23 Oct
1999
23 Oct
'99
7:17 a.m.
<> I also believe the DLT is helical scan versus CompacTape's linear scan
<> technology.
No they are all linear. Helical scan is used for some 8mm and most 4mm.
What seperates DLT (and the TK50/70 forrunners) is the tape is wider and
high bit packing.
<It's still linear. That's what the "L" in DLT stands for. For
example
<ECMA Standard 286 defines DLT 6 as having 208 linear tracks.
Correct.
<This is alleged to allow for much better tape robustness, since it doesn't
<get beaten to death with every pass. This is why Seagate, HP, and IBM
<have joined forces to develop a new LTO (Linear Tape Open) standard:
Having used it and am using it for backup it's reputation for reliability
is real. It's the backup of choice for a lot of stuff.
Allison
24 Oct
24 Oct
11:10 a.m.
New subject: gauging interest in VAX 6000-530
Greetings
I will likely have the above system coming available by the end of the
year. I would like to determine if there are any interested parties on
this list. The adoptive person would need to be available to pick it up
in Appleton, WI (near Green Bay) on relatively short notice: within a week
or two of its coming available.
What will be available is basically the box as described below from the
console printout. As you see it is fully equipped with 512MB of RAM. The
star coupler and various CI widgets are not available other than the
machine's own CIBCA. Also, it does not have any directly attached DSSI or
SDI disks. The built in TK70 tape drive for console media has been
removed although I am pretty sure I still have a TK50 tape with console
media on it.
It runs and currently boots VMS5.5-2 from the CI.
Let me know if you have room for this beast.
F E D C B A 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 NODE #
A A . . M M M M . P P P . . TYP
o o . . + + + + . + + + . . STF
. . . . . . . . . E E B . . BPD
. . . . . . . . . + + + . . ETF
. . . . . . . . . E E B . . BPD
. . . . . . . . . + . . + . + . XBI D +
. . . . . . . . . + . + . . + . XBI E +
. . . . A4 A3 A2 A1 . . . . . . ILV
. . . . 128 128 128 128 . . . . . . 512 Mb
Console = V3.00 RBDs = V3.00 EEPROM = 2.00/3.04 SN = AG93307590
?002D For Secondary Processor 5
?0054 EEPROM revision mismatch. Secondary processor has revision 2.00/3.00
Type Rev
3+ KA65A (8080) 000B
4+ KA65A (8080) 000B
5+ KA65A (8080) 000B
7+ MS65A (4001) 0084
8+ MS65A (4001) 0084
9+ MS65A (4001) 0084
A+ MS65A (4001) 0084
D+ DWMBA/A (2001) 0002
E+ DWMBA/A (2001) 0002
XBI D
1+ DWMBA/B (2107) 000A
3+ DMB32 (0109) 210B
6+ TBK70 (410B) 0307
XBI E
1+ DWMBA/B (2107) 000A
4+ CIBCA-B (0108) 42C2
6+ DEBNI (0118) 0400
Current Primary: 3
/NOENABLED-
/NOVECTOR_ENABLED-
/NOPRIMARY-
23 Oct
23 Oct
7:30 p.m.
New subject: gauging interest in VAX 6000-530
On Sun, 24 Oct 1999, Paul Thompson wrote:
I will likely have the above system coming available
by the end of the
year. I would like to determine if there are any interested parties on
this list. The adoptive person would need to be available to pick it up
in Appleton, WI (near Green Bay) on relatively short notice: within a week
or two of its coming available.
Let me know if you have room for this beast.
I don't know much about Vaxen, or DEC anything for that matter, but I'd
like to learn. How big is it? How old is it? How's the loading
facilities? What sort of power is required?
I'm 150 miles straight south of Appleton (near Chicago), so if it's good,
I might be able to make room.
Richard Schauer
rws(a)enteract.com
8:11 p.m.
New subject: gauging interest in VAX 6000-530
----- Original Message -----
From: Richard W. Schauer <rws(a)enteract.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Sent: Sunday, October 24, 1999 2:00 PM
Subject: Re: gauging interest in VAX 6000-530
I don't know much about Vaxen, or DEC anything for
that matter, but I'd
like to learn. How big is it? How old is it? How's the loading
facilities? What sort of power is required?
1. Big. Think refridgerator. Weight is around 500lbs. If you need to know
exactly,
I'll dig out a manual with all the dimensions weights etc.
2. Probably built circa 1988-91
3. Since it doesn't have a Disk controller (the poster said this is a CI
only machine)
it can only be netbooted, either over the CI from a HSC50/70 etc or via
ethernet from
another Vax that is configured to be a MOP bootserver.
The TK70 tape is bootable also.
Currently the only OS's that it will run are VMS and Ultrix. A net-bsd port
is being considered
at the moment. There is a hobbyist license (free) available for VMS via
DECUS.
Ultrix is a proprietary/commercial/ugly Unix variant.
So to use it effectively, you'd need to install an internal disc controller
or a HSx server of some kind.
(I don't recommend getting a HSC50 or 70, they are medium size filing
cabinet sized
gizmos and require a passive hub (star coupler) the same size before they
can
be used in anger. The HSC uses about the same amount of power as the vax,
and is 3 phase, though it's fairly trivial to convert to single phase.)
HSJ's are smaller
but more expensive. Never had one to play with....
SCSI, DSSI and SDI controllers are available for these, so it would be
possible
to obtain say, a s/h BI bus scsi controller, and mount the drives inside the
main
cabinet powered from the system supplies. (Trust me, they can handle it)
There are both Digital and 3rd party controllers available. (I have some 3rd
party ones)
If you want heavy metal, an SDI controller will talk to 4 drives, from RA8x
series (don't
recommend these, big, heavy (64kg), noisy and unreliable) to RA7x series,
(House bricks
in the size/weight dept - but reliable enough & 12v/5v powered. RA72's are
1gb and make
nice system disks.) RA9x are ok, though a bit hungrier (mains powered) and
really need a
SAxxx cabinet to mount in. Weigh in around 30kg each.
Add terminal/s and a network connection and you have a very nice, fairly
quick SMP system.
We use a 6000-440 as a web/ftp/mail/pop3 & proxy server.
Performance :
---- Mariah chip series (1991) - Decimal SID =
301989888 --------+------------
12 | 2 | 1202|13-58 | XBCD | VAX 6000 model 510-560 |
Calypso/XMP
Around 13 VUPS per cpu, (1 VUP ~ 1 MIPS) on this scale a 530 (3 cpu version)
is good for around
39 VUPS, depending on how well the SMP works for that app..
4. 3 phase. However it can be modded to single phase without too much
drama. Actual power requirements are only around 500-600w depending
on the board fit etc. FWIW a 6000-300 with 1 cpu uses 1.9A @ 240vac.
As "Big" boxes go, it's probably the easiest to run in a home user
environment, especially in the power
consumption department. I have an 8530 at home as well, but am not
contemplating running it at present.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Geoff Roberts
Computer Systems Manager
Saint Mark's College
Port Pirie, South Australia
geoffrob(a)stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au
11:51 p.m.
New subject: gauging interest in VAX 6000-530
On Sun, 24 Oct 1999, Paul Thompson wrote:
With machines like this there is a saying, "If you need to ask....".
Basically it's a large machine, larger than a 19" rack (only about 4.5-5
feet tall though). IIRC, the power requirements aren't that bad, you
should be able to run it off a dryer circuit (as long as the dryer isn't in
use), and it's single phase.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |
I will likely have the above system coming
available by the end of the
year. I would like to determine if there are any interested parties on
this list. The adoptive person would need to be available to pick it up
in Appleton, WI (near Green Bay) on relatively short notice: within a week
or two of its coming available.
Let me know if you have room for this beast.
I don't know much about Vaxen, or DEC anything for that matter, but I'd
like to learn. How big is it? How old is it? How's the loading
facilities? What sort of power is required?
9034
days inactive
9035
days old
4 comments
5 participants
participants (5)
-
allisonp＠world.std.com -
geoffrob＠stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au -
healyzh＠aracnet.com -
rws＠enteract.com -
thompson＠mail.athenet.net