HP/DEC/Compaq

Any people on here registered on there too? (My web space is here ). Since I don't own any VAX hardware, it was a nice opportunity to get into VAX machine code. All the development tools (MACRO32/64, C/C++, F77, etc.) with licenses are installed, the cluster runs off version 7.3.

Not yet I've been thinking about it though. I will probably join when I get my own Vax and alpha machines going.

What ones do you currently have? But, you don't need to add any of your own systems to the cluster to participate. (Actually, I wouldn't even know how that could be done, or whether it'd be very practical). Or is it just the practice you want before you join?

Off the top of my head I have four or five vaxstations, three microvax 3X00 (where X is 4,5,6 I think), a VAX-11/750. A handful of alphastations and an ES45. A bit more than I can handle at the moment

I know that I don't need to add my own machines to Deathrow, I would join to get a reference system and some help I hope But the machines could maybe be added to the cluster using the HECnet bridge.

Very nice! I only have one system, a surprisingly snappy AlphaServer 1000 (4/266) , but I'm very happy with it nonetheless. I hope to get a hold of something more powerful in the future, like the rx2600 or rx2620 , like some (lucky) people on the forum own.



I assume you mean DECnet? I'm familiar with it, but I've never tried coupling a cluster on longer distances, only in local networks, is what I meant. Also, I think you'd have to run 7.3 or 8.x with ODS/2 (without hard links), for file system backward compatibility.

DECnet Plus is TCP/IP based, so no problem there. HECnet is different - it's a hobbyist DECnet Phase IV network, see http://www.update.uu.se/~bqt/hecnet.html . No word yet if the mascot is Phil from Dilbert.

VAXclusters/VMSclusters can work very nicely over long distances.

Nope, I mean HECnet As linked above. HECnet is just the name of the network, but a bridging software is available.

I like the idea of Phil as maskot I'll mention it to Johnny.

I know what you mean now, I forgot; the similarity in names must've confused me. I know they can work nicely, it has been one of VMS' selling points afterall, I was just not sure how it could be done with hobbyist licensed nodes.

The rule of thumb is that you can do pretty much anything with a hobbyist licensed node that you can with a commercially licensed node (provided you can lay your hands on the software distributions), just not do it commercially. The licenses are almost all included in the hobbyist PAKs.

I know that, but I haven't really tried any of the clustering yet. I mean, I am — or was — still busy trying to set something up, but my AlphaServer 1000 seems to have gone belly up!! Prior to that, I was experimenting with setting up a cluster with and some additional virtual nodes, running VMS through AXP emulation (via Personal Alpha ), but it was a bit troublesome — or not ideal, rather — with shared TCP/IP and so on. (Which isn't really genuine like that, or doesn't feel very ‘real’... to me at least).

I'm not sure what the hell happened with my system, it ran so well and now it won't show/give a graphics output nor show anything on the LCD display. Prior to that I was also having problems during startup, hanging during boot when it's initiating the ethernet adapter (at the point it shows “link UP”). Frustrating, the second anticipated system of mine to have bitten the dust it seems!

Anyway, as far as my original question goes: Is anyone part of this particular cluster or interested in joining also?

I thought I remembered them having more systems a few years ago - at least a couple more VAXes, and I though one or two more Alphas.

Didn't they have a VAX 4000/500 or better?

I don't run my Alphas very often and usually run Tru64 anyway. If I want VMS I can just go play on pfafner.

My AXP system seems to have broken down recently... I have no idea what happened, but it's really annoying and happened totally out of the blue. I'll just have to emulate for now and use it via remote sessions, like on “Deathrow.” It's too bad that most AXP emulators only support a limited amount of RAM, the ones I've tried at least.

I'm going to stop buying second, or rather multiple/ n -th hand, stuff for a while. I'll just wait for a cheap'ish HP Integrity system to appear on the auction sites.

It works again, the ol' serial cable ‘fixed’ it. Real awkward though, because I have and already had it set to “graphics” in the SRM...

I do have an account on the deathrow cluster. Haven't been using it a lot lately though... built a website on it just for kicks (and for learning how to build an xhtml/css website using nothing but a basic editor ) but that's about it.

Have a SIMH VAX cluster at home now. Maybe I should check into running that HECNet thing too... very nice find

Alver, if I may ask, what is your username over at DR?