 |
1985 |
 |
The heart of the MicroVAX II,
the 78032 microprocessor was Digital's own technology, and -unlike the
MicroVAX
I - it was quite effective. The system bus was the same ol' Qbus,
but the CPU occupied only one quad-size module (KA630),
which also contained the FPU (78132), the MMU, a support CHIP and 1 MB
of RAM. The system had a new memory interconnect, that utilized not just
a portion of the Qbus, but also a small ribbon cable (but qbus memories
still could be used). The whole system had an average performance ratio
of 0.9 VUP.
An interesting story: The MicroVAX II processor was small enough to be stolen, so DEC has printed a small note on the bottom of the chips saying: "VAX - When you care to steal the best" - in russian. While a funny story, truth is that MicroVAXen were brought into "Eastern Bloc" countries not as chips, but as whole CPU modules: the hungarian MicroSTAR 32 and TPA-11/510 computers were MicroVAX II systems built around the original KA630 module! |
The VAXstation II/GPX was a MicroVAX II with 4/8-bitplane graphics running single-user VMS or Ultrix.
MicroVAX II's were sold in different enclosures:
- One of them was the BA123 that looked like "space heater" or "air conditioner" (depicted above).
- Another package was the thinner BA23, that was also used with MicroPDP-11 and MicroVAX II systems.
- Standard 19" racks like the H9642 or the H9644.
BA23
BA123 (this machine
is vaxine.bitcon.no)
In rack
VAXstation II/GPX
VAXstation II/GPX in a BA123
... the same with a big
CRT tube
A BA123-MicroVAX II with a
strange front panel
Another MicroVAX II
... and another one
... the same machine opened
MicroVAX II's are quite common, many of them are still working in production systems, other ones are being used as hobby-machines (perhaps running NetBSD). All in all, a fun machine!
Misc
KA620 (rtVAX): A "dumb" MicroVAX processor module, aimed at the OEM-world, used in process controlling systems. The word "dumb" means "unable to run VMS". It was used in the LPS40 network printer for example.
M31 Andromeda: Andromeda was to be a 64-CPU shared memory system based on MicroVAX II processors, using the humorously sounding FBI (Fast Backplane Interconnect), but it was never finished (they only got to 32 processors).
VAX ACMS: Digital's on-line transaction processing system.
