Risc System/6000

[Jason Martin Levitt]

In article <WINDLEY.90Feb21094531 at cheetah.cheetah.ucdavis.edu> windley at cheetah.ucdavis.edu (Phil Windley/20000000) writes:
>>In article <1148 at gort.cs.utexas.edu> jason at cs.utexas.edu (Jason Martin Levitt) writes:
>>
>>   Let's get real on these prices folks. A 120 MB disk? That *might*
>>   work if your user directories are mounted with NFS.  I don't know the exact
>>   numbers, but I bet after AIX 3.x and Xwindows is loaded plus swap
>>   space, 120MB is barely adequate. 
>>
>>   Add a SCSI adapter and large hard disk please == $$$$$.
>>
>>   I doubt IBM will have their diskless version working well for quite a
>>   while. Anyone know the exact disk space requirements? Recommended swap
>>   space?
>
>First you complain about 120Mb being too small and then you want diskless.
>I've used RT's with a 70MB disk with user files NFS mounted.  I'd rather
>have thsi configuration than a diskless product.  System stuff goes much
>faster.   
>
>Of course big disks cost money, but that's true of any system.  So what's
>your gripe?
>

  Someone responded to my question about disk space requirements and
said that AIX 3.1 will barely fit on a 300mb hard disk.  If it's possible 
to run some kind of minimal system configuration in 120mb, will someone 
please confirm it? BTW, they posted the reply to pc.rt or unix.aix.

  Yes, you can use AIX 2.2.1 with just a 70mb disk. But if you have NFS *and*
X-WIndows and a reasonable amount of swap space, things are going to get
very tight. But that's not the point. The point is that this is definitly
*not* AIX 2.2.1, it's AIX 3.1. AIX 3.1 is a big, hairy, hulking, monster
of an operating system.  

  My gripe is that people are quoting this $12,000
price for a system that won't run. What is this 120mb disk for if you
can't put the operating system on it? If it's a Sun, then it's local
swap or other interesting things that a node which boots off of a server
might need. Since IBM hasn't introducted any diskless technology yet, you
have no choice, you must buy a SCSI adapter and big hard disk.

  If IBM's software technology can match their hardware, then their
diskless node should be a wonderful, inexpensive workstation.....*if*
their software technology can match their hardware........

   ---Jason
-----

Jason Martin Levitt    P.O. Box 49860  Austin, Texas 78765  (512) 459-0055
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