'fOl' : h lf!l!U'f' l f<t"Y!ll 

JROM: 

SUBJ: 

Chairman, Analytic Equipment Technical 

Committee 

a. s. Snyder, R/D 3501 

Report ot Special Study Group on FARMER-NOMAD 

15 Rav 54 

1. Transmitted herewith is the Report of Special Stud¥ Group on 

FARMER·NC>SA.D, as directed by motion approved by Analytic Equipment Technical 

CODIDittee at ita June 1954 meeting. 

2. The findings of this report represent the opinion of the undersi~ed 

Te)>resentiDG PROD o6J~, PRCD 82 and R/D 35. ?~. E. P. Iii:!uoorg, representing 

R/D 34, participated in the confereDceo, but stc-.rted on a leave of absence 

shortly thereafter; it wua decided that it vould. not be feasible for a replace• 

ment from R/D 34 to participate in drafting the report. 

3. The underaigned Join in exprecsin.3 appreciation f'or the spirit of 

.oolehearted co-operation &.QODg 'Personnel of the variou:J PROD and cc:'.3EC segments interviewed. Particularly helpful, 'l,,.-o, were th.oae technical "area men" 

trom PROD 821 vho steered us to the right people, e."l':i. helpci keep the conferences 

on a sOWJd technical baae by their intimate knowlcdce ot tha r.urront situations 

1D their particular areas. 

A,?~ g ~~r=fLr-. s.~:-JEL s. s1nv...;a, Rf:;> 35, Cba1rman 

I 1.1. -1-1 ;··-··-~ - ."<;J vv. l;.. v.;~._ -

L:O W. IATli30CI, R/D 35 

~<?cl\'- \-\\tr\\~~ G:::::~~<n: BURLEY', Jr., PROD o64 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 06-16-2014 pursuantto E .0. 1352a 

~OP SSSrtiiii FHOBI 

NSA Forrn 781-ClOS I Jul 52 TOP SEeRET FROTII 
NSA Form 781-ClOS I Jul 52 

Report ot 

Special Stuq Group OD 

Ana]¥t1c Requirements tor 

FARMER • NOMAD 

'Nov 1954 

TOP SE€RET FROTII 
'l.")1' · ,l·iSJlB'I' P:Re'fll 

COltdftB 

Page 

1. DTRO~'fIOR 1 

2. S'Ul4WtY or MACBDI SUPPORT 2 

3. MAJOR HEEL8 20 

' ... DISCUSSIOB 24 

5. BEC0114ENDA!IORB 29 

NSA Form 781-CIOS I Jul 52 
I 

T6P s~v>~ llift6Tll 

'l'Ol' SSGHu':P l'HO'fll 

1. DrmODUCTION 

1.1 Pursuant to a motion passed at the June 1954 meeting of 

the Analytic Equipnent Technical Committee, the FARMF.R-.t:O:Si\D Stud.J' Group 

waa aet up tor the purpose ot ~ing suitable preliminary studies ot 

Agency CCMINT needs tor large-sea.le analytic equipr-..ent and preparing 

recommendations leading to design studies. This group has interpreted 

thia directive as follows: 

1.1.l Sufficient inquiries would be made to establish broad 

categories of JDachine needs, vi th detailed ~sis of problc:a requirements to be left tor subsequent f'unctional design studies. 

1.1.2 Engineering characteristics ot proposed system(s), it 

mentioned at all, vould be discussed only f'ran the point ot view ot operational features, particularly in the light ot past experience. 

1.1.3 Problems ot collection ot traffic would not be directly 

1.1.4 Any particularly interesting observations aft'ectiDg other 

claeaea o"r equipaent WQll4 be notecl and made a part of this report. 

1 

NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 'fOP SE<;RE'f FROTII 
T()P S:Ee1ff..1T9

f.'lt()TH Toi, idl~G111 i'J:' l 'Hu'l'lf 

2. SWWlY ot MACHINE SUPPORT 

2.1 Seventeen conferences have been held with technical personnel representing various sega:ents of PROD and C0:3ro, with the cooperation and technical gutdance of cognizant PROD..821 personnel. In several 

cases, visits to operating a.re~s contributed to a better appreciation by 

Grou;p me;ibers. A few en"llytic area.a were omitted :f'ra:n the survey, ei tber 

because advance knovlE'dge plus advice of PROD-821 1&l1cated no ap;;>licability of largo-scale analytic equipment, or becauzo recent studies by 

various members supplied su.fficient c:la.ta for present purposes. The 

intorma.tion gnthered through the series of conf'erencco is discussed below, 

under five headings: 

a. Decryption 

b. Analytic Aids 

c. Data Handling 

d. Additive Problems 

e. Cipher J.%3.cbines 

2.2 necmt1on. The problem of deciphering and decoding 

uually occurs in connection vi th current and exploitable systems. The 

optimum procedure is determined by factors of t~liness, the volume of 

work, and the facilities available for data preparation. Egisting equipment ia adequate tor t~ese needs, though f'Uture develop:ents may indicate 

the desirability of including such processing in F.Am.m. Any increase 

2 

NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 T()P SE€RErr FROTII 
TOP s~vlJVP Vft6TH 

'fCif ~1c..Cttr:T li'tttJ't'll EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

P.1 86-36/50 USC 3605 

in demands for deceyptton,auch aa processing commercial cod.ea, could 

presumably be handled by an expansion of the volume ot equipment of the 

present type. 

2.2.1 Cipher-ma.chine Decl'lPtion. The main requirement here 1• 

that the machine be capable of analogu:lng the cryptologic processes of tb9 

different cipher machines. Speed must be sufficient to handle the anticipated volume without hurting the timeliness of the output. At pJ,"esent, 

these requirements are being met by using electrico.l r.;.r.3logs with typewriter and po.per-tape input. Should the volu;;:o.3 increase, the digital. 

computero vill probably be adequate; however, enorr..ous volu=~s could 

result 1n a bottleneck in data preparation ani in printed output. 

2.2.2 D~ccies. Decoding is re.ndled on standard n:t equii;.:::-:.:lt. 

When the MAlSi-::;; cquipzents are f'ully operatiei::.~l, it is hop-zi tb.::i.t all 

decoding will be done on 1·:.\ISIE. In scms problQ:3 

...._~~~~~~~--' 

it ~"OUld be desirable to have decod.inz facilities 

built into the FARHER equip.ent. In some Traffic Amlyais a&d. weather 

problems, decryption and decoding are both required. Here the big 

problem is data preparation and output. llle lar~ volr.:--a:.1 r:.:zy req-J.ire 

magnetic-tape input acd fast printer output. In so:::e cc.ces, e..utc:::i.tic 

editing rill be a necessiey before decryption and decod1n3 c:m proceed. 

In these syate;:s the vol~ is 

us~ small; decr;yption or decoding is done by ba.cd concurrent vi th the 

requ1re4 anaJ.Tt1c work. When the vol.um sud4e~ becm.es quite large, 

3 

NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 'f()P SE~RE'f FROTII 
the digital computer is generally able to ful.:f'ill the need. Occaaionally 

the economics ot the situation indicates the need tor a special-purpose 

device. EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

2.3 AnibTiic Aids. 

' 

The preparation of 

these types of analytic aid, vhen moderate in size, will continue to be 

the specialty of punched-card equip::ent for so:r.e tice, n:uch\as has been 

the custom in r-o.st years. Recent high-speed ccx:;::~rcial develcp::~nts ind.1· 

cate t'.h~.t ~tic te.pes, controlled by ls.rge electronic data. .. procec:sin,g 

equi:p::snt, rt:~ take over a larec portion of t.h.<? taGk wt.en volu-:.~s end requisite cpeeds dictate. Hm1e7cr, the inclusio;J. 1n o~ syotom of facilitiea 

tor :s.nipulo.tion of data to form a. printed ir.t1.e~c, togeth~r Vi.th\ tho c.nticipated tremendous e.n:U.ytic potential of other FJl.X133 u:iito, is l::o<.-:r..d. to 

increaae the possibilities for n1JW and interestinc an~ic &'plic~tic:l3. 

The t::~chine procccses neceseary to ?C:lke indexes practicdlly aci efficiently, 1.Dclude ability to sort rapidly m:.d. with flexibility a::; to field 

of data, and ability to collate and select. For prop~r balcnce, attention 

should again be given to data-preparation require.".t~nts and to provicic~ 

ot f'ac::!.lities that will produce printed copy rapidly. 

2.3.2 .2;ther catalogs. There are included in this ca.teG<)r,y\such 

jobs aa J:Sld.ng catalogs of cipher alphabets for cipher.:r.::i.chines, and 

making catalogs of cipher-machine settings I .... ___________ __, 

In such probleJ:s the input data is SD.ll and larse e::.:JUnts of 1nf'or=at1on 

must be generated and printed out. Present equip:ent is more than adequate 

tor handling tbe jobs described above. 

4 TO:P ~Cfl:!!'t l'ftel'f!t 

NSA Form 781-CIOS I Jul 52 TOP SECRET FROTII 
.. 

2.3.3 Mat~e.F!-tical jobs. 

loving t7,pes of problems& 

In this ca.tegoey are included the fol• 

a. Construction ot mathematical and ate.till tical tables. 

b. L1 near calculations such aa m.trix inversion, evaluation of determ1Danta, solution of syetewa ot simultaneous linear equations, eigenvector and eigenvalue 

determination. 

c. Direction-f'iming problems. 

d. Analysis of noise modulation systems. 

These problems are best serviced by high speed computers apecif'ica~ 

designed tor mathei:!3tical problems. Such machines are comercially 

available, and the Agency bas several. 'l'bese problems constitute a s-11 

traction of the over-all work load on the caiq>uters. It ia therefore 

felt that this area is adequately covered by existing facilities. 

2.3.4. Die.gn.ostic progrmno. Progress bas recent]Jr been made 1D 

diagnosing unknown systems by applying a battery ot statistical tests to 

a sample of the traf'tic. The demands of tbe analysts are increasing tor 

lllDre extensive tests on larger vohmles ot material. 

2.3.5 Research .lobs. Some ai:ia]Jrsts have found it convenient to 

use computer programs to tr;y out nev aaalytic techniques before committing 

them to a full production program. These jobs, l1ka JDaDY other one-time 

jobs tram vbicb they differ little, se• to be baml ed well by presezrt 

CClllp\lter tac1lit1es. 

NSA Farm 7Bl-C10S 1 Jul 52 TOP SEERE'f FR()TH 
'f0P SECH1E~ft()TH 

Al though not 1dent1t1ed V1 tb arq part1cula:r 

class of cryptographic systems, the mere rearrangement or clasa1f1cat1on ot 

large volumes of data is itself the basis tor uncovering relationships 

not possible to detect in raw, unordered material. Although it :la trequently necessary to combine complex processing with rearrangement, in 

this discussion of data-handling mention 1s made only ot those areas or 

uses where this amr.lytic method. is ccmpa.rativcly free of other complicating processes. Data-handling in combination with more complex processes is discussed in later sections. 

2.4.l l!:!!t~c .Arl.s.tysia ~J\elated Px:.ob~...: Probably the 

greatest bulk of data received on a continuiag ba.ais is band.led by gro~s 

assigned to trafi'ic a.Da.l.ysis, flight service, and air defense. The 

acbine processing is predominantly ot one type: the preparation, tor 

atu.ay by the ~sto, of listings of pertinent data sorted according to 

ec.ch of a number of into:nr~tion 1 tems. Theoretica1 studies are under vq 

to test the practicality of automatic ma.chine techniques tor derivation of 

intelligence from data, to partially eliminate the preparation of printed 

listings in the f'u.ture. lt'.eanwbile, receipts number millior.s of messages 

per month, and curtent processing facilities are ba.ndling o:il.y a cmall 

traction. Tbs need is both to procure and. process still greater volumes, 

further emphaa1z1Dg the importance ar editing, punching, sortins,a.nd 

listing. Furthermore, the essence of success 1n this field ts timeliness. 

Daily interpretations should be the goal. Successtul tiJDaly treatment of 

6 

NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 T0P SEERET FROTII 
'f'OP liGOR:l3'f PRO'fll 

this great bulk or material requires solution of the parallel problems 

ot transmission, editing, and punching. Increase in facilities tar transmitting data to Agency collection headquarters frCCl the field, including 

some degree ot format control, will be a necescary prelimimry step to 

successtu1 use of automatic-editing techniques. Recent recognition of 

the importance of clevelopiDg techniques for autccatic editing is encourasing; the urgency of this cannot be ove~baaized. 

2.4.2 Plain u.:..n.~~· Sa:ne 2,000,coo r:essases p3r month, available on punched cbedless tape wi tb overprinting, are scQ.l'l11ed tor :f.mportant 

subject matter by searching for the presence of expressions and addresses 

1n varied order and lengths from selected lists. Experience indicates 

that only approximately 2\1fa ot the messages contain intelliaence which 

warrants preparation ot bard copy for further inspection. A m.cbirie pro• 

cess to perform this f'unction must 1.Dclude facilities tor storege ot key 

words and phrases and for n:s.Jdng same decision upon recognition of one or 

more such expressions in a stream of plain-l.aJlguage &aterial. Under 

present practice, the decision is followed by production of a printed 

message together with a category identification. Special-purpose equipment bas been designed tor this requirell!ent and should be available within 

a year. It 1s unlikely that FARMER would be utilized for this :part1cula!' 

appl1catio11, but techuiques are required that will moat likely be available 1n FABMER. 

2.4.3 Practice Traffic. A large and amioyi!Jg problem is the 

7 

NSA Form 781-CIOS 1 Jul 52 'F0P SECRE'F FR0TII 
examiMtion ot large volumes of messages to separate operattonal or perti• 

nent traf:tic from practice or non-pertinent tratf ic by some predetermined 

criterion. In some cases, practice traffic represents a lb.rge percentage 

of total tratf'ic and must be separated for the sake ot homogeneity. ID 

addition, it is of analytic value to study on a continuing basis cr,yptograpbic systems and procedures used in practice traffic. The basis for 

performing traffic separation is not always the same, but the machine 

techniques are related to those required 1n automatic editing and in plaintra:f'f'ic scanning. Both require ability to perform test decr,yptions. 

2.4.4 File Maintenance. The increase in breadth of the Agency's 

intelligence-gathering activities through the years has led to the accumulation ot an enormous amount of collateral information. This vealtb of 

miscellaneous factual data bas become an indispensable source ot reference 

material for the analysts, but its usefulness is ofte:i measured by its 

completeness a.ad availability to the analyst. The sorting, filing, and 

collation required to maintain files numbering many millions of items 

deserves serious consideration for treatment 1'oth by automatic tile-maintenance equipment and also by some process that provides more direct 

access1b111ty of particular items for the analyst. 

Additive Problems. MacbiZJe applicability is treated below 

urader three beadings: 

a .... I _____ __. 

EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

b. Exploitation 

c. Reading 

a 

NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 TOP SE€RET FR0TII 
.. 

'i'eP SBCR:B'l' Fftf>'ff I EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

"Additive" here is meant also to include certain substitution systems 

involving the combination of key and plain. 

9 

NSA Farm 781-CIOS I Jul 52 1'()P SEC:RE1' FR()'fH 
EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

NSA Farm 781-CIOS I Jul 52 TOP SEC:RiT FROrfiiam fRO!H 
EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

11 

NSA Form 781-ClOS I Jul 52 
T()P S1E€ft~Sf9*FROTII EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

':POP SECRB~ r'ftO'fl{ 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

12 

NSA Form 781-CIOS I Jul 52 TOP SE€RE'F FROTII 
EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

FL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

NSA Form 781-ClOS I Jul 52 'FOP SECRET FR()TH 
EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

l4 

NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 T()P SE€RET FR()TII 
'F0P ~€B~•RO'fll EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

g:i9p SE9iM FftOTlt 

2.6 Cipher :V.achines. Cipber-1!'!.&Chine problems are a n:sJor 

present aml :tuture concern of PROD,, both in ceyptamlytic effort expended 

and in potential value of intelligence derived. Ma.chine attacks on these 

problems bave two outstanding characteristics: (1) the large nucber of 

trials required, and (2) the great variety and ind.ivicluality of problems. 

1'he second characteristic follova naturally f'ram the f'irst; tor ms.n;y 

cipber--.chine problems would be impossib~ long it they did not direct 

their attacks at the 1Dd1v1dual points of weakness, which are different 

15 

NSA Form 781-CIOS I Jul 52 
iOF SBCfl:B'f f".Korn 

tor every different cipher device. Despite the great variety ot problems, 

it is possible to make sane general statements, at the risk, of course, 

ot making some statements tbat apply very que&tioMbly to some individual 

cases. The attack on a particular cipher device gen>Srally falls into 

three phases: 

a. Basic recovery of the structure of the machine, 

wirings, etc. 

b. Recovery ot machine elements that remain constant 

for some period of t~, such as pin patterns, notch 

positions, pluggings, etc. 

c. Setting of individual messages. 

EO 3.3(h) (2) 

PL86-36/50 USC 3605 

2.6.2 Recovery ~ a ma.chine set-up generally proceeds by more 

straightforward ~rocesses but still requires long, complicated repetitive 

trials OD am.11 segments ot text. 

2.6.3 When solution of the indicator system fails, setting of 

J.6 

NSA Farm 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 ~()P SECBE~ FBO'FII 
TOP Sf!f3!ffilFPROTII 

'l'OP lfil611i!l'f PHO'f'H 

individual messages can be the most laborious phase of all, since every 

message must be processed individual~. The tremendous number ot possible 

settings makes essential the use of a statistic sharp enough to avoid overwhelming the ana~st with random answers. 

2.6.4 Machine attacks on cipheroomachine problems repeatedly involve certain basic types of manipulative processes. The most fundamental 

of these is decryption, partial or complete, a process whose exact nature 

will of course depend on the device attacked. Typical processes include 

decryption through a rotor maze or generation and application of a key 

stream. Another basic type of process needed is the generation ot settings 

in a device that may step according to complicated rules. Finally, the 

results of each trial mu.st be scored according to some criteria, which 1'JJlq 

be complicated. 

2.6.5 Certain cryptanalytic machine attacks vould benefit from 

the availability of equipment that can generate, store, and make reference 

to large catalogs in an integrated operation. More important, certain 

attacks on cipher machines have been proposed based on\ 

\ The outstanding requirements are to store and ma.m,pulate huge L...------' 

volumes of data. The provision of such facilities should make possible 

unique and valuable analytic attacks. EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

17 

NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 TO~ SECRE1' FR01'H 
EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

RL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

2.6.6 More apec1fically1 we are called upon to deal with two broad 

types of cipher machine and with a number of uniqile macbiJ)es. The :f'irst 

broad type is the wired-rotor maebtne, used by both the United States and 

aome foreign governments. Som'? aspects of this problem are\receiving 

considerable attention on COlllJ?uters, on SIED1 and on '>tber specialpurpose equipments as well a.s on comparators and stand&rd DM. \\ A big 

problem remains. Any general-purpose equiplllent that meets these problems 

would likely also be: able to handle any requirements f'rom CO~:SEC .• 

2.6.6.1 '!he second broad type is the teletype scrambler, -eypif'ied 

byl Ii Analysis of' these ma.chines 

requires opE>ra.~ions on long streams of bits. Tbe cycle ot the zm.cbine 

can be very long, so that attacks must proceed at very high speed 

However, the preparation of data f'orr 

C:-38 

2.6.6.2 The Ba.gel1n -e-28- is well covered at present by computer 

programs and special-purpose machines. A.Dy CX-52 traffic that appears 

will tax our present f'acili ties severely. It will require :more complicated1 faster programs; and most of' the present special-purpose equil>Dl"'nt 

vill not be applicable. 

18 

NSA Farm 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 TOP SECRET FROTII 
'feP BBeRH'l' J:"'HO~I EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

2.6.6.3 Thtt simple B-211 is a small problem, adequately handled. 

The modified B-211 problem relies heavily on FROG, with some assistance 

trom computer programs. When the./lndicator system is unreadable, we have 

a serious volume problem of message setting. 

2.6.6.4 The l .... ___ .... lmachines currently are used as generators ot 

additive key and do not demand much machine attention as a cipher-machine 

problem :ger .!!.• It plain text were enciphered through the ma.chine, this 

problem, which trom the anaqtic machine point of view is now an additive 

problem, would become a cipher-machine problem. 

2.6.6.5 The recent appearance of' Gretener traffic poses some 

serious and unusual problems. The cryptography of the D!.a.Cbine is so dis• 

tinctive that it JDaY' strain the versatility of even a general-purpose 

amU.ytic unit. Information inside the machine appears not as characters 

but as many simultaneous streams of bits. Furthermore, the large number 

of possible settings and permutations of components ~ make message 

setting laborious. The 14-baud nature of the cipher also complicates the 

intercept problem. 

19 

NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 
T9P SB6ll8'£' J.ilHO'ff f 

3• MAJOR MEEDS 

3.1 Listed belov are tbe :najor analytic needs not adequately 

fultilled by present equipnent. These needs are sum:m.rized at tbia point 

vitbou:t; &111' iq>Ucation that they are all to be satisfied by FARMER equipJDeAt. 

NSA Form 781-ClOS l Jul 52 

a. Preparation of' data. 

Maey analytic projects are fast approachtns a 

volume which can be handled only if autcm:atic editing 

and automatic de.(luping become available. 

b. Sorting, Ind.exiDP. a.u Listiy. 

When no complicating requiremant is present, add.1• 

tiona.l speed for large volumes of material 1a chief 

factor. Equipments now on order are expected to 

satisfy needs, except possibly tor high-speed printing• 

a. Treatment of output data trom smll-scale zr.acbines. 

There exists a repeated requirement tor incediate 

sorting-listing-indexing ot tape output data. 

4. File Maintenance. 

V.assive; probably deserving ot a set of its own 

magnetic tape equipzz;ents. 

•• Sca.nni~. 

Massive; allied 1n concept to de-duping and auto20 

'f()P SECRE'F FR0'FII 
ma.tic editing approaches; special recognition and 

printin& requirements. 

t. Sel>!r!tiol'.1 ot Prn~tice Tra:r:ric. 

Massive; partly a scanning technique usiDS predetermined recognition characteristics; partly a 

statistical testing. 

I• !?!!. tJ.nOatic Arz_J.yais. 

1 • 

Preparation of a series ot ana11't!c am. statistical 

testings lili11 ted in scope only by the anal.1't1c macbiner,r 

avn.ilo.ole. 

deJl'lmd.f.nG high speeds and ability to handle tremendowJ 

volUE.es of datai coincider.~e rate and/or recognition 

prOVide the testing criteria. 

£!p~cr-ke;[ - SJ?!3l 1 er volume than cipher-cipher; but 

requiri!lg :more flexible sco~ing. 

Kev-!:ey - vol~ still Sl'Juler, but matching~ also 

be to detect (l) isc:iorphiem am (2) imperfect coincidence. 

........................ · ___ ___ 

EO 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 21 

NSA Form 781-CIOS I Jul 52 
NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 

E.o 3 . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

•• Cipher-lb.chine Attacks. 

An~lo~rl.t1F-t - Decrntion, partial. or cmqplete, :I.a 

needed at bishe:r speed. tmn 1B now available. 

Ccm~l - Bish ~eds mat be applied to mme campUcated control ed decision procedures than are DOii' nail• 

a'ble in flexible hish-speed equipmmt. 

Scorin~ - 'I'he nur:iber of tests is trequent]1' ao tremendous that oncy the ability to use a b:tshl1' cUaanswers within practicable proportioas. 

Sec0!4m7 test;tM • Even :lD the beat or c1rcumstancea, 

the m•ber or nndcm ansvera mq be so large aa to requ.iN 

that secoDlal".r teatiDg be a ma.1or portion o:t the total 

ettart. 

22 

TOP SEC:RET FR()TII 
NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 

' 

Generating, sorting, ca:taloguins - Ability to sort 

large volumes ot generated data in an integrated 

operation is needed tor certain attacks. 

23 

TOP SECRET FROTII 
'f()P SEtJft=tJ196FR6TII 

4. DISCUSSION 

4.1 Analytic Advantages. The proposed FARMER system ot equipment would provide two important advances in analytic power: (l) a simultaneous increase in speed and flexibility ot equipment and (2) the ability 

to :Interconnect blocks ot equipsent that ordil'Jarily would belong to separate 

machines. In evaluating the ability ot the proposed project to satisfy 

the needs ot PROD, attention should be paid to both these characteristics. 

4.1.1 The proposed system of equipment vould provide several other 

advantages: (1) compatibility of input-output media for a large class ot 

equipment, (2) uniformity of design and DBintenance, (3) possibility Of 

putting a part of the total system into operation while other parts are 

still being designed and constructed, and (4) ability to incorporate into 

the s711tem units to satisfy as yet unpredictable analytic needs. 

4.2 Since editing and straightforward data band.ling can be carried 

out on less power:f'ul. equipment than FARMER, the principal need for FARMER 

is in the two fields of additive and cipher-n:a.chine problems. Although 

there are few problems in PROD that would not profit tram the availability" 

of' more powertul analytic equipment, it is these two classes ot problems 

that suf'f'er most :trom the inadequacies of present equipment. 

4.3 Speed with flexibility is the key to the machine att&ck on 

cipher-machine problems, at present and 1n the future. Rot only are there 

recognized approache1 which on present-dq equipnent are 1mpossib~ time24 

NSA Forrn 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 
':FOP SBORB'f F1l9'i1

H 

consuming; but there is already indication tbat cipher machines will become more complicated in tuture years, so that even presently acceptable 

techniques will take too long to carry through. Moreover, even tor the 

problems that are presently vulnerable, an increase in th3 speed ot anal,ytio 

equipment would often lead to quicker solutions by saf'er but beretotore too 

time-consuming methods, eliminating the delays caused by reliance on qlJick 

but unsuccessful programs. 

4.4 'l'he increase 1D speed of processing will bring vitb it sane 

serious statistical problems as the number of trials increases. The consequent increase in the number of random answers will greatly increase the 

importance ot secondary testing, whether by band or by machine. F~r band 

testing, the difference between success and failure in a particular project 

mtJ.7 depend OD cutting down the number ot random answers by a.rransiDS the 

m.cbilJe scoring equipmsnt to use the sh:apest statistical criteria possible. 

nexibility ot the scoring unit is therefore ot great impor""..ance. '!'bis 

argument applies to additive systems as well as to cipher machines. 

Ja..5 It seconda.17 testing is, by choice or necessity, to be done 

b7 machine, the intermediate results must be f'ed into another machine, 

either directly or through an inp11t-output m...odium. Such a medium must be 

able to read a.114 write i::ltormation at high speed. In JDaJ:J.Y cases the rate 

~ production ot intermediate answers will exceed the m::lmum rate o-r 

operation ot aftilable input-output media, so that it becomes desirable 

to cmmect one machine direc~ to mother. The problem ot relative apeeda 

NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 
'!!QP S:SSRE'f PRe'f'H 

here suggeGts an assembly consisting of a high-speed ana~ic unit feeding 

intermediate answers, through suitable interlocks, to a computer 00type device._ -

As cipher machines appear with Dl.Ore alld. more possible settings, more and 

more emphasis will have to be put on primary testi.D.g that does not isolate 

a unique ansver but merely reduces the number ot possibilities by a 

moderate f'actor. 

4.6 For the most part the attack OD cipher ma.ch~& uses specialpurpose devices where available and relies OD general-purpose computers 

for the remaining problems. Where the volun:.e of stamarclized work bas 

Justified their construction, the special00purpose n:acbines have handled 

their job well. Their success emphasizes, by contrast, the frequent iD· 

adeq,uac7 of general-purpose computers for these problems. The success ot 

certain ca11>Uter programs should not be allowed to obscure the fact tbat 

gene::ral•P\Jl'PO&e computers are too slO"w for a great 'l!!3JZJY machine-cipher 

problems. Special-purpose devices are already available which satisfy 

the requirements of speed; but the need in the future is tor generalpurpose ma.chines -- or mchine components -- which will bandl.e the problems 

as they come up without the delay or expense involved in cmstructing a 

special device for each problem. 

4.7 Aml.ytic EqW.;pp:ent Design Philoso,pb,v• 

4. 7 .l nDirect" vs "Stored-Progr'llll" • The processes involved in 

analytic problems are presently carried out by two basically dUterent 

machine approa.cbes. In the "direct" approach, exemplified by SIED I, 

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NSA FDrm 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 TOP SECRE'F FR()'fll 
components are a.esembled, through plugboard coDnect1ons, in such a wq as 

to ce.rry out the desired :functions 1n a direct msllllt=r. !n the "stored• 

program" approa.ch, used by the digital ca::puters, the machine refers to 

its storage for instructions, which initiate successive simple operations 

whose total effect is to carry out the desired operation. The stored.-

program approach has the advantage of permitting a single machine to handle 

a large variety of probler.a, at the expense of a loss of speed; tba direct 

approach bas a large advantage of speed at the expense of a lack of :f'lex1-

b111 ty for any given aseemb'.cy of equipt:ent. For m;m.y jobs requir~nts 

of speed clearly demnd that the basic operaticms be carried out by direct 

equ1p:ant UDder the ::f.mmedia.te control of other direct equip?:.ent. 'I"ne 

operations that are required less :rrequently may, accordil3g to cOLVenience, 

be carried out either by direct or by stored-program equipr:aent. The 

amount of equipment required for direct control increases in proportion 

to the complexity of the program, while stored-program cCD.trol requires 

nearl.1' the same amount ot equipment tor all Jobs. It miq tberef'ore be 

moat convenient to carry out ample programs completely with direct equipment but to use a ccmbi.Dation of direct and sto.l'ed-prog:a""m:l equipment for 

complicated programs. 

4. 7 .2 Cmibined Equipent. The combimtion of direct end storedprogram equipment into a single assembly is a major ana]ytic advantage 

tbat FARMER equipment will offer. Another type ot combimtion that is 

atrong:cy needed is that of flexible analytic equipment vi th large-volume 

!0~ SEe:RB! F.RO'Bl 

NSA Form 781-CIOS I Jul 52 T6P SE€RE'f FR0'FII 
• 

EO .) . 3 ( h) ( 2 ) 

PL 86~J6/50 USC 3605 

high-speed data-band.ling facilities. / 

4.7.3 Increased Anal.ytic Potential. To a large extent, the 

tbink1ng ot both crypta.Dalysts and machine tecbniciaDa is ccmditicme4 'b1' 

the capabilities and utilization of present equipment. 1'be availability 

of FARMD equipment, with great ana~~ic power aDd flexible combination 

ot fac111t1ea, 1111Q" be expected to broaden ~ic horizons. By its 

Tfll:7 nature, this advantage is impossible to evaluate at the present 

time; but it should by no means be underrated. 

NSA Form 781-CIOS I Jul 52 
• 

'i'0P Si!leftm' rno'!11 

5. RECOl•?MEKDATIONS 

5.1 Thia conmittee feels that PROD baa four major unsatisfied 

•chine needa: 

a. Automatic editing and data preparation. 

b. large-volume, high-speed sorting, indexing, and 

listing. 

c. Large-volume, high-speed data-handling, combined with 

complicated analytic processes. 

d. High-speed analytic precesses on cipher-machine 

problems, combined with sophisticated control and 

decision procedures. 

5.2 Favorable action on the FARMER task is recommended, with 

J'.ARMER equipment to be aimed at satis:f'ying needs 5(c) and 5(d) above, 

vbich cannot be satisfied by a:r:ry other existing or planned general-purpose 

equipment. Such equipment Will incidentally be able to satisfT need 5(b) 1 

bu.t commercial data-handling equipment is likely to satisfy this need to 

a large extent before FARMER equipment is available. 

5.3 It is recoc:mended that the existicg NOMAD Task be abolished. 

This cmmittee considers that the Agency bas great need both tor largevolume high-speed data handling equip:tent and tor high-speed computiDg 

equipment, but that these facilities should not be restricted to the 

specific assembly thought of as NO:vW>. T'11ey should, separately or together, 

be available as integral parts ot the FARMER system. 

NSA Form 781-ClOS l Jul 52 'f()P SE€RE'f FR()'fll 

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5.4 Vigorous action ia recommended to produce a solution to tbe 

eclitillg problem. 'l'be overwhelming burden ot data preparation repea~ I 

dom aatecl our discussions ot PROD needs. It is potentially the largeat 

:aacbiDe need tor whi:h no satisfactory solution bas been devised. 

5•5 A Disposition Form tram R/D 353 to R/D 35, dated 5 April 54, 

a caw ot which is attached, sets forth proposed features ot the FARMER 

5.5.1 This cammittee approves ot the proposals ill general aD4 ot 

the tollowillg points in particulars 

a. Canpatibility and unitormit)". 

b. An increase in speed, as tar as practicable. 

c. Break-up into separate units that can be freely 

intercODZ'lected. 

d. Multiple copies ot those units that are required 

more frequent~. 

e. Ability to ptit early units into operation betore 

other FARMER units are completed. 

t. Ability to add new unit tnes as their need appears. 

5.5.2 Stored-program techniques should be a'YUilable, Yith enough 

general.purpose features to insure versatility anl ac1aptabil1ty to 

ftZ'iationa 1D problem needs. Where cona1derat1ona of speed make it 

desirable, we favor direct assembly ot ccmponents tor control tun.ctiom, 

1D ccmbination Y1 th over-all ccntrol 'b1' a stored program ot aequentialqexecutecl 1Dstructiou. 

NSA Form 781-CIOS I Jul 52 'f()P SE€RE'f FR0TII 
f 

5.5.3 As :lnd.icated. in 5.3 above, this canmittee recODID8Uds that 

high-speed, large•volume data-bandling facilities be made a pa.rt ot FARMER 

equ1J;11118Dt e 

5.5.lt. This cClllmittee bas reservations on the sub.ject of using a 

central svttcbing a79tem rather tbaD direct intercomiection ot J'ABMD\ 

UD1ta. l\Jrtber at~ ot this question 18 reccmended. 

5.6 !he Jl'l•nn1ng :lnvolved ill the FABMER proJect talla into three 

stages: (1) st\ld1' of ~ic needs aDd tbe ab111t7 ot the propoae4 

equipment to aat1af7 them, (2) formulation of a list ot 1.ABMlm Ullita, with 

cbaracteriatica ot each and a proposed mode ot use am. illtercozmection, 

all4 (3) log1.cal and eng:l.neerirlg deaip ot wd.ta. Thia cmm1ttee DOV cona1dera the tint stage to be completed and raccmnenc's that vork on the I 

aeccm4 atage 'begin 1mecl1ate~. 

NSA Form 781-ClOS 1 Jul 52 
• 

DISPOSITION FORM 

TO: 35 

3501 

c 0 p y REF ID :A56966 -~--SEeRE'f 

SUBJ: Proposal tor FARMER 

FROi4: 353 

1. 'l'be purpose ot this paper 1a to outline a-proposal tor a long range 

development program. covering a period of three to five years beg,nn1ng early 1n 

fiscal year 1955· It would involve tha c~rdinated etforts ot several segracnta of 

R/D 35 and some ot PROD 82. FARMER is the suggested cover mm.e. 

2. Tbe objective 1n this program 1a to develop a c~t1ble fJ:ystem of amJTUc 

equipment embodyi.Dg a variety ot cryptanalytic tunet10ll3. The character rate 1s 

aimed at aoce-.rrbere 1n the range ot 1501 000 per seccmd to 3,000,000 per secoad. The 

procure:cent of s:um II 1s not included m, this propo:so.l but 1 tema now bef.Dg considered tor SU::O III do fall Yi thin the scope ot this !)roposed progre.s. In 

ach1ev1zaS this objective, pr:lma consideration JZr.lSt be give::i to overall progremm:lns 

ccmpatib111t7 and flexibility, overall operational utility, and e11g1Deor~ practi• 

cabillty. 

3. The cbaracteristics ot FARMER are inf'luenced 'b1" a number ot factors. 

(a) A general purpose cryptana.lytic device must be capable of perfo~ all sorts of cryptanalytic processes. 

(b) Due to the constant increase in number and co:tplexity ot problems 

the trend baa been to build bigger and bigger ~ic ir.a.cbmes which 1n 

turn t>roduces bigger and bigger engineering em. maintemnce problems. 

( c) Continual advances 1n the cryptographic art imply that tor 

effective ceyptan:i.lysis larger numbers ot trials mast be ade which 1n 

tum reflect higher electronic speeds in an:Uytic mchtnery. 

4. 'l'he 1nitial conception ot FARMER embodies the idea ot d1vid~ a large 

machine into several mall ones. This f'acilits.tes eDGineoriD(& am. mintemi:ice 

problems and provides better programming tle:x:1b111ty and. overall opera.tioml util:lt:y. 

Tbe heart ot the system would be the control cyate:n which 1s env1B1C1"'...ed as a sort 

ot a grand central station. It bas switching f'a.c111t1es tor directing the f'J.ov ot 

data from azq w.it to err:.! other lmit. It ia seque:iced controlled which per:nits computer type progre.r::dna cm. ~ contain a nom!Dal e.'?mmt of E:leJl!OrY• ~1.s feature is 

very desirable when euccess:!.ve steps of a problem are continsent UJ!O?l the ~sulta 

of earlier steps. Other units ot 1.he cycte:!I are to.:!lored to apecific ~lytic processes and might well b;;: identif"ied by their ftm::tic~ ouch as: er:l.tl'l!:.9tic unit, 

group IC unit, grotip reco,zaition unit, wired rotor lll."'lit, E3tr1x unit, input unit, 

memory unit, output u:.ut, f'requenc;y clistribution unit, etc. 

5. One might enirioion FJ..P.MER as consisting at one, two, ar three control Wlita 

surrounded by a collection of o.ne.ly--~1c units which tor 8zr:1 particular prob!.em may 

be connected in an appropriate c:umer e::l.t~:K:r by physical cable connections or automtic switching. When not used. in one problem tba excess units are available tor 

another problem 1D conjunction with another control unit. 

SEC:RE'f 
' REF ID:A56966 

SECRE'F 

SUBJ: Proposo.l for FAm-1ER 

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TO: -----~-----~------------~------~----------- 35 FRC:1: 353 5 April 1954 

R. L. Brrmsr<m/iimp/530 

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6. 'l'o develop this system tor e:N'1c1ent wse much study will be needed to deter• 

m1z:e the appropriate characteristics and qua:ltitiea of the varioua units. ID 

addition, standards tor character coding, checking, programmir.lg philosophy, interUDit pulse cberacteristice, and pulse rs.tea must be established. 

7• It ia recommended that this or a similar program be initiated. It is 

hrtber recommended that it be implcmontcd in R/D 35 for tho :following reasons: 

(a.) Past experience ha.s shown thc.t it is wr.rise to rond. n program of 

this nature and magnitude to a single contractor. It sets O".Jt ot bend and 

virtually impoosible to supervioe. On the other hand :pt-rtiona or pba.seo ot 

it can be contracted in such a :c:snner thc.t adequate sup~rv1sion csn be 

achieved. Also non:tllly i:ore prospective contractors are interested in items 

wbicb do not tie up all their plant facilities. 

(b) It is icpoasible to lay out or prescribe n c~lete set of cb:n--

acteristics tor such a syotem of analytical functiono vbcn it i~ desired to 

extend the state of the art of analytic equii>m:::nt. Therefore the results 

of exploitation and develop:ont 11111 dictate to a~ exte~t the nutlber and 

character ot :f'unctions suitnble !or incorpora.tion iDlto a compatible equipment system. 

(c) By keeping the control end supervision of the entire program within R/D 35 there io better opportunity ~or 3501 and 351 to :f'ulfill 

their responsibilities regarding the formulation of analytic characteristics and system :f'unctiona. 

(d) There is a lot ot room for learning on the pa.rt of R/D 35 engiceera 

ill this program. 

(e) By the beg~ng of fiscal year 1955 a number ot ta.aka inciud.ing 

FROG, COUiiTESS1 VIVIAIJ, JDl"NI1 and MILLIE will be diapoGed ot. Thin vill 

perm. t several eri~ineers to be available to embark on the proposed F.Am%ER 

program. 

/S/ RAY L. EOt·"·Lc\Jl 

Chief, A.-.sl.ytic Machines Branch 

6ECR£2 

SE€RE'F 

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