[ih] BBN C-series computers

[Bob Hinden]

Dave,

> On Oct 21, 2017, at 7:56 AM, Dave Walden <dave.walden.family at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> On 10/21/2017 9:58 AM, Miles Fidelman wrote:
>> Obviously the C-series machines found their niche as network devices.
>> But I remember being told that they were originally designed
>> specifically with optimizations to run c language code. Perhaps somebody
>> older than I can verify that (or not).
> 
> Here is my memory.
> 
> 1. Mike Kraley, Randy Rettberg, etc., developed the MBB (micro-coded
> building block).
> 
> 2. BBN started the BBN Computer Corporation to be a computer company
> with the MBB as the base of its systems.  One market was as a
> replacement computer to run the 316 IMP code in BBN's (separate) network
> business.  Another use was to try to be a commercial Unix computer
> manufacturer which would run Unix particularly well because it was
> micro-coded (as Bernie described in his message) to execute C directly.
> 
> 3. Being in the Unix computer business didn't go particularly well, but
> there was increasing demand for C/30-IMP-based networks.
> 
> 4. BBN networking business was folded into the computer business and the
> combination was renamed BBN Communications Corporation. The C/70 has a
> natural market there as a non-IMP component in network applications.
> 
> 5. The C/70 also had other applications within BBN's various R&D
> applications; search for "C/70" at walden-family.com/bbn/bbn-print2.pdf

This matches my memory as well.

The C/70 was, as Bernie Cosell noted in his email, a big improvement over running Unix on the DEC PDP 11/70.  Unfortunately, DEC came out with the VAX shortly after the C/70 was completed which reduced the market opportunity for the C/70 significantly.

Bob



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