5 ms·

The Illiac IV Computer

56 points by betocmn 6y ago

emmelaich 6y ago
Article doesn't mention SILLIAC, a similar computer at Sydney University. > Like most of the IAS family, SILLIAC was not an exact copy of ILLIAC. One important change was the use of 2C51[6] valves in place of the more common 6J6.[7] The 2C51 had been developed by Bell Labs for use in undersea telephone repeaters and had about 5 times the life (for 6 times the cost). This decision significantly improved the reliability of SILLIAC compared to its contemporaries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SILLIAC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SILLIAC
- emmelaich 6y ago
  Add - here's a show with transcript. Including some of the original engineers. Includes Barry de Ferranti, a distant cousin of people of English engineering and computing fame. https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/silliac---australias-first-supercomputer-built-50/3384532 https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/si...
- pinewurst 6y ago
  No, SILLIAC is related to the original tube-based ILLIAC I, which is absolutely nothing like ILLIAC IV other than in name.
  - emmelaich 6y ago
    Thanks, I stand corrected.
nigwil_ 6y ago
I have been attempting to locate software for the Illiac IV. I corresponded with as many of the people involved with it I could easily find online and with NASA Ames (which has a history office!). I've been looking for software such as this: ASK - assembler for the Illiac IV on the Burroughs B5500 and later B6700 SSK - simulator for the Illiac IV on the Burroughs B5500 and later B6700 CFD - a FORTRAN like language targeted at CFD Glypnir - ALGOL like language, likely not used at Ames VECTORAL - vector processing language used at Ames So far nothing has been found except the manual for CFD.
emersonrsantos 6y ago
It was the first network-available supercomputer, beating the Cray-1 by nearly 12 months.
- nigwil_ 6y ago
  This map from Feb-1978 shows Illiac IV connected to ARPANET (top-left of diagram): https://i.imgur.com/7hSaVVf.png https://i.imgur.com/7hSaVVf.png By this time Illiac IV had been connected to ARPAnet since Nov-1975. The Illiac IV had various supporting systems: Burroughs B6700, DEC PDP-10 and PDP-11s. Map is from this document: https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a482154.pdf https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a482154.pdf
Darkphibre 6y ago
> Generally considered a failure due to massive budget overruns, the design was instrumental in the development of new techniques and systems for programming parallel systems. In the 1980s, several machines based on ILLIAC IV concepts were successfully delivered. Such as it ever was. Breaking boundaries takes guts, a lot of time and resources, and is rarely appreciated in the moment for the advances generated (even if a 'failure' by original operating criteria).
criddell 6y ago
I've been reading The Dream Machine by Mitchell Waldrop and it tells the story of early computing centered on J.C.R. Licklider. It's an easy recommendation for the HN audience. If your eyesight is less than perfect I recommend buying both the hardcover and the digital version of the book. The hardcover is printed by Stripe (yes, the payments people) and it's a beautiful thing but the text is small.
nayuki 6y ago
> The ILLIAC IV was the first massively parallel computer. The system was originally designed to have 256 64-bit floating point units (FPUs) and four central processing units (CPUs) able to process 1 billion operations per second. Modern consumer-grade GPUs and CPUs have attained these numbers, eh? It's great to see that we have achieved this goal.

56 points by betocmn 6y ago

Article doesn't mention SILLIAC, a similar computer at Sydney University. > Like most of the IAS family, SILLIAC was not an exact copy of ILLIAC. One important change was the use of 2C51[6] valves in place of the more common 6J6.[7] The 2C51 had been developed by Bell Labs for use in undersea telephone repeaters and had about 5 times the life (for 6 times the cost). This decision significantly improved the reliability of SILLIAC compared to its contemporaries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SILLIAC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SILLIAC

emmelaich 6y ago
Add - here's a show with transcript. Including some of the original engineers. Includes Barry de Ferranti, a distant cousin of people of English engineering and computing fame. https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/silliac---australias-first-supercomputer-built-50/3384532 https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/si...
pinewurst 6y ago
No, SILLIAC is related to the original tube-based ILLIAC I, which is absolutely nothing like ILLIAC IV other than in name.
- emmelaich 6y ago
  Thanks, I stand corrected.

nigwil_ 6y ago

I have been attempting to locate software for the Illiac IV. I corresponded with as many of the people involved with it I could easily find online and with NASA Ames (which has a history office!). I've been looking for software such as this: ASK - assembler for the Illiac IV on the Burroughs B5500 and later B6700 SSK - simulator for the Illiac IV on the Burroughs B5500 and later B6700 CFD - a FORTRAN like language targeted at CFD Glypnir - ALGOL like language, likely not used at Ames VECTORAL - vector processing language used at Ames So far nothing has been found except the manual for CFD.

emersonrsantos 6y ago

It was the first network-available supercomputer, beating the Cray-1 by nearly 12 months.

nigwil_ 6y ago
This map from Feb-1978 shows Illiac IV connected to ARPANET (top-left of diagram): https://i.imgur.com/7hSaVVf.png https://i.imgur.com/7hSaVVf.png By this time Illiac IV had been connected to ARPAnet since Nov-1975. The Illiac IV had various supporting systems: Burroughs B6700, DEC PDP-10 and PDP-11s. Map is from this document: https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a482154.pdf https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a482154.pdf

Darkphibre 6y ago

> Generally considered a failure due to massive budget overruns, the design was instrumental in the development of new techniques and systems for programming parallel systems. In the 1980s, several machines based on ILLIAC IV concepts were successfully delivered. Such as it ever was. Breaking boundaries takes guts, a lot of time and resources, and is rarely appreciated in the moment for the advances generated (even if a 'failure' by original operating criteria).

criddell 6y ago

I've been reading The Dream Machine by Mitchell Waldrop and it tells the story of early computing centered on J.C.R. Licklider. It's an easy recommendation for the HN audience. If your eyesight is less than perfect I recommend buying both the hardcover and the digital version of the book. The hardcover is printed by Stripe (yes, the payments people) and it's a beautiful thing but the text is small.

nayuki 6y ago

> The ILLIAC IV was the first massively parallel computer. The system was originally designed to have 256 64-bit floating point units (FPUs) and four central processing units (CPUs) able to process 1 billion operations per second. Modern consumer-grade GPUs and CPUs have attained these numbers, eh? It's great to see that we have achieved this goal.