ArticleslgStudy

computer science

IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture

IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture rather than just read about it. In short: IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture is an instruction set architecture introduced by IBM as Enterprise Systems Architecture/370 (ESA/370) in 1988. It is based on the IBM System/370-XA architecture.

Key takeaways

  • IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture is an instruction set architecture introduced by IBM as Enterprise Systems Architecture/370 (ESA/370) in 1988. It is based on the IBM System/370-XA architecture. It extended the dual-address-space mechanism introduced in later IBM System/370 models by adding a new mode in which general-purpose registers 1–15 are each associated with an access register referring to an address space, with instruction operands whose address is computed with a given general-purpose register as a base register will be in the address space referred to by the corresponding address register. The later Enterprise Systems Architecture/390 (ESA/390), introduced in 1990, added a facility to allow device descriptions to be read using channel commands and, in later models, added instructions to perform IEEE 754 binary floating-point operations and increased the number of floating-point registers from 4 to 16. Enterprise Systems Architecture is essentially a 32-bit architecture; as with System/360, System/370, and 370-XA, the general-purpose registers are 32 bits long, and the arithmetic instructions support 32-bit arithmetic. Only byte-addressable real memory (Central Storage) and Virtual Storage addressing is limited to 31 bits, as is the case with 370-XA. (IBM reserved the most significant bit to easily support applications expecting 24-bit addressing, as well as to sidestep a problem with extending two instructions to handle 32-bit unsigned addresses.) It maintains problem state backward compatibility dating back to 1964 with the 24-bit-address/32-bit-data (System/360 and System/370) and subsequent 24/31-bit-address/32-bit-data architecture (System/370-XA). However, the I/O subsystem is based on System/370 Extended Architecture (S/370-XA), not on the original S/370 I/O instructions.

ESA/370 architecture

On February 15, 1988, IBM announced Enterprise Systems Architecture/370 (ESA/370) for 3090 enhanced ("E") models and for 4381 model groups 91E and 92E. In addition to the primary-space and secondary-space addressing modes that later System/370 models, and System/370 Extended Architecture (S/370-XA) models, support, ESA has an access register mode in which each use of general register 1–15 as a base register uses an associated access register to select an address space. In addition to the normal address spaces that machines with the dual-address-space facility support, ESA also allows data spaces, which contain no executable code. A machine may be divided into Logical Partitions (LPARs), each with its own virtual system memory so that multiple operating systems may run concurrently on one machine.

ESA/390 architecture

An important capability to form a Parallel Sysplex was added to the architecture in 1994. ESA/390 also extends the Sense ID command to provide additional information about a device, and additional device-dependent channel commands, the command codes for which are provided in the Sense ID information, to allow device description information to be fetched from a device. Starting with the System/390 G5, IBM introduced:

the basic floating-point extensions facility, which increases the number of floating-point registers from 4 (0, 2, 4, 6) to 16 (0–15); the binary floating-point (BFP) extensions facility, which supports IEEE 754 binary floating-point numbers, with an additional floating-point control (FPC) register to support IEEE 754 modes and errors; the floating-point support (FPS) extensions facility, which adds instructions to load and store floating-point numbers regardless of whether they're in hexadecimal or IEEE 754 format and to convert between those formats; the hexadecimal floating-point (HFP) extensions facility, which adds new hexadecimal floating-point instructions corresponding to some binary floating-point instructions. Some PC-based IBM-compatible mainframes which provide ESA/390 processors in smaller machines have been released over time, but are only intended for software development.

New facilities ESA/390 adds the following facilities

All models

Access-list-controlled protection Some models

Concurrent sense PER 2 Storage-protection override Move-page facility 2 Square root String instruction Suppression on protection with virtual-address enhancement Set address space control fast Subspace group Called-space identification Checksum Compare and move extended Immediate and relative instructions Branch and set authority Perform locked operation Additional floating-point Program call fast Resume program Trap Extended TOD clock TOD-clock-control override Store system information Extended translation 1 Extended translation 2 z/Architecture (certain instructions) Enhanced input/output

New instruction formats Some of the ESA/390 facilities introduce new instruction formats. This includes the RI, RIL and RSI formats used for relative branches. The immediate field for relative branches is always signed and in units of a halfword.

New channel commands The following channel commands are new, or have their functionality changed, in ESA/390:

Notes

References S370-ESA IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture/370 Principles of Operation (PDF) (First ed.). IBM. August 1988. SA22-7200-0. S/390-ESA IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture/390 Principles of Operation (PDF) (Ninth ed.). IBM. June 2003. SA22-7201-08.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture

In research
IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2000s disestablishments, 32-bit computers, Computer-related introductions in 1988, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture in simple terms?

IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture is an instruction set architecture introduced by IBM as Enterprise Systems Architecture/370 (ESA/370) in 1988. It is based on the IBM System/370-XA architecture.

Why does IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture.

Tags

  • 2000s disestablishments
  • 32-bit computers
  • Computer-related introductions in 1988
  • Computing platforms
  • IBM System/360 mainframe line

Keep exploring