Re: terminal server for vax?

Richard wrote:

What would have been typically used on a VAXserver 4000/300 to provide
support for a large number of serial terminals (say 8, 16 or 32 ports)?

The following assumes OpenVMS VAX, though there are and were multiple operating systems available for the VAXserver 4000 series Q-bus boxes.

The VAXserver 4000 series was not originally licensed as a multi-user system, so having many serial lines was rare; you'd see this configuration for serial printers served off the host, or for connections for dedicated applications, for instance, but not typically for time-sharing operations.

For VAX 4000 series boxes in that same vintage, likely one of the DECserver series terminal servers was chosen. Examples include the DECserver 90 series, or DECserver 700 series, or other similar options.

There were certainly various serial communications options for the Q-bus (including the CXY series), but these tended to be options that were relatively discouraged in favor of connecting the terminal(s) into multiple hosts via LAT or IP; via the network.

Connecting in via LAT meant the same terminal could specifically connect to multiple hosts, or could connect into a service offered by multiple hosts (eg: a cluster alias implemented in LAT, or into a LAT service offered for/by a series of application-specific User Interface nodes) without regard to the particular host.

Various of the DIGITAL System and Options Catalog (SOC) entries for many of these old systems remain available in the left navigation at the URL <http://www.hp.com/go/productbulletin/>.
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