Talk:ND-5000 family
System performance - additional info
The original ND-5000 systems also came with different I/O processors, as listed in the table below.
| System | I/O processor |
|---|---|
| ND-5200 | ND-110 |
| ND-5400 | ND-110/CX |
| ND-5500 | ND-110/CX |
| ND-5700 | ND-120/CX w/2MB RAM |
| ND-5800/ND-5900 | ND-120/CX w/4MB RAM |
However, this may have changed at some point - it probably became more expensive to provide the ND-110 technology on the lower-priced systems. But my memory is getting fuzzy. I was quite certain that the ND-5700 which was the last system I used did have a 4MB ND-120/CX, i.e. better spec'ed than in the table. What is listed in the table above is according to ND-05.02.1 EN, ND-5000 Hardware Description (1988). TArntsen 09:48, 3 August 2009 (UTC)
- I just found some of my old notes, and in May 1989 I was using an ND-5400 with a 120/CX CPU, so I think it is safe to say that the table above was only relevant at the first release of the series, if even that (that 5400 I'm referring to was purchased quite soon after they became available as I recall). TArntsen 09:22, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
- Well. Was reading through my old writings again.. not sure why I wrote '4MB ND-120/CX' in the above, as I'm certain that machine had a 6MB ND-120/CX. I also recall an older ND-500 or ND-5000 getting upgraded to a 6MB ND-120/CX, I believe the whole CPU board was replaced as part of the operation. TArntsen (talk) 04:31, 29 January 2015 (CET)
I/O improvements
We should at some point add something about how I/O was improved during the ND-5000 lifetime. The ND-5000 series started out with all (or nearly all) I/O having to go through the ND-120 CPU (and creating a bottleneck), but soon the design was upgraded with I/O controllers (mass storage, ethernet, etc.) directly connected to the MF-BUS (which originally just connected the ND-120 to the ND-5000 CPU and shared memory), and controlled via OCTOBUS. Thus the MF-BUS became the central part and everything else connected to it (ND-120 CPU, ND-5000 CPU, MF-BUS system memory, DIOCs (DOMINO I/O controllers), and I/O to the DIOCs and other parts. These controllers (and even the ND-5000 itself) had local MC-68020 CPUs, for control and monitoring. The DOMINO controllers also had their own little operating systems (DOMINOS) on each board. The above is for now kept here as a reminder about writing something up at some point.. TArntsen 14:12, 15 August 2009 (UTC)
New Compact models in 1987
This press release[1] says that there was a ND-5400 Compact, ND-5500 Compact, ND-5700 Compact and a ND-5800 Compact as well. --Torfinn 22:32, 7 August 2013 (UTC)