[Info-vax] free shell accounts?

[MG]

Stan Radford schreef op 17-jan-2015 om 21:02:
> [A]re there any free shell providers for VMS so I could
> see what this is all about?

There used to be not just a single VMS system, but an actual
cluster (i.e. VMScluster), better known as "Deathrow" (via the
Internet Archive Wayback Machine you can still see what it
comprised, here: <http://deathrow.vistech.net>).  Sadly, not
too long ago, it went 'offline' and has been ever since.
(See the comp.os.vms Usenet archives for more information on
that.)

There are also a handful of other remote access systems, but
they're often catering more to the 'retrocomputing' crowd
and therefore older versions of VMS (mostly running on VAX
hardware).  From the top of my head, there's IPv7.net, but I
haven't been there in some time.  Here's a summary of systems
available, some with guest access, as mentioned:
<http://decnet.ipv7.net/nodetab-en.html>

Normally Encompasserve/DECUserve's EISNER:: node is also
available, but it has been offline once more since yesterday
(due to technical issues, see the recent threads/posts about
it here on comp.os.vms).  For moreinformation, see:
<http://decuserve.org>

There are probably some people willing to make their systems
available to you, for short periods of time, I'm sure.  (They
would of course have to come forward first, though.)

I don't have any hardware anymore nowadays, I used to have
numerous AXP (DEC Alpha) and IPF (Itanium IA-64 processor
family, i.e. HP Integrity) systems.  Nowadays I only have
my DEC Multia/UDB VX40B with a low-power 166-MHz AXP DECchip
21066/LCA4, a mere 256 Mbytes RAM, ~73 Gbyte U320 SCSI disk
(with necessary interface adapter, in SE mode), 10BASE-T
half-duplex Ethernet NIC and some other items).  It's not
much, mostly a curiosity.  But, I guess I could reinstall it
with VMS, but it only maximally supports V7.3 (or V7.3-1,
with some luck) and with various limitations, instead of HP
Tru64 UNIX V5.1B that I have on it at the moment.  So, that
won't help you much if you're interested in a contemporary
VMS setup.  I don't have too much interesting software to run,
like Rdb or whatever.  (I'd also need to double check if I
even have all the Layered Products for V7.3.)


> Is there any graphical desktop and will it work over normal
> X-forwarding from a shell account or is everything command
> line?

There is, but beware... there are some snags.  'Normally' you
could from an actual non-emulated/hardware VMS system (and
preferably with a graphics card present) run X sessions or
individual X applications (e.g.) forwarded through SSH.  VMS
uses a port of CDE called DECwindows (a.k.a. "DECwindows New
Desktop", where "DECwindows Classic" is the pre-CDE windowing
environment as seen in Ultrix and some other operating systems
of DEC, too).


> I am fine with command line but a GUI is sometimes easier
> when using a shell account especially if they only allow you
> to sign on once because then it's harder to be in an editor
> and read man pages etc. unless Emacs is running there.

I agree.  Unfortunately, VMS doesn't have nearly the amount
of GUI tools as, say, Digital/Tru64 UNIX.  But, as you say,
just being able to assorted windows (e.g. terminal emulator
instances) is very useful in and by itself.

  - MG