Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!uunet!rafos!skip
From: skip@rafos.UUCP (Skip Carter)
Newsgroups: comp.realtime
Subject: Re: My IBM rep says that the RS/6000/w AIX is realtime, is this true?
Message-ID: <467@rafos.UUCP>
Date: 28 Aug 90 17:21:26 GMT
References: <4350@cica.cica.indiana.edu> <1793@abvax.UUCP>
Organization: School of Oceanography, URI, Narragansett, RI
Lines: 33

In article <1793@abvax.UUCP> ejp@icd.ab.com (Ed Prochak) writes:
>In article <4350@cica.cica.indiana.edu>, ssw@cica.cica.indiana.edu
>(Steve Wallace) writes:
>> Our IBM rep is telling us that the RS/6000 running AIX will do
>> realtime applications.  Specifically, the RS/6000 will be able to
>> time user response time with a given accuracy.  The local IBM
>> tech type says just adjusting the priority on the process will
>> guaranty a maximum latency between an interrupt (keypress) and
>> the process waking up and recording the time.
>> 
>> Does anyone know if the RS/6000 & AIX have this capabilities, or
>> is IBM bluffing?
>> 
>> 

	Several months ago (around April) I got a chance to demo an
RS/6000 for a couple weeks.  When the IBM rep said the words "real-time"
my ears perked up.  I asked him if it was really real-time or just fast,
he got a little nervous and eventually said something to the effect of
"... well if you mean real-time like say, a Masscomp, no its not real-time,
but ITS REALLY FAST SO WHATS THE DIFFERENCE ?"

	He also told me that the system was BOTH SYS V and BSD compatible,
but he couldn't tell me how that was accomplished.


	I remain skeptical.

-- 
Skip Carter			UUCP:	uunet!rafos!skip
School of Oceanography	    INTERNET:   skip@rafos.gso.uri.edu
University of Rhode Island     Phone:   401-792-6519
Narragansett, RI 02882