Modern BSD Computing for Fun on a VAX!

Trying to use a VAX in today's world

Jeffrey Armstrong

NetBSD 8 on a VAX

Limitations

VAX 4000/200

  • Introduced January 1991
  • Codenamed Spitfire
  • Fastest pure Qbus computer ever
  • Entry-level server

VAXstation 3100 m38

  • Introduced ~1993
  • Codenamed PVAX rev 7
  • Desktop Workstation

Setting Up a VAX

Setting Up a VAX

Installing NetBSD 8

Installing NetBSD 8

Test execution summary:
    total time:                          19134.0100s
    total number of events:              10000
    total time taken by event execution: 19130.3700
    per-request statistics:
         min:                               1830.00ms
         avg:                               1913.04ms
         max:                               8840.00ms
         approx.  95 percentile:            2209.19ms

Installing NetBSD 8

Test execution summary:
    total time:                          45156.1800s
    total number of events:              10000
    total time taken by event execution: 45149.4100
    per-request statistics:
         min:                               3890.00ms
         avg:                               4514.94ms
         max:                              16040.00ms
         approx.  95 percentile:            7646.78ms

Bootstrap pkgsrc




vax# time tar -xzf pkgsrc-2018Q4.tar.gz -C /usr
    50109.89 real      2287.96 user     17527.31 sys

Bootstrap pkgsrc

===> bootstrap started: Tue Mar  5 11:25:56 UTC 2019
===> bootstrap ended:   Thu Mar  7 13:17:40 UTC 2019
   179510.09 real    109170.55 user     16631.73 sys

VAX as a Client

Client Necessities

Client Necessities

  • No Framebuffers
  • Fixed-frequency Monitors
  • Toolkits...

Web Browser

Text Editor

  • vim is compiled twice
  • vim-share
  • vim
  • 2.5 days each?

Languages - Scripting

  • Python: floating point
  • PHP: some extensions require ~1GB to build
  • Perl: required 1 week to build
  • Ruby: disable RDOC - 50K seconds for GEM doc build
  • Databases: stick with SQLite
  • Bash: required 30hrs to build

Languages - Compiled

Source Control

  • Docs in XML - xslt won't work
  • Solution: install git docs from amd64

VAX as a Server

Server Necessities

File Server

  • Disk speed, network speed...
  • Samba requires Python

Web Server

Web Server

Web Server - Web Apps

Remote Shell

Is the VAX Feasible?

  • Many tools unavailable

Room for Improvement

  • Many VAX issues are related to crypto
  • Disable some default cron work

Does This Matter?

  • Many tools unavailable
  • Tool chain deprecations

Contact

Illustrations: Introduction to BASIC, Digital Equipment Corporation, AA-0155B-TK