I decided to apply Google Translate for that Finnish page on the MPS10 parts (that’s how Nokia seems to have preferred it, without dash). That also includes a clearer picture of the machine.
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SuperMikko MPS10
Pertti Ruosaari: ADA was coming
When we lived in the Mikko 3 era, everything was done in-house. Televa, on the other hand, as described above, had planned to take Intel’s processor and other parts from the market and assemble a product from them. Shortly after this, Intel organized a big event for European product developers at the Amsterdam airport and introduced its upcoming product there. It was supposed to be a computer on a chip and the programming language was ADA.
We found out about ADA and Reino Kurki-Suonio was very enthusiastic about it. He agreed with Intel that ADA is the standard for the next 20 years. Nokia signed up with Intel for the aforementioned project, but nothing ever came of it.
A parallel idea was based on the S/38 announced by IBM. Based on that, we began to design a new type of computer with enough power and the benefits of ADA available.
Heikki Keränen: We needed an office computer
The MPS10 was born because at the end of the 1970s, microprocessors were not powerful enough, and our product development could not rely on them. We could not take a break in product development for many years and wait for some manufacturer to produce a microprocessor powerful enough for us. Ruosaari built the MPS10 concept, and Rajulin was the lead logic designer.
We saw that the future banking system requires a branch computer. A bank’s branch must have access to its own data under all circumstances. The reliability of the branch system and the entire decentralization concept require a powerful computer at the branch level. We couldn’t build one from standard microcircuits, so we had to implement it ourselves.
Mikko 4 and ADA
The August 1980 Net magazine also reported under the headline “New company to market ADAA” that "Jean Ichbiah, who worked on CiiHB’s ADA project, has founded the company APSYS in France, which specializes in the development and marketing of software based on advanced technology. APSYS will initially focus on the ADA programming language. CiiHB, which owns 15% of the shares, and APSYS will work together to promote applications of the ADA language.
Nokia Electronics is developing a new Mikko 4 computer series, the architecture of which differs radically from the current Mikko 3 series computers. (Mikko 4/06 is still part of the Mikko 3 series). The aim was to select or develop a suitable programming language as the system programming language for the Mikko 4 computers. In early 1979, the ADA language was chosen, but it was found that it was too extensive to be implemented with the available resources. Therefore, a functional subset of the ADA language was defined, which was further expanded. The resulting programming language is called the ADA/M4 language. The ADA/M4 language has been developed in close cooperation between Nokia Electronics and Softplan. The main focus has been on Softplan, because it is also developing an ADA/M4 compiler for the Mikko 4 computers. The architecture of the Mikko 4 series supports the implementation of the ADA/M4 language.
MPS10 steps forward
In the spring of 1981, Pertti Ruosaari (pictured) organized the first information sessions about product development plans for the product line originally developed under the name Mikko 4/66.
The preliminary product description dated April 21, 1981, was titled “MPS10, the new supermikko”. The description states that the Mikko 4/66 project was started in the spring of 1977. In early 1981, the name was changed to MPS10 (Mikko Processing System). The goal is to start deliveries in early 1983.
The MPS10 is radically different from most computers today and is therefore not compatible with current Mikkos. The initial development of the MPS10 was modeled after the HP3000. Its development was also strongly influenced by the ADA programming language, T Linde’s 1976 article “Operating System Structures to support security and reliable software” and the IBM S/38 computer (which was also influenced by Linde’s article). The goal was to connect more than 50 terminals to the system. For this reason, Xerox’s Ethernet was chosen as the fast bus.
Ethernet is supported by Intel, DEC and HP, among others. Skop’s new bank terminal system to be delivered in the autumn of 1981 includes the same bus solution. The main goals of the MPS10 system are to reduce software costs and improve reliability. This also includes the use of off-the-shelf software.
ADA, a new programming language developed by the US DoD, is intended to be both a systems and application programming language. It is now certain that ADA will become the new global standard language. ADA’s lead developer, Jean Ichbiah, predicts that ADA will be the last programming language and says that it will be replaced by an automatic program generator in the year 2000.
Currently, ADA is in the process of developing a machine-independent environment (APSE), which allows the same program to run on different computers. The core of the MPS10 operating system is hidden behind the ADA statements and is not visible in the application programs. The MPS10 hardware and operating system form a virtual ADA machine, on which the APSE software can be placed directly. In a few years, there will be a wide variety of ADA software available for purchase. Thanks to ADA, we are no longer tied to our own HW in the same way as before, because in the future we can move to an ADA microprocessor and thus ensure the continuity of our software.
The Ethernet bus developed by Xerox is a very significant development, because each terminal no longer needs to be connected to its own computer interface unit, but they are all connected to a single cable coming from the computer. Several computers can also be connected to this bus.
The design of the MPS10 is substantially more modern than that of the 32-bit machines on the market. Its performance will certainly be above that of current 32-bit machines. The processor of the PDU220 terminal will be Intel’s 8086. The terminal can be loaded with the software required at any time from the MPS10.
Erkki Rajulin: Stages of MPS10 implementation
In hardware development, we made another Mikko 3 series computer, although it was confusingly named Mikko 4/06. Here, we aimed for the most compact and affordable design possible, with the processor, memory, I/O interfaces, and disk drives all in the same shell.
As early as 1977, Ruosaari and I began to consider the 32-bit high-performance computer MPS10, “Supermikko”. Along the way, we came to believe that the ADA language developed by the US Department of Defense would be the future standard for computer operating systems. The idea was to avoid increasing software development costs, so development was directed towards a machine that would be suitable for ADA.
The MPS10 included a number of features that were not found in “conventional” mini-machines:
- The instruction set was implemented with downloadable micro-software.
- The instruction set interpreted the code produced by the ADA compiler.
- The address calculation of machine instructions was virtual.
- The machine had a relational database.
From these starting points, development work began in late 1979, continuing on my part until I moved to the semiconductor company (Micronas) founded by Nokia on May 1, 1981, to develop the internal components of mobile phones.
» Erkki Rajulin, on the design and implementation of MPS10
Net magazine announces the MPS10 system
In August 1981, the Net magazine reported under the headline “MPS10 – the new SuperMikko” that: "In 1977, an ambitious project was launched at Nokia Data to produce a 32-bit super-minicomputer based on a completely new architecture. Four years later – in the spring of 1981 – this extremely modern computer, even by global standards, the MPS10, is at the prototype stage and commercial deliveries are planned to begin in 1983.
The MPS10 (Mikko Processing System) architecture is radically different from most computers today. The MPS10 has a clear separation between hardware and software, thus avoiding the software dependency of current computers and the difficulty of applying new technology.
One of the main goals of the project has been to reduce software costs. The development of MPS10 has been strongly influenced by the new programming language ADA developed by the US Department of Defense. It is now certain that ADA will become a new global standard. In fact, large amounts of portable software will be available for the ADA environment in the near future.
The goals of MPS10 also included flexible connection options for large numbers of terminals. A high-speed bus was chosen as the connection method for terminals, meaning that only one cable leaves the computer regardless of the number of terminals (or printers, other computers, etc.) to be connected.
Seppo Uitto: MPS10 from the perspective of bank sales
From the beginning, it was clear that this was an exceptional, large and challenging project.
Efficiency was expected from the new system. In addition, in order to compete with our competitors, we must differentiate ourselves and be ahead of our competitors in application software development. The security of the MPS10 and ADA combination, a reference to, among others, the US Department of Defense, supported the development specifically as a solution for the financial sector.
However, customers were very skeptical about the solution from the beginning. Ruosaari Pera’s enthusiasm, determination, perseverance and participation in the sales were impressive. Pera kept the strings of MPS10 and ADA firmly to himself. Information about the stage at which the development measures were progressing came filtered through him. Dozens of human resources were allocated to the development work and more were hired all the time. The announced schedules were stretched.
I personally took on the MPS10 sales target as a challenge among others. A lot was happening in the industry at that time and it was difficult to question the development decisions that had been made. Since the solutions under development were specifically aimed at large customers, a representative from the development unit was most often present in the sales situation, who handled the technical arguments for the customer.
Osmo Mäenpää: I didn’t believe in the ADA language
In product development, ADA and MPS10 were very big things in the late 1970s. I had to admit that the results of ADA development were not visible anywhere else in the world. At the same time, it became obvious that even the development of the central processing unit is very difficult. Developing the operating system was an absolutely huge task.
I was not directly responsible for the MPS10 project, but I had my hands full all the time working on the products that were currently being delivered. It seemed to me that the development of MPS10 was stalling and was constantly swallowing up a huge amount of money. When this development work started, there were no discussions about alternatives. Ruosaari had decided to develop his own product that he would build himself, and Keränen gave him his support.
Yrjanä Ahto: MPS10
This was something that everyone seemed to disagree on at the time. Selling the MPS10 to customers was painful and justifying the ADA was difficult. Around this time, the first thoughts began to occur to me that maybe it wasn’t worth doing everything yourself in Finland.
Tero Laaksonen: Different opinions
The background was that we had a very early functioning LAN and needed a strong server for it. Different people had different opinions about the MPS10 plans. The engineers wanted to implement something revolutionary, while the sales people doubted whether the world would suddenly turn to ADA and the guys at Nokia would be able to do everything themselves again (operating system, database software, compilers, firmware, telecommunications software, etc.).
Commercial success was not achieved partly because there were no ready-made applications to offer, and software houses did not start developing them. After all, the market was undergoing a major technological transformation.
Lauri Sarvilinna: Recruitment methods in the early 1980s
We also collaborated with Tom Törnwall in personnel recruitment. Tom wanted ready-made people who already had work experience. It was quite difficult to find such people. Finally, the development guys wrote a catchy ad “DO YOU KNOW ADA” which was in the Sunday papers in four columns. It brought in a lot of applications and the applicants were exceptionally high-quality chess players. The same template was also used for other recruitments.
Product Support began recruiting primarily through the summer internship channel. We realized that top talent was not looking for a job after graduation: they had already committed to a company some time ago. That’s why we took on about a dozen interns during the summer. The majority were fourth-year students from the F or S departments of Otaniemi. We also got a lot of good people from Tampere University of Technology. In terms of intern matters, I was able to establish a good relationship with Ulla Niemi from the HR department.
At the end of February, I was allowed to stay in her office in the evenings to browse through the applications of about a thousand applicants and choose the best ones. Good applications had to be seized as soon as they arrived. Delaying even a few days could be fatal. Our number one criterion was good academic performance, otherwise the applicant could be as original as he or she wanted. Ulla organized an orientation day for the interns at the beginning of June. I was there many years to speak. I remember warning them about the “reality shock”: working life is different from university, and there is no such thing as a job that corresponds to the so-called education.
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