Editing IBM AIX (section)

==Supported hardware platforms==

===IBM RT PC===
The original AIX (sometimes called '''AIX/RT''') was developed for the IBM RT PC workstation by IBM in conjunction with ISC,{{r|babcock19860127}} which had previously ported [[UNIX System III]] to the [[IBM PC]] for IBM as [[PC/IX]].<ref name="CW86"/> According to its developers, the original AIX source consists of one million lines of code.{{r|babcock19860127}} Installation media consists of eight [[Floppy disk|1.2M floppy disk]]s. The RT was based on the [[IBM ROMP]] [[microprocessor]], the first commercial [[RISC]] chip, based on [[IBM Research]]'s [[IBM 801]]).

One of the novel aspects of the RT design is the use of a [[microkernel]], called Virtual Resource Manager (VRM).  The keyboard, mouse, display, disk drives and network are all controlled by a microkernel.  One can "hotkey" from one operating system to the next using the Alt-Tab key combination. Each OS in turn gets possession of the keyboard, mouse and display. Besides AIX v2, the [[PICK OS]] also includes this microkernel.

Much of the AIX v2 kernel was written in the [[PL.8]] programming language, which proved troublesome during the migration to AIX v3.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}  AIX v2 includes full [[TCP/IP]] networking, as well as [[Systems Network Architecture|SNA]] and two networking file systems: [[Network File System (protocol)|NFS]], licensed from [[Sun Microsystems]], and [[Distributed Services]] (DS).  DS has the distinction of being built on top of SNA, and thereby being fully compatible with DS on {{clarify|text=IBM mainframe systems|reason=which operating systems?|date=October 2021}} and on midrange systems running [[OS/400]] through [[IBM i]].  For the graphical user interfaces, AIX v2 comes with the X10R3 and later the X10R4 and X11 versions of the [[X Window System]] from MIT, with the [[Xaw|Athena widget set]]. Compilers for [[Fortran]] and [[C (programming language)|C]] were available.

===IBM PS/2 series===
[[File:Aix-1.3-ps2.png|thumb|AIX PS/2 1.3 console login|alt=AIX PS/2 1.3 console login]]

'''AIX PS/2''' (also known as '''AIX/386''') was developed by [[Locus Computing Corporation]] under contract to IBM.<ref name="CW86">{{cite journal|author=Patricia Keefe|title=IBM, Locus to co-develop PS/2 AIX system|journal=Computerworld: The Newsweekly of Information Systems Management|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fGXpro99fIsC&pg=PT7|publisher=Computerworld|page=8|date=July 6, 1986|issn=0010-4841|access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=February 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227075231/https://books.google.com/books?id=fGXpro99fIsC&pg=PT7|url-status=live}}</ref> AIX PS/2, first released in October 1988,<ref>{{cite web 
|url=https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/announcements/archive/ENUSZP87-0422 
|title=IBM Advanced Interactive Executive AIX PS/2 Operating System And Related Licensed Programs - 5713-AEQ Part # 11F8182 IBM AIX PS/2 Base Operating System 
|type=Announcement letter 
|publisher=IBM.com 
|date=November 3, 1987 
|access-date=January 19, 2025 
}}</ref> runs on [[IBM PS/2]] personal computers with [[Intel 386]] and compatible processors.

[[File:Aix-1.3-ps2-dt.png|thumb|AIX PS/2 1.3 AIXwindows Desktop|alt=AIX PS/2 1.3 AIXwindows Desktop]]

The product was announced in September 1988 with a baseline tag price of $595, although some utilities, such as [[UUCP]], were included in a separate Extension package priced at $250. [[nroff]] and [[troff]] for AIX were also sold separately in a Text Formatting System package priced at $200. The [[TCP/IP]] stack for AIX PS/2 retailed for another $300. The [[X Window System]] package was priced at $195, and has a graphical environment called the '''AIXwindows Desktop''', based on [[IXI Limited|IXI's]] [[X.desktop]].<ref>{{cite magazine|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Software with a foreign flair|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cAmo4wSwQJ0C&q=aix+ps/2+ixi&pg=PP7|magazine=Computerworld|publisher=IDG Enterprise|date=1990-03-26|access-date=2020-09-19|archive-date=March 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319212745/https://books.google.com/books?id=cAmo4wSwQJ0C&q=aix+ps%2F2+ixi&pg=PP7|url-status=live}}</ref> The C and FORTRAN compilers each had a price tag of $275. Locus also made available their [[DOS Merge]] virtual machine environment for AIX, which can run MS DOS 3.3 applications inside AIX; DOS Merge was sold separately for another $250.<ref>{{cite journal|title=IBM Announces Broad Range of Unix-Related Tools, Products|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bj8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8|date=November 16, 1987|journal=InfoWorld|page=8|issn=0199-6649|access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=February 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227035529/https://books.google.com/books?id=Bj8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8|url-status=live}}</ref> IBM also offered a $150 AIX PS/2 DOS Server Program, which provided [[file server]] and [[print server]] services for client computers running PC DOS 3.3.<ref name="Enterprise1988">{{cite journal|title=AIX for PS/2|journal=Computerworld: The Newsweekly of Information Systems Management|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jBT4fczNvWwC&pg=PT54|date=February 22, 1988|publisher=Computerworld|page=55|issn=0010-4841|access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=February 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227205709/https://books.google.com/books?id=jBT4fczNvWwC&pg=PT54|url-status=live}}</ref>

The last version of PS/2 AIX is 1.3. It was released in 1992 and announced to add support for non-IBM (non-microchannel) computers as well.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Cate Corcoran|title=IBM announces increased support for Unix on PCs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=klEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16|date=September 28, 1992|journal=InfoWorld|pages=16|issn=0199-6649|access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=February 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227081052/https://books.google.com/books?id=klEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16|url-status=live}}</ref> Support for PS/2 AIX ended in March 1995.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/announcements/archive/ENUS294-770|title=Withdrawal: IBM AIX PS/2 Operating System Version 1.3 and Related Licensed Programs|website=[[IBM]] |date=December 6, 1994}}</ref>

==={{anchor|AIX/370|AIX/ESA|AIX/390}}IBM mainframes===
In 1988, IBM announced '''AIX/370''',<ref name=ENUS288-130>{{cite web
 |title        = Advanced Interactive Executive/370 (AIX (TM)/370)
 |id           = 288-130
 |date         = March 15, 1988
 |url          = https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/announcements/archive/ENUS288-130
 |type         = Announcement letter
 |publisher    = [[IBM]]
 |access-date  = January 19, 2025
}}</ref> also developed by Locus. AIX/370 was IBM's fourth attempt to offer [[Unix-like]] functionality for their mainframe line, specifically the [[IBM System/370|System/370]] (the prior versions were a [[TSS (operating system)|TSS/370]]-based Unix system developed jointly with AT&T c.1980,<ref name="att-s370-unix"/> a [[VM/370]]-based system named '''VM/IX''' developed jointly with ISC c.1984,{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} and a [[VM/370]]-based version of TSS/370{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} named '''IX/370''' which was upgraded to be compatible with [[UNIX System V]]{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}). AIX/370 was released in 1990 with functional equivalence to System V Release 2 and 4.3BSD as well as IBM enhancements.  With the introduction of the [[IBM System/390|ESA/390]] architecture, AIX/370 was replaced by '''AIX/ESA'''<ref name=ENUS292-183>{{cite web
 |title        = IBM AIX/ESA Version 2 Release 1
 |id           = 292-183
 |date         = March 31, 1992
 |url          = https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/announcements/archive/ENUS292-183
 |type         = Announcement letter
 |publisher    = IBM
 |access-date  = January 19, 2025
}}</ref> in 1991 based on [[OSF/1]], and also runs on the [[IBM System/390|System/390]] platform. Unlike AIX/370, AIX/ESA runs both natively as the host operating system, and as a guest under [[VM (operating system)|VM]].  AIX/ESA, while technically advanced, had little commercial success, partially because{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} UNIX functionality was added as an option to the existing mainframe operating system, [[MVS]], as [[MVS/ESA|MVS/ESA SP Version 4 Release 3 OpenEdition]]<ref>{{citation
 |title        = OpenEdition(TM) services Available on MVS/ESA SP Version 4 Release 3 (JES2 and JES3)
 |id           = ZP94-0246
 |date         = March 8, 1994
 |url          = https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/announcements/archive/ENUSZP94-0246
 |type         = Announcement letter
 |publisher    = IBM
 |access-date  = January 19, 2025
}}</ref> in 1994, and continued as an integral part of MVS/ESA SP Version 5, OS/390 and z/OS, with the name eventually changing from ''OpenEdition'' to ''Unix System Services''. IBM also provided OpenEdition in VM/ESA Version 2<ref>{{cite web
 |title        = Availability: VM/ESA Version 2 Release 1.0 with OpenEdition for VM/ESA
 |id           = 295-240
 |date         = June 12, 1995
 |url          = https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/announcements/archive/ENUS295-240
 |type         = Announcement letter
 |publisher    = IBM
 |access-date  = January 19, 2025
}}</ref> through z/VM.
<!-- Blaxthos copyedit anchor, will return soon -->

===IA-64 systems===
As part of [[Project Monterey]], IBM released a [[beta test]] version of AIX 5L for the IA-64 ([[Itanium]]) architecture in 2001, but this never became an official product due to lack of interest.<ref name="ibm-mail-project-monterey">{{cite web
| url = http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2005082506163768
| title = 2002 IBM Internal Email on Project Monterey – "No One Wants It"
| access-date = May 20, 2007
| last = Jones
| first = Pamela
| author-link = Pamela Jones
| date = August 25, 2005
| work = [[Groklaw]]
| archive-date = May 5, 2010
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100505065447/http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2005082506163768
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

===Apple Network Servers===
The [[Apple Network Server]] (ANS) systems are PowerPC-based systems designed by [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]] to have numerous high-end features that contemporary standard Apple hardware does not have, including swappable hard drives, redundant power supplies, and external monitoring capability. These systems are more or less based on the [[Power Macintosh]] hardware available at the time but designed to use AIX (versions 4.1.4 or 4.1.5) as their native operating system in a specialized version specific to the ANS called AIX for Apple Network Servers.

AIX is only compatible with the Network Servers and was not ported to standard Power Macintosh hardware. It should not be confused with [[A/UX]], Apple's earlier version of Unix for [[Motorola 68000 series|68k]]-based [[Mac (computer)|Macintoshes]].

===POWER ISA/PowerPC/Power ISA-based systems===
[[File:IBM RS6000 AIX Servers IBM.COM 1998 (1).jpeg|thumb|AIX [[RS/6000]] [[network server|servers]] running ''IBM.com'' in early 1998]]
[[File:IBM RS6000 AIX Servers IBM.COM 1998 (2).jpeg|thumb|AIX [[RS/6000]] [[network server|servers]] running ''IBM.com'' in early 1998]]

The release of AIX version 3 (sometimes called '''AIX/6000''') coincided with the announcement of the first [[POWER1]]-based IBM [[IBM RS/6000|RS/6000]] models in 1990.

AIX v3 innovated in several ways on the software side. It is the first operating system to introduce the idea of a [[journaling file system]], [[JFS (file system)|JFS]], which allows for fast boot times by avoiding the need to ensure the consistency of the file systems on disks (see [[fsck]]) on every reboot. Another innovation is [[shared library|shared libraries]] which avoid the need for static linking from an application to the libraries it used. The resulting smaller binaries use less of the hardware RAM to run, and used less disk space to install. Besides improving performance, executable binaries can be in the tens of [[kilobyte]]s instead of a megabyte for an executable statically linked to the [[C standard library|C library]]. AIX v3 also scrapped the microkernel of AIX v2, a contentious move that resulted in v3 containing no [[PL.8]] code and being somewhat more "pure" than v2.

Other notable subsystems include:

* [[IRIS GL]], a 3D rendering library, the progenitor of [[OpenGL]]. IRIS GL was licensed by IBM from [[Silicon Graphics|SGI]] in 1987, a small company, which had sold only a few thousand machines at the time. SGI also provided the low-end graphics card for the RS/6000, capable of drawing 20,000 [[Gouraud shading|gouraud-shaded]] triangles per second. The high-end graphics card was designed by IBM, a follow-on to the mainframe-attached [[IBM 5080]], capable of rendering 990,000 vectors per second.
* [[PHIGS]], another [[3D rendering API]], popular in automotive CAD/CAM circles, and at the core of [[CATIA]].
* Full implementation of version 11 of the X Window System, together with [[Motif (software)|Motif]] as the recommended widget toolkit and window manager.
* Network file systems: [[Network File System|NFS]] from [[Sun Microsystems|Sun]]; AFS, the [[Andrew File System]]; and DFS, the [[DCE Distributed File System|Distributed File System]].
* NCS, the [[Network Computing System]], licensed from [[Apollo Computer]] (later acquired by [[Hewlett-Packard|HP]]).
* [[Display PostScript|DPS]] on-screen display system as an alternative if the X11+Motif combination failed in the marketplace. However, it is highly proprietary, supported only by Sun, [[NeXT]], and IBM. This, and lack of 3D capability, caused it to fail in the marketplace versus X11+Motif and its lack of 3D capability.

In addition, AIX applications can run in the [[IBM i#PASE|PASE]] subsystem under [[IBM i]].