IBM turns its attention to creating harmony and consistency in its industrial line To date, IBM’s offerings for factory automation appear to have followed the same unstructured and chaotic principles as those behind its business applications – a parallel series of products for totally incompatible machines. With the advent of Systems Application Architecture, OS/2, and the current campaign to boost the image of the 9370, however, the company is making an effort to bring it all together just as much in the factory, as in the office. In a series of announcements, some so far made only in the US, IBM has revealed details of its Plant Floor Series Distributed Automation Edition Version 1.1, a new set of software products for developing plant floor applications. Initially providing interfaces for application development on IBM Industrial Computers, MS-DOS micros, PS/2s and Realtime Interface Co-Processors, the products will exploit the features of OS/2 Extended Edition’s Presentation Manager and SQL data base services, and will eventually be expanded to provide a communications interface to the IBM Data Communication Service. The Plant Floor Series – Distributed Automation Edition for the OS/2 environment comprises four different programs; Communications System/2; Material Logistics System/2; Host Link/2; and Communication Protocol Programs/A. According to IBM, the Communications System/2 contains the base system, with the Material Logistics System/2 providing additional functions to co ordinate the movement of materials and data throughout the plant floor. Similarly, Host Link/2 and Communication Protocol Programs/A extend the communications system by providing functions that support file transfer and transaction interchange between host-based applications, and provide support for communications with specific plant floor programmable controllers. Making good its SAA Statement of Direction promises, the range provides Common Programming and C language interfaces, Common User Access screen panel design and user interaction techniques, and embraces Common Communications Support protocols. Other product highlights singled out by IBM include communication and management capabilities to support plant floor devices such as robots, bar code readers, and programmable controllers; the routing and management of plant floor data and programs; and system services for print spooling, logging, network/node initialisation, and shut-down. Communications System/2 will sell at a one-time, publications inclusive charge of $2,600, and is scheduled, along with the other products in the range, for August 1989 availability in the US. The Material Logistics System/2 is priced at $2,260, the Host Link/2 at $475, and the Communications Protocol at $560.
Identical versions for VM/SP on 9370 IBM has also released details of an identical set of products bar the Communications Program Protocols – for the 9370, using VM/SP facilities. An announcement of product availability dates is planned for the second quarter of 1989, but IBM is being less coy about pricing. Graduated one-time charges for the Communications System/VM will range from $7,000 for a Model Group 10, $15,960 for a 20, and from $6,500 to $14,820 for the Material Logistics System/VM. There is a similar price structure for Host Link/VM, which will range from $1,350 to $3,078. Rounding off its statement of direction, IBM also intends that Plant Floor Series Distributed Automation Edition applications written in C should be portable to 9370 VM/SP versions.
First of the new 9370 Express packages is dedicated to plant management Further details have also emerged of the Express series of load and-go packaged versions of the 9370, announced last month (CI No 1,064). Although conceived as a foundation for delivering business solutions, first to appear is the IBM SolutionPac ES/9370 Realtime Plant Management Integrated System, designed for managing plant operations in the process industries, and derived from the Realtime Plant Management System/Advanced Control System Version 2 program family. De
scribed by IBM as a pregenerated application solution that reduces both installation planning and systems programming effort, the system comprises a rack-mounted 9370 processor, disk, tape, an optional Series 1 processor, and pre-loaded software. It also offers plant communications, real time database management, and supports a colour graphics display system, an operator interface with touch panel support, and a set of control functions. The Plant Management Integrated System is available in four options, imaginatively called Options 1, 2, 3, and 4. Option 1, described as a process simulation and modelling tool, has 500 process inputs, manually controlled process outputs, but no automatic process output, while Option 3, apparently capable of monitoring entire plants subject to the size of the underlying hardware, offers over 500 process inputs and provides manual or operator control only.
Deemed suitable Options 2 and 4 provide both the data acquisition and control functions of the Integrated System, providing 2,500 process inputs and 75 process outputs, which can be manually or automatically controlled. Distinguishing feature is size: Option 2 is deemed suitable for smaller plants or areas, while Option 4 is designed for larger plants. IBM describes Options 2 or 4 as upgrades, adding the major benefits of closed-loop computer control, over and above the application engineering and operator procedures provided by Options 1 or 3. Key feature of the Integrated System appears to be the database for storing management and control applications data. Among the 11 separate functions listed by IBM are: automatic data collection from plant instrument systems; target setting for the plant operator; on line definition of display facilities and simulation processes; a man-machine interface using interactive colour graphics; realtime database management; and a high-level applications program interface.
Comprehensive complement of industrial software comes with the 9370 Express systems A similar string of elements makes up the customised software products, notably: Advanced Control System Host Support; Interactive Schematic Builder; Special Real Time Operating System; Algorithm Generation Language; ACF/VTAM; SMP/E; VS/Fortran; EDX Host Macro Library and EDX Host Preparation for when users have a Series 1 mini in the rack alongside the 9370; Data Facility Data Set Services; Realtime Plant Management Integrated Communications; Signal Interface; EDX Supervisor; EDX Program Presentation; EDX System/370 Channel Support; and making its first official appearance on the the 9370, MVS/370 and MVS/370 DFP. Customers ordering the ES/9370 Express with the Integrated System, are automatically licensed for Realtime Plant Management Integrated Applications, Realtime Plant Management Integrated Communications, and Data Facility Data Set Services. As far as operating environment machine requirements are concerned, IBM specifies support for the new packaged 9370 models P30, P50, P60, P80 and P90, each of which has 16Mb of main storage, two System/370 channels, and two strings of disks. Base hardware configurations support six console and/or display devices, expandable to 64 through the addition of 3299 Model 2 or 3 Multiplexers and a Workstation Subsystem Controller. The ES/9370 Express also includes a PS/2 Model 30 console with the touch sensitive InfoWindow Display.
Support for remote SNA communications – front ends, Series/1 are separate options Not included in the packages, however, is a communications controller. The Integrated System does not support the 9370’s existing communications subsystem controllers, forcing IBM to concede that a System/370 channel, providing minimum synchronous links when attached to a 3720 or 3745 Communication Controller, must be ordered separately. On the optional, rack mounted, Series/1 processor, IBM states that five of the seven available slots can be used for supporting a range of instrumentation interfaces and input-output driver cards. The company also concedes that the Integrated Application has a number o
f limitations, chiefly that it supports only 9335 disks, does not provide operating system gen-eration capability, and is maximum hardware supported configuration-dependent. In addition, it does not provide operating system generation capability, SMF, and a number of control algorithms, does not include VTAM API macros, does not support the TSO Time Sharing Option, and has a data base size predetermined to a maximum of 32,000 entitites. A further warning note is sounded over the issue of count-key-data support on the 9335 disks, provided via emulation. This emulation will reduce disk performance, says IBM, particularly when running concurrent applications. On the question of security, auditability, and control, the company points to the inclusion of all relevant MVS features, and the additional provision of 11 special authorisation categories. Product charges are listed for the 9370 system units only, and run from $37,000 for the P30, $58,000 for the P50, $72,000 for the P60, and $142,000 for the P80, through to $199,500 for the P90. Alternatively., IBM offers a monthly rental prices, charging $3,700, $5,800, $10,440, $14,200, and $21,340 respectively. Disk Emu-lation Control costs $3,500, or $350 a month, while the Series/1 optional processor comes at a purchase price of $750, or a monthly rental fee of $75. A Volume Purchase Discount is available under the VPA Volume Procurement Amendment, and the models are also eligible machines for the Extended Main-tenance Option and Mid-Range System Amendments to the IBM Maintenance Agreement. Planned availability date for all the products is April 1989.
Add-ons for 7552 Industrial Computer Also included in the main announcements came a number of new hardware offerings, kicking off with a 7552 0Mb to 16Mb Extended Memory Adaptor, priced UKP3,000, for the 7552 Industrial Computer. 7552 Industrial Computer support was also announced for the 2Mb Memory Module Kit, PC Network Adaptor II Frequencies 2 and 3, PC DOS Version 4.00, and OS/2 Standard Edition 1.1, and Extended Versions 1.0 and 1.1. Final announcements covered a 7554 19 medium-to-high resolution Industrial Graphics Display for the 7531/7532 and 7552 industrial systems and the PS/2 Models 50, 60, 70 and 80, together with a four model 7525 micro-processor-based Data Collection Terminal. Prices are $3,000, and from $1,100 to $1,215, model depending; both products should be available on January 27, 1989.
And IBM takes the factory to school Staying in the factory, IBM has embarked on an education partnership programme to establish computer integrated manufacturing facilities in 48 US two- and four-year colleges and universities. On the principle that if you catch them young, you may well win their allegiance for life so that they will go out into the big wide world and specify your equipment, the programme calls for each participating institution to establish Computer Integrated Manufacturing education and hands-on training and demonstration facilities. In return, they will receive tailored configurations of IBM equipment worth on average $250,000, and all the necessary IBM software and consulting and technical support. The configurations on offer include AS/400 systems, 7500 series Industrial Computers – the hard-hat version of the PS/2, 9370 systems and RT personal computers – someone at IBM doesn’t know that it isn’t called a personal computer any more! The appropriate licensed programs will be provided via membership of IBM’s higher education software consortium. IBM has chosen the 48 lucky schools on factors such as the fact that they offer courses that support local industry, make an institutional commitment to Computer-Integrated Manufacturing education and on the number of graduates in manufacturing-related fields – including engineering, management and business. And schools that participate must be willing to provide demonstrations, training and classes to their faculty and students, to local industry, and to IBM and its customers. IBM will expand the programme to other interested, qualifiers later.
