[Info-vax] VMS 5.0

[Johnny Billquist]

On 2011-11-10 18.33, Richard B. Gilbert wrote:
> On 11/10/2011 12:08 PM, Bill Pechter wrote:
>> In article<X7udndDIALKHPSTTnZ2dnUVZ_hSdnZ2d at giganews.com>,
>> Richard B. Gilbert<rgilbert88 at comcast.net> wrote:
>>> On 11/8/2011 2:42 PM, Johnny Billquist wrote:
>>>> On 2011-11-08 15.50, Bob Koehler wrote:
>>>>> In
>>>>> article<e26cf339-adbf-48b1-aaf0-8bf7e6bceac7 at i10g2000vbk.googlegroups.com>,
>>>>>
>>>>> abrsvc<dansabrservices at yahoo.com> writes:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The more likely contents are the standanlone backup kit. IIRC, the
>>>>>> actual VMS software was distributed on magtape,TK50 and removeable
>>>>>> disk only.
>>>>>
>>>>> Some VMS update kits were distributed on TU58.
>>>>>
>>>>> One of the 3.x update kits was on several TU58, at the time the only
>>>>> option for 11/750 owners. (I think it was on 8" floppies for
>>>>> 11/780). At the time only full installs shipped on 9-track.
>>>>>
>>>>> It took so long to ingest from TU58 and DEC got so many complaints
>>>>> that DEC decided, and loudly declared at the next DECUS symposium,
>>>>> that in the future _all_ kits would be available on 9-track.
>>>>>
>>>>> Then CD became the standard media for Alpha, and available for VAX,
>>>>> so we immediately ordered a Qbus CD reader for our MV II.
>>>>
>>>> I can't even imagine how many TU58 it would take for a full VMS
>>>> distribution. About 100 tapes maybe? Considering that the standalone
>>>> backup alone is 5 RX01 floppies, and the capacity of the TU58 is
>>>> similar, the number of disks/tapes even for some update kit quickly
>>>> becomes ridiculous as far as the number of media is concerned.
>>>>
>>>> Johnny
>>>
>>> ISTR that you could die of old age trying to install from TU58!
>>>
>>> Just doing a BACKUP /VERIFY to nine track 1600 BPI tape took about
>>> fourteen hours! At this late date, I understand why DEC gave us
>>> (Princeton University) an 11/750 with RA-81 disk at an extreme discount!
>>> Nobody in his right mind would have paid for it if he had to install
>>> it and/or do full disk backups!
>>
>> What tape drive was this -- a TapeStretcher-11 or TE16.
>
> My fading memory insists it was a "TU-81". It was nine track 1600 BPI.

Probably a TU80 in that case. The TU81 looks the same, but uses TMSCP 
instead of the TS11 flavor interface. And the TU-81 can do 6250 bpi, as 
well as 1600 bpi. I can't think of any sane person who would want to do 
1600 if you had the choice of 6250 as well.

Also, the TU80 might have been able to do 75 ips, if streaming (if I 
remember right), but only 25 ips otherwise, while the TU77 could do 125. 
Those vacuum colons make a big difference...

	Johnny