The HP 3000 is a general-purpose multiprogramming machine,
designed for the interactive, transaction processing environment
of business and industry.
The HP 3000 family of computers includes several models of the
machine, each with a different series number.
900 Series HP 3000 |
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The newest high performance members of the 900 Series HP 3000 family are based on HP Precision Architecture (HP-PA), a highly flexible computer design that can meet current user requirements and requirements arising during future growth.
HP Precision Architecture (HP-PA) |
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HP Precision Architecture (HP-PA) is based on Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) concepts with added extensions for a complete system. This increases computer performance by reducing and simplifying the computer instruction set. HP-PA eliminates system overhead associated with conventional computer microcode by directly implementing computer instructions in hardware. The uniformity of HP-PA instructions enhances pipelining, providing higher performance by overlapping execution of multiple instructions. Many technologies can implement HP-PA; highly integrated VLSI designs can be achieved by eliminating the chip space required for microcode.
High performance from HP-PA architecture results from the memory hierarchy design and the use of optimizing compilers. Processor waiting time for memory accesses is minimized due to the following architectural characteristics:
Frequently used instructions and data are stored in a large number of CPU registers.
High-speed buffering of code and data occurs.
Optimizing compilers generate efficient object code, allocate registers, and schedule instruction sequences to maintain efficient pipeline operation.
