forrest@sybase.com (04/12/89)
Management at Sybase says that engineers can chose between getting a DecStation 3100, a Vaxstation 3100, a Sun 3/60, or a NeXT for a personal workstation (as the budget permits) since they all cost Sybase about the same amount of money. Although I'm in the VMS development group, I'm starting to have second thoughts about whether I should ask for a Vaxstation. What I'm thinking about is whether it will be possible and feasible to get a DecStation and run the Ultrix DecWindows software connected to clients running on a VMS machine. From what I've read about DecWindows, this sounds like it should be possible, assuming that the DecStation can run DecNet. I'd like to have a bunch of Decterm windows on the DecStation connected to the fastest VMS machine I can find. Most of the time I would be treating the DecStation as an overpriced but very fast X terminal since I wouldn't be making use of the fact that it can run Unix too. The reason this approach sounds attractive is that I'm not sure that using a VaxStation running DecWindows to do software development would be all that much better that using a DecStation in the way I've described, assuming that there are "faster" VMS machines available to run DecWindows client software. The raw speed of the DecStation might prove more important than having a true VMS machine locally. Has anybody used a DecStation in this way? Does anyone have any comments about this approach? Jon Forrest forrest@sybase.com {pacbell,pyramid,sun,{uunet,ucbvax}!mtxinu}!sybase!forrest 415-596-3422
rsp@decvax.dec.com (Ricky Palmer - (603)881-0370 - ZK3-3/T74) (04/12/89)
------- I have used the DS3100 in exactly the manner you suggest and it works fine. I run both Internet and DECnet on my DS3100 and can talk to both VMS and other UNIX nodes and run X applications, DECwindow applications, etc. I have even noticed that at times some applications seem to run faster using DECnet than Internet(on your workstation you can say, "setenv DISPLAY machine:0" or "setenv DISPLAY machine::0" among other things. Besides, once you get a DS3100 on your desk you'll probably want to start compiling and running some applications locally since it is a blazing fast machine..... Ricky Palmer --- Ricky Palmer Ultrix Advanced Development --- Digital Equipment Corporation --- Nashua, New Hampshire --- ... One of the fathers of PMAX ...