UNIX and NS32032 (Encore)

[bzs at BU-CS.BU.EDU]

Sorry, just catching up on the backlog when this caught my eye...

I am not sure exactly what the original requirement was, but we
at Boston University have been purchasing a fairly new NS32K based
system called the Encore MultiMax, the features basically are:

	1. Either SYS/V or 4.2bsd (we use 4.2)
	2. Configurable with from 2 to 18 CPUs. This
	is a true multi-processor system, CPUs come 2 to a card
	and can be plugged in when the need arises (we have 6/system.)
	3. A 100MByte/sec "NanoBus". They supply controllers which
	hook to conventional interfaces (eg. 1.8MByte/sec SCSI.)

They have extended their UNIX to provide transparent parallelism for
process invocation (that is, new forks are scheduled so as to load
balance the CPUs.) There are also extensions at the system call and
user library level for utilizing parallelism within a process
("threads") such as task initiation, shared memory, semaphores.

The system is based upon the NS32032, NS32332 will be available soon
(with Weitek FP.) These are the folks who were recently awarded a
DARPA contract to build a 1000MIPs machine.

They are located in Marlboro, MA. I have no affiliation with them
other than as a customer. I am using their machines for my larger
time-sharing needs, such as undergraduate computer science here.

	-Barry Shein, Boston University