Desirability of a Network 1108 Service
Proposal to share University of Utah's large mainframe computer on the network
Hicks, G., "Desirability of a Network 1108 Service", RFC 403, DOI 10.17487/RFC0403, January 1973, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc403>.
@misc{rfc403,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 403,
howpublished = {RFC 403},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC0403},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc403},
author = {G. Hicks},
title = {{Desirability of a Network 1108 Service}},
pagetotal = 5,
year = 1973,
month = jan,
} RFC text
Network Working Group
Request for Comments: 403 G. Hicks
NIC: 11925 Utah
January 10, 1973
Desirability of a Network 1108 Service
We have, at the University of Utah, a Univac 1108 that supports the
Univac EXEC 8 system. At the recent ICCC conference in Washington,
there was some interest expressed in making this computer available
to the ARPANET. At present it is not so available. Since there is
communication currently between the 1108 and the Utah PDP-10, it
would require minimal programming effort to make the 1109 available
for network use.
We would appreciate your comments if you think this service would be
desirable. Please direct your comments to:
Gregory Hicks
Computer Science Department
Merrill Engineering Building 3160
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
or to:
Ed Sharp
Director, Computer Center
Merrill Engineering Building 3116
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
Enclosed please find:
(1) a brief description of the services available.
(2) pricing schedule.
(3) time schedule when the EXEC 8 system is available for use.
Facilities at the University of Utah
The university of Utah owns a large Univac 1108 computer system with
six tape drives, seven high speed drums, 262 megabytes of on line
storage, as well as communication equipment for low speed (teletype)
timesharing and high speed (Remote Job Entry or RJE) batch terminals.
The Computer Center also has available a large (48" x 60") high
precision flatbed Plotter, an Optical Scanner and Digitizer. Current
(December 72) remote terminals include RJE devices in Logan, Provo,
and Salt Lake City (four terminals): Montrose, Durango, Boise and
Boulder City, as well as timesharing devices in several of the
western states. RJE terminals will shortly be ordered for Denver,
Amarillo, Billings and Sacramento. Additional ports have been
ordered to allow for further timesharing use of the 1108.
The Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Computing
rates are considerably lower than commercial rates and jobs generally
cost less to process at the University than at other state
facilities.
Available software include languages such as FORTAN, COBAL, SNOBOL,
APL, BASIC, MAD, ALGOL, LISP, a Text Editor and an Assembler. A wide
variety of scientific and statistical routines are available,
including the two best known statistical systems and an excellent set
of mathematical subprograms. Several simulation packages, as well as
an LP program, are available for use.
1108 COMPUTER PRIORITY/RATE SCHEDULE
RATE IN RATE IN
PRIORITY CENTS/SEC. PRIORITY CENTS/SEC.
EXEC 8 RESERVED A-F O 13
Highest user option G 45 P 12
H 30 Q 11
I 21 R 10
J 19 S 9
K 17 T 8
L 16 U 7
M 15 V 6
N 14 W-Z 5
These priorities apply to batch and remote batch jobs. Teletype or
interactive service is assigned a priority/rate equal to 6 cents
above the lowest priority being accepted at the time of use. Please
see below for the time schedule of priorities.
TIME SCHEDULE OF PRIORITIES
SUN.&
HOLIDAYS MON. TUES. WED. THURS. FRI. SAT.
0000+--------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+-------+
| | | | | | | |
| | | Z | | | | |
| | Z | | Z | Z | | |
0400| Z | +-------+ +-------+ Z | Z |
| | | | | | | |
0600| +-------+ +-------+ +--------+ |
0700| | R | * | R | * | R +-------+
0800+--------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+ R |
| | | | | | | |
1000| | | | | | +-------+
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| R | M | M | M | M | M | M |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
1700+--------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+-------+
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | R |
2000| Z | R | R | R | R | R +-------+
| | | | | | | |
2200| | | | | | | Z |
| | | | | | | |
2400+--------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+-------+
The above schedule is for normal operating conditions. If you are
planning to do on site work a call to 581-6111 will confirm the
current operation status of the facilities. Normally, we expect to
get all jobs with priority of 'R' or higher run overnight. We cannot
guarantee overnight turn around of priority S and below but every
effort will be made to accommodate all work.
* PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
October 26, 1972
UU/CC Rate Schedule
Code Service Rate
-------------------------------------------------------------
41 1108 Secs - CPU $ .15/sec
42 1108 Secs - I/O .15/sec
40 Demand Terminal connect time 3.00/hr.
95 Pages .03/page
31 Pages - Remote Station .00/page
96 Cards in .0005/card
32 Cards in - Remote Station .00/card
97 Cards out .006/card
33 Cards out - Remote Station .000/card
98 Tape Mounts .45/tape
81 Gerber Plotter .0025/inch
73 Mass Storage .04/trk/day
70 Calma Digitizer 5.00/hr.
90 Paper Tape Plot 30.00/hr.
17 Optical Scanner .02/page
91 Misc. Machine Usage 1.50/hr.
Reproducer/Interpreter/Sorter/Keypunch
*76 Machine Rental
11 Keypunching/verification 5.50/hr.
10 Programming/Consulting 10.50/hr.
15 Clerical Services 4.00/hr.
*68 Supplies
Labels 4.00/1000
Coding forms 1.00/pad of 100
Cards 2.50/box or 11.50 case
Score Sheets .012 sheet or 12.00/1000
Mult. Masters .10/sheet
Special Paper
1 part 14 7/8 X 11 lined $11.50/case
2 part " " 12.50/case
3 part " " 14.00/case
4 part " " 14.00/case
5 part " " 17.25/case
6 part " " 25.00/case
1 part " bond 12.50/case
4 part " " 12.50/case
1 part 8 1/2 X 11 " 11.00/case
4 part " " 14.00/case
Tapes
600 feet 8.00
1200 feet 11.00
2400 feet 15.00
*69 Misc. Charge
* Requires special pricing - Billed at $ Amount only.
[See PDF for diagram of Univac 1108 system.]
[This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry]
[into the online RFC archives by Helene Morin, Viagenie, 12/99]
AI ELI5
On this page
§1Network Service Proposal
The University of Utah proposed making its Univac 1108 computer available to ARPANET users. Interest in this service had been expressed at the recent ICCC conference in Washington. Since the 1108 already communicated with Utah's PDP-10, the RFC argued that minimal programming effort would be needed to enable network access, and seeks community feedback on whether such a service would be desirable.
Utah has an extra big computer that is not always busy. It could talk to the network with not much work. Should they do it?
§2Computing Facilities
The Univac 1108 system featured six tape drives, seven high-speed drums, 262 megabytes of on-line storage, and communication equipment for both slow (teletype) timesharing and high-speed (RJE) batch terminals. The Computer Center operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Available software included FORTRAN, COBOL, SNOBOL, APL, BASIC, MAD, ALGOL, LISP, a text editor, and an assembler. A wide variety of scientific and statistical routines and simulation packages were available, with computing rates considerably lower than commercial rates.
The machine could handle tape backups, store huge amounts of data, and had every programming language available. It was cheap to use.
§3Service Rates and Schedule
The RFC included a detailed pricing schedule for CPU time, I/O operations, terminal connection, page printing, card processing, tape mounting, and equipment rental. A priority and rate schedule offered different cents-per-second charges based on priority level (A-F reserved, G-Z for users). Interactive teletype service received priority 6 cents above the lowest priority being accepted at the time. The schedule showed daily and weekly time slots when different priority levels were available, with holidays and weekends having reserved Z-priority times for lower cost.
Computer time cost between 5 and 45 cents per second depending on how soon you needed your answer. Different times of day had different prices.