[Simh] VAX 8200

[Ethan Dicks]

On Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 5:14 PM, Robert Armstrong <bob at jfcl.com> wrote:
>> I might have a DCL script to build a console floppy from files on the system volume
>
>   FWIW, on the 7xx machines there was a DCL script provided by DEC called CONSCOPY.

Yes.  I recall it.

>  It used EXCHANGE to copy the console media to a disk container and vice versa.

Yep.

> Can't remember if the 8200/8300 machines had the same thing, but I wouldn't be surprised.  I'm pretty sure the 8200/8300 console floppies were in RT11 format, so EXCHANGE would do the job.

IIRC, yes, the floppies are in RT-11 format, and on a true
random-access device like a floppy, CONSCOPY or anything else should
just do the job.  What I started with, though, was managing 11/730s in
the mid-80s and was optimizing the order of files on the console tape
to be in the order they were requested, so a 30-minute boot process
fell to under 5 minutes... nearly all the time spent was doing serial
transfers with far, far less tape motion.  This optimization wasn't
required with RX50 console media, but I still likely backed things up
out of deeply-ingrained habit.  Have to fire up that box and check.

-ethan