IBM RT
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The IBM RT was a computer based around on the PC-AT bus and IBM's ROMP microprocessor, a single-chip version of the IBM 801. The system was introduced in 1986 as the RT PC (RISC Technology Personal Computer) and ran AIX 1.x and 2.x, or alternatively, the Academic Operating System (AOS). It was commonly, but incorrectly, known as the PC RT, and IBM later simplified the name. Speed was considered to be rather poor, and the system was withdrawn from the market around 1989 or 1990. However, the system spurred further development. It was followed by IBM's RS/6000 and the corresponding POWER processor line, which is the basis for today's PowerPC. Three models were produced, the 6150, 6151, and 6152.
The ROMP or Research (Office Products Division) Mini Processor chip, also known in some circles as 032, was first developed in 1981 and was intended for "mini" uses. It was a 32-bit processor and was designed to be used with a two-chip memory management unit.
The RT forced an important stepping-stone in the development of the X Window System when a group at Brown University ported X version 9 to the system. Problems with reading unaligned data on the RT forced an incompatible protocol change, leading to version 10 in late 1985.
External links
- The IBM RT PC ROMP processor and memory management unit architecture (http://domino.research.ibm.com/tchjr/journalindex.nsf/0/f6570ad450831a2485256bfa00685bda?OpenDocument)
- IBM RT PC-page (http://www.damage.fi/slas/rt/rt.html)
- The IBM RT Information Page (http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr/shadow/www/ibmrt.html)
- JMA Systems's FAQ Archive (http://faqs.jmas.co.jp/FAQs/ibm-rt-faq/)
- Liebig University's FAQ archive (http://www.uni-giessen.de/faq/archiv/ibm-rt-faq.aix-v2.part1-4/)
- ftp-rt.dementia.org (ftp://ftp-rt.dementia.org/pub/rt/)
