(relatively) cheap Unix boxes summary
Larry McVoy
boxen. I've followed up on some of these. My personal decision is to wait
until I can afford a 68020 w/ 4 serials, 2 ||'s, ethernet, 4meg, color graph,
200meg disk & 1/2 tape. However, I wish to be self sufficient. If you want
a nice cheap portable Unix Box, I'd recommend the Symetrics (I hear it's
only $6,000 w/ scsi & 2meg but no ethernet. Unconfirmed). I have my doubts
as to its' speed, I'd suspect an AT&T Unix pc is faster.
Enjoy,
Larry
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: uwvax!seismo!harvard!lownlab!hscfvax!pavlov
Received:
To: geowhiz!larry
Subject: Re: Inexpensive Unix box?
References: <2...@geowhiz.UUCP>
Take a look at HP's 9000 series 300. Don't know how close you can come
to $15k. But the Series 300 has a great growth path (from 68010 to
68020, via board swap-out), and then to series 500, which will approach
and often exceed vax-780 with multiple cpus (system will accept 3).
System is very reliable and support is great - in our area, at least.
We have had what is considered an inordinate number of failures - 4 in 14
months, of which 3 were in tty interface cards and cables. Had one software
crash - after we rewrote the login to make it more secure.
greg pavlov
fstrf
amherst, n.y.
716-837-4000
From: Charlie C. Kim <uwvax!topaz!columbia!cucca!cck>
To: geowhiz!larry
Diskless Sun III's (blazing speed) run about 13K.
uVax II - well, the VaxStation II is 26.5K (uVax II cpu, 1MB memory
(or is it 2?), rd52+controller, bitmap controller, deqna-ethernet
interface), the uVax II CPU is 14.5K (all list).
PC-AT with Xenix isn't too bad (price is good).
<< There is a SysV.2 release available for $400 >>
From: geowhiz!uwvax!seismo!utah-cs!stride!stride1!dunlap
Well, I really dont' classify as a Salesman, Technical Support Engineer is
close enough though...
Please pass this on to your friend.
The Stride 440 or 460 would work for you. The only things that are
not EXACTLY your specification are right now we only have System V
( though we've stuck lots of neat berzerkly things in there) and there
is only one parallel port (you did say you'd prefer more than one,
right?).
If you want more information, send a note to me with your mailing
address, etc. or phone Stride at the number below. I can also give
you a guest account on the Technical Support Department's Stride 460
if you'd like, just drop me a note with your full name, address, and
day-time phone and I'll set it up. We don't give out accounts to
anybody with out that info, and there is no "guest" login.
From: uwvax!seismo!hao!fred!childs (David Childs)
I will probably seem like a sales person, but here is my cents worth.
I presently work for Integrated Solutions, (an NBI company). IS has
a VME system that sounds like it will suit your friends needs. In fact
IS has several VME systems. I am not sure what current prices are for
the different machines, (color, 68020, etc. cost more than others). The
System V is a graphics workstation with >1200X1000 pixels, multi-window,
icons, etc, running full BSD4.2. I would suggest you compare an IS system
with a SUN if you want to check functionality and speed. I think you
will be happy with what you see.
I am currently working on an NBI U! technical workstation which runs the
same software as the IS VME, but pixel resolution is 1000X780, and has
a proprietary bus. Both systems come with at least 40mB disk.
As for service, NBI has been rated number one is service over everyone in the
computer business. If you wish to get actual numbers I would suggest calling
Integrated Solutions at 408 943-1902.
From: uwvax!topaz!root (Charles Root)
I think you could configure a Sun 2 for under $15K. The diskless
machine is $8900 list with 2Mb. I don't think the 71Mb disk is more
than $6K. Check with your Sun salesman.
From: john chapman <uwvax!topaz!packard!ihnp4!watmath!watcgl!jchapman>
I get the feeling your friend wants an off the shelf box in which
case this may be no help to you; on the other hand you seem to know
something about hardware so maybe....
National sells a board (the ICM3216) with:
32106, MMU, ICU, FPP all @ 10Mhz
1Mb (expandable to 4Mb by changing one jumper and replacing the
4164's by 41256's) of no wait state memory.
4 serial ports
1 paralell port (comes configured as a centronics output)
time of day clock
SCSI interface
all you need add is power, box and a scsi controller & drive
price: about 2800 US$, 1000 US$ if you are somehow affiliated with
an eduacational institution.
I've been checking this board out and it seems good (posted a
request and I'm about to send a summary). Most people seem
to think it's about the equivalent of a 10mhz 68010 or a vax750.
National will supply SysV and some people have 4.2 on it.
From: uwvax!seismo!allegra!tektronix!hammer.TEK!paulg
To: orca!tektronix!uw-beaver!cornell!vax135!houxm!mhuxt!mhuxr!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!cmcl2!seismo!uwvax!geowhiz!larry
Subject: Re: Inexpensive Unix box?
In-reply-to: your article <2...@geowhiz.UUCP>
Look into the Tektronix 6130. A small desk-top unit, it runs an enhansed
version of Berkley 4.2 (over 2,000 bug fixes!) that includes Sys 5 source
code compatiblity. It uses the 32016 from National and includes a totaly
new Virtual Memory sub-system that is greatly inhansed from the of 4.2.
A realy great box and a supper Unix.
From: uwvax!seismo!allegra!tektronix!tekecs.TEK!timk
Tektronix has two workstations you may be interested in (I'm biased of
course, since I work at Tek and work on the 6130, but try it yourself
and see what you think).
Tek 6130 - Uses the NS32016 CPU. Has 2 RS-232 connections
standard (more can be added with option boards),
LAN connection, and a GPIB connection. Comes with
a 40 or 80 MB hard-disk and a 5.25-inch floppy.
I've had one under my desk for a few months now.
Myself and one other person have been doing
software development on the box and have been real
happy with it.
Tekstation AT - This is an IBM PC-AT that has been souped up to
run CAE applications.
I haven't played with this one, but I've heard you
can run UTek and MS-DOS concurrently.
Both workstations run UTek, an enhanced version of 4.2BSD. UTek
also has features that make it compatible with System V.
I'm not sure on the prices, but I know you can buy one of these
systems for less than $15,000 ($10,000 is probably more like it).
You mention service. That is one thing Tek is noted for.
<< Name & path deleted as requested >>
NCR TOWER 1632 fits the bill price wise, w/ sys V. The C compiler
under 2.0.1 sys V sucks rocks though. The -O phase is just AWFUL.
Really buggy. Rogue takes like 4.5 hours to compile, against
25 minutes on a Sun. NCR service is good. It has eight users
plus two other ports which could be used if needed, the console
and a reserved dial in line.
NCR knows about the compiler problem. I wait.... Service
is pretty good. Performance is pretty good.
From: uwvax!seismo!ut-sally!shell!graffiti!peter
If Sun is out of your price range, so is Integrated Solutions. They make the
same sort of machines as Sun, albeit with a little more value for money.
Megadata (phone 516-589-6800) is advertising a UNIX box for "under $5000"
with UNIX SV, a 26 Meg winnie, a floppy, 1 MB RAM, and 2 RS232 ports. They claim
expandibility up to 8 users and 40 Meg disk.
From: sei...@hammer.UUCP (Snoopy)
Subject: Re: Inexpensive Unix box?
Reply-To: tekecs!doghouse.TEK!snoopy
We had a similar problem with the 6130, which uses the WD2010.
The 2010 (and I suspect, the 1010) has a "misfeature", which
bites you if you try and get too fancy with the disk driver.
There's an easy fix, but you need source for the disk driver,
which I am assuming you don't have.
Add the Tek 6130. The base system includes: NS 32016 running at 10MHz,
1 MB RAM, floating point unit, 20MB wini, 2 rs232 ports, ethernet, GPIB.
It runs Utek, which is an enhanced version of 4.2, with some sys V things
added, and a distributed file system. A system with 2 additional rs232
ports and 2 parallel printer ports is under $11k.
I'll be posting an announcement to net.announce.newprod soon
about the 'S' systems, which are bundled turnkey systems,
and release 2.2, which includes shared memory and user configurable
kernel.
Snoopy
tektronix!tekecs!doghouse.TEK!snoopy
From: Rusty Haddock <uwvax!seismo!ut-sally!waltz!haddock>
The last I heard Altos had a 68000/Sys3(?) box but was only selling
to OEMs. Other than that they have 80?86 boxes running Xenix but
this would not satisfy the first feature desired. Also, when I've
worked on Altos' computers their Xenix was buggier than a Roach
Motel and their support.... (what support???). My recommendation
for this company is "just plain avoid".
> o Opus (320xx, SysV in a PC slot)
Good board although it's running Sys V. We have a number of them
here at TI (Dallas area) and have been quite pleased with them.
CKermit runs reasonably well on them. We've been trying to convince
them to port 4.2 (they have the sources but a lack of people-power).
> o Sun (Out of reach price wise?)
If you've got an ethernet LAN laying around the Sun-2/50 ($8900) can
boot from should do the trick. For this price you get a 10-MHz
68010, no wait-state memory (2-Meg?), a nice, large B/W, bitblt
display - a disk-less workstation. Add about $6K for their
"shoebox" which lets a Sun-2 run standalone (i.e. it has a
winchester with(?) tape-cartridge backup). For an additional $4000
you can get a Sun-3/50 that is the same as the -2/50 'cept it has a
68020 running ~16-MHz which is usually 2X faster than a
VAX-11/780!!! Another goodie is that Sun runs a version of 4.2 and,
with their recent agreement with AT&T, will be putting 4.2
networking and other features into SysV (available 3Q, '86?) along
with some 4.3 features. [Check with Sun about my (?)'ed items]
o uVaxII (also expensive?)
$18,400 should get you a minimal uVaxII. At least DEC support which
is more readily available than most other companys. Runs Ultrix - a
4.2 with a number of bugs fixes although some have been
introduced(?) [but we haven't run across them that I know of].
================================================================
Rusty Haddock ARPA: Haddock%TI-...@CSNet-Relay.ARPA
POB 226015 M/S 238 CSNET: Haddock@Ti-CSL
Texas Instruments Inc. USENET: {ut-sally,convex!smu,texsun,rice}!waltz!haddock
From: uwvax!topaz!pyramid!greipa!paul (Paul A. Vixie)
The Symmetric 375 is on your list - so you know about it, probably more than
I do. I used one at a trade show for 30 minutes and took their flyer home
with me. In case you don't have specifics, here's what I remember about it:
NS32032 (32 bits internal+external)
2Mb ram
4 serial ports
1 parallel port
1 ethernet port
1 floppy disk (1.2Mb, 5.25in)
1 hard disk (sasi/scsi, 40Mb)
1 hard disk expansion port (sasi/scsi, whatever you want)
Genix 4.1 (4.1BSD + some 4.2 enhancements)
The guy who ported Genix to this box is an ex-national-semi person. He's
very**10 sharp, and in fact did much of the original "wish list for
software people" when the chip was being planned.
For me, the NS32000 is the best thing going. And this box is the best
machine I've seen that uses it. Goes for $9-10K. They are in San Jose.
From: uwvax!seismo!lll-crg!l5!gnu (John Gilmore)
The cheapest Sun you can get is a Sun2/50-2 (2 meg desktop station)
for $8900, plus a 71MB disk+60MB cartridge tape for $8500, plus $450
for tapes and manuals. Total about $18K. For another $4K you can
get a Sun-3 (68020, about 3x as fast). AFter working on them for
almost 4 years, they're my own Unix system of choice. (I just bought
a Sun-3/160 which I installed yesterday and am now typing on.)
Is it worth it? Your decision -- but it can do a lot more work, and
a lot more conveniently, than any other system in its price range.
From: uwvax!seismo!allegra!tektronix!mako.TEK!johnco
One system which you did not mention is the Tektronix 6130, a multiuser,
multitasking box running UTEK, a cross between 4.2bsd and SystemV. All in
all I have found it to be a VERY good box, being reliable, fast, and
expandable. You probably are aware of Tek's outstanding service reputation.
The 6130 will support 4 RS-232 ports, a dual Hardcopy port, GPIB, LAN, etc,
AND is 32016 based. The price may be in line with what you are thinking about,
but I am not in a position to say for sure. I use one or more of these
systems every day, and I love it.
From: uwvax!topaz!packard!ihnp4!nsc!jon (Jon Ryshpan)
. . .
I saw the Symmetric box at a trade show not too long ago, and was very
impressed. I have marked your list of desired options with what I
remember the box as having.
Someday someone is going to bring out a UN*X box for no more than the
cost of an XT. I don't see any reason why a uniboard system with 2 meg
of memory and a 40 meg disk running BSD4.2 couldn't be made to sell for
about $5,000 to a mass market right now. This is bound to happen
fairly soon; but no-one seems to want to risk it right now.
Jonathan Ryshpan {decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4}!nsc!jon nsc!j...@decwrl.ARPA
From: uwvax!topaz!packard!ihnp4!aicchi!mdb
Larry
In response to your query re NS32032 machines: I am currently
using the DSI-32 board. I *have* the Unix SVR2 manuals (AT&T manuals
with addendums for NS Series 32000 (A validated port) and some more
addendums from ZAIAZ, the company which is doing the port for DSI).
The Unix should be forthcomming Real Soon Now... Beta test in Dec.,
official release: ??/??/??. From talking with the people at ZAIAZ,
vmunix is working fine now, and they are validating the tools.
As far as the DSI-32 goes, Definicon has been very helpful in
setting up their board for my particular application. It is a reasonable
hardware design (tho' I'm no expert :-) as far as I can tell, tho' there
are a few small problems. Nothing, however, to prevent it from working
as advertised.
If you would like more info, drop me a note...
Mike Blackwell
From: uwvax!topaz!packard!ihnp4!hpfcla!hpfcls!rml
Since you said you're willing to hear from salespeople, I suppose
replies from other employees of vendors are also acceptable.
Hewlett-Packard is not on the list of vendors you mention, but we have
two products which may fit your needs, the Integral PC and the 9000
model 310. I'm also including info on a third, the model 320, although
you couldn't get a suitable configuration within the $15K price you
mention, because it is actually just an upgrade of the 310. I'll
summarize how all three fit with the requirements you list:
o 32 architecture (at least internally, a 16bit bus is acceptable).
The IPC uses a 68000 (8MHz), the 310 uses a 68010 (10MHz), and the 320
uses a 68020 (16.7MHz).
o Unix, preferably 4.2, but SysV is better than MS-DOS :-)
All support HP-UX, which is an extended version of System V. All of
the System V kernel calls and C library calls are available. Commands
are mostly System V, although some are still System III based. Not
as many commands are supported on the IPC as on the 310 and 320. A
number of 4.2 features are also supported (eg. csh, directory library).
They also support a reliable signal mechanism which differs from 4.2 only to
the extent necessary to be compatible with System V and older systems; the
4.2 interface can be easily emulated on top of it. The 310 and 320 file
system is based on the 4.2 file system (with its performance improvements).
HP-UX also includes many additional features, which I will not list.
o At least 4 serial ports, 6 would be better.
All of these systems support optional RS232 interfaces which can meet
this need. The 310 and 320 include one serial port in the standard
product, and support a 4-port MUX card as well as several single-port
interfaces. The IPC supports a single-port interface. In addition, the
IPC has a built-in bit-map display and keyboard; bit-map displays are
available for the 310 and 320 as well (one per system). If you want to
support 4-6 users, there may be licensing problems with the IPC; I know
that the 310 and 320 allow 16-user licenses.
o 1 or more parallel ports (laser printer).
All of these systems include an HP-IB (IEEE 488) interface, and support
additional HP-IB and general-purpose 16-bit parallel ports. The only
laser printer currently supported by HP on these systems is the LaserJet,
which uses a serial port.
o Either a reliable supplier f peripherals or a well known bus
(multi, VME, etc).
HP has an excellent reputaion as a reliable supplier of peripherals.
o Availibilty of solid service highly desirable (no brand X).
Ditto.
o Price tag of less than $15,000 (it is almost christmas :-)
These prices (should be reasonably up-to-date, but I don't guarantee
them). I've noticed in adding them up that none of the
currently supported HP-UX (release 5.0) configurations (with multi-user
license, 55M disc, etc.) is under $15K. However, a number of the
unbundled systems with single-user licenses and/or smaller discs (
release 5.1, available in early '86, orerable now) are. Also, these are
list prices. If this is to be ordered by your school (you don't
mention), discounts may apply.
Sorry for the volume here, but this doesn't cover nearly all the possible
configurations.
IPC:
box with HP-UX in ROM, 512K RAM, 3.5" floppy, HP-IB,
EL display, keyboard, ThinkJet printer, 2 slots 4,995
C compiler package 295
HP-UX development systems (more commands) 495
I don't have prices for interface cards, RAM, or
expander boxes.
310/320:
310 box with CPU, 1M RAM, RS232, HP-IB, 4 slots 4,750
320 box with CPU, MC68881, 1M RAM, HP-IB, RS232, 11,800
cache, 2 slots
512x400 12" monochrome bit-map display 325
(3 other bit-map displays available, with color and/or
higher resolution)
keyboard for use with bit-map display 225
1M RAM 2,000
4 port RS232 MUX (1 port with modem lines) 600
HP-UX 5.0 16-user bundled system 4,000
(includes, Fortran, Pascal, upgrade to 5.1, et. al.
5.1 available in early '86)
HP-UX 5.1 single-user minimal system 350
HP-UX 5.1 multi-user C development system 1,440
8-slot expander 1,900
DMA controller (performance enhancement) 500
High speed disc interface (performance enhancement 605
over built-in HP-IB)
Hard discs:
Any of these can be used with any of the above systems.
The IPC does not require any external disc, although it
is a big performance aid for program development and
similar tasks. Currently the 310 and 320 are supported
only with a 55M ore larger disc; the unbundled systems
will be supported with discs from 20M.
10M winchester 1,690
10M winchester with 3.5" floppy 1,940
20M winchester 2,390
20M winchester with 3.5" floppy 2,740
55M winchester 8,500
55M winchester with .25" tape cartridge 10,500
132M winchester 13,780
132M winchester with .25" tape cartridge 17,350
404M 25,700
I can supply more info, as can any local HP sales office. I surmise
from your address that you're at the Univ. of Wisconsin, in which case
the nearest sales office is:
150 S. Sunny Slope Road
Brookfield, WI 53005
(414) 784-8800
From: uwvax!topaz!packard!ihnp4!tektronix!orstcs!richardt
At last reckoning, the DSI-32 unix was still being ported, and
they don't expect to see it before summer. Note that the Definicon
still requires that you have a PC-clone of some variety.
As an alternative, I would suggest the Helix. It's a 68000 based (although
they should now be shipping the 68010 versions) OS-9/68k box, runs for
about $1500 with terminal, floppy, 10meg hard disk, c compiler ("good" old
cc), OS-9, a close relative of vi, and a few other fun things. It is
also the only micro to date which runs a true version of rogue, if that
means anything to you.
Stepping Off the Soapbox:
{hp-pcd | tektronix} !orstcs!richardt
Richard Threadgill
1230 NW 23rd #7 - SnailMail address recently changed
Corvallis Or
From: uwvax!topaz!pyramid!greipa!paul (Paul A. Vixie)
No, I have no benchmarks for the thing. I played with it for awhile, and
their advertizing claim "as fast as a VAX 750" is quite correct. For a
box H 8in X W 13in X D 12in, the thing *screams*.
It may well be 4x slower than a 680xx. For me this is no great shake
since I am one of those religious fanatics who actually cares about how
a CPU architechture looks. The 680xx is a heap, and 'nuff said 'bout that.
Also, consider that the thing has page-based virtual memory and ANSI
floating point (two more chips, granted, but the three chips were designed
together so there is almost no support circuitry to make them work).
An address?
Symmetric Computers
(408) 279-0700
1620 Oakland Road
San Jose, CA 95131
From: ma...@orca.UUCP (Mark Mehall)
The Tektronix 6130 has the following features:
o 32 bit architecture with 16 bit external bus (NS32016 based)
o Unix 4.2 with Sys V features added
o 2 serial ports standard, up to 14 ports are supported
o Dual parallel interface available
o Peripherals available: color graphics terminals, dot matrix graphics
printers, color inkjet copiers, graphics tablets, streamer tape
drives and other devices supported.
o Solid service available from Tektronix in a variety of terms.
o 1 megabyte memory standard, expandable up to 7 megabytes.
o 20 megabyte winchester standard, 40 and 80 megabyte drives available.
o Local area network (Ethernet) with Distributed File System standard.
o General Purpose Interface Bus standard.
o Excellent documentation and manuals set.
o Base price of $9,500 (U.S.)
o Educational discounts available.
o Other interfaces available: High speed RS-232 (up to 38.4K baud), DMA
RS-422/RS-232 (up to 400K bits/sec.), Small Computer Standard
Interface (SCSI), High speed GPIB (up to 250K bytes/sec.), and
dual centronics interfaces.
o Plot 10 graphics software: GKS, CORE, TCS and STI libraries.
o Compilers: C, FORTRAN 77, PASCAL, new ANSI BASIC with GKS graphics.
o Applications software: 20/20 spreadsheet, XED wordprocessor,
MINITAB statistical analysis.
If you would like more information on the 6130, please contact the local
Tektronix office or drop me a note.
Mark Mehall uucp: {ucbvax,decvax,ihnp4}!
Tektronix Inc. tektronix!orca!markm
P.O. Box 1000 60-770 CSnet: orca!markm@tek
Wilsonville, Oregon 97070 ARPAnet: orca!markm.tek@csnet-relay
Phone (503) 685-2275 FAX: (503) 682-3408 GRP III, II Auto
From: m...@houxl.UUCP (M.HARRISON)
AT&T is today announcing the following product at Wescon in San Francisco.
In response to numerous requests, I am posting this
info to the net. Questions and comments
are welcome, direct them to houxl!mlh.
Please call 1-800-372-2447 for data sheets, etc.
Lastly, I've tried to exclude any "media-hype", just technical
facts here, so I hope you'll not flame too hotly!
(I'm not even acknowledging the efforts of our marvelous design team!!)
Marc Harrison
AT&T UNIX MICROSYSTEM
WE 321SB VMEbus SINGLE BOARD COMPUTER
AT&T's WE 321SB is a high-performance VMEbus single-board computer
based upon AT&T's UNIX Microsystem. The VMEbus' open architecture,
supported by over 200 vendors worldwide, enables a user to select
from over 1000 compatible products. Systems can thus be readily
tailored to meet the needs of individual applications.
A certified version of AT&T's UNIX System V is available for the WE
321SB, facilitating the development of high-performance open
architecture UNIX systems. Software drivers are included for a
number of popular third-party VMEbus products.
HARDWARE
The WE 321SB includes AT&T's WE 32100 CPU, WE 32101 MMU, WE 32106
Math Acceleration Unit 32 bit VLSI devices; one megabyte of DRAM
with parity, four JEDEC EPROM/ROM sockets, two RS-232C ports, three
16 bit counter/timers, an interrupt controller, and VMEbus
interface. Initially the board will be offered operating at 14 MHz.
Two different packages are available, the first includes EPROMs
containing system self-test and a resident debug monitor, the other
includes system self-test and a disk boot program. The WE 321SB has
been implemented using AT&T's advanced surface-mount capability to
provide a product with an extraordinary size to function ratio. The
board measures 160 by 233 mm. (6.3 by 9.2 inches), the standard
double-height Eurocard size.
On-board memory management supports a full 32 bit virtual and
physical address space. The result is a linear 32 bit address space
as seen by the programmer. The WE 32101 MMU also includes on-chip
logic for supporting automatic miss processing.
The WE 32106 Math Acceleration Unit provides both floating-point and
decimal high-speed arithmetic, facilitating applications such as
high accuracy robotics. Operating as a co-processor to the CPU, it
works to off-load mathematically intensive operations from the CPU.
SOFTWARE
AT&T is offering a highly tuned release of UNIX System V to
complement the WE 321SB.
The UNIX Operating System was developed within AT&T Bell
Laboratories during the 1970s. UNIX System V has been available
since 1982 and has since received worldwide acceptance as a
standardized product. System V Release 2.1, which is being
initially offered with the WE 321SB, will include AT&T's latest
enhancements, such as demand paging, record locking and simplified
system administration.
AT&T's UNIX System V for the WE 321SB includes device drivers for a
selected set of third-party VME products. Supported interfaces
include ST-506, SA-450, SMD, serial I/O and IEEE-488. Additional
drivers will be added by AT&T as new VMEbus products are introduced.
In addition, drivers may be developed by users, following the rules
set forth within AT&T's System V Interface Definition and the WE
321SB OEM Porting Guide. In addition, the WE 321SB includes full
hardware and software documentation to aid in applications
development.
The WE 321SB is both object file and floppy disk format compatible
with our 3B2 computer line. Thus, the many hundreds of applications
and language packages available for the 3B2 computers will execute
directly on a VME system based upon the WE 321SB and our version of
UNIX System V, providing immediate access to the largest base of
UNIX applications software available today.
From: Phil Cohen <uwvax!SRI-AI.ARPA!topaz!PCOHEN>
SYMMETRIC S/375 COMES STANDARD WITH:
NS 32016, 10 mhz, no waits, floating point and memory mgmt chips, 2
mb, (16mb virtual/process), (all on one 6 X 10" board), 50 mb (85mb,
or 140mb optional) (unformatted, I think) disks, 1 mb floppy,
ethernet, TCP/IP, 4 rs232, 1 parallel port, 4.2 UNIX and Sys V,
ALSO COMES STANDARD WITH:
C, Fortran77, Pascal, Prolog (5-10Klips, interpreted), FranzLisp,
CRL (A frame representation language), APL, Basic, LaTex,
Emacs (probably Gnu), ...
Price: $9950 ($8950 PREPAID).
Lastly, it's PORTABLE (< 25lbs., comes with handle).
They're located in San Jose, CA (408-279-0700).
--
Larry McVoy
-----------
Arpa: mc...@rsch.wisc.edu
Uucp: {seismo, ihnp4}!uwvax!geowhiz!geophiz!larry
"Just remember, wherever you go -- there you are."
-Buckaroo Banzai
Bill Lee
boxes fit the criteria. However, most of the boxes mentioned don't fit
into my idea of cheap. If you are looking for a cheap Unix box for
personal use, here are a few possibilities.
$3250 - Cyb Systems Workmate I
8MHz M68000, 1MB memory (512K no wait state, 512K Multibus mem),
26MB Tulin disk (1/2 height), 2 RS232 serial ports, Unix System V
(Uniplus port), and Cyb Reference Manual. Options are replace 26MB disk
with 40MB Tulin ($300) and replace 8MHz 68000 with 10 MHz 68000 ($250).
4 slot Multibus card cage.
$3850 Cyb Systems Workmate II
10 MHz 68000, 1MB memory( same as above), 36MB CDC Wren, 10
RS232 serial ports, Unix and Cyb manual (see above).
6 slot Multibus card cage.
$4200 Cyb Systems Workmanager II
10 MHz 68000, 1MB memory (same as above), 36 MB CDC Wren, 10
RS232 serial ports, Unix and Cyb manual (see above).
9 slot Multibus card cage.
These are all desk top configurations, with a footprint slightly larger
than an IBM PC. CPU board is a SUN derivative (not SUN Microsystems, licensed
from Andy). It is \fIvery\fR similar to the SUN-1 CPU with the exception
that it will only support 512K of no wait state memory. Additional memory
is Multibus memory which will induce wait states. For a single user system
though, you may not get out in Multibus memory too often. These machines
are somewhat limited and are end of production machines. I believe they
come with a reasonable warranty and may include a 1 year software support
warranty (free upgrades, bug fixes etc within the first year). Check with
Cyb Systems though to be sure. Unix is complete and includes most "Berkeley
enhancements". Cshell is included. I know that a number of these machines
were sold with 3COM Ethernet controllers and 4.2 networking code. They
support rlogin, rsh, etc. and work fine on an enet with SUNs and Vaxes, etc.
Check with Cyb for network availability.
Additional Caveats. These prices are COD. I don't know who pays freight.
Support may not be very good but these are end of production machines and
most of the problems have been worked out. Also available as an option
is a 12.5MHz 68010 CPU board that supports up to 4MB of no wait state
memory (in addition to Multibus memory). The 12.5 MHz CPU board (with 1
or 2 MB of fast memory) is $1250 (I think). The 8 volume Unix manual set
(the Unisoft set) is $200. It is fairly standard so you could probably
get along with a System V set but you might want the Unisoft set for
things like phys(2), socket(2), etc.
Disclaimer: Cyb Systems is a former employer but I seriously doubt that
this posting or any resulting business will benefit me in any way. I
suppose there is a possibility of a free lunch if they flush their
inventory due to this posting but I don't think so. This posting does
not constitute an endorsement on my part or any claim of suitability
for any purpose. For futher information, contact:
Cyb Systems, Inc.
2215 W. Braker Lane
Austin, Texas 78723
(512) 835-2266
Bill Lee
Edge Computer Corp
Austin, Texas
mot!edge!lee