OS/27/2021 08:56
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY ANNEX PRODUCTION SYSTEMPG
2RPT# 00149586 pbmovsov
cpyrept.
EDD RETRIEVAL RECEIPT** Value 99999999 cannot be displayed using »9.

(74)

Order: 024657
Document Nbr: 1247461
For: EDD
Copied: OS/27/2021
Shipped: OS/27/2021
Deliver To: Internal ILLIAD user
Item BarCode: 32911035189596
Item Title: Business week.
Item Autho r:
Item Call Number:
Item Vol/Part:
Article Title: WHERE MINICOMPUTERS DO ALL OF THE JOB
Article Author: NA
Art Vol/Part: NAArticle Issue:
Beg Page: cl 3G'lc f.J End Page: 9~§§§99 JB L Total Pages:
Other Info: 1247461
Notes: I Exempt!

~:J..-MUNICATIONS

Where minicomputers do 'all of _the job
A network of minis thatno lon-ger needs a big
expensive central authority
Data system designers have long tried
to string mini-computers together toform big processing systems-for
thesimple reason that mass production
and standardization make a string ofminis about one-fourth as costly as big
machines of comparable computing
power. But such efforts have bad only
limited success. Multiple minis havebeen designed into a number of systems, but much of the potential saving vanishedbecause the systems generally had to rely for centrsl guidance on a big andexpensive computer.
Now a- system developed at the University ofCalifornia at Irvine and·backed by the National
Science Foundationhaschucked the big centralthat large computers take in stride~
problems
involvingsuch areas ofhigher mathematics
as partial differential equations. But a mini can offer
unlimited capacity for small- and medium-sized programs. And says Professor David Farber, who heads the Irvine
project: "Small jobs are what happensin the real world."
The costs. The only hardware
neededbeyond the minis themselves is one Irvine-developed interface box per computer. These boxes would cost about$300 each to produce, Farber estimates,or possibly as little as $40 each usinglarge-scale circuit integration.

handle a mixed stream of cars andtrucks. But high-speed communication alone is not enough.
The big problem Irvine's researchers
think they have conquered-thatofeliminating the central control-meant
they had to devise a different way toassign workload among the minis. Irvine researchers solved it through an
ingenious system of having each mini"bid" on work. The user signs in with acoded message that races around thering describing the job he wants done.
Computers that have the speed andavailable capacity-to handle it quote a
price, and the user picks the cheapest

.:

--I

computer, and this seems
to work just fine. Irvine
researchers say they can~<1hook any number
andtype of minis together
and program them to split
up data processing tasks
according to the computing powers and available
capacity of each machine,
without using a centralcomputer. The minis, ineffect, form
one big,highly flexible machine.
An experimental Irvine
system, using three minis
1
made by Lockheed AirE
craft Corp., has begun
The ring acts as a single, highly flexible machine in which individual units can bid for jobs.
functioning and should bein full operation by September. If it
Irvine. is not alone in working on - one. Tha.price could be quoted in dolworks smoothly, it may point tile way
such mini networks, known as "ringlars for users who will actually pay forto significant benefits for computersystems." Be11 Labs, where Farber
the service, orin other charge units.
users-evenbeyond the basic cost adspent 1I years, and the University ofSome machines may come back withvantage of minis over maxi-machines.
Toronto are 'also doing ring research,several bids, based on alternative reThe Irvine system would let users start
but the Irvine project apparently is thesponse times. A machine that lacks
with a few minis and add others graduleader in actually getting into operenough capacity for the job may bidally. It also helps avoid duplicating peation.
nonetheless, figuring' to "subcontract"ripherals, a pitfall of using any size
Ultra-fast communication is essen'some of its workload to another memcomputers that are not interconnected.
tial to making the system work. Data
her of the ring at a lower price.
And because the Irvine system has nodances around the wires that connect
Flexibility. This ability to shift work if a"central authority" it cannot be shutthe computer ring at the rate of 2-milmore attractive job comes along, or if adown through the failure of the big- lion digital pulses per second. Thatcomputer needs to be shut down for reeomputer., A faulty mini is automatic-.
high-speed "bit stream" has more thanpairs, makes the system flexible and really bypassed until repaired or reenough capacity to handle the input
liable and helps insure that each complaced.
_.
and output for many computers andputer's capacity and special' computing
The system's drawback is that it canterminals, just as a circular expressway
abilities are used to the fullest. The
not handle _the kind of big programswith entrance and exit ramps mightuser never know5:-or needs to knowCQMMUNICA

lIONs. BUSINESS o"yEEK: July 14, 1973

i38"Kwhich computer is handling his work.
Once he accepts a bid, he files his program with the winning machine, which
may later pass the program to anothermachine.
An electronic message called a "control token" circulates continuously
around the ring. When a user wants a~.
cess to his program, he informs thecontrol token, which then interrogates
the interface box attached to each computer to see which machine contains

The major pluses:
Lower costs, flexibility,
greater security

16,000 SUPPORTING
MANUFACTURERS
ARE ALREADY HERE.
Whateveryou make,chancesare
good that when you locate inMichigan, you'll get all the help
you .need from Michigan's surprising number of suppliers andsubcontractors in your very
own field.
ForMichigan has16,000manu"
facturing companies operatingin virtually every imaginable industry.They include some of thelargest and most technologicallyadvanced firms in such fields astransportationequipment, chemical processing,·modular housing, paper and pharmaceuticals.
There are leading practitioners
in the tool and die, automationand metalworking production
fields and world-renowned specialists in food processing.
And there are thou" ~sandsof smaller companie~,- remarkably efficient andcompetitive - serving themany diverse needs of Michigan
industry. From machine parts topaper clips and from fabricatedwood products to complex electronic components. Plus everything in between, including
your needs.
Why Michigan?
Because of the supporting
technology ready to help you
make your products better. Plus
the large, diverse and highlysophisticated labor force available to you in Michigan, themature industrial state.
For information on all the reasons why Michigan is the ideal
state for your next plant location,
contact:William L. Welch, Executive Director, Office of EconomicExpansion, Michigan Department of Commerce, 521West
Ottawa Street, Lansing,Michigan 48913.

Michigan
38 L

the program at that moment. Then thedialogue can begin.
Because many programs are contained in many different machines, aring system can be made secure moreeasily than a single computer, Farbersays. Only an authorized user can gain
access to a given machine. "Industry
doesn't pay much attention to computer security because nobody has got
hurt yet," says Farber. "But industry isgoing to get hurt." Farber believes
that users may eventually shun single
big computers in" favor of mini rings
simply for security reasons.
At first, though, interest in ring systems will probably be confined to data
networks requiring many terminals;
hospital patient-surveillancesystems,universities,
hotel reservation
networks and the like. Dale Hanks, a senior data.system designer at Computer
Sciences Corp., predicts that ring systerns will have big appeal for airline
ticketing networks. Because computers
are the heart of these systems, most ofthem have total-and
wasteful-hardware duplication- in case of breakdowns. "With minis in a ring you don't
need duplication," he says. "You justhave one or two spares."
Customers. A group of Japaneseengineers has visited Farber's laboratory to
look-over his mini ring for a Japanese
railway reservation system they aredesigning. A federal agency is also
considering a ring data network.
Irvine, a computer-conscious campusthat has terminals _in dormitories andrequires that even social science students take a programming course, has
no plans yet to drop its 30o-terminal
IBM/360 for a ring network. But Farber
thinks rings have great promise foruniversities. "Our cost per terminal
connection
with the 360 has beenaround $5,000," he says. "You can get apretty good mini now for $900."
Rings within rings offer further p0tential. Eventually, Farber hopes, anIrvine ring might be hooked to a ringat, say, UCLA-50 mi, away-giving
Irvine students and researchers access tomore specialized hardware
and programs on other campuses.
•BUSINESS WEEK: July 14, 1973COMMUNICATIONS