ejw@sask.UUCP (Eric Woodsworth) (06/25/86)
Many people on the net are probably battling with the tradeoffs between
PC's, which have until recently not run a decent operating system, but
for which all the software was being written, and the multiuser UNIX systems
which have been fairly expensive, and for which software, if it is available
at all, is also expensive. Both types of machines have their definite
advantages, such as device sharing and electronic mail for the multiuser
systems, and fast response for the single user machines.
What this is leading up to is that our organization has found a few dollars
to upgrade our computing operation, and I'd like some opinions/advice to
help guide the decision. At present we have a Zilog System 8000 and are
considering some more memory and serial ports.
An alternative, though, is a PC, possibly running UNIX, and possibly
in a multiuser mode. I am looking at the AT&T 6300, because I want to
have MS-DOS or PC-DOS, and am wondering about the pros and cons of the
6300+ upgrade vs. something like the Opus Systems 532 Personal Mainframe,
which was reviewed in the May UNIX/WORLD, and which will fit in IBM-PC's
and compatibles, will support several users, and allows cooperation between
MS-DOS and UNIX. Has anyone used both types of configurations, and do
you have any preferences? Does Simultask on the 6300+ allow multiuser
operation at all, and to what extent? Is the Opus board slower than the 6300+?
What costs are involved in each?
A problem with either scenario is the redundancy of disk storage with two
machines used by the same users, and the problem of smooth transfer between
them. I envisage a dedicated link between the two machines, but with only one
RS-232 port built into the basic 6300, (any more on the 6300+?) I can't
see adding any more terminals/peripherals. How could one make the RS-232
line support transfer requests (uucp, kermit, or crosstalk, probably) from
both ends? Have both sides reset to call-in mode except when calling out,
and have uucico run very frequently at both ends? Users would undoubtedly
have to be coerced to keep their files on one machine or the other.
All comments are welcome, although flames probably won't help.
Eric Woodsworth / Canadian Wildlife Service / 115 Perimeter Rd. / Saskatoon /
Saskatchewan / S7N 0X4 / Canada / (306)-975-{4023,4087}
UUCP: {utcsri,ihnp4,utah-cs,alberta}!sask!pmbrc!ejwhsc@mtuxo.UUCP (h.cohen) (06/30/86)
I will modestly refrain from boasting about the PC6300 PLUS or Simul-Task, and confine myself to a few technical comments. Simul-Task supports only one MS-DOS task, and only at the console. These restrictions will be lifted in 1987. (Of course, any standard DOS software like DesqView or Windows will work, so it is possible to get that kind of DOS "multitasking.") I am not familiar with the Opus board, but in general one processor running DOS and another running UNIX will perform better than one running both. Compatibility and integration are another matter... UNIX on the PC6300 PLUS comes with the uugetty command. uugetty has a "-r" option for the specific purpose of having two systems directly connected with getty's running "nose-to-nose." If you set up your PLUS from the UNIX Office so that the relevant RS232 port is "BOTH HOST AND CALLER," it will set up a "uugetty -r" on that port for you. The port can be the built-in or one on a CTC serial expansion card. If your Zilog has uugetty, you're all set; if not, perhaps you can put up Honey-DanBer on it. Harvey S. Cohen, AT&T PC6300 PLUS product mgmt., mtuxo!hsc
kathy@bakerst.UUCP (Kathy Vincent) (07/04/86)
Question: I did a bit of reading on the 6300 Plus
about 6 months ago or more, and Simul-Task wasn't
included. What *was* included that I don't think
I've seen mentioned here lately was something called
"OS Merge." Is Simul-Task the new name for OS Merge?
Or is it something new?
--
Kathy Vincent
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