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UNIVAC

From Alfawiki
UNIVAC
Company typeDivision
IndustryComputer hardware
PredecessorEckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation
Founded1946
FounderJ. Presper Eckert, John Mauchly
FateAcquired by Remington Rand in 1950; later became division within Sperry Rand and successors
Headquarters
Philadelphia
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
William Norris (Vice-President & General Manager, 1955–1957), Thornton C. Fry (VP & GM, 1957–1959), Jay W. Schnackel (VP & GM, 1959–1962), Dr. Louis T. Rader (President, 1962–1964), J. Frank Forster (President, 1964–1966), Robert E. McDonald (President, 1966–1971), Gerald G. Probst (President, 1971–1978), Richard L. Gehring (President, 1978–1981), Joseph J. Kroger (President, 1981–1985)
ProductsElectronic digital stored-program computers (e.g., UNIVAC I, UNIVAC II, UNIVAC III, UNIVAC 1100/2200 series)
OwnerRemington Rand; later Sperry Rand; subsequently Sperry Corporation; now part of Unisys

UNIVAC (an acronym for Universal Automatic Computer) refers to a series of electronic digital stored-program computers initially developed by the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. The designation later came to represent a division within Remington Rand and its subsequent corporate successors.

Although the BINAC, created by Eckert and Mauchly, was the first commercially available general-purpose computer, its adoption was limited. The final computer bearing the UNIVAC name was manufactured in 1986.

History and structure

Between 1943 and 1946, J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly constructed the ENIAC at the University of Pennsylvania. After encountering patent disputes, they departed to establish the Electronic Control Company, which was later renamed the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation (EMCC) based in Philadelphia. EMCC produced BINAC for Northrop Aviation with modest success before initiating development on UNIVAC in 1946. Funding for much of the UNIVAC project came from the Bureau of the Census.

Following the death of EMCC chairman Henry L. Straus in 1949, the company was acquired by Remington Rand in 1950. Eckert and Mauchly then reported to Leslie Groves, known for leading the Manhattan Project.

The most prominent UNIVAC product was the 1951 UNIVAC I mainframe, which gained fame for accurately forecasting Eisenhower’s decisive victory in the 1952 presidential election, contrasting with closely contested Gallup polls. This event highlighted early computing technology's influence on market perceptions.

In 1951, the United States Army commissioned a UNIVAC computer to assist with complex mobilization planning tasks that required computational capabilities beyond manual methods or existing machines.

Production of UNIVAC computers occurred at Remington Rand’s Eckert-Mauchly Division facility in Philadelphia, supported by engineering laboratories in Norwalk, Connecticut, and—after acquiring Engineering Research Associates (ERA)—in St. Paul, Minnesota. During the mid-1950s, Remington Rand consolidated its Norwalk tabulating operations, ERA's scientific computing efforts, and UNIVAC’s business computing under a unified UNIVAC brand.

The 1955 merger between Remington Rand and Sperry Corporation resulted in Sperry Rand. General Douglas MacArthur assumed chairmanship of the board while Harry Franklin Vickers remained president and CEO. Under Sperry Rand leadership, the UNIVAC division was renamed Remington Rand Univac division with William Norris appointed Vice-President and General Manager.

Organizational difficulties persisted through the late 1950s into the early 1960s, leading to Norris’s resignation in 1957 and eventually prompting decentralization within Remington Group's operations, with UNIVAC becoming an independent division.

# Name Years in office Title
1 William Norris 1955–1957 Vice-President & General Manager UNIVAC Division
2 Thornton C. Fry 1957–1959 Vice-President & General Manager UNIVAC Division
3 Jay W. Schnackel 1959–1962 Vice-President & General Manager UNIVAC Division
4 Dr. Louis T. Rader 1962–1964 President of the UNIVAC Division
5 J. Frank Forster 1964–1966 President of the UNIVAC Division
6 Robert E. McDonald 1966–1971 President of the UNIVAC Division
7 Gerald G. Probst 1971–1978 President of the UNIVAC Division
8 Richard L. Gehring 1978–1981 President of the UNIVAC Division
9 Joseph J. Kroger 1981–1985 President of the UNIVAC / Sperry Computer Systems Division.

During the 1960s, UNIVAC stood among eight principal American computer manufacturers collectively referred to as "IBM and the seven dwarfs," competing against IBM's dominant market position alongside Burroughs, NCR, Control Data Corporation (CDC), GE, RCA, and Honeywell. In the subsequent decade, after GE exited and RCA was acquired by Univac, these companies were known collectively as "BUNCH" (Burroughs, Univac, NCR, CDC, Honeywell).

Sperry Rand expanded into the minicomputer market in 1977 by acquiring Varian Data Machines, which became Sperry UNIVAC Minicomputer Operation but failed to capture significant market share.

To create a cohesive corporate image across diverse product lines—including typewriters and agricultural machinery—the company rebranded as Sperry Univac by the late 1970s. In 1978 Sperry Rand divested its non-computing businesses to concentrate on technology sectors and dropped "Rand" from its name to become Sperry Corporation.

By 1981 Sperry Univac had grown into Sperry’s largest division with revenues totaling $2.7 billion. Shortly thereafter, distinct Sperry UNIVAC branding was phased out as it evolved into Sperry Computer Systems Division.

In 1986 Sperry Corporation merged with Burroughs Corporation, forming Unisys, shifting emphasis from hardware manufacturing toward IT services and outsourcing to compete with IBM, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), and Computer Sciences Corporation.

As of , Unisys continues designing enterprise-grade systems through its ClearPath server product lines.

Models

Over the course of its existence, UNIVAC developed a variety of model lines. The initial vacuum tube computers, derived from the ERA 1101, were rebranded as UNIVAC 110x models; these bore no relation to the subsequent 1100/2200 series. The 1103A is recognized as the pioneering computer to implement interrupts.

The original lineup commenced with the UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer I), which was the second commercially available computer in the United States, delivered in 1951. It utilized mercury delay-line memory capable of storing 1,000 words, each consisting of 12 alphanumeric characters.

The Remington Rand 409, a punched card calculator programmed via plugboard, was marketed as the UNIVAC 60 in 1952 and later as the UNIVAC 120 in 1953.

Targeted toward business data processing, the UNIVAC File Computer launched in 1956 featured up to ten large drums, each storing 180,000 alphanumeric characters. It supported early airline reservation systems such as those used by Eastern Air Lines and competed with IBM models like the 650 and 305 RAMAC, with approximately 130 units produced.

In 1958, the UNIVAC II advanced upon its predecessor by incorporating magnetic core memory with capacities ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 words and transistorized circuitry. It maintained compatibility with existing UNIVAC I software and introduced UNISERVO II tape drives capable of handling both metal and PET film tapes.

The UNIVAC Solid State was a decimal-based system featuring rotating drum memory that stored 5,000 signed 10-digit words. Designed for commercial applications, it employed magnetic logic gates instead of transistors to enhance reliability and combined solid-state elements with a minimal number of vacuum tubes.

Sperry Rand released the UNIVAC III in 1962, producing a total of 96 units. This binary computer preserved backward compatibility with earlier models and represented the final original design under the UNIVAC name.

The UNIVAC 418, introduced in 1962, was an 18-bit system utilizing core memory; over three versions more than 392 units were manufactured.

The UNIVAC 490 was a machine with a 30-bit core memory architecture supporting up to 32K words; its military variant was known as the UNIVAC 1232. The UNIVAC 492 expanded memory capacity to 64K words. The subsequent UNIVAC 494 offered faster processors and up to 262K words of core memory while supporting multiple input/output channels and magnetic drum storage.

Debuting in 1963, the UNIVAC 1050 was a one-address architecture system with up to 32K six-bit character memory. It used PAL assembly language programming and found widespread application within U.S. Air Force inventory control systems.

The UNIVAC 1004, released in 1962, was a punched-card data processing device programmed through plugboards. Equipped with magnetic-core memory and high-speed peripherals, it functioned as a remote card reader/printer for military purposes. An emulator board enabled execution of card-deck programs but increased hardware failure rates due to reliance on relays.

A refined model named the UNIVAC 1005, introduced in February 1966, saw extensive deployment by the U.S. Army including battlefield scenarios. It incorporated additional peripheral devices and supported programming languages through assemblers and compilers. Two variants existed: a Federal Systems military version and a Commercial Systems version featuring distinct instruction sets.

The transistorized UNIVAC 1100/2200 series, beginning with the delayed yet successful UNIVAC 1107 followed by the popular UNIVAC 1108, established a strong competitive stance against IBM System/360 mainframes. This series continues today under Unisys as ClearPath Forward Dorado systems.

Emerging in the mid-1960s, the UNIVAC 9000 series (models 9200, 9300, 9400, and 9700) targeted IBM's lower-end System/360 segment by utilizing a modified subset of IBM’s architecture under patent settlement agreements. These systems employed plated-wire memory technology and supported IBM-compatible peripherals along with EBCDIC character encoding. Initial memory configurations started at approximately 8K bytes but could be expanded via disk subsystems.

The UNIVAC Series 90 comprised:

  • High-end systems (90/60, 90/70, and 90/80) that succeeded the high-tier UNIVAC9000 models by adding virtual memory capabilities comparable to those found in IBM System/370 mainframes.
  • Lower-end models (90/25, 90/30, and 90/40), introduced around the mid-1970s as upgrade options for System/3 users. These ran the OS/3 operating system supporting multitasking and programming languages including COBOL-74, RPG2, Fortran, and Assembler. Disk storage ranged from removable multi-platter packs (~29 MB) to larger capacity drives approaching ~100 MB. Instruction sets were microcoded and loaded during system boot-up.

In the early 1980s, the Sperry UNIVAC System 80 series replaced Series 90 models with designs developed by Mitsubishi Japan resembling IBM/360 mainframes. The last model launched by Unisys was the Model 7E in 1990.

This extensive array of products illustrates UNIVAC's strategic focus on addressing diverse market segments across both commercial and military domains while prioritizing backward compatibility and maintaining competitive leverage against IBM through innovations in hardware design and system software development.

Operating systems

The 1107 marked the debut of a 36-bit, word-oriented computer featuring an architecture that closely resembled the subsequent "1100 Series." It operated on batch-processing second-generation systems such as EXEC I or EXEC II, which were prevalent during the early to mid-1960s. The 1108 model supported EXEC II or EXEC 8, the latter facilitating concurrent real-time operations, time-sharing, and background batch jobs. The Transaction Interface Package (TIP) enabled developers to create transaction-processing applications using COBOL, a notable advantage over rivals that required assembly language programming. EXEC 8 was eventually renamed OS 1100 and later OS 2200, with modern iterations preserving backward compatibility. Additionally, certain 1108 configurations ran RTOS, a streamlined operating system optimized for enhanced hardware utilization.

The smaller System 80 mainframes operated on OS/3, an operating system derived from the Univac 90/30 series.

Initially, the UNIVAC Series 90 employed OS/9, developed by Univac, which was subsequently replaced by RCA's Virtual Memory Operating System (VMOS). VMOS originated as Time Sharing Operating System (TSOS) on RCA's Spectra 70 virtual memory platforms before being renamed following Sperry's acquisition of RCA CSD. After adapting VMOS for the 90/60 model, Univac rebranded it as VS/9.

Trademark

UNIVAC has been a registered trademark under various corporate entities:

See also

Further reading

External links

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