Cyber 180 mainframe computer

The Cyber 175 mainframe computer was built by Control Data Corporation (CDC) in the 1970s. CDC was a major player in the computer industry at that time, and the Cyber series of computers were some of their most successful products.

With it’s PPU architecture, the Cyber 175 et.al. ushered in the use of Dec-writers and CRT terminals in high speed networks in the early to mid 1970’s.

CDC did indeed continue to build bigger and newer models of the Cyber series of computers. The Cyber 180, 185, 190, and 200 were all released in the following years, with increasing processing power and other improvements over the Cyber 175. CDC also developed other lines of computers during this time, such as the CDC 6000 series and the CDC Star. However, CDC eventually lost market share to other companies, and the company went bankrupt in 1986.

The Control Data Corporation (CDC) 6000 series of computers was a line of supercomputers that were introduced in the early 1960s. The series consisted of several models, including:

1. CDC 6600: The first model in the series, introduced in 1964, was the CDC 6600. It was the world’s fastest computer at the time and was known for its innovative design, which included the use of multiple processors.
2. CDC 6400: Introduced in 1966, the CDC 6400 was a smaller, less expensive version of the CDC 6600. It was also less powerful but still provided high performance computing capabilities.
3. CDC 6500: Introduced in 1967, the CDC 6500 was another variant of the CDC 6600 that was designed for scientific and engineering applications.
4. CDC 6700: Introduced in 1970, the CDC 6700 was a more powerful version of the CDC 6600, with faster processors and more memory.
5. CDC 6800: Introduced in 1975, the CDC 6800 was a new architecture designed to replace the aging 6000 series. It was not as successful as its predecessors, and CDC eventually discontinued it.

Overall, the CDC 6000 series of computers were very influential in the development of supercomputers, and many of the design concepts and technologies used in these machines are still in use today.

Universities purchased Control Data Corporation (CDC) Cyber 190 computers when they were released in the 1970s. The Cyber 190 was a mid-range mainframe computer that was designed for scientific and engineering applications, and it was popular among universities and research institutions.

Some of the universities that purchased Cyber 190 computers include:

1. University of Wisconsin-Madison: The University of Wisconsin-Madison purchased a Cyber 190 computer in the late 1970s for use in its computer science and engineering programs.
2. University of Michigan: The University of Michigan also purchased a Cyber 190 computer in the late 1970s for use in its research programs.
3. University of California, Berkeley: The University of California, Berkeley was another university that purchased a Cyber 190 computer in the 1970s.
4. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was another institution that purchased a Cyber 190 computer for use in its research programs.

These are just a few examples, and many other universities and research institutions also purchased Cyber 190 computers during this time.

Stanford University did purchase Control Data Corporation (CDC) Cyber series mainframe computers. Stanford was one of the many universities and research institutions that used CDC mainframes in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

In the early 1970s, Stanford purchased a CDC Cyber 74 mainframe computer, which was a mid-range system that was designed for scientific and engineering applications. The Cyber 74 was a popular model among universities and research institutions, and it was known for its reliable performance and ease of use.

Later on, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Stanford upgraded to a CDC Cyber 180 mainframe computer, which was a more powerful system than the Cyber 74. The Cyber 180 was also used for scientific and engineering applications, and it was particularly well-suited for large-scale simulations and data analysis.

Overall, the CDC Cyber series mainframe computers were widely used in academia and research during this time, and they played a significant role in advancing scientific knowledge and technological innovation.

The Control Data Corporation (CDC) Cyber 180 mainframe computer could be equipped with up to 12 Process Processing Units (PPUs).

The PPUs were the heart of the Cyber 180’s processing power, and each PPU consisted of a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and associated memory. The Cyber 180 used a unique architecture known as the Peripheral Processor Unit (PPU) architecture, which allowed multiple PPUs to work together to process large amounts of data in parallel.

The Cyber 180’s processing power could be scaled by adding additional PPUs to the system. Each PPU added more processing power and memory to the system, which allowed the Cyber 180 to handle larger and more complex computing tasks.

In addition to the PPUs, the Cyber 180 could also be equipped with a variety of peripherals, including disk drives, tape drives, and communication interfaces. These peripherals allowed the system to store and retrieve large amounts of data, as well as communicate with other computer systems and devices.

The Control Data Corporation (CDC) Cyber 180 mainframe computer originally shipped with the NOS/BE operating system. NOS/BE stands for Network Operating System/Batch Environment, and it was one of the most widely used operating systems on CDC mainframes in the 1970s and 1980s.

NOS/BE was a batch processing operating system, which means that users submitted jobs to the system to be processed in batches rather than interacting with the system in real-time. NOS/BE provided a variety of features and utilities to support batch processing, including job scheduling, spooling, and file management.

Later on, CDC also developed other operating systems for its mainframe computers, including NOS/VE (Virtual Environment) and SCOPE (Supervisory Control Of Program Execution). NOS/VE was a multi-tasking, virtual memory operating system that was designed to support interactive computing, while SCOPE was a real-time operating system that was used for process control and other industrial applications.

Overall, the Cyber 180 was a powerful and versatile mainframe computer that could support a variety of operating systems and software applications.

The Control Data Corporation (CDC) Cyber 180 mainframe computer had a maximum main memory capacity of 4 megabytes (MB).

The Cyber 180 used magnetic core memory, which was a type of memory technology that was common in mainframe computers of the 1960s and 1970s. Magnetic core memory used small magnetic rings to store data, and it was relatively fast and reliable compared to other memory technologies of the time.

The 4 MB maximum memory capacity of the Cyber 180 may seem small by today’s standards, but it was actually quite large for a mainframe computer of its time. Many other mainframes of the era had memory capacities that were measured in kilobytes (KB) rather than megabytes.

In addition to main memory, the Cyber 180 also supported a variety of secondary storage devices, including disk drives, tape drives, and card readers/punches. These devices allowed the system to store and retrieve large amounts of data, which was essential for scientific and engineering applications that required extensive data processing and analysis.

The Control Data Corporation (CDC) Cyber 180 mainframe computer had a word size of 60 bits.

The Cyber 180’s Central Processing Unit (CPU) used a unique instruction set architecture known as the Peripheral Processor Unit (PPU) architecture, which was designed to support parallel processing. The CPU had a 60-bit word size, which was larger than the 36-bit word size used in many other mainframe computers of the time.

The 60-bit word size allowed the Cyber 180 to process larger amounts of data in a single operation, which was particularly useful for scientific and engineering applications that required complex calculations and data analysis. The larger word size also provided more precision for floating-point arithmetic, which was important for many scientific and engineering calculations.

The Cyber 180’s PPU architecture allowed multiple PPUs to work together in parallel, which further increased the system’s processing power. Each PPU had its own CPU and memory, and the PPUs communicated with each other via a high-speed interconnect. This allowed the system to process large amounts of data in parallel, which was essential for many scientific and engineering applications.