UNIX for PDP-11: moving on to media

[David C. Jenner]

Warren,

I think you are exactly correct when you say these are the first two
eminent, and imminent questions about PDP-11 Unix.  They have frequently
occurred to me as I drool in anticipation over the possibility of
running 2.11BSD on an 11/73!

Maybe you or a 2.11BSD expert (Steve Schultz?) could find the "release
notes" for 2.11BSD and post them, if that's legal now.  That would
answer a lot of questions about how to configure a machine or whether a
particular machine could handle it.  Maybe the release notes from two or
three different versions could cover a great majority of potential
users; your survey might answer that.

It will be great to have everything on a CD-ROM, but that probably won't
help a majority of users bootstrap up a system, since most won't have a
CD-ROM or maybe even no operating system to start with.  We are going to
have to find someone(s) who is (are) willing to make up a standard
distribution tape (9-track or otherwise) or floppies (is that
possible?).  This could really be the biggest hurdle to getting a system
running on many machines.

Dave

Warren Toomey wrote:
> 
> In article by Allison J Parent:
> >
> > <See the petition hyperlinked on http://minnie.cs.adfa.oz.au/PUPS/
> >
> > I've done the petition.
> >
> > <Hopefully (soon) you will be able to buy one from SCO for about US$100.
> > <You can get the binaries for v6 and v7, see Bob Supnik's PDP-11 emulator
> > <on the same web page.
> >
> > I also know of the binaries for v6 and v7 at several sites for emulator use.
> >
> > What is unclear is how to get those binaries onto a real PDP-11 such as my
> > 11/73 and if the devices I have are even supported.
> 
> Sorry for the misunderstanding Allison!
> 
> Actually, that's a very good question. As I'm not a hardware person, I'll
> pass this over to the other PUPS mailing list members. If/when SCO start
> selling licenses & we make CD-ROMs or FTP sites available, this question
> is going to come up an awful lot:
> 
> Question 1
> ----------
> 
> How do I get a Unix distribution onto:
> 
>         - a tape, because I have a tape drive
> 
>         - a disk drive, as I don't have a tape drive
> 
> assuming I [ have RT-11/ RSX / no operating system ] on the PDP-11 already.
> 
> Question 2
> ----------
> 
> I have [ this particular CPU and this list of other peripherals ].
> What version(s) of Unix can I run on this PDP-11?
> 
> Can anybody help out with answers to Question 1? Bits & pieces of Question 2
> are answered on the PUPS web pages, but they need expanding.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any information, and any programs (boot code etc)
> that I can add in to the PUPS archive!!
> 
>         Warren

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