[TUHS] UNIX on (not quite bare) System/370

[Warner Losh]

On Thu, Dec 22, 2022, 10:27 AM Noel Chiappa <jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:

>     > From: Bakul Shah
>
>     > There is a further para:
>
>     >  Reducing external memory fragmentation to zero by utilizing the VAX-
>     >  11/780 memory mapping hardware for scatter loading is high on the
> list
>     >  of things to do in the second implementation pass.
>
> I'm curious as to exactly what is meant by "external memory"? They must
> mean
> memory on the Synchronous Backplane Interconnect:
>
>   http://gunkies.org/wiki/Synchronous_Backplane_Interconnect
>
> I.e. what most of us would call 'main memory'.
>
> If this code didn't even allocate main memory by pages, instead of in
> process-size blocks, it sounds like it's much like 32V (or is it 32V that's
> being discussed; I thought this thread had moved on to the Reiser demand
> paging version - my apologies it I've gotten lost).
>
>
> Also, this note:
>
>   http://gunkies.org/wiki/Talk:CB-UNIX
>
> from Dale DeJager (which he kindly gave me permission to post)


It's quite similar to a note he posted to I think unix-wizards mailing list
back in the late 80s. I found it for my early unix talk and it's why I call
cbunix the first fork.

gives a fair
> amount of detail on the relationship between the Research and CB/UNIX
> versions, with a brief mention of USG - precisely the era, and
> relationships,
> that are so poorly documented. Interestingly, he indicates that the early
> versions of what later became CB/UNIX used something in the V1/V3 range (V4
> was the first one in C), so it dates back earlier than most people
> apparently
> assume.
>

For my early unix talk, I think I pegged that at V2. Running on the 11/20
coupled with V3 manual strongly suggesting running on 11/20 would be better
with v1 or v2.

If anyone else has any first-hand notes (i.e.from people who were there at
> the
> time), about the relationship between all the early systems, for which the
> author has given permiosssion to post it, please send it to me and I will
> add it to the appropriate article on the CHWiki
>

The source I had said it was NJ Bell that did the productization of v2 in
1972 or 1973 for the SCCS project. I have a memory of reading somewhere
that Columbus took over maintenance once they deployed and out of that grew
cbunix. I'll see if I can find that again. It matches other things I've
read that Columbus provided support for the operating companies deploying
unix.

Warner

Probably the most needed is more about the roots of USG; Dale has filled in
> CB/UNIX, and the roots of PWB are covered fairly well in the BSTJ article
> on it:
>
>   https://archive.org/details/bstj57-6-2177
>
> at least, for PWB1. Anything that covers the later PWBs would likewise be
> gratefully receied.
>
>
> I suppose I should also write up the relationships of the later UNIXen -
> 32V
> and its descendants too - any material sent to me about them will be most
> gratefully received. (If anyone want a CHWiki account, to write it up
> themselves, please let me know).
>
>    Noel
>
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