Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!think!ames!pacbell!belltec!dar
From: dar@belltec.UUCP (Dimitri Rotow)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.intel
Subject: Re: UNIX system V release 3 on 80386
Summary: bBell Technologies clarifies the 80386 UNIX issue
	 (an official response)
Keywords: UNIX SYSTEM V 80386
Message-ID: <229@belltec.UUCP>
Date: 20 May 88 22:30:41 GMT
References: <1893@ihlpm.ATT.COM> <5782@pyr.gatech.EDU> <10906@steinmetz.ge.com> <5785@pyr.gatech.EDU>
Organization: Bell Technologies, Fremont, CA
Lines: 115

In article <5785@pyr.gatech.EDU>, ccastks@pyr.gatech.EDU (Ken Seefried iii) writes:
> In article <10906@steinmetz.ge.com> davidsen@crdos1.UUCP (bill davidsen) writes:
> >In article <5782@pyr.gatech.EDU> ccastks@pyr.UUCP (Ken Seefried iii) writes:
> >
> >| Bell Technologies is a reseller for Interactive 386/ix which is the official
> >| System V rel.3 product for the 386 (Intel and AT&T contracted Interactive
> >| to do the port).
> >
> >  Actually I believe that BT wrote the device drivers for the certified
> >UNIX port, and they are selling that port now (unmodified). INteractive
> >and MicroPort have made changes (thay may be enhancements) to the base
> >port.

Well ! Much confusion in place of referencing printed material  (RTFM).
Following is an official response from Bell Technologies:

Note that any commercial UNIX product really consists of three components: 1)
the AT&T source content, 2) a port to the target processor architecture, and
3) a set of machine specific device drivers for a particular commercial
machine utilizing the target processor.  The old process by which third
parties took AT&T source for VAX or 3B and ported to target commercial
machines encouraged the growth of alternative visions of UNIX (BSD, Xenix,
etc).

About four years ago, AT&T hit on the idea of promoting its standard vision of
UNIX, System V, by getting the major merchant microprocessor manufactures to
co-sponsor "reference ports" of the system to their microprocessor lines.  The
belief was that if generic System V ports were done to Intel, Motorola,
National, then 90 to 95% of the port job would be accomplished leaving only
the creation of machine specific device drivers to be done.  The availability
of such standard ports, it was felt, would encourage a convergence unto System
V.

About three years ago, AT&T and Intel entered into a joint venture to provide a
"reference port" of UNIX to Intel processors.  The original target was the
80286 running System V Release 2.  The project was called the "Micro Port"
project (no relation to the company of a similar name).  The deal was that
AT&T hired Intel as their prime contractor for the port.

Intel subcontracted the job to Digital Research, of CP/M fame.  When Digital
Research dropped dead on the project, Intel briefly turned to some of the
former Digital Research people who had reconstituted themselves as "Microport
Systems" to do contract work.  Intel finally hired Interactive Systems to
finish the job and to do a follow on project to port System V to the 80386.

In early 1986 System V Release 2 had been ported to Intel 80286 multibus
machines and was certified by AT&T.  Chuck Hickey, President of Microport,
approached us and other vendors with the proposition that the only thing
between this reference port and a commercial product for the PC AT was a set
of AT device drivers for disk, console, tty, and so on.  We helped with the
effort and agreed to distribute the release.

For UNIX on the 80386, Intel insisted that Interactive's reference port be
done not just for Intel 80386 Multibus machines, but also for 80386 clones. 
Thus UNIX System V Release 3.0 was created by Intel and Interactive and
certified by AT&T on 80386 AT clones (provided by Bell Technologies) as well
as on Multibus boxes.  Bell Technologies was a subcontractor in this project. 
We provided the streamer tape and multiport serial card expansion code, as
well as modifications to the hard disk driver enabling function with ESDI and
RLL drives as well as ST506.

The 80386 System V Release 3 product was conceived by AT&T and Intel as a
complete shrink-wrapped commercial quality product.  It is not some "subset"
source only product requiring portation, or enhancement, to be a terrific
commercial product.  It is the only UNIX product available for the AT which
today supports all commercial devices (such as tape, smart and dumb multiport
cards, networks, high res graphics cards, etc), has user friendly menues, and
is backed by source code availability and commercial quality books.

The problem in shipping this commercial product is untangling the intellectual
property interests in the commercial product actually certified.  There are
four components:  1) the AT&T property, 2) the Intel stuff done for 80386, 3)
the Interactive Systems device drivers for AT and 4) the Bell Technologies
device drivers.  Only two companies, to my knowledge, own the rights to
distribute the entire release exactly as certified: Bell Technolgies and
Interactive Systems.

Interactive commenced distributing the port as "386/ix".  In the early days of
distribution, 386/ix was identically the same as the certified port.  In the
last few months, Interactive has diverged 386/ix from the mainstream certified
port.

On Intel's behalf, we published the certified port exactly as it was
certified.  We charge so relatively little because we do not need to undergo
the massive expense of debugging the product after modifying it.  Debugging
the certified port required over a year of time and $10 million.  We feel
that any gratuitous "enhancements" we might make do no justify the cost of
undergoing that cycle again. In addition, since we need only reprint the
excellant commercial quality books created by AT&T and Prentice Hall, we don't
need to undergo the cost of re-doing all the documentation.

Best of all, because we are shipping the complete release as certified, we and
our customers benefit from upgrades to UNIX as they come out.  We are already
shipping release 3.1 with internationalization and enhanced streams.  We will
be shipping 3.2 with the ability to run Xenix binaries as well as implanted
ability to host DOS within days of its certification.  X is already available
and Open Look will be available within days of certification.  If we were to
proprietarize the release, we would have to charge extra for what is really no
value added plus we would inject a considerable delay in bringing to
developers and our customers the benefits of pending upgrades to UNIX.

For the record, we ship the official Intel/AT&T 80386 commercial UNIX product.
We don't compete with Interactive, SCO, or Microport: they are all in the
position now of competing directly with Intel and AT&T.  I think it is good
that Intel and AT&T have combined to bring to the world a binary UNIX product
which is a true commercial product that has been thoroughly tested in the lab
and not in the field.  That one can get such a product for far less than $200
is a testimonial to the economy of scale made possible by AT&T and Intel's $40
million per year investment in UNIX, and not at all a reflection of limited
content.

Please do not hesitate to contact either our technical staff or (even) sales
people for more information, or mail me direct.

Dimitri Rotow, President