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A Publication Featuring The Information Services Technology of Maine State Government
| Volume V, Issue 11 | November 2002 |
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By John Tyler
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On September 6, 2002 the Bureau of Information Services’ (BIS) NCR Comten front end processor was sent to surplus, and was replaced with a newer IBM 3745 front end. The Comten was the mainframe link to the network prior to implementation of TCP/IP. I’m sure some readers remember the old 3278 "dumb terminals" on their desks. The original Comten, model 3690, was purchased in September 1985 to consolidate the number of these terminals – in the early 1980’s many employees used two terminals – one to access the IBM mainframe, the other to access the BULL mainframe! |
A second 3690 Comten was added later to add room for growth, and to provide backup for critical systems. Two Integrated Protocol Converters were also added to provide mainframe dial-up capabilities. This led to the implementation of DHS’s Medical Claims system. Medical services providers could now submit claims electronically, eliminating the paper system. In October 1990, the State upgraded the hardware to two Comten model 5655 front end processors to support 2000+ terminals and printers. In 1993, the State of Maine acquired two IBM 3172 TCP/IP front end processors, and the conversion to the TCP/IP network began.
Over the years, mainframe users were moved from Comten connections to TCP/IP connections, and the Comten network began to shrink. By the time the data center moved from the Burton Cross Building, we could safely leave one of the Comten processors behind. Actually, it wasn’t really left behind. Rick Irish and I stripped the processor for parts. It was fortuitous that we did this, because shortly thereafter we started receiving notifications from Comten that they might not remain in operation.
In March of 2001, we decided to retire the Comten. The system was beginning to show its age and we began to question service reliability. The number of network connections had been reduced to 12, and the last major application, the Department of Human Services’ Medical Claims System, was migrating to the new Momentum servers. The State of Maine ordered a newer and more efficient IBM 3745 to handle the remaining connections.
The Comten occupied a large area of the machine room and ran very inefficiently. We estimate that the removal of the Comten saved the State of Maine roughly $41,000 this year! Thanks to Joe Kilcoyne, who provided the historical (pre 1990’s) information on the Comten.
John Tyler is a Senior Technical Support Specialist in the Bureau of Information’s Systems and Software group.
