Booting an IBM MP 3000 S/390 System

[geneb]

On Thu, 6 Aug 2015, Guy Sotomayor wrote:

> In many cases more than one!  ;-)
>
> But more to the point, having a separate processor handing the booting chores 
> frees the
> main CPU from those tasks.  Initialization can be a pain just look at the x86 
> ISA and the
> hoops it makes the S/W (BIOS & OS) just to get to the point where the OS can 
> really start
> it's own initialization!  And that doesn't even cover the "magic" that goes 
> on just so that
> the x86 CPU can fetch the first instruction.
>
> As folks have mentioned, a lot of larg(er) system have service processors to 
> handle the
> booting chores.  However, it's more than that.  The service processor (as the 
> name
> implies) is doing a whole lot more than just booting.  It is also responsible 
> for running
> low level diagnostics and capturing the results of hard crashes for later 
> diagnosis.
>

Thanks for the info Guy (and others!).  The biggest machine I ever owed 
was a VAX 8250 that I got straight out of the machine room at 
Mannesmann-Tally in Kent, WA.  Fun machine, but made my upstairs floor sag 
noticeably(sp).  It had four RA-81s and a TU-81+. :)

g.


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