* OK I got this here VAXen thingie.... what is it?
[not found] <199901051541.KAA27177@seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu>
@ 1999-01-05 20:07 ` Johnny Billquist
0 siblings, 0 replies; only message in thread
From: Johnny Billquist @ 1999-01-05 20:07 UTC (permalink / raw)
On Tue, 5 Jan 1999, User Rdkeys Robert D. Keys wrote:
> OK, Dummy here stuck his foot in his choppers an' won the bid on that
> VAXen for the grand total of eleven buckeroos de realme. What can I
> run with it? It was just too much fun to pass up, and it drew too many
> chuckles from the PC crowd in the surplus warehouse....(:+}}....
Smile. It's a decent machine.
> Machine: VAXstation 3500, no consoles or external boxes, only the tower.
>
> Tape Drive: TK70
>
> Hard Drive: RA70
>
> Boards:
>
> SLOT BOARD NUMBER DESCRIPTION
> ---- ------------ ----------------------------------------------
> 1 KA650 -BA
CPU
> 2 MS650 -AA
> 3 MS650 -AA
Both are memory boards. Don't know for sure how much. 8 or 16 megs apiece,
I'd guess.
> 4 DELQA -SA
Ethernet.
> 5 VCB02
> 6 VCB02
> 7 VCB02
Sounds like a graphic subsystem.
> 8 CXY08
Plotter interface?
> 9 TQK70
Controller for the TK70 tape drive.
> 10 KDA50
> 11 KDA50
Controller for the RA70 disk. (The controller can have up to four disks
attached).
> What boards are needed to bring up the machine minimally and test it out?
CPU and memory minimum.
I'd recommend to remove the VCB02 and CXY08, since you don't have the
peripherials. Move all other cards up to delete the empty space in the
middle.
> How should one fire it up the first time, without blowing it up?
Turn on the power.
> I am working with the original owner of the beast to see if he may have
> a box of odd manuals and hopefully tapes still in storage somewhere.
> If not, I am at ground zero with it.
It's a pretty easy machine to play around with.
> I am assuming it will have to be run headless, via an old VT-52ish
> Zenith terminal I have, or a Kermit with VT-100 emulation. I don't
> have the main color monitor for it, or the mouse and keyboard.
> What is the pinout of the silly MMJ connector on the CPU?
> Will a plain terminal work OK?
Plain terminal will do. In fact, it *expexts* to get a plain terminal.
The MMJ is a DEC thingie. The electrical levels are compatible with
RS-232. You can get a cable from DEC, or perhaps some other place. I also
know that the pinouts have been published on the net from tim to time.
> What kinds of printer can be hooked up to it, via what protocols?
Protocols? That's software!
As for electrically connecting it, that depends on what card you put in
the machine! Paralell or serial, you choose!
> What is the best way to network it into my local home ethernet coax?
I assume you have 10Base2, so get an AUI-cable to extend the connection
from the DELQA to outside the box, get a 10Base2-transciever, and you're
set. For other types of carriers, get the proper transciever! :-)
> Any suggestions are appreciated.
Yes. Boot NetBSD on it. Get 1.3.2, which works pretty fine on the machine.
You can netboot it to get started.
Johnny
Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus
|| on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt at update.uu.se || Reading murder books
pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
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From: "User Rdkeys Robert D. Keys" <rdkeys@seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu>
Message-Id: <199901052147.QAA28061 at seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu>
Subject: Re: OK I got this here VAXen thingie.... what is it?
In-Reply-To: <Pine.VUL.3.93.990105205913.2044A-100000 at Zeke.Update.UU.SE> from Johnny Billquist at "Jan 5, 99 09:07:11 pm"
To: bqt at Update.UU.SE (Johnny Billquist)
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 16:47:55 -0500 (EST)
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> On Tue, 5 Jan 1999, User Rdkeys Robert D. Keys wrote:
>
> > OK, Dummy here stuck his foot in his choppers an' won the bid on that
> > VAXen for the grand total of eleven buckeroos de realme. What can I
> > run with it? It was just too much fun to pass up, and it drew too many
> > chuckles from the PC crowd in the surplus warehouse....(:+}}....
>
> Smile. It's a decent machine.
I am beginning to think my eleven buckeroos de realme were well spent!
> > Hard Drive: RA70
What different SDI(?) drives will fit and work in the VAXstation, for our
play purposes. Someone mentioned a 1 gig and a 2 gig size that I might
want to use instead of the RA70, although beggars like me can't be too
choosy. A pair of RA70's would make a fair minimal box. A pair of
2 gig drives would make a very comfy box to use as the main home server.
> > What boards are needed to bring up the machine minimally and test it out?
>
> CPU and memory minimum.
> I'd recommend to remove the VCB02 and CXY08, since you don't have the
> peripherials. Move all other cards up to delete the empty space in the
> middle.
OK. What should cover the blank space in the rack, or just leave it open?
Any funky jumpers to set like on Sun VME backplanes?
> > How should one fire it up the first time, without blowing it up?
>
> Turn on the power.
I was thinking about boot sequences for roms or whatever, or anything
strange in the callup from a dumb terminal. Someone mentioned setting
a break switch and a baud rate dial on the CPU?
> > I am working with the original owner of the beast to see if he may have
> > a box of odd manuals and hopefully tapes still in storage somewhere.
> > If not, I am at ground zero with it.
>
> It's a pretty easy machine to play around with.
I did get a box from the previous owner a few minutes ago, and there
were a dozen or so TK50 tapes that I need to sort out what is on them.
He though they were Ultrix and VMS tapes. If they turn out to be
unknowns, I can probably use them to get someone to write a good
boot tape for a BSD flavor, perhaps. If they are, indeed Ultrix,
would that be better or worse than a 4.3BSD or NetBSD or such?
I have never run Ultrix, but I am comfy with 4.3BSD or NetBSD kinds
of things, as long as they don't get too strange. I don't think I
would like a VMS.
> Plain terminal will do. In fact, it *expexts* to get a plain terminal.
> The MMJ is a DEC thingie. The electrical levels are compatible with
> RS-232. You can get a cable from DEC, or perhaps some other place. I also
> know that the pinouts have been published on the net from tim to time.
Also, the guy gave me a cable with a DEC female DB25 adapter, a MMJ end,
an RJ11 end, and a plain RS232 DB25 male adapter. Would that be usable
for a console or is that some kind of printer cable? He thought it was
plain serial, but was not sure.
> > What kinds of printer can be hooked up to it, via what protocols?
>
> Protocols? That's software!
> As for electrically connecting it, that depends on what card you put in
> the machine! Paralell or serial, you choose!
Well, I prefer serial, no-handshake printer lines on my old junkque.
That is a carryover from my early CP/M days where one never knew
which RS232 cable to use, and I got quickly in the habit of 3-wiring
everything, instead. Software or non-shake protocol always worked,
if 4/5, 4/8/20 were jumpered on each end. One of my friends said that
DEC did some strange protocols on serial lines, and I was just checking
for sure.
> > What is the best way to network it into my local home ethernet coax?
>
> I assume you have 10Base2, so get an AUI-cable to extend the connection
> from the DELQA to outside the box, get a 10Base2-transciever, and you're
> set. For other types of carriers, get the proper transciever! :-)
I must rub the right rabbit's food today. Another friend gave me a DEC dongle
box and cable that is an AUI to BNC transceiver (DECSTA?). That is a good
find, or the right find, perhaps?
> > Any suggestions are appreciated.
>
> Yes. Boot NetBSD on it. Get 1.3.2, which works pretty fine on the machine.
> You can netboot it to get started.
My problem is getting it up to a network. My home net is mostly down
or only running between whichever two boxes I can get up at the same time.
Most are AIX/4.3BSD IBM RT-PC boxes or FreeBSD/AIX x86 boxes. Proper
netbooting on them is a bit wierd.
I might could drag it into the office and netboot off the archives somewhere.
That may be the easiest thing to do, practically.
Most of the boxes I prefer to load via tape, if possible for a lowest common
denominator boot when all else may fail. That way, everything is covered.
What needs to be cleaned out around the cabinetry or power supplies or
backplane? I don't want to get dustbunny fireballs rolling out of it,
if possible. Is there anything I should look out for in preflighting
the beast, over the usual blow it out with a vacuum cleaner or air hose?
> Johnny
Anyway, toy VAXuser getting there little by little.....(:+}}....
Maybe I will get the itch to fire it up tonight. Now to feed the
Reddy Kilowatt meter man. I hear these VAXen things make him very
happy.
Bob Keys
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From: Warren Toomey <wkt@henry.cs.adfa.edu.au>
Message-Id: <199901052233.JAA12801 at henry.cs.adfa.edu.au>
Subject: V8's roots?
To: pups at minnie.cs.adfa.oz.au (Unix Heritage Society)
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 09:33:57 +1100 (EST)
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Just got this email from a friend...
----- Forwarded message from David Blackman -----
Just had a quick look at [Warren's Unix family tree diagram]
You list Research V8 as successor to V7, which is true i guess, but
i've seen several sources say most of the kernel was derived from a BSD
version, probably 4.1.
----- End of forwarded message from David Blackman -----
Can anybody confirm or deny this? I suppose I should ask Dennis.
Ta,
Warren
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From: Warren Toomey <wkt@henry.cs.adfa.edu.au>
Message-Id: <199901060037.LAA15385 at henry.cs.adfa.edu.au>
Subject: Apout: new version + freeze
To: pups at minnie.cs.adfa.oz.au (Unix Heritage Society)
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 11:37:10 +1100 (EST)
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All,
I've put yet a new version of the Apout PDP-11 a.out simulator in
ftp://minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au/pub/PDP-11/Sims/Apout
and now I'm going to stop working on it for a while. This means you won't
get these annoying emails any more :-)
Current version is apout2.2alpha6. The latest changes are:
+ Runs 2.11BSD binaries, including overlay binaries
+ Runs shell scripts
+ Can exec native binaries as well as PDP-11 a.out binaries
+ Has floating point operations
+ Still emulates V5/V6/V7 UNIX binaries
+ On a Pentium Pro 350MHz, compiles the 2.11BSD GENERIC kernel
in 4 minutes 16 seconds.
+ Now uses u_int* throughout
+ Finally, a man page exists
Enjoy!
Warren
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Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 03:54:31 +0100 (MET)
From: Johnny Billquist <bqt@Update.UU.SE>
To: "User Rdkeys Robert D. Keys" <rdkeys at seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu>
cc: pups at minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au, bsdbob at seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu
Subject: Re: OK I got this here VAXen thingie.... what is it?
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On Tue, 5 Jan 1999, User Rdkeys Robert D. Keys wrote:
> I am beginning to think my eleven buckeroos de realme were well spent!
I'd say so.
> What different SDI(?) drives will fit and work in the VAXstation, for our
> play purposes. Someone mentioned a 1 gig and a 2 gig size that I might
> want to use instead of the RA70, although beggars like me can't be too
> choosy. A pair of RA70's would make a fair minimal box. A pair of
> 2 gig drives would make a very comfy box to use as the main home server.
Fit as in physically fit. The RA7x series will fit. However, only the RA70
as far as I know have a switch pack for setting unit numbers. Any other
type of drive will default to unit zero unless you have a proper front
panel.
All RA-drives will work however. Me I have one RA72 in the box, two RA90
and one RA92 lying on the floor. :-)
Also remember that VAX binaries are *smaller* than what you might be used
to see. This is a CISC.
> OK. What should cover the blank space in the rack, or just leave it open?
If you have blank covers, put them there. It improves the air flow in the
box. But you should be able to run it as is.
> Any funky jumpers to set like on Sun VME backplanes?
Nope. Just keep al the cards next to each other.
> > > How should one fire it up the first time, without blowing it up?
> >
> > Turn on the power.
>
> I was thinking about boot sequences for roms or whatever, or anything
> strange in the callup from a dumb terminal. Someone mentioned setting
> a break switch and a baud rate dial on the CPU?
Ok.
To boot the machine, try "B <device>", where disks are DUAx, tape is MUA0
and ethernet XNA0 (I think...)
If you open up the front you'll notice that the CPU fron panel cover has,
in addition to the connector for the console, a small display, a three
position dial switch and a two-position switch. If you look at the back of
the panel, you have thumbweel.
The thumbweel sets the baudrate for the console. There should be a sticker
beside it with the key.
The three-position switch selects power-up action. Language menu, boot or
eternal selftest. The two-position switch selects whether booting to
console prompt, or booting all the way with OS.
There are a number of commands you can give at the ">>>" prompt. Useful
is (among others) "SHOW ETHERNET" which tells your ethernet address.
> I did get a box from the previous owner a few minutes ago, and there
> were a dozen or so TK50 tapes that I need to sort out what is on them.
Try booting them.
> He though they were Ultrix and VMS tapes. If they turn out to be
> unknowns, I can probably use them to get someone to write a good
> boot tape for a BSD flavor, perhaps. If they are, indeed Ultrix,
> would that be better or worse than a 4.3BSD or NetBSD or such?
Ultrix is definitely not something you want to run. It's okay to have
around, but it's not that much fun. It's more or less a mix between 4.2
and 4.3.
> I have never run Ultrix, but I am comfy with 4.3BSD or NetBSD kinds
> of things, as long as they don't get too strange. I don't think I
> would like a VMS.
VMS is nice. :-)
> > Plain terminal will do. In fact, it *expexts* to get a plain terminal.
> > The MMJ is a DEC thingie. The electrical levels are compatible with
> > RS-232. You can get a cable from DEC, or perhaps some other place. I also
> > know that the pinouts have been published on the net from tim to time.
>
> Also, the guy gave me a cable with a DEC female DB25 adapter, a MMJ end,
> an RJ11 end, and a plain RS232 DB25 male adapter. Would that be usable
> for a console or is that some kind of printer cable? He thought it was
> plain serial, but was not sure.
The cable should be usable. If you have a VT220 or newer, the cable can be
used without any adapter at all.
> > > What kinds of printer can be hooked up to it, via what protocols?
> >
> > Protocols? That's software!
> > As for electrically connecting it, that depends on what card you put in
> > the machine! Paralell or serial, you choose!
>
> Well, I prefer serial, no-handshake printer lines on my old junkque.
Ah. Intelligent opinion. Since the CXY08 is a serial interface, that's
your answer. (If the CXY08 has a driver for the OS of your choise.)
> That is a carryover from my early CP/M days where one never knew
> which RS232 cable to use, and I got quickly in the habit of 3-wiring
> everything, instead. Software or non-shake protocol always worked,
> if 4/5, 4/8/20 were jumpered on each end. One of my friends said that
> DEC did some strange protocols on serial lines, and I was just checking
> for sure.
DEC has very seldom done strange things. It's rather the other way
around...
Most likely your friend might have heard of DECs refusal to use modem
signals for handshake, since neither a computer, nor a printer is a modem.
(And by the book they are right, it's just that most other people like to
violate this fact. :-)
DEC always uses XON/XOFF.
> > > What is the best way to network it into my local home ethernet coax?
> >
> > I assume you have 10Base2, so get an AUI-cable to extend the connection
> > from the DELQA to outside the box, get a 10Base2-transciever, and you're
> > set. For other types of carriers, get the proper transciever! :-)
>
> I must rub the right rabbit's food today. Another friend gave me a DEC dongle
> box and cable that is an AUI to BNC transceiver (DECSTA?). That is a good
> find, or the right find, perhaps?
Probably. I don't know offhand what the DEC transciever is called, but I
doubt there are any others with the right kind of looking connectors.
> > > Any suggestions are appreciated.
> >
> > Yes. Boot NetBSD on it. Get 1.3.2, which works pretty fine on the machine.
> > You can netboot it to get started.
>
> My problem is getting it up to a network. My home net is mostly down
> or only running between whichever two boxes I can get up at the same time.
> Most are AIX/4.3BSD IBM RT-PC boxes or FreeBSD/AIX x86 boxes. Proper
> netbooting on them is a bit wierd.
Well, it isn't *them* you are about to netboot, but the VAX. :-)
> I might could drag it into the office and netboot off the archives somewhere.
> That may be the easiest thing to do, practically.
Maybe.
> Most of the boxes I prefer to load via tape, if possible for a lowest common
> denominator boot when all else may fail. That way, everything is covered.
Well, if you have VMS or Ultrix, you can write out tapes...
> What needs to be cleaned out around the cabinetry or power supplies or
> backplane? I don't want to get dustbunny fireballs rolling out of it,
> if possible. Is there anything I should look out for in preflighting
> the beast, over the usual blow it out with a vacuum cleaner or air hose?
Getting the dust out is always a Good Thing (tm).
If you are a hardware junkie, you'll start by disassembling the power
supply into small bits and check it out througly before reassembling it
and allowing it to feed the system. Me, I'd just power the thing on. :-)
> Anyway, toy VAXuser getting there little by little.....(:+}}....
> Maybe I will get the itch to fire it up tonight. Now to feed the
> Reddy Kilowatt meter man. I hear these VAXen things make him very
> happy.
Nah. A 3500 is a small thing. Try an 8650 instead. :-)
Johnny
Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus
|| on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt at update.uu.se || Reading murder books
pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
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To: wkt at cs.adfa.oz.au
Subject: Re: V8's roots?
cc: pups at minnie.cs.adfa.oz.au (Unix Heritage Society)
In-reply-to: Your message of "Wed, 06 Jan 1999 09:33:57 +1100."
<199901052233.JAA12801 at henry.cs.adfa.edu.au>
Date: Tue, 05 Jan 1999 21:46:58 -0800
From: Kirk McKusick <mckusick@mckusick.com>
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From: Warren Toomey <wkt at henry.cs.adfa.edu.au>
Subject: V8's roots?
To: pups at minnie.cs.adfa.oz.au (Unix Heritage Society)
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 09:33:57 +1100 (EST)
Reply-To: wkt at cs.adfa.oz.au
Sender: owner-pups at minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au
Just got this email from a friend...
----- Forwarded message from David Blackman -----
Just had a quick look at [Warren's Unix family tree diagram]
You list Research V8 as successor to V7, which is true i guess, but
i've seen several sources say most of the kernel was derived from a BSD
version, probably 4.1.
----- End of forwarded message from David Blackman -----
Can anybody confirm or deny this? I suppose I should ask Dennis.
Ta,
Warren
There was a big infusion of 4.1BSD into the research group system
between V7 and V8. Dennis could give you more details.
~Kirk
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From: Carl Lowenstein <cdl@mpl.ucsd.edu>
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To: bqt at Update.UU.SE, rdkeys at seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu
Subject: Re: OK I got this here VAXen thingie.... what is it?
Cc: bsdbob at seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu, pups at minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au
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> Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 21:07:11 +0100 (MET)
> From: Johnny Billquist <bqt at Update.UU.SE>
> On Tue, 5 Jan 1999, User Rdkeys Robert D. Keys wrote:
>
> > OK, Dummy here stuck his foot in his choppers an' won the bid on that
> > VAXen for the grand total of eleven buckeroos de realme. What can I
> > run with it? It was just too much fun to pass up, and it drew too many
> > chuckles from the PC crowd in the surplus warehouse....(:+}}....
>
> I assume you have 10Base2, so get an AUI-cable to extend the connection
> from the DELQA to outside the box, get a 10Base2-transciever, and you're
> set. For other types of carriers, get the proper transciever! :-)
For short runs of AUI cable (a couple of feet) you can cheat by using
crimp-on IDC connectors and flat ribbon cable. Frequently that is more
available than real AUI cables.
carl
carl lowenstein marine physical lab u.c. san diego
clowenstein at ucsd.edu
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Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 14:41:03 -0500
From: mxs46@k2.scl.cwru.edu (Michael Sokolov)
Message-Id: <199901061941.OAA03424 at skybridge.scl.cwru.edu>
To: pups at minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au
Subject: Re: OK I got this here VAXen thingie.... what is it?
Cc: rdkeys at seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu
Sender: owner-pups at minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au
Precedence: bulk
"User Rdkeys Robert D. Keys" <rdkeys at seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu> wrote:
> Machine: VAXstation 3500, no consoles or external boxes, only the tower.
Will run my latest OS release, 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0, like a charm.
> Tape Drive: TK70
Great! 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 bootstraps from TK70s beaufifully.
> Hard Drive: RA70
Also great! You are incredibly lucky here that 4.3BSD-* already knows about
RA70 and thus you can install 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 on this disk directly even
when it's unlabeled. If you had third-party MSCP disks, you would have to
install Ultrix first to label the disk. This is due to 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0's
inability to install on unknown unlabeled disks. This limitation will be lifted
in the next Quasijarus release, which I'm already working on.
> 1 KA650 -BA
A very nice CPU, rated at 2.8 VUPs. 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 fully supports it
(better than CSRG's Tahoe and Reno releases). KA650 support is present in the
GENERIC kernel, so it will Just Boot (tm).
The "-BA" part means that it has bit 1 set in the second longword of the EPROM,
causing DEC proprietary OSes to treat it as a "single-user" machine. Research
OSes like 4.3BSD-* ignore this bit. But if you do want to convert your machine
to "multiuser" status, clear bit 1, set bit 0, and recalculate the checksum
(you'll need an EPROM blaster). This will turn your CPU into a KA650-AA.
You also have the option of upgrading this CPU to a KA655 (3.8 VUPs) or KA660
(5 VUPs). KA655 is also fully supported by 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0, and KA660
support is coming soon (100% guarrantee that I'll get it before NetBSD does).
> 2 MS650 -AA
> 3 MS650 -AA
-AA is a 8 MB board, so you have a total of 16 MB of RAM.
Note, though, that -AAs are old boards, and they work only with KA650 and
KA640. If you decide to upgrade to KA655 or KA660, you'll need either DEC
MS650-Bx or third-party MS650-compatible memory. These work with all KA650
series CPUs.
> 4 DELQA -SA
Ethernet. Fully supported by Berkeley UNIX since 4.3BSD.
> 5 VCB02
> 6 VCB02
> 7 VCB02
QDSS video. 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 should support this (untested), but since you
don't have a VAXstation monitor or keyboard anyway, pull these three boards out
and move everything else to the right (you can't leave empty Q-bus slots in the
middle).
> 8 CXY08
8-line asynchronous multiplexer (8-port serial interface). Not sure if 4.3BSD-*
has a driver for it (I haven't touched this area and left it as it was in
CSRG's Tahoe release). It has some drivers for DEC asynchronous multiplexers,
but DEC made a lot of different ones, and I don't know where does CXY08 stand
with respect to everything else DEC has produced.
Ultrix supports it for sure, though.
> 9 TQK70
Controller for TK70.
> 10 KDA50
> 11 KDA50
Controller for RA70 (or any other SDI disks you may want to connect).
> Any suggestions are appreciated.
Hmm, it looks like you have already been brainwashed by one NutBSDist. Please
don't listen to him. Running NetBSD is conduct unbecoming a PUPS/TUHS member.
NetBSD is the worst OS a VAX can run. Its code is a total mess, and its
"developers" are incompetent morons (I know, I've been on their list for 6
months or so). They have no clue as to how to write VAX OSes, and their list of
supported hardware is as skinny as their brains. NetBSD is extremely flaky, and
it's extremely bloated.
My authoritative advice to you is to run 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0, my latest release
made two weeks ago (I'm the maintainer of 4.3BSD-*). It comes with 100%
complete source code, and, picture this, the entire system with all binaries
_and full sources_ fits in 75 MB! It's absolutely True and Pure UNIX, nothing
can be better.
There is also Ultrix. No matter how much those losers insult it, it's one of
the best OSes in the Universe, second only to 4.3BSD-Quasijarus. Despite what
some incompetent morons may say, it is not a "4.2/4.3 mix", it's 100% 4.3.
True, it has been interDIGITated by DEC, which makes it a little impure and
bloated (and binary-only), but otherwise it's OK. It is bigger than a
binary-only 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 installation, but certainly much smaller than
NutBSD. As for the DEC additions, just ignore them! Just because Ultrix
optionally supports Sun YP, Hesiod, and other crap doesn't mean that you have
to use it! In fact, it's already disabled by default! Just don't enable it,
that's all! When /etc/svc.conf selects "local,bind" for hosts and "local" for
everything else, Ultrix becomes indistinguishable from 4.3BSD! I can bet that
if I show you two VAXen, one running 4.3BSD and the other running Ultrix, you
won't be able to tell easily which is which.
Also some Ultrix-specific features are really nice. Take NFS, for example. I
will certainly add NFS to 4.3BSD-Quasijarus at some point. Also don't forget
that Ultrix runs on almost every VAX ever made. I often run Ultrix instead of
4.3BSD-* when the latter doesn't run on the hardware in question. In fact, this
is what Ultrix is best for: a fallback OS to replace 4.3BSD-* when it doesn't
support the hardware. Of course 4.3BSD-Quasijarus is the best OS in the
Universe, and you should always run it whenever possible, but when you can't
Ultrix is a very good fallback because it's so close.
But since you have a KA650, you don't have to worry about this, as
4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 will run on it like a charm.
Best of luck with it. 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 is in the PUPS archive in the
Distributions/4bsd/43quasi0.vax directory.
Sincerely,
Michael Sokolov
Cellular phone: 216-217-2579
ARPA Internet SMTP mail: mxs46 at k2.scl.cwru.edu
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id OAA03424; Wed, 6 Jan 1999 14:41:03 -0500
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 14:41:03 -0500
From: mxs46@k2.scl.cwru.edu (Michael Sokolov)
Message-Id: <199901061941.OAA03424 at skybridge.scl.cwru.edu>
To: pups at minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au
Subject: Re: OK I got this here VAXen thingie.... what is it?
Cc: rdkeys at seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu
Sender: owner-pups at minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au
Precedence: bulk
"User Rdkeys Robert D. Keys" <rdkeys at seedlab1.cropsci.ncsu.edu> wrote:
> Machine: VAXstation 3500, no consoles or external boxes, only the tower.
Will run my latest OS release, 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0, like a charm.
> Tape Drive: TK70
Great! 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 bootstraps from TK70s beaufifully.
> Hard Drive: RA70
Also great! You are incredibly lucky here that 4.3BSD-* already knows about
RA70 and thus you can install 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 on this disk directly even
when it's unlabeled. If you had third-party MSCP disks, you would have to
install Ultrix first to label the disk. This is due to 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0's
inability to install on unknown unlabeled disks. This limitation will be lifted
in the next Quasijarus release, which I'm already working on.
> 1 KA650 -BA
A very nice CPU, rated at 2.8 VUPs. 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 fully supports it
(better than CSRG's Tahoe and Reno releases). KA650 support is present in the
GENERIC kernel, so it will Just Boot (tm).
The "-BA" part means that it has bit 1 set in the second longword of the EPROM,
causing DEC proprietary OSes to treat it as a "single-user" machine. Research
OSes like 4.3BSD-* ignore this bit. But if you do want to convert your machine
to "multiuser" status, clear bit 1, set bit 0, and recalculate the checksum
(you'll need an EPROM blaster). This will turn your CPU into a KA650-AA.
You also have the option of upgrading this CPU to a KA655 (3.8 VUPs) or KA660
(5 VUPs). KA655 is also fully supported by 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0, and KA660
support is coming soon (100% guarrantee that I'll get it before NetBSD does).
> 2 MS650 -AA
> 3 MS650 -AA
-AA is a 8 MB board, so you have a total of 16 MB of RAM.
Note, though, that -AAs are old boards, and they work only with KA650 and
KA640. If you decide to upgrade to KA655 or KA660, you'll need either DEC
MS650-Bx or third-party MS650-compatible memory. These work with all KA650
series CPUs.
> 4 DELQA -SA
Ethernet. Fully supported by Berkeley UNIX since 4.3BSD.
> 5 VCB02
> 6 VCB02
> 7 VCB02
QDSS video. 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 should support this (untested), but since you
don't have a VAXstation monitor or keyboard anyway, pull these three boards out
and move everything else to the right (you can't leave empty Q-bus slots in the
middle).
> 8 CXY08
8-line asynchronous multiplexer (8-port serial interface). Not sure if 4.3BSD-*
has a driver for it (I haven't touched this area and left it as it was in
CSRG's Tahoe release). It has some drivers for DEC asynchronous multiplexers,
but DEC made a lot of different ones, and I don't know where does CXY08 stand
with respect to everything else DEC has produced.
Ultrix supports it for sure, though.
> 9 TQK70
Controller for TK70.
> 10 KDA50
> 11 KDA50
Controller for RA70 (or any other SDI disks you may want to connect).
> Any suggestions are appreciated.
Hmm, it looks like you have already been brainwashed by one NutBSDist. Please
don't listen to him. Running NetBSD is conduct unbecoming a PUPS/TUHS member.
NetBSD is the worst OS a VAX can run. Its code is a total mess, and its
"developers" are incompetent morons (I know, I've been on their list for 6
months or so). They have no clue as to how to write VAX OSes, and their list of
supported hardware is as skinny as their brains. NetBSD is extremely flaky, and
it's extremely bloated.
My authoritative advice to you is to run 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0, my latest release
made two weeks ago (I'm the maintainer of 4.3BSD-*). It comes with 100%
complete source code, and, picture this, the entire system with all binaries
_and full sources_ fits in 75 MB! It's absolutely True and Pure UNIX, nothing
can be better.
There is also Ultrix. No matter how much those losers insult it, it's one of
the best OSes in the Universe, second only to 4.3BSD-Quasijarus. Despite what
some incompetent morons may say, it is not a "4.2/4.3 mix", it's 100% 4.3.
True, it has been interDIGITated by DEC, which makes it a little impure and
bloated (and binary-only), but otherwise it's OK. It is bigger than a
binary-only 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 installation, but certainly much smaller than
NutBSD. As for the DEC additions, just ignore them! Just because Ultrix
optionally supports Sun YP, Hesiod, and other crap doesn't mean that you have
to use it! In fact, it's already disabled by default! Just don't enable it,
that's all! When /etc/svc.conf selects "local,bind" for hosts and "local" for
everything else, Ultrix becomes indistinguishable from 4.3BSD! I can bet that
if I show you two VAXen, one running 4.3BSD and the other running Ultrix, you
won't be able to tell easily which is which.
Also some Ultrix-specific features are really nice. Take NFS, for example. I
will certainly add NFS to 4.3BSD-Quasijarus at some point. Also don't forget
that Ultrix runs on almost every VAX ever made. I often run Ultrix instead of
4.3BSD-* when the latter doesn't run on the hardware in question. In fact, this
is what Ultrix is best for: a fallback OS to replace 4.3BSD-* when it doesn't
support the hardware. Of course 4.3BSD-Quasijarus is the best OS in the
Universe, and you should always run it whenever possible, but when you can't
Ultrix is a very good fallback because it's so close.
But since you have a KA650, you don't have to worry about this, as
4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 will run on it like a charm.
Best of luck with it. 4.3BSD-Quasijarus0 is in the PUPS archive in the
Distributions/4bsd/43quasi0.vax directory.
Sincerely,
Michael Sokolov
Cellular phone: 216-217-2579
ARPA Internet SMTP mail: mxs46 at k2.scl.cwru.edu
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