home bbs files messages ]

Forums before death by AOL, social media and spammers... "We can't have nice things"

   comp.os.vms      DEC's VAX* line of computers & VMS.      264,096 messages   

[   << oldest   |   < older   |   list   |   newer >   |   newest >>   ]

   Message 264,004 of 264,096   
   flexmcmurphy to flexmcmurphy   
   Re: SIMH + OpenVMS 5.5-2H4 standalone BA   
   26 Dec 25 12:09:25   
   
   From: plica2006@gmail.com   
      
   I think I have figured out what was happening here.   
      
   The device name (DUAx vs DJAx) assigned to the ISO file depends on what   
   SIMH version you are using:   
      
   SIMH v4.0-0 maintained by Mark Pizzolato:   
   https://github.com/simh/simh   
      
   Open SIMH v4.1-0   
   https://github.com/open-simh/simh   
      
   If your ISO file is small enough in size then with SIMH v4.0-0 (Mark   
   Pizzolato) you might get the device name: DJA1.   
      
   In my case I am trying to restore the save_set from an ISO of OpenVMS   
   v5.5-4H2.   
      
   Because the ISO is only about 204MB SIMH uses its internal logic   
   (autosize) to assign the ISO file a device type of RA60 because that is   
   the closest DEC device capacity drive that 204MB matches with. This is   
   what happens regardless if you start out with this in your ini file:   
      
   SET RQ3 CDROM   
   ATTACH RQ3 -r openvms_v5.5-4h2.iso   
      
   So SIMHv4.0-0 responds to a MRSP query from Standalone Backup with a   
   deviceID: (DJ - RA60) indicating that the device at that controller is   
   a removable device of type RA60. (DJ - Removable, DU Fixed). Standalone   
   Backup then uses it's own logic to translate this to a device name   
   DJA3.   
      
   If you disable AUTOSIZE then you will get DUA3 as the device name:   
   set rq3 cdrom   
   set rq3 NOAUTOSIZE   
   attach rq3 -r openvms_v5.5-4h2.iso   
      
   This is because SIMH v4.0-0 will now just respond to a MRSP query with   
   whatever device type you define in your ini file.   
      
   If you use Open SIMH v4.1-0 you will probably just get DUA3 as the   
   device name and not have to disable AUTOSIZE at all. I don't fully   
   understand how SIMH and Open SIMH differ in their device detection   
   logic but it seems that with Open SIMH if you put this in your ini   
   file:   
      
   SET RQ3 CDROM   
   ATTACH RQ3 -r openvms_v5.5-4h2.iso   
      
   Then Open SIMH WILL respond to an MRSP query that the device type is   
   CDROM and then Standalone Backup will see this as an RRD40 device and   
   create the device name DUA3.   
      
   CDROM device are also removable drives but whereas RA60 disks were   
   connected to MSCP controllers RRD40 disks were connected to DSA   
   controllers where any type of local disk were consolidated under DUAx   
   device naming. Not confusing at all!   
       
   Cheers,   
      
   Flex   
      
   -----Original Message-----   
   From: Sam Thomas    
   Subject: Re: SIMH + OpenVMS 5.5-2H4 standalone BACKUP: ISO appears as   
   DJAx not DUAx   
   Date: 18/12/25 17:05:41   
   Newsgroups: comp.os.vms   
      
   flexmcmurphy  wrote:   
   > Hello,   
   >    
   > I am installing OpenVMS VAX 5.5-2H4 under SIMH and am confused by   
   > how     
   > standalone BACKUP assigns device names when booted from installation   
   > media.   
   >    
   > This is where I got the ISO from (Server 1)     
   >    
   > Setup (simplified):     
   > - SIMH VAX (have tried MicroVAX 3900 and VAX 8600)     
   > - OpenVMS VAX 5.5-2H4 ISO attached as an RQ device (read-only)     
   > - Booting directly from the ISO into standalone BACKUP   
   >    
   > In standalone BACKUP, the installation media always appears as DJAx     
   > (device type RA60), not as DUAx, for example:   
   >    
   > Available device DJA3: device type RA60   
      
   Without seeing your setup, I can't tell you exactly why yours   
   results in DJA, but here is the relevant parts of the config I   
   used to do this exact thing. I don't remember exactly where   
   I got the base of my vax.ini, but it was one of the top   
   google results.    
      
   set rq0 rauser=8192   
   set rq1 rauser=8192   
   ### I suspect this is the bit you might be missing?   
    Configure a CD-ROM drive (RRD40) on disk interface RQ3   
   set rq3 cdrom   
   attach RQ0 /home/sthomas/vax/oldvax/data/rq0-big.dsk   
   attach RQ1 /home/sthomas/vax/oldvax/data/rq1.dsk   
   attach RQ3 -r /home/sthomas/vax/oldvax/iso/VMS55.iso   
      
   Cheers,   
   Sam   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)   

[   << oldest   |   < older   |   list   |   newer >   |   newest >>   ]


(c) 1994,  bbs@darkrealms.ca