[Info-vax] DECnet Phase IV, licencing and old VMS versions

[Rich Alderson]

koehler at eisner.nospam.decuserve.org (Bob Koehler) writes:

> In article <mddtwb4jwy5.fsf at panix5.panix.com>, Rich Alderson <news at alderson.users.panix.com> writes:

>> "for some reason"?  Perhaps the fact that Phase IV was announced at the same
>> time that the DECSYSTEM-4050 (earlier DECSYSTEM-2090), code name "Jupiter",
>> was canceled?  It was only the size of the LCG customer base which forced
>> Digital into continuing hardware development until 1988 and software
>> development until 1993.

>    IIRC, the last release of TOPS-10 was to add ethernet support to the
>    DECnet front end.  It actually came a couple years after formal support
>    had ended.  We all assumed there was a large customer somewhere that
>    wanted some PDP-10s on his ethernet.

You can read the Monitor Beware file for the last (official) release of Tops-10
here:

http://pdp-10.trailing-edge.com/tops10_704_monitoranf_bb-x140c-sb/01/10,7/704.bwr.html

This is v7.04, dated October 1988.  I chaired the announcement session at DECUS
the previous spring in Cincinnati.  The introduction in the beware file reads:

    Beware file for TOPS-10 Version 7.04                            Page 3


    1.0  INTRODUCTION

    The primary reason for this release is to provide  the  customer  base
    with  a  stable,  reliable, and maintainable monitor for the remaining
    years of committed support by Digital.  In addition, emphasis has been
    placed  on  correcting  chronic problems that have existed for several
    years.  There are few functional enhancements, an  approach  that  has
    been taken at the request of the customers.
    
    Installation of this release  is  similar  to  that  of  the  previous
    release.   This  distribution  also  contains software such as ANF-10,
    CUSPs, and GALAXY that has been put into "maintenance mode".  That is,
    bug  fixes  and  functional  changes  to  the  software have been made
    available on Autopatch tapes.  This eliminates the  need  for  special
    drop-back  procedures for this software.  Drop-back procedures for new
    software are discussed in the section on operator  differences  below.
    DECnet  monitor  sources  are  included with the standard distribution
    kit.  The DECnet-10 option contains only the MCB and NML software.
    
    Particular attention should be paid  to  the  section  describing  the
    changes to the MONGEN dialogue.  While it has been greatly simplified,
    the changes are major.
    
I see nothing about adding Ethernet support to the monitor.  I do see the
addition of the NIA20 to the monitor in the previous release, v7.03, which
included the utility KNILDR (v1) to load the NIA20's microcode, although no
mention of that is made in the introduction to the relevant beware file:

    BEWARE FILE FOR TOPS-10 VERSION 7.03 DISTRIBUTION               Page 3


    1.0  INTRODUCTION

    The major reason for release 7.03 of the TOPS-10 operating  system  is
    to  support  the CI20/HSC50 disk subsystem, to implement the corporate
    networking protocol DECnet-10 Phase IV for Ethernet communication, and
    to  implement  a  number  of security enhancements, including password
    encryption.   Additionally,  7.03  implements  support  for  user-mode
    extended  addressing,  alternate  contexts  (PUSH/POP),  LAT  terminal
    concentrators,  CTERM  (the   corporate   network   virtual   terminal
    protocol),  and  a number of minor enhancements.  Installation of 7.03
    is very similar to the installation of 7.02.  Also, the  7.03  package
    contains  GALAXY  5.1.   The  installation  of  these new products and
    ramifications with respect to dropping back to 7.02 are  discussed  in
    the section on operator differences below.

That's from April, 1986.  See

http://pdp-10.trailing-edge.com/tops10_703_distr_bb-x140b-sb/01/10,7/703mon/703.bwr.html

-- 
Rich Alderson					  news at alderson.users.panix.com
      Audendum est, et veritas investiganda; quam etiamsi non assequamur,
	  omnino tamen proprius, quam nunc sumus, ad eam perveniemus.
									--Galen