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    Information Research Services Updated: 18 September 1997
         
             
                 
              April 1975:
The
VAX architecture committee meets for the first time.
                     
              October 1977:
Introduction of the
VAX-11/780, the first member of the VAX computer family.
                 
              February 1978:
V1.0 of the
VMS operating system ships.
                 
              April 1980:
VMS version 2.0 is released.
                 
              October 1980:
Introduction of the
VAX-11/750.
                     
              October 1981:
VAX information architecture is introduced.
                     
              April 1982:
The
VAX-11/730 is the third -- and at the time -- the lowest cost member of the VAX family.
                     
              May 1983:
DIGITAL announces
VAXclusters.
                     
              April 1984:
DIGITAL announces the
Rdb relational database management system.
                     
              April 1984:
Introduction of the
VAX-11/785, the most powerful single computer to date in DIGITAL's VAX family.
                     
              June 1984:
DIGITAL introduces
ULTRIX-32, the first native UNIX from DIGITAL for the VAX family of systems.
                     
              October 1984:
Announcement of the
VAX 8600, the first of a new generation of computers within the VAX family and, at the time, the highest performance computer system in DIGITAL's history.
                     
              October 1984:
Introduction of the
VAXstation I, the company's first 32-bit single-user workstation.
                     
              January 1985:
DIGITAL introduces
VAX ACMS (Application, Control and Management System).
                     
              May 1985:
DIGITAL introduces the
MicroVAX II.
                     
              May 1985:
The
MicroVAX chip is announced for the MicroVAX II.
                     
              December 1985:
Introduction of the
VAXstation II/GPX, DIGITAL's first technical workstation for the UNIX marketplace.
                     
              January 1986:
Introduction of the top-of-the-line
VAX 8800 and the midrange VAX 8300 and VAX 8200.
                     
              September 1986:
Introduction of the
VAXmate, a networked personal computer combining the resources of the VAX-VMS and MS-DOS operating systems.
                 
              November 1986:
DIGITAL introduces
Local Area VAXcluster systems, extending distributed computing to the work group.
                 
              January 1987:
Introduction of the VAX 8978 and
VAX 8974, DIGITAL's most powerful systems to date, offering up to 50 times the power of the industry-standard VAX-11/780.
                 
              February 1987:
The
VAXstation 2000 is introduced.
                     
              September 1987:
DIGITAL unveils a new generation of its MicroVAX computer family with the introduction of the MicroVAX 3500 and
MicroVAX 3600. Both machines are powered by the new CVAX chip.
                     
              April 1988:
DIGITAL introduces the
VAX 6000 system platform, based on the CVAX chip.
                     
              April 1988:
VMS version 5.0 is released.
                     
              January 1989:
Introduction of the
VAX 6300 systems, DIGITAL's most powerful and expandable VAX systems in a single cabinet.
                     
              October 1989:
The
VAX 9000 mainframe is introduced.
                 
              February 1990:
Adding fault-tolerant technology to the VAX family, DIGITAL introduces the
VAXft 3000 system.
                     
              October 1990:
The Mariah chip set ships in the
VAX 6500.
                     
              October 1990:
DIGITAL announces its intention to "
open VMS".
                     
              November 1991:
The NVAX chip, DIGITAL's fourth VAX microprocessor, is implemented in 0.75-micrometer CMOS technology and ships in the
VAX 6600.
                     
              July 1992:
DIGITAL announces the
VAX 7000.