Openserver 5.0
the...@interpac.be
Does anyone knows if Openserver 5.0 supports
1) non-scsi CD-ROMs (IDE)
2) PCMCIA
Thanks,
Philippes DE VITS
Steve Davies
:
: Does anyone knows if Openserver 5.0 supports
:
: 1) non-scsi CD-ROMs (IDE)
:
Sure Does!!! :-)
Charlie.
--
Noah Monsey
>Does anyone knows if Openserver 5.0 supports
>1) non-scsi CD-ROMs (IDE)
>2) PCMCIA
>Thanks,
>Philippes DE VITS
I recommend calling SCO sales and getting a printed
copy of the "Hardware Compatability Guide" for
Openserver release 5.
SCO sales sent me a copy in the mail about two days
after my first call asking if different components were
supported by release 5.
I do remember reading something saying that SCSI
is the recommended way to go, but a SCO salesperson
did tell me that EIDE cdroms were supported.
SInce I did not want to experiment, I am using a SCSI
cdrom and a SCSI hard disk.
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Noah Monsey no...@indirect.com
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
The only dumb question is the one that you don't ask.
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Oracle Master Database Administration, April 1992
Oracle Master Application Development, April 1992
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
AudioControl
>Does anyone knows if Openserver 5.0 supports
>1) non-scsi CD-ROMs (IDE)
>2) PCMCIA
>Thanks,
Although non of the SCO tech people or the vendor could tell me yes or
no; the question was answered when I received the boxes from SCO.
1) Yes, there is a boot load driver for IDE CDroms that support the
ATAPI standard. I have successfully loaded it with a Sanyo 4x and a
Panasonic 2x cdrom drive.
2) There is limited support for PCMCIA. The best recommedation is try
it. If it bombs, then you can't use it.
John Hobach
says...
>
>the...@interpac.be wrote:
>
>
>>Does anyone knows if Openserver 5.0 supports
>
>>1) non-scsi CD-ROMs (IDE)
>>2) PCMCIA
I can confirm that there is no support for PCMCIA SCSI at this time.
I talked to SCO sales which confirmed this with support and I called the
companies listed in the hw compatible book. None have support or even
knew it existed.
John R. Harris
Well, I pretty sure I recall reading a post here within the past several
months about a company that is suppling PC card drivers for SCO. Let's
see....
Yes. Here it is:
From: Tim Ruckle <ti...@sco.COM>
Subject: Re: Laptop for SCO ODT 3.0
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Date: Sat, 21 Jan 1995 23:18:24 GMT
Message-ID: <1995Jan21.2...@sco.com>
References: <950120022...@lewis-gw1.army.mil>
Sender: News admin <ne...@sco.COM>
In Article <950120022...@lewis-gw1.army.mil>
Craig J. Orsinger <cr...@lewis-gw1.army.mil> writes:
} We have a requirement for running Unix on a laptop computer. Since
} most laptops these days are PC-compatible, SCO Open Desktop looks like
} a good candidate OS.
Hi Craig, I recently looked at ODT-capable notebooks myself. One thing
to keep in mind is that the closer you get to "bleeding edge" technology,
the more care is needed in choosing a platform and the more testing you're
probably going to need to do on your own before you commit to a choice.
This is generally true, but perhaps more so with these new notebooks.
I'd suggest you find yourself a dealer with a good return policy in case
you run into any snags (or else a reseller or integrator who's already
done all the legwork and testing for you).
If you pick a system from the SCO Hardware Compatibility Handbook
(updated online copies are available from ftp.sco.com and the SCO
Forum on CompuServe) you will be safe. But these models are older
(as you've already found out) and by the time SCO Support rigorously
tests and approves the "new" ones there will be newer ones still.
The hardware technology marches faster than quadruple-time in this
business of ours... ;^)
} Our customer will likely by using this system in a tent, so trouble-
} free operation and a highly visible display will be important considera-
} tions. It is also desirable to minimize the number of external parts
} (such as mice) that must be added to the laptop to make it run our
} software.
Active-matrix screens are the best. They are more expensive than passive
screens, and consume a bit more power, but if your customers are going to
be staring at the screen for a good length of time you probably want the
active. I assume that the external SVGA port is not so important to you,
but note that the resolution on these has gotten better and better. But
on the screen itself don't expect anything better that 640x480.
What you should do is check out the vid cards supported in the latest SCO
AHS then find out if the particular notebook emulates one of these. They
almost certainly will, though again I'd suggest that you "see it with your
own eyes" before purchasing to make sure there aren't any quirky problems.
Most notebooks these days come with integral pointing devices: many with
trackballs, but more and more are cloning the IBM TrackPoint "eraser"
deal that lives in the middle of the keyboard (the one on the Ascentia
900N seemed to work fine with ODT). Which you prefer is mostly a matter
of taste, though you'll probably want to avoid the "clip-on" trackballs.
Finally, I'm certain there are "ruggedized" ODT notebooks which are
certified mil-spec, but they're going to be more expensive than what's
currently available off-the-shelf (and probably older technology too).
Also, you don't mention security as a particular concern, but note that
SCO just release a CMW+ version of ODT. If this is of any interest, you
can send mail to in...@sco.com or contact SCO's Government Systems Group
directly at (703) 715-8700.
} Our other requirements:
}
} A reasonably large (200 MB or more) hard disk that can be removed
} and replaced without special tools, which means just about anything more
} complex than a knife or a screwdriver. We're only going to put ODT on the
} portable, not a development system.
500MB+ removable 2.5-inch IDE hard disks are available on the higher-end
notebooks. I haven't had to remove any personally, so this is something
you'll probably want to confirm for yourself. However, it seems like the
manufacturers are getting better and better in this regard (a person in a
tent is not necessarily equipped unlike a salesperson in an airport... ;^).
Note: SCO supports IDE drives to the extent that they properly emulate the
st506 interface. Not everybody designs their systems properly, and some
shortcuts which ``work under DOS'' will fail on a UNIX System. I hope I'm
not coming off as way too negative here, but I also don't want you to get
burned, so investigate before you buy.
} A 486DX or better CPU.
Most of those I studied were 486DX4/75-based. From what I gathered there
is a performance trade-off between it and the DX2/66, which connects to a
faster system bus (33MHz verses 25MHz); but the DX4 has a faster processor
core (75MHz verses 66MHz), bigger internal cache (16K verses 8K) and consumes
less power (3.3-volt verses 5-volt). While the DX2/66 can be found in some
of the "no name" notebooks, most of the major OEMs used the DX4/75. And on
average the DX4/75-based notebooks sold for about $1,000 more than comparable
DX2/66-based systems. About $300 of this was the premium for the processor,
and the rest due to the use of low-voltage components (RAM particularly) and
the fact that they are generally higher-end machines.
The 486DX4/75 seemed to be the proper choice (though you didn't mention
battery life as a major requirement). And I didn't check out any Pentium
units, as they were just being advertised (and not in reality available
at the time).
} An integral pointing device that is supported by the X-window system
} in ODT 3.0.
See above. This shouldn't be a big hurdle, but should be confirmed.
} Ethernet support (internal preferred).
PCMCIA support is not widespread in the UNIX market at this point, but
SCO does have a driver for the 3COM 3C589 PCMCIA cards (in the LLI part
of the aforementioned AHS). You need to have the Intel PCMCIA chipset
(or a true clone) in the notebook for it to work. It can be difficult
to get a real techie on the phone who truly knows what's in the guts of
the system, but you will need to to find out this information (it is not
generally listed in the adverts).
I'll include an IT Script below which details which are known (and known
not to) work, but again these are of necessity older systems and there's
nothing more certain than testing it yourself (the problem is compounded
by the fact that "identical" models are in fact in flux, and the BIOS or
whatever may change to fix one problem but perhaps introduce another).
Also, you might wish to contact 3COM directly to see if they have access
to more current information than I have.
Integral net cards built-in to notebooks seemed to be a rarity, and I don't
know for sure if any of those few which do have them will work...
} Serial port with a top speed of at least 19.2kbps.
I didn't check any actual throughputs myself, but I imagine this should
be doable. If you do get one of those elusive techies on the phone, ask
hir what type of UARTs they're using.
Do note that the standard for notebooks seems to be 1 serial port (instead
of the usual 2 found on traditional desktop machines).
} Looking through the current PC Magazine, I found these possibilities:
}
} AST Ascentia 800N or 900N
} Everex STEP Note DX4
} CTX EzBook
} Gateway Colorbook DX2/50
} IBM Thinkpad 360
} IBM Thinkpad 755
} NEC Versa M
} WinBook XP
} Zenith Z-Star EX
}
} If anyone has experience running ODT 3.0 or SCO Unix 3.2.4 with X I'd
} appreciate hearing about good or bad experiences with these laptops or
} any others that fit the bill.
As a SCO employee I can't play favorites, though I will say that the AST
Ascentia is "known to work" (though there was some problem with PCMCIA
port support when more than 16MB RAM was installed, but I think this is
now fixed). A lot of reviewers think that IBM has the quintessential
unit (though these are generally not UNIX-type tests), and other close
SCO partners like Compaq et al make fine products too.
Try calling 1-800-SCO-UNIX (or send mail to in...@sco.com) to see if there
is any up-to-the-minute info that the presales folks have that I do not.
Also, it might not be unreasonable to assume that those OEMs which have
worked closely with SCO in the past to produce (EFS or AHS) drivers for
new hardware might not be working with SCO on notebook issues now. But
I don't have any "inside" information to share, so your guess is as good
as mine in this regard... %'/
In addition, it can't hurt if folks call those OEM's and ask 'em if they
support SCO on their notebooks. If I were a hardware vendor, I'd pay a
lot more attention to a particular niche if I knew that there was some
real demand (i.e. revenue) in that market sector...
Finally, there is a company that specializes in a complete solution for
SCO notebooks. Last I knew they were the only ones who'd produced a
PCMCIA driver for a modem (as well as having their own ethernet card
driver). I haven't used one of their systems personally, but thought
I'd pass on their contact info in any case:
Sio Technology Inc.
380 Lafayette Street Suite 304
New York, NY 10003
(212) 473-6910
(212) 473-3717
sa...@siotech.com
} I know that this question gets asked fairly frequently in one form or
} another, but the portable market seems to change so fast that the stuff
} people used six months ago might not be available today.
Aye, there's the rub.
} None of these models is on the hardware compatibility lists that I
} snarfed from ftp.sco yesterday.
Hope this helps.
} Thanks in advance.
You're more than welcome.
Regards,
Tim
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 3COM Etherlink III model 589 adapter operates in computers
containing the PCMCIA Release 2.01, Type II or Type III slots in
machines having an Intel PCMCIA controller. Check with your
computer manufacturer to verify the above.
The list of machines compatible with the 3Com589 as provided
by 3COM Corporation is as follows:
AST PowerExec 3/25SL
AST PowerExec 4/25SL
Compaq Concerto
Dell 320SLi
Dell 325SLi
Gateway 2000 Colorbook
IBM PS/2 E
IBM Thinkpad 350
IBM Thinkpad 720
IBM Thinkpad 750
NCR 3170
NEC UltraLite Versa
Toshiba 1900C
Toshiba 4500
Toshiba 4600
Zenith Z-Lite 320L
The PCMCIA adapter is not compatible with:
GRiD Convertible
HP Omnibook 300
Toshiba 3300
/ * Senior Engineer, SESI
* /_ _ _ _ * . * (904)884-2442 or DSN 579-2442
/_/ (_(/_/<_/<_/_/)_ * The person who won't read has
(_/ jha...@epsilon.afsoc.af.mil * no advantage over one who can't.
John Stahl
NO: I could not get a IDE CD-ROM to work so I could install from it.
I used a PCMCIA Adaptec SCSI Adapter. Runs SCSI Hard Drive & CD-ROM