Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hp-pcd!hpfcso!hpfcbig!fritz
From: fritz@hpfcbig.SDE.HP.COM (Gary Fritz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: Anyone familiar w/ HP9000 series 520?
Message-ID: <7540057@hpfcbig.SDE.HP.COM>
Date: 6 Jul 90 16:58:23 GMT
References: <1990Jun27.215251.9406@sunstone.idbsu.edu>
Organization: HP SESD, Fort Collins, CO
Lines: 48

> We were just given an HP9000 series 520, 3 processors, 8Mg memory,
> HP7937 disc drive, with HP-UX (uname -a says 5.21 B?), ... something
> called Network Services/9000 (with things like NFT??), and a HP27125A
> Interface card (it says ethernet and IEEE802.3).

Yow.  Let me dust some cobwebs out of the ol' grey matter and see if
I can remember anything about this.  Warning:  I haven't seen one of 
these beasties in about 6 years; caveat emptor.

What you have there is (as far as I know) the first system capable of
fully multi-tasking Un*x -- i.e. even kernel calls can run simultaneously.
The catch is, it's not *exactly* a "real" Un*x kernel.  This system was
HP's first Un*x product, first implemented about 8 years ago, and as such
had to fit in with existing HP products.  One of those was another OS
on the 500 hardware which used an underlying kernel called the "Sun kernel".
(This was before a certain company became a major competitor in the
workstation market.  :-)  The Sun kernel was used as the foundation
for the 500's HP-UX OS, with a System III (at that time) veneer on it.  
This approach, while producing such benefits as much higher reliability
than comparable Un*ces at the time and the aforementioned multi-tasking, 
unfortunately resulted in some slightly non-standard operation.

As I recall, the networking was one of those non-standard things.  This was
before TCP/IP was widely accepted outside the university/BSD arena, and
I don't remember if the 500 ever got completely TCP/IP-compatible.  I think
the Network Services product was a non-TCP-based protocol.  I also don't 
remember when the 5.21 release came out, so I don't remember what features,
performance enhancements, etc. you have, but I believe it was one of the
last releases of HP-UX on the 500.

Bottom line:  if my foggy memory is correct, you probably can't connect
your 520 to TCP/IP systems without an investment, and possibly not at all.
You'll have to use UUCP to transfer files to/from the 520.  (Which might
require the purchase or begging of an RS-232 card.)  You won't be able 
to run any recent software -- X, for example.  The system is quite usable 
as a C development station, and is a pretty good system for running 
multi-tasking problems.  But remember that this CPU was designed before 
the first 68000 came out!  If you're used to a 68030-based system or 
something like that, it might seem a bit slow.

Maybe someone with more recent 500 experience can shed some more light on this.

Good luck,
Gary


Disclaimer:  these ramblings are the vague memories of someone who worked 
on this system a decade ago.  I don't guarantee their accuracy.