Finding and using Software
images that were translated using VEST; you can perform
a second translation of a VAX image.
Please see Section 7.4 and Section 13.14 for related
information. Please see the website for the most
current details on availability and plans and status of
translations for OpenVMS I64 platforms.
__________________________________________________________
13.13 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.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
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 CD-ROM will erroneously return
BILF errors on OpenVMS V7.2 and later. Use the source
on the Freeware V4 to rebuild the ZIP image(s), or
(better) acquire a far newer Zip kit from a more recent
Freeware, or elsewhere. The pre-built version of ZIP
on the Freeware V4 kit is older than the included ZIP
sources, and comparatively buggy.
Directions for creating and using the sfx self-
extracting zip file compression mechanism are available
in the unzip kit that is available at:
o Look in a recent unzip* directory at
http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
o With the UNZIP542 directory from Freeware V5.0, look
for the file UNZIPSFX.TXT.
13-27
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 a recent unzip directory.
o http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
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.
__________________________________________________________
13.14 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 13.12.
13-28
_______________________________________________________
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
Please see Section 14.4.5 for Intel Itanium
terminology.
__________________________________________________________
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
14-2
Hardware Information
The following sites contain information on various
retired VAX and Alpha products:
o http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/archive/index.html
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 14.3.5.2 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.
On the DEC 2000 series (sometimes incorrectly known by
the name of the system as sold for Microsoft Windows NT
Alpha; as the DECpc 150 AXP series) on older OpenVMS
Alpha releases, COM1 through COM4 are known as OPA0:
through OPA3:. On all current OpenVMS releases, these
ports are serviced by the terminal driver and not by
the console OPDRIVER driver.
14-4
Hardware Information
Often the easiest way to determine the OpenVMS terminal
name assigned to the port is to connect a terminal,
log in interactively, and look at the output of SHOW
TERMINAL. (Device names can vary by OpenVMS version,
as well as by the SRM console environment variable
selection.)
For serial console hardware and related information,
and for pin-outs and related information, please see
Section 14.3 and Section 14.27.
_____________________________
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
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 series systems and a few Alpha series
systems have a switch - most often labeled S3, largely
for historical reasons-that enables one of the serial
lines as the system console device; as OPA0:. This
disables console output to the graphics display. (For a
related behaviour, please see Section 11.10.)
All VAXstation 3100 series systems provide a S3 slide
switch, though the oldest may be missing the cut-out
through the enclosure that provides access to the
switch. The slide switch is located near the diagnostic
LED display. (The slide switch is accessable with the
cover removed.)
Various members of the DEC 3000 series Alpha systems
also have a similarly-labled S3 switch for selection of
the alternate console.
14-5
Hardware Information
The particular port that becomes the console can vary.
The printer MMJ connection is used on all VAXstation
3100 series. On VAXstation II, the console DB9 is
used, rather than the graphics display. On most (all?)
AlphaStation series systems, typically the COM1 serial
port becomes the console.
Also see Section 14.3.6, Section 11.10, and
Section 14.19. Beware the two different DB9 pin-outs;
see Section 14.28 for related details.
For information on registering software license product
authorization keys (PAKs), please see Section 5.6.2.
_____________________________
14.3.3.4 Please explain the back panel of the MicroVAX II
The MicroVAX-series console bulkhead interface was used
with the KA630, as well as with the KA650 and 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 the PC DB9 pin-
out), please see the descriptions of these in section
WIRES1. For available adapters, see Section 14.28.
14-6
Hardware Information
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.
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...
14-7
Hardware Information
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 among the boot flag
implementations for the various architectures.
_____________________________
14.3.5.1 What are the I64 IPB boot flag values?
The OpenVMS I64 primary bootstrap flags are processed
within the IA-64 primary bootstrap image IPB.EXE;
within the SYS$EFI.SYS structures. The primary
bootstrap boot flags are largely parallel to those
of OpenVMS Alpha (see Section 14.3.5.2, though the
console and the console mechanisms used to specify the
boot command, the boot flags, and boot command options
do differ markedly.
When you register an EFI boot alias (please see
Section 14.4.5 for Intel Itanium terminology), you
will be asked if you want to enter boot options, and
what type. To add boot flags to a boot alias, select
Unicode as the boot options type, and enter an SRM-like
options string, such as the conversational bootstrap
selected by the following example:
-fl 0,1
14-8
Hardware Information
_____________________________
14.3.5.2 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
--- ----------------------------------------------
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
14-9
Hardware Information
_____________________________
14.3.5.3 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
--- -------
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.
14-10
Hardware Information
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.
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$V_MEMTEST
Specifies that a more extensive algorithm be used
when testing main memory for hardware
uncorrectable (RDS) errors.
14-11
Hardware Information
14 RPB$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.
_____________________________
14.3.6 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 and the CONSOLE
environment variable is set to SERIAL, the Alpha system
will use the serial terminal. (Set the environment
variable to GRAPHICS to select the console display
output via the graphics display.)
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 a PC-
compatible DB9 serial connector for the COM1 and COM2
serial lines (and for the OPA0: console line, if that
was configured via SRM), please see Section 14.27 for
details and pin-out.
14-12
Hardware Information
For information on registering software license product
authorization keys (PAKs), please see Section 5.6.2.
For a related behaviour of DECwindows, please
see Section 11.10. For information on the
VAXstation alternate console mechanisms, please see
Section 14.3.3.3.
_____________________________
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/
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 Alpha 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.
14-13
Hardware Information
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. For information on
HP Integrity EFI firmware upgrades, please see
Section 14.3.10.
_____________________________
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.
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.
14-14
Hardware Information
_____________________________
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.
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:
14-15
Hardware Information
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
Once you have the SRM loaded, you can directly install
OpenVMS or Tru64 UNIX on the system. Do not allow
Microsoft Windows NT or other operating system(s)
to write a "harmless" signature to any disk used by
OpenVMS Alpha or OpenVMS VAX, as this will clobber a
key part of the disk; this will overwrite the OpenVMS
bootblock. (On OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS VAX, you can
generally recover from this so-called "harmless" action
by using the WRITEBOOT.EXE tool.
Using OpenVMS I64 and the EFI console, the bootblock
structures are expected to be compatible with those
of Microsoft Windows and other Integrity operating
systems; please see the discussion of the SET BOOTBLOCK
command and the SYS$SETBOOT.EXE image in Section 9.7.3,
in Section 14.3.9, and in the OpenVMS documentation for
related details.)
14-16
Hardware Information
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 2.8.1. 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:
14-17
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
_____________________________
14.3.8 Console Management Options
Options to collect multiple consoles into a single
server are available, with both hardware options and
software packages that can provide advanced features
and capabilities.
Some of the available console management options for
OpenVMS:
o Heroix: http://www.robomon.com/
o KI Products: http://www.ki.com/products/clim/
o Global Maintech: http://www.globalmt.com/
o TECsys: http://www.tditx.com/
o CA: http://www.cai.com/products/commandit.htm
Computer Associates is the owner of what was once
known as the VAXcluster Console System (VCS) console
management package, and has integrated this capability
into the CA management product suite.
14-18
Hardware Information
_____________________________
14.3.9 Why do my EFI Boot Aliases Fail?
OpenVMS I64 boot aliases contain signature information
referencing the specific volume, meaning that the
entries are specific to the disk volume and not
the disk device. This also means that certain
operations, such as the SET BOOTBLOCK command or the
RUN SYS$SETBOOT.EXE operation that can rewrite these
volume signatures (signature or GUID values) can render
existing boot aliases unusable.
If your boot aliases do not function as expected,
first try removing and re-adding them; this will
resynchronize the boot aliases with the volume
contents. If you are using the SET BOOTBLOCK command or
the RUN SYS$SETBOOT.EXE operation to rewrite the disk
bootblock, you can request that the current signatures
(if any) be preserved, and this will typically maintain
the validity of your EFI console boot aliases.
_____________________________
14.3.10 Downloading and using EFI Console Firmware?
HP Integrity EFI system firmware can be downloaded in
the form of a bootable image master, unzipped and then
burned onto CD or DVD media (please see Section 9.7
for details of recording optical media on OpenVMS), and
the system can then generally be booted off the created
media to perform the EFI firmware upgrade.
The HP Integrity Server website is accesssable via the
following URL, and the available services and support
information there has links to the available platform-
specific firmware images and upgrade-related materials:
o http://www.hp.com/go/servers/
For information on Alpha SRM console firmware upgrades,
please see Section 14.3.7.
14-19
Hardware Information
__________________________________________________________
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://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx,
and SPD 82.35.xx.
Sometimes a particular and officially unsupported Alpha
box or Alpha motherboard will sufficiently resemble a
supported box that the platform can effectively mimic
and can bootstrap OpenVMS. Alternatively, somebody
(usually one or more engineers within the OpenVMS
Engineering group) will have put together a bootstrap
kit - such as the kit for the Alpha Multia-which
permits OpenVMS to bootstrap on the platform.
Contrary to the assumptions of some folks, there
are platform-level differences even within the
VAX and within the Alpha platforms- hardware-level
differences that can require moderate to extensive new
coding within OpenVMS. Within a platform series, and
particularly within Alpha platforms (and those few VAX
systems) that support Dynamic System Recognition (DSR),
OpenVMS can usually bootstrap.
DSR is a mechanism by which OpenVMS can gather
platform-specific information, and DSR is the reason
why newer Alpha systems can be more easily and more
commonly supported on older OpenVMS Alpha releases.
DSR is implemented with OpenVMS Alpha code, with SRM
console code, and with platform non-volatile memory.
OpenVMS users with experience on older OpenVMS VAX
releases and VAX hardware will recall that then-new
VAX systems either required an OpenVMS VAX upgrade,
or that earlier releases would mis-identified then-
newer VAX systems-such as the case of the VAX 7000
model 800 being (mis)identified as a VAX 7000 model
600 when bootstrapped on OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2. (This
(mis)identification was the outcome of a deliberate
engineering effort to permit the VAX 7000 model 800 to
bootstrap on V5.5-2; the system manager could configure
14-20
Hardware Information
the VAX 7000 model 800 to (mis)identify itself as a
model 600, to permit the system to bootstrap on V5.5-
2.) OpenVMS VAX and VAX platforms lack DSR support.
OpenVMS I64 (please see Section 14.4.5 for Intel
Itanium terminology) supports a platform-level feature
similar to the OpenVMS Alpha DSR mechanism, based
on the ACPI interface and the byte-code interpreter
implemented within OpenVMS, within the EFI console,
and particularly within non-volatile memory located
on (byte-code interpreter compliant) PCI I/O hardware.
ACPI tables provide the information that was formerly
retrieved from DSR and from the SRM, and the byte-code
interpreter can (theoretically) permit at least limited
operations with (compliant) PCI hardware, whether or
not OpenVMS has a driver for the particular hardware.
The byte code interpreter may or may not permit
operations with any particular PCI hardware, and
may or may not have sufficient performance for local
requirements, and PCI hardware may or may not include
the necessary ROM-based drivers in the PCI hardware
non-volatile storage. (The intent of this Intel
platform-level effort is to move the host software
drivers out onto the specific PCI hardware, and to
permit the same byte code to operate regardless of
the particular host platform.) At least the initial
releases of OpenVMS I64 will not have support for the
byte code interpreter nor for arbitrary PCI or system
hardware, but will have support for ACPI-based system
identification and system configuration.
_____________________________
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.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
Look in the Freeware V5.0 /multia/ directory.
14-21
Hardware Information
Instructions are included IN the kits. READ THE
INSTRUCTIONS. PLEASE!
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
14-22
Hardware Information
o http://www.djesys.com/vms/hobbyist/support.html
o http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/alpha/multiafaq.html
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.
14-23
Hardware Information
o The system shutdown and reboot procedures do not
work properly.
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 Engineering does not formally support the Alpha
XL series, nor will OpenVMS (informally) bootstrap on
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.
The Alpha XL platform does not resemble other supported
platforms.
_____________________________
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.
Here are some salient differences within the various
Personal Workstation series:
o The -a series was designed and was tested for
Windows NT use. Only. It is not supported for use
with OpenVMS.
14-24
Hardware Information
o The -au series was designed and tested for Windows,
OpenVMS, and Tru64 UNIX compatibility, and is
considered a supported system.
o There are at two different and distinct variants of
the family, and usually refered to by their internal
hardware project names.
o The Miata MX5. The Miata MX5 variant has no USB
ports and no on-board SCSI. The on-board Intel
SIO chipset is not supported by OpenVMS, and thus
OpenVMS cannot bootstrap ATAPI CD-ROM devices.
That said, the Miata MX5 -a series typically came
with DEC branded Adaptec 2940UW SCSI controllers,
Matrox Millennium graphics cards, no L3 cache
module, and an Toshiba IDE CD-Rom. Some came with
very high end Powerstorm graphics card if the
system was destined to do CAD or movie rendering.
Graphics and other I/O can and does vary by
package.
The Miata MX5 is not supported by OpenVMS.
o The Miata GL. The Miata GL variant has USB ports
and on-board SCSI and bootstraps using the on-
board Cypress IDE chipset and an ATAPI CD-ROM
are supported by OpenVMS. The Miata GL -a variant
is need not be configured with an add-on SCSI
controller, given both the ability to bootstrap
from ATAPI CD-ROM and the on-board SCSI.
Graphics and other I/O can and does vary by
package.
Various of the Miata GL systems are supported by
OpenVMS.
For obvious reasons, most folks will select a Miata GL system,
given the choice between the Miata MX5 and the Miata GL. And
as for your next question, you cannot necessarily nor easily
distinguish the Miata MX5 from the Miata GL based solely on the
model number.
See Section 14.4.4.2 for related details.
14-25
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 5.33.
14-26
Hardware Information
_____________________________
14.4.4.2 OpenVMS and Personal Workstation ATA (IDE) bootstrap?
OpenVMS will boot and is supported on specific 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. (Configurations with the Intel SIO are not
generally considered to be supported systems.)
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.
See Section 14.4.4 for related details.
_____________________________
14.4.5 On the Intel Itanium IA-64 platform?
OpenVMS has been ported to the Intel IA-64
architecture; to HP Integrity systems based on the
Intel Itanium Processor Family.
The first release of OpenVMS I64 was V8.0, with the
first general release of OpenVMS I64 known as V8.2.
Yes, there was a V8.1 release, too.
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 architecture implementing the VLIW (Very Long
Instruction Word) design known as EPIC (Explicitly
Parallel Instruction Computing).
14-27
Hardware Information
I64 is the name of a family of HP computer systems that
use Intel Itanium processors and that are supported
by "HP OpenVMS for Integrity Servers" (and itself more
commonly known as "OpenVMS I64"); by one of the HP
operating systems that runs on HP Integrity hardware.
The Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) is the name of
the console environment for Itanium systems, and the
Baseboard Management Console (BMC) and the optional
Management Processor (MP) are the most typical hardware
interfaces into the system console.
_____________________________
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:
o http://www.pentium.de/technology/efi/index.htm
Please see Section 14.4.5 for Intel Itanium
terminology.
__________________________________________________________
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
14-28
Hardware Information
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.hp.com/go/openvms/doc/
When purchasing a system, ensure that the system itself
is supported, that the system disk drive is supported
or closely compatible, that the optical (CD or DVD)
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.hp.com/go/server
Alpha Technical information and documentation is available at:
o ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/products/alphaCPUdocs/
o http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/software/alpha-
tools/
o ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/systems/
o http://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/info/semiconductor/literature/dsc-
library.html
14-29
Hardware Information
o Alpha Systems Update:
http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/fb_acu.html
Software Product Description (SPD) information,
including platform support documentation:
o http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx,
and SPD 82.35.xx.
Information on Multia hardware is available at:
o http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/alpha/multiafaq.html
Information on DEC 3000 series hardware is available
at:
o http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~prescott/linux/alpha/dec3000-
sysinfo.html
o http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~prescott/linux/alpha/dec3000-
docs.html
o http://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/misc/dec-
docs/index.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
14-30
Hardware Information
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.
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.
14-31
Hardware Information
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.
Please see Section 10.22 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 4.2.
14-32
Hardware Information
__________________________________________________________
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.
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" ; into the required offset position within a
longword transfer;
The EV56 microprocessor supports byte/word instruction
references in memory space, however only specific EV56
systems can support byte/word accesses into I/O space;
device drivers may or may not be able to utilize to
byte/word instructions to access device registers.
Further, even on an EV56 system with hardware support
for byte/word accesses into I/O space, the relevant
OpenVMS routines typically do not support byte/word
access into I/O space.
Systems based on the EV6 microprocessor (with the
salient 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 correctly process the swizzling
requirements without requiring changes the driver;
OpenVMS will transparently swizzle and unswizzle the
14-33
Hardware Information
I/O space references, if needed for the particular
target platform. (Access and use of these routines may
or may not be feasible within the requirements for a
particular device driver, with the decision typically
based on the target performance requirements and the
expected frequency of device references and thus the
expected frequency of calls to these or other similar
routines.)
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 referencing I/O space
access across a range of Alpha systems such as is done
with the X Windows device drivers, then the driver will
need to know how to do swizzling for old platforms,
and byte access for new platforms. Device drivers for
new graphics controllers can specifically target and
specifically require platforms based on EV6 and later
Alpha microprocessors because of this requirement, for
instance.
Please see Section 10.22 and Section 14.7 for
additional details and related considerations.
__________________________________________________________
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;
14-34
Hardware Information
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)
__________________________________________________________
14.12 Where can I find more info about VAX systems?
o HP provides limited VAX platform information via
links at the AlphaServer website, itself available
via:
http://www.hp.com/go/server/
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
14-35
Hardware Information
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
o 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
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.
14-36
Hardware Information
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
o 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.
Also see Section 14.8, Section 4.2.
14-37