dberry@ucla-cs.UUCP (01/30/86)
I am posting this for a guru friend at a site from which it is not as convenient to post. JST is Jerusalem Standard Time! ---------------- Date: 21 Jan 86 21:06:52 JST (Tue) From: Danny Braniss <danny%hujics.BitNet@ucbvax.berkeley.edu> For some time now, actually more than three months, I have been trying to obtain info on the Tu81 unibus tape from DEC. Needless to say, I only got the runaround from DEC. At the moment, I have enough documentation to install, take apart, and maybe put together again the Tu81, (needless to say, we have a service agreement with DEC). Some facts: 1- The Tu81 is a unibus tape that talks something called TMSCP, a big brother of MSCP. 2- Ultrix will support it, but not yet. 3- System V does not. 4- 4.2/3BSD: Berkeley is uncommitted. I can only come to the following conclusions: 1- There is some kind of conspiracy to kill Unix, at least in what new DEC equipment is concerned. 2- It is obvious that DEC is trying, and succeeding(?), in pushing VMS, which of course supports the TU81. 3- Since we have no intentions in switching to VMS, and as far as I am concerned, this was the last piece of equipment that we are buying from dec. There are nicer, faster and cheaper cpu's around. Or: DEC is again blundering it. Grrrrrrrrrrr....... Has anyone anywhere managed to get up a device driver for this tapedrive that is useable or portable to 4.2??? danny danny@hujics.bitnet (Since this one is cheaper).
chris@basser.oz (Chris Maltby) (02/03/86)
When given the commission to write a TU80 driver for SYSV, I too approached DEC about it, and was given all sorts or rubbish until finally I spoke to someone who knew a bit about the subject, who taold me that the TU80 and TS11 are identical except for some obscure error returns and possibly error recovery techniques. I then compared TU80 and TS11 manuals and couldn't find any practical difference. Needless to say, my TU80 driver worked first time... The TU81 is a TU80 with higher density available: no worries, it's such a simple change to make it select 6250 for the right minor number. Chris Maltby Ex Neology Ltd
sjt@sb6.UUCP (SIDNEY THOMPSON) (02/04/86)
We are currently running 16 785s with ULTRIX and TU81s. The 1.2 version will officialy support the little beast but with as many useless pieces of iron around as we had DEC was willing to retrofit 1.1 for us. While it is true that VMS is DEC's first love, I have found them willing after enough noise to work with us on ULTRIX problems. They will admit that they are not going to put as much effort into ULTRIX development as they do into VMS and can realy see their point in doing so.
ed@mtxinu.UUCP (Ed Gould) (02/04/86)
In article <510@basser.oz> chris@basser.oz (Chris Maltby) writes: > the TU80 and TS11 are identical except for some obscure error >returns and possibly error recovery techniques. True. The TS11 driver works fine for TU80s. >The TU81 is a TU80 with higher density available: no worries, it's >such a simple change to make it select 6250 for the right minor >number. That's true *only* regarding the transport hardware. The TS11 and TU80 use a protocol called RSP (radial-serial protocol), as do TU58 cassettes. It's *completely* different from TMSCP (tape mass storage control protocol). TMSCP is MSCP (like the UDA50) with additional functions added to support tape operations. -- Ed Gould mt Xinu, 2910 Seventh St., Berkeley, CA 94710 USA {ucbvax,decvax}!mtxinu!ed +1 415 644 0146 "A man of quality is not threatened by a woman of equality."
chris@basser.oz (Chris Maltby) (02/05/86)
In article <510@basser.oz>, I wrote: > The TU81 is a TU80 with higher density available: no worries, it's > such a simple change to make it select 6250 for the right minor > number. I got all sorts of mail from people inside DEC who aught to know about this that I am totally wrong. Just like them, eh? Choose one standard and then choose another completely different, but increment the model number by one. They get more like the other 3 letter multinationals every day... My deepest apologies to anyone I may have misled.