The original large-processor UTS system was based on UNIX Version 6, with features and functions added to accommodate the special requirements of a mainframe environment. As word spread among Amdahl's customers that an effective UNIX system had been developed for large mainframes, they began to request that the UTS system be made available to them.
Amdahl released a native version of the UTS system, UTS/580, in 1986. It was the first large-scale, commercially available operating system for System/370 architecture created by a vendor other than IBM. It also was the first standalone native implementation of UNIX System V for System/370 data center environments. UTS/580 could also operate as a guest under VM and in a domain when using Amdahl's Multiple Domain Feature. This new release was welcomed by data centers seeking to consolidate MVS, VM and UNIX system operations. When running in native mode, UTS/580 allowed them to avoid the processor overhead previously consumed by VM and to apply it directly to the workload. Without fanfare, Amdahl had invented, then refined, the open environment for mainframes.
UTS Release 2 (UTS 2.0) in 1989 extended communications between UNIX systems across major standardized networks and protocols (including Ethernet, TCP/IP and HYPERchannel). UTS 2.0 also implemented STREAMS-based drivers and support for NFS (Network File System), a de facto industry standard from Sun Microsystems(R) for distributed data processing that allows local access to remote data. Amdahl was an early pioneer in SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing) technology with UTS 2.0, which provided a unique symmetric multiprocessor implementation to take full advantage of the most powerful general-purpose processors of the day.
UTS Release 2.1 (UTS 2.1), in 1990, increased UTS system connectivity to a full 256 channels, supporting a large number and variety of UNIX-to-UNIX connections, and added channel-to-channel connections between UTS systems and MVS systems. As a result, MVS and UNIX systems could coexist as partners in the same environment, protecting the customer's investment in Systems Network Architecture (SNA).
Amdahl achieved another industry first in UTS 2.1 by exceeding the 2 gigabyte limitation of traditional UNIX file systems. The UTS Extended File System (EFS) managed multiple disks in a file system, providing single files of up to 6 terabytes and up to 1 billion files per file system. File-striping techniques across multiple I/O paths brought sustained data transfer rates of 25 megabytes/second across a range of storage systems.
Recognizing the needs of commercial customers for a secure version of UNIX, Amdahl developed the UTS/MLS system. First shipped in 1992, UTS/MLS Release 2.1.5, has been certified by the United States government Nation Computer Security Center at a B1-level security rating.
Amdahl has long been a supporter of open systems. These activities include a founding membership in UNIX International, a full supporting membership in X/Open(R), long-standing participation in UniForum, and other national and international organizations.
In response to customer pricing needs, Amdahl became the first vendor other than IBM to offer a software product, the UTS system , that is recognized by IBM for its Multiple Operating System -- PR/SM Software Charge Option (MOSP). This can result in significant savings for customers that have multiple operating systems, including UTS, and other major IBM software products installed on the same machine.
The partnership combines Sun's expertise in networking and open client-server computing with Amdahl's strength in the commercial data processing environment, resulting in open systems product offerings that spans from the departmental server, with the SPARCserver(TM) 1000 and Solaris, to the data center with 5995M processors and UTS. Amdahl's A+Edition(TM) for Solaris brings the outstanding performance and reliability characteristics of the UTS system for the first time to a RISC platform. A+Edition for Solaris is already recognized as providing a significant improvement in the utilization of the potential capacity of large multiprocessor SPARCcenter(TM) 2000 systems. Future releases of A+Edition for Solaris will increasingly provide the data center values and capabilities of the UTS system for SPARC(R) platforms and enterprise networks.
An innovation of UTS 4.2 is that key subsystems, including DASD and selected communication drivers, are designed to fully exploit SMP architectures. The resulting improvements in multi-tasking and scheduling efficiency allow nearly linear scaling of throughput and utilize the full capabilities of up to 16 processors in SMP complexes while simultaneously supporting thousands of on-line users and tens of thousands of concurrent processes.
UTS 4.2 was engineered to eliminate all kernel panics (other UNIX operating systems based on a simple port of the base SVR4 source contain "panic" code that will stop the machine in unexpected situations). In the development of UTS 4.2, the base SVR4 code was methodically "scrubbed" to create a run-time environment as reliable as the S/390 hardware platform it serves.
In March 1994, Amdahl broke new ground, announcing that it would support the UTS system, previously available only on Amdahl mainframes, on System/370 and System/390 platforms marketed by IBM, Hitachi Data Systems and Comparex. Continuing the long tradition of increasing customer value through open systems, Amdahl added support for the latest in LAN controller architectures, IBM 3172 Model 3 Interconnect Controllers, a de facto industry standard from IBM, to the UTS 4.2 system.
The increased scalability of the UTS 4.2 operating system provides access to the full storage capacity of the new IBM 3390 model 9 DASD devices, giving users practically unlimited growth potential for disk capacity and the flexibility to configure systems using older DASD devices or the latest in System/390 storage technology. The UTS system is unique in the UNIX marketplace in its ability to support DASD farms that can grow into hundreds of Terabytes. UTS 4.2 provides basic ESCON support and future UTS releases will provide enhanced ESCON support. This allows UTS customers to utilize 17 Megabyte/sec ESCON channels as part of current and future high capacity solutions.
In April 1994, UTS 4.2 was branded by X/OPEN as conforming to XPG4, adding to the long list of supported standards achieved with earlier releases including SVID Issue 3, POSIX 1003.1, FIPS 151-1, FIPS 151-2, SNMP (MIB II) and other standards. Future direction includes support for DCE and Spec 1170 standards.
Amdahl again is the industry leader with the first commercial implementation of the Universal Measurement Architecture (UMA) model, an emerging standard for the collection and reporting of system performance data from the Performance Management Working Group (PMWG). Early in 1994, Amdahl began shipment of the A+UMA(TM) Performance Data Manager on both UTS systems and Solaris operating systems. Used in combination with Amdahl's A+OpenTune(TM) Performance Monitor and A+OpenWatch(TM)Distributed Threshold Monitor, the customer is provided with a powerful system performance management facility to address the needs of enterprise-wide networks of System/390 mainframes and Sun(TM) file servers.
Taken together, the developmental efforts made by Amdahl on the UTS system have made it the premier enterprise-scale open operating system - the system of choice for IT customers seeking to safely and easily integrate data center strength and security with the local control and flexibility of the distributed open environment.
Amdahl and UTS are registered trademarks and the A+ logo, A+Edition, A+UMA, A+OpenTune and A+OpenWatch are trademarks of Amdahl Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd. X/Open is a registered trademark of X/Open Company Ltd. Solaris and Sun are trademarks of Sun Microsystems Inc. and Sun Microsystems is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. SPARC is a registered trdaemark of SPARC International, INc. SPARCserver and SPARCcenter are trademarks of SPARC International Inc. and licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc.. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. (c) 1995 Amdahl Corporation. All rights reserved. reference:MM002041-001