Message-ID: <36CAEA1F.D5D7C838@halcyon.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 08:11:12 -0800
From: "David C. Jenner" <djenner@halcyon.com>
Reply-To: djenner@halcyon.com
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: Ken Wellsch <kcwellsc@math.uwaterloo.ca>
CC: maximum entropy <entropy@zippy.bernstein.com>, pups@minnie.cs.adfa.oz.au
Subject: Re: Venix (was Re: 2.9BSD:  mbuf.h)
References: <199902171435.JAA12462@math.uwaterloo.ca>
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Sender: owner-pups@minnie.cs.adfa.edu.au
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I haven't tried the 2.9 stuff at all on a Pro.  I have had it
running on an 11/23+ (w/binary license) for 10 years.  The
problem is the networking, as you have found.

Venix/Pro 1.1 and 2.0 run just fine on the Pro 380, and it's
pretty painless to install.  I have distribution disks for
Pro/Venix 1.1, but the install disk has apparently been
overwritten with the 2.0 installation disk.  And my distribution
for 2.0 is missing a couple of original disks; I have copies of
those disks, but they get read errors.

I guess the 2.9 stuff would be interesting if you got it to
work on the Pro, especially if you got networking to work.
I don't have any docs on the DECNA, but they must exist.  It's
probably pretty close to the DEQNA.

Dave

Ken Wellsch wrote:
> 
> | Interesting...I know there's a Venix 1.0 and a Venix 2.0.  I thought
> | they were both from Venturcom, with 1.0 being for the Pro-350 and 2.0
> | for the Pro-380.  I never heard of a distinction between Venix/Pro
> | vs. Pro/Venix.  Then again, I got into this game fairly late...I
> | bought my used Pro-350 around 1993 for US$100, with Venix 1.0 already
> | installed (also with original install media and docs).
> 
> My time playing with Pro's faded out before Venix 2 was available (free)
> for me to try.  I've played a fair bit with Venix 1.1 on both Pro 350's
> and Pro 380's.  The Venix 1 series I feel is basically V6 derived while
> I understood the Venix 2 series was derived from Sys III.
> 
> About a year ago Rick Macklem that did a port to the Pro series mailed
> me his "Pro stuff" which included a tape and floppies.  I've forgotten
> what all is in that stash, but taking a peek at some old mail he mentions:
> 
> > The stuff I did went out on a Usenix distribution tape in about 1983/84
> > and had to be merged into a 2.9BSD distribution. I did generate floppy
> > sets for a few people, because that was the only easy way to get it
> > installed. (The first install here was actually done by downloading the
> > kernel over the serial port talking to the PDP 11 prom (ODS?).)
> 
> I had thought his set of patches were in the PUPS archive.  In fact I
> see the patches under PUPS/Distributions/ucb/2.9-pro350.
> 
> -- Ken