History

Welcome to the IBM Midrange History page.

 The first AS/400s

 

On June 21, 1988, IBM introduced the Application System/400 (AS/400). The AS/400 quickly became one of the most popular business computers in the world. But it didn’t start there nor end there. The IBM Midrange includes a rich history of computer systems such as the System/3, System/34, System/36, System/38, AS/400, iSeries, i5, and the System i.

Here you will find a growing resource detailing the history of these amazing IBM Midrange systems. I also have included some general computer history entries so you can see the context of how and when things happened.

If you have any corrections or comments please feel free to make them.

Enjoy!

 

IBM Midrange History 

1969

  • July: IBM releases the System/3, the first system by IBM to use transistors. The System/3 also introduces Monolithic Systems Technology, which enables small business to effectively use computers.
  • First version of Unix is introduced.
  • ARPANET, precursor of the Internet and World Wide Web, begins operation as an experimental four-node network.

1970

  • The RPG II programming language is introduced.
  • June: Edgar Codd introduces the relational database model.

1973

  • OCL is introduced.

1974

  • IBM unveils SNA Architecture.
  • TCP/IP spec published as Internet Experiment Node.

1975

  • January: The IBM System/32 is announced.
  • Bill Gates founds Microsoft.

1976

  • Ethernet LAN protocol published.
  • Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak found Apple Computer.

1977

  • April: IBM introduces the System/34, replacing the System/3.

1978

  • October: IBM announces the mid-range IBM System/38, a general purpose computer that incorporates new semiconductor technology. The System/38 is the only commercial computer with a built-in relational database. The system would not ship until 1980.
  • The RPG III programming language is introduced.
  • First COMDEX held.

1980

  • July: The first System/38s begin shipping.
  • John Cocke develops RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture. RISC greatly boosts computer speed by using simplified machine instructions for frequently used functions. It is later adopted into PowerPC computers such as the Apple Macintosh, IBM AS/400 and RS/6000 servers.

1981

  • August: The first IBM PC debuts with a 4.77 MHz 8088 processor, MS-DOS, command line interface and monochrome block graphics.
  • Hayes introduces 300-baud SmartModem, becomes industry standard.

1982

  • IBM announces Token-Ring.
  • Compaq and Sun founded.

1983

  • May: IBM announces the System/36. It is applauded for its ease of use and reliability. The System/36 is still built on the basic architecture of the original System/3.

1984

  • April: IBM announces the System/36 5362 (Baby S/36).
  • Apple ships the Macintosh, the first mass-market computer with a monochrome desktop GUI, plug and play, and a suite of GUI productivity applications.

1985

  • John F. Akers became CEO of IBM and focused on streamlining operations and redeploying resources. During Akers’ tenure, IBM’s significant investment in research produced four Nobel Prize winners in physics, achieved breakthroughs in mathematics, memory storage and telecommunications, and made great strides in expanding computing capabilities.
  • Microsoft Windows 1.0 ships.
  • June: IBM announces the System/36 5364 (S/36 PC).
  • November: The first Midrange Expo, then called the System/38 Users Show, is held in Boston.

1986

  • January: The IBM RT PC is announced, running the AIX operating system, and became a precursor to the RS/6000.
  • March 29: The first AS/400 (Silverlake) prototype is delivered to an IBM customer.

1987

  • February: The first of 150 IBM Business Partners arrive in Rochester to begin co-development of application software for the AS/400.
  • March: SAA is announced.
  • April: IBM and Microsoft announce joint development of OS/2.
  • April: Microsoft announces Windows 2.0.
  • April 2: IBM PS/2 computer is announced.
  • October: The IBM System/36 5363 is announced.

1988

  • June 21: IBM introduces the AS/400, short for Application System/400, along with more than 1,000 software packages in the biggest simultaneous applications announcement in computer history. (By the time the first AS/400 shipped, more than 2,500 applications were available.) The AS/400 family includes six processor models, offering a 24-fold growth range in main memory, a 48-fold storage capacity range and a 10-fold performance range, as measured in commercial transactions processed per hour. It offers double the performance of the System/38 and five times that of the System/36.
  • Prior to the introduction of the AS/400, IBM sold more than 250,000 System/34, System/36 and System/38 computers worldwide, making it the most widely-used midrange family in the industry.
  • IBM ships 16-Mbps Token-Ring.
  • The IBM System/370 is announced.

1989

  • The B70, a new high-end model of the AS/400, was introduced along with three higher-speed matrix printers for use with the AS/400 family.
  • September: The AS/Entry is announced.

1990

  • February: IBM announces the RS/6000.
  • February 6: The AS/400 C models are announced.
  • August: The AS/400 line broadens with the announcement of two low-cost processors designed for small businesses or departments of large enterprises. Also added is a low-end processor. The entire AS/400 family is enhanced with hundreds of hardware and software products, including operating system improvements, new data storage products, expanded memory, better systems availability and numerous advanced applications.
  • The System/38 is withdrawn from marketing.
  • IBM and Microsoft end joint development of operating systems.

1991

  • April 22: The AS/400 D models are announced, renewing the line from top to bottom with 11 processors. A new $12,000 AS/400 entry-level model and OS/400 V2R1 are introduced.

1992

  • February 18: IBM completely refreshes the AS/400 product line with 13 powerful new E model processors that boost performance by up to 70 percent and offer the industry’s first use of 16-million-bit memory chips.
  • September: IBM Introduces a new four-way AS/400 Model E95, giving customers 20 percent more throughput than with the current high-end, three-way Model E90 and twice the processing power of the AS/400 of less than eight months prior.
  • December: IBM ships its 200,000th AS/400, a 9406 model E35, to be installed at the main brewery and headquarters at Heineken Netherlands.
  • 300,000 of the AS/400 predecessor systems – the System/36 and System/38 – remain in service.

1993

  • February 23: John Akers steps down as head of IBM.
  • April 1: Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. became IBM’s chairman and CEO. For the first time in the company’s history IBM had found a leader from outside its ranks. Gerstner had been chairman and CEO of RJR Nabisco for four years, and had previously spent 11 years as a top executive at American Express.  
  • A new F model AS/400 is unveiled that’s up to 60 percent more powerful and offers price/performance improvements averaging 26 percent.
  • Later in the year three new high-performance AS/400 Server Series models are introduced – the 9402 Server Series Model 100 and 9404 Server Series Model 135 and 140. 

1994

  • IBM ships its 250,000th AS/400, a model F80, to the Coca-Cola Company in Belgium.
  • IBM Introduces a new generation of AS/400 computers called the AS/400 Advanced Series including the AS/400 Advanced System, AS/400 Advanced Server and the AS/400 Advanced Portable. The AS/400 Advanced 36 – a replacement option for the IBM System/36 using a powerful, new 64-bit RISC processor based on PowerPC architecture – debuts, as does the Portable One Model P02, a fully functional portable AS/400.  

1995

  • June 6: IBM buys Lotus Development Corporation.
  • June 21: IBM announces the AS/400 Advanced Series with 64 bit RISC PowerPC technology.
  • August 24: Microsoft launches Windows 95.
  • AS/400 Advanced Portable, a low-cost, compact version of the AS/400, is announced.

1996

  • IBM ships it 400,000th AS/400 to Greg LeMond, the three-time winner of the Tour de France bicycle race and small-business entrepreneur.
  • IBM announces the AS/400 Advanced Entry system and a new AS/400 Advanced 36 business computer.
  • OS/400 (V3R2 and V3R7) becomes the first operating system to be certified Year 2000-ready by the ITAA (Information Technology Association of America).

1997

  • August: IBM announces a new family of AS/400e series servers to help small businesses take advantage of business opportunities on the Internet.

1998

  • IBM delivers an AS/400 to a customer every 12 minutes of every workday during 1998.
  • Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology is introduced, marking a fundamental advance in the way chips are built.
  • February: The AS/400e server 170 and AS/400e server 150 are introduced.
  • August: The AS/400e model S40 and 650 are introduced.

1999

  • The AS/400 becomes the world’s most popular multi-user, commercial business computer with more than 700,000 systems installed in over 150 countries.
  • OS/400 V4R4 is released with more than 3.2 million new lines of code written primarily for e-business.
  • IBM announces a powerful new line of AS/400e servers with faster processors, increased performance and greater flexibility to handle multiple application workloads on a single server. The new line consolidates multiple server models into a smaller, more powerful family. A new entry server, a two-way Model 170, provides more than twice the performance of the model announced the year before.

2000

  • Samuel J. Palmisano becomes president and chief operating officer of IBM and then, two years later, he is named chief executive officer. As CEO, Palmisano succeeded Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., who remained IBM chairman through 2002.
  • The AS/400 is renamed the IBM eServer iSeries and IBM releases the first Web application server for the eServer family.
  • IBM begins volume shipment of the new line of AS/400e servers powered by the world’s first production microchips made of silicon-on-insulator transistors and copper wiring.

2001

  • World Access, a global provider of telecommunications services, purchases the largest-ever IBM eServer iSeries system – the eServer i840 – to process billings for more than 100 million telephone calls per day.

2002

  • IBM announces the game-changing POWER4 microprocessor. The 32-way i890, running the new OS/400 V5R2, nearly doubles the processing power of the previous top-of-the-line iSeries server.

 2003

  • IBM announces the eServer 825 and 870, which join the 890 at the high end of the iSeries family.

2004

  • July: IBM introduces the eServer i5, the first systems to be powered by the much-anticipated POWER5 microprocessors. With this announcement comes the renaming of OS/400 to i5/OS and the release of V5R3.

2005

  • January: IBM’s new eServer i5 model 595 is the largest iSeries server ever launched, with up to 165,000 CPW and 1 TB of memory. It comes as an 8/16-way, a 16/32-way, or a 32/64-way server.
  • IBM’s new i5 models 520, 550, and 570 have been enhanced with new, compact Integrated xSeries Server features, support for a higher-performing Ultra4 RAID disk controller with concurrent maintenance, and increased configuration flexibility with more racking options. The model 520 also gets easier upgrade paths with a lower software tier and more paths from previous models.

2006

  • January: IBM rolls out the IBM System i5 line with POWER5+ processors and i5/OS V5R4. The models 520, 550, 570 and 595 are included in this announcement.
  • IBM drops the 5 from i5, beginning the System i era.

2007

  • IBM announces the POWER6 microprocessors and offers new System i 515 and 525 Express models with user-based pricing.

2008

  • i5/OS becomes a supported operating system on the IBM BladeCenter solution.
  • System i unifies with System p to become Power Systems. The operating system name is changed from i5/OS to IBM i.

2009

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