[HN Gopher] Fujitsu BS2000 Operating System Manuals
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       Fujitsu BS2000 Operating System Manuals
        
       Author : throwawaybutwhy
       Score  : 63 points
       Date   : 2021-05-23 09:12 UTC (13 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (bs2manuals.ts.fujitsu.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (bs2manuals.ts.fujitsu.com)
        
       | gjvc wrote:
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS2000
        
       | mmackh wrote:
       | Initial release 1975; 46 years ago Latest release 11.0 / 2017; 4
       | years ago
       | 
       | So we're already up to version 11.0, whilst FB Messenger for
       | example is at 313.0
        
         | unixhero wrote:
         | German structured approach versus unicorn release management.
        
       | tannhaeuser wrote:
       | BS = _Betriebssystem_ = operating system, ie not what you might
       | think it means ;)
        
         | merlinscholz wrote:
         | Except in this case it stands for Business Server ;)
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS2000
        
           | tannhaeuser wrote:
           | I'd like to believe that (though Business Server doesn't even
           | have the excuse of being in German language) but I can't find
           | anything about that term on the linked Wikipedia page.
        
             | merlinscholz wrote:
             | Check the BS2000 logo in the top right:
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS2000#/media/File:BS2000.png
        
         | throw0101a wrote:
         | I often have the same problem with POS = point of sale. Another
         | term often comes to mind.
        
           | jhgb wrote:
           | But "Our POS terminals are powered by Fujitsu's BS" is such a
           | wonderful sentence...
        
             | cptnapalm wrote:
             | Would make for some amusing troubleshooting videos: "So
             | what do you do when having problems with your BS POS?"
        
       | cptnapalm wrote:
       | BS2000 is the result of corporate espionage. Fujitsu, Hitachi
       | (VOS3) and even Japanese government officials were in on it. They
       | stole the source code to IBM's MVS operating system.
       | https://fas.org/irp/congress/1989_cr/h890712-japan.htm
        
         | dirkt wrote:
         | If Japanese companies stole the source code, then why was
         | BS2000 developed by Siemens (a German company) from 1970 on
         | [1], with Siemens-Fujitsu taking only over in 2000, 11 years
         | after the date in your link?
         | 
         | And yes, the BS2000 uses the /360 ISA, but so did a few other
         | imitators of IBM. And copying an ISA is widespread, and not
         | restricted to the /360.
         | 
         | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS2000
        
           | [deleted]
        
       | wyclif wrote:
       | Which of these do we think are the most useful manuals today?
        
       | unixhero wrote:
       | That url contains an index with a very neat way of organising and
       | curating the different sections of a mainframe/super computing
       | operating system.
       | 
       | A big win would be getting Postgresql, Python and NodeJs ported.
       | And midnight commander.
        
         | gjvc wrote:
         | https://www.fujitsu.com/global/Images/FUJITSU_Enterprise_Pos...
        
           | unixhero wrote:
           | Cool, there it is!
           | 
           | It is super awesome to have briefs like this. Imagine having
           | it for all major packages in Linux.
           | 
           | I guess it could be synthesized with fetches from Wikipedia.
        
       | johndoe0815 wrote:
       | The BS2000 series is fascinating since Fujitsu-Siemens made the
       | transition from S370-compatible hardware over MIPS- (Siemens also
       | produced a series of MIPS-based workstations in the 1990s) and
       | SPARC-based systems (based on Fujitsu SPARC silicon) to x86-64
       | today, staying binary compatible (using emulation/binary
       | translation) all the way.
        
         | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
         | Siemens used to make lots of computing hardware like RF modems,
         | MIPS processors, DRAM, even their own custom design CPU
         | architecture (Tri-Core) for use in automotive and such.
         | 
         | Some of them still live on today in various spin-offs like Tri-
         | Core is now part of Infineon, DRAM used to be Qimonda which
         | went under and part of the RF modem division is now Apple.
        
           | LargoLasskhyfv wrote:
           | I had swiss made EDO-Ram with insane(low) latencies from
           | Siemens. Sixteen MEGABYTES of it! Looooong before Quimonda
           | ;-)
        
           | sdfjkl wrote:
           | They even made one of the few Windows NT on MIPS
           | workstations. The RM 300 could run either SINIX (a Unix
           | variant) or Windows NT/MIPS.
           | 
           | http://www.katalog.iser.fau.de/index.php?ort_id=322&inventar.
           | ..
        
             | johndoe0815 wrote:
             | and Linux (https://www.linuxsecrets.com/linux-mips-
             | wiki/RM_200.html).
             | 
             | SINIX and Linux used the R4000 in big endian mode, whereas
             | NT was running in little endian. You had to flash a
             | different firmware to switch between the systems...
        
         | LargoLasskhyfv wrote:
         | You know? I had to work with the Siemens Mipsen(RM400/600 with
         | Sinix/Reliant Unix) for some time. They were built like a tank,
         | with _massive_ cases, and usually almost silent because of
         | that.
         | 
         | Thinking about that now, they could have been featured in some
         | post-apocalyptic game like Fallout, or similar :-)
         | 
         | Anyways, the mainboard was from Silicon Graphics(said so on the
         | board, made me smile at the time), and they had a different
         | firmware/bootloader and usually lacked the graphics option,
         | apart from a simple framebuffer.
        
           | johndoe0815 wrote:
           | Siemens also sold relabeled R3000/R4000 Indigos (RW3xx/4xx),
           | we had a number of these donated to our student Unix
           | workgroup by a local company back in the 90s. These machines
           | ran IRIX instead of SINIX, of course.
        
       | skissane wrote:
       | I wish they had a hobbyist program.
        
         | criddell wrote:
         | Even if there isn't an official program, contact them and ask.
         | If you reach the right person there's a good chance they will
         | do what they can to help you out.
        
         | cptnapalm wrote:
         | Either Fujitsu or Hitachi's VOS3. Amdahl's OSes seem to have
         | disappeared off the earth. There's just no good, legal
         | mainframe OSes available for potential enthusiasts.
        
           | xeeeeeeeeeeenu wrote:
           | Unisys does have a hobbyist program:
           | 
           | MCP: https://www.unisys.com/offerings/clearpath-
           | forward/clearpath...
           | 
           | OS 2200: https://www.unisys.com/offerings/clearpath-
           | forward/clearpath...
        
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       (page generated 2021-05-23 23:03 UTC)