[comp.sys.amiga] AMIX Release Date?

valentin@cbmvax.commodore.com (Valentin Pepelea) (05/25/90)

In article <568.265bae49@waikato.ac.nz> hamish@waikato.ac.nz writes:
>
>> You would need, at the very least, a 68020 and MMU, or a 68030.
>                                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> A 68010 and 68451 MMU will run Unix. Only trouble is the 451 isn't very 
> compatible with the 851. However an 851 can be hooked up to a 68010, by
> faking the co-processor connection with moves to the cpu space, by fiddling
> the alternate address space registers.

Actually, a 68020 is necessary because many instructions that the UNIX
operating system is using are available only on 68020+ processors. Admittedly,
a special version could be compiled that used only 68010 instructions, but
that would not be worth it. Speed-wise, the Release 4 kernel feels comfortable
on the 68030, providing it with a 68010 would result in rather shameful
performances.

Valentin
-- 
The Goddess of democracy? "The tyrants     Name:    Valentin Pepelea
may distroy a statue,  but they cannot     Phone:   (215) 431-9327
kill a god."                               UseNet:  cbmvax!valentin@uunet.uu.net
             - Ancient Chinese Proverb     Claimer: I not Commodore spokesman be

lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) (05/28/90)

In <595.26615485@waikato.ac.nz>, hamish@waikato.ac.nz writes:
>
>Maybe you haven't seen a sun-2 workstation? They used a 68010 processor and
>they ran unix. What you say here is that Unix won't run on anything but a 
>68020, 68030 and later a 68040. What about all those Unix versions that run
>on processors like 80386, SPARC, MIPS, VAX 11-780, ..........

He was talking about a specific implementation. He is saying that the Amiga
will not run Unix withiut a 68020/030/040.

Sure, there have been implementations of Unix on 68010 (and even 68000, in the
case of the Sun 1), and in fact I have one (Sun 2/50) right beside my Amiga.
The implementations based on a 68010 were specifically written to be run on a
68010.

-larry

--
The raytracer of justice recurses slowly, but it renders exceedingly fine.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ 
|   //   Larry Phillips                                                 |
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hamish@waikato.ac.nz (05/28/90)

In article <11786@cbmvax.commodore.com>, valentin@cbmvax.commodore.com (Valentin Pepelea) writes:
> In article <568.265bae49@waikato.ac.nz> hamish@waikato.ac.nz writes:
>>
>>> You would need, at the very least, a 68020 and MMU, or a 68030.
>>                                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> A 68010 and 68451 MMU will run Unix. Only trouble is the 451 isn't very 
>> compatible with the 851. However an 851 can be hooked up to a 68010, by
>> faking the co-processor connection with moves to the cpu space, by fiddling
>> the alternate address space registers.
> 
> Actually, a 68020 is necessary because many instructions that the UNIX
> operating system is using are available only on 68020+ processors. Admittedly,
> a special version could be compiled that used only 68010 instructions, but
> that would not be worth it. Speed-wise, the Release 4 kernel feels comfortable
> on the 68030, providing it with a 68010 would result in rather shameful
> performances.
> 
> Valentin
> -- 
> The Goddess of democracy? "The tyrants     Name:    Valentin Pepelea
> may distroy a statue,  but they cannot     Phone:   (215) 431-9327
> kill a god."                               UseNet:  cbmvax!valentin@uunet.uu.net
>              - Ancient Chinese Proverb     Claimer: I not Commodore spokesman be
--

Maybe you haven't seen a sun-2 workstation? They used a 68010 processor and
they ran unix. What you say here is that Unix won't run on anything but a 
68020, 68030 and later a 68040. What about all those Unix versions that run
on processors like 80386, SPARC, MIPS, VAX 11-780, ..........

 
==============================================================================
|  Hamish Marson                        |  Internet  hamish@waikato.ac.nz    |
|  Computer Support Person              |  Phone  (071)562889 xt 8181        |
|  Computer Science Department          |  Amiga 3000 for ME!                |
|  University of Waikato                |                                    |
==============================================================================
|Disclaimer:  Anything said in this message is the personal opinion of the   |
|             finger hitting the keyboard & doesn't represent my employers   |
|             opinion in any way. (ie we probably don't agree)               |
==============================================================================

GWO110%URIACC.BITNET@brownvm.brown.edu (F. Michael Theilig) (05/28/90)

On 28 May 90 04:40:37 GMT you said:
>In article <11786@cbmvax.commodore.com>, valentin@cbmvax.commodore.com
>(Valentin Pepelea) writes:
>>
>> Actually, a 68020 is necessary because many instructions that the UNIX
>> operating system is using are available only on 68020+ processors.
>Admittedly,
>> a special version could be compiled that used only 68010 instructions, but
>> that would not be worth it. Speed-wise, the Release 4 kernel feels
>comfortable
>> on the 68030, providing it with a 68010 would result in rather shameful
>> performances.
>>
>> Valentin
>> --
>
>Maybe you haven't seen a sun-2 workstation? They used a 68010 processor and
>they ran unix. What you say here is that Unix won't run on anything but a
>68020, 68030 and later a 68040. What about all those Unix versions that run
>on processors like 80386, SPARC, MIPS, VAX 11-780, ..........
>
     I think his point was that AMIX requires an 020 or better.  You could
 probably get Unix running on a 6502, you just wouldn't *WANT* to.  I have
 a machine that runs Xenix on a 68000, but I don't brag about it.

 ----
      F. Michael Theilig  -  The University of Rhode Island at Little Rest
                            GWO110 at URIACC.Bitnet
                            GKZ117 at URIACC.Bitnet

"He is a borderline genius that experiences
 peridoic phases of abject stupidity."

es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita) (05/29/90)

In article <20392@snow-white.udel.EDU> GWO110%URIACC.BITNET@brownvm.brown.edu (F. Michael Theilig) writes:
>On 28 May 90 04:40:37 GMT you said:
>>In article <11786@cbmvax.commodore.com>, valentin@cbmvax.commodore.com
>>(Valentin Pepelea) writes:
>>>
>>> Actually, a 68020 is necessary because many instructions that the UNIX
>>> operating system is using are available only on 68020+ processors.
>>Admittedly,
>>> a special version could be compiled that used only 68010 instructions, but
>>> that would not be worth it. Speed-wise, the Release 4 kernel feels
>>comfortable
>>> on the 68030, providing it with a 68010 would result in rather shameful
>>> performances.
>>>
>>> Valentin
>>> --
>>
>>Maybe you haven't seen a sun-2 workstation? They used a 68010 processor and
>>they ran unix. What you say here is that Unix won't run on anything but a
>>68020, 68030 and later a 68040. What about all those Unix versions that run
>>on processors like 80386, SPARC, MIPS, VAX 11-780, ..........
>>
>     I think his point was that AMIX requires an 020 or better.  You could
> probably get Unix running on a 6502, you just wouldn't *WANT* to.  I have
> a machine that runs Xenix on a 68000, but I don't brag about it.

	Actually I don't think that was his point either. He
specifically points out release 4 of AT&T Unix. It has already
been noted that 4 is much slower than 3, its predecessor. This
makes the speed more important.

>
> ----
>      F. Michael Theilig  -  The University of Rhode Island at Little Rest
>                            GWO110 at URIACC.Bitnet
>                            GKZ117 at URIACC.Bitnet
>
>"He is a borderline genius that experiences
> peridoic phases of abject stupidity."


	-- Ethan

Ethan Solomita: es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu

"If Commodore had to market sushi they'd call it `raw cold fish'"
		-- The Bandito, inevitably stolen from someone else

fredc@usenet.umr.edu (Fred Clauss) (05/30/90)

In article <1649@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca>, (Larry Phillips) writes:
>
>Sure, there have been implementations of Unix on 68010 (and even 68000, in the
>case of the Sun 1), and in fact I have one (Sun 2/50) right beside my Amiga.
>The implementations based on a 68010 were specifically written to be run on a
>68010.
>
Larry definitely has hit the nail on the head here.  Speed is not really the
issue here.  The issue is the cost of maintaining more than one basic kernel
because you are supporting different processors.  Even Sun has quit offering
SunOS upgrades at the 4.X level for the Sun2 line of processors, because
upgrading separate a version for the 68010-based architecture was no longer
justifiable.  Since C-A never built a 68010-based machine, there is really
no reason for it to create and maintain a separate version of Amiga UNIX for
the 68010.  As for the 68000, non-hardware assisted VM is "as slow as molasses
in January," so very few UNIX afficiondos would be willing to settle for
a 68000-based UNIX in today's market.

--
Fred Clauss                  INTERNET:  fredc@isc.umr.edu (preferred)
Intelligent Systems Center    		or flc@umree.ee.umr.edu
University of Missouri        UUNET:	{occrsh|sunarch}!umree!flc
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