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From: jackv@turnkey.tcc.com (Jack F. Vogel)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.aix
Subject: Re: Aix Running on Clones?
Message-ID: <1990Nov27.205029.28569@turnkey.tcc.com>
Date: 27 Nov 90 20:50:29 GMT
References: <1990Nov13.150450.18758@watserv1.waterloo.edu> <1990Nov19.113340@fenway.aix.kingston.ibm.com> <4989@spdcc.SPDCC.COM> <17516@hydra.gatech.EDU>
Reply-To: jackv@turnkey.TCC.COM (Jack F. Vogel)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Turnkey Computer Consultants, Westchester, CA
Lines: 45

In article <17516@hydra.gatech.EDU> hh2@prism.gatech.EDU (HAAS) writes:
 
>I believe it was a man named Jack Vogel from Locus that claimed to have
>AIX running on many clones within Locus, the LAST time this subject came
>up. So we KNOW it's possible. I guess what all of us AIX folks that aren't
>'Unix internals' guys want to know is: HOW? What changes are neccesary? 
>Does it require simple modifications to the installation diskettes, (even
>if that might mean a binary patch) or do we simply not have the resources
>neccesary?
 
My such notoriety :-}!! Actually, I don't remember posting about this.
However, as both Steve and Brian have noted in subsequent followups, we
were until very recently running AIX (a pre-GA version I might note) not
"on many clones", but on Compaqs. But neither Steve or Brian have gone
into detail on what was required to do this; as a matter of fact, we had
to build completely different kernels to run on these sites. So unfortunately
its not just a matter of diddling with your installation disks or anything
else that you might have the ability to fiddle with that will get it to
work.

Brian suggested that it would work on "clones" with VGA, actually I doubt
this is all that would be required. I think it would have to have an 
identical NVRAM configuration as well which means ABIOS clone I believe. 
And, as he noted, even if you could get it to run it would be unsupported.

Steve pondered on why Locus itself might not offer this option, well this
is an IBM product whose development was contracted to Locus so we wouldn't
have this option even if we wanted ( and, I might add, I make no claims
as to what the marketing types might want :-}). We also quit using these
systems and that code when AIX 1.2 GA'ed since there was no justification
for the work required to keep that code in sync, and since our production
environment is an IBM customer just like anyone else.

So the days of "clones" running AIX at LCC are gone. In its development
lifetime some distant relative of the current AIX 1.2 has run on many
different type cpu's, however IBM has chosen the present limitation and
you will be hard-pressed to get around it. Where this limitation might
change is with the offering from the OSF, or at least one can hope.

Disclaimer: Naturally, these opinions are mine, not LCC or IBM's.

-- 
Jack F. Vogel			jackv@locus.com
AIX370 Technical Support	       - or -
Locus Computing Corp.		jackv@turnkey.TCC.COM