Xenix on a 386

Xenix was Microsoft port of AT&T UNIX. Based on v6, v7, SYSIII, and later SYSV.

XENIX was originally developed on a DEC Virtual Address Extension (VAX) running the Virtual Memory System (VMS) and a PDP-11 running UNIX V7, albeit now using Microsoft's own in-house minicomputers, and then converted into assembly language specific to the new 16-bit Motorola 68000 and Intel 8086 microprocessors. This put XENIX at the high end of the microcomputer market, which was still dominated by 8-bit machines, but well below the lowest end of the minicomputer market - "XENIX -- Microsoft Short-lived Love Affair with Unix "

Unfortinatly, "Xenix even incorporated the elements of BSD and became the most widely installed base of any Unix variant. Talking about the different modifications of Xenix, it was ported to Zilong Z8001, Intel 8086, Tandy Corporation’s 68000 based computers, and even a variant for Apple Lisa."

Modifications to Western Electric v7 included those necessary to transport the UNIX system from the larger PDP-11 mini computer to the 16-bit microprocessors. Currently scheduled machines included the DEC LSI-11/23, Zilogs Z8001 and Z8002, Intel's 8086 and 286, and Motorola's MC68000. - Robert Greenburg, uSloth.

Because of the price of the OS, about $500USD for the OS, and $500USD for the developer tools, combined with cheap PC and compatibles, Xenix was the most widespread UNIX until the rise of Linux. Xenix due to its inherent multi-user capabilities became widespread in sales environments with POS (Point of Sales) terminals, and for scheduling systems commonly found in hotels and restaurants. Occasionally you can still find this setup still running on aging hardware.

Xenix was a portable operating system with ports to various platforms, but with the rise of the IBM PC, it primarily became an x86 based OS. Xenix eventually became SCO Unix, then later SCO OpenServer, where it still languishes today.

Platforms

Intel

As mentioned in the OEM guide pdf, Xenix supported the following platforms:

IBM 386 [386] The 32bit ones will run on Qemu/Virtual PC
IBM PS/2 [386MC] This version was specifically for MCA computers with a 386 or higher CPU.
IBM 286 [286] As is this version..*
IBM PC [8088 or x86] This is 'easy' to find.

This is a list of version numbers for the various Architectures:

8086 – 2.1.3 (SCO v2.1.3)
286 – 2.1.3, 2.2.1, 2.3.2 ( SC0 v2.1.3, v2.2.1e, v2.2.3b, v2.3.2d)
386 – 2.2.3, 2.3.4a, 2.3.4q ( SCO v2.2.3b, v2.3.2f, v2.3.4h)
SysV 386 – 3.2 4.2

Motorola

A BYTE Magazine article reviews a MC68000 expansion card that runs Xenix from a company called Sritek
- https://ia801001.us.archive.org/34/items/BYTE_Vol_09-07_1984-07_Computers_and_Video/BYTE_Vol_09-07_1984-07_Computers_and_Video.pdf
IBM System 9000 [M68000] [c19894]
- https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?htmlfid=897/ENUS284-159&infotype=AN&subtype=CA&appname=skmwww
Apple Lisa [M68000] [c1984] The emulator idle can run this.

Others

PDP-11 No versions of this exist online.
Tandy TRS-80 Model II [Z80A] There are disk images floating around.
Zilog Z8001 [c1979] I have only found sales literature that mentions this.*

Note: This sounds like vaporware since neither the Onyx 1 nor the Commodore 900 ran Xenix

More here: XENIX -- Microsoft Short-lived Love Affair with Unix

Software

A quick list of a few software programs that were available on Xenix. I know the x86 platform was the most supported, I now know that some of these made it to the less popular 68000 platform.

Microsoft

Microsoft made several of their programs in the 1980's available on the Xenix platform. Microsoft Multiplan, and the BASIC Compiler.

Languages

"the base operating system does not include development tools such as a C compiler, but it does include the linker and, importantly, an assembler (which is needed to rebuild the configuration files). The assembler is, however, disguised to make it less obvious what it is by giving it a different name and that is what I have been trying to remember ever since I saw this post. Finally, this morning, it came to me. You *should* find that you have something called "storel" (read it as "s-to-rel" as in "something that transforms ".s" files into relocatable (ie ".o") files and the name becomes a little less obscure) on the system - I *think* that it lives in /bin. but it *might* be somewhere else such as /etc." http://www.vcfed.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-49002.html

Applications

Autodesk AutoCAD 10i
Microsoft Multiplan (available on the Apple Lisa)
Microsoft Word v5.0
vi ( not really an application, but more of a torture device ) ( May not be present on the x86 version, so ed will have to be used )

Databases

Foxpro

Games

Rogue

SCO*

SCO Professional
SCO Lyrix (available on the Apple Lisa)
SCO Integra
SCO Manager
SCO Multiview

A history of Xenix: History Of Xenix - Microsoft's Forgotten Unix-based Operating System

Restoring Xenix 386 2.2.3c, Part 1

* - SCO in this case refers to the original Santa Cruz Operation, and not the later SCO Group who bought the name and started the SCO/Linux lawsuits.

Byte Magazine Article on Xenix June 1980, BYTE, pg 249

https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1981-06/page/n249

Emulators with ready to run distributions

[x86] Architecture

http://www.hampa.ch/pce/download.html

[i286] Architecture

Run Xenix in a browser window!

https://www.pcjs.org/disks/pcx86/unix/sco/xenix/086/2.1.3/

https://www.pcjs.org/disks/pcx86/unix/sco/xenix/286/2.1.3/ [ Currently does none of the 286 versions boot]

https://www.pcjs.org/disks/pcx86/unix/sco/xenix/386/

Getting this to run

i386/i286 Xenix 2

Note: The 286 version of Xenix will only run on a 286 processor or a 286 processor emulator that handles the upper byte of the machine status word, later reserved for use on a 386, by essentially ignoring it, and letting Xenix use it. A poor programming choice as best.

Available Xenix repositories:

https://github.com/retrohun/blog/tree/master/dt/xenix286ondemand

https://archive.org/details/msxenix/history/files/pics/progman5.jpg.~1~

https://winworldpc.com/product/xenix/286

http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?30490-Xenix-Development-Systems

These guys made some extraordinary efforts to get a few utilities to run:

https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=17/03/13/086250