RFC 90

RFC 90: CCN AS A NETWORK SERVICE CENTER 💖

Title block tea ☕: This is RFC 90, also logged as NIC 5707, by R. T. Braden of the Network Working Group, dated 25 January 1971. The header doesn't list a category, and it doesn't say what it obsoletes or updates. It's all about CCN, UCLA's Campus Computing network, and how it's about to become a "Service Center" host on the ARPA Network 🌸

A. INTRODUCTION ✨

Okay so, CCN (the Campus Computing network of UCLA) is about to get plugged into the ARPA Network as a host of the "Service Center" type 🌐 This RFC is basically the tour guide 🎀 It explains the hardware and software CCN has right now, plus the services they're planning to offer to other Network Hosts.

These services, and the order they'd get built in, were picked in talks with one specific site (RAND), which plans to use CCN through the Network. CCN would love to hear requests and comments from other sites too 🫶

B. CCN HARDWARE 💻

CCN runs an IBM 360/91KK, which is a Model 91 CPU with a 4 million byte fast memory. Iconic 👑

CPU speed is highly program-dependent. It's around 2-6 Mips, with 3 Mips as a useful average 🔥 The top end shows up when there's heavy floating point in the inner loops. The decimal arithmetic operations of a 360 should be avoided, because the 91 runs them interpretively 🙈

Memory speed is interleaved 16 ways and heavily buffered ✨ Effective memory fetch time is 600 ns in the lower 2 million bytes, and 900 ns in the upper 2 million bytes.

The I/O configuration is the whole buffet 🍓 Here it is, exactly as written:

I/O Con-
figuration      a) 6 2860       Selector Channels
                b) 1 2870       Multiplexor Channcl (with 16 control
                                unit RPQ)
                c) 5 2314       Disk Storage Units (i.e., 40 disk
                                drives).
                d) 1 2301       Drum (Systems residence and catalog
                                only.)
                e) 5 (245x)     9 track tape drives (80O bpi)
                f) 3 (240x)     7 tracts tape drives (200/556/800 bpi)
                g) 1  2291      (Modified 2250 CRT) Operator/
                                Maintenance Console.

                Also on the Multiplexor Channel are:

                h) 2 card readers and 4 high speed printers at CCN;

                i) Four 40,000 baud interfaces for CCI alphanumeric
                   TV display consoles (currently supporting 40
                   consoles);

                j) Six data communication ports (3 dial @ 2000 baud,
                   1 dedicated @ 4800 baud, and 2 dedicated @ 50,000
                   baud) for remote batch entry terminals;

                k) a Calcomp plotter;

                l) an interface for BBS Teleputers (the Culler-Fried
                   system);

                m) Ten dial ports for 2741 typewriter terminals;
                   and finally:

                n) the IMP Interface

C. OPERATING SYSTEM 🧚

The Model 91 runs the IBM-supplied MVT version of OS/360, currently Release 18.6 💅 CCN added a set of its own modifications for controlling batch job flow.

MVT is actually a version of the general process model of multiprogramming, but IBM's terminology hides that a bit 🙈 For example, a process is called a task in MVT, and the fork primitive is called "ATTACH". Slay the jargon 💜

D. USER SOFTWARE 🌈

1. Processors

CCN provides this user software:

• a) The usual FORTRAN compilers (FORT G. FORT H. WATFOR);
• b) PL/1 (version 5) and PL/C (Cornell's student PL/1);
• c) Assembler G;
• d) IBM Algol F;
• e) IBM Linkage Editor F, and a fast in-core linkage editor written at CCN;
• f) Miscellaneous processors, including:

COBOL, SPI, XP7, META-5, SNOBOL, LISP 1.5, AUTOFLOW SIMSCRIPT 1.5, MIX (Knuth's student machine), CSMP, GPSS, ECAP, APT, PMS, MATLAN, SYMAP, SPSS, and the BMD series}

• g) the IBM file utilities, SORT, and RPG.

2. Interactive Systems

• a) URSA is a conversational remote job entry system built on alphanumeric display consoles (IBM 2260 and CCI CC301 consoles) 🖥️ It also comes with a bunch of extra services, including a "desk calculator", an interactive/interpretive assembler, and on-line utilities for manipulating the OS file system. It also holds the CCN operator interface to MVT. URSA isn't great for typewriter interaction, because it's designed for "instantaneous" display of at least 480 characters at a time 🙈
• b) APL is the IBM Program Product version of this well-known interactive system. Right now it only supports IBM 2741's (Selectric typewriter terminals) ⌨️
• c) OLMS is UCLA's implementation of the Culler-Fried system, and it's nearly identical in language to the UCSX On-line System 🌸
• d) TSO is IBM's new general purpose time-sharing subsystem under MVT, set to be available at CCN sometime during 1971. TSO supports 2741's and Teletypes (and at CCN it will support CCI consoles). TSO is reminiscent of CTSS in its capabilities and command language ✨

E. REMOTE JOB SERVICE 📮

The RJS ("remote Job service") subsystem was written by CCN to support remote batch terminals that talk over dial and leased lines 📞 A remote batch terminal is a set of unit record devices (one or more card readers, printers, and punches) driven either by a hardwired controller or by a small CPU (e.g., IBM Model 20 or 1130).

A remote RJS user enters OS/360 jobs, complete with JCL, into the remote reader. The jobs get spooled into the operating system and run in their turn, and the printed and/or punched output is sent back to the remote terminal the jobs came from (unless the user or operator re-routes the output) 📄 The remote terminal can also include a console typewriter, so the remote operator can receive and send messages and control their terminal 🎀

F. FAST BATCH SUBSYSTEM ⚡

CCN wrote a fast batch subsystem called QUICKRUN to give "instant" turnaround for small, simple batch jobs, which are super common at a university computing center 🏃‍♀️ QUICKRUN takes a very simple job control language ("QCL") that doesn't have much of the generality of OS/360 JCL.

QUICKRUN is really a batch job control subsystem that runs as a job within MVT. Because it isn't very general, it creates way less system overhead than normal OS batch, and that's why each job costs less in QUICKRUN 💰

QUICKRUN is available at remote batch terminals through RJS, and also through a self-service card reader at CCN 🫧

G. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS 🦋

1. Core Memory for Batch Jobs

CCN can easily run batch jobs needing up to 3 million bytes, although jobs over 600K bytes will normally not run during prime time ⏰

2. Disk Space

CCN provides a ton of on-line disk space for permanent files 💾 The resident disk pack configuration includes:

• 220 M bytes (8 packs) of user source programs, for use through URSA.
• 170 M bytes (6 packs) of user object and load modules ("binary decks") and other files.
• 100 M bytes of limited-time storage (n days, where n is published number satisfying 7<= n < 0)

This space is charged for, at about 5s per kilobyte per month 💸

In the future, CCN plans to significantly extend this on-line space by setting up a tertiary storage system using magnetic tapes 🔮 Also, a batch job can always request that the user's own disk pack be mounted, which allows for very large private collections of files 🗂️

3. Rates

Batch charges are based on t(CPU time), I(number of I/O requests), and R(core memory region size). The current rate schedule can be obtained from:

     Mr. Kenneth Tom
     User Relations Supervisor
     UCLA
     Campus Computing Network
     Math Sciences Addition
     Los Angeles, California 90024

Generally speaking, the CCN Model 91 cost is very attractive for compute-bound, heavy floating-point calculations, especially where large regions are required 🧮 For most other jobs, the CCN machine is competitive with other cost-recovery computing centers that run without special subsidy 💅

G. SERVICE TO NETWORK 🌐

CCN currently plans to provide RJS, URSA, and (eventually) TSO service to the Network. Each of these will have its own third-level protocol. There will also be a "transparent" third level protocol, so a user-written program running in batch or TSO at CCN can talk directly with the Network 🦋

The third-level protocols, in the order CCN plans to implement them, are:

1. NETRJS

NETRJS is the name of the third level protocol that lets a user process in a remote host simulate a remote batch terminal connected to CCN's RJS system 📬 So NETRJS lets a user submit complete batch jobs to the 360/91 and get their print and punch output streams back over the Network. NETRJS has been specified in RFC #88, and implementation is targeted for March, 1971 🎯

2. NETCRT

This protocol lets a Network user simulate an (idealized) CCI alphanumeric display console and use CCN's URSA system (and eventually TS0). An initial version of NETCRT will be circulated shortly as an RFC 📣

3. NETTRANS

This is the "transparent" protocol that lets a user process at CCN talk over the Network. It hasn't been specified yet 🚧

4. NETTYPE

This protocol lets a real or simulated 2741 use TS0 (and perhaps APL) via the Network ⌨️

H. REFERENCES 📚

1. "IBM System/360 Model 91 Functional Characteristics". IBM Form A22-6907.

2. "An Implementation of MVT". CCN Technical Report TR-1 (August, 169).

3. For more information, see CCN Users' Manual.

4. "APL/360 Primer". IBM Form GH20-0689.

5. "Planning for TS0". IBM Form GC28-6698.

6. "Remote Job Service". CCN Technical Report TR-2 (undated).

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[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
[ into the online RFC archives by Robert Lamothe 3/97 ]

That's the whole RFC, bestie! 🌈👑