Locus Computing Corporation
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Founder | Gerald J. Popek, Charles S. Kline, Gregory I. Thiel |
| Fate | Acquired by Platinum Technology Inc. in 1995 |
| Products | LOCUS distributed OS technologies, Merge virtualization software, AIX for IBM PS/2 and System/370, OSF/1 AD for Intel Paragon, UnixWare NonStop Clusters, PC-Interface |
Locus Computing Corporation was established in 1982 by Gerald J. Popek, Charles S. Kline, and Gregory I. Thiel with the goal of commercializing innovations derived from the LOCUS distributed OS created at UCLA. The firm gained recognition for its groundbreaking work in single-system image technology and for developing the Merge product, which allowed execution of DOS and Windows 3.1 programs on Unix systems.
In 1995, Locus became part of Platinum Technology Inc. through acquisition.
AIX for IBM PS/2 and System/370
In collaboration with IBM, Locus developed customized versions of the AIX UNIX operating system tailored for the PS/2 and System/370 platforms. They incorporated LOCUS’s single-system image capabilities into these variants under the designation AIX TCF.
OSF/1 AD for the Intel Paragon
Under contract from Intel, Locus engineered a multiprocessor adaptation of OSF/1 for the Intel Paragon's massively parallel architecture, referred to as OSF/1 AD ("Advanced Development"). To facilitate interprocessor process migration and communication, Locus transformed LOCUS’s TCF technology into Transparent Network Computing (TNC), introducing the VPROC (virtual process) concept, which parallels SunOS’s VNODE (virtual inode).
UnixWare NonStop Clusters
Locus was engaged by Tandem Computers to embed their TNC technology within a highly available single-system image cluster system based on SCO UnixWare, named UnixWare NonStop Clusters. During this initiative, Locus was acquired by Platinum Technology Inc., which subsequently transferred the NonStop Clusters team to Tandem.
Following this, Tandem was acquired by Compaq. Later, the UnixWare product line was acquired from SCO by Caldera Systems/Caldera International, who opted to discontinue NonStop Clusters in favor of the simpler Reliant HA solution. Eventually, Compaq open-sourced the NonStop Clusters code and ported it to Linux as part of the OpenSSI project.
Merge
Merge originated at Locus in late 1984 for the AT&T 6300+ system, enabling execution of native DOS applications within a UNIX SVR2 environment. The 6300+ featured an Intel 80286 CPU equipped with specialized virtualization hardware for the 8086 instruction set utilized by DOS.
Subsequently, Merge evolved to exploit the virtual 8086 mode available on Intel 80386 processors and was marketed for Microport SVR3, followed by versions for SCO Unix and UnixWare. Its principal competitor during the late 1980s was VP/IX from Interactive Systems Corporation and Phoenix Technologies.
By 1994, Merge incorporated an advanced socket API leveraging Intel ring 2 virtualization, providing superior network performance among Windows virtualization solutions at that time; however, this enhancement did not translate into significant sales growth. The socket API was created by Real Time, Inc., located in Santa Barbara.
Locus participated in Microsoft's WISE program, which granted access to Windows source code. This access enabled subsequent Merge releases to support Windows shrink-wrapped applications without necessitating a separate Windows license.
PC-Interface
PC-Interface functioned as a LAN-based cross-platform integration suite designed for Unix environments, facilitating interoperability among MS-DOS/Windows, Macintosh, and Unix systems by utilizing Unix as the file system foundation. It was compatible with AIX, SCO, UnixWare, Motorola 9000, along with various other Unix derivatives, and provided one client each for Mac and MS-DOS/Windows platforms.