bill@ssbn.WLK.COM (Bill Kennedy) (11/27/88)
One of the few things that I have not liked about AT&T 386 UNIX was its
lack of virtual consoles like Microport and Xenix. Interestingly, they
do have virtual consoles but they come with VP/ix (Simul-Task-386).
Many thanks to Bill Bunton for getting me to find them, but they are
sure there and they sure work. You can have 7 of them, just fire up a
getty on /dev/vt0n where n is the number of what you want. Also use the
virtcon gettydef and you're on your way. Alt-SysReq-Fn will get you to
that virtual console and Alt-SysReq-F8 will get you back to the "real"
console.
I'm cross posting this because I have seen a number of questions and
remarks about a decent '386 UNIX. I think that AT&T has done a good
job of building on the ISC port and it has some real pluses that you
don't think about right away. Believe it or not, AT&T is less expensive
than the others. Elek-Tek will sell you unlimited run time and development
for around $700. That's quite competitive with the others. The VP/ix is
unlimited users too and it's far superior to Locus' Merge/386 (aka
Microport). I had Microport V/386 and Merge/386 and tossed them out
because they just wouldn't function correctly or the way I wanted.
If you already have the AT&T UNIX and VP/ix, welcome back virtual consoles!
If you're still thinking or looking, don't make any ASSumptions about the
AT&T product, it's robust, well documented, and quite cost effective. In
all fairness, Bill Bunton has ISC 386 UNIX and he's the one who coached me
through finding them and turning them on. I can't say that AT&T's VP/ix
documentation is very good, I know SCO's is better and I suspect that ISC
is too. I *like* it!
No affiliation with AT&T other than singlehandedly funding their Long Lines
capital improvements :-( and being a very satisfied user of their '386
products.
--
Bill Kennedy usenet {killer,att,rutgers,sun!daver,uunet!bigtex}!ssbn!bill
internet bill@ssbn.WLK.COMdar@belltec.UUCP (Dimitri Rotow) (12/01/88)
In article <262@ssbn.WLK.COM>, bill@ssbn.WLK.COM (Bill Kennedy) writes: > One of the few things that I have not liked about AT&T 386 UNIX was its > lack of virtual consoles like Microport and Xenix. Interestingly, they > do have virtual consoles but they come with VP/ix (Simul-Task-386). ... Note that UNIX System V/386 Release 3.2 (from AT&T, us, and presumably everyone else that has it) now includes virtual consoles in the base product. No need to buy any optional packages to get them.
dar@belltec.UUCP (Dimitri Rotow) (12/03/88)
I recently responded to a question asking for information on writing device drivers by suggesting some AT&T publications. Over 30 people have since posted me with a request for the AT&T 800 number to use. Here it is: To order AT&T documents, call their Customer Information Center at 800-432-6600. They take VISA and are very responsive. The material you should order is: UNIX System V/386 Release 3.2 Integrated Software Development Guide (ISDG) and the UNIX System V/386 Release 3, Block and Character Interface, Device Driver Reference Manual, Select Code 307-192. You are crazy to work on device driver sources without these two books. The ISDG in particular is one of the very best UNIX books ever written. It not only includes sources to floppy disk and other device drivers, it also provides a complete framework for installation scripts and other vital stuff. Even though this is targeted at UNIX 3.2, it should be useful to all working in current releases of Microport, 386/ix, and SCO. We reprint the ISDG with the manual set for UNIX 3.2. Enjoy! - Dimitri Rotow