[Info-vax] VMS 5.0

[Richard B. Gilbert]

On 11/14/2011 4:08 PM, Bill Pechter wrote:
> In article<uaWdnepJbIKPlyHTnZ2dnUVZ_uednZ2d 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.
>>>
>>> The TU77 was much faster.  Backup/verify at 125 ips was a lot better
>>> than anything off the Unibus in the day.
>>>
>>>> I put in a few fourteen hour days doing BACKUP and RESTORE to remedy
>>>> disk/file fragmentation.  I also put in a good deal of time trying to
>>>> convince users that they should allocate a reasonable amount of
>>>> contiguous disk space to hold their data.
>>>>
>>>> Eventually, somebody wrote some software that could defragment an ODS-2
>>>> file system without doing a backup and restore.
>>>
>>>
>>> I remember doing DSC on VAX/VMS 2.x when doing installs... Not too bad
>>> with a string of TU77's.  OK when going disk to disk on RP06's too.
>>>
>>> (Long time since Princeton.  Was there a year ago at a meeting.  They're
>>> moving to a new datacenter.  Time flies.
>>>
>>> Bill
>>>
>>>
>>
>> What are they doing with "80 Prospect Street" now?  When I was still
>> working at Princeton, they had a "motor-generator" providing DC for the
>> 360/91.  It was about the size of a Greyhound Bus!  The computer room
>> was big enough to play football in!
>>
>
> Whoa... how long did they run a 360/91.  I was last in front of a 360
> at Monmouth Medical  when I worked for DEC in 85 or 86.
>

I got out of the U.S. Army in the fall of 1969.  I managed to land a job 
as a "Junior Programmer" at Princeton University starting in January 
1970.  The 360/91 was then in place.  I think it was fairly new
but I don't know when it was installed and placed in service.  I think 
the /91 was eventually replaced with a 370 of some sort.  At that point
I was System Manager for a VAX 11/750 at the Gas Dynamic Laboratory and 
didn't use the "main frame" very much.  I don't remember when the 360/91 
was replaced with a 370/??

I was in Princeton a few days ago.  I drove past the building that used 
to be the Computer Center.  It's still there but I don't know what, if 
anything, it's used for.  It's behind one of the "Eating Clubs".  The
Eating Clubs were similar to fraternities but that's about the limit of
my knowledge of the subject.