ND-500

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The ND-500 is a 32-bit superminicomputer delivered in 1981 by Norsk Data. It relied on a ND-100 to do housekeeping tasks and run the operating system, SINTRAN III. The ND-500 used shared MPM-5 (Multiport Memory 5) to coordinate with its I/O processor and other ND-500 CPUs in the system.

A configuration could feature up to four ND-500 CPUs, in a shared-memory configuration.

Hardware implementations

The ND-500 architecture lived through four distinct implementations. Each implementation was sold under a variety of different model numbers.

ND also sold multiprocessor configurations, naming them ND-580/n and an ND-590n, where n represented the number of CPUs in a given configuration, 2, 3, or 4.

ND-500/1

Sold as the ND-520, ND-540, and ND-560.

CPU Interface
3022 (ND-100 side) + 5015 (ND-500 side) parallel interface
Memory
MPM-5 (Multiport Memory 5)
Messaging
Pre-NUCLEUS, shared-memory synchronization only

ND-500/2

Sold as the ND-510, ND-530, ND-550, ND-560, ND-570 (and various /CX variants as newer ND-1x0 variants became available)

CPU Interface
3022 + 5015 parallel interface (same as ND-500/1)
Memory
MPM-5
Microcode versions
15212-15213 (ND-550/560/570) supporting NUCLEUS on ND-500-II
Messaging
Foundation for NUCLEUS runtime (ND-500-II with OCTOBUS support)

ND-505

A 31-bit version of the ND-500 machine, but . Pin 27 was snipped on the backplane, removing its status as a superminicomputer, allowing it to legally pass through the CoCom embargo. Cocom (Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls) was an embargo on Western exports to East Bloc countries during the Cold War [1], [2]

The ND-505(/CX) uses a 500/2 CPU. 29 bits of addressing space is available for the user [3] (exactly how this relates to the physical 31 bits is not entirely clear).

ND-500-II

The ND-500-II (or ND-500/II) was a model variant of the ND-500/2 that added OCTOBUS connectivity via specialized line driver hardware (PCB 3109 part 324118 or PCB 3096 part 324133).

Key Features
Support for NUCLEUS message-passing runtime
Integration with DOMINO I/O controller systems (via shared NUCLEUS)
Maintained backward compatibility with ND-500/2 code
CPU Interface
3022 + 5015 parallel (unchanged from classic ND-500)
System Bus
MPM-5 + OCTOBUS (via line driver card)
Microcode
15212-15213 (ND-550/560/570 family)

See dedicated ND-500-II article for full architecture and NUCLEUS runtime details.

ND-5000

The ND-5000 family was the latest physical implementation of the ND-500 architecture. Unlike earlier implementations, ND-5000 featured:

Native OCTOBUS
Integrated OCTOBUS interface (no line driver card needed)
Modern memory
MFbus (Multifunction Bus) successor to MPM-5
Optimized messaging
NUCLEUS with time-critical calls microcoded in CPU for sub-microsecond latency
Introduction
1988 (with DOMINO I/O controllers and native OCTOBUS)

Operating System

SINTRAN III Support

All ND-500 variants ran SINTRAN III operating system, which provided:

  • Real-time multitasking
  • Memory management and paging
  • I/O coordination with ND-100 via shared memory
  • Monitor calls for system services

NUCLEUS Runtime

NUCLEUS inter-processor messaging was available on:

  • ND-500-II — Via OCTOBUS line driver, NUCLEUS calls executed in ND-100 at PIL 12
  • ND-5000 — Native OCTOBUS, NUCLEUS calls microcoded in CPU for high performance

Earlier ND-500/1 and ND-500/2 systems used only shared MPM-5 memory for inter-CPU coordination (pre-NUCLEUS era).

Cost

The price of the smallest ND-500 system in 1981 was 400,000 German mark, according to a 1981 article in Computerwoche (the source has since disappeared from the internet).

See Also

  • ND-100 — I/O processor and housekeeping CPU
  • ND-500-II — ND-500/2 with OCTOBUS support
  • ND-5000 — Modern successor with native OCTOBUS
  • SINTRAN III — Operating system
  • NUCLEUS — Inter-processor messaging runtime
  • DOMINO — I/O controller system (ND-5000 only)
  • MPM-5 — Shared memory system for ND-500
  • OCTOBUS — Serial signaling bus (ND-500-II/ND-5000)

Sources

  1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinating_Committee_for_Multilateral_Export_Controls
  2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computer_hardware_in_Eastern_Bloc_countries
  3. ↑ http://sintran.com/norsk-data/library/libpdpi/ND-505CX-A1-EN.pdf
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