burris@ihopa.UUCP (David Burris) (12/21/83)
I posted a request for information on multi-user micros several
weeks ago and promised a summary of the responses. The responses
have died off so here is the promised summary. I hope that this is
not too commercial but I have also received several requests to post
the information. I am in no way affiliated with any of the companies
which may be listed. The original request was stipulated as follows:
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+ Support up to 4 users.
+ Approx. 10MB hard disk.
+ 1 or 2 floppy-disk drives.
+ Letter-quality printer.
+ UNIX-like OS which supports available software packages,
i.e. DBMS, C, BASIC, Spreadsheet, Screen editor, etc.
Primarily:
1. Password Protection
2. Search Path
3. Named directories
4. Good subset of UNIX-like utilities
5. Multi-task/Multi-user
6. Printer spooling.
+ CP/M compatability a plus.
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XENIX on the TRS-80 Model 16.
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Codata 68000 and Callahan machines under $10,000. An advertisement
stated that the Codata 68000 with 10 meg was about $7500.00 and 27 meg
was under 10K $.
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There will be an Intel 286 based machine soon. Rumor has it that
if you could wait for it do so.
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DUAL Systems "System/83". It runs full UNIX. It's a 68000 with 4BSD or
SIII; they're in transition to SIII) UniSoft (WE src licensed) port.
You don't get sources. This unit as shipped will support 4 or 8
serial connections. Most of these are terminals; you could put a
serial printer (or print buffer driving serial or parallel printer) on
one port, and a modem on another for both dial-up access and UUCP file
transfers. The uucp is compatible with the outside world. The price is a
little more than an 8-bit "multi-user" micro, but it's a real UNIX system
for not much more money.
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Fortune 32:16 product line.
Easily supports 4 users, with the "Comm B" option, you can use CP/M.
All the software mentioned and full UNIX package called MIMIX (tm).
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Fortune:
Full-fledged Version 7/Berkeley 4.1BSD UNIX systems based on the MC68000.
Full set of UNIX tools, e.g., C-Shell, "Vi", UUCp.
Supports up to 1MB of (non-virtual) main memory.
There are two disk drive positions, typically 1 floppy and 1 hard disk.
The floppies are 5.25 in., 2-sided, 800KB, 240 i-nodes;
the hard disks come in 5, 10, 20, and 30MB sizes.
Experience says that you should have at least the 20MB disk; after swap
space is allocated and UNIX, compilers, tools, &c. get installed,
there won't be all that much room left on a 10MB disk.
Typical system packages:
PS 10: $7995:
512KB semiconductor "core" memory
10MB hard disk
800KB 5.25 inch floppy disk
detached 12 inch monochrome display
detached Wang-like keyboard
(16 function keys, compass-layout arrow keys,
numeric pad, all separate)
single-user FOR:PRO 1.7 (our latest release of UNIX)
PS 20: $9995:
same as PS 10, except for substitution of 20MB hard disk
XP 20: $12995:
same as PS 10, except for substitution of 20MB high-performance
hard disk and multiuser FOR:PRO 1.7
XP 30: $14995:
same as PS 10, except for substitution of 30MB high-performance
hard disk and multiuser FOR:PRO 1.7
(don't know what is meant by "high performance hard disk",
voice-coil vs. stepper-motor actuators, maybe ?)
Available languages (unbundled) include C, FORTRAN, Pascal, COBOL, APL;
C, Pascal, and FORTRAN are $795 each.
Other software includes C-Shell, "Vi"
(part of "Development Utilities": $495), UUCp, Multiplan, IDOL.
Lots of business & accounting software.
Extra terminal users require a "Comm-A" port and a terminal.
The system supports more than 10 users; however, the acceptability
of the performance depends heavily on what the system is being used for.
The recently-released FOR:PRO 1.7 (the name of the UNIX)
improved performance by a factor of two for some kinds of usage
relative to earlier releases.
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OASIS has everything you want except "UNIX-like" utilities.
OASIS has a really good set of utilities that you don't have to patch
together with pipes in order to do useful work. Hardware-wise, I would
recommend Compupro. If you want to run
CP/M, you just take out your OASIS disk, pop in a CP/M disk, and re-boot.
OASIS also has a utility to translate CP/M disks to OASIS format. But
seriously, if you have OASIS, you will never want anything else. OASIS is
comparable in power to the VAX/VMS operating system (for a single user).
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Intel 286/310 has a 10Mbyte hard disk, 1/2 Mbyte RAM and runs Xenix...
You'd have to buy your own printer, terminals, etc. however...
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The Sage IV can do most of what you want. They don't have UNIX (yet).
The Sage IV goes for around $7k-$10K and has the following hardware (some
is optional):
Hardware:
MC68000 CPU (8MHz.)
1Meg of RAM
2 5.25" DSDD 80-trk (96TPI) floppies (640K each)
upto 4 5.25" winnies (5-20 Mbytes each)
1 IEEE-488 bus interface
1 printer port (parallel)
6 RS-232 ports
Software:
UCSD p-System (standard)
CP/M-68K ($350)
Multi-User (up to 6) supervisor ($150) - not actually an operating
system - "users" can user either CP/M-68K or UCSD p-System.
There are at least three other operating systems available
from other vendors (one is IDRIS - Whiteshith's UNIX clone).
The p-System comes with its own print-spooler. Media Research,
Ltd. sells a print spooler for CP/M-68K for $50. Sage publishes
a software catalog, which comes with the machine.
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PIXEL system. I think that the disk it uses is more than
10 meg (35 if i remember correctly). The system runs UNIX(tm)
system III with some BSD enhancements but they say they are
porting 4.?BSD. The system has a number of languages and data-base
systems and I once got a quote of $~20k Canadien which would translate
to about ~$15k US.
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Molecular Computer:
Multi-user micro, Z-80 based, with up to eight users
(on the small machine, 32 on the larger one). Each user has
their own CPU card with full 64K of memory and they share disk
space (10M to 45M on smaller machine) through the use of a file
processor, accessed by a 1.6Mbps CSMA/CD internal bus. The
file processor also has access to an 8" SSDD floppy and an
(optional) 20M streamer tape. Other OEMs have provided access
to reel-to-reel mag tapes.
Networking operating system, n/STAR, provides password
protection at the user and volume (named directory) level.
The primary user OS is CP/M, but with the addition of an optional 8086
cardset, CP/M-86 and MS/DOS can also be used. UNIX not yet
available. Generally, there are several program packages available under
CP/M that have many of the same attributes that wizards have
come to love; I/O redirection, pipes and software tools.
Excellent spooling package that allows multiple print queues,
reordering of queues, etc.
Retail prices are: SM10-8 10Mb hard drive, 8 user slots $5,995
AP8001 64K, Z-80A user card $695 each
Any standard RS-232 terminals and printers can be used with the
unit.
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Thanks to all who responded.
--
Dave Burris
..!ihnp4!ihopa!burris
AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, Il.