Display article   Subject:  SCO UNIX System V/386 Release 3.2 V2
   04/30/97   18:52:54


INTRODUCING SCO UNIX SYSTEM V/386 RELEASE 3.2 V2

We often speak of the Operating System as the "foundation" of the
computing platform.  Common sense dictates that a house or
structure is only as good as the foundation it is built upon, and
so it is with a computer platform and the operating system that
controls the function and operation of that platform.

With Release 3.2 Version 2, the SCO UNIX operating system has
reached the level of maturity and stability that must be present
in operating systems offered through the Radio Shack product
line.

SCO UNIX System V/386 Release 3.2 is now available under catalog
number 903-1795 for $895.  Radio Shack has worked with The Santa
Cruz Operation since July of 1989 in testing and evaluating
releases of the SCO UNIX operating system.  Over 500 man-hours
were invested in the final qualification of the Version 2
product.

This release of the operating system will provide the base for
the near future implementation of SCO Open Desktop, the
long-awaited graphical environment for UNIX and for future
support of multi-processor technology on the 80486 platform.


Questions & Answers

Q:  What is the difference between SCO XENIX and SCO UNIX System V?

A:  Both SCO XENIX and SCO UNIX System V are based on source code
licensed from AT&T and Microsoft.  SCO adds value to the core
technology provided by these two companies, then releases it as a
commercial product.

SCO UNIX System V can be viewed as the next major release in the
evolution of the SCO XENIX product.  It is called SCO UNIX
because, with its latest licensing terms, AT&T now licenses the
UNIX trademark as well as the source code.  As with other major
releases of product, SCO UNIX offers additional functionality and
performance enhancements; SCO UNIX System V is a more
full-featured system than SCO XENIX.

This is no way indicates the demise of the SCO XENIX operating
system as a viable and cost effective multiuser platform.  To the
contrary, SCO XENIX will continue to satisfy the majority of the
needs of the small business customer.  Review the "New Features"
section in this article, and if you have no immediate need for
these new features, then SCO XENIX remains the operating system
of choice.

In fact SCO, realizing the large installed base of loyal and
satisfied XENIX customers and the maturity of the product, will
deliver a maintenance release of the SCO XENIX product during the
first quarter of 1991.

The bottom line is really quite simple.  Your computing
requirements compared to the features and functionality of the
two operating systems will be the deciding factor in selecting
the correct operating system.


Q:  What hardware is required to run SCO UNIX System V?

A:  As in most cases, increased functionality and additional
product features require additional horsepower requirements from
a hardware standpoint.  Radio Shack recommends a minimum system
of: 80386 (ISA), 4 MB RAM, 80 MB Hard Drive.

Take into consideration the future growth and expansion of your
business.  Plan for the immediate as well as the long term
expansion of the system -- protect your investment in the
platform.

SCO UNIX System V provides full "termcap" support for the DT-110
Data Terminal and high performance driver support for SCSI hard
drives and tape drives.  This release does not provide support
for Micro Channel Architecture.


Q:  Will existing SCO XENIX applications run on SCO UNIX System V?

A:  SCO applications will run under both XENIX and UNIX.  Check
with the application vendor or Computer Customer Service to
verify other applications.


Q:  Will every application developed for other implementations of
UNIX System V/386 run on SCO UNIX System V?

A:  SCO UNIX System V provides binary compatibility with the
binaries created on UNIX Systems based on AT&T's UNIX System
V/386 Release 3.1 and greater.

As a result, applications running on properly derived versions of
UNIX System V/386 should run on SCO UNIX System V.  Bear in mind
that there are applications that make modifications to the kernel
device drivers or require UNIX System functionality that may not
be part of the SCO UNIX implementation.

A compatibility listing of application software is currently
being developed.  For peace of mind, check with the application
vendor to ascertain if they support their product on SCO UNIX
System V.


Q:  Which peripherals in the product line are NOT supported under
SCO UNIX System V?

A:  25-4064   20 MB DCS
    25-1081   CD-ROM Drive
    90-2156   CD-ROM Drive
    25-4031   Tandy 4-Port Serial Adapter



Q:  Can DOS, OS/2 and SCO UNIX coexist on the same hard disk?

A:  Yes.  You may partition the hard disk to contain DOS (Version
3.30), OS/2 and SCO UNIX partitions.  You may then boot any of
these partitions.  It is possible to have up to four separate
partitions.


Q:  What UNIX System Standards does SCO UNIX System V encompass?

A:  SCO UNIX System V conforms with all major UNIX System
industry standards as they exist today:

- AT&T's SVID (System V Interface Definition)

- The combined XENIX and UNIX System "Merged" Applications
Compatibility Standard

- IEEE POSIX P1003.1 (Portable Operating System for Computer
Environments) with the Federal Information Processing Standards
(FIPS) 151.1 Extensions

- X/Open CAE (Common Applications Environment) including 8-bit
internationalization libraries

- ANSI X3J11 C Language Standard for 8-Bit internationalization

- NCS TCSEC to the C2 level

Standards compliance is a vital requirement in today's
marketplace and assures you of compatibility in your technology
investment.


Q:  What about upgrades from SCO XENIX to SCO UNIX System V?

A:  The Santa Cruz Operation has no immediate plan to market an
upgrade product at this time.  Due to the differences between the
two products and the continuation of SCO XENIX as a viable
solution, no special upgrade pricing exists.

Market pressure and demand will determine future upgrade pricing
programs.


New Features

Disk I/O Performance Enhancements

Fast I/O between main memory and disk storage is the key to
providing high performance for most business applications and for
many scientific/engineering programs.

Beyond basic hardware support, SCO has implemented some advanced
disk-management techniques in the SCSI Driver.  This includes a
1-to-1 disk interleave factor, which allows fast processors to
absorb data coming from the disk as fast as the controller can
capture it.  With other interleaving factors, such as 3-to-1, the
data is actually spread out across more of the disk so that the
processor will have time to catch up on its side of the transfer,
while the disk spins ahead to the next portion of data.

Version 2 is also optimized to support scatter-gather operations.
Working with the ACER Fast File System (AFS) in SCO UNIX System
V, the new scatter-gather driver can deliver disk I/O performance
for most applications.

C2 Trusted System Features

In addition to the standard UNIX System password and file
protection security, SCO UNIX System V is designed to meet the C2
level of the Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC)
as specified by the National Computer Security Center (NCSC).  In
addition, it implements the FIPS 112 Password Management
Guidelines.  All of these features are maintained from a new,
highly integrated, system administration shell.

Korn Shell (ksh)

Designed as a successor to the traditional Bourne shell (sh), and
including the most popular features of the BSD C shell (csh), the
Korn shell is sure to find favor with experienced developers and
system administrators.  It features POSIX-compliant job control,
command history and editing, extended I/O capabilities, and
better debugging than (sh).

Expanded System Administrator's Guide

This volume of comprehensive documentation now includes new
information on site planning, system troubleshooting and
instructions on configuring the MMDF II mail router.  It also
contains details on security auditing and directions for using
the new C2 trusted system tools.

File System Switch (FSS)

FSS is an AT&T facility that allows you to use a variety of UNIX
and non-UNIX file systems, and can also be used to mount a DOS,
XENIX or CD-ROM file system and manipulate files directly using
SCO UNIX System V commands.

Multichannel Memorandum Facility, Version II (MMDF II)

MMDF II is a very sophisticated mail routing facility which
conforms to all US Government "RFC" specifications for Internet
Mail Systems, and provides the same front end as the mail router
in previous releases of SCO XENIX.  It provides tremendous
flexibility and includes support for various delivery agents such
as X.25, X.400, UUCP, SMTP, local, Micnet, and more.

Acer File System (AFS)

AFS, developed by Acer Technologies and integrated into SCO UNIX
System V by SCO, is capable of handling larger sets of data in
the same amount of time as standard file systems.  Benchmarks
have shown that using AFS improves throughput by as much as 600
percent over standard UNIX file systems.
