29
Fri, Nov
0 New Articles

Out of the Blue: Midrange Perspectives

Commentary
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

The red Porsche's lights are heavily taped and only the most unobservant bystander could fail to notice other racing modifications. Three men huddle around the engine, hands making minute adjustments dictated by sensitive ears. The driver nods satisfaction, listens to last-minute instructions from his crew and slips into the driver's seat. He flexes his gloved fingers on the wheel and adjusts his driving helmet; after years of racing, it still feels constricting. Revving the engine, he checks his tachometer, then slowly pulls the car into the starting area. It's time.

Behind the visor, the driver allows himself a small grin. At age 50, he has a number of very powerful people at IBM wondering just what the hell he's doing. His name is Frank Gerald Soltis. Within the IBM midrange community he is what Michael Jordan was to the Chicago Bulls; he is The Franchise.

Frank was born in Minneapolis. Details of his early years are irrelevant to this narrative; but at the age of 20, while still in the embrace of academia, he was offered a summer job at IBM's Rochester facility. Frank had no interest in computers then, but accepted the job for the same reason countless people accept jobs they don't really want. He needed the money.

It was there he met Harry Tashjian, then-director of the development lab and the management force behind the S/3, S/32, S/34, S/36 and S/38. Tashjian became a mentor to young Frank and convinced him to pursue his doctorate in electrical engineering. Of such ripples are tsunamis formed.

Frank received his Ph.D. from Iowa State and wrote his doctoral dissertation on a revolutionary notion called single-level storage, a concept that would allow programs and data to appear to exist in a single, large main memory independent of distinct technologies like memory or disk.

Duly degreed and dissertated, Dr. Soltis returned to Rochester where he studied the industry research on another revolutionary concept: high-level machine architecture. Under such an implementation, program instructions would be free to operate on objects independent of operands in registers or in storage. Soltis understood that free of the storage's physical properties, instructions could then become hardware-independent, allowing systems to evolve while software remained essentially unchanged.

As genius will, Dr. Frank began the lugubrious process of giving form to his vision. On January 8, 1970, which Soltis remembers as a sunny but Arctic-cold Minnesota day-just three days before the Minnesota Vikings played in their first Super Bowl-he presented IBM management with his proposal for a radically new computer that would combine single-level storage and high-level machine architecture. That proposal became the S/38.

The "technology-independent" architecture of the S/38 allowed for some curious experimentation. Research projects confirmed that it was possible to overlay a S/36 environment on a S/38. The first AS/400 was, in effect, a S/38 capable of running S/36 code. Dr. Frank and his colleagues proposed the next logical step: combining the two systems into a single machine, the AS/400. Steve Schwartz, soon-to-be president of the System Product Division, gave the project his blessing, but it was delayed in the administrative moat that surrounds the castles of innovation at IBM. Finally, in the spring of 1986, with IBM losing midrange market share and with customers impatient for a migration path, Rochester was given the green light-and with it, only 26 months to bridge the chasm between concept and computer.

The biggest challenge was the lack of time. Soltis and other developers worked crushing schedules. During one holiday weekend, management actually had to lock the lab doors and force people to go home and recharge. The innovations required in the new product line were an engineering Everest that could not be scaled alone. Twenty-five hundred technicians in Rochester took up the challenge, with portions of the project farmed out to other IBM installations.

Most critical, however, was IBM's commitment to deliver a product that customers wanted. For the first time in its history, IBM invited customers and business partners to participate in the product-development cycle. Hundreds came to Rochester to share suggestions and requirements; to develop, to test, to ask "What if...?" Pilot systems were installed at customer and business partner sites. What ifs evolved into an integrated operating system. Suggestions were inscribed in microcode. The midnight oil burned in the Rochester lab; but by June of 1988, customers took delivery of the first AS/400s.

I wish I'd had the coffee and Cheetos concession.

According to Dr. Soltis, the AS/400's future was almost its past. John Cocke, the inventor of RISC technology (although it wasn't called RISC at the time), tried putting Soltis' original S/38 on a RISC processor. Limited to a 32-bit implementation, Cocke was unsuccessful and Soltis still regrets not pushing for changes to the RISC processor that would have accommodated the S/38.

But that incompatibility no longer exists. By 1995 the AS/400 will run on a 64- bit PowerPC RISC processor (product of the IBM/ Apple/Motorola alliance), a migration that Dr. Soltis has been spearheading for the past three years. By 1997, both the licensed internal code and OS/400 will be rewritten to be object-oriented. The same 64-bit PowerPC processor will also be used in the high-end RS/6000 and in mainframe Power Parallel processors. Long before the Vikings return to the Super Bowl, Soltis expects to build an AS/400 with the equivalent power of a Cray II supercomputer on a single chip.

In a field where technology be-comes as discardable as yesterday's newspaper, Soltis created a computer architecture that is as viable today as it was 20 years ago. S/38 code, for example, can run totally unchanged on today's AS/400 and will continue to run without modification into the future. The AS/400's high-level machine architecture, single-level storage and object-based programming will allow customers to ride the technology wave without costly modification to their applications.

From the beginning, Soltis ex-plains, his driving motivation has been the protection of the customer's investment and the delivery of a product with long life and adaptability to changing technological trends. In that, he has admirably succeeded and enriched both his corporation and its customers.

The red Porsche slides through the S-turn and accelerates down the straightaway. The man who will take the IBM midrange into the next century is riding the bumper of a Corvette at 150mph. Somewhere, IBM Chairman Louis Gerstner is having a bad case of heartburn and not understanding why. Soltis downshifts, drops underneath the 'Vette, and screams through the turn into the next straightaway. The countryside is a blur of bleeding colors, but Soltis doesn't notice. "Going 150mph requires total concentration," he says. "You can't think about the AS/400."

With special thanks to Dr. Frank Soltis for his time, his candor, and his unfailing good humor; and to Rachel Postlethwaite (spelled just like it sounds) for keeping us honest.

Victor Rozek has 17 years of experience in the data processing industry, including seven years with IBM in Operations Management and Systems Engineering.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: