Tandem computers
| Tandem computers
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | |
| founding | 1974 |
| resolution | 1997 |
| Reason for dissolution | takeover |
| Seat |
 United States
|
| management | James Treybig |
| Branch | Information technology |
Tandem Computers was an American computer manufacturer who, with its NonStop series, developed particularly fault-tolerant server systems for the first time. The company was founded in 1974 and taken over by Compaq in 1997 . The fault-tolerant NonStop computers have nevertheless been further developed and are now marketed under the name HP Integrity NonStop Server after Compaq was taken over by Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2002 .
history
Tandem Computers was founded in 1974 by a group of Hewlett-Packard engineers led by James Treybig . The first system (Tandem NonStop I) was launched in 1976.
Other important model series from the early years were NonStop II (1980), NonStop TXP (1983), NonStop VLX (1986) and NonStop Cyclone (1989), all of which were constructed using discrete technology. One of the machines from the early 1980s is exhibited as a running system in the Deutsches Museum in Munich . In the 1990s, the non-stop systems of the K series were equipped with microprocessors from MIPS . In 1997, the Dynabus architecture used until then was replaced by the new "ServerNet" system architecture in the new S series. Instead of a double system bus, a redundant system area network with extremely fast internal routers was used, which meant that the internal bandwidth of the system could be increased practically without limits. The technical concepts of ServerNet later flowed into the serial high-speed transmission technology InfiniBand .
In the same year, the proprietary operating system Guardian used until then was replaced by a completely new operating system called NonStop OS. NonStop OS has a Unix character (OSS), the user interfaces are POSIX compliant. For reasons of compatibility, NonStop OS also has a Guardian mode (investment protection for existing applications).
Tandem Computers was acquired by Compaq in 1997 for nearly $ 3 billion . The systems were henceforth sold under the name "Compaq Himalaya".
Compaq was again taken over by Hewlett-Packard in 2002. This company, founded by former HP employees, ended up at HP after 28 years. Under HP, the product name has been changed to HP NonStop. With the switch to Itanium processors from Intel in 2005 , the current name HP Integrity NonStop was introduced. These systems are now one of HP's three strategic server lines.
Non-stop systems
The NonStop systems are characterized by a high level of failure safety and are extremely scalable due to their massively parallel computer architecture.
NonStop systems do not contain a “ single point of failure ”, all components such as B. CPUs , control units , hard disks , data paths or power supplies are available several times. If a component fails, the system is automatically reconfigured (self-healing effect). The fault tolerance is implemented not only in the hardware, but also in the system software. Active processes and their backup processes form process pairs, the operating system ensures that processing continues without interruption even if software errors occur and that no data is lost. These processes are transparent for the application; the necessary recovery measures are only processed at the system level.
This special procedure eliminates the usual high availability clustering , which greatly simplifies system management. The operation of the system is therefore very cost-effective, at the same time the system behavior is extremely robust.
According to their characteristics, NonStop systems are mainly used where constant availability is required. Examples are the control of ATMs and cash register payment systems ( point of sale ) or the operation of exchange trading systems such as B. at the New York Stock Exchange . Another example is Course 90 , the central ticket sales system for several European rail companies.
Around 70% of all transactions in the above-mentioned areas of application are processed via NonStop systems. Other typical areas of application are the control of communication networks (e.g. for mobile radio), the control of manufacturing plants and automatic storage systems or the operation of reservation systems such as at Deutsche Bahn.
Web links
- Tandem Technical Reports - Tandem White Papers from Hewlett-Packard
- Tandem Systems Review - Journal, published 1983–1994 (some articles are available online)
