From: Hoff Hoffman [hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.nospam]
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2003 1:16 PM
To: Info-VAX@Mvb.Saic.Com
Subject: OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Part 7/9




 





                   Finding and using Software



          __________________________________________________________
          13.12  Where can I get Zip, Unzip, self-extracting zip, etc?

                   Many packages are provided in ZIP, GZIP, or BZIP2
                   format, which requires you to acquire the associated
                   unzip tool to unpack it. You can get ZIP and UNZIP and
                   related and similar tools from the following areas:

                   o  http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/freeware50/000tools/

                   o  http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/freeware50/bzip2/

                   o  http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/freeware50/info-
                      zip/

                   o  http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/freeware40/000tools/

                   o  ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/unzip.alpha_exe

                   o  ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/unzip.vax_exe

                   o  http://www.decus.de:8080/www/vms/sw/zip.htmlx

                   o  http://www.djesys.com/zip.html

                   o  http://www.djesys.com/unzip.html

                   or you can request the FILESERV_TOOLS package from the
                   e-mail server.

                   Beware: The [000TOOLS...] pre-built
                   versions of ZIP on the OpenVMS Freeware V4
                   (http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/freeware40/)
                   CD-ROM will erroneously return BILF errors on OpenVMS
                   V7.2 and later. Use of the source on the Freeware V4
                   to rebuild the ZIP image(s), or acquiring a pre-built
                   ZIP image from one of the above areas can avoid this.
                   The pre-built version of ZIP on the Freeware V4 kit is
                   older than the included ZIP sources, and it contains a
                   latent bug.]

                   Directions for creaating and using the sfx self-
                   extracting zip file compression mechanism are available
                   in the unzip kit that is available at:

                   o  http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/freeware50/unzip542/

                   Specifically:

                   o  http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/freeware50/UNZIP542/UNZIPSFX.TXT

                                                                     13-25

 





                   Finding and using Software




                   If you want to build the zip images for yourself (eg:
                   for an older OpenVMS version), pull over the entire
                   contents of:

                   o  http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/freeware50/unzip542/vms-
                      binaries/

                   and invoke LINK.COM.

                   HP OpenVMS Engineering uses a tool known as FTSV
                   for creating self-extracting compressed files using
                   the OpenVMS DCX compression tools, as seen with
                   various OpenVMS ECO (patch) kits. sfx provides better
                   compression than does DCX. The FTSV and its related
                   FTSO package have only limited availability outside HP,
                   and are not standard products.

          __________________________________________________________
          13.13  Are VAX Hardware Emulators Available?

                   Software-based emulators of the VAX architecture and
                   for specific VAX hardware platforms are available from
                   various sources:

                   o  SRI CHARON-VAX
                      http://www.softresint.com/

                   o  Tim Stark's TS10
                      http://sourceforge.net/projects/ts10/

                   o  Bob Supnik's Trailing Edge
                      http://simh.trailing-edge.com/

                   VAX emulators that operate on PC systems and/or on
                   OpenVMS Alpha systems are available. For information
                   on an alternative to using a VAX emulator- on the
                   available DECmigrate VAX executable image translator-
                   please see Section 13.11.






                   13-26

 










                   _______________________________________________________

          14       Hardware Information



          __________________________________________________________
          14.1  What are the OpenVMS differences among VAX, Alpha, and
                IA-64?

                   In terms of software, very few. As of OpenVMS V6.1,
                   the VAX and Alpha platforms are very close to "feature
                   parity". OpenVMS on IA-64 is expected to have "feature
                   parity" with OpenVMS Alpha, and is based on the same
                   source pool. Most applications can just be recompiled
                   and run. Some differences to be aware of:

                   o  The default double-precision floating type on
                      OpenVMS Alpha is VAX G_float, whereas on VAX it
                      is usually D_float. D_float is available on Alpha,
                      but D_float values are converted to G_float for
                      computations and then converted back to D_float when
                      stored. Because the G_float type has three fewer
                      fraction bits than D_float, some applications may
                      get different results. IEEE float types are also
                      available on OpenVMS Alpha.

                   o  The preferred floating point format on Alpha and
                      IA-64 is IEEE.

                   o  Data alignment is extremely important for best
                      performance on Alpha. This means that data items
                      should be allocated at addresses which are exact
                      multiples of their sizes. Quadword alignment will
                      offer the best performance, especially for character
                      values and those smaller than 32 bits. Compilers
                      will naturally align variables where they can and
                      will issue warnings if they detect unaligned data
                      items.

                   o  HP C is the only C compiler HP offers on OpenVMS
                      Alpha, and is a direct descendant of Compaq C and
                      DEC C on OpenVMS Alpha. HP C is compatible with DEC
                      C on OpenVMS VAX, but is somewhat different from
                      the older VAX C compiler most people are familiar

                                                                      14-1

 





                   Hardware Information




                      with. Read up on the /EXTERN_MODEL and /STANDARD
                      qualifiers to avoid the most common problems. In
                      additon to HP C, there are open-source ports such as
                      Gnu C available for OpenVMS.

                   o  The page size on Alpha and IA-64 systems is
                      variable, but is at least 8 kilobytes. This can
                      have some effect on applications which use the
                      $CRMPSC system service as well as on the display of
                      available memory pages. The page size is available
                      from $GETSYI(SYI$_PAGE_SIZE).

                   There are also a number of manuals which discuss
                   migration to OpenVMS Alpha available on the
                   documentation CD-ROM media, both in the main
                   documentation and in the archived documentation
                   section.

                   On more recent OpenVMS Alpha versions, OpenVMS Alpha
                   has begun to add features and support not available on
                   OpenVMS VAX. Salient new areas include the following:

                   o  64-bit addressing in OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 and later

                   o  Multi-host SCSI support (SCSI TCQ) in V6.2 and later

                   o  PCI support (platform-dependent)

                   o  OpenVMS Galaxy support in V7.2 and later

          __________________________________________________________
          14.2  Seeking performance information for Alpha (and VAX)
                systems?

                   HP makes a wide range of performance documents
                   available through its FTP and WWW Internet servers
                   (see Section 3.2).

                   The following contain information on current Alpha and
                   VAX products:

                   o  http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/servers.html

                   o  http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/vax/index.html

                   The following sites contain information on various
                   retired VAX and Alpha products:

                   o  http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/archive/index.html

                   14-2

 





                   Hardware Information




                   o  http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/performance/perf_
                      tps.html

                   Also see CPU2000:

                   o  http://www.spec.org/osg/cpu2000/

                   o  http://www.spec.org/osg/cpu2000/results/cpu2000.html

          __________________________________________________________
          14.3  Console Commands, Serial Lines, and Controls?

                   This section contains information on VAX and Alpha
                   consoles, and details related to console commands,
                   serial lines, and configuration settings.

          _____________________________
          14.3.1  What commands are available in the Alpha SRM console?

                   In addition to the normal BOOT commands and such (see
                   Section 14.3.5.1 for some details) and the normal
                   contents of the console HELP text, operations such
                   as I/O redirection and floppy disk access are possible
                   at the SRM console prompt:

                   1  Format a FAT floppy, and insert it into the
                      AlphaStation floppy drive.

                   2  Perform the following at AlphaStation SRM Console :

                         >>> show * > env.dat
                         >>> show conf > conf.dat
                         >>> cat env.dat > fat:env.dat/dva0
                         >>> cat conf.dat > fat:conf.dat/dva0

                   3  You may use the SRM "ls" command to display the
                      contents of the floppy.

                         >>> ls fat:env.dat/dva0
                         >>> ls fat:conf.dat/dva0

                   4  You can now transfer the FAT-format floppy to
                      another system.

                                                                      14-3

 





                   Hardware Information



          _____________________________
          14.3.2  What does SRM mean? What is PALcode?

                   The abbreviation SRM is derived from the Alpha System
                   Reference Manual, the specification of the Alpha
                   architecture and the associated firmware.

                   PALcode is a name assigned to a particular set of
                   functions provided by the SRM firmware. PALcode
                   is used to provide low-level functions required by
                   higher-level operating system or application software,
                   functions which may not be directly available in Alpha
                   hardware. PALcode is implemented using available
                   Alpha instructions and using the Alpha processor,
                   though PALcode operates in a mode which simplifies
                   programming. PALcode is also permitted access to
                   processor-specific and otherwise internal features
                   of a particular Alpha microprocessor implementation;
                   microprocessor-specific features which are not easily
                   accessable to operating system or application code.

          _____________________________
          14.3.3  Alpha COM ports and VAX console serial line information?

                   This section contains information on the Alpha COM
                   communication ports, and related settings, as well as
                   on the VAX console bulkhead and VAX console serial line
                   connection.

          _____________________________
          14.3.3.1  Which terminal device name is assigned to the COM
                    ports?

                   COM2 is normally TTA0:. COM1 is normally TTB0: if
                   the Alpha workstation is booted with the SRM console
                   environment variable set to graphics, and is OPA0: if
                   the console is set to serial.

          _____________________________
          14.3.3.2  Which serial port is the console on the MicroVAX 3100?

                   Just to keep life interesting, the MicroVAX 3100 has
                   some "interesting" console ports behaviours based
                   on the setting of the BREAK enable switch. When the
                   console is not enabled to respond to BREAK, MMJ-1
                   is the console port. MMJ-3 will (confusingly) output

                   14-4

 





                   Hardware Information




                   the results of the selftest in parallel with MMJ-1.
                   When the console is enabled to respond to BREAK, MMJ-3
                   becomes the console port, and MMJ-1 will (confusingly)
                   output the results of selftest in parallel with MMJ-3.

          _____________________________
          14.3.3.3  How can I set up an alternate console on a VAXstation?

                   Most VAXstation systems have a switch-often labeled
                   S3-that enables one of the serial lines as the system
                   console.

                   Various members of the DEC 3000 series Alpha systems
                   also have a similarly-labled S3 switch for selection of
                   the alternate console.

                   Also see Section 14.3.6, Section 11.11, and
                   Section 14.19.

          _____________________________
          14.3.3.4  Please explain the back panel of the MicroVAX II

                   The MicroVAX-series console bulkhead was used with the
                   KA630, KA650, KA655 processors.

                   There are three controls on the console bulkhead of
                   these systems:

                     Triangle-in-circle-paddle: halt enable.
                       dot-in-circle: halt (<break>) is enabled,
                                      and auto-boot is disabled.
                       dot-not-in-circle: halt (<break>) is disabled,
                                      and auto-boot is enabled.

                     Three-position-rotary: power-up bootstrap behaviour
                       arrow: normal operation.
                       face: language inquiry mode.
                       t-in-circle: infinite self-test loop.

                     Eight-position-rotary: console baud rate selection
                       select the required baud rate; read at power-up.

                   There are several different bulkheads involved,
                   including one for the BA23 and BA123 enclosures,
                   and one for the S-box (BA2xx) series enclosure.
                   The console bulkheads typically used either the MMJ
                   serial line connection, or the MicroVAX DB9 (not

                                                                      14-5

 





                   Hardware Information




                   the PC DB9 pinout), please see the descriptions of
                   these in section WIRES1. For available adapters, see
                   Section 14.29.

                   Also present on the console bulkhead is a self-test
                   indicator: a single-digit LED display. This matches the
                   final part of the countdown displayed on the console or
                   workstation, and can be used by a service organization
                   to determine the nature of a processor problem. The
                   particular countdown sequence varies by processor
                   type, consult the hardware or owner's manual for
                   the processor, or contact the local hardware service
                   organization for information the self-test sequence
                   for a particular processor module. Note that self-tests
                   2, 1 and 0 are associated with the transfer of control
                   from the console program to the (booting) operating
                   system.

          _____________________________
          14.3.4  What are Alpha console environment variables?

                   Alpha systems have a variety of variables with values
                   set up within the SRM system console. These environment
                   variables control the particular behaviour of the
                   console program and the system hardware, the particular
                   console interface presented to the operating system,
                   various default values for the operating system
                   bootstrap, and related control mechanisms-in other
                   words, "the environment variables provide an easily
                   extensible mechanism for managing complex console
                   state."

                   The specific environment variables differ by platform
                   and by firmware version-the baseline set is established
                   by the Alpha Architecture:

                   AUTO_ACTION ("BOOT", "HALT", "RESTART", any other value
                   assumed to be HALT),  BOOT_DEV, BOOTDEF_DEV, BOOTED_DEV,
                   BOOT_FILE, BOOTED_FILE, BOOT_OSFLAGS, BOOTED_OSFLAGS,
                   BOOT_RESET ("ON", "OFF"), DUMP_DEV, ENABLE_AUDIT ("ON",
                   "OFF"), LICENSE, CHAR_SET, LANGUAGE, TTY_DEV.



                   14-6

 





                   Hardware Information




                   OpenVMS Galaxy firmware can add console environment
                   variables beginning with such strings as LP_* and HP_*,
                   and each particular console implementation can (and
                   often does) have various sorts of platform-specific
                   extensions beyond these variables...

                   The contents of a core set of environment variables
                   are accessible from OpenVMS using the f$getenv lexical
                   and the sys$getenv system service. (These calls are
                   first documented in V7.2, but have been around for
                   quite a while.) Access to arbitary console environment
                   variables is rather more involved, and not directly
                   available.

          _____________________________
          14.3.5  What are the boot control flag values?

                   Both VAX and Alpha primary bootstraps support flag
                   values; a mechanism which permits the system manager
                   to perform specific customizations or site-specific
                   debugging of the OpenVMS system bootstrap. While very
                   similar, there are differences between VAX and Alpha
                   systems in this area.

          _____________________________
          14.3.5.1  What are the Alpha APB boot flag values?

                   The following flags are passed (via register R5) to
                   the OpenVMS Alpha primary bootstrap image APB.EXE.
                   These flags control the particular behaviour of the
                   bootstrap:

                   BOOT -FL root,flags

                        bit      description
                        ---   ----------------------------------------------








                                                                      14-7

 





                   Hardware Information




                         0    CONV      Conversational bootstrap
                         1    DEBUG     Load SYSTEM_DEBUG.EXE (XDELTA)
                         2    INIBPT    Stop at initial system breakpoints if bit 1 set (EXEC_INIT)
                         3    DIAG      Diagnostic bootstrap (loads diagboot.exe)
                         4    BOOBPT    Stop at bootstrap breakpoints (APB and Sysboot)
                         5    NOHEADER  Secondary bootstrap does not have an image header
                         6    NOTEST    Inhibit memory test
                         7    SOLICIT   Prompt for secondary bootstrap file
                         8    HALT      Halt before transfer to secondary bootstrap
                         9    SHADOW    Boot from shadow set
                         10   ISL       LAD/LAST bootstrap
                         11   PALCHECK    Disable PAL rev check halt
                         12   DEBUG_BOOT  Transfer to intermediate primary bootstrap
                         13   CRDFAIL       Mark CRD pages bad
                         14   ALIGN_FAULTS  Report unaligned data traps in bootstrap
                         15   REM_DEBUG   Allow remote high-level language debugger
                         16   DBG_INIT    Enable verbose boot messages in EXEC_INIT
                         17   USER_MSGS   Enable subset of verbose boot messages (user messages)
                         18   RSM         Boot is controlled by RSM
                         19   FOREIGN     Boot involves a "foreign" disk

                   If you want to set the boot flags "permanently" use the
                   SET BOOT_FLAGS command, e.g.

                   >>> SET BOOT_OSFLAGS 0,1

          _____________________________
          14.3.5.2  What are the VAX VMB boot flag values?

                   The following flags are passed (via register R5) to
                   the OpenVMS VAX primary bootstrap image VMB.EXE.
                   These flags control the particular behaviour of the
                   bootstrap:

                   The exact syntax is console-specific, recent VAX
                   consoles tend to use the following:

                     >>> BOOT/R5:flags

                     Bit     Meaning
                     ---     -------



                   14-8

 





                   Hardware Information




                      0      RPB$V_CONV
                             Conversational boot. At various points in the
                             system boot procedure, the bootstrap code
                             solicits parameter and other input from the
                             console terminal.  If the DIAG is also on then
                             the diagnostic supervisor should enter "MENU"
                             mode and prompt user for the devices to test.

                      1      RPB$V_DEBUG
                             Debug.  If this flag is set, VMS maps the code
                             for the XDELTA debugger into the system page
                             tables of the running system.

                      2      RPB$V_INIBPT
                             Initial breakpoint. If RPB$V_DEBUG is set, VMS
                             executes a BPT instruction immediately after
                             enabling mapping.

                      3      RPB$V_BBLOCK
                             Secondary boot from the boot block.  Secondary
                             bootstrap is a single 512-byte block, whose LBN
                             is specified in R4.

                      4      RPB$V_DIAG
                             Diagnostic boot.  Secondary bootstrap is image
                             called [SYSMAINT]DIAGBOOT.EXE.

                      5      RPB$V_BOOBPT
                             Bootstrap breakpoint. Stops the primary and
                             secondary bootstraps with a breakpoint
                             instruction before testing memory.

                      6      RPB$V_HEADER
                             Image header. Takes the transfer address of the
                             secondary bootstrap image from that file's
                             image header.  If RPB$V_HEADER is not set,
                             transfers control to the first byte of the
                             secondary boot file.

                      7      RPB$V_NOTEST
                             Memory test inhibit. Sets a bit in the PFN bit
                             map for each page of memory present.  Does not
                             test the memory.

                      8      RPB$V_SOLICT
                             File name. VMB prompts for the name of a
                             secondary bootstrap file.

                                                                      14-9

 





                   Hardware Information




                      9      RPB$V_HALT
                             Halt before transfer.  Executes a HALT
                             instruction before transferring control
                             to the secondary bootstrap.

                     10      RPB$V_NOPFND
                             No PFN deletion (not implemented; intended to
                             tell VMB not to read a file from the boot device
                             that identifies bad or reserved memory pages,
                             so that VMB does not mark these pages as valid
                             in the PFN bitmap).

                     11      RPB$V_MPM
                             Specifies that multi-port memory is to be used
                             for the total EXEC memory requirement.  No local
                             memory is to be used.  This is for tightly-coupled
                             multi-processing.  If the DIAG is also on, then
                             the diagnostic supervisor enters "AUTOTEST" mode.

                     12      RPB$V_USEMPM
                             Specifies that multi-port memory should be used in
                             addition to local memory, as though both were one
                             single pool of pages.

                     13      RPB$V_MEMTEST
                             Specifies that a more extensive algorithm be used
                             when testing main memory for hardware
                             uncorrectable (RDS) errors.

                     14      RPB$V_FINDMEM
                             Requests use of MA780 memory if MS780 is
                             insufficient for booting.  Used for 11/782
                             installations.

                     <31:28> RPB$V_TOPSYS
                             Specifies the top level directory number for
                             system disks with multiple systems.







                   14-10

 





                   Hardware Information



          _____________________________
          14.3.6  How do I boot an AlphaStation without monitor or
                  keyboard?

                   The AlphaStation series will boot without a keyboard
                   attached. To use a serial terminal as the console,
                   issue the SRM console command SET CONSOLE SERIAL
                   followed by the console INIT command. Once this SRM
                   command sequence has been invoked, the Alpha system
                   will use the serial terminal.

                   The DEC 3000 series has a jumper on the motherboard
                   for this purpose. Various older Alpha workstations
                   generally will not (automatically) bootstrap without a
                   keyboard connected, due to the self-test failure that
                   arises when the (missing) keyboard test fails.

                   The usual settings for the console serial terminal (or
                   PC terminal emulator acting as a serial console are:

                   9600 baud, 8 bits, no parity, one stop bit (9600 baud, 8N1).

                   AlphaServer 4100 and derivative series platforms,
                   and AlphaServer GS80, GS160, and GS320 series system
                   consoles are capable of 57600 baud. See the COM2_BAUD
                   console environment variable, and ensure that you have
                   current SRM firmware version loaded.

                   The AlphaStation and AlphaServer series use the PC
                   DIN serial connector for the "COM1" and "COM2" serial
                   lines, see Section 14.28 for details and pinout.

          _____________________________
          14.3.7  Downloading and using SRM console Firmware?

                   This section discusses downloading and using Alpha
                   console firmware, sometimes called PALcode.

          _____________________________
          14.3.7.1  Where can I get updated console firmware for Alpha
                    systems?

                   Firmware updates for HP Alpha systems are available
                   from:

                   o  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/index.html

                   o  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/

                                                                     14-11

 





                   Hardware Information




                   o  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/readme.html

                   The latest and greatest firmware-if updated firmware
                   has been released after the most recent firmware CD was
                   distributed-is located at:

                   o  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/interim/

                   For information on creating bootable floppies
                   containing the firmware, and for related tools, please
                   see the following areas:

                   o  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/utilities/mkboot.txt

                   o  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/utilities/mkbootarc.txt

                   o  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/utilities/mkntboot.txt

                   The SROM firmware loader expects an ODS-2 formatted
                   floppy, see mkboot. As for which image to use, the ROM
                   image uses a header and the file extension .ROM, and
                   the SROM bootable floppy cannot use the .ROM file.

                   To check the firmware loaded on recent OpenVMS Alpha
                   systems, use the command:

                   $ write sys$output f$getsyi("console_version")
                   $ write sys$output f$getsyi("palcode_version")
                   SDA> CLUE CONFIG

                   Also see Section 14.3.7.2.

          _____________________________
          14.3.7.2  How do I reload SRM firmware on a half-flash Alpha
                    system?

                   Some of the AlphaStation series systems are "half-
                   flash" boxes, meaning only one set of firmware (SRM or
                   AlphaBIOS) can be loaded in flash at a time. Getting
                   back to the SRM firmware when AlphaBIOS (or ARC) is
                   loaded can be a little interesting...

                   That said, this usually involves shuffling some files,
                   and then getting into the AlphaBIOS firmware update
                   sequence, and then entering "update srm" at the apu->
                   prompt.

                   14-12

 





                   Hardware Information




                   To shuffle the files, copy the target SRM firmware file
                   (as200_v7_0.exe is current) to a blank, initialized,
                   FAT-format floppy under the filename A:\FWUPDATE.EXE

                   From the AlphaBIOS Setup screen, select the Upgrade
                   AlphaBIOS option. Once the firmware update utility gets
                   going, enter:

                        Apu-> update srm

                              Answer "y" to the "Are you ready...?"

                        Apu-> quit

                   You've reloaded the flash. Now power-cycle the box to
                   finish the process.

                   Also see Section 14.3.7.1.

          _____________________________
          14.3.7.3  How do I switch between AlphaBIOS/ARC and SRM
                    consoles?

                   The specific steps required vary by system. You must
                   first ensure that the particular Alpha system is
                   supported by OpenVMS (see the SPD), that all core I/O
                   components (graphics, disk controllers, etc) in the
                   system are supported by OpenVMS (see the SPD), and that
                   you have an OpenVMS distribution, that you have the
                   necessary license keys (PAKs), and that you have the
                   necessary SRM firmware loaded.

                   A typical sequence used for switching over from the
                   AlphaBIOS graphics console to the SRM console follows:

                   1  Press <F2> to get to the AlphaBIOS setup menu.

                   2  Pick the "CMOS Setup..." item.

                   3  Press <F6> to get to the "Advanced CMOS Setup" menu.

                   4  Change the "Console Selection" to "OpenVMS Console
                      (SRM)".

                   5  Press <F10>, <F10>, then <Enter> to save your
                      changes.

                   6  Power-cycle the system.

                                                                     14-13

 





                   Hardware Information




                   Most Alpha systems support loading both the
                   AlphaBIOS/ARC console and the SRM console at the same
                   time, but systems such as the AlphaStation 255 are
                   "half-flash" systems and do not support the presence
                   of both the AlphaBIOS/ARC and SRM console firmware at
                   the same time. If you have a "half-flash" system, you
                   must load the SRM firmware from floppy, from a network
                   download, or from a firmware CD-ROM. Following the
                   normal AlphaBIOS or ARC firmware update sequence to
                   the APU prompt, and then explictly select the target
                   console. In other words, power up the system to the
                   AlphaBIOS or ARC console, use the supplementary options
                   to select the installation of new firmware (typically
                   from CD-ROM), and then rather than using a sequence
                   which updates the current firmware:

                       Apu-> update
                         -or-
                       Apu-> update ARC
                       Apu-> verify
                       Apu-> quit
                       Power-cycle the system

                   Use the following sequence to specifically update (and
                   load) SRM from AlphaBIOS/ARC on a "half-flash" system:

                       Apu-> update SRM
                       Apu-> verify
                       Apu-> quit
                       Power-cycle the system

                   Use the following sequence to specifically update (and
                   load) the AlphaBIOS/ARC console from SRM on a "half-
                   flash" system:

                       >>> b -fl 0,A0 ddcu
                       BOOTFILE: firmware_boot_file.exe

                       Apu-> update ARC
                       Apu-> verify
                       Apu-> quit
                       Power-cycle the system


                   14-14

 





                   Hardware Information




                   Once you have the SRM loaded, you can directly install
                   OpenVMS or Tru64 UNIX on the system. Do not allow
                   Windows NT to write a "harmless" signature to any disk
                   used by OpenVMS, Tru64 UNIX, or Linux, as this will
                   clobber a key part of the disk. (On OpenVMS, you can
                   generally recover from this "harmless" action by using
                   the WRITEBOOT tool.)

                   If you have a "full-flash" system and want to select
                   the SRM console from the AlphaBIOS or ARC console
                   environment, select the "Switch to OpenVMS or Tru64
                   UNIX console" item from the "set up the system"
                   submenu. Then power-cycle the system. If you have a
                   "full-flash" system with the SRM console and want to
                   select AlphaBIOS/ARC, use the command:

                      >>> set os_type NT

                   and power-cycle the system.

                   For information on acquiring firmware, see
                   Section 14.3.7.1. For information on OpenVMS license
                   PAKs (for hobbyist use) see Section 2.7.3. For
                   information on the Multia, see Section 14.4.1.

                   Information on enabling and using the failsafe firmware
                   loader for various systems-this tool is available only
                   on some of the various Alpha platforms-is available in
                   the hardware documentation for the system. This tool is
                   used/needed when the firmware has been corrupted, and
                   cannot load new firmware.

                   The full list of AlphaBIOS key sequences-these
                   sequences are needed when using an LK-series keyboard
                   with AlphaBIOS, as AlphaBIOS expects a PC-style
                   keyboard:








                                                                     14-15

 





                   Hardware Information




                            F1   Ctrl/A
                            F2   Ctrl/B
                            F3   Ctrl/C
                            F4   Ctrl/D
                            F5   Ctrl/E
                            F6   Ctrl/F
                            F7   Ctrl/P
                            F8   Ctrl/R
                            F9   Ctrl/T
                           F10   Ctrl/U
                        Insert   Ctrl/V
                        Delete   Ctrl/W
                     Backspace   Ctrl/H
                        Escape   Ctrl/[
                        Return   Ctrl/M
                      LineFeed   Ctrl/J
                      (Plus) +   upselect (some systems)
                     (Minus) -   downselect (some systems)
                           TAB   down arrow
                      SHIFT+TAB  up arrow

          __________________________________________________________
          14.4  What platforms will OpenVMS operate on?

                   For the list of boxes that are officially and formally
                   supported by OpenVMS Engineering, please see the
                   OpenVMS Software Product Description (SPD).

                   o  http://www.compaq.com/info/spd/
                      OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx and/or SPD
                      41.87.xx.

          _____________________________
          14.4.1  on the Alpha Multia?

                   Yes, there are a set of unsupported images that permit
                   specific OpenVMS Alpha versions to bootstrap on the
                   Multia UDB system. These images and the associated
                   instructions are available at the OpenVMS Freeware
                   website:

                   o  http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/freeware50/multia/

                   Instructions are included IN the kits. READ THE
                   INSTRUCTIONS. PLEASE!

                   14-16

 





                   Hardware Information




                   Some of the restrictions involved when running OpenVMS
                   on the Multia system include (but may well not be
                   limited to) the following:

                   o  The PCMCIA support was completely removed, because
                      the Intel chip on the Multia was not compatable with
                      the Cirrus chip on the Alphabook.

                      This means, of course, that you will not see and
                      cannot use any PCMCIA cards on a Multia.

                      The Multia uses shared interrupts, and as a result,
                      a special ZLXp-E series graphics device driver-one
                      that does not use interrupts-is needed. This driver
                      is provided in the kit.

                   o  The serial lines don't work.

                   o  If you have a Multia with a PCI slot, you can't use
                      any PCI card that requires interrupts.

                   o  The SRM console on this system is very old and
                      very fragile. (This SRM console was designed
                      only and strictly for diagnostic use, and was not
                      particularly tested or used with OpenVMS.)

                   o  If things don't work for you, don't expect to see
                      any OpenVMS updates, nor SRM console updates, nor
                      any support.

                   o  Do not expect to see any new versions of OpenVMS
                      on the Multia nor on any other unsupported systems.
                      If such new versions do appear and do work, please
                      consider it as a pleasant surprise.

                   The Multia images are not included on the OpenVMS
                   Freeware V4.0 CD-ROM kit, the kit that was distributed
                   with OpenVMS V7.2. (These images became available after
                   Freeware V4.0 shipped.)

                   Other sources of information for OpenVMS on Multia
                   include:

                   o  http://www.djesys.com/vms/hobbyist/multia.html

                   o  http://www.djesys.com/vms/hobbyist/mltianot.html

                   o  http://www.djesys.com/vms/hobbyist/support.html

                   o  http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/alpha/multiafaq.html

                                                                     14-17

 





                   Hardware Information




                   o  http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/computers/udb.html

          _____________________________
          14.4.2  on AlphaPC 164LX? AlphaPC 164SX?

                   OpenVMS Alpha is not supported on the AlphaPC 164LX and
                   164SX series, though there are folks that have gotten
                   certain of the LX series to load SRM and bootstrap
                   OpenVMS. (The Aspen Durango II variant, specifically.)

                   One problem has been generally reported: ATA (IDE)
                   bootstraps will fail; SCSI storage and a SCSI CD-ROM
                   device is required.

                   Also see Section 14.4.2.1.

          _____________________________
          14.4.2.1  on the NoName AXPpci33 system?

                   Information on bootstrapping OpenVMS (using the Multia
                   files described in Section 14.4.1) on the (unsupported)
                   NoName AXPpci33 module is available at:

                   o  http://www.jyu.fi/~kujala/vms-in-axppci33.txt

          Tips for using the Multia files with the AXPpci33:

                   o  You have to use the Multia kit and follow the
                      directions in ALPHA8, but do *not* load the Multia
                      SRM firmware into the AXPpci33. Rather, download and
                      use the latest firmware for the AXPpci33 from the HP
                      Alpha firmware website instead.

                   o  64 MB memory is generally necessary.

                   o  you cannot use any PCI cards, and if you plan on
                      networking, you need to find an ISA Ethernet card
                      supported by OpenVMS.

                   o  When the AXPpci33 board bootstraps, it will dump
                      some stuff like a crash dump, but it will continue
                      and-so far-this hasn't caused any particular
                      hassles.

                   o  The system shutdown and reboot procedures do not
                      work properly.

                   14-18

 





                   Hardware Information




                   o  The serial console is reported to not work, though
                      the serial ports apparently do work. The status of
                      the parallel port is unknown.

                   o  Rumour has it that you have one of the AXPpci33
                      motherboards with the PS/2 mouse and keyboard
                      connectors and a VGA card (one that will work
                      under DECwindows) and you can run DECwindows on
                      the system.

          _____________________________
          14.4.3  on the Alpha XL series?

                   No. OpenVMS does not support the Alpha XL series.

                   OpenVMS can not, will not, and does not bootstrap on
                   the Alpha XL series. The Alpha XL series was targeted
                   for use (only) with the Microsoft Windows NT operating
                   system.

                   If you are very lucky, sometimes a particular
                   unsupported Alpha box or motherboard will resemble
                   a supported box sufficiently closely and can thus mimic
                   that system and bootstrap. (No such family resemblances
                   exist for the XL.) If you are exceedingly lucky,
                   somebody here in OpenVMS Engineering will have put
                   together a bootstrap kit-such as that for the Multia.
                   (No Miata-like OpenVMS bootstrap kit exists for the
                   XL.)

          _____________________________
          14.4.4  OpenVMS on the Personal Workstation -a and -au series?

                   Though OpenVMS is not supported on the Personal
                   Workstation -a series platforms, OpenVMS might or might
                   not bootstrap on the platform.

                   If you wish to attempt this, you must ensure that all
                   graphics and all I/O controllers in the system are
                   supported by OpenVMS. You must also ensure that you
                   have the most current firmware loaded.



                                                                     14-19

 





                   Hardware Information



          _____________________________
          14.4.4.1  OpenVMS on the Whitebox Windows-Only series Alpha?

                   Though OpenVMS is not supported on the "Whitebox"
                   series of Alpha platforms, OpenVMS might or might
                   not bootstrap on the platform. These systems were
                   specifically configured, targeted and supported only
                   for use with the Microsoft Windows NT operating system.

                   On some of the "Whitebox" systems, the following
                   sequence of console commands can potentially be used
                   to convert the system over to unsupported use by and
                   for OpenVMS Hobbyist users. (But please note that if
                   you wish to attempt this, you must ensure that all
                   graphics and all I/O controllers in the system are
                   supported by OpenVMS, and you must ensure that you have
                   the most current SRM firmware loaded. (For information
                   on locating and downloading the most current Alpha SRM
                   firmware, please see Section 14.3.7.1.) And you must
                   realize that the resulting Whitebox configuration will
                   be entirely unsupported and may or may not be stable
                   and useful.)

                   set os_type vms
                   cat nvram  ! too see what is in this, if anything
                   edit nvram
                   10 set srm_boot on
                   20 e
                   init

                   If your nvram has other contents, you will need to
                   change the line numbers (10 and 20) to reflect the
                   contents of your configuration. To obtain documentation
                   on the commands of the console editor, enter the ?
                   command within the editor.

                   The above sequence was reportedly tested on the DIGITAL
                   Server 3300 series, a relative of the AlphaServer
                   800 series. The DIGITAL Server 3300 is not supported
                   by OpenVMS, though the AlphaServer 800 series is a
                   supported platform. The sequence may or may not work on
                   other platforms, and may or may not work on the DIGITAL
                   Server 3300 platform.

                   Also see Section 5.32.

                   14-20

 





                   Hardware Information



          _____________________________
          14.4.4.2  OpenVMS and Personal Workstation ATA (IDE) bootstrap?

                   OpenVMS will boot and is supported on the Personal
                   Workstation -au series platforms, though OpenVMS will
                   require a SCSI CD-ROM if the Intel Saturn I/O (SIO) IDE
                   chip is present in the configuration- only the Cypress
                   IDE controller chip is supported by OpenVMS for IDE
                   bootstraps.

                   If you have an -au series system, you can determine
                   which IDE chip you have using the SRM console command:

                     SHOW CONFIGURATION

                   If you see "Cypress PCI Peripheral Controller", you can
                   bootstrap OpenVMS from IDE storage. If you see "Intel
                   SIO 82378", you will need to use and bootstrap from
                   SCSI. (A procedure to load DQDRIVER on the Intel SIO-
                   once the system has bootstrapped from a SCSI device-is
                   expected to be included as part of the contents of the
                   DQDRIVER directory on Freeware V5.0 and later.)

                   Many of the -a series systems will include the Intel
                   SIO, and thus cannot bootstrap from IDE.

          _____________________________
          14.4.5  On the Intel Itanium IA-64 platform?

                   OpenVMS is being ported to the Intel IA-64
                   architecture; to HP systems based on the Intel Itanium
                   Processor Family.

                   The first release of OpenVMS I64 is V8.0, with the
                   first general release of OpenVMS I64 expected to be
                   V8.2.

                   Some Intel and HP terminology: Itanium Processor Family
                   is the name of the current implementation; of the
                   current Intel microprocessor family implementing the
                   IA-64 architecture. IA-64 is the name of the Intel
                   and HP architecture implementing the VLIW (Very Long
                   Instruction Word) design known as EPIC (Explicitly
                   Parallel Instruction Computing). I64 is the name of
                   a family of HP computer systems using Intel Itanium
                   processors.

                                                                     14-21

 





                   Hardware Information



          _____________________________
          14.4.5.1  Where can I get Intel Itanium information?

                   Intel Itanium Processor Family and IA-64 Architecture,
                   Hardware, Software, and related docoumentation
                   materials are available at:

                   o  ftp://download.intel.com/design/IA-64/manuals/

                   o  ftp://download.intel.com/design/IA-64/Downloads/

                   o  ftp://download.intel.com/design/IA-
                      64/Downloads/archSysSoftware.pdf

                   o  ftp://download.intel.com/design/IA-
                      64/Downloads/24870101.pdf

                   The Intel Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) console
                   documentation:

          http://www.pentium.de/technology/efi/index.htm

          __________________________________________________________
          14.5  What is the least expensive system that will run OpenVMS?

                   The cheapest systems that are or have been recently
                   offered by HP that will run OpenVMS Alpha are the
                   AlphaServer DS10 server, the AlphaStation XP900
                   workstation, the AlphaStation VS10 workstation, and
                   the AlphaStation XP1000 workstation. Other companies
                   sell Alpha-powered systems and Alpha motherboards, some
                   of which will run (and can be purchased with) OpenVMS-
                   see the OpenVMS Software Product Description (SPD) for
                   details on the supported systems and configurations.
                   There are also many used AlphaStation, AlphaServer, and
                   DEC 3000 models available which are quite suitable.
                   For more experienced OpenVMS system managers, the
                   (unsupported) Multia can bootstrap OpenVMS-see
                   Section 14.4.1 for details.

                   Depending on the OpenVMS version and configuration, the
                   OpenVMS Software Product Description (SPD) is available
                   at:

                   o  http://www.openvms.compaq.com:8000/

                   o  http://www.openvms.compaq.com/doc/

                   14-22

 





                   Hardware Information




                   o  http://www.openvms.compaq.com/commercial/

                   When purchasing a system, ensure that the system
                   itself is supported, that the system disk drive is
                   supported or closely compatible, that the CD-ROM drive
                   is supported or is closely compatable and that (in the
                   case of SCSI devices) it also specifically supports
                   512 byte block transfers; no equivalent requirement
                   exists for IDE devices. Also particularly ensure that
                   the video controller is supported. Use of supported HP
                   hardware will generally reduce the level of integration
                   effort involved.

                   A CD-ROM, CD-R or DVD drive is required for OpenVMS
                   Alpha installations.

                   CD-ROM drive compatibility information is available at:

                   o  http://sites.inka.de/pcde/dec-cdrom-list.txt

          __________________________________________________________
          14.6  Where can I get more information on Alpha systems?

                   HP operates an AlphaServer information center at:

                   o  http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/

          Alpha Technical information and documentation is available at:

                   o  ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/products/alphaCPUdocs/

                   o  http://www.support.compaq.com/alpha-
                      tools/documentation/current/chip-docs.html

                   o  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/systems/

                   o  http://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/info/semiconductor/literature/dsc-
                      library.html

                   o  Alpha Systems Update:
                      http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/fb_acu.html

                   Software Product Description (SPD) information,
                   including platform support documentation:

                   o  http://www.compaq.com/info/spd/
                      OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx and/or SPD
                      41.87.xx.

                                                                     14-23

 





                   Hardware Information




                   Information on Multia hardware is available at:

                   o  http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/alpha/multiafaq.html

                   Information on current and future Alpha microprocessor
                   designs is also available from AlphaPowered at:

                   o  http://www.alphapowered.com/alpha_tomorrow.html

                   o  http://www.alphapowered.com/timeline.html

                   o  http://www.alphapowered.com/ev7-and-ev8.html

          The NetBSD folks maintain useful Alpha hardware information at:

                   o  http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/alpha/models.html

          __________________________________________________________
          14.7  Describe Alpha instruction emulation and instruction
                subsets?

                   The Alpha architecture is upward- and downward-
                   compatible, and newer instructions are emulated on
                   older platforms, for those cases where the compiler
                   is explicitly requested to generate the newer Alpha
                   instructions.

                   In particular, OpenVMS Alpha V7.1 and later include the
                   instruction emulation capabilities necessary for the
                   execution of newer Alpha instructions on older Alpha
                   microprocessors. (Instruction emulation capabilities
                   are available for user-mode application code, and
                   are not available to device drivers or other similar
                   kernel-mode code.)

                   Alpha instructions are available in groups (or
                   subsets). Obviously, there is the base instruction set
                   that is available on all Alpha microprocessors. Then,
                   the following are the current instruction extension
                   groups (or subsets) that are available on some of
                   various recent Alpha microprocessors:

                   o  byte/word extension (BWX):
                      LDBU, LDWU, SEXTB, SEXTW, STB, and STW.

                   o  floating-point and square root extension (FIX):
                      FTOIS, FTOIT, ITOFF, ITOFS, ITOFT, SQRTF, SQRTG,
                      SQRTS, and SQRTT.

                   14-24

 





                   Hardware Information




                   o  count extension (CIX):
                      CTLZ, CTPOP, and CTTZ.

                   o  multi-media extension (MVI):
                      MAXSB8, MAXSW4, MAXUB8, MAXUW4, MINSB8, MINSW4,
                      MINUB8, MINUW4, PERR, PKLB, PKWB, UNPKBL, and
                      UNPKBW.

                   The typical instruction subset that provides the
                   biggest win-and of course, your mileage may vary-is
                   typically the instruction set that is provided by the
                   EV56 and later; specifically, the byte-word instruction
                   subset. To select this subset, use the following:

                   /ARCHITECTURE=EV56/OPTIMIZE=TUNE=GENERIC

                   The /ARCHITECTURE controls the maximum instruction
                   subset that the compiler will generally use, while
                   the /OPTIMIZE=TUNE controls both the instruction-level
                   scheduling and also the instructions generated inside
                   loops-any code resulting from /OPTIMIZE=TUNE that is
                   specific to an instruction subset will be generated
                   only inside loops and will also be "protected" by
                   an AMASK-based test that permits the execution of
                   the proper code for the particular current Alpha
                   microprocessor.

                   Typically /OPTIMIZE=TUNE=GENERIC is the appropriate
                   choice for tuning, and the /ARCHITECTURE selects the
                   minimum target architecture for general use throughout
                   the generated code.

                   generated for later architectures and instruction
                   subsets will run on older Alpha systems due to the
                   emulation, but if /ARCHITECTURE is a significant
                   benefit, then the emulation might be a performance
                   penalty.

                   Please see the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard area for the
                   source code of a (non-privileged) tool that looks at
                   the instruction subsets available on the particular
                   Alpha microprocessor that the tool is run on. This tool
                   demonstrates the use of the Alpha AMASK and IMPLVER
                   instructions.

                                                                     14-25

 





                   Hardware Information




                   Please see Section 10.24 and Section 14.10 for
                   additional details and related considerations.

          __________________________________________________________
          14.8  What is the Accuracy of the Alpha Time of Year (BB_WATCH)
                Clock?

                   The specification for maximum clock drift in the Alpha
                   hardware clock is 50 parts per million (ppm), that
                   is less than ±0.000050 seconds of drift per second,
                   less than ±0.000050 days of drift per day, or less
                   than ±0.000050 years of drift per year, etc. (eg: An
                   error of one second over a day-long interval is roughly
                   11ppm, or 1000000/(24*60*60).) Put another way, this
                   is .005%, which is around 130 seconds per month or 26
                   minutes per year.

                   The software-maintained system time can drift more than
                   this, primarily due to other system activity. Typical
                   causes of drift include extensive high-IPL code (soft
                   memory errors, heavy activity at device IPLs, etc) that
                   are causing the processing of the clock interrupts to
                   be blocked.

                   Also see Section 14.15, Section 4.3.

          __________________________________________________________
          14.9  So how do I open up the DEC 3000 chassis?

                   After removing those two little screws, tilt the back
                   end of the top shell upwards-then you can remove the
                   lid.

          __________________________________________________________
          14.10  What is byte swizzling?

                   "Swizzling" is the term used to describe the operation
                   needed to do partial longword (i.e. byte or word)
                   accesses to I/O space on those systems that don't
                   support it directly. It involved shifting the offset
                   into an address space by 5 (or 7 for one older system),
                   and ORing this into the base address. It then required
                   the size of the operation to be ORed into the low order
                   bits.

                   14-26

 





                   Hardware Information




                   That is, because the EV4 and EV5 CPUs did not bring
                   bits 0 and 1 off the chip, to do programmed I/O for
                   bytes/words, the information on the size/offset of the
                   transfer was encoded into the address data. The data
                   itself then had to be shifted into the correct "byte
                   lane" (i.e. its actual position within a longword).

                   The EV56 CPU supports the byte/word instructions
                   however only some EV56 systems support byte/word
                   accesses to I/O space. Even on an EV56 system that
                   supports byte/word accesses to I/O space, the relevant
                   OpenVMS routines do not support byte/word access to I/O
                   space.

                   EV6 systems (with the exception of the AlphaServer GS60
                   and AlphaServer GS140 series, for reasons of platform
                   compatability) support a flat, byte addressable I/O
                   space.

                   If a device driver uses CRAM or IOC$WRITE_IO/IOC$READ_
                   IO, then OpenVMS will do the right thing without
                   changing the driver - OpenVMS will swizzle and
                   unswizzle as needed.

                   To use byte/word operations on MEMORY, you need to
                   tell the compiler to use the EV56 or EV6 architecture
                   (/ARCHITECTURE=EV56). Memory operations did not
                   swizzle, but the compiler would do long/quad
                   access, and extract/insert bytes as needed. Using
                   /ARCHITECTURE=EV56 allows smaller, more efficient
                   byte/word access logic to memory.

                   If the application is directly doing I/O space access
                   across a range of Alpha systems (like the graphics
                   servers), then the driver will need to know how to do
                   swizzling for old platforms, and byte access for new
                   platforms.

                   Please see Section 10.24 and Section 14.7 for
                   additional details and related considerations.




                                                                     14-27

 





                   Hardware Information



          __________________________________________________________
          14.11  What is the layout of the VAX floating point format?

                   The VAX floating point format is derived from one
                   of the PDP-11 FP formats, which helps explain its
                   strange layout. There are four formats defined: F 32-
                   bit single-precision, D and G 64-bit double-precision
                   and H 128-bit quadruple precision. For all formats,
                   the lowest addressed 16-bit "word" contains the sign
                   and exponent (and for other than H, some of the most
                   significant fraction bits). Each successive higher-
                   addressed word contains the next 16 lesser-significant
                   fraction bits. Bit 15 of the first word is the sign, 1
                   for negative, 0 for positive. Zero is represented by
                   a biased exponent value of zero and a sign of zero;
                   the fraction bits are ignored (but on Alpha, non-
                   zero fraction bits in a zero value cause an error.)
                   A value with biased exponent zero and sign bit 1 is
                   a "reserved operand" - touching it causes an error -
                   fraction bits are ignored. There are no minus zero,
                   infinity, denormalized or NaN values.

                   For all formats, the fraction is normalized and the
                   radix point assumed to be to the left of the MSB, hence
                   the following range: 0.5 less than or equal to f and
                   less than 1.0. The MSB, always being 1, is not stored.
                   The binary exponent is stored with a bias varying with
                   type in bits 14:n of the lowest-addressed word.

                     FP      Exponent    Exponent    Mantissa (Fraction) bits,
                     Type      Bits        Bias        including hidden bit
                     ==========================================================
                      F         8           128              24
                      D         8           128              56
                      G        11          1024              53
                      H        15         16384             113

                   The layout for D is identical to that for F except for
                   32 additional fraction bits.

                   Example: +1.5 in F float is hex 000040C0 (fraction of
                   .11[base 2], biased exponent of 129)



                   14-28

 





                   Hardware Information



          __________________________________________________________
          14.12  Where can I find more info about VAX systems?

                   o  HP runs a VAX "InfoCenter" at:
                      http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/vax/

                   o  Jim Agnew maintains a MicroVAX/VAXstation FAQ at:
                      http://anacin.nsc.vcu.edu/~jim/mvax/mvax_faq.html

                   o  The VAXstation 3100 Owner's Guide:
                      http://www.whiteice.com/~williamwebb/intro/DOC-
                      i.html

                   o  A field guide to PDP-11 (and VAX) Q-bus and UNIBUS
                      modules can be found at:
                      http://metalab.unc.edu//pub/academic/computer-
                      science/history/pdp-11/hardware/field-guide.txt

                   o  Various VAX historical information (also see
                      Section 2.1) can be found at:
                      http://telnet.hu/hamster/vax/e_index.html

          __________________________________________________________
          14.13  Where can I find information on NetBSD for VAX systems?

          Gunnar Helliesen maintains a NetBSD VAX FAQ at
          http://vaxine.bitcon.no/._________________________________

          14.14  What system disk size limit on the MicroVAX and
                 VAXstation 3100?

                   System disks larger than 1.073 gigabytes (GB)-1fffff
                   hexidecimal blocks - are not supported on any member of
                   the VAXstation 3100 series and on certain older members
                   of the MicroVAX 3100 series, and are not reliable
                   on these affected systems. (See below to identify
                   the affected systems-the more recent members of the
                   MicroVAX 3100 series systems are NOT affected.)

                   Various of the SCSI commands used by the boot drivers
                   imbedded in the console PROM on all members of the
                   VAXstation 3100 series use "Group 0" commands, which
                   allow a 21 bit block number field, which allows access
                   to the first 1fffff hexidecimal blocks of a disk. Any
                   disk references past 1fffff will wrap-this wrapping
                   behaviour can be of particular interest when writing a
                   system crashdump file, as this can potentially lead

                                                                     14-29

 





                   Hardware Information




                   to system disk corruptions should any part of the
                   crashdump file be located beyond 1.073 GB.

                   More recent systems and console PROMs use "Group 1"
                   SCSI commands, which allow a 32 bit block number field.

                   There was a similar limitation among the oldest of
                   the MicroVAX 3100 series, but a console boot PROM
                   was phased into production and was made available for
                   field retrofits-this PROM upgrade allows the use of the
                   "Group 1" SCSI commands, and thus larger system disks.
                   There was no similar PROM upgrade for the VAXstation
                   3100 series.

                   Systems that are affected by this limit:

                   o  VAXstation 3100 series, all members. No PROM upgrade
                      is available.

                   o  MicroVAX 3100 models 10 and 20. No PROM upgrade is
                      available.

                   o  MicroVAX 3100 models 10e and 20e. Only systems with
                      console VMB versions prior to V6.4 are affected. A
                      PROM upgrade for these specific systems is (or was
                      once) available.

                   Also see
                   http://www.whiteice.com/~williamwebb/intro/DOC-i.html

                   Also see Section 9.5.

          __________________________________________________________
          14.15  What is the Accuracy of VAX the Time of Year (TOY) Clock?

                   The VAX Time-Of-Year (TOY) clock (used to save the time
                   over a reboot or power failure) is specified as having
                   an accuracy of 0.0025%. This is a drift of roughly 65
                   seconds per month.

                   The VAX Interval Time is used to keep the running time,
                   and this has a specified accuracy of .01%. This is
                   a drift of approximately 8.64 seconds per day. Any
                   high-IPL activity can interfere with the IPL 22 or
                   IPL 24 (this depends on the VAX implementation) clock
                   interrupts-activities such as extensive device driver
                   interrupts or memory errors are known to slow the
                   clock.

                   14-30

 





                   Hardware Information




                   Also see Section 14.8, Section 4.3.

          __________________________________________________________
          14.16  What are the VAX processor (CPU) codes?

                      CPU:    Platform:
                      -----   ---------
                      KA41-A : MicroVAX 3100 Model 10 and 20
                      KA41-B : VAXserver 3100 Model 10 and 20
                      KA41-C : InfoServer
                      KA41-D : MicroVAX 3100 Model 10e and 20e
                      KA41-E : VAXserver 3100 Model 10e and 20e
                      KA42-A : VAXstation 3100 Model 30 and 40
                      KA42-B : VAXstation 3100 Model 38 and 48
                      KA43-A : VAXstation 3100 Model 76
                      KA45   : MicroVAX 3100 Model 30 and 40
                      KA46   : VAXstation 4000 Model 60
                      KA47   : MicroVAX 3100 Model 80
                      KA48   : VAXstation 4000 VLC
                      KA49-A : VAXstation 4000 Model 90/90A
                      KA49-B : VAXstation 4000 Model 95
                      KA49-C : VAXstation 4000 Model 96
                      KA50   : MicroVAX 3100 Model 90
                      KA51   : MicroVAX 3100 Model 95
                      KA52   : VAX 4000 Model 100
                      KA53   : VAX 4000 Model 105
                      KA54   : VAX 4000 Model 106
                      KA55   : MicroVAX 3100 Model 85
                      KA56   : MicroVAX 3100 Model 96
                      KA57   : VAX 4000 Model 108
                      KA58   : MicroVAX 3100 Model 88
                      KA59   : MicroVAX 3100 Model 98
                      KA85   : VAX 8500
                      KA86   : VAX 8600
                      KA88   : VAX 8800
                      KA600  : VAX 4000-50 (aka VAXbrick)
                      KA610  : MicroVAX I, VAXstation I (aka KD32)
                      KA620  : rtVAX (VAXeln)
                      KA62A  : VAX 6000-200
                      KA62B  : VAX 6000-300
                      KA630  : MicroVAX II, VAXstation II
                      KA640  : MicroVAX 3300, MicroVAX 3400
                      KA650  : VAXstation 3200, MicroVAX 3500, MicroVAX 3600, MicroVAX III
                      KA64A  : VAX 6000-400

                                                                     14-31

 





                   Hardware Information




                      KA655  : MicroVAX 3800, MicroVAX 3900, MicroVAX III+
                      KA65A  : VAX 6000-500
                      KA660  : VAX 4000-200, VAX 4 upgrade
                      KA66A  : VAX 6000-600
                      KA670  : VAX 4000-300
                      KA675  : VAX 4000-400
                      KA680  : VAX 4000-500
                      KA681  : VAX 4000-500A
                      KA690  : VAX 4000-600
                      KA691  : VAX 4000-605A
                      KA692  : VAX 4000-700A
                      KA693  : VAX 4000-605A
                      KA694  : VAX 4000-705A
                      KA730  : VAX-11/730
                      KA750  : VAX-11/750
                      KA780  : VAX-11/780, VAX-11/782
                      KA785  : VAX-11/785
                      KA7AA  : VAX 7000-600
                      KA7AB  : VAX 7000-700
                      KA7AC  : VAX 7000-800
                      KA800  : VAXrta
                      KA820  : VAX 8200, VAX 8300
                      KA825  : VAX 8250, VAX 8350
                      KA865  : VAX 8650

          __________________________________________________________
          14.17  Where can I get software and hardware support
                 information?

                   Please contact the HP Customer Support Center. Services
                   and information, manuals, guides, downloads, and
                   various other information is available via the support
                   link at:

                   o  http://www.hp.com/products/openvms/

                   Various hardware and system documentation is available
                   at:

                   o  http://www.compaq.com/support/techpubs/user_
                      reference_guides/

                   o  http://www.adenzel.demon.nl/vaxes/microvax3100/

                   o  http://www.adenzel.demon.nl/vaxes/infoserver150/

                   14-32

 





                   Hardware Information




                   TSM (Terminal Server Manager), DEChub, DECserver, etc.
                   information:

                   o  http://www.compaq.com/support/digital_networks_
                      archive/

                   The owner and maintainer of current DECserver and
                   related hardware is DIGITAL Network Products Group
                   (DNPG):

                   o  http://www.dnpg.com/

          __________________________________________________________
          14.18  Where can I get hardware self-maintenance support
                 assistance?

                   The HP Assisted Services (CAS) program (a direct
                   descendent of the program once known as DECmailer)
                   is available to customers that wish to maintain their
                   own system(s) (self-maintenance), but that wish some
                   level of assistance in acquiring hardware diagnostics
                   and hardware manuals for the system(s), and that wish
                   to have access to spares and module-level repairs for
                   customer-performed hardware module swaps:

                   o  http://www.compaq.com/CAS-Catalog/

          __________________________________________________________
          14.19  Why does my system halt when I power-cycle the console
                 terminal?

                   Various VAX and Alpha consoles are designed to process
                   the BREAK signal, treating it as a HALT request.

                   A BREAK is a deliberately-generated serial line framing
                   error.

                   When a serial line device such as a terminal
                   powers up (or sometimes when powering down) it can
                   generate framing errors. These framing errors are
                   indistingushable from a BREAK signal.

                   When a BREAK is received on a serial line console
                   for various VAX systems-including most VAXstation,
                   MicroVAX, and VAX 4000 series-it is typically
                   interpreted as a HALT. Alpha systems will also often

                                                                     14-33

 





                   Hardware Information




                   process a BREAK in a similar fashion, halting the
                   system.

                   There is no uniform or generally-available way to
                   disable this behaviour on every VAX or Alpha system. On
                   some systems, BREAK processing can be disabled in favor
                   of [CTRL/P], or [CTRL/P] is the only way to halt the
                   processor.

                   The most common way to avoid these halts is to disable
                   the serial line console or to simply not power-cycle
                   the console terminal. There is certain important
                   system state information that is displayed only on
                   the console, OpenVMS expects to always have access to
                   the system console.

                   Also see Section 5.5.

          __________________________________________________________
          14.20  Can I reuse old keyboards, mice and monitors with a PC?

                   Older HP keyboards (those with the DIGITAL logo and
                   the RJ modular jacks), older HP mice (those with the
                   DIGITAL logo and with the RJ modular jacks, or with
                   a DIN connector with pins in a configuration other
                   than the PC-standard DIN connector pin orientation),
                   and older video monitors (with RGB synch-on-green
                   video signaling) all use signaling formats and/or
                   communications protocols that differ from the PC
                   standards, and are not (easily) interchangable nor
                   (easily) compatible with typical PC peripheral device
                   controllers. The LK201 and LK401 keyboards, the VSXXX
                   series mice, the VR260 and VR290 monitors, etc., are
                   incompatible with most PC systems and with most KVM
                   switches.

                   Newer HP (and Compaq) keyboards (those with with PC-
                   style DIN plugs, and the HP, Compaq or DIGITAL logo),
                   newer HP mice (with PC-pin DIN plugs, and the HP,
                   Compaq or DIGITAL logo), and newer video monitors
                   (multi-synch) are often interchangeable with "industry
                   standard" PC systems, and can often be used with
                   most PC peripheral device controllers. LK461, LK463,
                   LK46W, LK471, PC7XS-CA, VRC16, VRC21, TFT-series LCD
                   flat-panel displays, etc., are typically reasonably
                   compatible with most PC systems, and will usually

                   14-34

 





                   Hardware Information




                   perform as expected within the limits of the hardware.
                   (For details of CRT and LCD display compatibility,
                   please see Section 14.21.)

                   Rule of thumb: if the peripheral device component
                   was sold for use with the DEC 2000 (DECpc 150 AXP),
                   an AlphaServer series, an AlphaStation series, or a
                   more recent Alpha system, it will probably work with a
                   PC peripheral controller or with a PC-compatible KVM
                   switch. If the peripheral device component was sold
                   for use with an VT420 or older terminal, most VAX, most
                   VAXstation, and most Alpha systems with names in the
                   format DEC [four-digit-number], it probably won't work
                   on a PC system or with a PC-compatible KVM.

                   Note that the above is a general guideline, and should
                   not be read to indicate that any particular peripheral
                   device will or will not work in any particular
                   configuration, save for those specific configurations
                   the device is explicitly supported in.

                   Software Integrators sells a video adapter card
                   called Gemini P1 which will drive many of the older
                   HP (DIGITAL-logo) fixed-frequency monitors on a PC
                   system:

                   o  http://www.si87.com/

                   The DIGITAL part number 29-32540-01 converts the output
                   from the RGB cable (3 BNC, synch-on-green) that comes
                   with the VAXstation 3100 and VAXstation 4000 series to
                   a female SVGA D connector.

                   This adapter will allow PC multisync monitors with
                   the needed frequency specifications to be used with
                   the VAXstation series synch-on-green video connection.
                   It may well also work with a VAXstation 2000 series
                   systems, but specifics and performance of that
                   combination are not immediately known at this writing.

                   The protocol definition for the old DIGITAL keyboard
                   and mouse interfaces is buried at the back of the QDSS
                   section in the old VAXstation II manual, specifically,
                   in the back of the VCB02 Video Subsystem Technical
                   Manual (EK-104AA-TM). The keyboard wiring and protocol

                                                                     14-35

 





                   Hardware Information




                   is in appendix B, and occupies circa 44 pages. The
                   mouse is in appendix C, circa 12 pages.

                   Also see Section 14.21.

          __________________________________________________________
          14.21  Which video monitor works with which graphics controller?

                   To determine the answer to the "will this video monitor
                   or this LCD panel work with this graphics controller?"
                   question, please first locate the resolution(s) and the
                   frequencies that are possible/supported at both ends
                   of the video cable (on the display and on the graphics
                   controller, in other words), and then determine if
                   there are any matching settings available. If there are
                   multiple matches, you will need to determine which one
                   is most appropriate for your needs.

                   You will also need to determine if the video monitor or
                   graphics controller requires the 3 BNC signaling with
                   the synchronization signals on the green wire, or the 5
                   BNC signalling common on many PCs, or other connections
                   such as the DB15 video connector or USB connector used
                   on various systems.

                   If there are no matches, you will likely need to change
                   the hardware at one or both ends of the video cable.

                   The refresh frequencies for many devices have been
                   posted to comp.os.vms and/or other newsgroups. Search
                   the archives for details. Also see:

                   o  http://www.repairfaq.org/

                   o  http://www.mirage-mmc.com/faq/

                   o  http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Foothills/4467/fixedsync.html

                   o  http://saturn.tlug.org/sunstuff/ffmonitor.html

                   o  http://hawks.ha.md.us/hardware/monitor.html

                   LCD-based and plasma-based flat-panel displays are
                   generally compatible with all recent OpenVMS Alpha
                   systems and supported graphics controllers. For
                   best results, you should generally set the graphics
                   controller to match the native LCD or plasma display
                   resolution and (for LCD displays) also set the

                   14-36

 





                   Hardware Information




                   controller refresh rate to 60Hz. Check your graphics
                   controller and your display documentation for any
                   device-specific requirements and/or configuration
                   recommendations.

                   Also see Section 14.20.

          __________________________________________________________
          14.22  Where can I get information on storage hardware?

                   Information on various HP (Compaq, DIGITAL) OpenVMS
                   and other disk storage hardware and controllers, and
                   related technical information on SCSI, device jumpers,
                   etc., is available at:

                   o  http://theref.aquascape.com/

          __________________________________________________________
          14.23  Why does my LK401 keyboard unexpectedly autorepeat?

                   There are several modes of failure:

                   o  Pressing 2 and 3 keys at the same time causes
                      one key to autorepeat when released. Check the
                      hardware revision level printed on the bottom of
                      the keyboard. If the revision level is C01, the
                      keyboard firmware is broken. Call field service to
                      replace the keyboard with any revision level other
                      than C01.

                   o  Pressing certain keys is always broken. Typical
                      symptoms are: delete always causes a autorepeat,
                      return needs to be pressed twice, etc. This is
                      frequently caused by having keys depressed while
                      the keyboard is being initialized. Pressing ^F2
                      several times or unplugging and replugging the
                      keyboard frequently fix this problem. (Ensure you
                      have current ECO kits applied; there is a patch
                      available to fix this problem.)

                   o  A key that was working spontaneously stops working
                      correctly. This may be either of the two previous
                      cases, or it may be bad console firmware. Ensure
                      that you have the most recent firmware installed
                      on your Alpha system. In particular, an old version
                      of the DEC 3000 SRM firmware is known to have a bug
                      that can cause this keyboard misbehaviour.

                                                                     14-37


 ---------------------------- #include <rtfaq.h> -----------------------------
    For additional, please see the OpenVMS FAQ -- www.hp.com/go/openvms/faq
 --------------------------- pure personal opinion ---------------------------
        Hoff (Stephen) Hoffman   OpenVMS Engineering   hoff[at]hp.com