[Simh] VAX 780 as a boot server

[Stephen Hoffman]

Robert Jarratt writes:

> I want to try using the SIMH VAX 780 as a boot server. I can't use  
> the 3900
> simulation as that needs a version of VMS that is too new (I need a  
> version
> prior to 5.4, and only have up to 4.7).

I'm not working with Mr Jarratt here, but based on the postings and  
discussions I've noticed scattered around so far, this is an attempt  
to transfer MicroVMS V4.1M over onto a MicroVAX II KA630 box, and boot  
it.  MicroVMS V4.1M being the first release with support for the  
MicroVAX II box and the KA630 processor.

Satellite or diskless or InfoServer boot probably won't help here as  
AFAIK none of this stuff was particularly ironed out and available  
until rather after V4.1M.  Clustering didn't get going until the later  
releases in V4 range and into the V5 range.

The usual load device for the MicroVAX II was floppy disk or TK50 or  
RRD50-series CD-ROM.   Forty or fifty some RX50 floppies, IIRC, for  
the full kit.

The usual hard disk was the RD52 via RQDX2, or (somewhat more rarely)  
RC25 via KLESI.

With a spare RD disk or swapped RD disk, the system could be gotten to  
boot a (far) more recent version of OpenVMS VAX via InfoServer  
(present in V8.2-1 and later) or via some other swappable media (TK or  
TF or disk), and that newer release could be used to restore V4.1M  
onto an RD52 or RC25.  Or move the RQDX2 or KLESI forward to a newer Q- 
bus box, and load the RD52 or RC25 with V4.1M there.

As for the "too new" question, creating a MicroVAX 3500 KA650 should  
be a straightforward tweak in simh from the current MicroVAX 3900  
(KA655), and the former boots on V4.7A and later.  But I don't know  
that this approach or the use of InfoServer or such is going to be  
effective here.  But I'd definitely try InfoServer here before I tried  
the other sequences here.  The next approach would be a completely  
satellite diskless boot of some V5-vintage OpenVMS VAX (that's new  
enough to work and be available, and old enough to accept the DEQNA;  
that's V5.4-3 or earlier) or temporarily swap the DEQNA for a DELQA or  
such, and then mount the disk remotely and BACKUP /IMAGE V4.1M down to  
the RD52 disk (and then swap back the DEQNA).


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