[HECnet] Decnet8: Who has any knowledge about this product and has seen it actually working in whatever versions? -> Pydecnet etc.

[David Moylan]

+1

I've been using Ubuntu heavily with SIMH and Paul's PyDECnet and can certify that it's a solid choice.

I abandoned Redhat/CentOS many years ago as I found it too rigid.

Cheers, Wiz!!


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE [mailto:owner-
> hecnet at Update.UU.SE] On Behalf Of August Treubig
> Sent: Tuesday, 20 October 2020 10:42 AM
> To: hecnet at update.uu.se
> Cc: Paul Koning
> Subject: Re: [HECnet] Decnet8: Who has any knowledge about this product
> and has seen it actually working in whatever versions? -> Pydecnet etc.
> 
> You will find after much bashing head against wall, Redhat/Centos is a “not so
> good” choice.  Great for enterprise.  Bad at home.  Way behind.
> As a Unix rookie, you will have much grief adding things to it.
> You will find Ubuntu and others based on Debian much easier.
> 
> Aug
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
> > On Oct 19, 2020, at 4:58 PM, R. Voorhorst <R.Voorhorst at swabhawat.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Paul,
> >
> > I have tried your router but it gave some problems on Centos 6.10 to get it
> > running, though at first it ran well but had some routing problems I told
> > you about.
> > I had to do some things to get it up, but later in the process of updating
> > pydecnet, Centos started at a certain point complaining about corrupted
> > kernel.
> > I do not speak Unix very well, so I may well have installed to many basic
> > things to get it running and therewith contaminated something.
> >
> > Point is that with simh logging, I already can see enough about packets
> > interchange, however there is no exchange at all at the moment: it is stone
> > dead.
> > Activating Tlk to force some internal activity leads directly to a halt
> > instruction with not a very illuminating comment as explanation.
> > Injecting a packet from a Vax async ddcmp line leads to reception and
> > discarding of the sync preamble and then a halt instruction for packet
> > fragmentation.
> > Of course I was playing false with it, as the start message had C0 for flags
> > that Decnet8 expects to be a fill, whatever the fill value may have been
> > expected.
> > There I can make use of your product to excite the system somewhat.
> > By the way, the current Decnet8 is imho NOT phase II; I suspect they had it
> > running in the laboratory (viz Ddcmp version 4B versus V1C) and in the spd
> > claiming compatibility with Pdp11 phase-II products, but it probably never
> > got outside the gates.
> > The mixed dates are a mystery but some Dec people should be around
> with
> > knowledge about this.
> > Moreover, I suppose the main driving force for the Pdp8A with notably the
> > Kt8 was from LSG as the Psdp8a was also an Anf10 workstation (680)
> though
> > with limited caps.
> >
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Reindert
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE [mailto:owner-
> hecnet at Update.UU.SE] On Behalf
> > Of Paul Koning
> > Sent: Monday, 19 October, 2020 23:27
> > To: hecnet at update.uu.se
> > Subject: Re: [HECnet] Decnet8: Who has any knowledge about this product
> and
> > has seen it actually working in whatever versions?
> >
> >
> >
> >>> On Oct 19, 2020, at 5:01 PM, R. Voorhorst
> <R.Voorhorst at swabhawat.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> L.S.
> >>
> >> Currently I am finishing testing for the release of the last member of the
> > Pdp8 series computers: Simh Pdp8a with some new devices (and some
> from old
> > not present in Ppd8).
> >>
> >> Current state of affairs is, that it is running Os8 V3S 128k monitor and
> > the Kt8 diagnostics and is stable.
> >> Also F4 runs and basic Rts8 V2b and V3.
> >> The last hurdle is to activate Decnet8 as the last test station to really
> > load a Pdp8 with some realistic real time work.
> >
> > Nice!
> >
> >> ...
> >> And there are a lot more things going on. So the bottom question
> remains:
> > has anyone seen the internet versions working or is there a clobber up
> > between an advanced laboratory (Phase-II??) version as documented (look
> at
> > the Ddcmp versions) and a preleased or prior old Decnet version. And if so,
> > can anything be retrieved or is it lost forever.
> >
> > I can't help with your detailed questions.  But in case it wasn't well
> > known: yes, I believe DECnet/8 is Phase II.  That means you need either a
> > Phase II, or Phase III DECnet product to talk to it, or you need PyDECnet.
> > That's Phase IV but unlike the normal case, it supports all the way back to
> > Phase II.
> >
> > It also has detailed packet tracing, so you might find it a useful peer to
> > use for debugging your DECnet/8 system.  For example, if DDCMP is giving
> you
> > trouble you should be able to see what you're receiving from the DECnet/8
> > system.
> >
> >    paul
> >
> >