Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!steinmetz!davidsen
From: davidsen@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP (William E. Davidsen Jr)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Unix V/386 -- which would you buy?
Message-ID: <7960@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 24-Nov-87 10:10:49 EST
Article-I.D.: steinmet.7960
Posted: Tue Nov 24 10:10:49 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 28-Nov-87 01:14:54 EST
References: <361@ddsw1.UUCP>
Reply-To: davidsen@crdos1.UUCP (bill davidsen)
Distribution: na
Organization: General Electric CRD, Schenectady, NY
Lines: 76
Keywords: Unix, 80386, Speed, Performance
Summary: You asked for it
Xref: mnetor comp.unix.xenix:1213 comp.sys.ibm.pc:10489

In article <361@ddsw1.UUCP> karl@ddsw1.UUCP (Karl Denninger) writes:
|This has probably been hashed out a million times before, but...
|
|I'd like to ask the users of the net which 80386 Unix (Xenix) derivitive
|they would buy.  I know of the following companies producing a Unix(Xenix)
|V/386 -- feel free to add to this!

I am posting this to the 80386 mailing list as well

|o Microport (System V/386)
|o Interactive (Same)
|o SCO (Xenix V/386)
|o Bell Tech (?)
|
|We're looking for the following:
|
|o Speed -- Performance is very, very important.  
|  We will be developing code on this system -- thus, the quality of
|  the compiler(s) also count in a big way.  Comments on both the system's
|  speed as a whole and on the quality of the code generated by the
|  compiler(s) is desired.

mport, bell and IS are shipping a PCC based compiler. mport *claims*
that they will ship Greenhills in January, but they also told us that
they shipped V/AT six weeks ago. Xenix/386 uses an optimizing compiler
which will generate code for Xenix/286 and DOS as well as native code. I
have played with it a bit on a Compaq and it didn't surprize me. The
option to reduce common subexpressions does produce some major
improvements in some code.

|o Adherance to standards -- SVID is foremost, although utility-level
|  compatibility would also be nice.  

All but Xenix are based on a certified (by AT&T) port. Xenix claims to
support SVID. It is much more standard that Xenix/286 as far as I can
tell, although the system administration is still Xenix flavor.

|o Reliability -- We cannot tolerate a product that panics or crashes.
|  We *need* 9600 baud communications ability, 19,200 is desired.

Xenix will run two ports at 9600. More than that I don't know. Bell has
drivers for smart or dumb 6 ports serial cards which go at least to 9600
(I think 19.2). They wrote the drivers for the version which was
certified by AT&T. mport has had a *lot* of trouble with their serial
drivers on V/AT, they tell me there's no problem on V/386.

|o Must handle 'smart' serial boards (requirement above mandates it).
|
|o Must have a full link kit (ability to handle custom drivers *AND* tune
|  some kernel parameters); a section in the manuals that is worthwhile on 
|  writing drivers for the particular varient of Unix is even more helpful.

Xenix/386 has a *whole lot* of info on device drivers, including
examples. I haven't seen the others enough to comment.

|o MUST (repeat, MUST) handle disk drives which are not in the standard
|  15-type set from an IBM AT.  Soft configuration (ala Microport SysV/286)
|  is perfect, but any other configurable solution is also fine (I'm willing
|  to link a new kernel to change it, for example).  What is *NOT* fine is 
|  a scheme which limits you to those types which are in your BIOS.  I believe 
|  that this disqualifies Interactive (from their literature), but perhaps 
|  that's not the whole story...

Xenix/386 does. I'm told that V/386 does (I didn't install it).

|In addition, ability to run DOS/MERGE in some form is also desired, but not
|necessary (we have other systems for that if needed).

mport claims that they will be shipping DOSmerge in January (we haven't
gotten production versions of the product we ordered six months ago for
V/AT, but they did send us buggy beta versions), and IS is shipping now.
I don't know the status for Xenix.
-- 
	bill davidsen		(wedu@ge-crd.arpa)
  {uunet | philabs | seismo}!steinmetz!crdos1!davidsen
"Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -me