SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY : Corollary Inc. Helps PC Makers Build More Powerful Units
Corollary Inc., an Irvine manufacturer of various products that boost the performance of personal computers, is something of a behind-the-scenes player in the computer industry.
Corollary makes a cache system, or hardware that moves data from one part of a computer to another. It enables PC makers to build more powerful multiprocessing computers, or computers that use several processors instead of a single processor to perform computing tasks faster. A processor acts as the central brain of a computer.
Among the manufacturers at the Comdex computer show in Las Vegas this week who are displaying multiprocessing machines using licensed Corollary technology are Digital Equipment Corp. in Marlborough, Mass., Compaq Computer Corp. in Houston, Advanced Logic Research Inc. in Irvine, and Mitac in Taiwan.
Using Corollary’s technology, Compaq launched its Systempro multiprocessing computer in 1989. Before that, the most powerful personal computers could only work as fast as the microprocessors made by Intel Corp.
Corollary’s shared memory technology prevents a bottleneck from occuring as data is passed back and forth between a computer’s main memory and the microprocessors.
The company makes a bus with a small memory, or cache, which stores frequently used data. Each processor has its own cache, and for most of its operations it can find the data in the cache without seeking the information in the main memory. This keeps the main bus clear of heavy data traffic and allows the computer to process multiple tasks simultaneously.
Corollary also makes software that is marketed by Santa Cruz Operation. The software helps spread the load of data between the different processors.
“As a small company, we’re pleased to sell products that may be used by DEC and other big computer companies,” said George White, president and co-founder of Corollary. “We brought the technology that was in mainframes and minicomputers down to the PC level. The minicomputer companies like DEC are fighting against the personal computer companies to build cheap, powerful machines. We’re selling ammo to both sides.”
White bounced around the industry before founding Corollary in 1985. He worked as a researcher on an engineering workstation project for Irvine-based Western Digital Corp., then moved to a research division of Texas Instruments. When Texas Instruments decided to close the division, White and another partner started Corollary with $10,000.
The company raised $250,000 in venture capital and developed its multiprocessing technology as well as a line of products, known as multiplexors, which connect a number of terminals to a main computer, or server. Sales in 1990 are expected to reach $10 million, compared to about $4 million a year earlier.
“At some point, multiprocessing will be less of a black art than it is now,” White said.
