[fa.info-vax] VENUS announcement

info-vax@ucbvax.ARPA (11/01/84)

From: Richard Garland <OC.GARLAND%CU20B@COLUMBIA.ARPA>

DEC announcement: Oct. 31, 1984

I was at the official DEC announcement today of the "VAX 8600"
code named "VENUS".  This was announced simultaneously in NY
(where I was) Marlboro Mass. (where it is being built) and I
think 180 other cities world-wide.  For completeness, DEC also
announced the VAXstation-1.  This is a VAXstation plugged into
a microVAX which was actually announced in the trade press 2
weeks ago.  I was dissapointed the low end announcement wasn't 
the microVAX-2 so I skipped listening to most of the VS-1
information.

The VAX 8600 - "More than a mainframe"

(That catch phrase was spoken about a dozen times.)  This is
the long awaited VENUS.  The basic details as I jotted them down
and from the glossy handout:

Basic cycle time:	80 nsec
Control store:		8k x 86 bits
Data path width:	32 bits
4 stage instruction pipeline
Memory Cache:		16k write-back
Memory bandwidth:	28 MegByte/sec	(private bus)
IO bandwith (aggregate)	20 MegByte/sec  (with 2 SBI's)
FPA			4.43 MegWhetstones/sec single
Memory limit		32 MegByte in basic box (256 k chips)
quoted speed		4.2 x VAX 11-780

Console subsystem:
PDP-11
RL02
diagnostics, environmental monitoring, etc. while 
main processor is running.

Size:
Same as basic 780.
Quieter, slightly less power

Availability:
First customer ship	April 1985
"Widely available"	Mid-summer 1985

Packages:  2 were announced:
#1 - Cluster Starter:
	basic box
	Star coupler
	HSC
		cost				$500k
		B.M.C.				$1659

(you add tape drive and disk drive:             $578k)


# 2 - Cluster upgrade:
	basic box
		cost				$450k
		B.M.C.				$1492


Basic box in above packages:
	8600 CPU
	FPA
	12 MegByte memory
	SBI with:
		CI
		UBA with:
		   1 BA11 box with:
			1 DMF32
			1 DEUNA
	Console subsystem with RL02

VMS and DECnet licenses bundled in

I believe most figures are accurate but I may have missed some.
The basic monthly maintenance charge seems particularly low, 
either indicating a real bargain in operating cost, or indicating
I got the numbers wrong.  Check with your salesman obviously.

DEC indicated that other packages would be forthcomming but that
these initial packages were to satisfy large end customers first.

Much emphasis was placed on clusters as a means to obtain "More than
a mainframe" total system performance.  They kept speaking of 4, 8,
12 etc Mips systems (meaning clusters with 1, 2, 3 etc. 8600's).  They
stated clusters had advantages over tightly coupled systems such as
the 782 and various competitor's machines.

No explanation was given for the choice of "8600" except to indicate
it was a new class of systems.  It does not stand for "twice a 4300".

					Rg

(I have no connection with DEC except as a customer.)
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