Linux Servers vs BSD UNIX Systems From the Past

Did we actually accomplish anything on computers with less than gigabytes of memory and terabytes of storage?

 

As a supplier of servers and computer systems for both industrial and military applications, Chassis Plans provides both Windows and Linux based systems. The system shown below is a 2U industrial system with an Intel Core i7 processor, about 83,000 MIPS (2.93GHz) and 32GB of DRAM and 2 TB of rotating or solid state storage media. With a 600w redundant power supply the unit is using much less than 1KW of power.

 

Chassis Plans M2U-20A 2U System

 

This 2U system provides an amazing amount of processing power but it also can be supplied with single or dual Intel Xeon processors for more performance. It is a powerful system and, utilizing Linux as an operating system, makes a good server or workstation.

 

Sometimes we forget how far the computer industry has come in the past 30 years. There certainly have been major strides in performance, storage capacity and memory capacity for computer systems. So what did a computer system of 1984 look like in comparison?

 

Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VAX 11/780

A good example of the type of system available in 1984 is the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VAX 11/780. From the picture below it is apparent that the 2U form factor is out the window. The basic configuration of the VAX 11/780 was a computer cabinet (5ft X 4ft X 2.5ft) with a three phase power supply and drawing a total of 7 kilowatts. Weight was about 2,000 lbs plus peripherals.  All this for a processor with 1Mips (5 MHz) performance and 128K to 8MB of memory. Yes, that is megabytes, not Gigabytes!  Environmental specs were 50-85 Deg F and 10-40% R.H.

 

DEC VAX 11/780 Computer System

 

Disc drives were extra and were typically 50-150 Mb in size.

 

In 1984 Linux was not available but for a small fee of around $30,000 to Bell labs a version of UNIX and a site license was available. For another fee of $500 a version of BSD 4.1 UNIX that actually worked was available from the University of California at Berkeley. The end result was a multi-user computer system with 4MB of memory that was running UNIX and could be used to support a department of software, hardware and support staff. A pretty big step forward in user computer access at the time.

 

The development of BSD UNIX never stopped and today versions are available under the name of NetBSD (www.netbsd.org) and FreeBSD (www.freebsd.org) as well as others. Linux, of course, is available from several sources as freeware or supported versions from several companies such as Ubuntu (www.ubuntu.com) or RedHat (www.redhat.com).

 

It is interesting to note that significant computer development work was performed using a computer system with 4MB of memory and accessed only by a CRT terminal. In a quote from a 1970’s Bell Lab research paper about the porting of UNIX to the VAX 11/780 – “Work on the C compiler began in mid-December 1977. The hardware arrived on March 3. We held a party on May 19 to celebrate successful multi-user operation of the system” (A UNIX Operating System for the DEC VAX-11/780 Computer, Thomas B. London and John F. Reiser).

 

The operating system, compiler and all applications for the UNIX system were ported in less than six months utilizing a computer system that by today’s standards would not be useful for reading emails.

 

If there is interest in experiencing what it was like to utilize a VAX 11/780 there is a simulator for workstations such as those available from Chassis Plans that emulates most of the minicomputers of the late seventies and early eighties. SIMH (simh.trailing-edge.com) is a freeware program that emulates DEC minicomputers and peripherals using a variety of operating systems. Based on the performance of 2U system shown above, multiple copies of SIMH could be used to emulate several VAX computers on the same machine. The only difference from true VAX 11/780 hardware is that the emulated version runs faster.

Linux Servers vs BSD UNIX Systems From the Past

Sequestration and COTS in 2015 and Beyond

As we come to the end of 2014 the effects of the Sequestration Budget is still with us. The question is what is going to happen going forward? At the annual AUSA convention in mid-October, Army officials presented several concerns about the budget for fiscal year 2015 and beyond.

 

If sequestration budget cuts remain in effect, the US Army will take a $14 billion hit in 2016, jeopardizing modernization programs, Army officials told reporters on Oct. 24. Cuts have already hit unmanned vehicle and aircraft sensor projects. “Since 2011, the Army has cancelled 21 programs, delayed 125 and restructured 124. After dropping the Ground Combat Vehicle, Armed Aerial Scout, Unmanned Ground Vehicle upgrades and the Mounted Soldier System programs, the aviation, communications and ground combat vehicles are now vulnerable” said Brig. Gen. Frank Muth, director of the Army’s Quadrennial Defense Review office.

 

“Ending sequestration is the root of all the issues, and anything else you’re doing is a half-attempt or a Band-Aid or a bridge,” said Maj. Gen. Gary Cheek, the Army’s assistant deputy commanding general for operations, plans and policy.

 

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has warned Congress repeatedly that if there is no relief from the requirements of the budget law — which uses a mechanism known as “sequestration” to limit the availability of money — then the U.S. will lose its warfighting edge.  For instance, on February 24 of this year he stated in a press briefing that, “the only way to implement sequestration is to sharply reduce spending on readiness and modernization, which would almost certainly result in a hollow force — one that isn’t ready or capable of fulfilling assigned missions.”

 

Similar concerns are being voiced in the other services and non-war fighter agencies such as the Defense Information Services Agency (DISA). DISA is considering consolidating contracts as means to increase efficiencies and save money, particularly with the possibility of another round of sequestration bearing down on them for fiscal year 2016. The agency is also preparing to reorganize under broader DoD cyber security plans.

 

Looking to the Future

“As you can see we’re changing our organization to be better at preparing ourselves for what we expect to be our future. We’ve seen a lot more teamwork being done with all the services and DISA over the past year and that will continue,” said Maj. Gen. Alan Lynn, DISA vice-director and the agency’s chief procurement officer. “To do that kind of work with so many different services, all with different interests, we’ve really got to work our acquisition plans and make sure we have the requirements right and make sure that we manage everything.”

 

Since the budget control act of 2011, the total DoD budget cuts have totaled about $600 billion. With the addition of projected sequestration-level cuts for FY 2016 through 2021, reductions to planned defense spending for the ten-year period from FY 2012 to 2021 will exceed $1 trillion (Estimated Impacts of Sequestration-Level Funding – FY 2015 Defense Budget, DoD report April 2014).

 

With budget cuts and the focus on cost savings via acquisition planning, the future for commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products still is the most viable method for developing new electronic systems as well as improving existing platforms. The COTS initiative started by Dr. Perry, former US Secretary of Defense, in 1995 has matured to the point where there is a broad offering of products from scores of vendors that do not require development funds in order to be used on government programs.

 

Figure 1
Ruggedized Server Cloud-In-A-Case System

Products such as the COTS server in a transit case provided by Chassis Plans shown in Figure 1 can be used in many different programs without development costs decreasing the time required to qualify and field the final product. The system in Figure 1 is based on industry standards and can be upgraded with higher-performance parts as they become available. This upgradeability will help reduce the long term cost of maintaining and improving the fielded system.

 

Based on data available today the effects of sequestration are going to extend into the next decade and the effects on military programs will be profound. The continued use of COTS products, such as those from Chassis plans, can reduce the cost of new initiatives as well upgrade cost of existing platforms. The end result is that COTS products can continue to help the military be prepared for future threats and changes in technology requirements.

Sequestration and COTS in 2015 and Beyond