Difference between pages "LSI-11 chip set" and "Digital Equipment Corporation"

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The '''LSI-11 chip set''' [[Central Processing Unit|CPU]] [[integrated circuit|chip]] set is used in both LSI-11 models - the original [[LSI-11]], and the later [[LSI-11/2]]. It is the Western Digital WD16/CP1600 (alternative designations); Western Digital later turned this into a product which was used in other systems.
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'''Digital Equipment Corporation''', or '''DEC''', was a large computer company (at one time, the second-largest in the world after [[International Business Machines|IBM]]). They made [[minicomputer]]s, their signature product (and the one that led to their success), for a period, the most popular kind of computers in the world. Their product range eventually extended from small [[mainframe]]s to [[personal computer]]s.
  
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The chip set consists of a [[data path]] chip, a control chip, and two or three [[microcode]] [[Read-only memory|ROMs]] (each holding 512 words which are 22 bits wide). (The microcode is thus more 'vertical' than 'horizontal'.)
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It was started in 1957, in an old wool mill in Maynard, Massachusetts. The original product line was modules, [[System Module]]s. Once those were established, they started producing computers using them.
  
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The data path chip contains data paths, [[register]]s, and logic to perform [[micro-instruction]]s; it includes a register file, the [[Arithmetic logic unit|ALU]], condition flags logic, and a data port which gives access to the [[QBUS]]' data/[[address]] lines.
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They reached the peak of their success in the 1980s, with their [[VAX]] line. However, they were unable to successfully adapt to the rise of personal computers, which turned computers into commodities, and were bought by [[Compaq]] in 1998.
  
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The control chip contains micro-instruction sequencing, and control for the data port; it includes a 'programmable translation array', which decodes [[macro-instruction]]s to produce microcode addresses, the 'location counter' (micro-[[program counter]]), the 'return register' (microcode [[subroutine]] return), and [[interrupt]] logic.
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==See also==
  
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The uROMs all have the same pinout, and are wired in parallel, so they can be placed in any of the three uROM positions. The first two uROMs contain the basic [[PDP-11]] [[instruction set]]; the third uROM is optional, and a number of different choices are available.
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* [[:Category:DEC Hardware]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Boards]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Architectures]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Buses]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Systems]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Processors]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Memories]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Peripherals]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Storage Controllers]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Disk Drives]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Terminals]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Software]]
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** [[:Category:DEC Operating Systems]]
  
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One is the [[KEV11-A floating point|KEV11-A]], for the [[PDP-11 Extended Instruction Set|EIS]]/[[FIS floating point|FIS]] instructions; the [[KEV11-B Extended Instruction Set|KEV11-B]] provides EIS without FIS; the [[KEV11-C Commercial Instruction Set‎|KEV11-C]] provides a subset of the PDP-11 [[PDP-11 Commercial Instruction Set|CIS]] (it also apparently includes the EIS, but not the FIS).
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==Further reading==
  
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Some verions of the CPU boards also support the optional [[KUV11 Writeable Control Store]].
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* Glenn Rifkin, George Harrar, ''The Ultimate Entrepreneur: The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporation'', Contemporary, Chicago, 1988 - The best general history of DEC, but stops at 1987
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* Edgar H. Schein, ''DEC is Dead, Long Live DEC'', Berett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2003
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* Clayton M. Christensen, ''The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail'', Harvard Business School, Boston, 1997 - Briefly discusses DEC's inability to adapt to the world with personal computers
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* Jamie Parker Pearson,''Digital at Work: Snapshots from the First Thirty-Five Years'', Digital, Burlington, 1992
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* Alan R. Earls, ''Digital Equipment Corporation (Images of America)'', Arcadia, Charleston, 2004 - Mostly covers the early years
  
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==Chip variants==
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==External links==
  
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There are a number of variants of all the various uROM chips in the base set; it is not known if all variants are completely inter-operable (i.e. any revision of any chip can be replaced with any other, and have the machine still work), so combinations will be listed.
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* [http://www.avanthar.com/healyzh/decemulation/decemu.html The DEC Emulation Website]
  
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Chip numbers of the form 23-xxxxx-rr, etc are DEC part numbers (where 'rr' seems to represent a revision number - 0, if not given); the corresponding Western Digital numbers are xxxxy, etc (where the 'x's are digits, and the 'y' a letter).
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{{semi-stub}}
  
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The Data Path chip is a 1611H (various DEC part numbers), and the Control chip is a 2007C (ditto); the uROM chips are all 30xxy.
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[[Category: Computer Manufacturers]]
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[[Category: Digital Equipment Corporation]]
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The following sets (Data, Control, uROMs) have been observed (the first three on LSI-11/2 cards):
 
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* 1611H 21-11549-01, 2007C 23-002C4, 3010A 23-001B5, 3007D 23-002B5
 
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* 1611H 21-16890, 2007C 23-002C4, 3010D 23-001B5, 3007D 23-007B5
 
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* 1611H 21-16890, 2007C 23-003C4, 3010D 23-008B5, 3007D 23-007B5
 
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* unknown, unknown, 3010D 23-001B5, 3007D 23-002B5
 
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The 3010D contains uROM addresses 0x000-0x1ff, and the 3007D 23-002B5 contains 0x200-0x3ff.
 
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==Links==
 
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* [https://github.com/brouhaha/cp16dis Microcode disassembler]
 
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* [https://en.wikichip.org/wiki/dec/lsi-11 WikiChip LSI-11]
 
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* [http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/retrocomputing/wd/microengine/microcode/ Western Digital WD9000 Pascal Microengine Microcode]
 
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{{PDP-11}}
 
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[[Category: PDP-11 Processors]]
 

Revision as of 00:27, 16 December 2018

Digital Equipment Corporation, or DEC, was a large computer company (at one time, the second-largest in the world after IBM). They made minicomputers, their signature product (and the one that led to their success), for a period, the most popular kind of computers in the world. Their product range eventually extended from small mainframes to personal computers.

It was started in 1957, in an old wool mill in Maynard, Massachusetts. The original product line was modules, System Modules. Once those were established, they started producing computers using them.

They reached the peak of their success in the 1980s, with their VAX line. However, they were unable to successfully adapt to the rise of personal computers, which turned computers into commodities, and were bought by Compaq in 1998.

See also

Further reading

  • Glenn Rifkin, George Harrar, The Ultimate Entrepreneur: The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporation, Contemporary, Chicago, 1988 - The best general history of DEC, but stops at 1987
  • Edgar H. Schein, DEC is Dead, Long Live DEC, Berett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2003
  • Clayton M. Christensen, The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, Harvard Business School, Boston, 1997 - Briefly discusses DEC's inability to adapt to the world with personal computers
  • Jamie Parker Pearson,Digital at Work: Snapshots from the First Thirty-Five Years, Digital, Burlington, 1992
  • Alan R. Earls, Digital Equipment Corporation (Images of America), Arcadia, Charleston, 2004 - Mostly covers the early years

External links

Retrieved from "https://gunkies.org/w/index.php?title=LSI-11_chip_set&oldid=19661"