> > > Replies inline: > > On Tue, Oct 11, 2022 at 1:31 AM Lars Brinkhoff wrote: > >> TUHS Disclaimer: I will claim this is primarily about getting Unix onto >> the Arpanet, but it does also contain trace amounts of off-topic >> information. Reader discretion is adviced. >> >> Michael Casadevall wrote: >> > I do need to do a readthrough for the VDH driver, which says its for >> > "very distant hosts". I think that might be for the radio links >> >> The hardware interfaces between a host and an IMP came in three flavors: >> local host, distant host, and very distant host. The first two are more >> or less directly connected and I forget what the difference is. But a >> very distant host is basically connected over a phone line with a modem >> at each end, so it's a different beast. The VHD driver would be for >> this, whilst IMP11A and ACC are local or distant. >> >> > That makes sense; most of the time, the documentation that survives implies > the IMP is always local; knowing this is important. From what I got the > impression > From the docs, very early ARPA, you had systems directly on the network, > but most > users had to dial into a specific terminal machine, which, based on the > comments > on the RFCs, was less than ideal, although I haven't quite figured out how > things like > netmail worked. > > VHD I guess was more to get more hosts online? > > > Hawaii >> >> Side note: apparently tapes from the unique Hawaii BCC 500 have been >> saved. So maybe that's one more possible re-Arpanet host. >> >> > Oh very nice. Depending on how that works, it might be possible to make a > radio link > over ham. I haven't seen anything about these links aside from them being > marked > the logicial maps. > > >> > Yup, that's what I figured. I've been trying to evaluate how much >> > survives >> >> Here's my take: >> https://gunkies.org/wiki/Network_Control_Program_(ARPANET)#Implementations >> >> So there are like four PDP-10 systems and two PDP-11. The ELF system >> will be a major challenge, RATS haven't been scanned off the printer >> listing, and the BCC 500... oh boy, let's not go there now. >> >> > Well, there's multiple UNIX v6 stacks. There's the NOSC one which I tried > to build, > and I think is the oldest. The BBN with TCP stack is a bit mislabeled: it > still appears > to support NCP, but none of the client apps are there, but its directly > built off the NOSC > stack. it's probably a fork from earlier in development. 79-80 timespawn > would have been > *very* early in TCP's life > > > I don't know if a runnable build of TENEX has been archived, >> >> I think so. I "almost" got one running but there was some problem... > > >> > > or if ARPA stuff for TOPS-10/20 survived. >> >> TOPS-20AN seems to be there. TOPS-10, nothing so far. >> >> > I also want to look into System/360 and 370, but I get the sense none >> > of the mainframe stuff survived. >> >> I asked around; found nothing. CDC, same. >> >> > Oof, although par the corse for mainframe preservation :( > > >> > The other problem is of the surviving stacks, they all seem to be for >> > the later 96-bit leader, I'm not certain if any of the IMP software >> > that has been archived is new enough to work with that. >> >> Nothing for the 316/516 IMP, as far as I know. Pluribus IMP emulator, >> anyone? >> > > I do actually wonder how hard that would be. The NCP kernel code seems to > suggest > it would be straightforward all things considered. It honestly reminds me > Hayes modem > commands of all things ... > Michael >