Models sorted by date introduced (table) The following table summarizes the major S/370 series and models. The second column lists the principal architecture associated with each series. Many models implemented more than one architecture; thus, 308x processors initially shipped as S/370 architecture, but later offered XA; and many processors, such as the 4381, had microcode that allowed customer selection between S/370 or XA (later, ESA) operation. Note also the confusing term "System/370-compatible", which appeared in IBM source documents to describe certain products. Outside IBM, this term would more often describe systems from
Amdahl Corporation,
Hitachi, and others, that could run the same S/370 software. This choice of terminology by IBM may have been a deliberate attempt to ignore the existence of those
plug compatible manufacturers (PCMs), because they competed aggressively against IBM hardware dominance.
Models grouped by Model number (detailed) IBM used the name System/370 to announce the following eleven (three-digit) offerings:
System/370 Model 115 The
IBM System/370 Model 115 was announced March 13, 1973 as "an ideal System/370 entry system for users of
IBM's System/3,
1130 computing system and
System/360 Models 20,
22 and
25." It was delivered with "a minimum of two (of IBM's newly announced) directly attached
IBM 3340 disk drives." Two, three or four directly attached
IBM 3333 disk storage units provided "up to 400 million bytes online." Main memory was either 98,304 (96K) or 131,072 (128K) bytes. The 125 was withdrawn on March 9, 1981.
System/370 Model 135 The
IBM System/370 Model 135 was announced Mar 8, 1971. Options for the 370/135 included a choice of four main memory sizes;
IBM 1400 series (1401, 1440 and 1460) emulation was also offered. A "reading device located in the Model 135 console" allowed updates and adding features to the Model 135's microcode. The 135 was withdrawn on October 16, 1979.
System/370 Model 138 The
IBM System/370 Model 138 which was announced Jun 30, 1976 was offered with either 524,288 (512K) or 1,048,576 (1 MB) of memory. The latter was "double the maximum capacity of the Model 135," which "can be upgraded to the new computer's internal performance levels at customer locations." The 138 was withdrawn on November 1, 1983.
System/370 Model 145 The
IBM System/370 Model 145 was announced Sep 23, 1970, three months after the 155 and 165 models. As with the option to field-upgrade a 135, a 370/145 could be field-upgraded "at customer locations" to 148-level performance. The upgraded 135 and 145 systems were "designated the Models 135-3 and 145-3."
System/370 Model 155 The
IBM System/370 Model 155 and the Model 165 were announced Jun 30, 1970, the first of the 370s introduced. Neither had a DAT box; they were limited to running the same non-virtual-memory operating systems available for the
System/360. The 155 first shipped in January 1971. (DOS/360 programs under OS/360),
1401/1440/1460 and 1410/7010 and
7070/7074 compatibility features were included, and the supporting integrated emulator programs could operate concurrently with standard System/370 workloads. In August 1972 IBM announced, as a field upgrade only, the
IBM System/370 Model 155 II, which added a DAT box. Both the 155 and the 165 were withdrawn on December 23, 1977.
System/370 Model 158 The
IBM System/370 Model 158 and the 370/168 were announced Aug 2, 1972. It included dynamic address translation (DAT) hardware, a prerequisite for the new
virtual memory operating systems (DOS/VS, OS/VS1, OS/VS2). A tightly coupled multiprocessor (MP) model was available, as was the ability to loosely couple this system to another 360 or 370 via an optional channel-to-channel adapter. The 158 and 168 were withdrawn on September 15, 1980.
System/370 Model 165 The
IBM System/370 Model 165 was described by IBM as "more powerful" In August 1972 IBM announced, as a field upgrade only, the
IBM System/370 Model 165 II which added a DAT box. The 165 was withdrawn on December 23, 1977.
System/370 Model 168 The
IBM System/370 Model 168 included "up to eight megabytes" of main memory, double the maximum of 4 megabytes on the 370/158. a 1975 newsbrief said that IBM boosted the power of the 370/168 again "in the wake of the Amdahl challenge... only 10 months after it introduced the improved 168-3 processor." The 370/168 was not withdrawn until September 1980.
System/370 Model 195 The
IBM System/370 Model 195 was announced Jun 30, 1970 and, at that time, it was "IBM's most powerful computing system." Its introduction came about 14 months after the announcement of its direct predecessor, the
360/195. Both 195 machines were withdrawn Feb. 9, 1977.
IBM 303X The first of the initial high end machines, IBM's
3033, was announced March 25, 1977 and was delivered the following March, at which time a multiprocessor version of the 3033 was announced. IBM described it as "The Big One." IBM noted about the 3033, looking back, that "When it was rolled out on March 25, 1977, the 3033 eclipsed the internal operating speed of the company's previous flagship the System/370 Model 168-3 ..."
IBM 308X Three systems comprised the next series of high end machines, IBM's 308X systems: • The
3081 (announced Nov 12, 1980) had 2
CPUs • The
3083 (announced Mar 31, 1982) had 1 CPU • The
3084 (announced Sep 3, 1982) had 4 CPUs Despite the numbering, the least powerful was the 3083, which could be field-upgraded to a 3081; They were announced Feb. 12, 1985, and were configured with two or four
CPUs respectively. IBM subsequently announced models 120, 150, 180, 300, 500 and 600 with lower, intermediate and higher capacities; the first digit of the model number gives the number of central processors. Starting with the E models, and continuing with the J and S models, IBM offered Enterprise Systems Architecture/370 (ESA/370),
Processor Resource/System Manager (PR/SM) and a set of backward compatible MVS/Enterprise System Architecture (MVS/ESA) software replacing previous products: IBM's offering of an optional vector facility (VF) extension for the 3090 came at a time when
Vector processing/
Array processing suggested names like
Cray and
Control Data Corporation (CDC). The 200 and 400 were withdrawn on May 5, 1989.
IBM 4300 The first pair of
IBM 4300 processors were Mid/Low end systems announced Jan 30, 1979 as "compact (and).. compatible with System/370." The 4331 was subsequently withdrawn on November 18, 1981, and the 4341 on February 11, 1986. Other models were the 4321, 4361 and 4381. The 4361 has "Programmable Power-Off -- enables the user to turn off the processor under program control";
Clones In the 360 era, a number of manufacturers had already standardized upon the IBM/360 instruction set and, to a degree, 360 architecture. Notable computer makers included
Univac with the
UNIVAC 9000 series,
RCA with the
RCA Spectra 70 series,
English Electric with the
English Electric System 4, and the Soviet
ES EVM. These computers were not perfectly compatible, nor (except for the Russian efforts) The latter efforts were abandoned and eventually all Japanese efforts focused on the IBM mainframe lines. Some of the era's clones included: ==Architecture details==