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General description

CHARON-AXP supports emulation of the following network adapters:

DE435
DE450
DE500AA
DE500BA
DE602
DE602AA

Each of them is a PCI Ethernet adapter based on the DEC21040 (DE435, DE450, DE500AA and DE500BA) and the Intel i8255x (DE602 and DE602AA) PCI Ethernet adapter chips for the HP Alpha.

CHARON-AXP maps the virtual adapter to a dedicated Ethernet adapter in the Windows host system.

All the emulated controllers are loaded and configured in the same way.

The Ethernet adapter in the Windows host system must support dynamic changes of its MAC address (i.e. no reboot of the host system is required to change the MAC address), which is the case with nearly all modern Ethernet adapters.

By default the PCI Ethernet adapters use first available PCI slot. If instead some particular slot is needed, refer to this section for details of specific placement of PCI peripherals on CHARON-AXP PCI bus.

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Configuration steps

To configure CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP AXP networking, follow these 3 steps:

Load network adapter (if required)
If you are configuring a DEQNA, DESQA, DELQA, DEUNA, DELUA, DEMNA, DEBNI or PMADAA adapter, use Use the "load" command as shown below. CHARON-VAX 3100/96/98 and 4000/106/108 emulations automatically load SGEC (with the name "EZA") and therefore no "load" command is required.
Example:
load DELQA/DEQNA NIC

Example:
For DEC21040 adapters For Intel i8255x adapters

load DE500BA/dec21x4x NIC

load DE602/i8255x NIC

Note
In AlphaStation 400 configuration use the following syntax for network adapter loading:
load DE500AA/dec21x4x NIC irq_bus=isa

By default each loaded virtual network adapter uses first available PCI slot. If instead some particular slot is neded, refer to this section for details of specific placement of PCI peripherals on CHARON-AXP PCI bus.
Load "packet_port"
Load "packet_port" to connect the SGEC, DEQNA, DESQA, DELQA, DEUNA, DELUA, DEMNA, DEBNI or PMADAA network adapter to the host hardware network card (or to a virtual network interface).

Example:
load packet_port/chnetwrk NDIS interface = "connection:Charon"
Connect the loaded "packet_port" to the loaded virtual network adapter
Connect the SGEC, DEQNA, DESQA, DELQA, DEUNA, DELUA, DEMNA, DEBNI or PMADAA adapter the network adapter to the "packet_port" by setting the interface name.

Example:
set NIC interface = NDIS

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SGEC Ethernet Controller

...

Configuration parameters

Each virtual network controller has the following parameters that are specified with the "set" command:

interface

Type
Parameter	interface

Value

interface

	Text String
Value	Name of the corresponding instance of the "packet_port" component

station_address

Parameter	station_address
Type	Text String
Value	The "station_address" provides the ability to configure the adapter’s permanent address. By default the adapter’s permanent address is read from the host system’s NIC

.Set the "station_address" when you need to configure a satellite (remotely booted) system that will run DECnet or when the migrated software uses the permanent address on the network adapter

.

Format:

XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX

or

XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX

Example:

set

eza

EWA station_address="AF:01:AC:78:1B:CC"

rx_fifo_size

Parameter

rx_fifo_size

Type

Numeric

Value

"rx_fifo_size" sets the receive FIFO size.

The value is specified in Kb and, by default, is pre-calculated from the connected port’s size of the receive queue.

Typically, you do not need to change the "rx_fifo_size" parameter. It is available for extended tuning and debugging purposes.

Example:

load packet_port/chnetwrk EZA0 interface = "connection:Charon"
set EZA interface = EZA0
set EZA station_address="0C:FE:35:AA:67:3B"

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DEQNA / DESQA / DELQA Ethernet Controller

CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP Q-bus systems provide support for DEQNA, DESQA, DELQA, DEUNA and DELUA Ethernet controllers.

Use the following command to load the instances of DEQNA, DESQA, DELQA, DEUNA or DELUA Ethernet controllers:

load DEQNA/DEQNA <logical name>
load DESQA/DEQNA <logical name>
load DELQA/DEQNA <logical name>
load DEUNA/DEUNA <logical name>
load DELUA/DEULA <logical name>

Example:

load DESQA/DEQNA XQA

DEQNA, DESQA, DELQA, DEUNA and DELUA offer the following configuration parameters that can be specified using the "set" command:

...

Parameter

...

Type

...

Value

...

address

...

Numeric

...

Specifies the CSR address. The address must be a valid QBUS and UNIBUS address in I/O space. Initial value is 017774440, which is the factory setting for DEQNA, DESQA and DELQA Ethernet controllers.

Use the address parameter if loading several instances of DEQNA, DESQA, DELQA, DEUNA and DELUA Ethernet controllers.

"address" parameter values must be unique for every instance of an DEQNA, DESQA, DELQA, DEUNA and DELUA Ethernet controller.

Example:

load DEQNA/DEQNA XQA address=017774440
load DEQNA/DEQNA XQB address=017764460

...

interface

...

Text String

...

Name of the corresponding instance of the "packet_port" component

...

Text String

...

"station_address" provides the ability to configure the adapter’s permanent address. By default the adapter’s permanent address is read from the host system’s NIC.

Set the "station_address" when you need to configure a satellite (remotely booted) system that will run DECnet or when the migrated software uses the permanent address on the network adapter.

Format:

XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX

or

XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX

Example:

set eza station_address="AF:01:AC:78:1B:CC"

...

rx_fifo_size

...

Numeric

...

"rx_fifo_size" sets the receive FIFO size.

The value is specified in Kb and by default is pre-calculated from the connected port’s size of the receive queue.

Typically, you do not need to change the "rx_fifo_size" parameter. It is available for extended tuning and debugging purposes.

Example:

...

adapter_mode

Parameter adapter_mode

Type Text String

Value

Assigns the link speed and the duplex settings of the virtual network adapter (except for DE602/DE602AA - see below).

The values are:

Parameter	Description
"Auto"	Auto-negotiate (default)
"10BaseT-HD"	10Mbps half duplex
"10BaseT-FD"	10Mbps full duplex
"100BaseT-HD"	100Mbps half duplex
"100BaseT-FD"	100Mbps full duplex

Example:

set EWA adapter_mode="100BaseT-HD"

Warning

Please note that this parameter controls only the setting which the emulated network adapter reports to the guest operating system running on CHARON. It does not change any settings of the host adapter mapped to the virtual adapter! In case if the settings of the host adapter have to be changed please refer to the host Operating System User's Guide for details on how to do it.

In case if "Auto" value is set CHARON collects the settings from the mapped host network adapter directly, assuming that all speeds above 100Mbps are represented as 100Mbps (maximum value). The resulting duplex setting corresponds to the duplex setting of the mapped host network adapter.

Example

load packet_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface = "connection:Charon"
set EWA interface = EWA0
set EWA station_address="0C:FE:35:AA:67:3B"

load packet_port/chnetwrk QNA0 interface = "connection:Charon"

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DEMNA Ethernet Adapter

CHARON-VAX/66X0 systems provide support for the DEMNA Ethernet controller.

Use the following command to load an instance of the DEMNA Ethernet controller:

load DEMNA/DEMNA <logical name>

Example:

load DEMNA/DEMNA EXA

DEMNA Ethernet controllers offer the following configuration parameters that can be specified using the "set" command:

...

Parameter

...

Type

...

Value

...

xmi_node_id

...

Number

...

Specifies the XMI slot in which the virtual DEMNA controller is placed.

For CHARON-VAX/66X0 a free slot between 10 (A) and 14 (E) must be chosen.

...

interface

...

Text String

...

Name of the corresponding instance of the "packet_port" component

...

Text String

...

The "station_address" provides the ability to configure the adapter’s permanent address. By default the adapter’s permanent address is read from the host system’s NIC.

Set the "station_address" when you need to configure a satellite (remotely booted) system which will run DECnet or when the migrated software uses the permanent address on the network adapter.

Format:

XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX

or

XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX

Example:

set eza station_address="AF:01:AC:78:1B:CC"

...

rx_fifo_size

...

Numeric

...

The "rx_fifo_size" sets the receive FIFO size.

The value is specified in Kb and, by default, is pre-calculated from the connected port’s size of the receive queue.

Typically, you do not need to change the "rx_fifo_size" parameter. It is available for extended tuning and debugging purposes.

Example:

load DEMNA/DEMNA EXA xmi_node_id = 11 interface = EXA0
set EXA station_address = "0C:FE:35:AA:67:3B"

load packet_port/chnetwrk EXA0 interface = "connection:Charon"

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DEBNI Ethernet Adapter

CHARON-VAX/63X0 systems provide support for the DEBNI Ethernet controller.

Use the following command to load an instance of the DEBNI Ethernet controller:

load DEBNI/DEMNA <logical name>

Example:

load DEBNI/DEMNA EXA

DEBNI Ethernet controllers offer the following configuration parameters that can be specified using the "set" command:

...

Parameter

...

Type

...

Value

...

vax_bi_node_id

...

Number

...

Specifies the VAXBI slot in which the virtual DEBNI controller is placed.

...

interface

...

Text String

...

Name of the corresponding instance of the "packet_port" component

...

Text String

...

The "station_address" provides the ability to configure the adapter’s permanent address. By default the adapter’s permanent address is read from the host system’s NIC.

Set the "station_address" when you need to configure a satellite (remotely booted) system which will run DECnet or when the migrated software uses the permanent address on the network adapter.

Format:

XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX

or

XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX

Example:

set eza station_address="AF:01:AC:78:1B:CC"

...

rx_fifo_size

...

Numeric

...

The "rx_fifo_size" sets the receive FIFO size.

The value is specified in Kb and, by default, is pre-calculated from the connected port’s size of the receive queue.

Typically, you do not need to change the "rx_fifo_size" parameter. It is available for extended tuning and debugging purposes.

Example:

load DEBNI/DEMNA EXA vax_bi_node_id = 11 interface = EXA0
set EXA station_address = "0C:FE:35:AA:67:3B"

load packet_port/chnetwrk EXA0 interface = "connection:Charon"

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PMAD-AA TurboChannel Ethernet Adapter

The CHARON-VAX VAXstation 4000 Model 90 system provides support for a PMAD-AA TurboChannel Ethernet controller (in addition to the preloaded SGEC "EZA").

Use the following command to load an instance of a PMAD-AA Ethernet controller:

load PMADAA/PMADAA <logical name>

Example:

load PMADAA/PMADAA EXA

PMAD-AA TurboChannel Ethernet controllers use the following configuration parameters that can be specified using the "set" command:

...

Parameter

...

Type

...

Value

...

interface

...

Text String

...

Name of the corresponding instance of the "packet_port" component

...

Text String

...

The "station_address" provides the ability to configure the adapter’s permanent address. By default the adapter’s permanent address is read from the host system’s NIC.

Set the "station_address" when you need to configure a satellite (remotely booted) system which will run DECnet or when the migrated software uses the permanent address on the network adapter.

Format:

XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX

or

XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX

Example:

set eza station_address="AF:01:AC:78:1B:CC"

...

rx_fifo_size

...

Numeric

...

The "rx_fifo_size" sets the receive FIFO size.

The value is specified in Kb and by default is pre-calculated from the connected port’s size of receive queue.

Typically, you do not need to change the "rx_fifo_size" parameter. It is available for extended tuning and debugging purposes.

Example:

load PMADAA/PMADAA ECA interface = ECA0
set ECA station_address = "0C:FE:35:AA:67:3B"

...

DE602 and DE602AA network adapters link speed and duplex settings

Regardless of the "adapter_mode" setting in CHARON-AXP configuration file (see above), DE602 and DE602AA network adapters remains in "Auto-negotiation" mode, since the EIDRIVER of OpenVMS checks for EIx0_MODE environment variable when configuring the network card.

So mode propagation is implemented in CHARON-AXP via SRM console EIx0_MODE environment variable ("x" is A, B, C... depending on CHARON-AXP configuration), for example:

>>>help set

usage: set <variable-name> <value>
set <variable-name> ""

set eia0_mode { Twisted | Full | Fast | FastFD | Auto* }

>>>

The EIx0_MODE variable name is case insensitive, while its values are case sensitive! This is feature of OpenVMS EIDRIVER.

The values are:

Parameter	Description
"Auto"	Auto-negotiate (default)
"Twisted"	10Mbps half duplex
"Full"	10Mbps full duplex
"Fast"	100Mbps half duplex
"FastFD"	100Mbps full duplex

Example:

>>>set eia0_mode FastFD

Warning

Please note that EIx0_MODE environment variable controls only the setting which the emulated network adapter reports to the guest operating system running on CHARON. It does not change any settings of the host adapter mapped to the virtual adapter! In case if the settings of the host adapter have to be changed please refer to the host Operating System User's Guide for details on how to do it.

In case if "Auto" value is set CHARON collects the settings from the mapped host network adapter directly, assuming that all speeds above 100Mbps are represented as 100Mbps (maximum value). The resulting duplex setting corresponds to the duplex setting of the mapped host network adapter.

Back to Table of Contents

...

The CHARON-specific "packet_port" interface establishes a connection between an Ethernet adapter in the Windows host system and a network adapter in the virtual VAX/PDP11 HP Alpha system.

For every virtual adapter instance loaded, one dedicated host Ethernet physical adapter is required.

To create instances of the "packet_port", use the “load” command in the configuration file as follows:

load packet_port/chnetwrk <instance-name>

Example:

load packet_port/chnetwrk

pp_1

NDIS

"packet_port" uses several configuration parameters to control its behavior.

interface

Type
Parameter	interface

Value

interface

	Text string
Value	This parameter identifies an Ethernet adapter of the host system dedicated to CHARON-

VAX / CHARON-PDP

AXP. The leading keyword "connection:" is mandatory.

Syntax:

set <name> interface="connection:<adapter>"

Example:

set

pp_1

NDIS interface="

eth0

connection:Charon"

port_enable_mac_addr_change

Parameter

port_enable_mac_addr_change

Type Boolean

Value

If "true" is specified (default value), CHARON-AXP sets the appropriate Ethernet address automatically.

If "false" is specified, set the Ethernet address manually.

Example:

set

pp_1

NDIS port_enable_mac_addr_change=false

port_

...

retry_on_

...

Numeric

The "port_ignore_on_rx" parameter provides the ability to shutdown the port when a specified number of sequential "on receive" errors is exceeded.

Typically, errors "on receive" indicate serious (unrecoverable) errors.

By default, the value is set to the value of the "port_pending_rx_number" parameter. A value of ‘0’ means infinite.

Example:

...

tx

Parameter

port_retry_on_tx

Type Numeric

Value

The "port_retry_on_tx" parameter controls the number of times a port will attempt to transmit a packet before giving up.

By default, the value is 3.

Increasing this value may introduce problems in carrier loss logic, because not all NIC drivers support a carrier status query.

Typically, you do not need to increase the value.

Example:

set

pp_1

NDIS port_retry_on_tx=8

port_pending_rx_number

Parameter

port_pending_rx_number

Type Numeric

Value

The "port_pending_rx_number" parameter sets the number of pending receive buffers.

The default value is 63. The maximum value allowed is 195.

You may want to increase the "port_pending_rx_number" when you have very busy networking and experience problems like losing connections not related to the carrier loss.

Typically, you do not need to change this parameter.

Example:

set

pp_1

NDIS port_pending_rx_number=128

port_pending

...

_tx_number

Parameter

port_pending_tx_number

Type Numeric

Value

The "port_pending_tx_number" parameter sets the number of buffers the port uses to transmit.

The default value is 62.

You may want to increase the "port_pending_tx_number" value if the log file indicates dropped TX packets due to TX queue overflow.

Typically, you do not need to change this parameter.

Example:

set

pp_1

NDIS port_pending_

rx

tx_number=128

suspend_msg_on_mac_change

Parameter

suspend_msg_on_mac_change

Type Boolean

Value

To avoid confusion arising from non critical errors during a MAC address change, logging is by default suppressed (default value is "true").

To enable tracing during a MAC address change set this parameter to "false"

Example:

set

pp_1

NDIS suspend_msg_on_mac_change=false

Example:

load DEQNA/DEQNA XQA

legacy_mode

Parameter legacy_mode

Type Boolean

Value

If this parameter is set to "true" CHARON-AXP tries to use very first implementation of "packet_port" having certain restrictions such as inability to automatically change MAC address on given interface etc.

This setting may be needed if CHARON-AXP runs in VMware environment for example.

In other situations please do not change its default value ("false").

Example:

set NDIS legacy_mode=true

Info

This parameter is required only if you do not want to allow promiscuous traffic for the VMware adapter/port. In this mode, CHARON-AXP uses legacy MAC address change logic, so use of this option is not desirable.

Thus for ESXi networking configuration:

Create the port with e1000 adapter;
Enable the promiscuous traffic;
do not use legacy_mode option in Charon's configuration file

Info
TruCluster alias vMAC option may not operate correctly in combination with "legacy_mode=true" when host is VMware virtual machine. This is because vMAC option sets adapter to promiscuous mode which does not seem operating correctly on VMware adapters.

Example

load DE500BA/dec21x4x EWA load packet_port/chnetwrk

XQA0

EWA0 interface="connection:Charon"
set

XQA

EWA interface=

XQA0

EWA0

Info
CHARON-AXP supports VLAN adapters. If for some reasons you are going to use them, proceed with their installation and configuration according to the network adapter's vendor's User's Guide and then use the resulting VLAN interface the same way as the regular network interface.

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Supported Ethernet Q-bus Adapters for DECnet OSI (DECnet Plus)

The only supported Q-bus device is the DELQA adapter model.

...

interface

...

Info

The integrated SGEC Ethernet "EZA" on a MicroVAX 3100 & VAX 4000-106/108 is supported by DECnet OSI.

The integrated ESA (AMD Lance 7990) device is not currently implemented in CHARON-VAX.

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Ethernet Q-bus Adapter and Cluster configuration rules

In a VMS Cluster using VMS version 5.5 and above, use only DELQA and DESQA Ethernet adapters that are supported (VMS Cluster SPD).

...

.

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Versions Compared

Old Version 1

New Version Current

Key

General description

Configuration steps

SGEC Ethernet Controller

Configuration parameters

interface

station_address

rx_fifo_size

DEQNA / DESQA / DELQA Ethernet Controller

adapter_mode

Example

DEMNA Ethernet Adapter

DEBNI Ethernet Adapter

PMAD-AA TurboChannel Ethernet Adapter

DE602 and DE602AA network adapters link speed and duplex settings

interface

port_enable_mac_addr_change

port_

retry_on_

tx

port_pending_rx_number

port_pending

_tx_number

suspend_msg_on_mac_change

legacy_mode

Example

Supported Ethernet Q-bus Adapters for DECnet OSI (DECnet Plus)

Ethernet Q-bus Adapter and Cluster configuration rules