[comp.unix.aix] DOS applications on new RISC arch

staff@cadlab.sublink.ORG (Alex Martelli) (04/07/90)

> Can you run a DOS application as a process under AIX on the new RISC
> machine?  I think that is the 6000.  Or how about on any other AIX
> platform?
I believe IBM sells a software 8086/MSDOS emulator for AIX3 on the 
RISC-6000, and a full-blown Dos-Merge exploiting the virtual-8086
hardware mode of the 386 for AIX PS/2.  The former should do for a
very occasional need for DOS applications, the latter should be more
appropriate if the need is not all that occasional.
-- 
Alex Martelli - CAD.LAB s.p.a., v. Stalingrado 45, Bologna, Italia
Email: (work:) staff@cadlab.sublink.org, (home:) alex@am.sublink.org
Phone: (work:) ++39 (51) 371099, (home:) ++39 (51) 250434; 
Fax: ++39 (51) 366964 (work only; any time of day or night).

kevin@msa3b.UUCP (Kevin P. Kleinfelter) (04/08/90)

roy@ics.uci.edu (John M.A. Roy) writes:


>I know that this is probably impossible, but...

>Can you run a DOS application as a process under AIX on the new RISC
>machine?  I think that is the 6000.  Or how about on any other AIX
>platform?

On the 6000: they have a DOS simulator program (i.e. it emulates an 8086).

On the old RTs, you could buy and AT coprocessor.

On AIX PS/2 1.1, you can run DOS merge under AIX.  This works pretty well.
In fact, you can run DOS processes from AIX, and AIX processes from DOS.
"pc3270" even works.  IBM has been unable to get PC-LAN to work under
DOS merge on our system (we even had them send and S.E. on site).
Some people report that PC-LAN works on their configuration.  In general,
well-behaved DOS applications work fine.  Serial communications can
sometimes lock-up the machine and require a cold boot -- other times they
work fine.
-- 
Kevin Kleinfelter @ Management Science America, Inc (404) 239-2347
gatech!nanovx!msa3b!kevin

"Don't hold your finger on the button if the motor ain't goin' roundy-roundy."

nghiem@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Alex Nghiem) (04/09/90)

In article <1282@msa3b.UUCP> kevin@msa3b.UUCP (Kevin P. Kleinfelter) writes:
>On the 6000: they have a DOS simulator program (i.e. it emulates an 8086).
>
>On the old RTs, you could buy and AT coprocessor.

The AT DOS coprocessor is no longer supported with AIX 2.2.1 . It has
been replaced with the AIX DOS Simulator 1.1 . Unfortunately, IBM has
told us that the AIX DOS Simulator 1.1 does not support the original IBM
PC Network or the IBM Local Area Network. It only supports the IBM 
Token Ring Network. We bought AIX 2.2.1 only to find we cannot use
it because of the lack of support of both the AT DOS coprocessor and
the original IBM PC Network.

>On AIX PS/2 1.1, you can run DOS merge under AIX.  This works pretty well.
>In fact, you can run DOS processes from AIX, and AIX processes from DOS.
>"pc3270" even works.  IBM has been unable to get PC-LAN to work under
>DOS merge on our system (we even had them send and S.E. on site).
>Some people report that PC-LAN works on their configuration.  

If anybody has the IBM PC LAN operating on the original IBM PC Network
with any AIX DOS simulator, please send E-mail. I would like
to know how you did it. Also, is there 
a Version 2.1 or higher of AIX DOS coprocessor services? We did not
get an upgrade for the DOS coprocessor with our AIX 2.1.2 upgrade
package. I requested the info from IBM but never got a message back.
Right now, we have the AIX 1.1 DOS coprocessor services working
under 2.1.1. (We tweaked the AIX configuration files to get it to work.
Installp for 2.1.2 refused to install the 1.1 coprocessor services. 
We were surprised that hacking the AIX configuration to install the
1.1 coprocesser services worked. We don't know why it works, but it does.) 

---
This article is posted for discussion only. Any misrepresentation, if
any, is purely unintentional. Any opinion expressed or implicit in these
remarks are solely my own.

nghiem@emx.utexas.edu
!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!nghiem




nghiem@walt.cc.utexas.edu
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