PROgress (PA-RISC) Newsletter
Candace Doyle
***********************************************************************
October 1993 PROgress Newsletter
A member publication for Precision Risc Organization
Editor: Janet Beyers 447-7851
P
Public document: Can be shared within HP and within our installed base
***********************************************************************
Hitachi Discloses the PA/50 Line of PA-RISC CPUs: At the recent
Microprocessor Forum in San Francisco, Hitachi Semiconductor described
their new family of PA-RISC based microprocessors aimed at the personal
workstation and high-end embedded control markets. The PA/50 line was
designed as a low power, low cost, and small die-sized chip family (138
sq. mm). Hitachi's implementations are PA-RISC 1.1 compliant,
supporting big/little endian mode, uncachable memory, block TLB, and
shadow registers. Features developed by Hitachi in the new PA/50 line
include data prefetching, non-blocking cache, power save mode, and
synchronous DRAM support. The initial implementations are the PA/50L
and the PA/50M. The 50L is a 33MHz, 3.3volt part packaged in a plastic
QFP. This microprocessor performs at 55 MIPS(Dhrystone) and 10.6
MFLOPS (Linpack inner loop). Die size is 11.5X12.0 mm. Hitachi's 50M
chip, next in the progression, will run at 60MHz and offer
approximately 100 MIPS of performance. Hitachi has implemented the 50L
chip in their new line of computer products announced in late September
in Japan. Hitachi will announce pricing and availability for the PA/50
line of chips in the first half of 1994. For more information, contact
Larry Gagliani, Hitachi, at 415-244-7371.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
Oki Semiconductor Outlines Details of the OP32 PA-RISC Embedded
Controller: Oki presented a technical overview of their new OKI PA-RISC
embedded controller, the OP32 line, in October at the Microprocessor
Forum. Oki revealed a family of chips compatible with HP's latest
version of the PA-RISC architecture, featuring cache-freeze capability,
a DRAM controller, and a DMA controller. Oki is targeting the OP32 line
of chips at the laser beam printer, FAX, X-terminal, telecom, and
automotive markets. Oki plans to implement the OP32 chip family in
Office Automation products such as printers. Oki has working silicon
today. The OP32 chip set offers high performance via 5-stage pipelining
and large cache sizes. The first chip, the OP32/50N, offers 39 MIPS of
performance at a clock rate of 33MHz. Oki's low cost targets are due to
a highly integrated microcontroller with no external glue logic and the
integrated DMA and DRAM controllers. Oki has also included a power
saving mode and JTAG support on the chip. The OP32 line is currently
slated for .8 um, 3-layer metal CMOS fabrication. The OP32/50N contains
1.1 M transistors and is 14.3X14.3 mm in size. The chip generates 3
watts of heat. Oki will provide details on pricing and availability of
the new OP32 line in March/April of 1994. For more information, call
Rebecca Franks, Oki, at 408-737-6378.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
CSEE Joins PRO: Welcome to new member, CSEE, a French electronics
company. CSEE is a $350M company with approximately $200M in electronics
and information systems annual sales. CSEE has four main branches:
Communications, Transportation, Toll Systems, and Defense. CSEE
currently incorporates PA-RISC technologies in a railway communications
solution as well as in tactical and display systems for the defense
industry. CSEE was recently chosen by the French Navy to equip new
aircraft carriers with PA-RISC based Combat Management Systems
solutions. CSEE has announced plans to develop ruggedized workstations
based on HP's PA-RISC industrial workstation, the 747i. This new line
of products is called the CS 700 R and the first product will be
available at the end of 1993. For more information, call Claude
Bernard-Guelle, CSEE, at 33-94-08-1474.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
Winbond Electronics Corporation Announces PA-RISC Embedded Controller
Plans: Winbond Electronics, a Taiwanese semiconductor leader,
announced recently that their first PA-RISC embedded controller, the
W89K, will be available in March 1994. Based on the HP-PA architecture,
Winbond's first 32-bit RISC embedded controller will feature leading
price performance at a 33 and 66MHz clockrate. Winbond has developed the
new chip to have a similar pin out to the 80486/DX/DX2 chip, enabling
developers to utilize off-the-shelf logic chip sets to complement the
W89K. Applications designers who are familiar with the 80486/DX/DX2 pin
out scheme could easily apply the new W89K in their next hardware
designs, reducing cost and shortening the product development cycle.
For more information regarding the W89K, contact Wilbur Chuang, Winbond,
(Taiwan) at 886-35-792558 or FAX: 886-35-774527.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
CXSOFT, Convex Computer Business Unit, Announces PA-RISC Software
Availability: Convex Computer launched a new business unit last summer
called CXSOFT, targeted at marketing and distributing high-performance
software for PA-RISC based systems. CXSOFT currently offers ConvexMLIB,
a math library with the highest performance numerical routines available
for PA-RISC systems, ConvexPVM, a parallel program development package
for clusters of PA-RISC workstations, and ConvexNQS+, a highly efficient
batch queueing system. CXSOFT has implemented a new distribution
methodology for distributing these products, resulting in guaranteed
delivery by the afternoon after the order is placed. CXSOFT has
announced development efforts to enhance functionality and performance
in the math libraries , as well as include more programming tools for
ConvexPVM. For more information regarding CXSOFT's products, call the
toll-free number (US) 1-800-CXSOFT-1 or outside the US call 1-214-497-
3330.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
Hitachi Announces New 3050 PA-RISC Workstations:: Hitachi announced on
September 30 new members of their 3050RX computer line, based on
Hitachi's own PA/50L PA-RISC chip. Hitachi has been marketing 12
computer models since May 1993 as part of the "Hitachi Creative Station
3050RX Group" (workstations). As part of the announcement, the new
3050RX/200 was featured as the new low cost, low power desktop model.
The 3050RX/200 workstation runs at 33MHz with performance of 42 MIPS,
including 16MB of memory in the standard package expandable to 144 MB.
Also incorporated is an internal hard disk in three sizes: 240 MB, .5
GB, and 1 GB. Hitachi also announced a reduced footprint color laptop,
the 3050RX/100C, based on the PA/50L chip. This laptop offers standard
memory of 16 MB extendable to 80 MB and includes an internal hard disk
of .5 GB. The 100C laptop features a high-precision (1024 X 768) TFT
color LCD display with fast response and a degree of readability
comparable to a CRT. Both new systems support the HI-UX/WE2 operating
system. Since the 3050RX/200 leverages parts from the laptop model, the
3050RX/200 boasts the lowest price in the industry. For more
information on Hitachi's new PA computer products, call Mr. Kohzoh
Yoshida, Hitachi, at (Japan 81) 3-3763-2411.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
Convex Computer Announces New DataSeries Solutions: Convex Computer
announced on September 24, 1993 a broad range of data management
solutions consisting of hardware, robotic tape systems, software, and
support services. This new set of products, named the DataSeries, is
based on Hewlett-Packard's PA-RISC-based Series 700 workstations at the
low end, and on the Convex C Series supercomputer at the high end.
Convex integrates file server platforms with leading robotically
controlled tape subsystems. The sophisticated software behind the
hardware includes UNITree+ and FileServ, hierarchical storage management
applications. The Convex DataSeries enables users to retain their
original computer investments while addressing their data management
needs with a scalable set of solutions. For more information, contact
Donna Burke, Convex Computer, at 214-497-4230.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
PRO Board of Directors Met on September 1: Stratus Computer hosted the
PRO Board of Directors in Boston on Wednesday, September 1. All Board
members were present. Jim Bell, PRO CEO, chaired the meeting, which
addressed topics such as the PRO Conformance and Branding program,
public relations, and the technical services. The PRO Board of Directors
approved the adoption of the Japanese Localization Environment
specification as a standard. For more information regarding the Board
meeting, contact Elaine Snoeck, PRO, at 408-447-1352.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
Hewlett-Packard Announces New PA-RISC Workstations and Business Systems:
On September 20 HP added new computer products to the Series 900
Business Systems Computer family as well as to the Series 700
Workstation line. HP announced the new HP3000 Series 987/150 , which
increases the number of simultaneous users by 40% to 1,700. Increased
performance is gained by adopting a faster clock version of the PA 7100
chip...now running at 96MHz...and the fourfold increase in the on-board
cache to 2MB. HP also announced four new versions of the Series 700
workstation line: the Models 715/75 and the 725/75, and the industrial
models 745i/100 and the 747i/100. The 715 and 725 products offer a 50%
increase in performance over the current models via the faster, 75MHz
chip, and the quadrupled cache size. The models 745i and 747i
industrial workstations double performance over previous models by
implementing a 100MHz version of the PA 7100 chip. For more
information, call Jim Christensen, HP, at 408-447-1678.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
Stratus Computer Acquires Shared Financial Systems: Stratus Computer
announced in mid-September plans to extend into new product areas by
purchasing the Dallas-based Shared Financial Systems Inc. for
approximately $15M. Shared Financial develops and distributes vertical
software and professional services to the financial, retail and health
care industries in 46 countries. Shared Financial produces a line of
applications for the Stratus VOS-based computers as well as middleware
solutions for Stratus' FTX systems. For more information, call Paul
LaBelle, Stratus Computer, at 508-460-2066.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
The PRO Technology Council Met on August 6: All Senior and Sponsor
members participated in this one day meeting. Topics addressed
included: embedded control tools model, the Japanese Localization
Environment standard, and the PRO Conformance Environment for platforms
and applications. The major action/decisions resulting from this
meeting were the recommendation to propose the Japanese Localization
Environment specification be approved as a PRO standard. For more
information, call Ron Jonas, PRO, at 408-447-1983.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
Hitachi Computer Team Announces HARP-1 Development Efforts: At the
August HOT CHIPS event at Stanford University, Hitachi profiled their
R&D experience with their first PA-RISC chip design, the HARP-1. The
chip runs at 120MHZ with initial estimates of performance to be over 70
SPECint92 and 110 SPECfp92. Hitachi plans to manufacture the chip in a
.5 um, 4 metal layer BiCMOS process. Unlike previous HP
implementations, the HARP-1 chip incorporates a split-level cache, dual
integer ALUs, and a second-level TLB. This chip dissipates 20 watts at
3.3 volts. For more information, call Larry Gagliani, Hitachi, at 415-
244-7371.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
The Conformance Special Interest Group Met on September 15 and 16 in
Cupertino. The C-SIG is making progress in defining requirements and
processes for the PRO Conformance Environment. The next meeting will be
hosted by Convex Computer in Richardson, Texas in mid-October. For more
information, contact Jim Whitten, PRO, at 408-447-4759.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
The Embedded Control Marketing Group (ECMG) Met on August 4 in
Cupertino: The ECMG met at PRO headquarters to address promotional
activities to be leveraged across team members. Hal Feeney, Pathfinder
Research, gave a presentation on the Embedded Control Tools Competitive
environment, analyzing the tools players, their product offerings, and
market positioning. The ECMG conducted a 1994 tactical planning session
for PA-RISC chip and tools promotions. For more information, call Janet
Beyers, PRO, at 408-447-7851.
.......................................................................
.......................................................................
The PRO Marketing Council Met on August 5 in California: All Senior and
Sponsor members were represented. Topics addressed were the ISV Program
and the PRO Conformance and Branding efforts, the promotions activities
for the next 18 months, and the preview of the PRO Strategy
Presentation. For more information, call Tom Black, PRO, at 408-447-
7451.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
HP Introduces New Tool on PA Platforms for Building Objects
Applications: Hewlett-Packard introduced on September 27 a new
distributed -computing solution for building scalable, object-oriented
applications. With HP ORB Plus, programmers can develop scalable,
object-based applications that can be distributed throughout the
enterprise. HP also introduced an enhanced version of HP Distributed
Smalltalk. Both HP ORB Plus and HP Distributed Smalltalk are major
components of HP's overall distributed computing strategy. HP ORB Plus
is the only environment that combines the complete CORBA 1.1
specification from the Object Management Group with the DCE standard
from OSF. HP expects to deliver a Developer's Kit in mid 1994 with
pricing announced at that time. HP ORB Plus runs on HP's Series 700
workstations and Series 800 business servers...all based on PA-RISC.
For more information, call Lynne Hanson, HP, at 408-447-1415.
........................................................................
.......................................................................
The PRO Embedded Control Special Interest Group (ECSIG) Met October 6
in Tokyo. Yokogawa Electric hosted the meeting. Several third party
tools providers gave presentations on their products. For more
information, contact Junichiro Abe, Yokogawa, at 81-4-2252-5753.
.......................................................................
.......................................................................
IBM's Database 2 (DB2) on PA-RISC: IBM and HP announced on September
21 an agreement to make IBM's Database 2 technology available on the HP
9000 line of PA-RISC computers. HP 9000 users will be able to trans-
parently integrate into a DB2 environment. They will be able to operate
easily with enterprise applications and data that reside on other IBM
platforms running DB2. The HP 9000 family of business computers and
workstations will be the first non-IBM hosts to support the DB2 environ-
ment. IBM and HP will work together to maximize DB2 performance on the
PA-RISC computers. For more information, call Lynne Hanson, HP, at 408-
447-1415.
........................................................................
........................................................................
For more information, contact:
Precision Risc Organization
19111 Pruneridge Avenue Mailstop 44MU
Cupertino, CA USA 95014
Phone: 408-447-4249
FAX: 408-447-7568
..........................................................................