IBM POWER (software)
| Company type | Software enhancement package |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer software |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Spooling software for IBM DOS/360, DOS/VS, DOS/VSE |
POWER was an enhancement package for IBM operating systems that provided spooling capabilities on the IBM System/360 platform operating under DOS/360 or its modified versions. Subsequent iterations, known as POWER/VS and POWER/VSE, were designed to support the IBM System/370 environment running DOS/VS and DOS/VSE. The acronym POWER stands for Priority Output Writers, Execution processors and input Readers.
The product
POWER served to augment DOS/360, DOS/VS, and DOS/VSE systems and was also incorporated into certain third-party DOS-based solutions. IBM introduced POWER in 1969, initially unveiling it at the IBM Wall Street Data Center.
The system provided 'spooling' functionality for printer and card data, effectively separating program execution speed from the slower output devices such as printers or punched card readers.
In competition with third-party spoolers like DataCorp's The Spooler and SDI's GRASP, POWER was distinctive in its requirement for a dedicated partition.
This solution allowed multiple processing partitions to share a single printer (1403/2311), punch device (2520, 2540), or reader (2540, 2501). Input data was asynchronously processed and directed according to Job class. Output was temporarily stored on disk before being dispatched to devices based on writer type (PRT, PUN), Job Class, Priority level, and form code specified by control cards. Operators controlled form management through console commands (such as G PUN or G PRT), enabling continuous device operation with prompts issued when form changes were necessary.
Platforms
POWER was compatible with IBM systems ranging from the S/360 Model 30 up to larger models. Machines equipped with less than 128K of core memory (magnetic core storage, a precursor to modern RAM) generally lacked the capacity to run POWER effectively. The POWER/VS variant delivered strong performance on later S/370 models, notably the 135, 145, 4331, and 4341.
Software
Supported operating systems included:
Hardware
Compatible hardware platforms comprised:
as well as clones produced by: