Making vintage computers

[Sridhar Ayengar]

Tony Duell wrote:
>> There ARE multi-CPU vintage systems.  Some of the CPUs in question were 
>> many, many boards full of chips.
> 
> I thnik you need to distinguish between :
> 
> Multi-chip CPUs, like many older minicomputers, where the CPU may well be 
> hundreds of chips, but where there is really only one CPU running one 
> program at a time
> 
> And
> 
> Multiple CPUs, where the CPUs may be single chips or boards of many 
> chips, but where there are several programs running at the same time,. 
> one on each CPU. And then you have the case where there are several 
> microporcessors in the cabinet, but some of then run programs from ROM 
> only (you can't run user programs on them) for things like I/O, disk 
> control, etc.

I was actually referring to the second.  I don't consider the first one 
to be multi-CPU at all.  I was mostly referring to S/370 systems with 
which I have personal experience, although I understand they weren't, by 
any means, the first.

Peace...  Sridhar