Design of the IBM System/390 computer family for numerically intensive applications: An overview for engineers and scientists

The IBM System/390® (S/390) computer family provides a two-order-of-magnitude performance range for numerically intensive applications. The engineer or scientist can use the same operating system, compiler, and run-time environment commonly across the family. This paper provides an overview of primary S/390 hardware and software products of interest for numerically intensive applications, including MVS/ESA™, VM/ESA®, AIX/ESA™, and the extension of FORTRAN for very large applications and parallel applications. The primary portion of the paper is focused on details of design interest in three specific hardware products within the S/390 family, with emphasis on the Enterprise System/9000™ (ES/9000™) Model 900. Also described is a potential parallel-computing configuration using the ESCON Director™. The paper concludes with a discussion of the generic system environments within which S/390 products can support the technical user.