.0

of , determined by the SURPRISES WITH SCO UNIX/386 serial number and activation key, was set up to support only two users at a time. But the initialization started BY SIMSON L. GARFINKEL login programs for 12 termi- nals: instant lock-out. I called SCO and got a new t's really hard to write good , and the people at The numb er and key that solved my problem. have earned a well-deserved reputa- tion for their excellent ports of Unix software to industry- A FAS TOPERATING SYSTEM standard 286 and 386 platforms. When I heard that SCO was This Unix is fast. offering AT&T Unix System release 3.2, it was enough to Beiing a true 386 , convince me to replace my old 286 box with an AST Premium Unix, unlike 16-bit DOS, lets my cornm- 386C so I could run the new operating system. puter run at its full speed. By virtue of I was in for a lot of surprises. being Unix, it lets me take advantage of Si UnixSystem For nearly two months I've wrestled with SCO's System more than 15 years of operating system - I. V/386 release 3.2. The verdict from the front lines is that while techmology, such as posted disk writes, /386~s~ the operating system may be a good product for Unix system strean,s support, and some exception- real Unix hackers or product developers, it is not yet ready for the ally powerful (and efficient) program- general Unix community. mer's tools. for PCs, Unix System V/386 is real Unix on a PC. It is also real SC() has added a lot of functionality System V, which I don't like because it is filled with many to AT &Ts vanilla Unix. First is SCO's but it's still arbitrary restrictions. Niceties such as file names longer than "multiscreen" system, which turns my etWare® 14 characters, symbolic links, and job control are missing or keybo ard and console into 12 virtual ter- John T. Mc( buggy only partially implemented in the current release, 3.2. AT&T minal s. Simply by pressing Alt with a h Adam T. F plans to incorporate these and other features from Berkeley functiion key, I switch to another virtual of Business Unix in its release 4.0. SCO plans to have them in 3.2 by the termirial with its own login: prompt. second half of 1990, according to David R. Bernstein, SCO's Multis,creen is not a window system, but intained are manager of Unix product marketing. I haveea dozen 80 x 25 terminals at my :lude unders instant disposal. And they are all vely are's® undoc INSTALLATION IS LESS THAN SMOOTH fast, thanks to SCO's amazing screen lities, implenrr My first surprise with Unix System V/386 was its size: the I/O dirivers. ,Ns, refining operating system comes on 29 1.2-Mbyte floppy disks. This C2-l4evel security is another feature SCO ich more! takes up 73.5 Mbytes of hard drive, including swap space - has brought to System V/386 release lok only and that's without application software. 3.2. We believe security is not an add- When I started, I already had a 30-Mbyte DOS partition on on; it is an integral part of the system," my 210-Mbyte SCSI hard disk. SCO's installation procedure says EBernstein, adding that B1 security. AN Troul was very careful to prevent me from overwriting it. I patiently with access control lists and mandatorv andbook fed my computer the disks as they were requested. Then came accesss control parameters, will be avail- Mark A. Mill a media error on disk B6 -I had a bad distribution disk. I able siometime this year. continued the installation anyway to see what would happen. SC() has made it very easy to relink dressed are The install program crashed in a few minutes because I was the Urnix kernel and add new device driv- h troubleshc missing important files (on disk B6) that are required to set up ers. Feor example, you only have to N architectu a password for the root user. Without a password for root, I mkdexv , and the streams pack- hernet, and was locked out of my new Unix system. age is automatically compiled and linked ok & Disk (A In two days I received a good B6 disk from SCO. But when I into tIhe kernel, and the new kernel is ok only tried to reinstall V/386 - Surprise!- the boot program dis- ready to boot. covered a valid Unix operating system on the hard disk and But my favorite SCO enhancement to ueprint tried to run it. Unfortunately, it was the Unix operating system Unix is native support of DOS file sys- Craig Chaik I had made but couldn't use. tems. 'The kernel implements a file sys- I couldn't find any instructions on what to do in this situation, ter switch that allows non-Unix file twork admir even from SCO's technical support. I was finally reduced t systenns (such as networks and write- Id and insta deleting the Unix partition and starting over. But you need once optical disks) to be linked into the )les, configL Unix to delete Unix partitions. The only way I could find to Unix kernel and accessed transparently. 'dware and salvage my hard disk was to perform a low-level format. - A DO!S switch lets me mount my entire itinuing sup With the new B6 disk and the newly formatted hard disk, the DOS partition. I like this much better kcontaining installation went smoothly until I tried to log in.-My version than he DOS disk utilities because the k & Disk (A ok only · *-AV W(MaTAT1ONJ 78 JUNE 1990 &

_i:['.011 0[3l:l I

switch allows Unix programs to access the editor, but there is apparently no way I've scanned the documentation, but I DOS files transparently. The DOS utili- to restart it. Furthermore, the console is can't figure out how to rebuild the data- ties are still available if you want them. The left in raw mode with echo turned off. base to restore consistency. And since I only bug I have found with the DOS file When I discussed the problem on the can't edit the files by hand without shut- system is that 'sh' does not do wild-card phone with SCO, I was told to type Ct r 1- ting myself out, I'm effectively barred matching, although 'csh' does it just fine. Jstty saneCtrl-J to restore the con- from adding new users (or changing ex- sole (which it did). But this command isting ones) on my system, now that the SYSTEM V LACKS JOB CONTROL is neither elegant nor intuitive, which 'tcb' is corrupted. Berkeley Unix has the ability to suspend means that it is a potential problem for the process that you are running and non-gurus. TWO COMPILERS FOR FLEXIBILITY return control to the shell, restart a sus- The Unix/386 development system comes pended process, or start up a new pro- SECURITY CAN BE DANGEROUS with two compilers: 's com- A friend at Wang Laboratories described piler (named 'cc') and the AT&T System C2 security under Unix as "running with V compiler (named 'rcc'). a loaded gun pointed at your head." For The Microsoft compiler generates example, if the system discovers that an -format object files that are A friend at unauthorized change has been made to automatically converted to Unix COFF the password file, it will assume that the (Common Object Format Files) through Wang Laboratories system has been compromised and not a program called 'cvtomf. There are sev- let anybody log in. eral bugs in the included 'cvtomf that described C2 security Editing the password file, changing a prevent it from converting large object user's login shell, and other functions files with debugging information. How- must be done through the new system ever, SCO was happy to send me a fixed under Unix as administration shell, 'sysadmsh'. Unfor- version of 'cvtomf. tunately, 'sysadmsh' sometimes leaves I used both cc and rcc to compile the "running with a the trusted computing base files incon- Free Software Foundation's program- sistent with the password and group files. mer's editor, 'gnuemacs', and the FSF's loaded gun pointed I didn't believe my friend until I tried to C compiler, 'gcc'. Generally, rcc emitted add a new account to my system on the code that was smaller and faster than cc. morning I was finishing this review. I got (gcc's code was smaller and faster yet. at your head." messages telling me the file control data- Unfortunately, since gcc requires include base was inconsistent. files in order to operate, you must pur- cess. The only limit on the number of processes is the system-wide process limit. System V doesn't provide this. In- stead SCO implements a travesty of pro- f you want to ask SCO for technical support after you've gotten your Unix up and cess control abstraction called the Shell running, be warned that you'll have to pay for it. Layer Manager ('shl'), which allows the "We sell our software through anetwork of distributors, resellers, and. VARP,-:. :. user to spawn multiple shells; each shell, says Jeff Hill, SCO's manager of services marketing. "One of the things that we feel is in turn, is used to run a single user very important is that the resellers and VARS who sell our software to end users program. provide the front line of support. Therefore, we require them to take training from us The maximum number of shells that and obtain priority support contracts with us, and our first priority in providing support 'shl' can control at one time is a constant is to support a reseller." built into the 'shl' , which SCO gives warranty support for the first 30 days after an end user registers a you must build into the kernel. The de- software product At 30 days, a user can purchase SCO's SoftCare technical support or fault is six, but you can change that and pay $ 100 for each question asked (SCO takes credit card numbers over the telephone). rebuild the driver. A further problem, for The annual SoftCare fees for the V/386 and the development system are $475 and me anyway, is that the default 'swtch' $575, respectively, more than 50 percent of the list prices of $895 and $995. SoftCare character is NULL (Ctrl-@ or ASCII 0). includes a subscription to SCO's bimonthly magazine Discover, a25 percent discount on Although SCO's documentation claims updates, and a 20 percent discount on training. that setting the 'swtch' character to NULL There's no charge to call SCO and report a bug, but SCO decides what is a bug makes the kernel recognize Ctrl-Z, that and what isn't. Straight bug fixes are provided free, says Hill, in the form of Support doesn't work. I recommenll using multi- Level Supplements. Depending on how serious the bug is, "there have been instances in screens rather than 'shl'. the past when we have issued complete new releases at no charge." New releases are If you type Ctrl-@ while in '' and 'shl' publicized on SCO's electronic bulletin board, in Discover, and posted to . is not installed, the kernel will suspend

PFRSONAL WVORKSAT ON 81 UNE 1990

__^_I __1____1_ ____II_ ___ _LI___

NEENEENE M&11WA1,1ffrffC1;11111F1r19

FTST. With an access speed of 240 nanoseconds and a data transfer rate of 2048 kilobytes per second, FLASHDISK can boot up your software in a flash. chase SCO's development system to run gcc.) Both compilers that came with the Th e A go is t rIuPr. The fear of losing system appear to be solid and reliablle. But the Microsoft compiler has limited loG tant data can be eliminated macro expansion space, which means will because FLASHDISK that cc will fail on some large macros pe where rcc will not. co isnonvolatile. $3( No batteries are required. One hidden surprise is in AT&T's new Data saved can withstand 'include' iles, where a number of sym- In power losses and surges, bols are defined that break with estab- tur vibrations, dust, humidity, lished convention. One example is that ha the symbol FFS is now defined in and extreme temperatures. p ram. . Any program that includes FLASHDISK can be param. h and uses the symbol FFS will 0 removed and returned fail, as two programs that I ported did. to a system without data loss or corruption. Although Unix is a ROWS. (Read Often Write Seldom) describes .ASHDISK which is perfect 32-bit multitasking OS, software programs and data that are read intensive and there are many require occasional updating DOS applications need to be safe from system Al Write Seldom is descriptive or because the write times are that are far in megabyte per minute, and di have only been tested from more sophisticated tL red thousand to one million D rewrites without failure. than anything Unix fE If Any IBM compatible 16 bit has to offer. C lter can use a FLASHDISK. 4 in iple and no new commands d I because FLASHDISK uses Another surprise awaits you in the in- stallation procedure. If you should use DOS commands. the 'custom' program to remove the de- ception is that once data is velopment system and then attempt to ly deleted, it is truly erased. reinstall it, one of the file permission lists is silently deleted. According to FLASHDISK's retail price is SCO, this problem was known at release egabyte unit, $2700.00 for a time, but the company decided to ship anyway. $4900.00 for an 8 megabyte s with a one year warranty. VP/ix Although Unix is a 32-bit multitasking n?.1 operating system, there are many DOS applications that are far more sophisti- 32 cated (and cheaper) than anything Unix has to offer. I regularly use some of IVICE CARD these programs - a word processor, an amar accounting package, and a powerful spread- '-9212 sheet. VP/ix lets me run DOS programs Welcome. DIGIPRO from within Unix. ______

me gl ;I[*A'I l;011 I Mr·I Ifyo1

difficult to find what you are looking for. . A permuted index helps somewhat, but it doesn't cover all the books. There are a few features not documented at all - for In January, SCO began shipping Open DeskTop, its graphical Unix environment that example, the file-system switch and the incorporates the MIT X I I Window System. ODT includes , an X-based toolkit SCSI driver. "We are making this a new and window manager developed by the . Motif also provides chapter in our Device Driver Writer's a desktop metaphor for launching applications and afile manager. The whole package (;uide," says Bernstein. "IFor now it is runs on Hercules, EGA, and VGA video adapters; SCO iscurrently planning to add still a guru issue." support for high-resolution adapters. Installation of X, which SCO also calls XSight, is relatively straightforward. Simply typing startx runs the window system. STILL ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES I evaluated the beta release of XSight 2.0. A lot of bugs were present, although I'm SCO's Xenix earned the company the told that the deliverable version will run better. The window system would frequently reputation of being able to produce a freeze up for no apparent reason. Its xterm entries were incomplete. turnkey Unix-like operating system. This early version of X also made many errors in handling inverted text on my "Xenix was a very mature product that Herculef display. realized ease of use, compactness, and For those who are used to the , the Motif defaults may be performance ... by not rushing to follow distracting and uncomfortable. Intraditional X, awindow isactivated simply by moving the latest AT&T release every 10 or 12 5 the mouse into it; with the Motif defaults, you have to click the mouse on the window months," says Bernstein. "We were heav- before typing there' which has the side effect of raising the window. I finally found ily pressed by the market to push out out how to change this, but the configuration files can be a nightmare for the novice. SCO Unix 3.2, and I think it shows a little Motif also adds athick border around the X terminal (also configurable), which eats up around the edges, to be quite frank, but valuable screen real estate. Since the DOS simulator VP/ix runs under xterm, rather it is still far above the other relatively than creating its own X window, the Alt and function keys were not properly handled. naked Unix versions out there." It's also worth noting that other users of Unix 2 ' '.i~bewreal problem with ODT,;owever, isthat 720 x 350 or even 800 x 600 pixels iijt not eougghfor a wmlndodsysterm that was developed for displays of 1024 x 1024 System V release 3.2 have not reported and up. X isnt useful until you can have several X windows on the screen at atime, each as many problems as I found. one doing sopmething different This isa problem that will be solved only with Although I await release 4.0, many of the higher-resoluton adapters. - . features I want may be available in SCO release 3.2 later this year. SCO says it will address each and every feature in 4.0 in its 2 VP/ix uses virtual 8086 machines. Each an infinite loop (it's a bug in a shell release 3.2. "In the second half of 1990," machine is set up with 640 Kbytes of script). The program for manually ad- says Bernstein, "we will have a release RAM and supports a maximum of 2 ministering VP/ix ran fine, however. that addresses 4.0 features, including sym- Mbytes of EMS-style memory. VP/ix cre- There was a bug in the VP/ix redirec- bolic links and long names. We will also ates a redirector, which intercepts all tor that prevented one of my applica- have an evaluated B1 secure revision." DOS I/O calls and maps them to the tions, XyWrite III Plus, from running In its present state, however, V/386 is appropriate Unix calls. This way the DOS properly. SCO ships VP/ix with a list of really usable only by people who havc applications have full access to all the programs that have been tested with it detailed Unix experience and are willing Unix devices, including files. Multiscreens and are known to work. If you are inter- to put up with the trials and tribulations allow you to run multiple DOS applica- ested in VP/ix, you should consult the of the first release of a new operating tions simultaneously. You can even run a list before purchasing the product. system revision. 0( DOS application over a line. There is also a bug in VP/ix's support Thanks to the environment variable, of the Hercules graphics adapter. Exit- - Simson L Garfinkel is a freelance writer DOSPATH, you can run a DOS applica- ing VP/ix leaves the screen in a funny and computer consultant in Cambridge, MA. tion simply by typing its name, without state that must be reset with the vidi having to run VP/ix first. VP/ix version m80x25 command. VP/ix can be run in PRODUCT INFORMATION 1.2 will allow users to have DOS as a an xterm X window, but the support is login shell, bypassing Unix entirely. It's very flaky. The xterm appears as a serial truly an impressive product. I reviewed terminal to VP/ix, not as a PC keyboard SCO Unix System V/386 E VP/ix versions 1.1.1 and 1.2. and screen. Operating system, $895 Dpvplnnpr'c iit. rao~q99q I had a little trouble with the installa- While I have found several bugs in- - - ,- tion. VP/ix is a Xenix application, not V/386, I should say that SCO has been TheSanta Cruz Operation Unix, and its tests for the 'terminf and eager to hear of them and provide fixes. 400 EncinalSt 'csh' packages failed even though the Documentation is up to SCO's high-. P.0. Box1900 Santa Cruz,CA95061 products were properly installed. When standards, although the complete set took (408) 425-7222 i1989byS. and thePS the installation script attempted to add up two of my bookshelves. Because of (800) 626-UNIX Oierbrtstc trodemorks o new Xenix users, the program went into the bulk of the documentation, it is often Inquir64 Specification: 1 DOMEST