Sun-Spots Digest, v6n127
William LeFebvre
Sun-Spots-Request at RICE.EDU
Fri Jul 1 06:40:10 AEST 1988
SUN-SPOTS DIGEST Thursday, 30 June 1988 Volume 6 : Issue 127
Today's Topics:
Re: Problems with SUN-Link X.25
Re: 68881 floating-point coprocessor in sun 3/50
Re: Displaying characters above ASCII 127 on a Sun
386i Beta 4.0
SunOS 4.0 & sed
4.0's suninstall
More info about REELbackup
Need info on the 386i - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Looking for a Computer Managed Discussion Forum
audit messages in 4.0?
Books about C programming standards?
VxWorks and dbxworks?
dump to remote tape drive?
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 88 08:30:33 +0100
From: Julian Onions <jpo%computer-science.nottingham.ac.uk at nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Problems with SUN-Link X.25
We too, in the U.K. have had many running battles with the SUN-LINK X.25
software. It seems fine as long as you want to use it for occasional
things and don't want to do anything much with it. As soon as you start
using it in anger the bugs come trickling out. A colleague of mine
discovered 6 major bugs in the software whilst writing an x29 server - one
of which crashed the system very reliably. Anyway, I think sun know about
most of these problems and they should be fixed in later versions of the
software with a bit of luck. (Though it looks like the end of the year
before a version that runs with 4.0 will be available :-(.)
However, for those of us that depend for our lives on X.25 (such as us
U.K. folks) and require pad programs etc. to perform in a similar manner
to telnet and rlogin (i.e. transparently for the most part) there is some
hope. Due to the large disatisfaction with the sun products, I know of (or
in some cases have written) the following software which is all freely
available in source form. (Of course you get what you pay for... :-))
1. A pad program that knocks the spots off the sun supplied one.
It will allow calls over TCP/IP and then out onto X.25 so
allowing access to X.25 for all hosts on the LAN without
gratuitously giving away accounts on gateway machines. It
also handles parameters reasonably and generally provides
much greater functionality.
2. An X.29 server which does the same sort of thing for
incoming calls. The config file is much extended and allows
many options for incoming calls, subject to bugs in the
kernel that is.
3. Some kernel code and a user level daemon that routes IP over
X.25 whilst trying hard to keep the X.25 call open only
whilst there is a need for it. This saves MegaBucks over PSS
and similar chargeable networks.
Just to complete the story, there are also the following publicly
available products that run over X.25 which may be of interest.
unix-niftp - blue book file transfer program (probably U.K. specific)
isode - the ISO developement environment, which includes an FTAM
implementation which has transfered many Mb over X.25.
If you are interested in any of these things I can give more details on
getting such things or I can submit some of the smaller items to the
sunspots archive.
Julian.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 20 Jun 88 13:15:58 EDT
From: Christine Knight <knight at db.toronto.edu>
Subject: Re: 68881 floating-point coprocessor in sun 3/50
You can buy the chip independently and just plug it into the board. No
other steps are required.
C Knight <knight at csri.toronto.edu>
[[ Well, no other hardware steps are required. You might have to
recompile software so it can use it. --wnl ]]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 88 10:59:31 PDT
From: rprobst at sun.com (Richard Probst)
Subject: Re: Displaying characters above ASCII 127 on a Sun
> does anyone out there know a way to show the top half of the
> character set under ... SunTools?
Yes, use SunView (nee suntools) in 4.0, and you will have 8-bit characters
in text and tty windows.
--Richard Probst (rprobst at sun.com)
SunView Engineering Manager
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 20 Jun 88 22:27:51 EST
From: jenkins at purdue.edu
Subject: 386i Beta 4.0
Today I called my local Sun sales office with queries about the new sun
386i (runs MS-DOS and BSD for those living in caves :-). I was told that
the version of SunOS 4.0 that was presently being sold with the new
machines was only a beta release. That's OK, but here's the part really
bothered me: there is no free upgrade. Not even an upgrade for the cost
of the media or shipping. Apparently, Sun requires purchasers to sign a
release indicating that the buyer is aware of the beta release and that no
discounted upgrades will be made available. Why is Sun asking its
customers to pay top dollar (yes, the machine is expensive!) for a *beta*
release OS without a reasonably priced upgrade?
I was seriously entertaining thoughts of buying the 386i, but not after
hearing that. Unfortunately, since I need a system I will probably end up
taking my business elsewhere. Sun loses and I lose. But I'll be damned
if I will pay those sums of money for a beta release without reasonably
priced upgrades. I hope Sun takes note, and I hope that other
professionals will voice similar concerns to Sun.
Colin Jenkins
Systems Programmer
Purdue Computer Science
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 20 Jun 88 12:18:16 PDT
From: rusty%math.Berkeley.EDU at ucbvax.berkeley.edu
Subject: SunOS 4.0 & sed
Here's a guess, instead of putting a quoted space at the end, put the
whole thing in double quotes:
set prompt = "`(echo $prompt | sed -f /.cshrc1)` "
I don't know why that should work and yours doesn't, but what the heck,
give it a try. Also try deleting the -f /.cshrc1 jazz and just include
the whole regexp that's in /.cshrc1.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 88 06:23:20 PDT
From: Stuart Cracraft <cracraft at hyper-sun1.jpl.nasa.gov>
Subject: 4.0's suninstall
Contrary to recent postings, I think the new suninstall is an improvement
over the old setup; although the bitmap interface is gone and is instead
replaced with a curses-like interface, there are many more features and
suninstall is much more robust.
Stuart
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 88 12:31:42 cdt
From: ihnp4!ttbcad!T1!mikkelson at shell.UUCP
Subject: More info about REELbackup
I have been investigating SCEPTRE's backup package, named REELbackup,
since I first saw it mentioned in sun-spots. I have been talking to a
gentleman named Paul Stutler (313)665-8778 who has agreed to send me the
software on a trial basis. I will report my findings to sun-spots after I
evaluate the software (I'm still waiting for the tape).
>From what I have been able to deduce after talking to P. Stutler and
reading their Product Overview literature, there have been many
inaccuracies reported to sun-spots. Again, I have not run the software,
only read the literature...
djn at nmt.edu (Northrop) in v6n116 reports that he has had the software
since 4/30/87 (date of Sales Order). This is the old version of
REELbackup. It has been completely rewritten and
czei at accelerator.eng.ohio-state.edu (Michael S. Czeiszperger) is correct
in saying that:
>Although the salesman claimed the product worked fine on suns, he admitted
>that they had not actually sold the program to any sun users....
P. Stutler admitted to me that they did not have much experience with the
software on Suns.
Most of the other comments that djn at nmt.edu (Northrop) had apply to the
old software. The new software claims to be *much* more flexible. Here
are some of the features of REELbackup:
If the O.S. supports file locking (either mandatory or "advisory"), the SW
will use it (optionally); can also umount the F.S. before backing up, or
just blindly backup (may have corrupted files?). Therefore, can backup an
active F.S. (full & incremental). The SW uses either cpio or tar (your
choice). SCEPTRE *believes* that the EXB-8200 2GB tape drive will work
with the SW (that's what I want to use...)
Can back up over network; SW uses NFS. SW runs on the machine with the
tape drive; accesses the remotely mounted F.S.'s using NFS. Therefore,
must export all remote F.S.'s to be backed up.
Prices for Sun Workstations: (as of 6/6/88)
$1750 -> machine with local tape, NFS capability (24 man hours)
$950 -> stand-alone version (tape, no NFS)
$800 -> each additional tape drive
There are volume discounts...
Price includes support hot-line. Call window is 8:00-17:00 EDT. Response
is usually immediate, guaranteed 4 hours. On tough calls, 24 hr. progress
report.
Will handle multi-set backups (backups that extend over one tape), as well
as multiple backups on one tape (for incrementals?). Can "hang" a tape
and perform the backup during the night (using cron).
SW has recently been completely rewritten and many features added/enhanced.
The SW uses termcap entries for the "full screen" menu-driven interface.
Any terminal in termcap can be used. You can run the SW in the optional
background mode to free up the terminal.
You can back up portions of filesystems, specify your own backup
schedules, and use multiple tape drives. Reports are generated for the
administrator to peruse. A script can optionally be run before the
backups, and a second one after.
Delivery is a couple of days.
This is not a comprehensive list of features. I suggest to those who are
interested that they call SCEPTRE and ask for a copy of their Product
Overview (for UNIX systems). My opinion (not necessarily my employer's)
is that if the SW performs as advertised, it's a darn nice package. I
can't comment on issues regarding support and maintenance since I don't
have much experience with SCEPTRE yet...
Ray Mikkelson
AT&T Data Systems Group
ihnp4!ttbcad!rem (312)982-3909
[[ I think many readers will be interested to hear your comments once you
have actually tested out and used the package. Please report back to
Sun-Spots on this. --wnl ]]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 20 Jun 88 20:59:46 -0800
From: bobbyd%upvax at tektronix.tek.com
Subject: Need info on the 386i - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
I'd like to gather all the information I can about the new Sun '386
machine. Let me give a quick background: The company I'm with runs a
database service on the West Coast that serves up automotive information
to customers via dial-up lines (currently 14 1200-baud lines). They
collect vehicle information 'round the clock, and store it in a 150+ MB
ISAM file. It is used extensively in-house as another part of their
service. They currently run a total of 36 ASCII terminals/modems over
RS232 ports, with an immediate need to expand. To top it all off, the
environment is based on DG Nova *compatible* machines, running the "BITS"
OS, and all software is in BASIC.
Thus, confronted with costly upgrade prospects (i.e., an 8MB memory board
for their machine lists for $14,800!!!!) I'm hoping to propose a move to
Unix: this is possible thanks to the availability of UniBASIC - their
complete BITS environment as a Unix shell. For $500. So, give me ALL
you've got about the 386i:
o Ease of installation and maintenance (do we have to hire a
Unix consultant? I've a fair bit of knowledge as a casual user,
my hair is long, and I can grow a beard in a couple of weeks,
add some Birkenstocks, and can I handle it? 8-)
o How soon and how much to get machines? We'll need 300-600MB of
disk space, as they have lots of expansion in mind, but that's
where I think the Sun would shine (groan). I mean, we'd like to
use those hot CDC drives, and have lots of memory and ports...
o How many RS232 ports can we reasonably stick on one machine? And
those 14+ dialup lines - any problem there? Even if it takes 2 or
more machines, I can't imagine the cost will exceed that of building
another Nova monster (with all that $14,000 memory 8-)
Please e-mail me every scrap of rumor, scandalous gossip, honest user and
administrator impressions, flames, and other information you care to.
I'll be tremendously grateful.
Christopher Lamb bobbyd at upvax Certified, Incorrigible PERQ Fanatic.
2719 NE 8th Ave. Send your tax-deductible donations to
Portland, OR 97212 503/288-3800 this address. No live poultry please.
(Ok, you've all had a good laugh over the .sig...this is hostile Sun turf 8-)
Also, if upvax is unreachable, try bobbyd%upvax at tektronix.tek.com - thanks!)
[[ The address "bobbyd at upvax" is not legal on any mailer that I know of,
with the possible exception of machines at Tektronix. You should give the
tektronix address all the time. For those trying to reach Mr. Lamb,
"tektronix.tek.com" is a CSNet site and mail may need to be explicitly
routed to "relay.cs.net" (if your mailer isn't clever enough to figure it
out on its own). --wnl ]]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jun 88 11:01:57 EDT
From: cvbnet!carbon!msontz at decvax.dec.com (Mark Sontz)
Subject: Looking for a Computer Managed Discussion Forum
Does anybody know of a computer managed discussion forum or BBS written in
C or LISP. We have several LANs (Sun-2s, Sun-3s & Sun-4s) spreadout in
many buildings connected to an ethernet backbone; our objective is to be
able to communicate information and have open forums among everybody
(using something other than mail or News).
Mark J. Sontz UUCP: ...!decvax!cvbnet!carbon!msontz
Computervision Corp.
Bldg. 4-2
201 Burlington Road
Bedford, MA 01730
(617) 275-1800 Ext. 2728
[[ I would like to see some sort of news reader program (along the lines
of the NNTP based "rn" (that's the one that retrieves/sends messages over
a TCP/IP circuit)) that was window-based, running under either SunView or
X or both. Sounds like this might be something that would interest you as
well. --wnl ]]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 88 11:21:07 PDT
From: Stuart Cracraft <cracraft at venera.isi.edu>
Subject: audit messages in 4.0?
When "C2conv" is run on 4.0 to enable the audit-trail, the following
message appears regularly on the console:
auditd/usr/etc/audit_warn
There is a problem getting the directory list from audit_control.
The audit daemon will hang until this file is fixed.
--- Anyone else seen this message? ---
Stuart
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 88 15:18:52 EDT
From: chuck at wooglin.scc.com (Charles Williams)
Subject: Books about C programming standards?
I am in search of C design and programming standards in the public domain.
Something of the nature of the infamous "Green Book" for Ada. Can anybody
help?
Chuck Williams
Contel Federal Systems
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 88 19:43:06 EDT
From: Steve M. Burinsky <smb at mimsy.umd.edu>
Subject: VxWorks and dbxworks?
Has anyone had any experience with a development system called VxWorks
from Wind River Systems? It allows one to develop code for a VME-based
processor either on the same VME bus as the Sun, or across an ethernet.
Also, any knowledge of a Sun product called dbxworks, which allows remote
source-level debugging in the other processor from your Sun?
Steve
smb at mimsy.umd.edu
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 88 12:19:14 edt
From: Tim Pointing <tim at zorac.arpa>
Subject: dump to remote tape drive?
I know this has been discussed in the past (a few years ago before we had
any Sun's) but I don't have the back issues handy. There was much
discussion on how to modify various ethernet (I think) buffers on the
sending and receiving end to speed up rdump's. Could somebody please tell
me what the best/final answer was? Rather than bog Mr LeFebvre down with
dozens of people replying, please send responses to me and I'll summarize
to the list.
Tim Pointing, DCIEM
tim at zorac.arpa
uunet!mnetor!dciem!tim
------------------------------
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