Product Sales Guide

This document is an Internal Product Sales Guide for Digital Equipment Corporation's (DEC) VAX family of computers, published in April 1982. Its primary purpose is to provide DEC sales personnel with comprehensive information to effectively sell VAX products and services.

The guide is structured to cover:

1. Product Description:

   • VAX Family Architecture: Details the common architectural features across VAX systems (32-bit, virtual memory, instruction set, compatibility mode, interrupt levels, clocks).
   • Implementation Differences: Explains how different VAX models (VAX-11/730, VAX-11/750, VAX-11/780, VAX-11/782) vary in internal memory interconnect, console subsystems, main memory, user control store, cache, and I/O subsystems (UNIBUS, MASSBUS, SBI).
   • Software System (VAX/VMS V3.0): Highlights operating system features like virtual memory management (paging, processes, protection), I/O management (device, file, interprocess communication, lock management), user/system communication methods (DCL, BATCH), and capabilities for system managers, programmers, and application developers (development tools, editors, linker, debugger, runtime library, utilities like RUNOFF and MAIL, DEC/CMS).
   • Information Management: Describes VAX information management products such as Forms Management System (FMS), DATATRIEVE, Common Data Dictionary (CDD), Record Management Services (RMS), Database Management System (DBMS), and SORT/MERGE.
   • Distributed Processing & Networking: Covers DECnet communications software (DNA, intersystem file transfer, resource sharing, routing), Internet products (IBM emulators like 2780/3780, 3271), Packetnet (X.25, PSI), and Local-Area Networks (Ethernet).
   • VAX Languages: Details various high-level programming languages supported (e.g., BASIC, COBOL, C, FORTRAN, PASCAL, PL/I, BLISS, CORAL 66, MACRO, DSM) and Office Plus products (DECmail, DECset).

2. System Dependability (RAMP): Focuses on Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability features, including error detection, analysis, recovery mechanisms (e.g., ECC, instruction retry, automatic restart, bad block handling), data integrity (memory management, quotas), and maintenance aids.

3. Performance: Notes that final performance data is not yet available in this edition, but will be published separately.

4. System Selection: Provides guidelines for choosing the appropriate DEC system (PDP-11, VAX, DECsystem-10/20) based on customer needs (sensor-based I/O, scientific computation, timesharing), including comparison charts for operating systems and hardware, and considerations for migrating from PDP-11 systems.

5. Competition: Offers detailed competitive summaries against key rivals such as Prime, Systems Engineering Labs (SEL), Perkin Elmer, IBM (System/38, 4300 series), and Wang "VS" family. For each competitor, it outlines company history, system features, strengths, weaknesses, marketing strategies, and recommended counter-strategies for DEC sales. It also includes pricing and performance comparisons.

6. Product Profiles: Reiterates and summarizes key VAX family characteristics, software attributes, hardware features, and support capabilities, aiming to provide a concise overview of the VAX offerings.

7. Product Line Position/Supporting Services Statements:

   • Provides specific sales guidance and strategies for various industry verticals (e.g., Commercial Services, Manufacturing, Publishing, Telecommunications, OEM, Education, Engineering, Government, Laboratory Data, Medical Systems, Technical Volume, Computer Special Systems).
   • Details supporting services like Field Service (maintenance contracts, remote diagnosis), Software Services (presales support, product updates), Educational Services (training programs), Accessories and Supplies Group (spares, documentation), and DECUS (user group).

8. Sales Support Resources: Lists extensive resources available to sales personnel, including training materials, competitive updates, slide sets, brochures, technical summaries, handbooks, and various guides.

9. Appendix: Provides technical details on the logic implementation within VAX processors (Industry-Standard ICs, Programmed Array Logic, Large Scale Integration, Gate-Array Technology).