COMPUTER MEMORIES, Chapter 52

CONTROL DATA
As mentioned elsewhere, the man who hired me at RCA was laid off from his job when RCA got rid of about 80% of the people at the Van Nuys installation. My immediate boss was soon laid off also, so several months later, tired of wondering from week to week when the other shoe would drop, I took him up on his offer of a job at Control Data Corp.

Since I had worked at the Rocketdyne Division of North American Aviation, it was decided I was the best person to sell them Control Data computer equipment. I would bet that IBM, and the people involved would deny this, but it was always my impression that IBM “invented” the 7040/7094 - DCS (Directly Coupled System), in response to my efforts to sell a CDC 6600 to one of IBM’s largest customers.

It was obvious that if the main processor did not have to mess with slow devices like magnetic tape, and other input/output devices, and data was fed to and removed from the “big” computer through a high-speed connection to another memory, the main computer could solve many more problems. The CDC 6600 consisted of a large central processor, surrounded by 10 peripheral and control processors that were assigned the tasks of CDC 6600operating the devices connected to the input/output channels, and transferring data to and from the central processor.

That idea was so compelling, IBM came up with the idea of the 7040/7094 - DCS, later upgraded to a 7044/7094 - DCS as their answer to the CDC 6600. The 7040, and the 7044 were the peripheral processors, and the 7094 was the central processor in that configuration. I tried to convince the powers that be at Rocketdyne, that if they wanted to really get ahead in the use of computers, install CDC, then help develop software as needed to do their exact job, just as they needed it done. Everyone knows that if you install IBM equipment, they will supply expertise needed to get the job done, but you do the same job, in the same manner, as thousands of others, but not usually on the leading edge of technology.

I have a 30 page presentation in large type, that describes the Control Data 6600, in charts, diagrams, and explanations. The section heading include: Basic Design Criteria, System Diagram, Central Memory, Central Processor, Peripheral Processor, Peripheral Equipment, Disk File, Communications, Software and Operating System, Data Flow, Disc Organization, Programming Guidelines.