CHARON-AXP for Windows 64bit
VERSION 4.1 Build 129-04 (Production)
Release notes

Please review the Release Notes and refer to the User Manual before proceeding with installation or upgrade of CHARON-AXP

1. Products included in the CHARON-AXP release version 4.1 build 129-04

In this document the term CHARON-AXP is used to refer to all the products below:

• CHARON-AXP/4100 for Windows 64bit
• CHARON-AXP/DS10 for Windows 64bit
• CHARON-AXP/DS20 for Windows 64bit
• CHARON-AXP/ES40 for Windows 64bit
• CHARON-AXP/GS80 for Windows 64bit
• CHARON-AXP/GS160 for Windows 64bit
• CHARON-AXP/GS320 for Windows 64bit

2. Supported software platforms

• Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate (SP1) Editions 64 bit version
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard (SP1) Edition 64 bit version (please notice that only R2 revision is supported)
• Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard (SP2) Edition 64 bit version
• Windows XP Professional (SP2) 64 bit version

3. Hosting hardware recommendations

• The number of available (Intel or AMD) CPU cores in the hosting server or VMware virtual appliance should be at least 1.5 times of the number of emulated AXP CPU cores
• The recommended number of available (Intel or AMD) CPU cores in the hosting server or VMware virtual appliance is twice the number of emulated AXP CPU cores
• Intel Xeon 566x, 567x, 5680, 5690 and Intel Core i7 97x, 98x, 99x CPUs are recommended for optimal CHARON-AXP performance for configurations with up to eight emulated AXP cores
• The Intel Xeon X7560 and faster CPUs are recommended for optimal CHARON-AXP performance for configurations with eight and more emulated AXP cores
• Non-ECC DDR3 1600 MHz and 1333 MHz RAM is recommended for optimal CHARON-AXP performance
• Please refer to this knowledge base article for RAID controller and mode configuration recommendations

4. New functionality introduced in build 129-04

• CHARON-AXP version changed to 4.1.
• CHARON-AXP is supported on VMware ESXi 4.1 update 1.
• CHARON-AXP comes with the maximum amount of RAM allowed by emulated model. Please refer to the product SPDs for the details.
• The following license information could be updated without stopping CHARON-AXP: expiration date and backup time counter. This change allows CHARON evaluation or annual licenses to be updated "on the fly" to the permanent production licenses or to the next year annual licenses. Please notice that other CHARON configuration parameters should remain unchanged.
• Additional CHARON-AXP instances and products could be added to the license "on the fly".
• New Alpha emulated models are added to CHARON-AXP/4100 product:
  • AlphaServer 800 (single AXP CPU)
  • AlphaServer 1000 (single AXP CPU) 
  • AlphaServer 1000A (single AXP CPU)
  • AlphaServer 1200 (dual AXP CPUs).
• IDLE Utility is supported for single CPU Alpha emulators.
• CHARON network packet driver name "packet_port" in CHARON configuration file had been made platform independent. It is still possible to use "ndis5_chpack_port" and "ndis6_chpack_port" names of the driver, however it's recommended to update CHARON-AXP configuration file (see section 5).
• All network connections have "Half Duplex 10BaseT" mode by default.
• The Installation procedure displays the End User Agreement and asks user to agree with it in order to proceed.
• The CHARON Service Management Utility has been changed to be present in the Windows Tray at all times. It can be accessed and used to manage CHARON-AXP application.

5. Configuration changes required when upgrading from previous versions of CHARON-AXP to build 129-04

• A CHARON-AXP license update is required
• The user that that runs CHARON-AXP must have local administrator privileges
• CHARON-VAX executables, libraries, and data (container files/disks) should be excluded from all the antivirus checks, including on-the-fly checks and scheduled scans
• HT (Hyper-Threading Technology) should be disabled on the hosting server, if using Intel CPUs capable of HT
• DEP (Data Execution Prevention) should be set to "Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only"
• Power management and screen saver should be switched off on the hosting server
• The Tru64 kernel needs to be rebuilt for the emulated AS400 AXP model that is included in the CHARON-AXP/4100 product
• If CHARON-AXP is being moved to another hosting platform and direct the SCSI access method is used to access some SCSI devices (mainly disks), the new hosting platfrom SCSI drivers should support the SCSIport method. If drivers supporting SCSIport method are not available, direct SCSI access cannot be used. This is most likely to be the case for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 (R2) disk controller drivers.
  This restriction mainly applies to the disk access. Most tape drivers currently support SCSIport. When direct SCSI access is used for devices without Windows drivers, this restriction does not apply.
  The recommended workaround is to use CHARON-AXP disk container files or the \\.\PhysicalDriveX method.
  Please refer to this knowledge base article for additional information
• interface="connection:..." syntax should be used in CHARON-AXP configuration file. Please refer to this knowledge base article  for the details.
• The packet_port keyword in the CHARON-AXP configuration file could be used on any hosting platform instead of platform specific ndis5_chpack_port (Windows Server 2003 (R2), Windows XP) and ndis6_chpack_port (Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7). CHARON configuration file lines:
  load ndis5_chpack_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
  load ndis6_chpack_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
  could be replaced with:
  load packet_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
• For the emulated network adapters the communication speed and mode should be set manually in the CHARON-AXP configuration file. For example:
  load DE500BA/dec21x4x EWA interface=EWA0
  load packet_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
  set EWA adapter_mode="100BaseT-FD"
  Please note that the actual network communication speed and mode is determined by the Windows network speed and mode settings. This configuration change is required to avoid network timeouts in VMS/Tru64 during negotiation phase. This behavior will be fixed in the next CHARON-AXP release
• Intelligent packet processing should be switched off for the network ports dedicated to CHARON-AXP. Below are examples of the correct settings -- the exact naming of the parameters depends on the network adapter driver:
  Offload receive Ip checksum = off
  Offload receive tcp ckecksum = off
  Offload Transmit Ip checksum = off
  Offload Transmit TCP checksum = off
• A patch bringing CHARON-AXP to build 129-05 should be installed if CHARON-AXP is used on Windows Server 2008 R2 aqnd Windows 7 on VMware. Please refer to the Patches folder on the kit download location for the details.

6. Problems fixed in build 129-04

• CHARON-AXP networking on VMware on Windows 2008 R2 was not working. Please install a patch to bring CHARON-AXP to the build level 129-05. (ID#3023)
• CHARON-AXP service is unable to show its console window if RDP is used for connection to the host (ID#3179, 3180)
• CHARON-AXP  may report the host opertating system incorrectly in its log (ID#3167)
• Sometimes the "Failed to create symbolic link to the packet driver" error blocks CHARON-AXP normal networking despite its configuration is correct (ID#2554, 3182)
• The license expires at the day before the correct day (ID#3189)
• An A (UNIX) in os_bootflags while booting VMS enters a tight loop on CHARON-AXP (ID#3195)
• A problem stopping CHARON if it is running service in "automatic" mode from the CHARON Service Manager utility. (ID#2624)

7. Problems fixed in previous builds

• The message "Failed to locate the "TTAx" for the line xx" displayed for intentionally not confiured TTA lines is removed (ID#2650)
• "Auto Negotiation detected link down" message is reported on OpenVMS 7.2-1H1 (ID#2953)
• Failed to construct a ufs file system on physical drive during Tru64 5.1B installation (ID#2991)
• OpenVMS device error count is equal to 1 for virtual disks RZ22, RZ23 is thay have been created with the MKDISK utility (ID#3071)
• AS800 emulator does not perform the "power off" command properly (ID#3094)
• GS320 emulator is unable to boot any OS (VMS, Tru64) (ID#3125)
• AS800 emulator: incorrect required licenses units (ID#3090)
• Mode pages 3 and 4 is not implemened for SCSI CD-ROMs (ID#2983)
• Inconsistent PCI bus configuration naming for AlphaServer DS10L emulator (ID#3148)
• CHARON-AXP Services issue on Windows Vista Business 64bit: CHARON execution failure on the service installation and the service termination if RDP is used (ID#3138)
• Inconsistency in CHARON-AXP service dependencies: lost of depencency on the TCP/IP service (ID#3137)
• CHARON-AXP service stopped unexpectedly in 15 munutes after it was started. Log is clear of any problem reports (ID#3134)
• CHARON-AXP service failed to start/stop at scheduled time (ID#3115)
• HP True64 V5.1B fails to initialize FC adapter (ID#3103)
• Strange messahe is displayed w/o any mis-functioning: "Invalid thread identifier. :  OPA0: Failed to stop the application." (ID#3084)
• Launcher hungup: Service Install Dialog does not Respond (ID#3083)
• SPEC2k test running on Tru64 fails on gzip test (only on CHARON-AXP running on AMD platform) (ID#3037)
• Unable to install AS2x00/AS4x00 emulators ("--install" command) (ID#2294)
• Service start problem on Win2008: CHARON Service Manager cannot detect state of CHARON service correctly (ID#2266)
• Some problems with PBXDA-xx: "Failed to locate pci_5" (ID#3147)
• CHARON-AXP fails when performing 'newfs' operation on physical scsi disk partition (ID#3113)
• Windows Server 2008 CN: "Invisible" Installation Log (empty log file) (ID#2678)
• ds10l.exe installation fails on Win2008 Chinese version (ID#2685)
• DE435 is offline with VMS 6.2-1H3 on AS4100 (ID#2680)
• The firmware does not detect DE450 adapter and therefore does not print it in the device list (ID#2652)
• DE450 remains OFFLINE in VMS (ID#2653)
• Problem using CDROM on an HP blade server via USB (ID#2651)
• Digital UNIX 4.0B fails to install on AlphaServer 400 (ID#2631)
• Console logs are not appended to by default (ID#2628)
• AS400 Emulator crash while installing Digital UNIX 4.0F (ID#2619)
• AS2000 and AS2100 unable to "create an instance of the component dec_21040" (ID#2597)
• Incorrect behavior on HALT command in kernel mode (ID#2595)
• ES40 Emulator crashed when performing the SWINGBENCH test (ID#2586)
• -FILE boot option of the SRM console was not implemented (ID#2102)
• A file "mkdisk.vtable" is absent in the kit -- without it MKDISK cannot start (ID#2589).
• The configuration template for the AS400 model has incorrect HW_MODEL syntax and is missing the PKB bus (ID#2373).
• Incorrect text encoding in the NetDiag help on Chinese systems (ID#2373).
• Tru64 V5.1B was unable to load driver for DEC 21040 PCI Ethernet Adapter (ID#2304).
• CHARON-AXP crashed on UETP test (ID#2348).
• Ticket #7079: Charon crashed on a production system with segmentation violation (ID#2389)
• The old .BIN files lead to CHARON misbehavior. It should be replaced for new one (ID#2447)
• A disk device goes offline suddenly with the "mount verification in progress" message (ID#2512)
• Tru64/tar utility is unable to write if the output device is a tape. (ID#2383)
• Failed to unload the virtual tape on Tru64. (ID#2385)
• VMS 7.2-1 booted on DS10L and DS20 with FC Pass-Through enabled hangs VMS. (ID#2390)
• Some configured disks disappeared from the OpenVMS environment (SRM console) under CHARON-AXP/B108 AS4100.(ID#2393)
• CHARON-AXP/ES40 is unable to boot Tru64 from FC attached disk (ID#2412).
• TOY data (including data/time) is not saved (ID#2414).
• Install procedure does not issue warnings when unsupported host platform is used (ID#2431).
• Putty Console does not work (no proper session is available) when CHARON-AXP runs as a service (ID#2452).
• Ticket #7682: "BOOT EWA0" command in the SRM console leads to the emulators hanging (ID#2469).
• ID#2470 - Ticket #7684: BOOT DKA500 may boot from wrong device.
• ID#2471 - Ticket #7687: Pressing "F6" button terminates emulator. The default behavior has been changed to "none".
• Ticket #7716: SRM console HELP command is missing (ID#2472).
• Network Control Center utility does not recognize teamed interfaces (ID#2331)
• Some license messages are absent in the LOG file, for example "the license is expired" (ID#2040)
• NFS issue: "cp" command never ends and the "cp" process becomes zombie (ID#2257)
• SRM variables get saved in wrong console variables (ID#2295)
• Handling of some exceptional cases in DIT2 due to resource lock must be implemented to avoid possible overflow (ID#2404).
• Grammar error in message text: some typos had been corrected (ID#2428)
• Embedded network adapters and additional ones (having the same name) conflict without any notification (ID#2429)
• System hangs OpenVMS 7.1-2 with printing jobs (ID#2441)
• Compilation of C code using FP flags /FLOAT=IEEE /IEEE=DENORM result in zero values (ID#2446)
• log_method="append" does not work if specified separately from the other configuration commands for the logging definition (ID#2450).
• Utilities help does not start on "F1" on Windows 2008 / Vista operating systems (ID#2498)
• Ultrium tape drive fails on all VMS commands (ID#2386)
• Ticket #7774: Problems NDIS6 driver - memory leak was found (ID#2490)
• Many question marks sometimes displayed in the Network Control Center Chinese help file (ID#2373)
• Tape error: "-BACKUP-F-NOTANSI, tape is not valid ANSI format" (ID#2521)
• Exception (C0000005): Segmentation violation occurs on different configuration and applications (ID#2527, 2528, 2534, 2510)
• The OpenVMS V8.3 CPUSANITY bugcheck while performing KGPSA initialization
• Outgoing FTP hang problem on GS80/GS160 models (ID#1999)
• A problem with Fortran compiled code generating exceptions (ID#145)
• Several problems with physical tapes including tape initialization, label handling, tape restore, and Files-11 file system on the tape
• A problem reporting version 2.2 instead of 2.3 in the SRM console
• A problem with VMS freezing during shutdown
• A problem with freezing VMS boot after "%PKQDRIVER-W- PKA0, Chip reset failed, trying again" error message
• A problem with EW devices not showing up at AS2x00 CRM console
• A problem with multi instance configuration preventing more than one CHARON-AXP instance from running
• A problem with certain CPU affinity configurations causing "division by zero" crash
• "Back" button does not always work during installation
• An error message could appear during uninstallation of CHARON-AXP through Control Panel
• Setting particular disk and tape types with media_type parameter on KZPBA is not supported for \\PhysicalDriveX configuration style
• Emulated PCI network adapter DE435 is not recognized in the AXP SRM console, however it is recognized and works for the guest OS.
• CHARON-AXP may wrongly report that no license is present if the correct license is present.
• Too many scheduled starts and stops of CHARON-AXP service in a short period of time could cause CHARON-AXP crash.
• AlphaServer model 2100 could have problems with initializing of the network controller (DECchip 21040).
• CHARON Network Control Center utility does not have proper Simplified Chinese interface.
• Ultrium SCSI-1 DAT-72 tape drives currently do not work with CHARON-AXP.
• Virtual tape cannot be unloaded and container file replaced on Tru64.

8. Known restrictions of build 129-04

• CHARON-AXP does not emulate LSI 53C810 SCSI controller. CHARON-AXP emulates Qlogic KZPBA SCSI controller, which is the reason for the earliest supported VMS version to be 6.2-1H3, earliest supported Tru64 version to be 3.2. (ID#2291). If the driver for KZPBA is installed on an earlier version of VMS or Tru64 before system transfer to CHARON-AXP, it will function on CHARON-AXP.
• Non fatal "ERRFMT BUGCHECK" message may appear on boot from a backup disk created by CHARON-AXP. This message does not affect OpenVMS normal startup (ID#3123)
• When running CHARON-AXP as a service, the following error message could be seen in the log. This message has no impact on CHARON service operations and can be safely ignored. It will be removed from the log file in the next CHARON-AXP release.
  20110720:170156:ERROR:2:00000340:ethane.cxx(4092):  000007FEFD5AAA7D: Exception (000006BA):
  Exception (000006BA) at 000007FEFD5AAA7D: Unknown
• Removable storage not removable: usage of virtual CD-ROM locks it image file (ID#3251)
• DECtray utility does not display right DECnet address on Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 (ID#3250)
• NDIS driver problems are not logged in correct instance (if more than 1 instance is running at the same time) and in log files at all (ID#3249)
• Sometimes CHARON remote node may be not reachable when "ace_mode=true" (ID#3211)
• OPA0 console of CHARON service does not appear if not "Administrator" is starting the service (ID#3209)
• DS20 initializing is too long under Windows 2008 R2 (ID#3194)
• Tru64 UNIX 5.1b fails to install on GS80 when FC is configured (ID#3192)
• Digital UNIX 4.0g fails to install on AS4100 when FC is configured (ID#3191)
• Serial port (TTA) mapping does not work correctly if Tru64 is running on AXP emulators. In case of OpenVMS the emulators are free of this problem (ID#3133)
• On AS400 the "ERRFMT BUGCHECK" may appear while backupings an OpenVMS 6.2-1H3 boot disk  (ID#3123)
• "Host stoped respoding" message may be displayed if VT100 terminal works via LAT (ID#3124)
• DE500BA is not available under OpenVMS 6.2-1H3 on AS1200/AS4000/AS4100 (ID#3091)
• DE500BA device error count will be equal to 1 on OpenVMS 8.2/8.3 (ID#2963)
• Virtual Netwrok Card Connection may fail in certain situations (ID#3114)
• CHARON-AXP services do not give clear information indicating missing license key on startup (ID#3116)
• Direct SCSI access only supports Windows SCSI devices which use a SCSIport driver. These include most of the device drivers on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 (R2), and most non disk devices on Windows 7 and Server 2008 (R2). If SCSIport is not supported (and Storport method is used instead), direct SCSI access cannot be used.
  This is most likely to be the case for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 (R2) disk controller drivers.
  This restriction mainly applies to the disk access. Most part of tape drivers currently support SCSIport. When direct SCSI access is used for devices without Windows drivers, this restriction does not apply.
• Performance tests could hang VMS 6.2-1H3 on emulated AS400.
• The message "MODEL NOT INSTALLED" occurs when trying to start Charon on Windows 7/2008/2008R2/Vista via the Launcher utility. Workaround: Run the "Launcher.exe" utility from Administrator (right click of the mouse on the executable, "run from Administrator" option). (ID#2557)
• CHARON-AXP modem communication sometimes may fail. This problem is under investigation. (ID#2642)
• UETP fails on a tape image if CHARON runs on VMware (ID#2427)
• CHARON-AXP does not emulate VGA adapters, thus OPA0 is always a system console. So all the applications hardcoded to use OPA0 and TTA0 as their own interfaces may not function correctly.
• Network speed auto negotiation works with some restrictions (see the table below). It is always recommended to use full duplex mode on the hosting server.
  

  Host settings	VMS (autodetect mode)	Tru64 (autodetect mode)
  1 Gbps full duplex	100 Mbps full duplex	100 Mbps full duplex
  1 Gbps half duplex	100 Mbps half duplex	100 Mbps half duplex
  100 Mbps full duplex	100 Mbps full duplex	100 Mbps full duplex
  100 Mbps half duplex	100 Mbps half duplex	100 Mbps half duplex
  10 Mbps full duplex	10 Mbps full duplex	10 Mbps full duplex
  10 Mbps half duplex	10 Mbps half duplex	10 Mbps half duplex

• The virtual Alpha firmware is designed to support a maximum of 48 devices.
• The firmware does not support the command recall using the up/down arrow keys.
• MUX network driver installation could crash Simplified Chinese Windows s
• The VMS 7.x Monitor utility shows the maximum CPU quantity instead of actually configured quantity. It is a VMS 7.x restriction, and does not apply to VMS 8.x.
• Running Alpha Linux on the virtual Alpha is not supported
• Use of IDE is limited to ATAPI CDROM on the host machine. No iSCSI support is planned for IDE. UETP may produce  error messages if IDE emulation is used.
• Floppy disks are not supportede.
• A Telnet session from OpenVMS running on emulated host freezes console output. The console output can hang when the virtual serial line sends XOFF/XON sequence. The TELNET client sends XOFF to the remote node's TELNET server to suspend output, but for unknown reason XON is discarded and remote node's TELNET server is unable to resume output. The console remains "frozen". As the remote site is not sending any output to it. When that happens, the local node is reachable over network, and can be unlocked by typing the 'break' character - usually "Ctrl-]" and exiting telnet session by typing "exit" at "TELNET>" prompt.
• The terminal emulator putty.exe may not work correctly during UNIX Tru64 installation if it does not use the standard sessions like OPA0, TTA1 etc. This happens when putty.exe is connected using TELNET and the key "Return" sends Telnet New Line instead of ^M escape sequence. Use the RAW connection ("-raw" switch): set OPA0 port=10003 application= "putty.exe -raw localhost:10003". For TELNET connection uncheck the box "Return key sends Telnet New Line instead of ^M" in the Change Configuration ... / Connection /Telnet. Alternatively use a commercial terminal emulator or connect hardware VTxxxx via a serial port or server (ID#2717)
• Emacs hangs if the OPA0 console is used. Emacs works fine over an SSH connection.
• Running as a Service may fail as the Service manager may not be able to identify all configured disks.
• CHARON-AXP does not support virtual network adapters (i.e. MS bridges, etc.).
• CHARON-AXP has limited support for teamed network adapters. They can used only if the MAC address of the virtual VMA or Tru64 network adapter is not changed during CHARON-AXP session. In which case the desired MAC address should not be set manually in the properties of the network team or in the CHARON-AXP configuration file using the "station_address=XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX" configuration option.
• VMS 7.2-1 should be patched to the latest level in order to use Emulex FC adapters in pass-through mode.
• Please note that CHARON-AXP has not been tested with SAN attached storage over 2TB in size.
• The log of CHARON in simplified-Chinese cannot be opened by the Wordpad and Notepad text viewers. Some solution should be found for displaying the log (ID#2358)
• Virtual network adapter works incorrectly on Win2003-64: some duplicate packets are found on PING operation, "SET HOST" does not work, etc. (ID#2364).
• Tru64 temperature monitoring should be disabled. It could cause Tru64 version 5.x shutdown with the message: "system fan has failed, system is shutting down now". If installing Tru64 from scratch, do not install envmon package. If it is already installed, disable automatic startup by  booting into SINGE USER mode and issue the following command:
  rm -f /sbin/rc?.d/*envmon
  then "exit" (Ctrl-D) to multi user mode.

9. New functionality introduced in the previous Production version 2.4 build 118-05

• A new product, CHARON-AXP/GS320, is now available for AlphaServer GS320 replacements. Please refer to the SPD for details
• A new emulated model AlphaServer 400 supporting 1 AXP CPU and up to 1 GB of memory is included into CHARON-AXP/4100
• CHARON-AXP supports Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
• The Network Control Center supports all AXP network interfaces
• DCI-1100 is supported via the pass-through driver
• Support of the PBXDA-BB and PBXDA-AC serial line adapters is available via the DIGI pass-through driver
• Ctrl-P, CONTINUE and CRASH commands implemented in SRM console
• CHARON utilities support for simplified Chinese Windows had been introduced
• Logging message format and content has been improved. Logfiles are opened in append mode by default
• The 'repeated messages' logging filter is enabled by default
• MkDisk utility has been expanded to handle .VDISK metadata
• A full de-installation removes all CHARON settings and files.
• SRM Console and advanced network configuration settings have been documented