Michigan Terminal System - Overview

Overview

The software developed by the staff of the University of Michigan's academic Computing Center for the operation of the IBM S/360-67, S/370, and compatible computers can be described as a multiprogramming, multiprocessing, virtual memory, time-sharing supervisor (University of Michigan Multiprogramming Supervisor or UMMPS) that handles a number of resident, reentrant programs. Among them is a large subsystem, called MTS (Michigan Terminal System), for command interpretation, execution control, file management, and accounting. End-users interact with the computer's resources through MTS using terminal, batch, and server oriented facilities.

The name MTS refers to:

• MTS the UMMPS Job Program with which most end-users interact;
• MTS the software system, including UMMPS, the MTS and other Job Programs, Command Language Subsystems (CLSs), public files (programs), and documentation; and
• MTS the time-sharing service offered at a particular site, including the MTS software system, the hardware used to run MTS, the staff that supported MTS and assisted end-users, and the associated administrative policies and procedures.

MTS was used on a production basis at 12 or 13 sites in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and possibly Yugoslavia and at several more sites on a trial or benchmarking basis. MTS was developed and maintained by a core group of eight universities that comprised the MTS Consortium.

The University of Michigan ceased operating MTS for end-users on June 30, 1996. By that time, most services had moved to client/server-based computing systems, typically Unix for servers and various Mac, PC, and Unix flavors for clients. The University of Michigan shut down its MTS system for the last time on May 30, 1997.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is believed to be the last site to use MTS in a production environment. RPI retired MTS in June 1999.

Today MTS still runs using IBM S/370 emulators such as Hercules, Sim390, and FLEX-ES.