Where should the type information be: in tags and descriptors 462

I think that I'm confused about the Series 80... I was remembering a list of systems that they gave me in school 30 years ago. I guess the memory is first to go!

Checking what little documentation I have here on the RCA Univac Systems, it mentions System 80 but not Series 80. I guess I was unconciously sorting the numbers in my own head!

The following text is copied verbatim from Sperry Rand's Third-Generation Computers 1964-1980 by George T. Gray and Ronald Q. Smith, published in the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, January-March 2001:

The series 90:

After purchasing the RCA installed base in 1971, Sperry Rand moved fairly quickly to integrate its 9000 series computers (9200, 9300, 9400, and 9700) with the former RCA machines, now designated the Series 70. The new family was called the Series 90, and the company announced the 90-70 (a repackaged 9700 with a base price of $500,000) and 90-60 (a slower, less capable 90-70 for $300,000) in 1973. Aside from replacing the plated-wire memory with semiconductor memory, there was nothing particularly new about them, and customer shipments began before the end of 1973.

Initially, these machines could run either of two operating systems: OS-4 (essentially the same as the Disk Operating System for the 9400) and OS-7. In 1975, the VS-9 operating system became available as an improved version of RCA's VMOS and could be run (with some difficulty) on them. To overcome the VS-9 problems, some customers had to add memory or upgrade from 90-60 to 90-70 processors.

Sperry Rand announced the entry-level 90-30 to replace the 9200, 9300, and 9400 in 1974 and began deliveries in February 1975. The 90-30 came in a wide range of configurations, priced from $80,000 (at 32,768 bytes of memory) up to $180,000 (at 262,144 bytes). A new multiprogramming operating system called OS-3 had been written for it, and while RPG continued to be the primary language, Cobol, Fortran, and an buttembler were available. In addition, the 90-30 had the optional IMS-90 transaction processing software module. The 90-30 provided a logical upgrade path for existing 9200 and 9300 customers and also did fairly well at attracting new customers. By the end of 1976, approximately 700 90-30s had been shipped.

These small and medium-range machines did not really address the needs of those customers with the largest RCA computers, especially the virtual memory 70-61 and 70-7 models. In 1976, Sperry Rand announced the 90-80, which provided from 524,288 to 4,194,304 bytes of memory with a cycle time of 450 nanoseconds. Adopting the architecture of the Larc and the 1110, the 90-80 had separate instruction and I-O processors-one of each on the original model. Although the 90-80 could run OS-4 (with some additional microcode and software called the Integrated Control Facility) and OS-7, it came into its full power with VS-9. The 90-80 provided compebreastion for IBM's 370-158 at a considerably lower price: $1.1 million versus $1.9 million for systems with 524,288 bytes of memory. In 1978, the 90-80 was upgraded to provide up to 8,290,304 bytes of memory. The 90-80 sold well, since many of the large RCA sites were ready to move up.

Customers included the District of Columbia Schools, United Press International (two systems), the California Department of Motor Vehicles (two systems), the California Department of Justice (three systems), and the Hoechst AG chemical firm in Germany. Users found the VS-9 control language and text editor (EDT), both inherited from VMOS, much easier to use than their IBM counterparts.

-- Micheal H. McCabe