14. BSD Unix, Part 4 - The Formation of CSRG
- BSD Unix, Part 1 - Unix Code Goes to UC Berkeley
- BSD Unix, Part 2 - The Birth of the vi Editor
- BSD Unix, Part 3 - The Beginning of BSD Unix
BSD Unix, Part 4
The Formation of the CSRG (Computer Systems Research Group)
In the late 1970s, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wanted research institutions to share software more easily over ARPANET.
We need to share software
with labs and universities
over ARPANET. But that's
hard when everyone uses
a different OS.
Let's figure out which
operating system best
fits our needs.
It's almost time to replace our computers.
The biggest expense will be porting our
research software to the new computers.
We need an OS that
makes it easier to port
research software between
different computers.
Even with ARPANET, sharing software is hard
when hardware and operating systems differ.
But we can't all use
the same hardware.
Every lab has different needs.
We need an OS that can
be used across
research institutions.
That would make it easier
to run our research software
on different computers.
How about Unix?
It's written in C and easy
to port to different computers.
It's already used at universities
and research labs.
By the way, ARPANET
will eventually
switch to TCP/IP.
Good idea! Berkeley's BSD
has been well received.
Let's ask
Professor Fabry's group
to take on the project.
Thanks to BSD, we've landed a
great opportunity! So, Bill...
finished that proposal?
Working on it.
Coding, shipping tapes...
and now proposals? I've got
to get out of here...
In April 1980, Professor Bob Fabry signed a contract with DARPA to improve Unix.
Congratulations,
Professor!
Bill, let's build a team.
Find us some good people.
Bob Fabry established the Computer Systems Research Group (CSRG) at UC Berkeley to carry out the work. Over time, its contributors included Keith Bostic, Bill Joy, Marshall Kirk McKusick, Samuel J. Leffler, and Michael J. Karels—researchers who would play leading roles in CSRG.
Keeping the work going wasn't easy. Fabry dealt with university bureaucracy and disputes with AT&T, and helped keep DARPA funding coming so the researchers could concentrate on development.
University red tape!
AT&T disputes!
Released in October 1980, 4BSD added job control, automatic rebooting, and a filesystem with 1 KB blocks. Under an agreement with AT&T, Unix source code was included in the distribution. Nearly 150 copies shipped in about nine months.
Now that we're including the
Unix source, BSD should be
easier to install.
Come on, we've got 150 tapes to pack!
Much easier
with a team.
Hey Bill, this paper says
Unix is slower than
VMS on the VAX.
What?!
Ha! Unix has a long way to go!
Dave Cutler
(VMS developer)
Looks like they're right. I'd
better take a look at the kernel.
Note: SRI's David Kashtan compared Unix and VMS performance on the VAX. Bill Joy responded by improving the kernel, reaching performance comparable to VMS on the same benchmark. See reference 1.
BSD has to be
faster than VMS.
What are you
doing, Bill?
I tweaked the kernel a bit. Looks like BSD can
keep up with VMS now.
Time to release 5BSD!
We can't call
it 5BSD?
It could be confused with
our upcoming System V.
BSD added and changed a great deal of code, but it still included AT&T's Unix code. Distribution and use therefore remained subject to AT&T's license terms.
Why so upset?
Just saw Fabry.
AT&T says we
can't call it 5BSD.
The faster release finally arrived in June 1981 as 4.1BSD, not 5BSD.1
4.1BSD is
finally here!
Unix began at Bell Labs, but distributing its source let users study and modify the code. Many outside contributors added new features and improvements, helping Unix evolve rapidly.
Wow! Much faster
than 4BSD!
References
- Marshall Kirk McKusick, Twenty Years of Berkeley Unix, in Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution, 1999. DARPA's contract, CSRG, and the development and distribution of 4BSD and 4.1BSD. Korean edition, Hanbit Media, 2013.
- SRI International, ARPANET. The first connection in 1969 and the network linking research institutions.
- Andrew Leonard, BSD Unix: Power to the people, from the code, Salon, 2000.
- The Unix Heritage Society, System V. System V Release 1 first shipped in January 1983.