National Cash Registers (NCR)
National Cash Registers (NCR)
Status:
Overview of Organization:
National Cash Registers (NCR) are owned by AT\&T and have themselves
recently merged with Teradata.
Their main product line is a series of binary code compatible computer
systems ranging from notebook PCs through desktop and deskside to bus
based multi processor systems.
Main parallel products are NCR 3600 of up to 16 tightly coupled
applications processors each consisting of 8 tightly coupled Intel nodes
(486)
Platforms Documented:
Contact Address:
See Also:
NCR 3000
Overview of Platform:
The Unified Range NCR3000
Architecture Bus based
Node eight Intel 386 or 486 chips clustered into ``applications
processors'' or nodes. Up to 128 of these applications nodes are possible.
I/O Each applications processor can have up to 90 Gigabytes
of disk.
Operating System UNIX
Communication Paradigms Global address space, Shared memory,
message passing possible.
Languages C, Fortran
Performance up to 128 x 320 = 40960 MIPS
Data transfer 32000 to 38400 Transaction processes TPCA's per
second claimed.
Balance Communications limited by bus.
Scalability NOT. Its bus based.
Price performance Known to be competitive for specific
problems such as transaction processing running highly tuned
applications codes such as Teradata database codes.
General impression that this is not a general purpose machine and does
not have a wide base of applications software. It may be appropriate
for systems integration however.
User Base Mainly Database applications and some image processing.
3700 series machine to appear November/December 1992, using the Intel
586. To be sold to ICI for database applications work. The network is a
Bannion tree with an all fibre optics cross bar switch. This will be
worth tracking, and may well be a scaleable architecture.
Compute Hardware:
Interconnect / Communications System:
Memory System:
Benchmarks / Compute and data transfer performance:
Operating System Software and Environment:
Networkability/ I/O System / Integrability / Reliability / Scalability:
Notable Applications / Customers / Market Sectors:
Overall Comments:
hawick@npac.syr.edu
saleh@npac.syr.edu