TDOS1.WS4
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- "TurboDOS: A Multiprocessor Operating System"
   William Schultz, President, MuSYS Corporation
   Proceedings of the ACM 1983 Annual Conference on Computers, p.138

(Retyped by Emmanuel ROCHE.)


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(C) 1983 ACM 0-89791-120-2/83/010/0138  $00.75


The  TurboDOS  operating system is a product of Software 2000,  Inc.,  and  is
trademarked and copyrighted by them. At MuSYS Corp., we have used TurboDOS  in
conjunction with various slave processor boards to construct a wide variety of
S-100 Bus-based computer systems, ranging from two to over sixty users.

TurboDOS   is  designed  for  multiprocessor  networks  of  Zilog   Z-80-based
computers, although single-user versions are available. Extensive use is  made
of  the Zilog Z-80 instruction set to achieve a highly table-oriented and  re-
entrant  architecture, which is very adaptable to the user's  environment.  In
addition  to MuSYS, many companies are selling TurboDOS for specific  hardware
configurations, on an OEM basis. This is one of the primary distinctions  with
other  multiprocessor operating systems, which are supported by only a  single
vendor.

While TurboDOS is currently restricted to Zilog Z-80 processors, a preliminary
version  of an Intel 8086 slave processor is working, and it is expected  that
this  will  be released sometime late this year (1983). The  full  Intel  8086
implementation  will  be  written in the C language,  and  will  be  available
sometime  in 1985. Eventual conversion to other processors will depend on  the
availability  of software tools for porting TurboDOS onto any given CPU.  This
version  of TurboDOS is expected to successfully compete against Unix as  well
as the traditional CP/M-MP/M versions for 16-bit machines. TurboDOS will offer
interface  layers  to application software written for  some  other  operating
systems, including the MS-DOS/PC-DOS family.

The multiprocessor nature of TurboDOS is its most unique feature. Unlike other
operating systems where networking of processors is a recent add-on, or  which
really  only support a file transfer protocol, TurboDOS was designed from  the
ground  up  as  a  multiprocessor  operating  system.  This  means  that   the
application  program does not have to be aware of the nature of  the  hardware
configuration it is running on. It can run in a single-user system, a  network
master  (Server),  or a network slave (Requestor), with no  modification.  The
user  has a consistent operating method in all of these same environments.  He
does not have to pay attention to loading his networking package, nor does  he
have  to modify the application software. In all cases, TurboDOS  allows  each
user  the private use of single-user software and data bases, and also  allows
complete sharing of files, if the application has been written with multi-user
shared data bases in mind. In effect, a TurboDOS network system can be  viewed
as  a  single computer, in which each user has access to any resource  in  the
system, if allowed by his privilege level and configuration.

Since  TurboDOS is designed as a CP/M-compatible operating system,  well  over
95%  of CP/M software will run without any modification. Most of the  software
which  does  not run properly malfunctions due to direct BIOS calls  for  disk
I/O, which cannot be successfully emulated in a multiprocessor network of  any
kind.  As  software vendors become more aware of TurboDOS, the  percentage  of
compatible products will increase, and the number of vendors supporting  extra
functions for use under TurboDOS will also increase.

Also, since TurboDOS is a multiprocessing network-based operating system, each
user executing an application package appears to have the dedicated  attention
to  the  entire  system, with very little degradation due  to  the  operations
performed  by  other  users of the system. While 2-3 users can  kill  a  bank-
switched  system (e.g., WordStar under MP/M), MuSYS has systems in  the  field
running 12 users at a time in an intensive software development and  execution
environment for educational purposes.


Major features of TurboDOS
--------------------------

In addition to the items discussed above, TurboDOS has several major  features
which should be mentioned.

TurboDOS  supports  very  large files (up to 134MB) and  disk  drives  (up  to
1048MB).  However, many programs which were only written for CP/M  (not  MP/M)
will not recognize files larger than the older CP/M (BDOS Version 2) limits of
512KB  and 8MB. The largest disks in use on a regular basis are  about  150MB,
since  single  disks  larger  than that  become  cost  prohibitive.  With  the
continuing advance of technology, the TurboDOS limits will be approached.

TurboDOS is modular in construction, with operating system generation based on
a  relocating,  linking,  loader  program. This  makes  the  incorporation  of
different  hardware driver modules quite easy, particularly  for  bus-oriented
systems, such as the IEEE-696 (S-100) bus commonly-used for TurboDOS systems.

User  friendliness is a key attribute of TurboDOS, with meaningful  diagnostic
messages,  real alternatives for error recovery, a consistent set  of  command
line  switches  for  utility  programs, and many small  touches  that  give  a
minicomputer feel to this microcomputer operating system.


TurboDOS throughput considerations
----------------------------------

One of the main benefits of TurboDOS is better throughput than standard  CP/M.
However,   performance   comparison  are  very  dependent  on   the   specific
implementations being compared and the applications being executed.

The  networking aspect of TurboDOS has both positive and negative  impacts  on
performance.  Any  individual  application  will  run  somewhat  slower  under
networking  than  in  a single-user environment, due to the  overhead  of  the
network.  However,  in  the  multiprocessor  systems  for  which  TurboDOS  is
designed, several users, each executing in a separate processor, will  achieve
far  greater  throughput  than could ever be obtained in  a  single  processor
system, even if the single processor is a relatively advanced 16-bit system.

TurboDOS  is based on a sophisticated buffer manager which  performs  multiple
buffering of disk I/O. It uses a Least Recently Used algorithm, with a  slight
bias  toward  directory  blocks.  This significantly  reduces  the  number  of
physical  disk  access required, particularly as the number of  users  on  the
system increases. Typically, one processor in the network is devoted solely to
buffering disk I/O to and from a hard disk, providing 16-24KB of disk buffers,
in  addition  to control of the network and print despooling for one  or  more
printers. Use of this processor for program execution is, usually,  restricted
to  system  functions on a semi-dedicated basis, such as when disk  format  or
back-up is required.

The  operating system kernel of TurboDOS is fully re-entrant and  allows  disk
operations for several users to proceed on a time-shared basis. This  provides
a significant increase in performance when multiple disk controllers are used.

Having said all of the above, the primary determinant of system throughput  is
the  sector  size  and interleave factor used for the  various  disks  on  the
system. This is as true for other operating systems as well, and it is perhaps
a little unfair to compare CP/M, with a standard sector size of 128 bytes  and
an  interleave  factor  of 6 (6 revolutions to read one track  of  data),  and
TurboDOS,  with a standard sector size of 1024 bytes and an interleave  factor
of 1 (1 revolution to read one track of data). It is primarily on this  basis,
in  conjunction  with  the buffer manager mentioned  above,  that  claims  for
greatly  increased  speed  of  TurboDOS  over CP/M  are  made.  Based  on  the
characteristics  and  criteria  for  the  selected  benchmark,  a  good   CP/M
implementation  will  perform  on  a par with  the  TurboDOS  system,  perhaps
winning, or perhaps losing. However, good CP/M implementations are very  rare.
Good TurboDOS implementations are the rule, rather than the exception.


Networking considerations
-------------------------

Since  TurboDOS  is,  primarily, a network operating system, a  few  words  on
possible  networking configurations are in order. TurboDOS does not impose  an
arbitrary network architecture on the system designer. There is no bias toward
a particular Ring, Star, or Hierarchical network. The designer is left to  his
own devices, which are both good and bad points.

The  primary consideration for a network interface is speed, since most  users
are concerned about throughput. If a TurboDOS network interface is being used,
as  opposed  to  a simple file transfer program, it can be  assumed  that  the
amount of data being transferred is very large. The TurboDOS network  protocol
imposes  an  overhead of between 50 and 100% on top of the actual  data  being
transferred. This includes such things as packet headers, register  snapshots,
FCB  snapshots,  and  other  internal information.  These  days,  most  people
complain about the slowness of floppy disks, and they operate at 250-500K BPS.
Most  hard  disks operate in the range of 5000-10000K BPS, or about  20  times
faster  than a floppy disk. Most of the serial networking  hardware  available
today  is in the range of 20-1000K BPS, with the majority of offerings at  the
top end of that range. Even there, the speed is only about twice as fast as  a
floppy disk, and a user who is used to hard disk operation will complain about
that speed. For these reasons, MuSYS is trying to promote the use of ETHERNET,
which  runs  at  10000K  BPS,  as  the  default  standard  for  interprocessor
networking.  Recently,  low-cost ETHERNET chip sets and  board-level  products
have become available at the retail level. Eventually, ETHERNET will become  a
standard,  primarily  due to the market power of XEROX, INTEL,  and  DEC,  who
combined   efforts   on  the  design.  We  have   demonstrated   an   ETHERNET
implementation for TurboDOS which showed almost no degradation when  accessing
the  remote  hard disk, as compared with accessing the local hard  disk.  That
compares with serial networks that crawl along at painfully slow rates.

The  TurboDOS  network is packet-oriented, with a 16-bit address  field.  This
allows  up  to 65,536 discrete processors, each supporting one or  more  time-
shared tasks. When a task in a processor accesses a remote resource,  TurboDOS
builds the packet and passes it to the network circuit driver, who is  totally
responsible  for seeing to it that the packet gets to where it  is  addressed.
Replies return in a similar manner. For this reason, it makes no difference if
the  network is point-to-point or a multiple access type. This choice  can  be
made on the basis of cost, expected traffic patterns, and desired  throughput,
without consideration of any fixed requirements of TurboDOS.

Due  to  internal  constraints, such as  table  sizes  and  CP/M-compatibility
considerations,  each processor is limited to a maximum of 16 disk drives,  16
print  queues,  and 16 printers, each of which may be either  local  (directly
attached to the processor) or remote (attached to another specified  processor
on the network). Certain additional functions, primarily those associated with
communications channel I/O, may also be either local or remote to a designated
processor. However, the total number of disks, print queues, and printers in a
given  network  is effectively unlimited, since there is no  requirement  that
every  user  have access to every peripheral. In fact,  most  implementors  of
larger  networks  will severely limit the global resources  available  to  all
users, and restrict the majority of accesses to the relatively local resources
of an individual mainframe (which still could be a multiple processor system).
An example of this would be a network of departmental-level systems, with  one
globally-accessible  disk used as a central mailbox repository.  This  central
system  could  also  have other global resources, such as  a  high-speed  line
printer, magnetic tape drive, or typesetting equipment. Anything which is  too
expensive to buy more than one of is a good candidate for the central system.


Conclusions
-----------

Each  of  us  needs  to rethink our own purchasing  priorities.  The  cost  of
computer  hardware is going down, and the cost of good software remains  high.
The usefulness of TurboDOS is that it provides access to a wide range of high-
quality software, both in CP/M-compatible and enhanced shared operation,  with
high  throughput  at  a  low cost per user  station.  The  really  significant
problems do not lend themselves to containment on the small floppy disk drives
found on most "workstation" computers. With a TurboDOS network, each user  can
have  access to one or more large hard disks, with all of the  throughput  and
capacity  advantages that entails, and still have a much lower cost  per  user
than any discrete computer approach.


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