ND-500: Difference between revisions

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(New page: The '''ND-500''' is a 32-bit superminicomputer delivered in 1981 by Norsk Data. It relied on a ND-100 to do housekeeping tasks and run the operating system, SINTRAN III. A con...)
 
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The '''ND-500''' is a 32-bit superminicomputer delivered in 1981 by [[Norsk Data]]. It relied on a [[ND-100]] to do housekeeping tasks and run the operating system, [[SINTRAN III]].
The '''ND-500''' is a 32-bit superminicomputer delivered in [[1981]] by [[Norsk Data]]. It relied on a [[ND-100]] to do housekeeping tasks and run the operating system, [[SINTRAN III]].


A configuration could feature up to four ND-500 CPUs, in a shared-memory configuration.  
A configuration could feature up to four ND-500 CPUs, in a shared-memory configuration.  
Line 9: Line 9:


===ND-500/1===
===ND-500/1===
Sold as the '''ND-500''', '''ND-520''', '''ND-540''', and '''ND-560'''.
Sold as the '''ND-520''', '''ND-540''', and '''ND-560'''.


===ND-500/2===
===ND-500/2===
Sold as the '''ND-570''', '''ND-570/CX''', and the '''ND-570/ACX'''.
Sold as the '''ND-510''', '''ND-530''', '''ND-550''', '''ND-560''', '''ND-570''' (and various /CX variants as newer ND-1x0 variants became available)


===ND-505===
====ND-505====
A 31-bit version of the ND-500 machine. Pin 27 was snipped on the backplane, removing its status as a superminicomputer, allowing it to legally pass through the CoCom embargo. Cocom (''Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls'') was an embargo on Western exports to East Bloc countries during the Cold War.
A 31-bit version of the ND-500 machine, but . Pin 27 was snipped on the backplane, removing its status as a superminicomputer, allowing it to legally pass through the CoCom embargo. Cocom (''Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls'') was an embargo on Western exports to East Bloc countries during the Cold War <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinating_Committee_for_Multilateral_Export_Controls</ref>, <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computer_hardware_in_Eastern_Bloc_countries</ref>
The ND-505(/CX) uses a 500/2 CPU. 29 bits of addressing space is available for the user <ref>http://sintran.com/norsk-data/library/libpdpi/ND-505CX-A1-EN.pdf</ref> (exactly how this relates to the physical 31 bits is not entirely clear).


===Samson===
===ND-5000===
Sold as the '''ND-5200''', '''ND-5400''', '''ND-5500''', '''ND-5700''', and '''ND-5800'''. The ND-120 CPU line, which constituted the ND-100 side of most ND-5000 computers, was named Delilah. As the 5000 line progressed in speed, the dual-arch ND-100/500 configuration increasingly became bottlenecked by all I/O having to go through the ND-100.
The [[ND-5000_family|ND-5000]] series was the latest physical implementation of the ND-500 architecture.


===Rallar===
 
Sold as the '''ND-5830''' and '''ND-5850'''. The Rallar processor consisted of two main VLSI gate arrays, '''KUSK''' and '''GAMP''' - meaning "Jockey" and "Horse", respectively.
==Cost==
The price of the smallest ND-500 system in 1981 was 400.000 German mark, according to a 1981 article in Computerwoche (the source has since disappeared from the internet).


==Sources==
==Sources==
*{{OriginWP-EN|ND-500|3 November 2008}}  
<references/>
*{{ND-doc|05.009|(ND-05.009.4)}}
 
{{stub}}


[[Category:Norsk Data hardware]]
[[Category:Norsk Data hardware]]

Latest revision as of 11:26, 5 November 2023

The ND-500 is a 32-bit superminicomputer delivered in 1981 by Norsk Data. It relied on a ND-100 to do housekeeping tasks and run the operating system, SINTRAN III.

A configuration could feature up to four ND-500 CPUs, in a shared-memory configuration.

Hardware implementations

The ND-500 architecture lived through four distinct implementations. Each implementation was sold under a variety of different model numbers.

ND also sold multiprocessor configurations, naming them ND-580/n and an ND-590n, where n represented the number of CPUs in a given configuration, 2, 3, or 4.

ND-500/1

Sold as the ND-520, ND-540, and ND-560.

ND-500/2

Sold as the ND-510, ND-530, ND-550, ND-560, ND-570 (and various /CX variants as newer ND-1x0 variants became available)

ND-505

A 31-bit version of the ND-500 machine, but . Pin 27 was snipped on the backplane, removing its status as a superminicomputer, allowing it to legally pass through the CoCom embargo. Cocom (Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls) was an embargo on Western exports to East Bloc countries during the Cold War [1], [2] The ND-505(/CX) uses a 500/2 CPU. 29 bits of addressing space is available for the user [3] (exactly how this relates to the physical 31 bits is not entirely clear).

ND-5000

The ND-5000 series was the latest physical implementation of the ND-500 architecture.


Cost

The price of the smallest ND-500 system in 1981 was 400.000 German mark, according to a 1981 article in Computerwoche (the source has since disappeared from the internet).

Sources