The RISC System/6000 (RS/6000) is a family of RISC-based

Unix Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, an ...

servers,

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''workstat ...

s and supercomputers made by IBM in the 1990s. The RS/6000 family replaced the

IBM RT PC The IBM RT PC (RISC Technology Personal Computer) is a family of workstation computers from IBM introduced in 1986. These were the first commercial computers from IBM that were based on a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) architecture. Th ...

computer platform in February 1990 and was the first computer line to see the use of IBM's

POWER Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

and PowerPC based microprocessors. In October 2000, the RS/6000 brand was retired for POWER-based servers and replaced by the eServer pSeries. Workstations continued under the RS/6000 brand until 2002, when new POWER-based workstations were released under the IntelliStation POWER brand.

History

The first RS/6000 models used the Micro Channel bus, later models used PCI. Some later models conformed to the

PReP PowerPC Reference Platform (PReP) was a standard system architecture for PowerPC-based computer systems (as well as a reference implementation) developed at the same time as the PowerPC processor architecture. Published by IBM in 1994, it allo ...

and CHRP standard platforms, which were co-developed with

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

and

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...

, with

Open Firmware Open Firmware is a standard defining the interfaces of a computer firmware system, formerly endorsed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It originated at Sun Microsystems, where it was known as OpenBoot, and has bee ...

. The plan was to enable the RS/6000 to run multiple operating systems such as

Windows NT Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released on July 27, 1993. It is a processor-independent, multiprocessing and multi-user operating system. The first version of Win ...

, NetWare,

OS/2 OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 r ...

, Solaris,

Taligent Taligent Inc. (a portmanteau of "talent" and "intelligent") was an American software company. Based on the Pink object-oriented operating system conceived by Apple in 1988, Taligent Inc. was incorporated as an Apple/IBM partnership in 1992, and ...

, AIX and

Mac OS Two major famlies of Mac operating systems were developed by Apple Inc. In 1984, Apple debuted the operating system that is now known as the "Classic" Mac OS with its release of the original Macintosh System Software. The system, rebranded "M ...

but in the end only IBM's Unix variant AIX was used and supported on RS/6000.

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...

is widely used on CHRP based RS/6000s, but support was added after the RS/6000 name was changed to eServer pSeries in 2000. The RS/6000 family also included the POWERserver servers, POWERstation workstations and Scalable POWERparallel supercomputer platform. While most machines were desktops, desksides, or rack-mounted, there were laptop models too. Famous RS/6000s include the

PowerPC 604e The PowerPC 600 family was the first family of PowerPC processors built. They were designed at the Somerset facility in Austin, Texas, jointly funded and staffed by engineers from IBM and Motorola as a part of the AIM alliance. Somerset was opened ...

-based Deep Blue supercomputer that beat world champion

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...

at chess in 1997, and the

POWER3 The POWER3 is a microprocessor, designed and exclusively manufactured by IBM, that implemented the 64-bit version of the PowerPC instruction set architecture (ISA), including all of the optional instructions of the ISA (at the time) such as ...

-based ASCI White which was the fastest supercomputer in the world during 20002002.

Architecture

Hardware

Service processor

Many RS/6000 and subsequent pSeries machines came with a service processor, which booted itself when power was applied and continuously ran its own firmware, independent of the operating system. The service processor could call a phone number (via a modem) in case of serious failure with the machine. Early advertisements and documentation called the service processor "System Guard", (or SystemGuard) although this name was apparently dropped later on, roughly around the same time that the simplified RS/6000 name was adopted for the computer line itself. Late in the RS/6000 cycle, the service processor was "converged" with the one used on the AS/400 machines.

Software

POWER machines typically ran AIX. Solaris, OS/2 and Windows NT were also ported to PowerPC. Later Linux was also used. Some AIX systems support IBM Web-based System Manager.

Models

Some models were marketed under the RS/6000 POWERstation and POWERserver names.

Micro Channel-based lines

The early lines was based on a IBM proprietary Micro Channel architecture - the same architecture that used in hi-end PS/2 x86 desktop line, and last MCA-based series was produced until 1999.

Type 7006

Type 7008

These workstations were marketed under the PowerStation name.

Type 7009

Type 7010

This type was for Xstations, IBM's line of

X terminal In computing, an X terminal is a display/input terminal for X Window System client applications. X terminals enjoyed a period of popularity in the early 1990s when they offered a lower total cost of ownership alternative to a full Unix workstat ...

Type 7011

Type 7012 and 7030

The 380, 390, and 39H servers correspond to the 3AT, 3BT, and 3CT workstations. IBM RS-6000 7013 (1)

Type 7013 and 7016

The 7016-730 model was a version of 7013-530 model, but with licensed by

Silicon Graphics Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and sof ...

graphics card.

Type 7015

Uses a IBM 9309 Rack Enclosure; this a first generation RS/6000 server running AIX. These units were configured by IBM as experimental "NSS" ("Network Switching Subsystem") routers, and used on the NSFnet T3 backbone in the early/mid-90s.

PCI-based lines

Produced since 1994 until the time were the RS/6000 line was rebranded to System P.

Type 7017

Type 7020

Type 7024

Type 7025

Type 7026

Type 7043 and 7248

Type 7044 (44P)

Type 7046

Type 7317

Laptops

Type 7007

The Model N40 was a PowerPC-based laptop developed and manufactured by Tadpole Technology in conjunction with IBM. It was released on 25 March 1994, priced at US$12,000. The internal batteries could power the system for 45 minutes only and an external battery pack that lasted for 4 hours was available for this reason.

Type 7249

References

;General
27 years of IBM RISC

External links

A Brief History of RISC, the IBM RS/6000 and the IBM eServer pSeries
IBM Archives
IBM RS6000 Support Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:RISC System 6000 IBM workstations IBM server computers PowerPC computers Computer-related introductions in 1990

IBM RS/6000 The RISC System/6000 (RS/6000) is a family of RISC-based Unix servers, workstations and supercomputers made by IBM in the 1990s. The RS/6000 family replaced the IBM RT PC computer platform in February 1990 and was the first computer line to see ...