[Info-vax] VMS 5.0

[Bill Pechter]

In article <J6mdnelY19ZilyHTnZ2dnUVZ_uSdnZ2d at giganews.com>,
Richard B. Gilbert <rgilbert88 at comcast.net> 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.
>

I did the HW maintenance training video on those CDC drives when I was at 
Concurrent.

Great little drives but you needed to keep the data streaming on the box 
to get the best speed.  I think they dropped to 25ips (IIRC) if they
weren't kept streaming.

Bill
-- 
-- 
Digital had it then.  Don't you wish you could buy it now!
              pechter-at-pechter.dyndns.org