Drum vs. Core

[Allison]

>
>Subject: Re: Drum vs. Core
>   From: Kevin Handy <kth at srv.net>
>   Date: Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:04:24 -0600
>     To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
>
>Chuck Guzis wrote:
>> On 2 Jul 2007 at 19:51, Roger Holmes wrote:
>>
>>   
>>>>> That processor benchmarks about the same as an IBM PC/AT (!)
>>>>>         
>>>> [somehow I cannot see running 100 terminals off an AT]
>>>>       
>>> Was it really that slow! We really put up with a lot back then.
>>>     
>>
>> Terminal speed can mask a lot.  How many ASR33's did IIT run IITRAN 
>> to using what, a 16K foreground partition on a 128K 360/40 running 
>> DOS?
>>   
>A lot of the increased speed has been eaten up by the
>Graphical Interfaces. Consider that most home
>PC's today operate faster and have more memory than a
>Cray-1, and can barely keep up with e-mail.
>
>We used to have 30+ users on a PDP-11 with max 4Mb
>memory, and now dedicate a Dual Core system with more
>than a Gb to a single web surfer. And using an 8 core CPU
>machine (PS3), just to play games.
>
>How large would a PDP-10 system have been that had
>anywhere close to the disk/ram/... of a single PlayStation3?
>Technology has really shrunk things down.

The BOCES LIRCS system (LINY Ca1970) was a PDP-10 running tops-10 
64kW then later 128W of core with a 128K swapping drum. Number 
of users on an average day was 300 (TTYs) with a PDP-8i handling 
switching and a few other tasks.  Disks were four of the removable 
multiplatter washing machines (RP03) three active and the fouth holding 
the backup pack. It was a very reponsive machine unless there
was contention for the disks (reads/writes).

It's size in an airconditioned false floor room was  5 "racks" wide
for the back row (mostly core boxes) and the front row was CPU, and 
PDP-8.

Spent better part of a year there as a student just hacking on the 
machine like most fo the other students that had access with one little
difference, I was hacking via a Hazeltine 1200 glass TTY and had access
to the programmers console and tty(asr35).


Allison