As the Naval Postgraduate School celebrates 50 years on the forefront of academic computing, Aug. 27, it's fitting that Superintendent Rear Admiral Patrick Dunne is a graduate of the Department of Mathematics, for NPS's move from Annapolis five decades ago not only coincided with the birth of the Information Age, its first computer was the proud property of the Department of Mathematics

Honneger, Barbara

Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School

Calhoun: The NPS Institutional ArchiveInformation Technology and Communication Services (ITACS)Information Technology and Communication Services (ITACS) Publications2005NPS Computing: 50 years golden and growingHonneger, BarbaraMonterey, California. Naval Postgraduate Schoolhttp://hdl.handle.net/10945/519702/27/17, 3:59 PMNew Page 1Page 1 of 4https://web.archive.org/web/20050213004023/http://www.nps.edu/PAO/Newsletters/computing.htmlNPS Computing: 50 Years Golden and GrowingStory by Barbara HoneggerAs the Naval Postgraduate School celebrates 50 years on the forefront of academic computing, Aug. 27, it's fitting thatSuperintendent Rear Admiral Patrick Dunne is a graduate of the Department of Mathematics, for NPS's move fromAnnapolis five decades ago not only coincided with the birth of the Information Age, its first computer was the proudproperty of the Department of Mathematics.In 1953, only months after the move, when five-foot slide rules were still being used as instructional aids, the father ofNPS computing, Mathematics Dept. Chairman and former naval officer Warren Randolph Church (right; Vice Adm.Aubrey Fitch, at left) installed the first electronic automatic digital computer -- a National Cash Register 102A (below) -- in the Mathematics Department in Root Hall, hoisted by crane through a second story window. Seven years later, in 1960, it was replaced by the world's first all-solid-state computer -- Control Data Corporation'sCDC1604 Model 1, Serial No. 1 (top p.5) -- designed, built and personally certified in the lobby of Spanagel Hall bythe legendary Seymour Cray. Cray's "first born" was the first of ten such machines, ordered by the Navy's Bureau ofShips for its Operational Control Centers world wide. "I was there when Cray sat at the 1604 console and, like a master pianist, ran through the test programs," saidEdward Ward, a mathematician and the first computer technician hired by Church. "I watched and listened. When it'sraining knowledge, you just hold out your hand.""This was the supercomputer of the day," said former Professor of Mathematics Douglas Williams, Director of the NPSComputer Center from its founding in 1961 to 1994, "yet it was only being used by a very small number of faculty,submitting machine language programs on paper tape. There was no operating system and no assemblers, compilersor utilities." Williams first came to NPS on sabbatical leave from the University of Glasgow, Scotland with an extensivebackground in computing and an entrepreneurial spirit. Within a year of his arrival, computing had spread acrosscampus -- in faculty research, student thesis research, and many classes. "It not surprising NPS's Information Technology (IT) infrastructure emerged from the Math Department," said currentdepartment chairman Clyde Scandrette. "It was a seminal time when the mathematical underpinnings of algorithmsmet the dawning of the Information Age, and mathematical researchers could appreciate and act on this potential." "That first transition from the NCR to Cray's CDC was the biggest jump in computing power NPS has ever had -- afactor of 300," Williams noted. "By comparison, the IBM 360/67, which replaced the 1604 in 1967, was only 25 timesfaster than the CDC; the IBM 3033AP, which we installed in 1981, was just a tenfold gain over the 360/67; and theAMDAHL 5995-700A, received in 1990, an increase of just another factor of ten." Despite the leap in computing power, Cray's 1604, in use at NPS from 1960 to 1967, could serve only one user at atime, and initially had no software or operating system. "It wasn't long before Cray wrote an assembly routine and complete FORTRAN compiler, which is really what jump-started computing at NPS," Ward recalled. "It was now a lot easier for faculty and students to program for complexscientific problems." "I began teaching classes on how to use Cray's FORTRAN compiler to standing-room-only audiences of faculty andstudents," Williams recalled. "Everyone knew how revolutionary this was, and wanted to get in on the ground floor." Seymour Cray's CDC1604 was also the computational seed of the Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorological andOceanographic Center (FNMOC). In the early 1960s, the Naval Numerical Weather Prediction (NANWEP) Projectwas given time on the machine for a feasibility study. Its success led to the installation of a second 1604, back to backwith the first, in Spanagel 101A. NANWEP soon got its own supercomputers and moved to another on-campuslocation. Later renamed FNMOC, it is still synergistically co-located with NPS in Monterey, about a mile away. The 1960s saw a number of other firsts at NPS. The Navy's corporate university was among the first to move fromhttp://www.nps.edu/PAO/Newsletters/computing.html Go DEC20044 captures16 Aug 04 - 29 Oct 052/27/17, 3:59 PMNew Page 1Page 2 of 4https://web.archive.org/web/20050213004023/http://www.nps.edu/PAO/Newsletters/computing.htmlsingle-user machines to multi-access timesharing. In 1963, Williams designed and started a computer-orientedmasters degree program in management data processing. In 1964, an IBM 1401 character-oriented businesscomputer was added, with a card reader, card punch, and printer. Students' punched cards were written to magnetictape, the tape carried to the mainframe where it was run in batch-processing mode, and the results, also on tape,printed out on the 1401. The mid 1960s saw the installation of two CDC160A 'mini' computers, one next to the 1604, and the other in ElectricalEngineering, which also acquired a custom-built graphic display with a track ball, joystick and other features commonin today's units. "The 160A was the computer that gave people the idea that there might be a justification for one-usermachines after all -- the forerunner of today's Personal Computers, or PCs," recalled David Norman, former Directorof Academic Computing. "Back then, though, a 'mini' didn't fit on a desk. It was the size of a desk, or a refrigerator." Following the lead of Electrical Engineering's dedicated mini computer, special-purpose computing systems wereinstalled in all NPS science and engineering departments, complementing the general-purpose computing servicesoffered on the Computer Center's IBM-compatible mainframes. In 1967, the School's CDC1604 was replaced by an IBM 360/67 mainframe computer (above, center), the first to havespecial addressing hardware features for implementing virtual storage. Two years later the entire system was movedto the first on-campus space specifically designed for computer operations, in Ingersoll Hall, where the new W.R.Church Computer Center (bottom, p.5) was dedicated in 1969. Typewriter terminal clusters were soon installed inacademic buildings across campus, connected by point-to-point four-pair cabling. "There were no dedicatedunderground cable facilities," Norman explained. "We used whatever cable route we could find - steam tunnels,underground telephone cable paths. For the major part of the 1970's we ran cable through the trees from Ingersoll toRoot, Bullard and Spanagel Halls." In the 1970s, NPS Computer Science Professor Gary Kildall (left) wrote the world's first high-level programminglanguage for Intel's microprocessor, as well as the first microprocessor operating system, soon run on nine out of tenPCs. He and his wife founded Intergalactic Digital Research, in Pacific Grove, later shortened to just Digital Research.About the same time, a young Bill Gates was approached by IBM to provide an operating system for their proposedPC, and referred the company to Kildall. IBM returned to Gates when the approach didn't work out, and, as they say,the rest is history. One of Kildall's Navy officer students, submariner Lt. Gordon Eubanks, went on to become chiefexecutive officer of Symantec, and then president and CEO of Oblix. As computer use increased, graphics displays popped up all over campus, and NPS enlisted computer sciencespecialists, primarily from the Mathematics and Electrical Engineering Departments, to assist faculty and students.The School established its first Computer Science Group in 1973, and, within five years, five Math professors -- overhalf the department's faculty at the time -- joined the newly established Department of Computer Science. In 1975,NPS was one of the first California nodes to connect to the ARPANET, along with Top Ten-ranked Stanford University(Neil Harvey, user services programmer, 1970s, right). The '70s also saw the addition of an SDS9300 and multiple DEC PDP8s and PDP11s in many of the science andengineering departments at the Navy's university. In the following decade, many of these were replaced with DECVAX computers running the UNIX operating system, in turn superceded by a variety of high-performance UNIX-basedworkstations in laboratories and faculty offices. Applications ranged from data acquisition to scientific visualization andvirtual reality simulations. Many of these systems outgrew their parent departments and now have an independentexistence in NPS centers of technological excellence, like the world renowned NPS Institute for Modeling, VirtualEnvironments and Simulation (MOVES). In the 1980s, the Navy's university purchased an IBM 3033AP mainframe computer (left), marking a major shift frompunched cards to on-line terminals. Williams and his Information Technology (IT) team set up Learning Centers acrosscampus with PCs, Macs, and UNIX-based workstations. Instant messaging to other logged-in users and an IBM 3851mass storage system boasting tapes capable of holding 50 megabytes of data made their advent. The Schoolinstalled a 250-page-per-minute IBM 3800 laser printer, and the Computer Center set up a library of over 5,000 IBMmanuals documenting the new mainframe system, and for general reference. Micro-networked word processing labswere soon added, with Xerox graphics workstations providing the first graphical user interface with "What you see iswhat you get" displays. The 1990s saw the implementation of a five-year computer infrastructure master plan, "Support of GraduateEducation in the 1990s". The program funded acquisition of an AMDAHL 5995-700A (right), and Cray X/MP (E98)supercomputer; SUN servers for the campus network; 150 SUN Sparc10 workstations in faculty offices and clustersacross campus; Storage Tek mass storage silos accessible via the campus network; Learning Resource Centers inthe academic buildings; creation of a Scientific Visualization Laboratory, and War Lab for secure classified thesisproduction; the first Web browser; and the infrastructure for a campus-wide backbone. Glasgow Hall was the firstbuilding to be wired for high-speed networking from the ground up, and, in 1999, fiber optic cable was installedbetween campus buildings. By the end of the decade, the speed of the School's network had increased tenfold, from10 to 100 megabits per second. "When Professor Jim Emory first became Associate Provost for Information Technology, in 1994 just after Doug2/27/17, 3:59 PMNew Page 1Page 3 of 4https://web.archive.org/web/20050213004023/http://www.nps.edu/PAO/Newsletters/computing.htmlWilliams retired, one of the first things he did was to come into my office and ask, what would make the mostdifference for NPS in IT?" Dave Norman recalled. "In about one second, I told him, 'Put in a single, centrally managedcampus-wide network.' Jim said yes, and in about a week, I came up with a projected cost of $4.2 million. Four yearslater, the project came in at exactly $4.2 million. This wasn't so much because I was a great project manager, as thatwe had a truly fine contractor." In 1997, the AMDAHL was replaced by an IBM 9672 mainframe, followed in 1998 by a move to PC standardization(top, p.9) under then Superintendent Rear Adm. Robert Chaplin's implementation of the Navy's "InformationTechnology for the 21st Century" (IT21) Strategic Plan.Computing at NPS UniqueAccording to Williams and Norman (above, center), research and instructional computing at NPS is unique because itis free to the user and student-centered. "Throughout my 33-year tenure ending in 1994, I thought it very important, considering the special nature of NPS, tomake these powerful resources available free to students and faculty for class work and research -- a practice rare inuniversities," said Williams (right). "At most graduate institutions, computing time went to the users with the mostmoney, usually physics and engineering researchers. Our free access policy resulted in a much higher computerliteracy rate here at NPS than at most universities." "From the earliest days, what made NPS computing support unique and, frankly, a lot of fun was that it has alwaysbeen student-centered, as opposed to administration-or faculty-centered," recalled Norman. "Where else could youfind a computer services staff member at one or even three o'clock in the morning working with a student to get amodeling or analysis program right, or to get his or her thesis out? Some of my fondest memories are of those earlymorning hours, desks piled high with memory dumps, manuals, and program listings, the office floor awash withempty soda cans."The New Millennium: Best of Both DomainsIn 2000, Google was installed as the NPS home page search engine, the PYTHON student-data management systemwas developed and implemented through a series of student masters theses, and the School completed system-wideprecautionary measures for Y2K, including the first combined campus-wide inventory of both administrative andacademic computing systems. "Netcentricity" became a watchword, as Web forms and database interfaces becameintegrated, and user interfaces for application software increasingly took advantage of the Worldwide Web. In 2001, the Navy's corporate university installed a wireless network. The following year, Dr. Christine Cermak wasbrought on board as Executive Director, Information Resources and Chief Information Officer, establishing anInformation Technology Task Force as the IT advisory body at NPS. Under her direction, IT quickly privatized all NPStelephone support, making communications services an integral part of computer and networking support;consolidated e-mail services; and instituted remote management for anti-virus updates. 2003 was a year of remarkable productivity at the Navy’s corporate university. Even while the organization was beingredefined as a result of a Functionality Assessment study, NPS joined Internet2, a vision for a joint DoDNet wasdeveloped for the Monterey Peninsula, and ITACS upgraded network core and edge network devices to Foundry GIG-E to improve both reliability and speed. Cermak's team completed and published the School's IT Strategic Plan, "TheInformation Revolution: Planning for Institutional Change" (above). Planning for the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet(NMCI) was initiated, Network Attached Storage debuted, and campus backup capabilities were expanded with multi-level storage and increased capacity on an automated virtual tape system. An increased focus on security resulted in the appointment, in 2003, of a full-time NPS Information Systems SecurityManager within ITACS, the introduction of "smart cards", and the implementation of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).Classified computing labs were moved to new facilities with improved networking and bandwidth, and the ClassroomTechnology Plan won Naval Education Training Command support. Automated computer account creation anddeletion, along with definition of a standard image for administrative and academic desktop computers, made systemadministration tasks more efficient. One of the central tenets of the Functionality Assessment study -- arecommendation to establish a new customer support unit -- was implemented in the new Technology AssistanceCenter. A major initiative of the Information Technology Task Force Advisory Committee has been to ensure that NPScomputer users have the best of both Internet domains -- .mil and .edu. As of April 2004, faculty, students, and staffnow have access to both Internet worlds, ensuring the rich, high-speed network access of the world's top-rankedcivilian universities via .edu, as part of the cooperative Education and Research Network (ERN), while continuing tomeet robust military security standards for classified research and communications via .mil. This year also will see thetransition to the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) in the .mil domain. (IT-21 standard PC, right) "Our IT infrastructure has always been oriented to do this," said Professor Peter Denning, Chairman of the NPSDepartment of Computer Science. "What we've now done is to formalize it, by declaring ourselves a member of the.edu arena. This guarantees an infrastructure capable of supporting rapidly evolving graduate education and researchprograms, as well as access to the fastest networking, most cutting edge technology and software, and widest range2/27/17, 3:59 PMNew Page 1Page 4 of 4https://web.archive.org/web/20050213004023/http://www.nps.edu/PAO/Newsletters/computing.htmlof colleagues and collaborators from other institutions. Formally entering the .edu domain also enables us tocooperate with those colleagues and collaborators to evolve Internet2, which will be of even higher bandwidth, greaterfunctionality, higher reliability, and greater security." Denning is also Director of the NPS Cebrowski Institute'sBattlespace Communications Architecture Project, whose focus is converging the Navy's ForceNet infrastructure intothe larger DoD Global Information Grid (GIG). A true Internet pioneer, in 1981 Denning catalyzed the revolution ofDoD's closed ARPANET into the open Internet, via the bridge of an unclassified ARPANET clone, CS Net.The Next 50 YearsOn Aug. 27, 2004, NPS will hold a day-long celebration of its Golden Anniversary in research and academiccomputing. "Information Technology was born in the academic enterprise -- it was invented and established for education andresearch," said Cermak. "Over the past 50 years, that role has only increased and been made stronger, with ITbecoming a strategic resource for universities as a change facilitator and multiplier. On August 27, we will becelebrating 50 years of NPS leadership in the development and use of Information Technology in academic researchcomputing. We take that leadership role as a world-class graduate university very seriously, and honor it by carrying itboldly into the future." And what does the Naval Postgraduate School IT future look like? "NPS's Information Technology infrastructure ranks with the world's top research universities, and will continue to doso into the future," said Denning. "The growth in computing power at NPS has followed the exponential curve of thelarger IT community, and this will also continue. Via shrinking silicon chips and other technological advances, theenvironment in which we will do research on Network Centric Warfare and ForceNET will continue to see Moore's Lawholding to at least 2050, and probably 2100. So we can count on communications power and computing powercontinuing to double every 18 months. But so can our enemies. It's therefore vital that we continue to hold and exploitthe incremental IT advantage, which is our superior ability to innovate. To ensure that future, we must proactivelypromote a paradigm shift to a culture of innovation. With its world class IT infrastructure, NPS will be on the cuttingedge of that paradigm shift and emerging culture."  

NPS Computing: 50 years golden and growing

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NPS Computing: 50 years golden and growing

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