[net.arch] Burroughs machine

eugene@ames-lm.UUCP (Eugene Miya) (05/23/84)

Depending on what your interests were, Burroughs had two big machines
which did not reach commercial realization.  The Burroughs Scientific
Processor (BSP) and the Burroughs Flow Model Processor (FMP) which was
a proposed machine for fluid dynamics research here at Ames.

The person to contact for further technical details is Steve Lundstrom
(lundstrom@su-score [ARPA]) who headed the Burroughs project FMP Project.

I get my information several months second hand.  A BSP was built and
had some test performance problems which could be solved.  Ames wanted
a much more powerful machine which was to have up to 256 processors
connected by an Omega network [FMP].  A competitive bid was put out which
CDC and Burroughs proposed (I think paper where published, either IEEE
TOC or Compcon in the 1980s.).  Neither proposal was acceptable to
Ames [just not enough MFLOPS].  Cray did not bid as they don't make
highly custom machines.  The other proposals died on the vine.

The people that wanted those machines have reorganized into the
Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Program which is now getting a Cray-2
(still not fast enough).  I will be posting something for them in
net.jobs shortly.

--eugene miya
  NASA Ames Res. Ctr.