SYSTEM PRICES AND POLICIES

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Please refer to the Sigma 9 Overview Sales Guide (File: XDS) to compare the configuration diagrams of the IBM 370/155 and 360/67 to Sigma 9, and also refer to the other Sales Guides on Sigma 9 competitors for additional information.

Distribution: Sigma 9 Announcement Distribution and Competitive Infor-mation Reference Libraries

COMPANY PRIVATE

Kent

L.

Cootes, Manager Competitive Analysis XDS AFC

SYSTEM(S) SUMMARY

IBM's System/360 announced in April of 1964 and, more recently, the System/370 an-nounced in Ju Iy 1970, are two fam iii es of genera I purpose (genera I batch) computers.

With the exception of the 360/44 for real time and the 360/67 for time-sharing, IBM's 360 and now the 370 have not attacked user environments where special function main-frame hardware has been a key factor.

• INTRODUCTION - 360/155

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The System/370 is an extension of IBM's System 360 fami Iy of general purpose (batch processing) computers.

The System/370 represents a new, more competitive series of computers, both from an extended capabi I ity and a pri ce/performance standpoint. The 370/155 is a

med-ium to large sized (512KB - 2MB) system. The 370/155 obtains much of its speed from its high speed CPU buffer storage. The buffer storage is used to isolate, par-tially, CPU memory accessing from that of the I/O channels, thus creating an effect similar to that of Sigma's multiple ports to memory.

IBM markets the 370/155 as the ^II natura I growth system for its current 360/40 and 360/50 users. Because of larger core capacity and channel bandwidth, the 370/155 is sure to become IBM's entry point into the full service time-sharing market under TSO/OS MVT.

IBM indicated with its 370 announcement that it intended to extend its most power-ful operating system - OS MVT - to include a real time monitor capability (refer to IBM 370 CSG). Initial customer deliveries wi II start in April 1971.

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IBM 370/155 STRENGTHS

Compatibility: The 370/155 is compatible with System/360 and has a con-current multiprogramming of DOS, 1400, and 7010 emulations under OS MVT.

Commercial Performance: The 370/155 has better commercial execution compute power (108.2 KIPS to 64.7 KIPS). This ratio is based on ideal condi-tions for their execution out of the CPU buffer memory and minimal cycle-stealing channel loading. The 370/155 obtains part of this advantage because of its ability to perform storage-to-storage operations.

Extended Precision Floating Point: The 370/155 can obtain greater precision (up to 34 decimal digits) with their quadruple or extended precision feature.

Extensive Market Penetration: In most cases IBM is the industry leader, es-pecially in commercial application areas. IBM has an extensive line of special purpose peripherals for various commercial data processing applications.

The newness of the 370/155

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HARDWARE

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IBM 370/155 WEAKNESSES

Scientific Processing: The 370/155's scientific processing internal compute power is less than Sigma 9's (636 KIPS:763 KIPS). Because the 370/155's channels are cycle-stealing, they can degrade the 370/155's performance sig-nifi cantly under heavy loads.

The nature of many scientific problems; i.e., matrix inversion, is such that the 370/155's CPU buffer memory wi II be hard pressed to contain the necessary data to permit efficient execution operations. All in all, it should be noted that the above 370/155 KIP rate is a best-case condition, and it is doubtful that the 370/155 wi II perform up to the rates desi gnated.

Time-Shari ng: The 370/155 does not have the necessary hardware (core management/map, multiple register blocks, low CPU load I/O processors, etc.), in order to perform efficiently in a time-sharing environment.

Real Time Software: IBM's new Real Time Monitor (RTM) extensions to OS MVT is difficult to program, may be quite expensive, exposes batch programs to danger, com pi i cates system management, may cause inaccurate resource accounting, is based on a poor design philosophy, and requires a very large system OS MVT.

Price: The 370/155 is a very expensive system ($37K - $79K).

Real Time Hardware: The IBM ~'70/155 lacks these important features - stack instructions for efficient writing of reentrant code (note less than total memory required), multiple general purpose registers for rapid context switching, In-tegra I hi gh priori ty interrupt structure, associ ative memory map, etc.

IBM 370/155 HARDWARE HIGHLIGHTS

The System/370 - Model 155 - data processi ng system is aimed at satisfying the following major customer requirements:

Compatibility Performance

Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability Extended Capabi I ities

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COMPA TIBI LITY

Extensive 360 compati bi I ity Integrated Si mu lati on

In response to constant demands by its users, trade associations, and governmental agencies, IBM wi II remain upward compatible. The key word II upward II allows IBM to continue its one-ups-manship game however, as demonstrated in the plug-to-plug compatible peripheral market.

By the 370 being compatible, IBM may make use of its sizeable software investment and avoid bucking its own 360 momentum. Because the 370 is upward compatible with the 360, it can run virtually all non machine-dependent 360 software. Through its special emulation features and under OS MVT the Model 155 increases 360 com-patibility by concurrently multiprogramming under one operating system:

Normal 360 OS jobs DOS jobs

1400 and 7010 jobs

Thus, scheduling problems, etc., previously associated with stand-alone emulation are eliminated.

The most significant characteristic of the System/370 announcement is the establish-ment of a more competitive set of price/performance curves. IBM all but eliminated its 360/65 with the introduction of the 370/155, the exception being the unavail-ability of a 7090 series emulator on the 370/155.

IBM, having learned their lesson in 1964 about :ir compatibi lity with the System/360, strenuously characterizes the System/370 as an extension of the System/360 family.

For instance, the 370 instruction set is the same as the 360's with some minor en-hancements. These enhancements include the abil ity to monitor machine and pro-gram product use by having the CPU serial number in the CPU for verification by a control program.

PERFORMANCE AND CAPACITY

Estimated potential compute power

Commercial 108 KIPS/90^% hit ratio Scientific 636 KIPS/90^% hit ratio Main memory - 256KB to 2MB, 2.1 ~s/16B

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Buffer memory - 8 KB, 230 ns access/4B CPU memory access partial isolation

CPU - 115 ns cycle/4B - Monolithic ROS - 69 ns

I/O Channels - 5.8MB aggregate, 1 - 2* MPX and 2 - 5* BLK

Swapping Disk - can handle one 2305-2 fixed head disk, 1.5MB transfer, 5MS average access

Bulk High Speed Store - IBM 3330 Disk Storage Unit, 100MB capacity/drive packaged two spindles per unit, 806KB transfer rate, 30MS average seek ac-cess, 8.3MS average latency

2000 LPM printer - IBM 3211 Printer program carriage control High Speed Console - IBM 3215 console printer/keyboard (85 CPS)

Based on design specifications, the IBM 370/155 should perform very well whenever it has sufficient core to take advantage of its multiprogramming operating systems.

It is even quite possible that the 155, when configured with its newer high speed peripherals, could reach IBM's goal of 3 or 4 to one compute power advantage over the 360/50.

Even though the 370/155 has only integral 1/0 channels, like its 360/50 brother, its performance is greatly enhanced by employing the CPU buffer storage concept. The buffer storage partially isolates CPU memory accessing from that of the 1/0 channels, thus reducing contention similar to Sigma 9¹s multiple ports on multiple memory modules. However, when multiprogramming several programs, or when any given program instruction or datd accessing bounces around to any great degree, this isolation effect is defeated and, in addition, the execution speed would be greatly degraded. Of course, the traditional argument against cycle-stealing channels is still valid. Note that even IBM recognizes this problem and has independent I/O processors on its supposed "Ieading edge technology" machines - the 360/75 through 360/195. Total system bandwidth may be important to your prospect so, here again, Sigma's faster independent I/O processors (3.0MB to 1.5MB max), multiple memory modules with multiple ports has quite an impressive advantage (25.3MB:

5.8MB).

RE LIABI LITY

Reliability, Availability and Serviceability (RAS) Error Check and Correction Code (ECC)

Instruction Retry Channel Retry

Some features included in the 370 announcement are,in reality, the restatement of Six channels maximum.

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features originally stated for inclusion in the 360; i.e., Recoverability, Availability and Serviceability (RAS). RAS is a marketing slogan for some features that are

"state-of-the-art" technology for proper system function ing. Because a system of this size and expense requires that no precious time be lost to minor malfunctions, every effort is made as is the case with Sigma 9 to, at worst case, IIfai I soft II . ECC,

instruction retry, and channel retry are some of the specific techniques to which IBM so beautifully attaches new acronyms or terminology.

EXTENDED CAPABILITIES

Extended Precision Floating Point: IBM, seeking to regain some of its scien-tific business lost to CDC's 6000 series big word machines, has extended its floating point precision capability. This new extended precision more than doubles double precision by providing an additional two words (64 bits) of precision.

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INTRODUCTION - 360/67

IBM's most complete time-sharing system prior to 360 TSO/OS MVT had been the System/360 - Model 67 (360/67) - and its Time-Sharing System (TSS) monitor.

The 360/67 was announced in Apri I 1965 as a non-standard system (avai lable on Iy upon special request). In August 1965 the 360/67 became a standard IBM product only to be reclassified as available only under a "controlled marketing" basis in January 1967, due to unforeseen system desi gn and development problems. Cur-rently, it appears as if the 360/67 is still available only under the controlled market-i ng restrmarket-i ctmarket-i on, whereby, regmarket-i ona I management must smarket-ign off on market-its feasmarket-i bmarket-i I market-ity (sys-tems assurance). However, IBM has had its 360/67 TSS monitor and language proces-sors completely refurbished within the last year and may be ready to try again in the use of a totally integrated time-sharing system (virtual memory, reentrant processors, operating system envi ronmenta I controls, etc.)

Effectively, IBM is claiming that it is too early to tell how time-sharing systems ought to be designed and, furthermore, that they recognize the need to have their own experimental machine - 360/67. Because IBM has made several wrong turns in its 360/67 TSS development and has not met any of its performance goals, it be-comes increasingly evident that in order to market this system successfully, a re-packaging and/or renaming of these items would be in order. Because it can de-fault to a 360/65 mode of operation, IBM attempts to sell the 360/67 as a standard batch processor with time-sharing hardware and software extensions.

Unique to the 360/67 is its Cambridge Monitor System (CMS). CMS has the capa-bility to make several different terminals each appear (virtual) as if each is the systems console and time-sharing data entry device for almost any IBM operating system (including OS). One such operating system, which runs under CMS is Con-trol Program-67 (CP/67). CP/67 is a time-sharing monitor that, when run in con-junction with CMS, provides the facilities to create, debug and execute IBM's OS Assembler (F-Ievel), FORTRAN (G-Ievel) and PVI (F-Ievel). CMS is not a Type I or standard IBM operati ng system.

The only differences between the 360/67 and the 360/65 are:

Virtual memory addressing scheme and an eight-register associative memory for virtual-to-physical transaction purposes

Dual processor CPU options

• 360/67 MARKETING STRATEGIES (TSS)

Time-Sharing: This system is aimed at large universities and large corporate organizations. Where an IBM customer absolutely states that he wants a large time-sharing capabi I ity, this system may be proposed if the customer wi II not wait for the TSO option under OS MVT.

Batch/Remote Batch Multiprogramming: Concurrently with doing time-sharing, TSS has all the flavor of IBMls operating system for the 360.

• 360/67 STRONGPOINTS (TSS)

Time-Sharing: Conversational FORTRAN IV, Assembly language, and PVI are offered with a command language that provides terminal job entry and interactive debugging facilities. The virtual memory concept allows each program to directly address over 16MB of storage.

Batch: TSS provides compatibility for IBM 360 programs which include COBOL, FORTRAN, ALGOL, PL/I, and the other applications programs.

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IBM 360/67 WEAKNESSES

IBM's problems with the 360/67 are tied to the following factors:

Virtual Memory/Demand Paging: Algorithms did not/do not exist for efficient CPU utilization and I/O structures. Even with multi-ports, high speed drum for pagi ng, address trans lati on (assoc iati ve memory) etc., the schedul i ng

prob-lems are overwhelming and saturate the system with overhead.

Reentrant Programs: Because the 360/67 and a II other 360 systems lack the stack instructions, the normal use of the fixed savearea for general registers does not permit routines to be reentered prior to their completion without excessive software overhead.

Context Switching: System/360's, and especially the 360/67, have only one set of general purpose registers; thus, every time a context switch is made be-tween the monitor and user programs, or bebe-tween user programs, or when branching to subroutines, these registers must be saved. The use of multiple blocks of genera I purpose regi sters eli m i nates the need to save/restore these regi sters.

Over-Specification: The 360 was facing serious competition from the GE 600 Series and from CDC's 6600. The initial 360's in this range, namely the Models 60,62,64, and even the Model 70, were all respecified, re-engineered and ultimately emerged as two Models - 65 and 75 - wi th much added capa-bility. The Model 67 was a direct off-shoot of this re-everything.

TSS - Time-Sharing Systems: This system is one of a kind and represents a dedi cated effort on the part of IBM to fa i I - soft Iy! As a part of the ori 9 ina I TSS de-committment, IBM renegotiated with each customer and bought them off by pi edgi ng on-si te systems assi stance pi us a large devoted grou p pro-grammer to rejuvenate TSS.

360/67 WEAKNESSES (TSS)

Demand Pagi ng: TSS uses demand pagi ng for bri ngi ng programs and/or pro-gram pages into and out of memory. This means that a propro-gram can refer to any location (address) in its virtual memory space and if the page where that

location exists is not in core, the system will go get it, place it in actual memory, and then conti nue executi on.

This method creates I/O more or less for the sake of I/O and burdens the system with additional overhead.

Technical Difficulties: The implementation of TSS has been plagued with technical difficulties primarily due to the demand paging as discussed above.

Other difficulties inthe area of developing reentrant conversational com-pilers caused the 360/67 to be placed in a "controlled marketing" status and

much of its original, specified capability to be "de-committed". Thus, the 360/67 will seldom be encountered in a competitive situation.

• SIGMA 9 XDS STRATEGY - GENERAL

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TilTle-Sharing - UTS: Stress the time-sharing scheduling methods that are integra I to UTS. The fact that a del iberate attempt is made to keep 3 or 4 compute bound users in core so that the CPU can be better utilized.

Stress the performance management reports that are instantly available and accumulative over a period of time under UTS. TSS installation managers cannot tell whether their system is running well or not.

Stress the operator control parameters. These parameters are avai lable to tune the system during operation. TSS does not offer these parameters.

Stress the additional language facility of BASIC and other services.

Dans le document 5 November 1970 (Page 126-135)