BSD vs ULTRIX vs SysV

[escott at uci-icsa.arpa]

I think all of this should have gone to info-unix, but a reply is a
reply...

> 	I administer the UN*X side of the academic computing facility
> 	here at Tufts University.  I am currently running two VAX 780's
> 	under 4.2BSD.  The arrival of 4.3BSD has prompted my management
> 	to take a look at alternates to the BSD UN*X.  They keep

You mean, you *have* 4.3BSD and you're thinking of going to something
else?  Or by "arrival" do you mean something like "announcement"?  And
if you *do* have 4.3, I'd like to know how you got it, unless you're a
Beta site, in which case I already know.

By the way, it seems to me that I saw a "copy" (photocopy) of the 4.3
distribution tape at Usenix.  Well, we just called Berkeley and were
told that 4.3 is still "not ready for distribution".  Sigh.


 > 	I am interested not only in functional differences,  ie this
 > 	system call vs that,  but also in less well defined differences
 > 	like availability of knowlegable personnel,  corporate software
 > 	support and its necessity,  etc.
 > 
 > I find support relatively unnecessary, especially in a University
 > environment. You should find lots of gurus in Beantown.

 Beantown!?  

 > 
 > 	How would you begin to decide which OS a university should
 > 	run?  If I receive enough interesting answers,  I'll summarize
 > 	and post,  as others will surely be faced with the same sorts
 > 	of questions from the same sorts of managers.
 > 

 I have an idea, Kevin.  Why don't you get on 128 and drop by Brandeis
 and see what they think?  They've been using UNIX since before I was
 an undergraduate there.  I think you'll find that BSD is the way to
 go in a university environment, for the reasons rbj suggests.  I found
 that each class had a couple of hackers, often roommates, who were willing
 to take on system support.  Heck, we did it for $3.65 an hour at Brandeis!
 And that included cleaning the terminals and vacuuming the labs!!
 > 
 > 	Kevin Sullivan Sr. Systems Programmer
 > 	Tufts University Medford, MA 02155
 > 	ARPA: kjs%tufts at CSNET-RELAY	BITNET: kjs at tufts
 > 
 > Any relation to the Pats owners?

 If so, a few other Brandeis alumni and myself would like to talk to you
 about ruining a little party we had last January !!

 > 
 > 	(Root Boy) Jim Cottrell		<rbj at icst-cmr.arpa>
 > 	Was my SOY LOAF left out in th'RAIN?  It tastes REAL GOOD!!

 +------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  E. Scott Menter                           Internet:   escott at ics.uci.edu
  UCI Systems Support Group                 UUCP: ...!ucbvax!ucivax!escott

It was a JOKE!! Get it?? I was receiving messages from DAVID
LETTERMAN!! YOW!!  [zippy quote courtesy of GNU Emacs "yow" in Jim's honor]

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