Workplace OS
Encyclopedia
Workplace OS was born in 1991 as an ambitious plan by IBM
to create a new computer operating system
. The goal of Workplace OS was to improve software portability and reduce maintenance costs of IBM's software by using a common microkernel
base for all of IBM's operating systems.
At the base of Workplace OS was a version of the Mach 3.0 microkernel (release mk68) developed by Carnegie Mellon University
and heavily modified by the Open Software Foundation
's Research Institute. On top of the microkernel, Workplace OS was to run servers (also called operating-system personalities) that would execute DOS
, OS/2
, Microsoft Windows
, OS/400
, and AIX
applications. IBM had planned for Workplace OS to run on several processor architectures, including PowerPC
, ARM
, and x86 computers, and ranging in size from PDA
s to workstation
s to large servers.
IBM saw the easy portability of the Mach-based Workplace OS as creating a simple migration path to move their existing x86 (DOS and OS/2) customer base onto PowerPC-based systems. IBM hedged their operating system strategy by aggressively trying to recruit other computer companies to adopt its microkernel as a basis for their own operating systems. In 1992, IBM persuaded Taligent
to replace its own internally developed microkernel with the IBM microkernel. Ostensibly, this would have allowed Taligent's operating system (implemented as a Workplace OS personality) to execute side-by-side with DOS and OS/2 operating system personalities.
The initial internal-development versions of Workplace OS ran on x86-based hardware and provided a robust BSD Unix
derived personality and a DOS personality.
The inherent difficulty of implementing a kernel with multiple personalities, and poor communication between the teams implementing the different personalities, are largely blamed for the failure and the two billion dollar cost. Throughout the project, poor performance was accepted on the belief that the high speed of PowerPC hardware would make it a non-issue. This turned out to be a false belief. Eventually, the PowerPC kernel with the OS/2 personality, and a new UNIX personality, was released as a commercial product in October 1995. In 1996, a second version was released that also supported x86 and ARM processors. Faced with poor performance; low acceptance of the PowerPC Reference Platform
(on which the initial offering ran); poor quality of the PowerPC 620 platform; extensive cost overruns; lack of AIX, Windows, or OS/400 kernel personalities; and resulting low customer demand, the project was cancelled.
Upon cancellation, IBM closed both the Workplace OS project and the Power Personal Division responsible for low end PowerPC processors. The other long term effect was that IBM decided to stop developing new operating systems, and committed heavily to using Windows and Linux
.
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
to create a new computer operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
. The goal of Workplace OS was to improve software portability and reduce maintenance costs of IBM's software by using a common microkernel
Microkernel
In computer science, a microkernel is the near-minimum amount of software that can provide the mechanisms needed to implement an operating system . These mechanisms include low-level address space management, thread management, and inter-process communication...
base for all of IBM's operating systems.
At the base of Workplace OS was a version of the Mach 3.0 microkernel (release mk68) developed by Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
and heavily modified by the Open Software Foundation
Open Software Foundation
The Open Software Foundation was a not-for-profit organization founded in 1988 under the U.S. National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 to create an open standard for an implementation of the UNIX operating system.-History:...
's Research Institute. On top of the microkernel, Workplace OS was to run servers (also called operating-system personalities) that would execute DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
, Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, OS/400
OS/400
IBM i is an EBCDIC based operating system that runs on IBM Power Systems. It is the current evolution of the operating system named i5/OS which was originally named OS/400 when it was introduced with the AS/400 computer system in 1988....
, and AIX
AIX operating system
AIX AIX AIX (Advanced Interactive eXecutive, pronounced "a i ex" is a series of proprietary Unix operating systems developed and sold by IBM for several of its computer platforms...
applications. IBM had planned for Workplace OS to run on several processor architectures, including PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
, ARM
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
, and x86 computers, and ranging in size from PDA
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
s to workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
s to large servers.
IBM saw the easy portability of the Mach-based Workplace OS as creating a simple migration path to move their existing x86 (DOS and OS/2) customer base onto PowerPC-based systems. IBM hedged their operating system strategy by aggressively trying to recruit other computer companies to adopt its microkernel as a basis for their own operating systems. In 1992, IBM persuaded Taligent
Taligent
Taligent was the name of an object-oriented operating system and the company dedicated to producing it...
to replace its own internally developed microkernel with the IBM microkernel. Ostensibly, this would have allowed Taligent's operating system (implemented as a Workplace OS personality) to execute side-by-side with DOS and OS/2 operating system personalities.
The initial internal-development versions of Workplace OS ran on x86-based hardware and provided a robust BSD Unix
Berkeley Software Distribution
Berkeley Software Distribution is a Unix operating system derivative developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group of the University of California, Berkeley, from 1977 to 1995...
derived personality and a DOS personality.
The inherent difficulty of implementing a kernel with multiple personalities, and poor communication between the teams implementing the different personalities, are largely blamed for the failure and the two billion dollar cost. Throughout the project, poor performance was accepted on the belief that the high speed of PowerPC hardware would make it a non-issue. This turned out to be a false belief. Eventually, the PowerPC kernel with the OS/2 personality, and a new UNIX personality, was released as a commercial product in October 1995. In 1996, a second version was released that also supported x86 and ARM processors. Faced with poor performance; low acceptance of the PowerPC Reference Platform
PowerPC Reference Platform
PowerPC Reference Platform was a standard system architecture for PowerPC based computer systems developed at the same time as the PowerPC processor architecture...
(on which the initial offering ran); poor quality of the PowerPC 620 platform; extensive cost overruns; lack of AIX, Windows, or OS/400 kernel personalities; and resulting low customer demand, the project was cancelled.
Upon cancellation, IBM closed both the Workplace OS project and the Power Personal Division responsible for low end PowerPC processors. The other long term effect was that IBM decided to stop developing new operating systems, and committed heavily to using Windows and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
.