Xylogics

Lore & Background

Xylogics was founded in 1971 by three former NASA employees: Laurence Liebson, Robert Bushkoff, and Stephen Rotman. The company originally operated as Xynetic Systems but changed its name to Xylogic Systems later that year after discovering the name was already in use. Its first business was designing computerized newspaper typesetting and editing systems, with the first system built for the Daytona Beach News Journal and the second for the Farmington Daily Times. By 1972, the company had grown to over 15 people and moved to Natick, Massachusetts. It used the GRI minicomputer and custom-designed circuit boards for disk drives, paper tape equipment, and newswire capture. In 1974, Xylogics developed a CRT editing station and offered systems with up to four computers and more than 50 terminals. Around that time, a second division was created to design disk controllers for DEC computers, derived from the company's earlier work.

In 1976, Dymo Graphics Systems purchased Xylogics' newspaper product line and hired most of the original developers. Dymo Graphics later became part of Eselte Corporation in 1977, and the typesetting business was sold to ITEK Corporation in 1978. ITEK declined support for the newspaper and typesetting business, and by January 1980 the development and manufacturing staff had dwindled from 150 to two. Xylogics continued building disk and other controllers for DEC hardware, and also produced serial terminal servers under the product name Annex, ranging from 4-port to 72-port units. The company was acquired by Bay Networks in December 1995, which was in turn acquired by Nortel in June 1998. After Nortel's bankruptcy in 2009, support for remaining Annex products ended up with Avaya.

Reader's Guide

Xylogics' most notable contribution was its line of Multibus-based disk controllers, particularly the Xylogics 450 SMD and Xylogics 451 ESMD controllers. Along with Interphase Multibus SMD disk controllers, these products provided a low-cost interface to the low-cost, high-performance, high-capacity SMD and ESMD disk drives available during the 1980s. The controllers were used in Sun-1, Sun-2, and Sun-3 servers, as well as Silicon Graphics IRIS and HP/Apollo systems, making them integral to the workstation and minicomputer industry of that era. The company's earlier work in newspaper typesetting systems also marked a technological milestone: Xylogics' typesetting capability was the first to offer WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) printing for tabloid-size page layout, and later full-page layout, including online classified ad capture with automated pricing. After the acquisition by Bay Networks and subsequent absorption into Nortel, the Xylogics product line—especially the Annex terminal servers—continued to see support through Avaya following Nortel's bankruptcy. The company's disk controllers helped bridge the gap between affordable high-capacity storage and the growing workstation market.

Did You Know?

• The company's original name was Xynetic Systems, but it was changed to Xylogic Systems in late 1971 because the name was already in use.
• Xylogics' typesetting system was the first to offer WYSIWYG printing for tabloid-size page layout.
• The Xylogics 450 and 451 disk controllers were used in Sun-1, Sun-2, Sun-3, Silicon Graphics IRIS, and HP/Apollo systems.