[Info-vax] An alternative history of computing

[Andrew Commons]

On Friday, 23 July 2021 at 3:22:30 am UTC+9:30, Simon Clubley wrote:

> DECnet is not an open specification. 
> 
> Parts of it are fully open (the lower-level NSP and related stuff) but 
> most of the higher-level application protocols are fully closed. 
> 
So, DECnet is/was an open specification.

Some of it can be found here:

ftp://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/dec/decnet/

The fact that the layered applications were not open does not change the
validity of that statement.

Was it expensive? Yes, and so was the Operating System and the hardware.

Now add hardware/software maintenance and support on top of all that.

It was an expensive game to be in and maintenance bills came in two colours,
pale green and red.

Unix, on the other hand, was developed on DEC hardware up to BSD and System V.
Licenses were basically free if you were an academic institution, ditto for
TCP/IP. For maintenance and support you had mailing lists.

So cheap and cheerful won the academic space unless real quality and reliability was
needed - think SPAN and HEPnet.