mats@dual.UUCP (Mats Wichmann) (05/04/84)
Scuttlebutt says that there will really be five processors in the Cray-2;
four main processors, and a `system manager' type, which will probably
handle kernel-type functions. The main processors have a clock rate of
250 MHz (4 nanosecond cycle time), although Seymour is thinking of speeding
ths up to 1 ns by using Gallium Arsenide technology....the whole system
is liquid cooled (all logic circuits immersed in circulating coolant). Oh,
and the 64 megawords of memory - Cray uses a 64-bit word, so that is a
LOT of memory. As to UNIX, I understand that Cray has a UNIX emulation that
runs on top of COS for the Cray-1 which they will be using to get people
up to speed, until the Cray-2 is avalable. The Cray-2 will run a full
native-mode UNIX, no emulations. All of this sounds very interesting -
especially in light of the recent article (me forgets where I saw it -
somewhere on the net) that the Japanese are now building machines which
surpass the Cray-2 (of which none even exist yet) - does anyone know more
about this rumor?
Mats Wichmann
Dual Systems Corp.
...{ucbvax,amd70,ihnp4,cbosgd,decwrl,fortune}!dual!mats