> -----Original Message----- > From: Dave Wade [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: 26 July 2017 16:34 > To: 'Noel Chiappa' <[email protected]>; 'General Discussion: On-Topic > and Off-Topic Posts' <[email protected]> > Subject: RE: Honeywall mainframe CPU front panel ID? > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: cctalk [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Noel > > Chiappa via cctalk > > Sent: 26 July 2017 15:38 > > To: [email protected] > > Cc: [email protected] > > Subject: Honeywall mainframe CPU front panel ID? > > > > So, I've been collecting images of 'Multics' 'front' panels from > > around > the > > Internet, intending to do a gallery. > > > > (I should explain that, in common with mainframes of that era, a > > Multics system had a variety of different kinds of boxes - CPUs, > > memories, etc - > but > > also others, intended to support the multi-CPU 'utility' concept. It > > was possible to take, say, a running 3-CPU system, split off a CPU, > > bring that > up as > > a separate system, then later bring that down, and add it back to the > running > > system! This was actually done at the MIT site, to allow development > > work > in > > the evenings on the OS software.) > > > > The Multicians site has a nice picture of a Multics system with the > > some > of > > the panels swung open (they're actually 'diagnostic' panels, so would > > normally be swung shut): > > > > http://www.multicians.org/mulimg/h6180-doors-open-big.jpg > > > > The CPU is the one in the center (the panel on the left is an IOM, > > 'I/O Multiplexor', one of the other kinds of box). > > > > > > So, anyway,I had this large collection of pictures, and asked: Tom Van > Vleck, > > the maintainer of the Multicians Web site what the other (non-CPU) > > panels on offer might be, and his reaction was (roughly) 'some of the > > CPU panels there might not be Multics CPU panels'. > > > > (Honeywell had an entire line, the > > > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeywell_6000_series > > > > but most models in that line ran an OS called GECOS (later GCOS), not > > Multics. So possibly those CPU 'front' panels are from some other 6000 > series > > CPU.) > > > > His reasoning was that they don't have the Appending Unit sections: to > > explain this, Multics used an extra box (the Appending Unit), inserted > > between the CPU and the memory, to implement the paging and > > segmentation of Multics, and most 6000-series CPUs did not have this. > > > > If you look at this image of what is probably the Multics CPU panel > > now at > the > > LCM: > > > > http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/multics/jpg/_1020903.jpg > > > > it has an Appending Unit section at the top. (BTW, are there any > > pictures online of LCM panel? All I could find was the video, which is > > admittedly > > ultra-cool.) See the "APU Scroll" section (first full-width section), > > for > the > > Appending Unit, at the top in this detailed shot: > > > > http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/multics/jpg/_1020899.jpg > > > > It's not an extra panel: the CPU panel on a Multics machine, although > > the same overall size, has a different configuration, with the APU sections. > > > > > > However, the suspect CPU panels don't have those sections; see an > > image of one > > here: > > > > http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/multics/jpg/multics_panel.jpg > > > > with detailed images here: > > > > http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/multics/jpg/multics_panel_cu1.jpg > > http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/multics/jpg/multics_panel_cu2.jpg > > http://ana-3.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/tech/multics/jpg/multics_panel_cu3.jpg > > > > Which is not _definitive_ that they aren't from a Multics machine, but > > it certainly raises a big question mark. So, the question is, 'are > > they > Multics > > panels, just for some reason without the APU section, or what'? > > > > So maybe these are from some other Honeywell Series 6000 CPU? If so, > > does anyone knows which Honeywell 6000 series machine (it pretty much > > has to be from one of them) they are from? > > > > Noel > > From what I remember, and it wasn't often you opened the panels on the > L66 boxes, the systems all had almost identical configuration panels. > All CPU's were upgradable on site to any other model. There wasn't really > any difference between the models, the differences in performance were > got by "marketing tweaks". > So the bigger models had cache, and if you had two store boxes the memory > could be interleaved. There was also a cache consistency feature. > > Later models also had virtual memory which I think used the MULTICs > hardware.... > > .. so whilst its possible to say a panel is not from a multics box, I don't think its > possible to say exactly which model it came from, and indeed as the CPU was > upgradable the same panel could have been on multiple models. > > When I worked on one belonging to NERC, UK, it was upgraded from a single > CPU L66/60 to a DPS300 and I am pretty sure none of these doors were not > changed... > > Dave >
Actually looking at this manual:- http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/dps-8/58009853_DPS8_46_70_R eference_Man_Sep82.pdf these are from the original hardware GE600/6000/L66/DPS300 machines. The DPS8 had a redesigned panel... .. page 2-25 (page 40 in my PDF viewer) Dave
