NORD-10/S¶
The NORD-10 with cache added. The mature 16-bit machine of the 1970s.
| Introduced | 1975 |
| Type | Configuration of NORD-10 |
| Word length | 16-bit |
| Needs a host? | No, runs on its own |
| Replaced | NORD-10 |
| Replaced by | ND-100 (1979) |
| Survivors | Not separately recorded |
The short version¶
A follow-up to the NORD-10 adding cache memory and improved paging. This is the version that hosts the NORD-50 array processor, and the one most NORD-10-era installations actually ran. Its context switch is faster than the base machine's - 1 microsecond against 1.5.
Specification¶
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| CPU | As NORD-10, plus cache |
| Memory | 1K to 256K words, read-only or read/write. Modules 8K x 18 bits at 300 ns, 32K x 18 bits at 300-350 ns |
| Memory width | 18 bits = 16 data + one parity bit per byte. 21-bit modules available for error correction |
| Address space | 128 Kbytes virtual, 512 Kbytes physical |
| Interrupts | 16 levels, 8 registers each. Context switch 1 microsecond |
| I/O | 2048 priority vectored interrupts, plus 10 internal hardware status interrupts |
| Bootstrap | Loaders for mass storage and character devices; octal, binary and mass-storage load formats |
| Operating system | SINTRAN III; version H was the last to support the NORD-10 line [?] |
What was new¶
- Cache memory, which the NORD-10 did not have.
- Context switch down from 1.5 to 1 microsecond.
- Improved paging.
Sources¶
- Primary:
Reference-Manuals/10/ND-06.008.01 NORD-10-S Reference Manual.md - Secondary: ndwiki NORD-10/S
Full context: MACHINE-TIMELINE.md.