HALLAM@vax1.physics.oxford.ac.uk ("Phillip M. Hallam-Baker") (03/28/91)
I was interested to note :- > Southampton University Computing Services > Channel Attached Transputers >An interface between transputers and IBM S/370 mainframes. > >The current level of hardware gives a host-to-transputer >transfer bandwidth exceeding any of our PC systems, and similar >to that of our Sun system. The hardware is extremely reliable and >has been operational for over 99% of our IBM 3090 up-time for its >service lifetime (nearly 4 months). In our current configuration >we use the CAT to host three single T800 transputers for program >development, and a Parsys supernode containing 32 T800s including >a high resolution graphics board. > Hmmm but can you do anything with a 3090 host that you can't with a sun? If adding a paltry 32 T800's to a 3090 provides a massive amount of extra perfomance on a multi million quid machine what does it say for the IBM? If the extra performance is negilgable why bother? Could someone who knows these things please reveal :- 1 the cost of a 3090 2 the performance of a 3090 I seem to recall a sum of arround 4 million quid being the sort of ballpark figure for the first (but I could be wrong) Maybe they knock 'em out for less these days. Some vicious person suggested 24Mips as a figure for the second (but he happened to be trying to sell a 50ish Mip SUN 2 so I'm not sure whether he's right.) I seem to remember a comment made just after the purchase of the Southampton 3090 to the effect that the only use for the thing would be as an upmarket server for transputers. It is nice to see that the computing service has finaly agreed. Phill Hallam-Baker