Re: PostgreSQL for VAX on NetBSD/OpenBSD

On 06/29/2014 10:54 AM, Andres Freund wrote:
>>>> Is there anyone in the NetBSD/VAX community who would be willing to
>>>> host a PG buildfarm member?
>>
>>> I could put together a simh-based machine (i.e., fast) on a vm, if
>>> nobody else has stepped up for this.
>>
>> No other volunteers have emerged, so if you'd do that it'd be great.
>
> Maybe I'm just not playful enough, but keeping a platform alive so we
> can run postgres in simulator seems a bit, well, pointless.

There are a couple of points.

First and foremost is portability. Using as many architectures as
possible as test platforms "keeps us honest" and can be a highly
valuable tool for early discovery of portability issues or "iffy" code
constructs. The VAX in particular is an "extreme example" of many
aspects of processor architecture, and as such, is an excellent tool for
that sort of thing.

Next, some people actually want to *run* it on a VAX. Maybe for hobby
reasons, maybe for "approved platform" reasons, whatever...We don't know
(and don't care) why.

On the "in a simulator" matter: It's important to keep in mind that
there are more VAXen out there than just simulated ones. I'm offering
up a simulated one here because I can spin it up in a dedicated VM on a
VMware host that's already running and I already have power budget for.
I could just as easily run it on real hardware...there are, at last
count, close to forty real-iron VAXen here, but only a few of those are
running 24/7. I'd happily bring up another one to do Postgres builds
and testing, if someone will send me the bucks to pay for the additional
power and cooling. (that is a real offer)

-Dave

--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ/3
New Kensington, PA