Evolution of the I M3270

System/38 support Topvlew Personal Computer AT Personal Computer XT 270X 3271,2 Local-area network 2260 328X 3274-41,61 3270-PC 3277 SDLC 3270-PC/G NCP PC .. adapter 3270-PC/GX 370i,4 3287,9 i PC 3179 3274,6 3274-51C E attachment 3180 ? 3278 3279 3 7426 3710 4994 7171 ? 3178 3725 3290 3299 ?

Cycle. ofchange speeds up By Scott Brear The IBM 3270 family. has been ware applications have been written available in various forms for nearly - became popular enough to sell mil­ 15 years - some would even say lions of devices worldwide. The 3270 since the introduction of the IBM product has become an institution 2260 display system in the mid-'60s. with a longevity matched only by that The 3270 products generally consist of the omnipresent IBM 3420 which, of a cluster of several editing CRTs, until very recently, was the premier such as 3278 display stations, coupled tape drive of IBM mainframe users. to a polled cluster controller unit - And, as with the 3420, the 3270 sys­ the 3274, for example. Frequently, a tem has been widely emulated by ma­ printer such as the 3287 is also part of jor competitors offering lower prices, the cluster. earlier delivery and more features Indeed, IBM cast its lot with the than IBM. earlier 2260 when it developed this As one might expect, the competi­ concept of polled clusters over dumb tive scenario for 3270 products has and relatively inexpensive asynchro­ undergone tremendous changes. No nous Ascii CRTs as the principal longer can competitors count on IBM's means of user interface with IBM having the highest price, slowest de­ hosts. This direction was subsequent­ livery and fewest features. Some ma­ ly reflected in IBM's inattention to jor participants have left the business both asynchronous terminals and or consolidated with others; some­ telecommunications support over the have just entered the battle armed next decade :....- a point not missed by a with the skills to interface and com­ generation of product planners. pete with IBM, using somewhat non­ This concept of small clusters of traditional methods. editing CRTs connected by coaxial ca­ As the chart above shows, from ble to a synchronous remote or local 1971, when the first 3270 systems control unit - around which millions were announced, until about 1981, of programmer hours of specific soft- there was, on the average, only one major product announcement each The 3180-1 display station and its of the IBM Personal Computer. The ronment. However, IBM has placed year. In fact, a full five years sepa­ companion 3179 color display sta­ 3270 Personal Computer offered sin­ the burden of dial-in security totally rated the announcement of the first­ tion announcement were Significant gle-session operation (the control on the host; the 7171 has no pass­ generation 3271- and 3272-based for other reasons as well. Serious unit terminal mode) or a unique mul­ word or other types of security com­ clusters and the release of the second inroads were being made in the 3270 tisession mode (the distributed func­ mon in today's protocol converters. generation, generally represented by market by several competitors who tion terminal) where one 3270-PC Furthermore, the 7171 entry size the 3274 cluster. could offer all of IBM's display sizes could interface with as many as four of 16 channels will make it a solution Five years later, just when users - 80 char. by 24 char. through 132 3270 sessions. This feature, also for only very large users. Neverthe­ were expecting a new product line, char. by 27 char. - in one device, used with the 3290 information pan­ less, IBM has turned over one more they were greeted with several ma­ saving.inventory and money and el, was expanded to allow two note­ stone in its efforts to control the jor 3270 enhancements in what be­ greatly improving user flexib,ility. pad sessions and one DOS Personal 3270 market. came one-year, then six-month and The 3180-1 met this challenge by Computer session. Multiplexer unit now three-month cycles. providing the ability to display any The 3270-PC also had screen win­ The magnitude of the 3270 system standard screen size on One 16-in. dowing, keyboard macro definition, Coaxial cable technology has not explosion can best be understood ergonomic terminal. And, if this file transfer and many other useful stood still either. While not a leader when divided Into functional seg­ were not enough, prices came down features. Since the original an­ in innovative coaxial cable products, ments, such as: again. The 3179 was also welcomed nouncement, several powerful IBM finally offered a 3299 terminal • Basic 3270 components. by IBM users as it offered a fresh­ graphics versions of the 3270-PC multiplexer unit that allows up to • Personal computing. looking, lower priced alternative to have been introduced and widely eight devices to share a single 6,000- • Protocol conversion. the older, bulky 3279 color product. promoted for special-purpose appli­ ft. coaxial cable line. Offered by a • Coaxial cable-based technology. Perhaps personal computer users cations. few competitors for several years The basic 3270 cluster compo- have had the greatest impact on the prior to the IBM announcement, the nents have changed considerably 3270 system by challenging the pre­ Terminal inOOdacer unit 3299 offered significant savings since their introduction in terms of eminence of the existing large host IBM offers protocol conversion? where coaxial cable runs can cost up flexibility and features. The explo­ and cluster controller computing en- Yes, and it has for several years, if to $1 per foot to install or where no sion first brought a low-cost 317812- vironment while urgently seeking ac- protocol conversion means enabling room for expansion exists. in. display station. After many years cess into this same environment. asynchronous terminals to talk to There are alternatives from other of oCCering large, inflexible displays, Very soon after the Personal Com- 3270 applications. It seems that the vendors, such as multipoint coaxial the 3178 was welcomed Cor its small­ puter was announced, the industry IBM 7426 terminal interfacer unit, cable attachment, but IBM's local­ er size and ergonomic features, such was speculating as to how and when released in October 1982, was IBM's area network product, when avail­ as a swivel mount for user conve­ it would be interfaced with the 3270 first real venture into protocol con­ able, should allow the faithful to nience. In fact, the 3178 closely re­ product line. It seemed, by many, to version, providing a remote or loop­ move in this direction as well. sembled the IBM 3101 display termi­ be a natural fit. connected facility for the connection Users now have an assortment of nal, an asynchronous CRT device. This speculation ended when the of a limited number of asynchronous coaxial cable devices to choose from The 3178 was also significant for Personal Computer attachment prod- devices, such as its own 3101 asyn- when configuring their 3270 sys­ its highly competitive pricing, in­ uct was announced but was soon chronous terminal. tems. Not only can the Personal Com­ cluding volume discounts, and user followed by disappointment as users On the other hand, the Yale Pack- puter have an expansion board giv­ self-installation and maintenance realized that this product was a com- age - an IBM Series/l minicomputer ing it 3278/ 3279 emulation, but plans. There is no question that the plex "bolt-on" to existing 3278 dis- with Yale University-created soft- products are available from certain 3178 stunned the competition, which play stations. ware, available on a special quote creative competitors that allow vir­ then rushed their own low-cost dis­ The Personal Computer has been a basis - became the IBM 4994, an tually any asynchronous Ascii de­ plays into the marketplace. success, with an installed base ap- Ascl1 device control unit. Apparent­ vice to emulate 3270 'displays or Along with the 3178 came the proaching two million and expected Iy, this happened when IBM granted printers. 3290 information panel, which was to reach a possible 16 million units in it formal product status. Only IBM What's next? Is a new 3274 con­ able to display as many as four egu­ a few years. Data processing manag- knows how successful it was with trol unit on the horizon? Only IBM larly sized CRT images simultaneous­ ers were not expecting this potential the 4994, since market figures are knows - and it is not talking. The ly, using flat-panel plasma technol­ threat to their domain to become a buried in Series/l statistics, but product family will not die soon; ogy. The 3290, which cost more than powerful extension via their 3270 there were some limitations, such as there are too many software applica­ twice as much as regular 3278 dis­ systems and software. But the capa- the type of terminals to which the tions written. Remember, it has tak­ plays, was not about to be a wide­ bility was there. Coaxial cable adapt- 4994 could interface. en IBM nearly 10 years to withdraw spread replacement. Rather, it er cards and software, the IBM l,'er- In addition, IBM offers a synchro­ Tcam telecommunications access served as a useful computer room or sonal Computer 3278/79 emulation nous communications adapter board method support. But it will probably unique applications tool, while at the adapter, became available, which en- and software that converts the Per­ evolve Into a much more flexible same time demonstrating IBM's tech­ abled .the Personal Co~puterto ~mu - sonal Computer into a 3270 display product with features now available nological prowess to trade show au­ late .dlrectly a 3270 dlspla~ station. station/c.ontrol unit running either with the more expensive 3270-PC. diences. File tr~srer became an Issue as Binary Synchronous Communica- A single clustered terminal family The 3270 control unit products users re~ the usefulnes:' of free- tions or SNA/SDLC. Of course, run­ will probably apply across all IBM were also enhanced to use new prod­ ly moving fJle~between theIr hosts ning full steam against aU of these products, making the 6261 product ucts and features, such as the 3290. and the new httle helper; however, offerings are the protocol converters virtually obsolete. The concept of The 3274 control unit was offered in ~se!5 were unhappy to.leam about of dozens of companies claiming to file transfer, which today has been new Model 41C and 61C versions limIted file types, relatIvely slow offer lower price, faster delivery, shoehorned into the capabilities of with more memory, more standard .transfer s~ ~d threats to host more features and wider terminal existing hardware and software, will features and a lower cost. For exam­ data base integrity.. support. be expanded into a highly functional ple, the 3274 control unit entry as­ Finally, a completely mtegrated Just when everything looked safe user tool controlled by mainframe sist function was added as a user product, the 3270 Personal Comput- for participants in this small subseg­ data processing managers. convenience, giving some word pro­ er, w~ anno';lnced th~t combined the ment of the 3270 market, the IBM Finally, networking concepts will cessing capabilities to on-line data host-mteractlv:e fu~ctJ9ns of the 7171 Ascii device attachment control change as users become comfortable entry operations. 3270 Infor~tJon display system. ~d unit was announced. The 7171, with the new local-area network Significantly, the small System/ 38 the computing power and versatility which adds significant credibility to technologies and new networking now supports the 3274 Systems Net­ the concept of the 3270 protocol con­ products such as the IBM 3710 net­ work Architecture/Synchronous work cOntroller. Data Link Control (SNA/SDLC) clus­ version, replaces and greatly im­ proves on the 4994, in terms of price The 3710 should not go unnoticed ter, providing access to applications by 3270 managers, since this remote­ that once required a specialized 6261 and features. For example, the 717i can directly connect to host channels ly connected device can look like a display station to access. Software in 3725 communications control unit to the,System/38 converts 3270 data as a pair of 3274 control units offer­ ing 3270 emulation to 64 Ascii termi­ 31 Model 3274 control units or proto­ streams for the 6261 applications. col converters. And, as IBM indicates Does this portend a move to a nals via direct connection, asynchro­ nous dial modems, line drivers or in its 3710 product announcement, it single family of display stations? "intends to provide . . . full screen Perhaps this move is not too far data private automatic branch ex­ changes. protocol conversion capabilities i.nte­ away if one considers some features grated within the 3710." of the new 3180 display station fam­ Host and software limitations ily. For example, the 3180-1 has been were removed, but the 7171 is still a loc.ally attached product inapplicable About the author announced as a replacement for the Scott Brear is director, protocol 3278, while the 3180-2 is intended to to more than three-quarte.rs of all of the 3270 applications that exist in a conversion products, at Micom Sys­ replace the 6261 for System/34 and tems, Inc. in Simi Valley, Calif. System/S8 hosts. remote synchronous network en vi- The displays are essentially the same in physical terms, but are dif­ ferentiated by software downloads that can determine keyboard assign­ ment and other operational parame­ ters relevant to their hosts.