lkaplan@bbn.com (Larry Kaplan) (08/03/89)
BBN Announces New Generation in Time-Critical Computing CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 18, 1989 -- BBN Advanced Computers Inc. today introduced the TC2000(TM) system, the most powerful computer available designed specifically for time-critical applications in technical and commercial markets. Target applications include real-time simulation, industrial process control, decision support, on-line database management, and project planning and control. Incorporating Motorola's 88000 microprocessor, the BBN TC2000 system is the first large-scale implementation of RISC (reduced instruction set computing) technology. The multiprocessing architecture allows field-expansion from eight to 504 processors, with corresponding increases in memory, memory-access bandwidth, and I/O capabilities. This straightforward expandability lets users adjust their system to fit future time-critical requirements, without obsoleting their current investments. The TC2000 system's power and scalability derive from its function card design and Butterfly (R) switch technology. Implemented on a single circuit board, each function card is equivalent to a high-end super minicomputer, and includes the 88000 microprocessor, memory, and optional I/O capabilities (e.g., VMEbus(TM)). Function cards provide 19 Dhrystone MIPS and 13 megawhetstones of computing power, and up to 32 MB of onboard DRAM. Floating-point performance is 20 MFLOPS per processor. Maximum system capabilities are, for 504 processors: Integer 9,576 MIPS based on Dhrystones Whetstone 6,552 megaWhetstones Floating point 10,080 MFLOPS Memory 16,096 MBytes I/O Bandwidth 2,560 MBytes/sec The TC2000 system supports two operating systems concurrently: pSOS+m (TM), a real-time executive, and nX(TM), based on UNIX(R) 4.3BSD(TM) for analysis or time-shared program development. A major feature unique to the TC2000 system is its software-controlled clustering capability. Users can designate clusters of processors for either pSOS+m or nX operation concurrently, and data can be shared within and between either type of cluster. Also available on the TC2000 machine is the Xtra(TM) (X Tools for Runtime Analysis) graphical tool set. This includes the TotalView(TM) source-level, multiprocessing debugger, and the Gist(TM) graphics-oriented performance analyzer. Both run under the X Window System(TM). The TC2000 system supports optimized Fortran, C, and Ada compilers. Pricing begins at $350,000 for a base model with 152 Dhrystone MIPS and 160 MFLOPS. Contact Judy Larocque, BBN Advanced Computers (jlarocqu@bfly-vax.bbn.com) at (617) 873-6000 for further information.