Future of DTCs to get examination by HP management

HP announced it will be examining the viability of a continued development path for the Distributed Terminal Controllers (DTCs) in use at thousands of HP 3000 sites. Commerical Systems Division R&D Manager Dave Wilde said the division “wants to look at DTCs, what the future holds for DTCs, and what customer needs are for terminal connectivity moving forward.”

Wilde explained that the 3000 needs to look at “how sustainable technologies are, and whether there are better technologies and better ways to carry things forward.” Customers at Wilde’s talk during the HP Solution Symposium meetings reminded him that many sites connect serial printers to their HP 3000s using DTCs, as well as modem access and secure environment connections.

Some users noted that a many serial devices exist whose only hope of linking to the 3000 would be through DTC technology. “We’ve had some concerns about the ability to sustain these kinds of technologies,” Wilde said.