Re: [9fans] 9vx and local file systems

["Russ Cox" <rsc@swtch.com>]

>> Well, I use vx32 as a terminal for both lguest and remote machines. No
>> real need for venfi/fossil. For edit, I import; to build etc. I cpu in
>> an acme window so i get the error stuff.
>
> what's the advantage over drawterm in this configuration?

In the case you quote, you'd have many of the advantages
of a standalone Plan 9 terminal, like local handling of graphics
and the mouse, the ability to connect to many machines
simultaneously, the ability to withstand those machines
rebooting, and so on.  It depends a lot on what you're doing.

Here's another example.

For about seven years I had the luxury of running Plan 9
as my day-to-day system, but I couldn't easily keep doing
that and work with the people around me at MIT; around
2003, I gave it up and switched to FreeBSD and Linux.
(You'll note that's when the p9p CVS logs begin.)
I haven't booted an actual Plan 9 terminal in a couple of years.

Since then, I've had the smaller luxury of running Plan 9
as a venti server, now atop some nice hardware we bought
from Coraid.  The Coraid box has a tiny, slow IDE flash disk
for a root file system, fine for holding a few binaries but
not really usable as a general file system.  To build the binaries,
I have a second Plan 9 server with a bigger, faster root disk.
I've used drawterm to connect to it, edit and compile venti,
and submit patches.  As I look forward to finishing at MIT,
I can't leave Plan 9 boxes for others to deal with.  A few months
ago, I converted the main venti server (the Coraid hw) to run
FreeBSD, which is what all our other servers run.  That leaves
the second Plan 9 server, which I still use for the occasional
drawterm session to submit a patch to sources.  But when I
leave MIT, I can't reasonably keep using that machine as my
own personal server.  It'll have to be a group server running
FreeBSD.

The advantage of 9vx over drawterm, for me, is that 9vx
doesn't require a cpu server.

9vx is how I'm going to deal with not having my own
personal Plan 9 cpu server to drawterm into.  Having a local
Plan 9 install, stored right in my non-Plan 9 home directory,
lets me keep using and occasionally contributing to Plan 9
without having to maintain and house a server.
I haven't spent quite enough time setting up a comfortable
9vx that I could stop using drawterm today, but maybe
tomorrow.

Russ