[HECnet] LSSM group visit today

[Dave McGuire]

On 11/16/21 11:54 AM, Johnny Billquist wrote:
> .ddb fang

   Speaking of ddb, does it do a DTR query across the network to access 
the data?  Or something else?

>>    Sure.  It currently only runs RSX-11M-PLUS v4.6, but eventually 
>> we'll set up RSTS/E, RT-11, and 2.11BSD system disks for it.  I 
>> suppose the only other one that will appear on HECnet is RSTS/E.  The 
>> goal for that machine, with its quad pack of RA73s, is to cover most 
>> of the OSs that people may want to run.
> 
> Similar hardware as Magica then. Magica have four RA73, TU81, RL02, 
> DELUA and 3.5M of memory. Oh, and a paper tape punch and reader, and an 
> RX02. I think that's it... Might be a DH11 in there as well, but nothing 
> hooked up to those lines normally.

   It sounds like MAGICA is much bigger.  We don't yet have a Unibus 
expansion chassis connected to FANG, so we have limited Unibus slots. 
There's an RL02 and an RX02 in its rack, but no place for their 
controllers to live.

   We have a Unibus expansion chassis in an adjacent rack that is ready 
to be connected to Fang, but it just hasn't been done yet. (not enough 
hands to do the work)

   We also have an Emulex SC72 disk controller (actually a few of them), 
which is a board set that plugs into RH70 slots and implements an SMD 
interface.  We have a Fuji Eagle prepped and ready to go onto that, but 
we still need to cable it up, format it, etc.  I expect that to be much, 
much faster than the UDA50+RA73.  Hopefully we'll get to that sometime 
this winter.

>>    The only thing that would've made it better, but only a little, is 
>> if those terminals were connected to DH11s.  They're all connected to 
>> DECservers and their sessions were via LAT.  We can't really dedicate 
>> terminals to machines at LSSM, because there are many more machines 
>> than terminals.
> 
> DECservers and LAT is entirely appropriate. :-)
> 
> Or use telnet (with RSX or BSD).

   Oh yes, very appropriate, but just not my old fantasy.  Back then I 
knew about DH11s, but I did not know about LAT. :-)

              -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA