Harris Corp’s Data Communications Division – which is one of the units the Melbourne, Florida company has put up for sale – has launched what it terms its Super Controller (CI No 1,244) as a high end alternative to the IBM 3174 Establishment Controller. Although not mentioned by Harris, the Intel 80386-based Controller is clearly also pitched at users considering the Memorex Telex 1174, which is based on the Motorola 68010. All companies involved in this market are banking on the converging of the intelligent and the dumb terminal markets – including IBM, which wants every 3270 screen replaced by a PS/2 in short order. At the moment approximately 10% of all terminals are interconnected in Europe, but large corporate accounts are likely to want to safeguard their investment in dumb terminals in the near future despite the pressure for increased functionality. In this sphere Harris has an ace up its sleeve, since it is able to offer a gateway between Token Ring and Ethernet, a feature that neither Memorex Telex nor IBM has yet bothered with. According to Mike Thatcher, Harris Data Communications’ European Product Manager, around 70% of US corporate accounts use Ethernet and want to be able to attach personal computers to their networks via co-ax links. The Harris Super Controller will offer terminal users access to synchronous and asynchronous host sessions as well as to Unix and MS-DOS software applications via Coax A, and Harris is another company that is jumping on IBM’s Systems Application Architecture bandwaggon by offering Common User Access interfaces on this product. Acting as a 3270 gateway, the Super Controller provides up to 64 coax terminals, ASCII terminals and personal computers with multi-session communications to both Token Ring and Ethernet local area networks.

3270, MS-DOS and Unix

A user at a dumb terminal can consequently access MS-DOS applications such as Lotus 1-2-3 and Wordperfect and can switch between 3270 sessions, MS-DOS and Unix applications. The Super Controller’s security is enhanced by the Unix System V.3.0 operating system on which it is based, and it offers up to 1Gb of storage, compared with Memorex T%llx’s 7.75Mb on the 1174. Harris says it will enhance the Super Controller so that it supports up to 96 Coax devices, (which Memorex Telex’s 1174 does already, although IBM’s 3174 only stretches to 32 at the moment), as well as support for IBM’s OS/2 by the first quarter of 1990 and Apple Macs by the end of this year. The internal storage on the Super Controller will also be expanded to 2Gb. The Super Controller is delivering now and costs between UKP19,000 and UKP40,000. Harris expects to install 200 to 300 Super Controllers within the first year. Confident despite its uncertain future, Harris Data Communications has copyrighted the SuperNet name for the new network communications system it is building around the Super Controller.