Locus Computing Corporation
Encyclopedia
Locus Computing Corporation was formed in 1982 by Gerald J. Popek
to commercialize the technologies developed for the LOCUS
distributed
operating system
at UCLA. Locus was notable for commercializing single-system image
software and producing the Merge
package which allowed the use of DOS
and Windows 3.1 software on Unix
systems.
Locus was acquired by Platinum Technology
Inc in 1995.
to produce a version of the AIX UNIX
based operating system for the PS/2 and System/370
ranges. The single-system image
capabilities of LOCUS
were incorporated under the name of AIX TCF (transparent computing facility).
a massively parallel
NORMA
(No Remote Memory Access) system.
The system was known as OSF/1 AD, where AD stood for "Advanced Development".
To allow inter processor process migration and communication between the individual nodes of the Paragon system they re-worked the TCF technology from LOCUS
as Transparent Network Computing, or TNC, inventing the concept of the VPROC (virtual process) an analogy of the VNODE (virtual inode) from the SunOS
virtual file system
.
to include their TNC technology in a highly available
single-system image
clustering system based on SCO
UnixWare
, UnixWare NonStop Clusters
.
During the course of the project Locus was acquired by Platinum Technology
Inc, who transferred the team working on NonStop Clusters to Tandem.
Tandem were later bought by Compaq
. The UnixWare product was acquired from SCO by Caldera
who discontinued commercialization of the NonStop Clusters product in favor of the simpler Reliant HA system. Compaq then decided to release the NonStop Clusters code as open source software, porting it to Linux
as the OpenSSI
project.
was a system developed by Locus in late 1984 for the AT&T 6300+ computer, which allowed DOS
(and hence DOS applications) to be run under the native UNIX
SVR2 operating system.
The 6300+ used an Intel 80286 processor and included special purpose circuitry to allow virtualization
of the 8086 instruction set used by DOS.
Merge was later modified to use the Virtual 8086 mode
provided by Intel 80386
processors. It was sold for Microport
SVR3 and later SCO Unix.
Locus eventually joined the Microsoft
WISE
program which gave them access to Windows source code, which allowed later versions of Merge to run Windows Shrink wrapped applications without a copy of Windows.
Gerald J. Popek
Gerald John "Jerry" Popek was an American computer scientist, known for his research on operating systems and virtualization.With Robert P...
to commercialize the technologies developed for the LOCUS
LOCUS (operating system)
LOCUS was a distributed operating system developed at UCLA during the 1980s. It was notable for providing an early implementation of the single-system image idea, where a cluster of machines appeared to be one larger machine....
distributed
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
at UCLA. Locus was notable for commercializing single-system image
Single-system image
In distributed computing, a single system image cluster is a cluster of machines that appears to be one single system. The concept is often considered synonymous with that of a distributed operating system, but a single image may be presented for more limited purposes, just job scheduling for...
software and producing the Merge
Merge (software)
Merge is a software system which allows a user to run DOS/Windows 3.1 on SCO UNIX, in an 8086 virtual machine.Merge was originally developed to run DOS under UNIX System V Release 2 on an AT&T 6300+ personal computer...
package which allowed the use of DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
and Windows 3.1 software on Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
systems.
Locus was acquired by Platinum Technology
Platinum Technology
Platinum Technology Inc. was founded by Andrew Filipowski in 1987 to market and support deployment of database management software products and the applications enabled by database management technology and render related services...
Inc in 1995.
AIX for IBM PS/2 and System/370
Locus was commissioned by IBMIBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
to produce a version of the AIX UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
based operating system for the PS/2 and System/370
System/370
The IBM System/370 was a model range of IBM mainframes announced on June 30, 1970 as the successors to the System/360 family. The series maintained backward compatibility with the S/360, allowing an easy migration path for customers; this, plus improved performance, were the dominant themes of the...
ranges. The single-system image
Single-system image
In distributed computing, a single system image cluster is a cluster of machines that appears to be one single system. The concept is often considered synonymous with that of a distributed operating system, but a single image may be presented for more limited purposes, just job scheduling for...
capabilities of LOCUS
LOCUS (operating system)
LOCUS was a distributed operating system developed at UCLA during the 1980s. It was notable for providing an early implementation of the single-system image idea, where a cluster of machines appeared to be one larger machine....
were incorporated under the name of AIX TCF (transparent computing facility).
OSF/1 AD for the Intel Paragon
Locus was commissioned by Intel to produce a multiprocessor version of OSF/1 for the Intel ParagonIntel Paragon
The Intel Paragon was a series of massively parallel supercomputers produced by Intel. The Paragon XP/S was a productized version of the experimental Touchstone Delta system built at Caltech, launched in 1992. The Paragon superseded Intel's earlier iPSC/860 system, to which it was closely...
a massively parallel
Massively parallel
Massively parallel is a description which appears in computer science, life sciences, medical diagnostics, and other fields.A massively parallel computer is a distributed memory computer system which consists of many individual nodes, each of which is essentially an independent computer in itself,...
NORMA
NORMA
NORMA is a software based conceptual modeling tool based on Object Role Modeling , and is a free and open source plug-in to Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008...
(No Remote Memory Access) system.
The system was known as OSF/1 AD, where AD stood for "Advanced Development".
To allow inter processor process migration and communication between the individual nodes of the Paragon system they re-worked the TCF technology from LOCUS
LOCUS (operating system)
LOCUS was a distributed operating system developed at UCLA during the 1980s. It was notable for providing an early implementation of the single-system image idea, where a cluster of machines appeared to be one larger machine....
as Transparent Network Computing, or TNC, inventing the concept of the VPROC (virtual process) an analogy of the VNODE (virtual inode) from the SunOS
SunOS
SunOS is a version of the Unix operating system developed by Sun Microsystems for their workstation and server computer systems. The SunOS name is usually only used to refer to versions 1.0 to 4.1.4 of SunOS...
virtual file system
Virtual file system
A virtual file system or virtual filesystem switch is an abstraction layer on top of a more concrete file system. The purpose of a VFS is to allow client applications to access different types of concrete file systems in a uniform way...
.
UnixWare NonStop Clusters
Locus was commissioned by Tandem ComputersTandem Computers
Tandem Computers, Inc. was the dominant manufacturer of fault-tolerant computer systems for ATM networks, banks, stock exchanges, telephone switching centers, and other similar commercial transaction processing applications requiring maximum uptime and zero data loss. The company was founded in...
to include their TNC technology in a highly available
High-availability cluster
High-availability clusters are groups of computers that support server applications that can be reliably utilized with a minimum of down-time. They operate by harnessing redundant computers in groups or clusters that provide continued service when system components fail...
single-system image
Single-system image
In distributed computing, a single system image cluster is a cluster of machines that appears to be one single system. The concept is often considered synonymous with that of a distributed operating system, but a single image may be presented for more limited purposes, just job scheduling for...
clustering system based on SCO
SCO
-Codes:* .sco, the proposed national internet TLD for Scotland* Country code for Scotland* Scots language * Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan, IATA code.-Companies:* Santa Cruz Operation, a company founded in 1979...
UnixWare
UnixWare
UnixWare is a Unix operating system maintained by The SCO Group . UnixWare is typically deployed as a server rather than desktop. Binary distributions of UnixWare are available for x86 architecture computers. It was originally released by Univel, a jointly owned venture of AT&T's Unix System...
, UnixWare NonStop Clusters
UnixWare NonStop Clusters
NonStop Clusters was an add-on package for SCO UnixWare that allowed creation of fault-tolerant single-system image clusters of machines running UnixWare...
.
During the course of the project Locus was acquired by Platinum Technology
Platinum Technology
Platinum Technology Inc. was founded by Andrew Filipowski in 1987 to market and support deployment of database management software products and the applications enabled by database management technology and render related services...
Inc, who transferred the team working on NonStop Clusters to Tandem.
Tandem were later bought by Compaq
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....
. The UnixWare product was acquired from SCO by Caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
who discontinued commercialization of the NonStop Clusters product in favor of the simpler Reliant HA system. Compaq then decided to release the NonStop Clusters code as open source software, porting it to Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
as the OpenSSI
OpenSSI
OpenSSI is an open source single-system image clustering system. It allows a collection of computers to be treated as one large system, allowing applications running on any one machine access to the resources of all the machines in the cluster....
project.
Merge
MergeMerge (software)
Merge is a software system which allows a user to run DOS/Windows 3.1 on SCO UNIX, in an 8086 virtual machine.Merge was originally developed to run DOS under UNIX System V Release 2 on an AT&T 6300+ personal computer...
was a system developed by Locus in late 1984 for the AT&T 6300+ computer, which allowed DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
(and hence DOS applications) to be run under the native UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
SVR2 operating system.
The 6300+ used an Intel 80286 processor and included special purpose circuitry to allow virtualization
X86 virtualization
In computing, x86 virtualization is the facility that allows multiple operating systems to simultaneously share x86 processor resources in a safe and efficient manner, a facility generically known as hardware virtualization...
of the 8086 instruction set used by DOS.
Merge was later modified to use the Virtual 8086 mode
Virtual 8086 mode
In the 80386 microprocessor and later, virtual 8086 mode allows the execution of real mode applications that are incapable of running directly in protected mode while the processor is running a protected mode operating system.VM86 mode uses a segmentation scheme identical to that of real mode In...
provided by Intel 80386
Intel 80386
The Intel 80386, also known as the i386, or just 386, was a 32-bit microprocessor introduced by Intel in 1985. The first versions had 275,000 transistors and were used as the central processing unit of many workstations and high-end personal computers of the time...
processors. It was sold for Microport
Microport
Microport created the first version of AT&T UNIX System V for the IBM 286 and 386 Personal Computers, as well as IBM's PS/2 systems...
SVR3 and later SCO Unix.
Locus eventually joined the Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
WISE
Windows Interface Source Environment
Windows Interface Source Environment was a licensing program from Microsoft which allowed developers to recompile and run Windows-based applications on UNIX and Macintosh platforms....
program which gave them access to Windows source code, which allowed later versions of Merge to run Windows Shrink wrapped applications without a copy of Windows.