Help us defend against VMS! (AND ULTRIX CLUSTERS and more)

[Douglas B. Jones]

Greetings:

In article <1636 at tulum.UUCP> hirai at swatsun.uucp (Eiji "A.G." Hirai) writes:
>Hello Unix Wizards!
>	Our campus is almost on the verge of being turned into a VMS
>filled campus due to the lack of knowledge of the person in charage of
>computing services here.  The next couple of months will determine
>what the campus computer scene will be like during the next decade.
>This person has in mind buying Vaxes with VMS, and DECnet with lots of
>money...
>	Is VMS as horrible as I suspect or am I alone an thinking this?
>Please help shed the light for us!  Please tell us what you think would be
>reasons why you wouldn't buy VMS! (or why you would).  We need the help
>of all you wizards out there.  Any examples you can think of will help!
>	Thanks for your cooperation and knowledge.  Is VMS that bad??
>						-a.g. hirai
>						outgunned sysadmin
>Eiji "A.G." Hirai @ Swarthmore College, Swarthmore PA 19081 | Tel. 215-543-9855
>UUCP:   {rutgers, ihnp4, cbosgd}!bpa!swatsun!hirai |  "All Cretans are liars."
>Bitnet:       vu-vlsi!swatsun!hirai at psuvax1.bitnet |         -Epimenides
>Internet:            bpa!swatsun!hirai at rutgers.edu |         of Cnossus, Crete

Here are some tad-bits:

1)
Here is an interesting quote from "Digital News" on February 22, 1988. This
come from the front page article "Customers Shown VMS 5; Symmetrical VAX
Awaited" by "Gerard Bidal and DIGIT News Staff". Starting with paragraph 3
(note that 5.0 below refers to VMS 5.0):

" While many observers have been expecting version 5.0 and the new VAX to be
released at the same time, there is a hint that Digital may release the new
machine under Ultrix, its Unix operating system, before the new VMS is ready,
which will probably be in June, according to one well-informed Digital
customer.
  Sources say Digital sales representatives are being briefed not to be
surprised if, in the future, new systems are released first under Ultrix
and later under VMS."

  There is also more in the above  article that makes one wonder about DEC
and the UNIX (ULTRIX) vs. VMS wars.
2)
USENIX Conference Proceedings,Winter 1988, in Dallas, Texas, February 9-12.
Afternoon Session A: Kernal Papers. There are several topics here, but one
caught might eye real fast:
"An Experimental Symmetrix Multiprocesser Ultrix Kernel, page 283, bye
Graham Hamilton & Daniel S Conde (Digital Equipment Corporation)"
At the beginning of proceedings book it says: "For additional copies of
these proceeding, write:
USENIX ASSOCITATION
P.O. Box 2299
Berkeley, CA 94710 USA
Price $20.00 plus $15.00 for overseas airmail.
3)
VAX Clusters
I went to a Digital school in Dallas the week after the above USENIX
conference. At the school, one of the other "students" told us that
thier site was going to be the (or a ?; most likely the) test site
for ULTRIX clustering. That is suppose to happen (if my memory is
correct) some time this March. I believe it was between a VAX 11/78?
and 86?0.
4)
On the fith page of the Digital brochure "ULTRIX Worksystem Software:
Faster, Easier, and More Accessible Than Ever" There is an X-window
picture (right hand page). There are a "bunch" of yellow boxes at
the top of the picture. I think these are directories in reference to
the users mail that he/she has received. Here are some of those boxes/
mail_directories that caught my eye:
32-2.0    (ULTRIX)
32-2.1    (ULTRIX)
32-2.2    (ULTRIX)
32-3.0    (ULTRIX)
32.thd (32.tbd)    (ULTRIX)
32w
Athena    (this is talked about in good detail in the Conference Proceedings
           from the Dallas USENIX Conference)
LN03       (LASER printer)
LN01S      (LASER printer)
LN03       (LASER printer)
LN03R      (LASER printer)
LN04       (Hum....)
LPS40      (LASER printer/print server)

and there are other boxes of interest also.

The main ones above that caught my eye were 32-3.0 (I think this is the
cluster ULTRIX as othere(s) have mentioned in previous net articles) and
LN04, which I have not heard of.
The number on the back of the brochure is "EA-30516-43".

Hope the above sound interesting to some of you.....
Douglas
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- 
Douglas B. Jones  {cbosgd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ulyses}!gatech!dcc1!douglas
DeKalb College    douglas at dcc1
555 N. Indian Creek Drive
Clarkston, Ga. 30021