[Info-vax] VMS port to x86

[Jerry Eckert]

On Mar 26, 1:32 pm, John Wallace <johnwalla... at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> On Mar 26, 5:20 pm, Jerry Eckert <je... at virtual-vax-alpha.com> wrote:
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> > On Mar 25, 3:48 am, John Wallace <johnwalla... at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
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> > > In a commercial setup rather than hobbyist setup, a far greater
> > > concern than using one of the multiple cores [often unnecessarily]
> > > provided in many modern Window boxes would likely be the reliability
> > > and availability of the underlying OS in comparison with the
> > > reliability and availability which led to the choice (and retention)
> > > of VMS.
>
> > If one dedicates a box to the emulation applications, which is the
> > recommendation of the vendors, many of the Windows services can be
> > disabled.  This provides a significant improvement in the reliability
> > of the underlying OS. Since Windows network connectivity is for
> > management only, in most cases it should be possible to isolate it
> > from general network traffic, reducing exposure to the network
> > security vulnerabilities.
>
> > Another option is not to run the emulator under Windows.  vtAlpha's
> > bare metalapproach, which is a bundled Linux kernel, works well
> > because the underlying OS is shipped stripped down and tested with the
> > application; there is no issue with OS upgrades applied on-site
> > introducing incompatabilities.
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> "vtAlpha's bare metalapproach, which is a bundled Linux kernel"
>
> Oh dear, not that silliness again. Not running Windows may be better
> than running Windows, but running a Linux layer underneath the
> emulator doesn't make it a "bare metal" emulator.
>
> Why is it so difficult for IT people to be honest these days?
>
> HYPErvisor. With the emphasis on the first four letters.- Hide quoted text -
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> - Show quoted text -

The term "bare metal" is obviously from the user's perspective -- they
provide the appropriate hardware, no OS required.

Something has to provide the OS services: either the application can
bundle an existing OS (or the necessary portions of an OS), or the
application developers can write the code themselves.  The latter is
obviously not feasible from either economic or reliability
perspectives. Anyone who understands the technology should understand
this.