keith@expo.lcs.mit.EDU (Keith Packard) (04/06/91)
> Has anyone managed to get a DEC5000 running with two color framebuffers?
But, the kernel device driver which (at least) MIT X uses only supports
a single frame buffer. Additionally, the old driver also messes up the
cursor occasionally due to (according to friends at DEC) a bug in the Bt459
RAMDAC.
Ultrix 4.2 includes a completely new frame buffer interface which supports
multiple screens as well as working around the RAMDAC bug to make the
cursor stable. R5 will include support for this new driver, and I can
say from personal experience that it is very nice (DISPLAY=:0.1 right now).
Keith Packard
MIT X Consortiumjg@crl.dec.com (Jim Gettys) (04/06/91)
In article <9104051638.AA03450@xenon.lcs.mit.edu>, keith@expo.lcs.mit.EDU (Keith Packard) writes: > > > Has anyone managed to get a DEC5000 running with two color framebuffers? > > But, the kernel device driver which (at least) MIT X uses only supports > a single frame buffer. Additionally, the old driver also messes up the > cursor occasionally due to (according to friends at DEC) a bug in the Bt459 > RAMDAC. > > Ultrix 4.2 includes a completely new frame buffer interface which supports > multiple screens as well as working around the RAMDAC bug to make the > cursor stable. R5 will include support for this new driver, and I can > say from personal experience that it is very nice (DISPLAY=:0.1 right now). > As Kieth says, multi-screen support for frame buffers is in Ultrix 4.2 using R4 based servers. (support for PX's etc. will be in a future release). In addition, the same new driver interface is on the DS2100/DS3100, and a single server will run fine on any mono or 8 bit color frame buffer on any DECstation. This should simplify system management for folks, not to mention saving some disk space. In addition, the server should be happy to run on any body else's 1 or 8 bit vanilla frame buffer, if you care to build or buy one. I've had as many as three screens on my DS5000/200 :-). Then again, I did the original work to do multi-screen support. At the moment, I have a color frame buffer (CX), a mono-frame buffer (MX), and one of CRL's audio cards to fill up my machine, so I'm back down to two screens :-(. In any case, before Ultrix 4.2 hits the streets, which is quite soon now, I plan to put the routines required to run on the new driver interface out for anonymous FTP, so that folks who insist on running an MIT R4 server can continue to do so. And as Keith says, it will be in R5 as well. I'll make a posting when I do so; but I got the bits to Keith just this week, and 4.2 hasn't shipped to (non-field test) customers yet, I'll let them stew a bit. You can of course order the hardware today, so you'll have it when the Ultrix 4.2 software arrives; Model numbers are: PMAG -AB (1 Plane Mono frame buffer, field installed) PMAG -BB (8 PL Color, Fld Installed). Note the spaces; your salesman might have trouble looking them up on line without the spaces. Obviously, you need to select the appropriate monitor in addition. TURBOchannel options are usually, and these are, customers installable; this is very very easy to do on the DS5000. Note that formally Digital cannot support mixtures of mono and color devices at the moment (any company that claims it can should have their head examined); as you may or may not know, there is a design problem in how screen resources work right now, and you might set up your resources in such a way to make one or the other of your screens useless in a mixed configuration. Things will work most of the time, but you are on your own, and this is why it is not a supported configuration. X11R5 will address this problem, so that resources can be set up on a per-screen basis. - Jim Gettys Digital Equipment Corporation Cambridge Research Lab