Re: Internet in NZ: 30 years today

Hi Lindsay, Steve

Michael Newbery & I did a full scale upgrade of all the AGS and MGS 
boxes on the VUW backbone once, to get them all up to IOS 8 (the last 
that would run on the CSC/2 CPU card - 68020, 1 MB memory). I think it 
was 8 EPROMS plus a PAL on each CPU, plus 11 (or was it 13?) PROMs on 
each interface card, for a total of around three hundred chips, and 
since the routers were scattered around campus in various utility 
spaces, work conditions were often less than ideal. I had a /lot/ of 
those little black chip boxes lying around.

That's on top of later upgrades to boxes that had CSC/4 CPUs (68040, 
16MB), chip-swaps on modems (we had a couple of hundred CTL MD1290s in 
service between VUW and NetLink), ND/Securicor 3net/Telesys boxes and 
so-on. We got very good at swapping chips... (the chips' pins were 
always splayed a little, so if you just shoved them in the sockets 
without bending them inwards first, you risked accidentally inserting 
the pins into the adjacent socket. We only did that once, and 
fortunately the only consequence was that the affected card wouldn't 
light up until we'd corrected it.)

... and let me say I much prefer flash.


Re swapping out fuel, ask your facilities people about "diesel bug". 
Cycling the fuel periodically is standard practice for anything that 
leaves fuel unused for extended periods. One of the guys who does 
generator maintenance around here takes waste diesel fuel to Steam 
Incorporated in Paekakariki, because steam locomotives are remarkably 
unfussy about what they burn.


That card in the photo looks like the CBUS controller card out of an 
AGS+. The AGS+ was a later upgrade of that line, and added a 
high(er)-speed CBUS backplane to slots 5-9 - you had the CBUS controller 
in slot 7, and the other four CBUS slots could take "high-speed" 
interface cards, e.g. 6-way (10 Mbps) Ethernet or FDDI, which could talk 
among themselves over the CBUS. You could still use old MCI cards 
compatible with the AGS/MGS/CGS, but they had to communicate via the 
slower Multibus (as did the CPU). The card edge connector in the pic is 
the Multibus, and the large plastic connector is the CBUS.

-- don




On 17/04/19 8:26 AM, Lindsay Druett wrote:
> Hey Steve,
>
> Photos look familiar ?
>
> On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 at 23:53, Steve Lang <[email protected] 
> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>
>     Hey.
>
>     Fascinating. I remember working night shifts in the Waikato DC and
>     dealing with the occasional proteon outage. Later on, when we had
>     cisco's, I helped JH do a Cisco IOS upgrade - had to replace 12
>     (or was it 100?) eproms - flash wasn't around then. It wasn't fun.
>
>     Back then, I was visiting family on Norfolk Island, popped into
>     the ANZCAN cable station - there was a viewing window where you
>     could see the three cables, 1 from Au, one from NZ, and one
>     heading to the US... Lots of copper man. Every 6 months, they
>     would give the petrol (or was it diesel?) from the generators away
>     to the locals, as it had hit it's storage life and if it wasn't
>     used, it needed refreshing so they had to 'get rid' of it...
>
>     I feel old now.
>
>     Cheers -
>
>     On 16/04/19 10:11 PM, Lindsay Druett wrote:
>>     Yes, the AGS that I found was a nine slot chassis AGS.
>>     Exactly the same as the one pictured but wasn't fully populated.
>>     I think the Proteon was long gone, I'd hate to now think I threw
>>     it out, but came to a collection of old Cisco routers (only 10
>>     years old at the time).
>>
>>     I found a couple of pictures but can't see any chips with the
>>     pins clearly straightened out, but I've heard the story.  Aaron
>>     Scott was involved at that time.
>>
>>
>>     On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 at 22:00, Don Stokes <[email protected]
>>     <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>>
>>         Hi Lindsay,
>>
>>         The original router was a Proteon. John H wanted a Cisco,
>>         because they were already in country and maintenance was
>>         available.
>>
>>         The reason Ciscos were available is because VUW took delivery
>>         of five in early '89. They were ordered as four-slot MGSes,
>>         but three of these were delivered as nine-slot AGSes due to
>>         lack of stock. The one that originally terminated the
>>         Kawaihiko links UoW-VUW, VUW-Massey and VUW-Canty and managed
>>         the VUW core network, and was later re-configured as an
>>         access router for the VUW Internetworking Group (and its
>>         successors, NetLink and Telstra NZ) is in my possession:
>>         http://www.don.nz.net/wordpress/nzs-oldest-internet-router/
>>
>>         I don't know the final fate of the Proteon, but I believe it
>>         was disposed of. If it is still out there somewhere, I'm sure
>>         folk would like to know.
>>
>>         -- don
>>
>>
>>         On 16/04/19 6:02 PM, Lindsay Druett wrote:
>>>         That' would have been the old Cisco AGS switch that I found
>>>         in the network storeroom back when I worked at University of
>>>         Waikato.
>>>         It still worked at the time when I powered it up, CMOS
>>>         battery (which was an AA alkaline battery was stuffed).
>>>         Got some photos somewhere.
>>>
>>>         Nice piece of history.
>>>
>>>
>>>         On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 at 16:57, Don Stokes <[email protected]
>>>         <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>>>
>>>             Since nobody else seems to have noticed ...
>>>
>>>             ... today is the 30th anniversary of the Internet
>>>             reaching NZ. On 16 April 1989, John Houlker plugged in
>>>             the PACCOM link connecting the University of Waikato,
>>>             via an analogue circuit on the ANZCAN cable,to the
>>>             University of Hawaii and thence to the Internet.
>>>
>>>             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98xdUWja_aM
>>>
>>>             Also of note was that on 1 April 1989, the
>>>             Telecommunications Amendment Act 1988 came into force,
>>>             formally ending the century-old NZPO/Telecom regulated
>>>             telecommunications monopoly.  (The de-facto monopoly
>>>             took a bit longer to dismantle.)
>>>
>>>
>>>             -- 
>>>             Don Stokes, [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>, 021 796 072
>>>             _______________________________________________
>>>             NZNOG mailing list
>>>             [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
>>>             https://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/nznog
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>         -- 
>>>         Lindsay Druett.
>>>
>>>
>>>         Wired Networks Ltd
>>>         [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
>>>         +64-7-974 9301
>>>         +64-21-92 90 92
>>>
>>
>>
>>         -- 
>>         Don Stokes, [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>, 021 796 072
>>
>>
>>
>>     -- 
>>     Lindsay Druett.
>>
>>
>>     Wired Networks Ltd
>>     [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
>>     +64-7-974 9301
>>     +64-21-92 90 92
>>
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     NZNOG mailing list
>>     [email protected]  <mailto:[email protected]>
>>     https://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/nznog
>
>
>
> -- 
> Lindsay Druett.
>
>
> Wired Networks Ltd
> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
> +64-7-974 9301
> +64-21-92 90 92
>


-- 
Don Stokes, [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>, 021 796 072

_______________________________________________
NZNOG mailing list
[email protected]
https://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/nznog