Alliant Computer Systems Technology and Features

The Alliant Computer Systems were a marvel of their time, boasting some impressive technology and features. They were capable of processing 1.9 gigaflops, making them one of the fastest supercomputers in the world.

The Alliant FX/8, for example, had a vector processor that could perform calculations at speeds of up to 100 million floating-point operations per second. This made it an ideal choice for scientific and engineering applications.

One notable feature of the Alliant Computer Systems was their use of the FX!32 operating system, which provided a user-friendly interface and efficient multitasking capabilities. This allowed users to run multiple applications simultaneously without significant slowdown.

The Alliant FX/8's vector processor also supported a range of instruction set architectures, including the FX!32 and the Unix operating system. This flexibility made it a popular choice among researchers and scientists.

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The Alliant FX series was a line of vector register, parallel, shared-memory architectures, which included machines like the FX1, FX4, FX8, FX40, and FX80.

The FX series was designed with flexibility in mind, with the number of Interactive Processors (IPs) varying across models. An FX/1 had 1-2 IPs, while an FX/4 and FX/40 had 1-6 IPs, and an FX/80 had 1-12 IPs.

The FX series also supported TCP/IP network support, making it a great choice for those who needed to integrate their system with other networks.

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The Alliant CAMPUS/800 was a massively parallel supercomputer, and we have documentation on its specifications. It was a powerful machine for its time.

The CAMPUS/800 system was first documented in 1991, and we have a glossy brochure that showcases its features.

The FX series of machines were vector register, parallel, shared-memory architectures. They included the FX1, FX4, FX8, FX40, and FX80 models.

Here are the platforms documented:

The operating system environment on the Alliant system was Concentrix, an enhancement of Berkeley 4.2 UNIX with multiprocessor support. This allowed for efficient use of multiple processors.

Languages supported on the system included Fortran, C, Pascal, Ada, Lisp, STSC APL, and 68020 Assembler. Each of these languages had its own unique characteristics and features.

The Fortran implementation on the system conformed to the 1978 ANSI standard and included several extensions, such as most of the VAX/VMS extensions and Fortran 8x array extensions. This made it a versatile and powerful tool for scientific and engineering applications.

The system also had a vectorizing/parallelizing capability, which automatically detected vectors and provided feedback to the user via diagnostic messages. This feature was especially useful for applications that involved complex mathematical calculations.

The system's size varied depending on the configuration, with the FX/1 system measuring 28" x 13" x 25" and the FX/4, FX/40, and FX/80 systems measuring 43.5" x 29.5" x 33.8".

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The FX series of computers boasts impressive networkability, thanks to its support for TCP/IP networks in a stand-alone configuration. This means you can connect your FX system to the internet or other networks without the need for a separate host computer.

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Interactive Processors (IPs) are the heart of the FX's I/O system, executing operating system, interactive code, and I/O operations with ease. An FX/1 and FX/4 can have 1-6 IPs, while the more powerful FX/80 can have up to 12 IPs.

Peripherals are also readily available for the FX series, giving you a wide range of options to customize your system to suit your needs.

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The Alliant FX Series is a line of powerful computers that are air-cooled, with the FX/1 model consuming a maximum of 1155 Watts.

The FX Series offers a range of power consumption options, with the FX/4 model using 4500 Watts and the FX/40 model using 4200 Watts. The FX/80 model uses 5100 Watts.

The FX Series is known for its high-performance capabilities, with the FX/8 model being a multiprocessor that contains up to eight processors called computational elements, or CEs. These processors can run separate processes or cooperate on a single application.

The Alliant FX Series also includes a compiler that automatically attempts to partition a code for concurrent execution on several processors. This feature allows for efficient use of the system's processing power.

Additional reading: Alliant Techsystems

In 1988, Alliant purchased Raster Technologies, a provider of high-resolution graphics terminals and custom graphics cards for Sun Microsystems workstations.

The FX/2800 series was released in 1990, replacing the CE/ACEs and IPs with modules based on the Intel i860RISC chip.

The i860RISC chip allowed programmers direct access into the pipelines, making it perfect for supercomputer applications with custom coding.

A fully expanded FX/2800 could support 28 i860's in total, with up to four i860s in the Super Computational Element and Super Interactive Processor.

Alliant's first fully integrated graphical minisupercomputer was the VFX, released in 1988, which integrated Raster graphics technology with the FX/40 and FX/80 machines.

The CAMPUS/800 was announced in 1991, a massively parallel machine based on ClusterNodes with up to 4GB of unified memory.

The largest CAMPUS system created included 192 ClusterNodes in total, and provided 4.7 GFLOPS.

Alliant went bankrupt in 1992 due to financial problems, but their systems continued to be used for many years after that.

The Computer History Museum has examples of the FX/8 and FX/1, but is seeking examples of FX/80 and FX/2800 configurations.

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Alliant Computer Systems were known for their supercomputers, which were evaluated through benchmarks and comparative evaluations. They were a key player in the field of computer architecture.

Their systems were designed for computer calculations, using digital computers and electronic circuits. This led to the development of microelectronic circuits and microprocessors.

Supercomputers were a key area of focus for Alliant, with performance being a major consideration. Programming was also a crucial aspect of their systems.

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