Internet Surfer 2.0/Internet Surfer 2.0 (Wayzata Technology) (1996).iso/pc/textfile/faqs/aux_faq/part1

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From: [e-mail] (Jim Jagielski)
Subject: Apple A/UX FAQ List (1/2)
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Archive-name: aux-faq/part1
Last-modified: Mon Dec 21 11:29:16 EST 1992

++

Due to the holidays, I'm posting the A/UX FAQ a few days early... Here's
hoping that everyone has a happy and safe holiday!

++
         This is the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) list for A/UX 3.0


This FAQ list is intended to cut down on the number of "often asked questions"
that make the rounds here on comp.unix.aux. Also included you'll find a few
words of wisdom as well as some general information for the A/UX community.
This list assumes that you are familiar with Unix (to some extent) but
are curious about A/UX's eccentricities. The list will concentrate on A/UX
3.0 but may also have info about previous versions. If you don't understand
something in the FAQ List, and a "Point of Contact" isn't specified, then
contact me and I'll attempt to help or else point you to someone who can.
In any case, let me know how I can make the list more clear.

The list will be posted biweekly (every 2 weeks) on comp.unix.aux as well as
news.answers. It is also available via anonymous ftp on jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov.

There is a frozen FAQ that deals with A/UX 2.0.1 which is available via anon-
ftp on jagubox (FAQ.aux.201). This FAQ will be posted monthly (or so) on
comp.unix.aux.

This FAQ is "copyrighted" in the same sense that all other FAQs are copy-
righted: the FAQ may be freely redistributed as long as the author's/editor's
name and this notice is included.

Send your additions|modifications to Jim Jagielski ([e-mail]).
(editor's notes are included as <<ED: ...>>)

|++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
|Significant changes/additions since last posting:
|   Changes signified by "|" in 1st column;
|   Additions by "+" in the 1st column;
|   Deletions by "-" in the 1st column (the line will be
|    deleted in the next posting))
|
| o Broken: new 'tc' up to 3.12
+ o Ports: Overseas site for X11R5 added
| o Q&A #5: new 'tc' up to 3.12
| o Q&A #8: Added note about overseas site for X11R5
+ o Q&A #56: CommandShell only responds after 2 keyclicks
|
|++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


===============================================================================

                          **** TABLE OF CONTENTS: ****

o List of Contributors to A/UX FAQ List
o List of anon-ftp archives for A/UX
o List of what's broken under A/UX 3.0
o List of ported software
o Partial list of compatible shareware|freeware known to work under 3.0
o Hints and Words of Wisdom
o Q&A-
   0)  What's A/UX? Is it any good?
   1)  What's the minimum system I need (CPU, disk and RAM) to run A/UX?
   2)  What's new about A/UX 3.0?
   3)  What's the upgrade path for A/UX 3.0
   4)  What Mac applications are compatible with A/UX?
|  5)  Can I use my Teac|DC2000|DC6000|DAT|etc tape drive under A/UX?
   6)  How come rn|elm|less|etc... acts weird concerning signals? Mainly, their
       support of job-control is less than perfect.
   7)  What screen-savers are compatible with A/UX?
|  8)  Is X11R5 available for A/UX?
   9)  I've noticed that FSF GNU doesn't support A/UX. Does that mean I'll
       miss out on all the neat Gnu-stuff like gcc?
  10)  I have an EtherNet card that works fine under the Macintosh operating
       system but not under A/UX. Why?
  11)  Can I use my scanner under A/UX?
  12)  How come my Login screen is gray, not color?
  13)  Even though I have lot's of swap space and only a little bit is
       being used, I STILL get a lot of messages saying that my swap
       space is running low. What the buzz?
  14)  How can I copy a complete file system from one disk|partition to
       another?
  15)  What's with UUCP?
  16)  How can I log anonymous ftp entries? in.ftpd has a -l option,
       but it doesn't work.
  17)  I'm trying to use a SyQuest drive under A/UX but it refuses to work.
       I keep on getting a "more data than device expected" error message.
       What's wrong?
  18)  I'm unable to start a getty process on a built-in serial port. When
       I use 'setport' to enable the port, I get a "no such device" error.
       Configuring /etc/inittab to respawn getty on the port has no effect.
  19)  I am using and depending on /etc/hosts to do all my hostname resolving
       (i.e. not using named or /etc/resolv.conf). How come I can't mail
       to other hosts, but I can ping|ftp|etc... them?
  20)  My MacOS partition mounts fine under MacOS but it doesn't show up
       under A/UX... Why?
  21)  I've ported Elm (or other mail reader) and it doesn't seem to work.
       Why?
  22)  What 3-button mice work under A/UX (and X)?
  23)  How come when I do a 'df' as a regular user, it shows me a different
       number of free blocks compared to when I run it as 'root'?
  24)  Does A/UX LocalTalk support IP?
  25)  How do I get MPW 3.1 to work? It hangs my system...
  26)  Can I refer to a file on my Mac system from within A/UX?
  27)  How can I adjust the amount of virtual memory available Finder uses?
  28)  Is it worth getting a cache card for the IIci?
  29)  How do I keep command lines that I edit with "backspace" from erasing
       the prompt?
  30)  When I try to mail something, I get the following error message:
       "Cannot read frozen config file: not a typewriter". What's wrong?
  31a) I have MacsBug installed. How can I trigger it?
  31b) Sometimes my MultiFinder environment (and/or CommandShell) freezes
       up; how can I unfreeze it? Should I hit the Interrupt switch?
  32)  Is there an archive of comp.unix.aux out there somewhere?
  33)  My site is not upgraded to EtherTalk Phase 2 yet... can I use Phase 1
       under A/UX?
  34)  What languages are available for A/UX?
  35)  How can I figure out the /etc/disktab entry for my hard disk?
  36)  How come I can't use color under X?
  37)  What are Right-To-Copy and Right-To-Upgrade licenses?
  38)  How do I set up my Mac and A/UX to enable remote logins via a modem
       on tty0?
  39)  How come I can't used 'talk' with some of the other Unix boxes out
       there, and they can't talk to me?
  40)  I'm having trouble transfering files between A/UX and my MacOS disk...
       Also, sometimes things get transfered fine, othertimes not. What's
       going on?
  41)  Using the command shell interface, I'm trying to access some Mac files
       (that have strange names) but I can't; the program returns an error and
       I can't access the file. What's going on?
  42)  How can I reports bugs that I find?
  43)  Which serial cards work under A/UX?
  44)  I heard the the Installer for 3.0 works on "any" 3rd party hard disk.
       Well, it doesn't on mine!
  45)  I'm using a LaserWriter IIg with A/UX and whenever I print some-
       thing to it through 'lpr', the first line of the page is cut off. Why?
  46)  Whenever I try to run xinit (or startx) from the CommandShell I get
       a fatal server error. Why?
  47)  I'm trying to access my tape drive using 'tc' (with something like
       "find . -print | cpio -o > /dev/rmt/tc1") but it doesn't work...
  48)  What CD-ROM drives are compatible with A/UX 3.0?
  49)  Do I install CDEVs and Extensions in the System Folder on MacPartition
       or on the "/" A/UX disk.
  50)  I heard that A/UX requires a special version of System 7 to boot...
       Is this true?
  51)  I've tried to install the CD Remote extension to A/UX so that
       I can play audio CD's, but it doesn't work...
  52)  What CD-ROM formats does A/UX support?
  53)  How can I add printers other than those available via the Chooser?
  54)  After the Mac environment crashes (or when I use MacsBug), the
       Desktop gets all screwed up... Argg!!
  55)  My MacOS partition(s) only show up on the Desktop when I login
       as root. Why?
+ 56)  For some reason, my CommandShell only responds to a keyboard
+      event after it receives a second event. For example, typing "a"
+      won't show until I type something else or click the mouse.
+      What gives?


===============================================================================

               **** List of Contributors to A/UX FAQ List ****

The editor would like to thank all the various people who have contributed to
the A/UX FAQ List (both those that submitted questions as well as those who
submitted answers). Also included under the Q&A section are the relevant people
to contact if you have specific questions about specific A/UX items. If I've
left you out, PLEASE E-mail me!

Brian Bechtel        ([e-mail])
Nick Beser        ([e-mail])
Manuel Bouyssou        ([e-mail])
Vicki Brown        ([e-mail])
John Coolidge        ([e-mail])
Tony Cooper        ([e-mail])
Bob Denny        ([e-mail])
Eric Dittman        ([e-mail])
John Dundas III        ([e-mail])
Thomas Eberhardt    ([e-mail])
Ron Flax        ([e-mail])
Marcelo Gallardo    ([e-mail])
Ben Goren        ([e-mail])
James Gritton        ([e-mail])
Jim Jagielski        ([e-mail])
Chris Johnson        ([e-mail])
Bill Johnston        ([e-mail])
Ron Johnston        ([e-mail])
Bob Kirby        ([e-mail])
Nicolas Lenz        ([e-mail])
Luke Mewburn        ([e-mail])
Darrell Pfeifer        (spycal!denigma![e-mail])
William Roberts        (he's moving....)
Alexis Rosen        ([e-mail])
Craig Ruff        ([e-mail])
Jim Ryan        ([e-mail])
Paul Sander        ([e-mail])
Kent Sandvik        ([e-mail])
Craig Struble        ([e-mail])
Chuq Von Rospach    ([e-mail])
Jon W{tte        ([e-mail])
Earl Wallace        ([e-mail])


===============================================================================

              **** List of anonymous ftp archives for A/UX ****

The following sites have A/UX related archives and materials available via
anonymous ftp (see below for more information):

afsg.apple.com            (192.1.34.2)
    ports and hacks for A/UX

aux.nada.kth.se            (130.237.226.207)
    mirror of A/UX items from:
        afsg.apple.com
        aux.support.apple.com
        jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov
        wuarchive.wustl.edu

aux.support.apple.com        (130.43.6.2)
    comp.unix.aux archives;
    A/UX patches and some ports;

jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov        (128.183.44.1)
    FAQ List;
    bunch of ports, utilities, new mini-inews (1.6);

rascal.ics.utexas.edu        (128.83.138.20)
    misc. ports;
    Mac applications, CDEVs, etc...;

redstar.dcs.qmw.ac.uk        (192.135.231.4)
    IIci benchmarking results;

wuarchive.wustl.edu        (128.252.135.4)
    ports, GNU stuff; (look in systems/aux)


===============================================================================

              **** List of what's broken under A/UX 3.0: ****

BNU/HDB UUCP (the whole thing):
    Severe problems as distributed, such as inability to dialout
    with correctly configured modem, etc...
    ***                 3.0 patch is now available                ***
    ***         on aux.support.apple.com in supported/3.0         ***
    ***     This "patch" is a newer version of HDB (to 1.16)      ***
    ***         and adds some Mega-enhancements as well.          ***
    ***                Thanks to Earl Wallace!!!                  ***
    #### If you snagged version 1.14 from aux.support.apple.com  ####
    ####       then be _sure_ to update to version 1.16.         ####

csh:
    Doesn't seem to like filename completion.

in.telnetd:
    Leaves ports open and hanging occasionally. Can cause kernel crashes.
    ***                 3.0 patch is now available                ***
    ***         on wuarchive.wustl.edu under systems/aux          ***
    ####  Please note that it appears that this new version has  ####
    ####    some slight bugs in correctly handling Synchs and    ####
    ####     options negotiation. I have only seen this using    ####
    #### VersaTerm Pro 3.6.2 and connecting to myself via telnet ####

serial drivers:
    After some use on all Macs (except IIfx and maybe the Quadras)
    the kernel will crash.
    ***  This has been confirmed by Apple but no fix exists yet!! ***

tc (tape driver device driver):
    Reports incorrect file number when 'mt' is used to skip
    files (fsf and/or bsf).
    Doesn't allow for additional storage capability of extended
    length tapes or hardware compression tape drives.
    ***    'mt2' written and available on jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov   ***
    ***        to correct for 'tc's file number confusion         ***
    ***           (although it's not needed due to....)           ***
    ***                                                           ***
    ***       A replacement version of 'tc' has been written      ***
    ***     that fixes these bugs as well as providing support    ***
    ***            for additional drives and capability           ***
    ***                                                           ***
    ***              3.0 replacement is now available             ***
|    ***       on jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov in pub/NEWtc312.tar.Z      ***

/usr/include/dir.h
    If entered through dirent.h and _SYSV_SOURCE is defined,
    rewinddir() is incorrectly "defined". It assumes that you are
    linking -lposix and will use the "real" rewinddir() function
    found there, when, in fact, you should #define rewinddir
    as done with _BSD_SOURCE.
    ***         A hacked version of dir.h is available on         ***
    ***    jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov. It only assumes -lposix will    ***
    ***      be included (and the real rewinddir() called) if     ***
    ***             _only_ _POSIX_SOURCE is defined               ***

/usr/include/sys/types.h:
    Incorrectly defines size_t as signed int when every other header
    file defines it as unsigned int.
    ***     Fix is very simple... edit /usr/include/sys/types.h   ***
    ***           and change it from signed to unsigned           ***



===============================================================================

           **** List of ported software available via anon-ftp: ****
(Included is the person responsible for the port and the location of the port)

Austin KCL (619):
    Thomas Weigert        ([e-mail])
    wuarchive.wustl.edu        [???]


bpf (Berkeley Packet Filter):
    Ron Flax        ([e-mail])
    afsg.apple.com            [pub]

emacs (GNU 18.58):
    James Gritton        ([e-mail])
    wuarchive.wustl.edu (soon)

gated (2.0.1.14):
    Herb Weiner        ([e-mail])
    onion.rain.com            [pub/wiskit]

gcc (1.40 and 2.3.1):
    John Coolidge        ([e-mail])
    wuarchive.wustl.edu        [systems/aux/gnu]
    (See Q&A #9)

gdb (4.6):
    Thomas Eberhardt    ([e-mail])
    wuarchive.wustl.edu        [systems/aux/gnu]

logging in.ftpd:
    Jim Jagielski        ([e-mail])
    jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov        [pub]
    (See Q&A #16)

mt2 (replacement for 'mt' tape positioner program):
    Jim Jagielski        ([e-mail])
    jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov        [pub]

mtools (MS DOS floppy access tools):
    Parag Patel        ([e-mail])
    jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov        [pub]

pine 3.05:
    Marcelo Gallardo    ([e-mail])
    jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov        [pub]

popper:
    Ben Goren        ([e-mail])
    jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov        [pub]

sendmail 5.65:
    Jim Jagielski        ([e-mail])
    jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov        [pub]
    (See Q&A #19)

sendmail.cf:
    Alexis Rosen        ([e-mail])
    jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov        [pub/uucp-sendmail-cf]
    (See Q&A #15)

talk and talkd (BSD 4.3 versions)
    Steve Green        ([e-mail])
    jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov        [pub]
    (See Q&A #39)

tcsh (6.00.03):  (if you have 6.00.02, you really _should_ upgrade)
    Eric Dittman        ([e-mail])
    wuarchive.wustl.edu        [systems/aux/packages]

X11R5 and X11R4:
    John Coolidge        ([e-mail])
    Thomas Eberhardt    ([e-mail])
    wuarchive.wustl.edu        [systems/aux/gnu]
+    ftp.uni-stuttgart.de        [soft/mac/aux/x11r5/forAUX3.0]
    (See Q&A #8)

The following have also been successfully ported to A/UX with minimal trouble.
Since the ports are pretty straightforward, only a few are actually available
in their ported form (please see Q&A #6): (those that have been personnally
verified by the editor are marked with '#')

o  Cnews (Ver. ??)
#  Elm 2.4.13
o  Ghostscript 2.3
o  GNU Stuff (all are pretty much straight-forward):
    binutils 1.9
    bison 1.15
    emacs 18.58 (see List of Ports, above)
    fileutils 3.1
#    find 3.7  (to allow 'find' to recognize user=nobody, compile
               with 'cc')
    flex 2.3.7
    gawk 2.13
#    gdbm 1.5
#    grep 1.6
    sed 1.08
    shellutils 1.5
    Smalltalk 1.1.1
    tar 1.10.12
    textutils 1.1.1
o  Gwm 1.7h
#  less 177
#  NetHack
#  nn 6.4.18
#  nntp 1.5.11
#  perl 4.035    (use '-lm -lPW -ldbm -lbsd', get "fixed" dir.h to
         avoid needing -lposix for rewinddir(), use gcc if
         possible and make sure d_voidsig is correct ("define" if
         using ANSI, "undef" if not)...
#  rn 4.3.54
#  rn 4.4.1
o  SB Prolog 3.1 (minor changes in the builtin directory)
o  smail 3.1.24
o  trn (Ver. ??)


===============================================================================

**** Partial list of compatible shareware|freeware known to work under 3.0 ****
        (will focus on popular Extensions, CDEVs, applications, etc...)
                ++++ This is by No Means a complete list!!! ++++
o  CFloppy
o  Disinfectant INIT (2.9)
o  Extension Manager (1.8)
o  Facade (1.x)
o  FMbackup 1.0.4  (prevents having to totally rebuild Desktop when A/UX
    crashes... See Q&A 54)
o  GateKeeper (1.2.5) - For some reason, "Show Log" doesn't work although
    log entries _are_ made. Chris Johnson knows about this and is
    looking into it.
o  MacsBug (6.2.x)
o  Maelstrom (1.01) - crashes sometimes, but heck it does that under MacOS
    as well :)
o  Moire (3.22) - even works under login screen ## kinda incompatible
    with FMbackup (prevents "Finishing up..." window)
o  Solarian II (1.04)
o  Suitcase (1.2.6) - the latest version, 1.2.12, doesn't
    (if you have ATM, you can use Font Porter instead which automatically
    installs Font suitcases)
    << ED: well, now I hear that 1.2.6 may not even work... I'll keep you
    all posted >>
o  Windows (2.1)

#######

The following is a _very_ short list of some known compatible 3rd party
applications, CDEVs, Extensions, etc... This is by no means a complete
list since the vast majority of MacOS programs work just fine under A/UX
(see Q&A # 4). But the following ones are kinda popular and they get asked
about alot:

o  Access PC (2.0)
o  After Dark (2.0u and later) - some displays don't have enough
    memory to work so the default (low memory) one comes up
o  ATM 2.0.3
o  ATM 3.0
o  DOS Mounter (3.00) - but _boy_ does it slow down floppy disk access!
o  Font Porter
o  Illustrator 3.2
o  Now Utilities 3.0.2
    (New Menus requires that the Control Panel alias point to a Control
    Panel which is on a HFS partition... this means you need to copy the
    A/UX CP over to a HFS partition (such as MacPartition) and then make
    and alias and copy that over to the Apple Menu Items folder under
    A/UX.

    Super Boomerang doesn't seem to like 3.0)

o  Photoshop 2.0.1 <mostly> (Gamma, which is included, does _not_ work)
o  Premiere 1.0
o  Streamline 2.0 <mostly... not 32-bit clean>
o  Type Reunion 1.3
o  VersaTerm Telnet (etc...) Tool


===============================================================================

                    **** Hints and Words of Wisdom: ****

o By default, A/UX allocates only 10% of memory for disk buffers
  (that is, the value of 'NBUF' is 0... see kconfig(1M))
  If you have a lot of RAM, you could greatly increase system
  performance by increasing the allotment. However, you cannot
  use kconfig to specify "20%" but you must give it an actual number
  to use. The way to determine the number of buffers being used,
  run "pstat -m". This will give you the number of buffers that are
  currently allocated. For example, if the value is 1000, then you know
  that to increase the number of buffers to 20%, you must use 'kconfig'
  to set 'NBUF' to 2000.

  Please note that if you change the amount of RAM you have, you'll
  need to change the value of 'NBUF.' I suggest that before you
  add|remove RAM, you use 'kconfig' to reset 'NBUF' to 0, then
  do the RAM change and see how your system performance is. If needed,
  you can then use the above to increase (or decrease) the number of
  disk buffers.

o You can run A/UX on the original MacII, however the PMMU chip must be
  installed. You can also use one of the many 68030 upgrades for the
  MacII, such as the Marathon '030, but the MacII ROMs won't recognize
  the PMMU capabilities onboard the CPU. You'll need to get the MacII
  FDHD ROM Upgrade Kit. This kit replaces your ROMs with IIx ROMs, thus
  enabling you (and A/UX) to use the upgrade. The kit also replaces your
  SWIM chip (floppy controller) enabling you to use FDHD disks (if such
  a drive is installed) too... thus the name of the kit. This kit can
  be had for about $120 although some dealers also include a FDHD drive
  as well, bumping the price up to about $430.

o You can configure the built-in serial ports for hardware handshaking
  (RTS & DTS) _or_ dialup security (DTR & CD) but not both, due to the
  lack of a sufficient number of modem control lines.

o When using ftp, unless you are _sure_ that a file is, in fact, a true
  Text file, set the ftp mode to Binary. This is especially true when
  downloading GIFs and "true" Mac files. If it's a BINHEXed file or a
  uuencoded file, then you can specify Ascii mode (in some cases, it's
  required). If the file you wish to download has the ".tar" or ".Z"
  suffix, then you _need_ Binary; if the suffix is ".uu" or ".hqx"
  then use Ascii.

o To download GIF files via anon-ftp, be sure to specify Binary mode. Then
  use 'setfile' to create the correct Type and Creator fields (for, example,
  for Giffer use 'setfile -t"GIFf" -c"Bozo"'). You can then keep this file
  on your A/UX disk or transfer it over to your MacOS disk (See Q#40).

o If you want to rebuild the "/" desktop, be _sure_ to avoid circular
  symbolic links (links to "." and/or "..") or else you'll be waiting
  a looooong time.

o The full functionality of System 7 Tuner 1.1.1 is included in A/UX 3.0
  even though A/UX "only" has System 7 Tuner 1.0. Installing version 1.1.1
  could cause problems running the Finder environment.

  Installing LaserWriter 7.1.1 (which is on the TuneUp 1.1.1 disk)
  causes no problems at all.

o To more accurately reflect the geometry of the FFS, try increasing
  SBUFSIZE to something like 4096 or 8192 with a corresponding decrease
  in NBUF by a factor of 2 or 4, respectively (to maintain the same
  amount of buffer memory used).

o With the newest version of HDB UUCP (1.16 - see above), use the "-u"
  option on 'getty' to keep /dev/tty?? settings sane. Also use the "-t"
  option with a value like 60 or so to make getty hang up and hung
  login attempt.

o If your A/UX setup is a true multi-user system, or, at the least, has
  Guest as an active account, it is a Very Good Idea to give each user their
  own personal System Folder (use 'systemfolder'). This is _very_ true for
  root! As root, you should also avoid using the global System Folder
  (mac/sys/System Folder) as an alternate Sys. Folder... there's very
  little need to do so anyway.

  Oh yeah... you can't just copy /mac/sys/System Folder to something like
  $HOME/System Folder... you must use 'systemfolder' and add/change/delete
  things as required.

o It's very easy to replace TextEditor as your Finder-double-click text
  editor. All you need to do is copy the application to /mac/bin (make
  sure that it's permissions are 755 bin|bin), edit /etc/profile and
  change FINDER_EDITOR to point to that application. Now, A/UX text
  files will show up as that application's filetype. An _excellent_
  replacement is BBEdit (v 2.2). It is really recommened!


===============================================================================

                                **** Q&A: ****

0)  What's A/UX? Is it any good?

A/UX is Apple's implementation of Unix (it's Apple's UNix) for the Macintosh
computers. A/UX merges two computing environments, Unix and the Macintosh
Finder OS, and provides the full functionality of both.

A/UX is based on AT&T Unix System V.2.2 with numerous extensions from V.3 (such
as streams) and BSD 4.2/4.3 (such as networking, the Fast File System, job
control, lpr, NFS with Yellow Pages, SCCS and sendmail 5.64). It also provides
full POSIX compliance. A/UX provides SYSV, BSD and POSIX compatiblity switches
and libraries. A/UX is fully compiant with the System V Interface Definition
(SVID).

A/UX provides all three standard shells: sh, csh and ksh. X-Windows is also
provided standard.

A/UX 3.0 incorporates System 7 for the Macintosh allowing for the use of
the vast majority of Macintosh applications under A/UX. System7 and Unix
and fully integrated under A/UX 3.0 with the Unix file system being seen
as a disk drive by the Finder.

There are quite a few people who feel that A/UX is a near-perfect implemen-
tation of Unix. Of course, every operating system (even AIX!) has it's
share of devotees, so that's not a very valid scale of whether the system is
any good. A/UX _is_ Unix... it's not some form of pseudo-Unix. It insulates
the user from Unix, if required, but the System Administrator will need
to become Unix-aware. Furthermore, if you want straight Unix, you can get
it... it's not a chore to bypass all the "gingerbread." People may also
complain that A/UX is based on an "obsolete" version of AT&T Unix (V.2.2).
In many ways, Apple's extensions make A/UX very V.3-like (V.3 is in many
ways an enhanced V.2... it even uses the V.2 kernel)... The list of extensions
to A/UX are impressive. Compare what you get standard with other systems
and you'll be shocked! On some, 'cc', 'f77', NFS, etc... are costly options.

The main consideration (and opposition) to A/UX is the platform it runs
on: The Macintosh. Some consider this a boon, others a bust. At present,
Apple's top-level workstation is the Quadra 950, a 33MHz 68040 based system.
Some consider this obsolete; others consider it overkill; others consider
it, like Goldilocks, "just right."

If you need super-fast state-of-the-art number crunching capability then A/UX
may not be for you... the Q950 benchmarks at maybe 9-14 SPECmarks (depending
on compiler used, external cache size, etc...) and you can get lots faster
with other platforms. Of course, you'll have to "settle" for their operating
systems, but if you need it, then that's how you'll get it. Of course, this
doesn't mean that A/UX "crawls"...

There are very few people who need this type of performance though. If you
need (or just _want_) a Unix workstation with the speed and power of Unix
and the user interface and application selection of the Macintosh then
A/UX is the way to go. In many, many ways, A/UX is the Unix "for the rest
of us"... even if we are long-time Unix junkies. If you love the Mac, you'll
love A/UX; if you love Unix, you'll love A/UX... and if you want a near-
perfect marriage of the two, then you'll love A/UX.

Yes, A/UX is good... very, very good :)

===
1)  What's the minimum system I need (CPU, disk and RAM) to run A/UX?

A/UX 3.0 works on the MacII (with PMMU _or_ 68030 upgrade with FDHD ROM's
installed), IIx, IIcx, IIci, IIfx, SE/30, IIsi (with 68882 chip) and the
Quadra series computers (3.0 doesn't support the ClassicII or the PowerBooks).
Despite some Apple literature to the contrary, A/UX doesn't run on the IIvx.
A/UX is available preinstalled on Mac systems or on CD-ROM. To find the
nearest A/UX reseller, call 1-800-538-9696.

If you really want to cut it close, 8MB RAM and an ENTIRE 80MB hard disk
will just make it. You'll have little room for user files (unless you clear
out some space by removing /games and maybe /catman) and depending on your
workload, may suffer from low performance (due to swapping... you may even
encounter the infamous swap messages :) According to William Roberts
(who's on the move), if you are mounting a _lot_ of stuff over NFS, a 40MB
disk should be plenty (please contact William for more info about this).

A much better system would be 16MB of RAM and about 200MB of disk space. This
would give you much more room to grow as well as sufficient RAM to increase
your performance (assuming that you tune some kernel parameters). All in all,
more RAM is prefered: 20MB (or more) is ideal.

===
2)  What's new about A/UX 3.0?

A/UX 3.0 incorporates the full functionality of System7. It supports the
QuickTime multimedia extension and the new Mac Quadra computers. A/UX 3.0
now includes X11R4 in it's distribution, including MacX. Installation of A/UX
is much easier that it was before and can be installed on any 3rd party
hard disk using the "new and improved" HD Setup application (see Q#44 though).

===
3)  What's the upgrade path for A/UX 3.0

If you bought A/UX (2.0.1) after Oct. 31, 1991, you are entitled to a free
upgrade to 3.0. See your dealer for details. In any case, no matter what
version you have, you can upgrade to 3.0 by purchasing the A/UX 3.0 CD-ROM
Product Upgrade (Apple part # MO599LL/B).

It's recommended that if you do upgrade, that you completely repartition
your disk via the Installer for two reasons:

    1. The default (suggested) partition sizes have changed

    2. You install 3.0 on a "clean" system.

===
4)  What Mac applications are compatible with A/UX?

It would be to list the applications that aren't compatible (the list is
much, much shorter)...

The _vast_ majority of applications that run under System 7 will run under
A/UX 3.0. In fact, before System 7 was released, A/UX 2.0.x was actually a
good litmus test whether the application was 32-bit clean and would run under
System 7. The only applications that are _sure_ to fail are those that try
to access hardware _directly_, such as HD utilities or backup applications.
A/UX 3.0 provides both 24 and 32-bit modes, so if the application doesn't
run under 32-bit mode, try it under 24-bit.

===
5)  Can I use my Teac|DC2000|DC6000|DAT|etc tape drive under A/UX?

A/UX 3.0's 'tc' device driver (version 1.40) officially and totally supports
the following tape drives:

    Qualstar 9 track
    Archive 4mm DAT
    Archive QIC
    Teac DCAS 600
    Exabyte 8200 and 8500
    DC2000

Please note that all the devices except for the Qualstar 9-tracks require
8k-blocking when used through 'tc'. This means you will need to use 'tcb'
or 'tbb' as a filter ('dd' will also work during reading). You should
also specify 8k blocking (or a multiple thereof) when using dump.bsd.

To fill possible holes, Tony Cooper ([e-mail]) has written
a streaming tape driver ('st') that supports the following drives:

    Teac MT-2ST/N50 (Micro/Tape MT-155)
    Tandberg TDC 3800 (Micro/Tape MT-320)
    Tandberg TDC 3660 (Micro/Tape MT-150)
    WangDAT Model 1300 (Micro/Tape MT-1300)

It also will probably drive other drives of the same model as the MicroNet
drives (eg it seems to work for all TEAC MT-2ST/N50's whether MicroNet or
not) and will drive Exabyte and GigaTape helical scan drives. Please note
that 'st' is a demo, and thus has a built-in expire date.
*** PLEASE NOTE: 'st' _has_ expired and no new version is likely. ***

Tony has also written a VERY nice double-buffering copier that greatly
increases the speed of backups; it's called 'tbb.' It works quite nicely
with 'st' and 'tc' (assuming the correct blocking factors)...

The device driver (as well as 'tbb') is available via anonymous ftp on
jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov under pub/st.drivers.

Craig Ruff ([e-mail]) has written a Teac device driver also, which
works with both the 150 MB and 60 MB drives. You get the complete source so you
may "adjust" the driver if you want for other drives.

The Teac driver is available via anonymous ftp of jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov.

Jim Jagielski has created a replacement for 'tc' to fix some of version 1.4's
bugs as well as to provide support for the WangDAT 1300/2600, Cipher,
|WangTEK and HP DAT tape drives. The driver is currently at version 3.12
and is available via anon-ftp on jagubox (If needed, it can be emailed).
This version is a replacement for 'tc' (it also includes a replacement
for 'mt' and some man pages as well).

%%% For more information about 'st', please contact Tony via E-mail %%%
%%% For more information about 'teac', please contact Craig via E-mail %%%
%%% For more information about 'tc', please contact Jim via E-mail %%%

===
6)  How come rn|elm|less|etc... acts weird concerning signals? Mainly, their
    support of job-control is less than perfect.

Well, it's not really them at all. Many people have found that more than a few
ports require the addition of the 'set42sig()' call to enable BSD 4.2 signal
delivery. The best place to add this is as the 1st executable statement under

    "main() {"

Another point about porting applications: A/UX's 'cc' does provide "strict"
BSD, SystemV and Posix libraries. If you are porting a BSD program, you can
enable BSD "emulation" by adding the "-ZB -lbsd" options to your 'cc' command
line. In fact, using just the '-lbsd' option alleviates the need for adding
the 'set42sig()' call mentioned above and is, in many cases, the suggested
option. Compiling with gcc 2.3.1 also helps out a great deal.

===
7)  What screen-savers are compatible with A/UX?

Moire (ver. 3.22) works quite well under A/UX (2&3), even under the Login
AfterDark (2.0u and later) also works but some displays may not have
enough memory under Login so the "low-memory" display will be used.

Moire and FMbackup seem a bit incompatible. They both function
fine together but the combination prevents FMbackup's "Finishing up..."
window from displaying, although FMbackup does, in fact, finish up.

Darkside is also available. Unlike other screen savers, Darkside is an
application, not an INIT. This means it won't work under the Login screen.
The latest version of Darkside is 3.1.1 and will _not_ work on Pre-System7
systems, so don't attempt to use this under A/UX 2.0.1.

Moire is available via anon-ftp on jagubox.

===
8)  Is X11R5 available for A/UX?

Yes! Thomas Eberhardt ([e-mail]) has ported X11R5 and
the binaries (which includes full shared libraries) for A/UX are available via
|anon-ftp on wuarchive.wustl.edu under systems/aux/X11R5 (our overseas friends
|should get it from ftp.uni-stuttgart.de due to US Export regs). Patches for
X11R5 compiled with gcc are also available. It looks like it results in a nice
10-20% increase in performance! Thomas has "taken over" X11R5 with his new
port; John Coolidge used to do it...

%%% For more information about X11R5 for A/UX, E-mail Thomas %%%

===
9)  I've noticed that FSF GNU doesn't support A/UX. Does that mean I'll
    miss out on all the neat Gnu-stuff like gcc?

Although it's true that FSF is "boycotting" Apple and A/UX, ports of most Gnu-
applications are available. Of particular interest is gcc version 2.3.1 which
has been ported by John Coolidge ([e-mail]) and is available via
anon-ftp on wuarchive.wustl.edu in systems/aux/gnu. The binaries, sources
and diffs are all available.

GCC version 2.3.1 for A/UX has been ported and is available... Highly
recommended!

As a nice compliment to using GCC, gdb (4.6) is also available, thanks to
Thomas Eberhardt ([e-mail]). It's also available
on wuarchive.

%%% For more info about gcc for A/UX, please contact John via E-mail %%%
%%% For more info about gdb for A/UX, please E-mail Thomas %%%

===
10)  I have an EtherNet card that works fine under the Macintosh operating
     system but not under A/UX. Why?

The reason is because to access the card (which is seen as a device by A/UX),
you need an A/UX device driver for it. This is NOT the same as the stuff you
had to install under the MacOS for it to work. Now A/UX includes drivers
for the Apple EtherNet card (they aren't installed by default though), but
they don't work with most of the 3rd party cards except for the 3Com "EtherLink
NB" and Asante "MacCon" cards. They are 100% register compatible with their
Apple counterparts, so you can use Apple's 'ae' driver with them. Drivers for
the EtherPort II cards are available via anon-ftp on jagubox. However, the
drivers for the "old" EPII cards (full length) only support TCP/IP (they
were written for A/UX 1.1 but will work under 2.0.x). As far as other cards
are concerned, you will have to ask the vendor for A/UX drivers for it.

Please note that there have been numerous reports about problems with the
EtherPortII cards, A/UX and the IIfx and IIsi... you are warned :)

===
11)  Can I use my scanner under A/UX?

A/UX 3.0 fully supports the Apple OneScanner as well as providing better
support for SCSI devices. A/UX will still use its own SCSI driver, however.

===
12)  How come my Login screen is gray, not color?

Because that's the way Apple wanted it :) Actually, the reason why is
because the 'scrn' resource is missing from 'System' in /mac/sys/Login System
Folder. If you're handy, you can copy 'scrn' from some other System and
paste it in Login's using ResEdit. Make sure the "Is Color" field in 'scrn'
is "1".

Of course, maybe you have a gray-scale monitor...

===
13)  Even though I have lot's of swap space and only a little bit is
     being used, I STILL get a lot of messages saying that my swap
     space is running low. What the buzz?

Unix is justifyably concerned about having adequate swap space. A system crash
caused by this beast is a sight to behold. However, A/UX seems EXTREMELY
nervous about the amount needed before it starts getting fidgety. If you do
a "/etc/swap -l" and see that you're only using a small portion of your swap
space and have a "lot" left, then you can safely ignore the messages (just how
much is a "lot" is hard to say, but if you have 25000 blocks and are only using
1000 or 2000, then I'd say you were fine). If you DO need more swap space,
then you have a few options:

    a. Using 'kconfig', reduce the number and size of buffers.
       This isn't really a good idea since it could really degrade
       performance as well as possibly causing more panics.

    b. Add more swap space.
       Fine, if you have it. You could either add another disk
       as swap (nice) or repartition your present disk to create
       a larger Swap partition (Ack!).

    c. Add more memory.
       If you have more memory, then this will reduce the need to
       augment it with swap space... RAM's cheap too!

===
14)  How can I copy a complete file system from one disk|partition to
     another?

You have three options: dd, dump.bsd and cpio (pax MAY work but tar won't since
it won't handle special-type files). If the two partitions are the same size,
you can use 'dd' (to copy c0d0s0 to c5d0s3, e.g.):

    $ dd < /dev/rdsk/c0d0s0 > /dev/rdsk/c5d0s3

To use dump.bsd, you can use the following command (this assumes that the
destination disk in mounted on /mnt and you want to copy the root file system
which is on SCSI 0... of course, you must be root and it would be MUCH better
to do this in single-user mode):

    $ dump.bsd 0f - /dev/rdsk/c0d0s0 | (cd /mnt; restore xf -)

To use cpio, you must use it in a pipe with find. For example, to copy /usr
(let's assume it's on it's own file system) to another disk|partition (assume
it's mounted on /mnt) then you can use (you can add the "-depth" flag to
'find' if you want):

    $ cd /usr
    $ find . -print | cpio -pdmuva /mnt

The problem with this is that if the mount point of the destination disk
falls under the file system's directory you're trying to copy, you'll load
up your destination disk. For example, the following would NOT work:

    $ cd /
    $ find . -print | cpio -pdmuva /mnt

because 'find' would see the stuff in /mnt (which you just put in there) and
try to copy in back to /mnt! To way to avoid this is by adding a little filter:

    $ cd /
    $ find . -print | grep -v '^./mnt*' | cpio -pdmuva /mnt

If you have GNU find, then you can use it with it's '-xdev' option, which
prevents find from walking through other file systems:

    $ cd /
    $ find . -xdev -print | cpio -pdmuva /mnt

dump.bsd creates a "truer" copy of your file system (the access and
modification dates aren't mucked with... with the find/cpio pipe, at the
least the directory dates are touched) but it won't backup named pipes...

===
15)  What's with UUCP?

UUCP under 3.0 is very improved over it's previous "incarnation" under 2.0.1.
3.0 uses HDB (for HoneyDanBer) UUCP instead of standard UUCP. Some nice
things are bidirectional getty (also known as uugetty in other Unixs) which
allows both incoming and outgoing communication over serial lines as well as
better performance and reliability. I hear that setting it up is _much_ easier
as well.

You may seriously consider getting Alexis Rosen's "sendmail.cf" file for use
under UUCP sendmail. This config file has been modified to allow UUCP and
sendmail to work beautifully together.

Be sure that you are running the latest version: 1.16. It can be found on
aux.support.apple.com in aux.patches/supported/3.0.

===
16)  How can I log anonymous ftp entries? in.ftpd has a -l option,
     but it doesn't work.

Jim Jagielski ([e-mail]) has hacked in.ftpd to enable
logging via the syslogd daemon. It also pays extra close attention to anonymous
ftp logins. It's available (as well as other ports|hacks) on jagubox.

%%% For more info, contact Jim %%%

===
17)  I'm trying to use a SyQuest drive under A/UX but it refuses to work.
     I keep on getting a "more data than device expected" error message.
     What's wrong?

The "problem" is with the generic SCSI disk driver under A/UX. For SCSI drives,
there are certain parameters that may be adjusted by the user; these parameters
are grouped in "pages." One such page concerns how the disk responds to and
recovers from errors: the Error Recovery Page. A/UX expects the parameters in
this page to have certain values. Now the vast majority of SCSI disks have
the values set as expected, but this isn't the case with SyQuest drives. There
is one parameter (PER) which is opposite than expected by A/UX. When A/UX trys
to set this value to what it wants, however, the SyQuest drive reads this
"request" wrong (the request is 16 bytes but the SyQuest only reads 4) so
the SCSI Manager reports the error.

Tony Cooper ([e-mail]) has written a Mac application
which sets the Error Page values correctly: Fix Error Page. This application
must be used under the MacOS. It can be found on rascal.ics.utexas.edu as well
as on aux.support.apple.com (aux.patches/unsupported/2.0). You can also use the
FWB Hard Disk Toolkit - World Control Application to enable the PER bit in
the recovery page (Page #1).

By the by, here is the /etc/disktab entry for SyQuest:

    # SyQuest disk
    #
    Syquest|syquest|S45:\
       :ty=winchester:ns#34:nt#2:nc#1275:

===
18)  I'm unable to start a getty process on a built-in serial port. When
     I use 'setport' to enable the port, I get a "no such device" error.
     Configuring /etc/inittab to respawn getty on the port has no effect.

AppleTalk is probably enabled for the port. The getty process can be started
temporarily by turning off AppleTalk via A/UX's Finder Chooser and THEN
using the 'setport' command.

You can permanently disable AppleTalk by reconfiguring the kernel with
"newconfig noappletalk". If you wish to keep the drivers installed in the
kernel but still want to "permanently" disable AppleTalk, you can edit
/etc/startup to prevent AppleTalk from initializing and /etc/inittab can be
editted to start getty. (NOTE: /etc/startup is regenerated by newconfig so
you'll have to redo this if you reconfigure the kernel).

If you don't have an EtherTalk card installed, then you can also modify
/etc/appletalkrc to point to "ethertalk0" instead of "localtalk0". Doing this
stops AppleTalk from bothering the serial port because it tries to use
the non-existant card.

===
19)  I am using and depending on /etc/hosts to do all my hostname resolving
     (i.e. not using named or /etc/resolv.conf). How come I can't mail
     to other hosts, but I can ping|ftp|etc... them?

Well, the problem is actually with sendmail (in /usr/lib). sendmail (under
A/UX 2.0 and later) assumes the use of a nameserver. Pre-2.0 versions were
"adjusted" to look in /etc/hosts if any nameserver call failed (which it would
if it wasn't running, of course :). Jim Jagielski ([e-mail])
has hacked sendmail 5.65 for A/UX to allow it to also check /etc/hosts. The
source code is available via anon-ftp on jagubox.

%%% For more info, contact Jim %%%

//////////////////////  END OF PART 1 OF 2  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
--
    Jim Jagielski               | "It is not I who am crazy...
    [e-mail]   |  it is I who am MAD!"
    NASA/GSFC, Code 734.4       |
    Greenbelt, MD 20771         |            - Ren