IBM PS/2 Model 50 and the IBM Network Bridge Program

[wysoft]

I guess I can also mention that I also had a Compaq LTE 5300, bought new by my dad in 1996 and passed on to me. I used Linux on it in the early 2000s with no problem, and it would continue working to this day, but I finally sent it off to the recyclers this year. That was a great laptop - ran Win95/98, Linux, and even Win2k without much issue, despite having only 32MB RAM.

[wysoft]

Great video. I had to throw away a pile of Token Ring equipment about ten years ago - nobody on eBay would bid on it, and nobody would even take it for free.

I was just looking for videos of old MFM/RLL drives the other day, just to hear that old "squeak" noise at seek such as you noted. I miss that sound a lot, it reminds me of my childhood playing with my old XT clone and its chattering 20MB HD, as well as most other computers at the time.

[raymangold22]

I have an intellistation whose SAS drive squeaks when being defragged, quite similar to the one in the PS/2.

I was hoping to see the multi-coloured ultimedia IBM logo :(

[0Fluxor0]

Awesome find.

[0Fluxor0]

This video caught my eye. I used to have a slew of token ring gear, that may be hanging around a friend's house still. But this is such a cool set-up. I'm a network engineer for a provider up in the Philadelphia area and this is just a really cool piece of networking history. Cheers

[dtwinky]

this is epic!!

[bustedbit]

But why?

[uxwbill]

@bustedbit Why not? Token Ring gear is cheap and even modern operating systems support it. I found it interesting, so that's reason enough for me.

[0Fluxor0]

Wow, I am even more impressed than I was a few minutes ago. I had some token ring gear that I believe is floating around a friend's house. That is truly amazing. Is this still in service ? It's been a few years. The seek squeek, it was a dance move among the nerds of the early 80's.

[jaxxstraw]

Wonderful video! I found this googling around as I just got my PS/2 model 60 running again after well over a decade in mothballs, and I'm wondering what to do with it. It would be great to network it somehow but I have no idea what it's capable of, if anything. Anyway, great fun to watch this.

[uxwbill]

With your Model 60's 286 processor, the most likely thing to do is run vintage software! Anything more modern (like a Linux) requires a 386. You can have a 386SX upgrade in your Model 60, but that's pushing pretty hard and everything else (RAM, disk storage, etc) is still pretty limited. FreeDOS should run on a 286 although some setup will be required to remove 386-specific stuff.

Networking could be Ethernet or Token Ring. TR was the network of choice for many PS/2s.

[jaxxstraw]

@uxwbill I don't want to upgrade the CPU or anything as I'd prefer to keep this as an "authentic" "museum piece". It currently has MSDOS 6.2 and Win3.1(!) on it.

Would it be possible with an appropriate MCA card to connect this to an ethernet network, or is it just too slow and primitive?

Thanks for your reply, and it's great to see your setup on this video; it's a very cool collection of gear!

[uxwbill]

Yes, many Ethernet cards were made for Microchannel systems. Probably the best and most common are the 3Com cards, although almost anything for which you can locate the drivers will do.

There was a 100Mbit capable card made by Olicom, but it's a big joke...it's flaky, designed around a low end ISA chipset with "glue logic" and absolutely floors the CPU. It will transmit and receive somewhat faster than a 10Mbit only card, but that performance comes at a terrible price.

[Zarac1121123]

I used to have windows 3.1 on it for a while running from gui dos for a long time... Until I was 4-5 years old and the hard drive crashed. Now my ps/2 ibm laptop won't do anything anymore because I can't boot from floppys... lol. I Had 2 of them. ONe of them wouldn't install a single thing on it because floppy didn't work... the other one booted into windows 3.1 until the hard drive crashed. so yea.

[poopskinTheLiar]

Finally got my hands on a real copy of OS/2 2.0 in near-immaculate condition ($19.99!), and my p70 is still not reading floppies. Drat. Oh well, at least i can still read the gamut of manuals!

On the other hand, i'll be trying to get my first job at the shop i got the copy of OS/2 from, which has plenty of IBM stuff (including a nice Eduquest, a IBM SVGA monitor and a few other goodies...couldn't identify which model, but it had a MMX CD drive).

[AnneGadegaardFan]

IBM PS/2's are more rare here in denmark

i import mine from Germany

[Sega32xdude]

CD-ROM TOWER!!!

[windowtech2000]

I have a hard drive that makes that sound too. It's for a Compaq Deskpro 2000. Is that a quantum bigfoot?

[rudyiking]

Dude, I love the shack!  That is soooo cool.

Our first computer (in 1990) one of the first IBM systems. 8088!!!

[poopskinTheLiar]

@0:55 - Screen burn? ouch.

What's the hardest part of setting up a token ring network?

[poopskinTheLiar]

I find it amazing how low-maintainince a piece of 18 (?) year old technology can be.

<3 IBM 515x and PS/2 (i also like other antique systems...Kudos, ][gs!)

[DXMDEALER]

Token Ring was the coolest ever.

never seen this equip be4, i've only read about it in theory. thanx for a great video.

[uxwbill]

If you want to tinker with it, you won't have to look very far to find *pounds* (or kilograms if you measure that way) of Token Ring "stuff" to play with. The magic piece to make Token Ring "integrate" with your Ethernet network is an IBM 8229 with the Ethernet and TR boards. Other people made such "bridging" equipment, but this one is easy to find, easy to use (just plug it in) and reasonably priced.

[Racquerr]

Nice gear. This video makes me miss my PS/2 Model 50. Thanks for the memories... Had someone not taken it, I'd probably still have it in perfect working condition.

[warphammer]

We used to have a 50Z running the *remote* bridge program over a 56k line to main campus. Three campuses and about ten computer labs all on one broadcast domain, it was so much fun when a class would reboot and you'd get all those Netware GNS packet floods. Thing just kept working, though. After I left, they made it a fractional T1...

[uxwbill]

You know, I'm glad you mentioned that. (They were good times, I'm sure!) I have thought about setting up a modem, and arranging things as a dial-in setup, but I haven't been curious enough to try.

[ThePinkDoremiBoy]

ibm ps/2´s rules

i have 3 of them

i have an

ps/2

model

30 and 56slc and P70

[TaurusLX1988]

I was planning to do the same thing but... i lost the intrest, hummm... is it possible to take for i.e a IBM PS/2 model 95 and make it into a server?

[usahorse721]

Do you need windows 3.1 or 95?

[uxwbill]

I've got a pretty large number of Windows 3.1 and 95 installation packages. They seem to turn up pretty regularly.

[usahorse721]

I mean when you use the network on the computer

[usahorse721]

in this video

[uxwbill]

All you need is an operating system that is network aware and has drivers for the hardware you have. DOS, OS/2 Windows 3.1x/NT/95/98/Me(!!)/2000/XP definitely have drivers. Vista probably does as well. There is also Token Ring support in Linux:

linuxtr with a dot net suffix

Most other network-aware operating systems will also have TR drivers.

[cmarlow480]

so what do you use this bridged network for?

[uxwbill]

I've got a lot of very nice token ring gear (some of it that undoubtedly cost someone a lot of money when it was new) that I felt should be used instead of just going to waste. I've got everything on there from the 286 to modern systems. If I'd ever open the (still factory sealed!) box for my IBM 8-bit ISA TR card, I could have a PS/2 Model 30 on there.

I guess you could say I use it because I can. And because I find it interesting. Finally, the price for the TR stuff was right...cheap!

[klok132]

to many numbers!!!!!!!!

[66oc]

Cool, love that old stuff!

Well...old...not actually...my 4.7Mhz PC that I used to have years ago with 640K of Ram and an amazing 20MB hard drive, now that's old! hehe

[uxwbill]

Per the date codes on the case and planar, this machine is now just old enough to drink!