Digital Equipment Corporation DECstation 3100

    OK, I know this isn't a minicomputer, but as it was on its way the scrappers I couldn't help but rescue it.

    Introduced in the mid- to late- 80s, the DECstation 3100 was designed as a high performance UNIX workstation capable of a multitude of tasks ranging from computational- intensive engineering tasks to graphics manipulation duties. Based around MIPS Technologies' R/2000 microprocessor the machine was designed with expansion capabilities in mind; the standard eight Mb of memory was user- expandable to 24 Mb using 2 Mb SIMMs, the system utilises a SCSI bus for all I/O operations.

    This particular machine has 16 Mb of memory on eight SIMMs, a pair of RZ24 (200 Mb, approx) Winchester drives, and a 256 colour 1024 x 864 graphics adapter. Unfortunately, the original 19 inch (diagonal measure) colour monitor had failed and was replaced with the Mitsubishi multi- synch monitor now in use with the system.

    The machine runs DEC's ULTRIX operating system at version 4.4; the ULTRIX system is a commercial derivation of UC Berkeley's UNIX implementation. It's a full featured, robust, and professional operating environment that leaves little to be desired. As with all UNIX systems, this one has extensive communications and networking capabilities built into it.

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