info-vax@ucbvax.ARPA (10/09/84)
From: Richard Garland <OC.GARLAND%CU20B@COLUMBIA> We have recently installed VMS on a microVAX and I would be interested in problems or experiences others in this situation are having. uVMS seems to work (its really a pre-release of VMS V4.0 with the neat things you are all waiting for). So far there is one glitch: Ocassionally the 30 Mbyte winchester will go off line and the little ready light will blink. System will say "DUA0: off line, mount verification in progress". Only way to recover seems to reboot. There seems to be a possible correlation with login time-outs so I'm wondering if this is hardware or software. Of course there may be many glitches, bugs, features others have noticed and I would be happy to correlate same and post to the net. If anyone has any insight into my particular glitch please let me know. Thanks Rg -------
info-vax@ucbvax.ARPA (10/09/84)
From: Wang Zeep <G.ZEEP%MIT-EECS@MIT-MC.ARPA> two additional queries: 1) Does anyone sell a floating point array processor for a uVax? Anything under $50000 would be acceptable. 2) I have heard that the performance of the uVax II is something like 95-105% of a 780. Is this for real? When will it be deliverable? Will upgrades be available for uVax I's? If anything comes of these queries, I'll send the usual summaries to the list. wz -------
info-vax@ucbvax.ARPA (10/10/84)
From: ihnp4!houxm!hou2d!afb3@BERKELEY
info-vax@ucbvax.ARPA (10/10/84)
From: ihnp4!houxm!hou2d!afb3@BERKELEY The MicroVAX-I uses the same Q-bus backplane that we all have known and loved(??) for years. I fact an 11/23 will plug in in place of the VAX cpu for testing obsure hardware problems. I would suspect that the SKY array processors should work ok, but who knows about software. These opinions are my own (who else would want them!!). Al Baldwin AT&T Bell Labs ...!ihnp4!hou2d!afb3
info-vax@ucbvax.ARPA (10/10/84)
From: Korbholz.ES@XEROX.ARPA Richard, I've seen the exact same symptoms with an RA81 (UDA50) on both a 730 and 750 running VMS 3.4 and 3.5 respectively. DEC has been unable to fix it so far, and I believe it has to do with Unibus load/interference. Perhaps there's a bug in PU driver (is that what you're running on the uVAX?). Bill Korbholz
info-vax@ucbvax.ARPA (10/11/84)
From: rose@uw-june.ARPA (Scott Rose) There is a guy here working on installing a Weitek floating point chip on one of our microvaxen, with support in microcode. The cost is vanish- ingly low compared to $50K, but will not approach that of an array processor, to be sure. This is still being developed. Scott M. Rose rose@uw-larry.arpa
info-vax@ucbvax.ARPA (10/11/84)
From: decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!cybvax0!dbr@BERKELEY (Douglas Robinson) I've had a lot of experience with the uVAX running ULTRIX-32m and have not had exactly that sort of problem, BUT it could be an operating system dependent response to a flakey RQDX1 controller WHICH I HAVE HAD A LOT of problems with. This stuff is so new that DEC really can't tell you a lot about it (in terms of fixing it - I fought for hours trying to get someone to tell me what was wrong). We are a DEC OEM and have had a lot of problems with FLAKEY RQDX1 controllers (no NEWS to DEC!).