The MDS 2400 was a small floor-standing computer manufactured by Mohawk Data Sciences Corporation. The machine was originally developed by Atron Corporation as the Atron 501 Datamanager, introduced in 1969.[1] It was marketed primarily for remote job entry applications and promoted as The Peripheral Processor.
Two related models from Mohawk were the 1200 and the 2300.[2]: Comm_p.1
Description
The system had a base memory of 4 KB of core memory with a 2 μs cycle time, expandable to 32 KB. It supported one to four input/output channels with up to 16 devices per channel. It offered a choice of line printers between 280 and 1250 lines per minute (lpm), a 400 cards per minute (cpm) card reader, a 160 columns per second card punch, a paper tape reader, a 2.48 MB disk storage unit, and 7 and 9-track half-inch magnetic tape drives.[3] An optional asynchronous terminal could be attached as a console.[1]
The system supported synchronous communications at up to 9600 baud, and usually served as a remote job entry system to a larger mainframe computer. The remote job entry software provided full support for the HASP multi-leaving protocol, among others.[2]