Specification - PDP-6
First shipped
June 1964
Word length
36 bits
Speed
0.25 MIPS
Memory
18-bit physical address protection
and relocation registers
Instruction set
2's complement
Input/Output
I/O and memory bus
Software
FORTRAN compiler, text editor,
a debugger(DDT),copy program
called PIP (Peripheral Interchange
Program), assembler
History
Designed for timesharing and
real-time lab use, with straightforward
interfacing capability, served as
PDP-10 production prototype
Price
$120,000-$300,000
The 36-Bit Family: The Courage to
Invest in New Technology
The first deliveries of the computer Digital called its "most dramatic"
came even before the PDP-8, in the summer
1964. The PDP-6 was shipped to MIT's Project MAC (known
variously as Multiple Access Computing and Machine Aid
Cognition), the University of Western Australia, Brookhaven
National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
PDP-6: A Personal Mainframe
The PDP-6 originally was designed to extend the performance of
Digital's 18-bit processor series, but several facto influenced the
course of the new design.
First, 36 bits was the standard for scientific computing. This
extended word length also accommodated LISP, a new language
developed for work in artificial intelligence, still an active subject of
university computing research. Finally, competing with IBM
mainframes meant producing Digital's own 36-bit machines.
The PDP-6 was designed as a new kind of mainframe, to be
used for both timesharing and real-time laboratory applications, with
straightforward interfacing capability. It was the
first of what might be called a "personal" mainframe. It also was the
first commercial computer available with software for timesharing
applications.
Although system sales were only 23, the PDP-6 had a much greater
influence than its small number would suggest. Most were sold to
universities, where a new generation of computer scientists was
introduced to the idea of interactive, time-shared computing. Although
compatibility was not a specified design goal, the series evolved into
five basic designs over 18 years-PDP-6, KAl0, KIl0, KL10, and
DECSYSTEM-20. ByJanuary of 1978 more than 700 systems would be
installed.
The PDP-10 came next, followed by be DECsystem-10 and
DECSYSTEN-20 series: large systems, all designed to give each user
the illusion of having his own large computer. They offered economical
cost per user via timesharing for commercial, scientific,and
communication applications and eliminated the long wait for results
associated with batch processing.
36-Bit Family Timeline
1964 PDP-6, Digital's first large,36-bit computer
1966 PDP-10 succeeds PDP-6
Model KA10, first Digital large system in production
1971 First DECsystem-10
1972 DECsystem-10 1ine offers unrivaled expansion
K110 model offers high performance in
scientific and real-time applications
TOPS-10 operating system
1975 KL10 introduced as two new DECsystem-10
models, 1080 and 1090
1978 DECSYSTEM-20, aka 2040, lowest-priced commercial
timesharing system
DECsystem-1088, a dual 1080, most
powerful Digital systems to date
1977 DECSYSTEM-2050 and full line of
peripheral systems.
TDPS-20 operating system
1980 DECSYSTEM-2020 released. Came with a KS processor
that operated at 20% of the lowest-cost KL processor.
1983 Digital stops developing DECsystem-10 and
DECSYSTEM-20 systems. Continues
support by converting users to VAX-based
solutions
|