>> Ah, to bad you don't know what you're talking about here. I know of a
>> certain major corporation that just got done putting a whole pile of new
>> VAX 7000's in a brand new computer room. Said corporation has numerous
>> computer rooms with VAXen, and these systems are heavily used.
>
>Maybe I should have said "Nobody -sane- is going to....".
Let's put it this way, said corporations livelyhood DEPENDS on those
systems and thier stability and reliability.
>> Speed isn't everything.
>
>You're right, speed isn't everything; it's the -only- thing! ;-)
Wrong, what counts is that the computer can do the job that it needs to.
That is why you'll still find systems such as the PDP-8 and PDP-11 still in
service. That is also why most people don't need anything more than a
68k-based Macintosh.
>> I'd rather have a nice VAX than a modern PC,
>> you've also got to consider the fact that PC's aren't the most reliable of
>> platforms, and most run an OS that totally sucks!
>
>My PCs are damn reliable; are you buying junk? They are -waaaaaaaaaaay- more
>reliable than the VAX-11/780s, VAX-11/750s and VAX-11/785s that I have
>used in the past. (I run BSDI unix on a Pentium Pro, as well as NetBSD on
>other machines, and they have -never- crashed.)
Let's see something like 90% of PC's run some varity of Microsoft Windows.
That means that about 90% of PC's are unreliable.
So yours don't crash? What about hardware? A VMS cluster is a lot more
capable of handling dead hardware than any PC running UNIX.
I'll admit, with good hardware, and running UNIX, or OS/2 you've got a
pretty reliable system. I think we'll see that reliability increase as
time passes and you start to see real clustering on PC's. If you want TRUE
reliability though you'll either go with one of Compaq's OpenVMS or Tandem
systems
>That's fascinating. Take obsolete hardware and architecture (vax), and
>keep them running! I guess I will never cease to be amazed at the weird
>things people do. Heck, I heard the other day that people are -still-
>running 1401 emulation mode under a VM/360 simulator on their modern h/w!
Let's see, on the VMS side, there is the question of reliability, you can't
get much more reliable than a VMS Cluster. But VMS runs on Alpha's you
say, well, not all apps have been ported.
Then there is the question of which costs less, keeping these systems
running, or converting to something new (this is both a hardware and
software quesiton). If the current system does everything you need, why
change? In some cases it makes sense to run old apps in an emulator on new
hardware.
>Remember, I was just making the observation that the integer performance of
>the vax 8650 is worse than a dx2-66. I think single-user; I run single-user
>machines. The future is single-user with vast network-accessed databases.
Well, that's one point of view. However, it's starting to look like the
trend is using those single-user systems as nothing more than intelligent
terminals (which is basically what you're saying).
>What you failed to mention is that sgi is -only- selling NT these days,
>having given up on Big Iron.
And you've failed to stay current.
>BUT, I would like the Vax Lover Crowd to acknowledge that they integer
>performance of their machine is pathetic.
Yes, but the 64-bit 21264 Alpha can beat any PC out there! If you need
speed you switch to Alpha, if you don't there is no reason not to stick
with VAX. BTW, I've got a letter I found today while cleaning up from
Compaq commiting to support the VAX hardware for a MINIMUM of 10 more years
through 2010. It's not like this is unsupported hardware.
Where the PC has it made is cost. For a few hundred dollars you can build
a pretty good, and fairly fast system, and load UNIX on it. It's hard to
beat that.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh_at_aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh_at_holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
|
http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |
Received on Sun Oct 24 1999 - 22:32:23 BST