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2026 Newsgroup Postings (01/01 - )

DUMP Reader

43 Years Of TCP/IP

43 Years Of TCP/IP

DUMP Reader

From: Lynn Wheeler <lynn@garlic.com>
Subject: DUMP Reader
Date: 01 Jan, 2026
Blog: Facebook

Early in days of REX, before being renamed REXX and released to
customers, I wanted to show that REX wasn't just another pretty
scripting language. I chose rewriting IPCS (online dump analyzer done
in huge amount of assembler) ... working half time over a few weeks
w/objective to have ten times the function and ten times the
performance (slight of hand & hacks for interpreted REX faster than
assembler) ... I finished early so added automated scripts that looked
for most common failure signatures.

I then thought it could be released to customers (in place of IPCS),
but for what ever reason it wasn't ... even though nearly every
internal datacenters and customer support PSRs were using
it. Eventually I got permission to give presentations at customer user
group meetings on how I implemented it ... and within a few months
customer implementations started to appear.

Later the 3092 (3090 service processor, started out 4331 running
modified version of VM370R6, all service screens done in CMS IOS3270
... before release, the 4331 was upgraded to a pair of 4361s)
solicited to ship with the service processor.

dumprx posts
https://www.garlic.com/~lynn/submain.html#dumprx

--
virtualization experience starting Jan1968, online at home since Mar1970

43 Years Of TCP/IP

From: Lynn Wheeler <lynn@garlic.com>
Subject: Re: 43 Years Of TCP/IP
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Date: Thu, 01 Jan 2026 15:27:07 -1000

Peter Flass <Peter@Iron-Spring.com> writes:

I think the alternatives were X.25 and various "network architectures"
from different vendors, that all looked like SNA. SNA was a complete
mess.


The Internet That Wasn't. How TCP/IP eclipsed the Open
Systems Interconnection standards to become the global protocol for
computer networking
https://spectrum.ieee.org/osi-the-internet-that-wasnt

Meanwhile, IBM representatives, led by the company's capable director
of standards, Joseph De Blasi, masterfully steered the discussion,
keeping OSI's development in line with IBM's own business
interests. Computer scientist John Day, who designed protocols for the
ARPANET, was a key member of the U.S. delegation. In his 2008 book
Patterns in Network Architecture(Prentice Hall), Day recalled that IBM
representatives expertly intervened in disputes between delegates
"fighting over who would get a piece of the pie.... IBM played them
like a violin. It was truly magical to watch."


... snip ...

I was on Chessin's XTP TAB 2nd part of the 80s and there were some
gov/mil (including SAFENET2) so we took it to X3S3.3 ... but
eventually got told that ISO had rule they could only standardize
stuff that conformed to OSI Model.

XTP didn't because 1) supported internetworking which didn't exist in
OSI, 2) bypassed network/transport interface, 3) went directly to
LAN/MAC interface which doesn't exist in OSI.

there was joke that while (internet) IETF had rule to proceed in
standards process, there needed to be two interoperable
implementations, while ISO didn't even require a standard be
implementable.

co-worker at the science center was responsible for the 60s CP67-based
science centers wide-area network that morphs into the corporate
internal network (larger than arpanet/internet from just about the
beginning until sometime mid/late 80s, about the time it was forced to
convert to SNA/VTAM).

comment by one of the 1969 GML inventors at the science center
https://web.archive.org/web/20230402212558/http://www.sgmlsource.com/history/jasis.htm

Actually, the law office application was the original motivation for
the project, something I was allowed to do part-time because of my
knowledge of the user requirements. My real job was to encourage the
staffs of the various scientific centers to make use of the
CP-67-based Wide Area Network that was centered in Cambridge.


...

newspaper article about some of Edson's Internet & TCP/IP IBM battles:
https://web.archive.org/web/20000124004147/http://www1.sjmercury.com/svtech/columns/gillmor/docs/dg092499.htm
Also from wayback machine, some additional (IBM missed, Internet &
TCP/IP) references from Ed's website
https://web.archive.org/web/20000115185349/http://www.edh.net/bungle.htm

Science Center posts
https://www.garlic.com/~lynn/subtopic.html#545tech
IBM internal network posts
https://www.garlic.com/~lynn/subnetwork.html#internalnet
internet posts
https://www.garlic.com/~lynn/subnetwork.html#internet
XTP/HSP posts
https://www.garlic.com/~lynn/subnetwork.html#xtphsp

--
virtualization experience starting Jan1968, online at home since Mar1970

43 Years Of TCP/IP

From: Lynn Wheeler <lynn@garlic.com>
Subject: Re: 43 Years Of TCP/IP
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Date: Thu, 01 Jan 2026 15:36:39 -1000

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:

SNA wasn't even a proper peer-to-peer network architecture at this
time.

I just remembered that of course ISO-OSI was the "official" candidate
for an open network architecture. But it turned out to be overly
complicated and bureaucratic and (mostly) too hard to implement. So
TCP/IP won pretty much by default.


re:
https://www.garlic.com/~lynn/2026.html#1 43 Years Of TCP/IP

For a time I reported to same executive as person responsible for
AWP164 (which had some peer-to-peer) that morphs into (AS/400) APPN. I
told him that he should come over to work on real networking (TCP/IP)
because the SNA forces would never appreciate him.

When AS/400 went to announce APPN, the SNA forces vetoed it and there
was delay to carefully rewrite the announcement letter to not imply
any relationship between APPN & SNA. It wasn't until much later that
documents were rewritten to imply that somehow APPN came under the SNA
umbrella.

--
virtualization experience starting Jan1968, online at home since Mar1970