IBM 9000 Series - Page 6

A
total 1m 9000 Series Airlines
Reservation System in-
cludes
physical equipment
at a data processing center
and
remote installations; control programs and opera-
tional
programs to integrate
the operations of the sys-
tem;
and a complex and extensive transmission network
to
give the system instantaneous response.
This
manual describes only the 1M equipment at
the
remote installations. Configurations
of this equip-
ment
may vary, according to
the size and needs of the
individual
installation and the role it plays in the over-
all system.
Each
piece of equipment
generates signals, receives
signals,
transmits signals, or
performs some combina-
tion
of these functions. The
form of these signals is
inherent
in the design of the equipment, but the uses to
which
they are put are determined by the planning and
programming
for each particular
airline’s reservation
system.
To give all
of these signals meaning,
they are
interpreted
in this manual.
Sometimes these interpre-
tations
are described as “possible”
or “typical” uses;
the
uses labeled
as typical may
be considerably
changed
if the signals
are programmed
for different
responses.
Functions not described
as typical may be
assumed
to be the same in
any 9000 series system.
In this manual,
“input” refers to
signals moving
toward
the data processing
center; “output” refers to
signals
moving out
of the data processing
center to the
remote
equipment. The term
“data set” is used to mean
IBM 9000 Series Remote Equipment
any
piece of equipment connecting
data processing
systems with common carrier transmission networks.
The
term “data sets” includes subsets and modems, as
well
as demarcation strips
and special connecting de-
vices
in telegraph systems.
Figure
32 at the end of this manual is a fold-out
sheet,
showing the possible configurations of remote
equipment.
This illustration
enables the reader to keep
before
him a picture of the
total remote-equipment
pattern,
while he is studying
the detailed description
of
any component.
Because
the largest amount
of customer contact with
the
remote equipment is with
the reservation agents’
sets,
this portion of the equipment is described first.
The
terminal interchanges,
however, are the key proc-
essors
in the remote equipment
system. Understanding
their
operation gives insight
into the logic of all other
remote
equipment. Therefore, the terminal interchange
is
the second component described.
The third class of
components
to be discussed
is equipment used to link
a
9000 series system with telegraph systems.
For
an over-all description of any particular 9000
series
system, consult the 18m General Information
Manual
for that system; for
a detailed description of
the
data processing center components of any particu-
lar
9000 series system, consult
the 1mm Data Processing
Center
Reference Manual
for that system.
Introduction 5