[2058] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: NREN and the Economics of Mainframes Versus Workstations
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Marvin Sirbu)
Thu Jan 23 09:01:06 1992
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 1992 08:59:03 -0500 (EST)
From: Marvin Sirbu <ms6b+@andrew.cmu.edu>
To: com-priv@psi.com, cook@tmn.com (Gordon Cook)
In-Reply-To: <9201230158.AA04461@tmn.com>
At CMU our TOPS-20 timesharing machines disappeared in 1988. At the end
of December, 1991, CMU stopped offering CPU time on its last remaining
IBM mainframe. While the IBM is still providing library catalog
service, that service too will disappear shortly as we cut over our
Library Information System II, a distributed system based on workstation
class machines. A few large VAX machines provide administrative
computing services, or are owned by individual departments or research
centers, but by and large computing at CMU is now provided almost
entirely on a network of distributed workstations, Macs and PCs,
supplemented by access to specialized compute-servers such as the iWarp,
and the Pittsburgh Supercomputer center's Cray and Connection machines.
CMU charges installation costs for connection of a faculty workstation
to the campus network, but provides public clusters of workstations,
file and printing services, and consulting services, at no charge.
Departments supplement these with their own consulting, printing and in
some cases file service--if they want higher levels of service, or
non-standard services--out of their departmental budgets.
Marvin Sirbu
Carnegie Mellon University
internet: ms6b+@andrew.cmu.edu
bitnet: ms6b+%andrew@CMCCVB
fax: +1 412 268 3757
phone: +1 412 268 3436
