Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.os.linux,comp.unix.misc Path: gmd.de!newsserver.jvnc.net!howland.reston.ans.net! math.ohio-state.edu!hobbes.physics.uiowa.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu! engr.uark.edu!engr.engr.uark.edu!bdj From: b...@engr.uark.edu (Bryan D. Jones) Subject: What are the various PC bassed Unix box OS? Message-ID: <1993Sep02.184251.23903@engr.engr.uark.edu> Keywords: pc,unix Sender: netn...@engr.uark.edu (NetNews Administrator) Nntp-Posting-Host: engr.engr.uark.edu Organization: University of Arkansas Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1993 18:42:51 GMT Lines: 15 What are the different PC bassed Unix Operating Systems available? What do they cost? What hardware requirements do they have? How difficult are they to install? As you can see I'm considering installing a UNIX type OS on my home computer. If it helps I'm running a 386DX40 with 4MB -- ____________________________________________________________________ |Bryan D. Jones Computing Services | |Internet: b...@engr.uark.edu University of Arkansas | |Internet: b...@uafhp.uark.edu Bitnet bdj@uafsysb | |Internet: as...@cleveland.freenet.edu Fidonet 1:391/1010 | |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.os.linux,comp.unix.misc Path: gmd.de!Germany.EU.net!mcsun!uunet!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net! xlink.net!fauern!lrz-muenchen.de!regent!chmae From: ch...@guug.de (Christoph Maethner) Subject: Re: What are the various PC bassed Unix box OS? Message-ID: < chmae.747045462@guug.de> Keywords: pc,unix Sender: n...@regent.e-technik.tu-muenchen.de (News System.) Organization: Technical University of Munich, Germany References: <1993Sep02.184251.23903@engr.engr.uark.edu> Date: Fri, 3 Sep 1993 08:37:42 GMT Lines: 57 b...@engr.uark.edu (Bryan D. Jones) writes: >What are the different PC bassed Unix Operating Systems available? >What do they cost? >What hardware requirements do they have? >How difficult are they to install? >As you can see I'm considering installing a UNIX type OS on my >home computer. If it helps I'm running a 386DX40 with 4MB >-- >|Bryan D. Jones Computing Services | >|Internet: b...@engr.uark.edu University of Arkansas | >|Internet: b...@uafhp.uark.edu Bitnet bdj@uafsysb | From my personal private experience, with a 386DX40 with (only) 4MB RAM you should only run unix-systems without X. Any SystemVRel.4 should do . I used to use the Consensys V.4 on a 386SX20 with 4 MB and it worked, though it wasn't exactly a runner. Now on a 386DX25 with 8 MB I use a SysVR4.2 from Onsite a german USL-licencee including X and it works fine. There is nothing else making a unix-system faster than RAM and fast disks. I don't think I will ever need a 486 , I would perfer more RAM. Installation never was much of a problem. But if you are unlucky, your mainboard or the rs232 interface card or something else is not compatible and the system will not boot. I strongly recommend to order a tape or cdrom as installation media. Using floppies will be a pain. It can take up to 12 hours to install a complete system. If wyou use a qic-tape it will cost you the extra money for the tapedrive, but you have a backup-device then. Believe me, you will stop making backups on floppies soon. And even for a home-computer backups are necessary, I can tell. I don't know about the prices in the us - in germany it is considerable expensive to buy a commercial implementation. Nevertheless I recommend those before linux, which is free, if you want to learn about the standards implemented in the commercial systems. As I mentioned before, this is my personal experience. Chris ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Christoph Maethner voice +49 211 990 77 81 systems engineer fax +49 211 990 75 70 Rank Xerox Germany e-mail ch...@guug.de mae.sbd@rxg:Xerox:com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.os.linux,comp.unix.misc Path: gmd.de!newsserver.jvnc.net!howland.reston.ans.net!agate! doc.ic.ac.uk!uknet!cf-cm!cybaswan!iiitac From: iii...@swan.pyr (Alan Cox) Subject: Re: What are the various PC bassed Unix box OS? Message-ID: <1993Sep3.120425.21703@swan.pyr> Keywords: pc,unix Organization: Swansea University College References: <1993Sep02.184251.23903@engr.engr.uark.edu> < chmae.747045462@guug.de> Date: Fri, 3 Sep 1993 12:04:25 GMT Lines: 43 In article < chmae.747045...@guug.de> ch...@guug.de (Christoph Maethner) writes: >From my personal private experience, with a 386DX40 with (only) 4MB >RAM you should only run unix-systems without X. I've run Linux with X windows in 4Mb and while it's doable (especially in mono) I'd not recommend it. Much better that you use the money you didnt waste buying a commercial offering on buying 4Mb of memory (in fact for typical prices probably more). Linux without X is fast in 4Mb, 386BSD is pretty comparable but uses much more disk space. >Any SystemVRel.4 should do . >I used to use the Consensys V.4 on a 386SX20 with 4 MB and it worked, though >it wasn't exactly a runner. Now on a 386DX25 with 8 MB I use a SysVR4.2 >from Onsite a german USL-licencee including X and it works fine. There >is nothing else making a unix-system faster than RAM and fast disks. >I don't think I will ever need a 486 , I would perfer more RAM. I'd second this comment. With 8 users doing user like things you tend to hit the IDE disk performance limit and memory limits way before you hit CPU usage limits. I've found Linux is quite nippy on a 386SX16 certainly comparable to a SUN3/60. >I don't know about the prices in the us - in germany it is considerable >expensive to buy a commercial implementation. Nevertheless I recommend >those before linux, which is free, if you want to learn about the >standards implemented in the commercial systems. Linux is very very close to POSIX indeed, more so that some commercial so called Posix compliant systems. There are thing that are different. You don't get motif for free and motif is the new world order amongst user interfaces (You do get X11, TCL/TK, Xaw, OpenLook tools). I happen to think that Motif is dreadful so I've never worried about it, or paid $200 to buy it. You don't get to run shrink wrapped packages though this is suprisingly close by the look of it. Where I work we threw the commercial system out and installed Linux. The Linux DOS emulator isn't as good in some areas as the dos/merge type stuff provided with things like SCO (notable it doesn't run windows). Another thing to ask is how much time do you have to play and learn things. Linux is on the whole faster and smaller but you need to put a little more effort into it. You don't get phone support either - though I find usenet and the irc #linux channel better support than most phone support groups. Alan iii...@pyr.swan.ac.uk
Path: gmd.de!newsserver.jvnc.net!howland.reston.ans.net!usc! news.service.uci.edu!aris.ss.uci.edu!jstern From: jst...@aris.ss.uci.edu (Jeff Stern) Subject: Re: What are the various PC bassed Unix box OS? Nntp-Posting-Host: aris.ss.uci.edu Message-ID: <2C8E9252.3016@news.service.uci.edu> Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.os.linux,comp.unix.misc Organization: University of California, Irvine Keywords: pc,unix Lines: 20 Date: 9 Sep 93 02:17:54 GMT References: <1993Sep02.184251.23903@engr.engr.uark.edu> < chmae.747045462@guug.de> <1993Sep3.120425.21703@swan.pyr> <1993Sep8.132552.5718@mkseast.alt.ns.ca> In article <1993Sep8.132552.5...@mkseast.alt.ns.ca>, Dale Gass < d...@mkseast.alt.ns.ca> wrote: >iii...@swan.pyr (Alan Cox) writes: >>In article < chmae.747045...@guug.de> ch...@guug.de (Christoph Maethner) writes: >>>I don't think I will ever need a 486 , I would perfer more RAM. >>I'd second this comment. With 8 users doing user like things you >>tend to hit the IDE disk performance limit and memory limits way before >>you hit CPU usage limits. Wouldn't this, however, be an argument *for* getting a 486? I am just wondering, as I have heard that UNIX on a 486 should conceivably run better because the 486's hardware, especially if it has a local bus, accesses peripherals, especially the hard drive, much more efficiently, so that users are not as affected by others using the drive... =========================================================================== Jeff Stern"Timex Sinclair UNIX.. coming soon to a dealer near you." ===========================================================================
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.os.linux,comp.unix.misc Path: gmd.de!newsserver.jvnc.net!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!cs.utexas.edu! uunet!pipex!uknet!cf-cm!cybaswan!iiitac From: iii...@swan.pyr (Alan Cox) Subject: Re: What are the various PC bassed Unix box OS? Message-ID: <1993Sep9.124023.19409@swan.pyr> Keywords: pc,unix Organization: Swansea University College References: <1993Sep3.120425.21703@swan.pyr> <1993Sep8.132552.5718@mkseast.alt.ns.ca> <2C8E9252.3016@news.service.uci.edu> Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1993 12:40:23 GMT Lines: 14 In article <2C8E9252.3...@news.service.uci.edu> jst...@aris.ss.uci.edu (Jeff Stern) writes: >Wouldn't this, however, be an argument *for* getting a 486? I am just >wondering, as I have heard that UNIX on a 486 should conceivably run >better because the 486's hardware, especially if it has a local bus, >accesses peripherals, especially the hard drive, much more >efficiently, so that users are not as affected by others using the >drive... I said a 486 wasn't that vital talking on CPU grounds. I've not run a local bus machine, but faster video card and disk driving would be a huge asset. Yes it probably is a very good argument. Alan iii...@pyr.swan.ac.uk