reach 2048 with
scalable performance increases.

Within VOLVOX, CHORUS has been integrated with Archipel's
VolAps and VolUse software, extending the UNIX and CHORUS environments
into a user-oriented parallel programming environment.

VOLVOX machines can be arranged in hyper-cube, rings, torus, binary
trees or any user-defined topology depending on the application
requirements. The platform integrates SCSI, graphic and Ethernet
accesses that are compatible with INMOS peripheral subsystems.

"These VOLVOX features, coupled with the real-time capabilities of the
CHORUS microkernel, make the platform the ideal machine to develop and
build high-performance, dedicated or embedded systems based on T4/T8
and T9000 transputers," says Rosset.

In addition, Chorus and Archipel agreed that the VOLVOX will be the
reference machine for CHORUS on the transputer.

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Chorus syste`mes SA, (Paris), and its subsidiary Chorus Systems, Inc,
(Beaverton, Oregon), design and market a family of microkernel-based,
modern operating systems that provide computer system manufacturers,
telecommunications equipment vendors, and board-level computer vendors
a powerful development environment in which to build next-generation
open systems. Chorus' CHORUS/MiX SVR4 product expands the
applicability of open operating system standards. Among major hardware
manufacturers that have publicly announced their choice of CHORUS
technology are Unisys, Alcatel, GPT (GEC-Plessey Telecom) and
SGS-Thomson (INMOS). UNIX System Laboratories announced a strategic
agreement and VAR relationship with Chorus in November 1991.

Archipel SA (France) designs, manufactures and markets the VOLVOX
range of high-performance, parallel architecture computers. Building
on four years' R&D investment in scalable hardware and software
architecture, the company already has 18 months' successful sales
effort behind it, particularly in North America via its local
affiliate. Users of the VOLVOX range include NASA, Canon, Nippon
Steel, Bell-Northern Research, Hydro-Que'bec, CERN, GMD
(Gesellschaft fu:r Mathematik und Datenverarbeitung),
Ae'rospatiale, Alcatel Alsthom, Dassault Aviation, and France
Te'le'com.

VOLVOX machines are fully-compatible and cover the entire
high-performance market spectrum. This ranges from the desktop
supercomputer to the parallel supercomputing centre, where Archipel
will be a significant competitor in the race for the TeraFlop, and
from the application specific system (multimedia, military, for
example) to the parallel computing research centre. The VOLVOX
hardware and software architecture has been designed to protect user
investment in applications by taking into account future and de facto
standards in US and European parallel programming environments and in
high-performance microprocessors.

-  ends -

Further technical details are available on request.

For further information:

Archipel SA
24, boulevard de l'Hopital
75005 Paris
France
Tel: +33 1 43 36 91 87  -  Pierre Leonard
Fax: +33 50 64 07 34
Email: leonard@archipel.fr

Chorus systemes SA
6, avenue Gustave-Eiffel
78182 Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines cedex
France
Tel: +33 1 30 64 82 00 - Hubert Zimmermann
Fax: +33 1 30 57 00 66
Email: zim@chorus.fr

Chorus Systems Inc.
15262, NorthWest Greenbrier Parkway
Beaverton, OR, 97006
USA
Tel: +1 503 690 23 00 - Will Neuhauser
Fax: +1 503 690 23 20
Email: will@chorus.com
Newsgroups: comp.newprod