[Info-vax] An alternative history of computing

chris chris-nospam at tridac.net
Fri Jul 23 14:56:36 EDT 2021


On 07/23/21 19:41, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
> On 7/23/2021 2:36 PM, chris wrote:
>> On 07/23/21 19:27, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>> On 7/23/2021 2:15 PM, chris wrote:
>>>> On 07/23/21 18:02, Robert A. Brooks wrote:
>>>>> On 7/23/2021 12:36 PM, chris wrote:
>>>>>> Full decnet was an expensive layered product, from memory, though
>>>>>> a subset and run time libraries did come with vms.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm not sure what you mean by "run time libraries"; there is
>>>>> no run-time-only DECnet option for either Phase IV or Phase V.
>>>>>
>>>>> DECnet Phase IV was pretty simple -- you had either a routing license
>>>>> or an end node license. The X.25 stuff (VAX PSI) was separate, but
>>>>> that's not DECnet per se. The NAS morass was simply a license bundling
>>>>> mechanism with
>>>>> other stuff, but did not alter the DECnet functionality.
>>>>>
>>>>> DECnet Phase V (known first as DECnet/OSI and now known as
>>>>> DECnet-Plus)
>>>>> has more moving parts (the optional OSAK, FTAM, VT -- none of which
>>>>> require an extra license), and its licensing also essentially follows
>>>>> the routing/end-node paradigm. The X.25 stuff is again separately
>>>>> licensed.
>>>>
>>>> So you are just confirming what I said then, that full decnet was an
>>>> expensive layered product ?. Thanks for the clarification though.
>>>>
>>>> Most people expect networking to be part of the base os these days, as
>>>> machines are generally useless without it...
>>>
>>> I agree that network is necessary.
>>>
>>> But DECnet with end-node license instead of routing license
>>> was still network.
>>
>> Probably excellent when it was first released, back in the days
>> of isdn and X25, but who would choose it now, other than for niche
>> applications ?...
>
>  From around 1995 or so TCP/IP changed from nice to have to must have.
>
> Arne
>
>
Agreed, must have been that time frame, perhaps vms 5.x something that I
last had anything to do with decnet. Even then though, is seemed so
wooden and didn't really talk to anything other than other dec machines.

Assume that now, a full tcp/ip stack does or will come as part of the OS
from VSI ?...










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