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Creation of

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By default, all the CHARON templates are located in the "C:\Program Files (x86)\CHARON\Build_XXXXX\x86" (x64) or "C:\Program Files\CHARON\Build_XXXXX\x86" (x86)  folder. Copy the appropriate template configuration file(s) to your home directory (or to any directory intended for CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP).

Please do not edit the original template configuration files since they can be updated or even removed on update/deinstallation of CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP

Once the file has been created you can open it in "Notepad" editor (or use the "CHARON Launcher" utility to open the configuration file) and proceed with modification to reflect the exact features of the system you are going to emulate.

We will review all the parameters step by step issuing some recommendations and guidelines.

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CHARON VM configuration

Once you have created a CHARON Virtual Machine (VM) in CHARON Virtual Machine Manager using some template you should update this sample template to meet the desired configuration of your HP Alpha.

This configuration is represented as a text file ("configuration file") containing some specific keywords to define the HP Alpha main settings such as amount of memory, number of CPUs, peripheral devices as well as specifics of CHARON VM executions such as name of VM log file, number of host CPUs used for emulation, etc.

To change the configuration file, run the CHARON Virtual Machine Manager from its shortcut on Desktop / Start menu or from the tray menu item, select the target CHARON VM and either press the "Change VM" button or select the "VM Configuration" tab:

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In the appearing dialog press the "Edit Configuration file" button:

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Edit the CHARON VM configuration using the default text editor:

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The first configuration statement is the specification of the exact VAX/PDP11 hardware model to emulate, for example:

You must leave this line untouched.

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The next configuration statement is the "Configuration name" option:

You can optionally uncomment this line to differentiate this CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP instance from all others in a multi-instance environment. The configuration name can be any label that is meaningful.

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Here is an example of a CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP log file:

The next group of parameters defines the name of the CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP log file and how CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP will use it:

Rotating log (default)

By default CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP utilizes a so-called "rotating log". This means that a new default log file is always created each time CHARON starts and can switch to another log file if the size of the log file exceeds 64Kb.

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Names of the rotating log files are composed as follows:

If the "Configuration name" parameter described before is omitted (commented out), the log name has the following format instead:

Note that "xxxxxxxxx" is an increasing decimal number starting from "000000000" to separate log files with the same time of creation.

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Below is a specification of a CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP log file located in the "?:\My logs" directory which will be overwritten each time CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP starts:

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TOY means "Time of Year"; its container records time, date and some console parameters while CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP is not running. To enable, uncomment the following line:

The ROM container stores an intermediate state of the Flash ROM and some console parameters. So its container is also recommended to keep uncommented:

EEPROM stores the NVRAM content, so its container is also recommended to keep uncommented:

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PDP11/93 and PDP11/94 emulators require the KW11 system timer to be configured:

Just uncomment the line corresponding to the frequency used in the RSX11/RT11 systems to be migrated.

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The next setting indicates whether CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP will use Advanced CPU Emulation (ACE) mode:

Note that ACE significantly speeds up CHARON execution.

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The next parameter defines the amount of host memory the chosen CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP model reserves for the emulation:

The amount of RAM is specified in MB. It cannot exceed or be lower than certain values specific for each VAX/PDP11 model. It is very important to keep the listed predefined increment between possible memory values.

The following table shows all the parameters:

It is possible to leave the RAM line commented out. In this case the model's default RAM amount is used. 

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Console

Mapping to system resources

The next step is the specification of the VAX/PDP11 console (OPA0) serial line:

The goal of this configuration step is to tell CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP what host device to use as the virtual system console. The following options are available:

The default setting is:

Note that the VAX 4000 and MicroVAX 3100 models have a 4-line QUART adapter onboard, so their configuration for the console line looks a bit different:

In case of VAX 4000 and MicroVAX 3100 models, it is possible to configure up to 4 independent console lines: OPA0, TTA0, TTA1 and TTA2. The main one is OPA0.

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It is also recommended to set a hot key to stop the guest from the console in addition to the system tray icon:

This line provides CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP the ability to exit by pressing the "F6" button.

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The examples below are for MSCP and SCSI controllers only. DSSI controllers are discussed in details in the following section, CI controllers - in this section.

MSCP disk controllers (RQDX3, KDB50, KDM70)

Below is a typical configuration sample for MSCP disk controller RQDX3:

#load RQDX3 DUA

#set DUA container[0]="<file-name>.vdisk"
#set DUA container[1]="\\.\PhysicalDrive<N>"
#set DUA container[2]="\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID = <XXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX>)"
#set DUA container[3]="\\.\PhysicalDrive(iScsiTarget = <iSCSI target>, LUN = <LUN number>)"
#set DUA container[4]="\\.\CdRom<N>"
#set DUA container[5]="<file-name>.iso"
#set DUA container[6]="\\.\A:"
#set DUA container[7]="\\.\H:"

#load RQDX3 DUB address=...
#load RQDX3 DUC address=...

The first line ("load RQDX3 DUA") loads disk controller RQDX3 with name DUA, followed by 6 lines showing different ways of mapping to the host resources:

• Mapping to the file representing a physical disk of the VAX/PDP11 system (disk image).

  • "<file-name>.vdisk"
    These files can be created from scratch with "MkDisk" utility. Data and OS disks backups are transferred from the original system via tapes or network and restored into these container files.

    Mapping may also include the full path (recommended), for example: "C:\My disks\my_boot_disk.vdisk" 

    Example:

    set DUA container[0]="my_bootable_disk.vdisk"

    .

• Mapping to physical disk.

  • "\\.\PhysicalDrive<N>"
    Be careful not to destroy all the information from the disk dedicated to CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP by mistake. These disks must not be formatted by the host OS.  
    
    Example:
    

    set DUA container[1]="\\.\PhysicalDrive1"

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• Mapping to physical disk by its WWID.
  
  • "\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID = <XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX>)"
    Be careful not to destroy all the information from the disk dedicated to CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP by mistake. These disks must not be formatted by the host OS.
    

    DevID addresses the target physical disk by its WWID (hexadecimal 128-bit identifier assigned to the disk drive by its manufacturer/originator).

    Example:

    Div class small set DUA container[2]="\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID= 6008-05F3-0005-2950-BF8E-0B86-A0C7-0001)"

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• Mapping to iSCSI disks.

  • "\\.\PhysicalDrive(iScsiTarget = <iSCSI target>, LUN = <LUN number>)"
    iScsiTarget addresses the disk by its iSCSI target name. LUN specifies LUN on connected iSCSI disk.

    Example:

    Div class small set DUA container[3]="\\.\PhysicalDrive(iScsiTarget= iqn.2008-04:iscsi.charon-target-test1, LUN= 1)"

     

     

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• Mapping to CD-ROM device.

  • "\\.\CdRom<N>"

    Example:

    set DUA container[4]="\\.\CdRom0"

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• Mapping to an ISO file for reading distribution CD-ROM image.

  • "<file-name>.iso"

    Mapping may also include the full path (recommended), for example: "C:\My disks\vms_distributive.iso"

    Example:
    

    set DUA container[5]="vms_distributive.iso"

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• Mapping to Floppy drive. 
  

  • "\\.\A:"

    Example:
    

    set DUA container[6]="\\.\A:"

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•  Mapping to some other type of drive, for example magneto-optical drive.  

  • "\\.\<N>:"

    Example:
    

    set DUA container[6]="\\.\H:"

    .
    

Numbers in the square brackets represent unit numbers associated with each container of the MSCP controller. For example, the 3rd "set DUA" line of the configuration sample above creates disk "DUA2". The maximum unit number allowed is 9999, significantly more than the original hardware provided.

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Note that the KDM70 controller is capable of mapping to files representing tapes (tape images) and physical tape devices:

Follow this link for details of (T)MSCP controllers configuration.

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SCSI controller NCR53C94

The VAX 4000 and MicroVAX 3100 have an NCR53C94 SCSI controller onboard for support of different types of SCSI devices including disks and tapes. Optionally a second controller can be added.

Below is a typical configuration template for a preloaded "PKA" NCR53C94 SCSI controller:

Note that NCR53C94 SCSI controller mapping to system resources is done via specific auxiliary objects:

Let's look at the syntax of the mapping objects. All of them have several important parameters:

It is possible to configure another NCR53C94 SCSI controller "PKB" by uncommenting the "include kzdda.cfg" line:

In the example above "pkb_0" virtual SCSI device uses "PKB" controller by specifying a parameter "scsi_bus=pkb"

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Example statements to configure TQK50 are shown below:

The first line ("load TQK50 MUA") loads tape controller TQK50 with a name of MUA. The following 2 lines demonstrate different ways of mapping to host resources:

Numbers in the square brackets represent unit numbers associated with each container of the TQK50 controller. For example, the 2nd "set MUA" line of the configuration sample above creates tape drive "MUA1". The maximum unit number allowed is 9999, significantly more than the original hardware provided

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TUK50 is a UNIBUS controller used by the VAX 6310:

The first line loads a UNIBUS BI adapter "DWBUA". Then configure the "TUK50" tape controller the same way as the TQK50.

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All of them are configured according to the following template:

The first 5 lines of the example above demonstrate loading serial line controllers of different types. The name of the controller (in this example) will be "TXA"

Once the controller is loaded it can be mapped to system resources (lines 6-11). The following options are available:

Look at the line "set TXA line[0]=TXA0" in the example. This one and the following lines of similar syntax map the loaded virtual controller ("TXA") to instances of host serial lines ("TXA<N>").

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VAX 4000 and MicroVAX3100 support DHW42-AA, DHW42-BA and DHW42-CA serial lines adapters:

Configuring these adapters is the same as above, except it is possible to load one and only one instance of DHW42-AA, DHW42-BA or DHW42-CA.

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Networking

CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP supports DEQNA, DESQA, DELQA, DEUNA, DELUA, DEMNA, DEBNI and PMADAA virtual network adapters.

All of them are configured in a similar way:

In the example above the first line loads DELQA virtual adapter with a name "XQA"; the following 2 lines map it to host network interface having a name "Charon" ("connection" is a key word). Note that the mapping is performed in 2 steps:

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Some network adapters available in CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP are preloaded (for example, the SGEC controller for the MicroVAX 3100 with the predefined name "EZA"), so their configuration is even more simple:

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MicroVAX 3100, VAX/PDP11 6310 and VAX/PDP11 4000 boot automatically if correct boot flags are set with VAX/PDP11 console:

Please check that the TOY, EEPROM and ROM containers (see above) are enabled so console command changes are saved between reboots.

The ROM of certain VAXes (MicroVAX II, MicroVAX 3600, MicroVAX 3900, VAXserver 3600 and VAXserver 3900) does not allow the SRM console to accept the commands to enable auto booting. In this case, some parameters in the configuration file can be used instead:

CHARON-VAX 6000 models have a similar configuration setting:

CHARON-PDP models have the following setting:

These configuration lines are typically specified in the template configuration files (in commented out form). In case of absence please add the corresponding line according to the examples above.

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VAX 6620 through VAX6660 models emulate 2-6 CPUs respectively. In this situation, loading of the host system can be tuned with the following configuration file settings:

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