Remembering RAMAC

[Allison]

>
>Subject: Re: Remembering RAMAC
>   From: Paul Koning <pkoning at equallogic.com>
>   Date: Fri, 27 May 2005 14:59:11 -0400
>     To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
>

> Allison> Of course late in the game was the 32kW RS08 disk for the
> Allison> PDP8 systems.  Small but very fast word wide storage.
>
>Not fast at all, because that one is NOT parallel -- the RS08 (and its
>PDP11 successor RS64, as well as the RF11/RS11) are all serial fixed
>head drives.  The doc says the RS08 takes 32 microseconds per (12 bit)
>word; the RF11 was slightly faster at 15 microseconds per (16 bit)
>word. 
>
>      paul

Yep, but to a PDP8 that was fairly fast. ;)  I did see a parallel 
head drum hooked to an 8 once, no idea of the details but it was for
time sharing system and was very fast.


Allison