The IBM System 9000 Instrument Controller (aka CS9000 or S9000) was an IBM workstation that was announced in 1982 for use as a laboratory computer. It was based on the Motorola 68000, running at 8 MHz and was one of the few systems that used Motorola's Versabus. Input/output ports included three RS-232 serial ports, an IEEE-488 instrument port plus analog and parallel I/O. It ran a custom operating system called CSOS, standing for Computer System Operating System. IBM also offered XENIX on the S9000, but this required at least 640 KB of RAM. The machines shipped with 128 KB RAM as standard, and this was expandable up to 5.2 MB in 256 K increments.
There were two versions of the System 9000. The 9001 was the benchtop (lab) model, while the 9002 was the desktop model without laboratory-specific features.
The 9000 was originally developed by a company that IBM acquired in 1980, which became IBM Instruments, Inc. IBM closed its Instrument division in January 1987, reassigning the approximately 150 employees that had worked for it.
Reception
Noting the obscurity of its 1982 release, BYTE in January 1983 called the System 9000 "IBM's 'Secret' Computer" and stated that it was "in its quiet way, one of the most exciting new arrivals on today's microcomputer scene". The magazine speculated that with some changes it would be "a natural candidate for a business or general-purpose computer". A later review by a member of Brandeis University's chemistry department criticized several aspects of the hardware and software, but praised the sophisticated BASIC and IBM's customer service. The reviewer concluded that "the CS-9000 is a very fast and powerful laboratory computer [that is] very affordable".