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Technical Notes |
Helix Systems |
The following Technical Notes apply to the NIH Computer Center and the software and hardware available via MVS on the IBM 370 system at NIH and may not necessarily reflect similar implementations at other installations. For additional technical details or clarification, consult the NIH Computer Center User’s Guide, or contact TASC. Information presented in this publication supersedes all documentation with earlier publication dates. To contact any of the groups mentioned in these articles, please refer to the telephone listing at the back of this INTERFACE.
The Convex system (coil.nih.gov) will be decommissioned on February 28, 1998. This system has been used for computationally intensive scientific applications and software development since September 1989. However, it is expensive to maintain and relatively slow when compared to modern computer technology. The Helix systems now offer several alternatives to the Convex for performing these computationally intensive applications.
Most of the system and user applications running on the Convex have been transferred to other computer platforms, primarily Helix and Churn. Because all of the Helix systems run UNIX and have common access to user files, this transition was less painful than it might otherwise have been. For example, users were able to run a program first on the Convex and then on Helix, and quickly compare the results to make sure they agreed. During this period assistance was given to those who encountered problems in transferring their applications or had special needs. The Helix staff will continue to offer such help.
Interface 203 (December 15, 1997)