Vintage computer photogallery - Time Magazine

[Dan Roganti]

Jules Richardson wrote:
>
> I suppose real computers have a separate service processor for this 
> kind of thing, so it's easy to put things right even if something does 
> go wrong (plus of course the update can *only* be done from the 
> service processor - not from some rogue code running on the main CPU)
>
>
>
>
This is exactly what we did on the 5ESS(sort of vintage now) switching 
systems to avoid any glitches to retain the high availability. We always 
designed in  a 2nd coprocessor to preform routine maintenance tasks such 
as downloading new updates into the backup flash in a duplex processor 
system. Then we downloaded the code into the standby processor first and 
switch over to active mode after all the diagnostics checked out. 
Regression tests were a strict priority in any telecom system to weed 
out any of the software faults.

=Dan

[ "I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them"     ]
[ Pittsburgh --- http://www2.applegate.org/~ragooman/    ]