Versions Compared

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.
Comment: Layout reviewed for PDF export

...

Use the following command to load an instance of an RQDX3 disk controller:

 

load RQDX3/RQDX3 <logical name>

 

Example:

load RQDX3/RQDX3 DUA
 

address

Parameteraddress
Type

Numeric

Value

address

Numeric

"\\.\PhysicalDrive<N>" for local

Specifies the CSR address. This address must be a valid QBUS 22-bit address in IO space.

Initially its value is 017772150, which is the factory setting for the RQDX3 disk controller.

Use the "address" parameter for loading several instances of RQDX3. The "address" parameter value must be unique for every instance of the controller.

max_n_of_units

Parameter

max_n_of_units

TypeNumeric
Value

Specifies the maximum number of units supported by the controller. Possible values are 4…9999.

The default value is 9999.

container

Parameter

container[N]

N=0…9999

TypeText String
Value

Specifies the location of the disk container. It can be either the name of a ".vdisk" file or the name of a physical disk:

Mapping to host system resourcesDescription
  • Local fixed disks (IDE, SCSI, SATA)
    • "\\.\PhysicalDrive<N>"
      "\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID =XXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX)"

for local fixed disks (IDE, SCSI, SATA)
DevID addresses the target physical
    • DevID addresses the target physical disk by its WWID
      (hexadecimal 128-bit identifier assigned to the disk
      drive by its manufacturer/originator).

      Example:

      Div
      classsmall

      set DUA container[3]=

    • "\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID


    • = 6008-05F3-0005-2950-BF8E-0B86-A0C7-0001)

    • "

      .

  • iSCSI disks
    • "\\.\PhysicalDrive(iScsiTarget = <iSCSI target>, LUN = <LUN number>)
    • "

for iSCSI disks

    • iScsiTarget addresses the disk by its iSCSI target name.
      LUN specifies LUN on connected iSCSI disk. 

      Example:

      Div
      classsmall

      set DUA container[0]=

    • "\\.\PhysicalDrive(iScsiTarget


    • = iqn.2008-04:iscsi.charon-target-test1, LUN


    • = 1)

    • "

      .

  • Floppy drives
    • "\\.\A:"
, "\\
    • "\\.\B:"
for floppy drives
    • .
\CdRom<N>"
for
  • CD-ROM, DVD drives (IDE, SCSI, …)
    media_type
      • "\\.\CdRom<N>"


    media_type

    Parameter

    media_type[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    Overrides the default (automatically determined) MSCP media type of a device.

    Syntax:

    "<device-name>[,<device-type>]"

    where:

    • <device-name> is one of “DU”, “DK”, “SCSI”, “DI”, “DSSI”, “DJ”

    • <device-type> is of the form “LLD” or “LLLD”, where “L” is a letter from A through Z, and “D” is a decimal number from 0 through 99

    If not specified, the device name is set to “DU” and the device type is selected based on disk size.

    Initially not specified.

    geometry

    Parameter

    geometry[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    This formatted string value specifies the explicit geometry of the disk storage element with a DSSI node id: N and an MSCP unit number: N. This parameter is not applicable to tape storage elements.

    The string format is <X>”/”<Y>[“/”<Z>] where:

    1. X is the number of sectors per track;

    2. Y is the number of tracks per cylinder;

    3. Z (optional) is the number of cylinders on the unit. If omitted, Z is calculated based on X, Y and the total number of sectors on the unit that reflects the size of the disk storage element;

    If this parameter is not set, CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP will configure the geometry based on the most probable disk type.

    use_io_file_buffering

    Parameter

    use_io_file_buffering[N]

    N=0…9999

    Boolean

    Enables the use of the host OS I/O buffering.

    Initially this value is set to “false” (buffering disabled).

     

    Example 1: 

    load RQDX3/RQDX3 DUA address=017772150 max_n_of_units=4

    set DUA container[0] = "C:\Charon\Disks\rx23.vdisk"
    set DUA container[1] = "\\.\PhysicalDrive1"

    load RQDX3/RQDX3 DUB address=017760334 

    set DUB container[5] = "\\.\CdRom0"

    In the above example the "rx23.vdisk" will be seen in VMS as DUA0, "\\.\PhysicalDrive1" as DUA1 and "\\.\CdRom0" as DUB5.

    Example 2:

    load RQDX3/RQDX3 DIA address=017772150 max_n_of_units=4

    set DIA container[0] = "C:\Charon\Disks\rx23.vdisk"
    set DIA media_type[0] = "dssi"

    set DIA container[1] = "\\.\PhysicalDrive1"
    set DIA media_type[1] = "dssi"

    In the above example the "rx23.vdisk" will be seen in VMS as DIA0 and "\\.\PhysicalDrive1" as DIA1.

    Back to Table of Contents

    TQK50 and TUK50 Controllers

    The CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP QBUS system provides support for the TQK50 tape controller.  UNIBUS systems support the TUK50 tape controller.

    The original TQK50/TUK50 tape controllers were capable of serving only 1 tape unit. CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP extends the limit to 10000 tape units.

    Use the following commands to load an instance of a TQK50/TUK50 tape controller:

    load TQK50/TQK50 <logical name 1>
    load TUK50/TUK50 <logical name 2>

     

    Example:

    load TQK50/TQK50 MUA1
    load TUK50/TUK50 MUA2

    The TQK50/TUK50 controllers have the following configuration parameters, which are specified with the "set" command:

     

    ParameterTypeValue

    address

    Numeric

    Specifies the CSR address. This address must be a valid QBUS 22-bit address in IO space for a TQK50 and a valid UniBUS 18-bit address in I/O space for a TUK50.

    The initial values are 017774500 (TQK50) and 0774500 (TUK50), which is the factory setting for these tape controllers.

    Use the "address" parameter to load several instances of TQK50's/TUK50's. The "address" parameter value must be unique for each instance of a TQK50/TUK50.

    container[N]

    N=0…9999

    Text String

    Specifies the location of the tape container. It can be either the name of a ".vtape" (".mtd") file or the name of a physical tape drive:

    MappingDescription
    <file name>.vtapeFor tape images
    "\\.\Tape<N>"For a local physical tape drives recognized by Windows
    "\\.\Scsi<X>:<Y>:<Z>:<N>"

    For a physical SCSI tape drive connected to a CHARON host, but not recognized by Windows

    To find the values of X,Y,Z and N use the utility "Host Device Check"

    media_type[N]

    N=0…9999

    Text String

    Overrides the default (automatically determined) TMSCP media type of a device.

    Syntax:

    "<device-name>[,<device-type>]"

    where:

    • <device-name> is either: “MU”, “MK”, “SCSI”, “MI”, “DSSI”, or “MJ”

    • <device-type> is of the form “LLD” or “LLLD”, where “L” is letter a from A through Z, and “D” is a decimal number from 0 through 99

    If not specified, the device name is set to “MU” and the device type is set to “TK50”

    Initially not specified.

    geometry[N]

    N=0...9999

    Text String

    Specifies the size of a tape image and (optionally) the size of an "early-warning" area at the end of a tape image.

    Syntax:

    "<image-size>[, <early-warning-zone-size>]"

    where:

    • <image-size> is the tape size in MB

    • <early-warning-zone-size> is the size (in KB) of the space left on the tape that, when reached, issues a warning to the OS. If omitted, 64K is assumed.

     

    Example:

    load TQK50 MUA
    set MUA geometry[0] = 90

    Example:

    load TQK50 MUA address=017774500

    set MUA container[0] = "\\.\Tape0"
    set MUA container[1] = "C:\Charon\Tapes\tape1.vtape"

    Multi-volume tape images are handled as follows:

    ...

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    Instructs CHARON-VAX to enable host operating system I/O cache on reading/writing operations.

    The following values are possible:

    • "true" or "write-back" - the "write back" caching mode is used
    • "write-through" - the "write through" caching mode is used

    • "false" - caching is switched off

    (info) Note that this caching has a significant effect only in case of mapping to disk and tape containers, not physical drives.

    When enabled, host operating system I/O cache may significantly improve I/O performance of the virtual system. At the same time maintaining I/O cache requires additional host resources (CPU and memory) which may negatively affect overall performance of the virtual system.

    Initially is set to "false".

    Example:

    set DUA use_io_file_buffering[2]=true

     

    Example 1

    load RQDX3/RQDX3 DUA address=017772150 max_n_of_units=4

    set DUA container[0] = "C:\Charon\Disks\rx23.vdisk"
    set DUA container[1] = "\\.\PhysicalDrive1"

    load RQDX3/RQDX3 DUB address=017760334 

    set DUB container[5] = "\\.\CdRom0"

    Example 2:

    load RQDX3/RQDX3 DIA address=017772150 max_n_of_units=4

    set DIA container[0] = "C:\Charon\Disks\rx23.vdisk"
    set DIA media_type[0] = "dssi"

    set DIA container[1] = "\\.\PhysicalDrive1"
    set DIA media_type[1] = "dssi"

    In the above example the "rx23.vdisk" will be seen in VMS as DIA0 and "\\.\PhysicalDrive1" as DIA1.

    Back to Table of Contents

    TQK50 and TUK50 Controllers

    The CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP QBUS system provides support for the TQK50 tape controller.  UNIBUS systems support the TUK50 tape controller.

    The original TQK50/TUK50 tape controllers were capable of serving only 1 tape unit. CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP extends the limit to 10000 tape units.

    Use the following commands to load an instance of a TQK50/TUK50 tape controller:

    load TQK50/TQK50 <logical name 1>
    load TUK50/TUK50 <logical name 2>

     

    Example:

    load TQK50/TQK50 MUA1
    load TUK50/TUK50 MUA2

    The TQK50/TUK50 controllers have the following configuration parameters, which are specified with the "set" command:

    address

    Parameteraddress
    TypeNumeric
    Value

    Specifies the CSR address. This address must be a valid QBUS 22-bit address in IO space for a TQK50 and a valid UniBUS 18-bit address in I/O space for a TUK50.

    The initial values are 017774500 (TQK50) and 0774500 (TUK50), which is the factory setting for these tape controllers.

    Use the "address" parameter to load several instances of TQK50's/TUK50's. The "address" parameter value must be unique for each instance of a TQK50/TUK50.

    container

    Parameter

    container[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    Specifies the location of the tape container. It can be either the name of a ".vtape" (".mtd") file or the name of a physical tape drive:

    • Tape images
      • <file name>.vtape
        .
    • Local physical tape drives recognized by Windows
      • "\\.\Tape<N>"
        .
    • Physical SCSI tape drive connected to a CHARON host, but not recognized by Windows
      • "\\.\Scsi<X>:<Y>:<Z>:<N>"

        To find the values of X,Y,Z and N use the utility "Host Device Check"

    media_type

    Parameter

    media_type[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    Overrides the default (automatically determined) TMSCP media type of a device.

    Syntax:

    "<device-name>[,<device-type>]"

    where:

    • <device-name> is either: “MU”, “MK”, “SCSI”, “MI”, “DSSI”, or “MJ”

    • <device-type> is of the form “LLD” or “LLLD”, where “L” is letter a from A through Z, and “D” is a decimal number from 0 through 99

    If not specified, the device name is set to “MU” and the device type is set to “TK50”

    Initially not specified.

    geometry

    Parameter

    geometry[N]

    N=0...9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    Specifies the size of a tape image and (optionally) the size of an "early-warning" area at the end of a tape image.

    Syntax:

    "<image-size>[, <early-warning-zone-size>]"

    where:

    • <image-size> is the tape size in MB

    • <early-warning-zone-size> is the size (in KB) of the space left on the tape that, when reached, issues a warning to the OS. If omitted, 64K is assumed.

    Example:

    load TQK50 MUA
    set MUA geometry[0] = 90

     

    Example:

    load TQK50 MUA address=017774500

    set MUA container[0] = "\\.\Tape0"
    set MUA container[1] = "C:\Charon\Tapes\tape1.vtape"

    Multi-volume tape images are handled as follows:

    set MUA container[0] = "..."
    set MUA container[1] = "..."

    set MUA container[2] = "..."
    set MUA container[3] = "..."

    Once this configuration is established, the following VMS command (for example) can be used:

    ...

    Back to Table of Contents

    ...

    Div
    classpagebreak

     

    KDM70 Controller

    KDM70 is an MSCP/TMSCP disk and tape storage controller for a VAX 6000.

    ...

    • Up to 16 connected disks operate in parallel without any I/O performance degradation.

    • For systems with more than 16 heavily used disks, configure two controllers and distribute the heavily loaded disks evenly.

    • As in the hardware KDM70 storage controller, VMS can be booted only from the first 10 devices (DU0 - DU9) on the KDM70 storage controller.

    • Hardware KDM70 storage controllers do not support tape drives. The virtual KDM70 storage controllers support a transparent extension for data tapes (boot from tape is not supported).

    The line below loads an emulated KDM70 storage controller:

    load KDM70/KDM70 PUA

    The KDM70 storage controller emulation has the following configuration parameters:

    ...

    xmi_node_id

    Value
    Parameter

    Type

    xmi_node_id

    Type

    Numeric
    Value

    Specifies the XMI slot in which the virtual KDM70 storage controller is placed.

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

    container

    DescriptionXXXFor accessing physical disk drives

    For iSCSI disks



    For accessing physical For accessing physical tape drives not recognized by Windows or For accessing floppy drivesFor accessing CD-ROMs (read-only)name>”vdisk”For accessing disk name>”name>“vtape” This parameter is initially not set, thus creating NO storage elements on the controller
    Parameter

    container[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    Possible values of the parameter are strings in one of the following forms:

    Mapping
    • Physical disk drives
      • "\\.\PhysicalDrive<X>", where X is 0, 1, …
    For accessing physical disk drives
      • "\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID =
      • XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX)"

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

        Example:

        Div
        classsmall

        set PUA container[3]=

      • "\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID

      • = 6008-05F3-0005-2950-BF8E-0B86-A0C7-0001)

      • "

        .

    • 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
        classsmall

        set PUA container[0]=

      • "\\.\PhysicalDrive(iScsiTarget

      • = iqn.2008-04:iscsi.charon-target-test1, LUN

      • = 1)

      • "

        .

    • Physical tape drives recognized by Windows
      • "\\.\Tape<X>", where X is 0, 1, …
      • .
    • Physical tape drives not recognized by Windows
      • "\\.\Scsi<X>:<Y>:<Z>:<N>" 

        Use the utility "Host Device Check" to find the values of X,Y,Z and N

      • .

    • Floppy drives
      • "\\.\A:"
      • "\\.\B:"

      • .
    • CD-ROM drives (read-only)
      • "\\.\CdRom<X>", where X is 0, 1, …
      • .
    • CHARON-VAX disk images
      • [<drive>":\"<path-
      • name>"\
      • "]<file-name>[
      • ".
      • vdisk"]
        . 
    • CHARON-VAX
    • tape images
      • [<drive>":\"<path-
      • name>"\
      • "]<file-
      • name>".
    For accessing CHARON-VAX tape images
      • vtape"

    media_type

    Parameter

    media_type[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    Overrides the default (automatically determined) MSCP media type of the device.

    Syntax:

    "<device-name>,<device-type>"

    where:

    • <device-name> is either: “DU”, “MU”, “DK”, “MK”, “SCSI”, “DI”, “MI”, “DSSI”, “DJ”, “MJ”

    • <device-type> is in the form: “LLD” or “LLLD”, where “L” is a letter from A through Z, and “D” is a decimal number from 0 through 99

    If not specified, the device name is set to “DI”, and the device type is selected based on disk size for the disk storage elements. For tape storage elements, the device name and type are set to “MI” and “TF86”, respectively.

    Initially not specified.

    geometry

    Parameter

    geometry[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    This formatted string value specifies the explicit geometry of the disk storage element with DSSI node id: N and MSCP unit number: N. This parameter is not applicable to tape storage elements.

    The string format is <X>”/”<Y>[“/”<Z>] where:

    • X is the number of sectors per track

    • Y is the number of tracks per cylinder

    • Z (optional) is the number of cylinders on the unit. If omitted, Z is calculated based on X, Y and the total number of sectors on the unit that reflects the size of the disk storage element

    If this parameter is not set, CHARON-VAX will configure the geometry based on the most probable disk type.

    Initially not set.

    The syntax described above is applicable only to disk storage elements. If the container is a tape image, the following format is used instead:

    Syntax:

    "<image-size>[, <early-warning-zone-size>]"

    where:

    • <image-size> is the tape size in MB

    • <early-warning-zone-size> is the size (in KB) of the space left on the tape when a warning to the OS is issued. If omitted, 64K is assumed.

    use_io_file_buffering

    ...

    N=0…9999

    ...

    Boolean

    ...

    Enables the use of the host OS I/O buffering.

    Initially set to “false” (buffering disabled).

    Example:

     

    Create a KDM70 storage controller: (T)MSCP controller in XMI slot 10:

    load KDM70/KDM70 PUA xmi_node_id=10

    Configure, on this controller, a system disk to be DUA0: in VMS:

    set PUA container[0]="C:\Charon\Disks\vms72-66X0.vdisk"

    Configure a user disk to be DUA1: in VMS:

    set PUA container[1]="C:\Charon\Disks\usertest.vdisk"

    Configure the first SCSI tape drive connected to a host to be MUA4: in VMS:

    set PUA container[4]="\\.\Tape0"

    The file my_tape.vtape in the default directory is used by VMS as MUA5:

    set PUA container[5]="C:\Charon\Tapes\my_tape.vtape"

    The first host system CD-ROM is used to read VMS CDs and be DUA9:

    set PUA container[9]="\\.\CdRom0"

    The host system floppy drive "A:" is used in VMS as DUA10:

    set PUA container[10]="\\.\A:"
    Info

    The virtual KDM70 storage controller examines the file extension (vdiskor vtape) to distinguish between a disk image and a tape image.

    Configured physical devices or tape/disk images that do not exist on the host system will, in general, cause VAX/VMS to report the unit offline. In some cases this will result in a VMS BUG CHECK. In this case, an error message will be written to the log file.

    Back to Table of Contents

    KDB50 Storage Controller

    KDB50 is an MSCP storage controller for a VAX 6000.

    The CHARON-VAX virtual KDB50 storage controller supports up to 9999 disks instead of the 4 disk limitation of the original hardware. This design modification has the advantage of using only one VAXBI slot for up to 9999 disk and tape devices.

    The I/O behavior of the virtual KDB50 storage controller is as follows:

    1. Up to 16 connected disks operate in parallel without any I/O performance degradation.

    2. For systems with more than 16 heavily used disks, configure two storage controllers and distribute the heavily loaded disks evenly.

    3. VMS can boot only from the first 10 devices (DU0 - DU9) on the KDB50 storage controller, same as for the original hardware.

    The line below loads an emulated KDB50 storage controller:

    load KDB50 PUA

    The KDB50 storage controller emulation has the following configuration parameters:

     

    ...

    Parameter

    ...

    Type

    ...

    Value

    ...

    vax_bi_node_id

    ...

    Numeric

    ...

    Specifies the VAXBI slot in which the virtual KDB50 storage controller is placed. For CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP a free slot between 1 (1) and 15 (F) must be chosen.

    Initially set to 14.

    ...

    container[N]

    N=0…9999

    ...

    Text String

    ...

    Possible values of the parameter are strings in one of the following forms:

    MappingDescription
    "\\.\PhysicalDrive<X>", where X is 0, 1, …For accessing physical disk drives
    "\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID =XXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX)" For accessing physical disk drives

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

    Example:

    set PUA container[3]=”\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID
    = 6008-05F3-0005-2950-BF8E-0B86-A0C7-0001)”
    "\\.\PhysicalDrive(iScsiTarget = <iSCSI target>, LUN = <LUN number>)”

    For iSCSI disks

    iScsiTarget addresses the disk by its iSCSI target name.
    LUN specifies LUN on connected iSCSI disk. 

    Example:

    set PUA container[0]=”\\.\PhysicalDrive(iScsiTarget
    = iqn.2008-04:iscsi.charon-target-test1, LUN
    = 1)”
    "\\.\A:" or "\\.\B:"For accessing floppy drives
    "\\.\CdRom<X>", where X is 0, 1, …For accessing CD-ROMs (read-only)
    [<drive>":\"<path-name>”\”]<file-name>[“.vdisk”]For accessing CHARON-VAX disk images

    This parameter is initially not set, thus creating NO storage elements on the storage controller

    ...

    media_type[N]

    N=0…9999

    ...

    Text String

    ...

    Overrides the default (automatically determined) MSCP media type of the device.

    Syntax:

    "<device-name>,<device-type>"

    where:

    • <device-name> is either: “DU”, “DK”, “SCSI”, “DI”, “DSSI” or “DJ”

    • <device-type> is in the form of: “LLD” or “LLLD”, where “L” is a letter from A through Z, and “D” is a decimal number from 0 through 99

    If not specified, the device name is set to “DU” and the device type is selected, based on the disk size for the disk storage elements. For tape storage elements, the device name and type are set to “MI” and “TF86”, respectively.

    Initially not specified.

    ...

    geometry[N]

    N=0…9999

    ...

    Text String

    ...

    This formatted string value specifies the explicit geometry of the disk storage element with MSCP unit number: N. This parameter is not applicable to tape storage elements.

    The string format is <X>”/”<Y>[“/”<Z>] where:

    1. X is the number of sectors per track

    2. Y is the number of tracks per cylinder

    3. Z (optional) is the number of cylinders on the unit. If omitted, Z is calculated based on X, Y and the total number of sectors on the unit that reflects the size of the disk storage element

    If this parameter is not set, CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP will configure the geometry based on the most probable disk type.

    Initially not set.

    ...

    use_io_file_buffering[N]

    N=0…9999

    ...

    Boolean

    Enables the use of the host OS I/O buffering.

    ...

    Parameter

    use_io_file_buffering[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    Instructs CHARON-VAX to enable host operating system I/O cache on reading/writing operations.

    The following values are possible:

    • "true" or "write-back" - the "write back" caching mode is used
    • "write-through" - the "write through" caching mode is used

    • "false" - caching is switched off

    (info) Note that this caching has a significant effect only in case of mapping to disk and tape containers, not physical drives.

    When enabled, host operating system I/O cache may significantly improve I/O performance of the virtual system. At the same time maintaining I/O cache requires additional host resources (CPU and memory) which may negatively affect overall performance of the virtual system.

    Initially is set to "false".

    Example:

    set PUA use_io_file_buffering[0]=true

     

    Example:

    Create a KDM70 storage controller: (T)MSCP controller in XMI slot 10:

    load KDM70/KDM70 PUA xmi_node_id=10

    Configure, on this controller, a system disk to be DUA0: in VMS:

    set PUA container[0]="C:\Charon\Disks\vms72-66X0.vdisk"

    Configure a user disk to be DUA1: in VMS:

    set PUA container[1]="C:\Charon\Disks\usertest.vdisk"

    Configure the first SCSI tape drive connected to a host to be MUA4: in VMS:

    set PUA container[4]="\\.\Tape0"

    The file my_tape.vtape in the default directory is used by VMS as MUA5:

    set PUA container[5]="C:\Charon\Tapes\my_tape.vtape"

    The first host system CD-ROM is used to read VMS CDs and be DUA9:

    set PUA container[9]="\\.\CdRom0"

    The host system floppy drive "A:" is used in VMS as DUA10:

    set PUA container[10]="\\.\A:"
    Div
    classpagebreak

     

    Info

    The virtual KDM70 storage controller examines the file extension (vdiskor vtape) to distinguish between a disk image and a tape image.

    Configured physical devices or tape/disk images that do not exist on the host system will, in general, cause VAX/VMS to report the unit offline. In some cases this will result in a VMS BUG CHECK. In this case, an error message will be written to the log file.

    Back to Table of Contents

    KDB50 Storage Controller

    KDB50 is an MSCP storage controller for a VAX 6000.

    The CHARON-VAX virtual KDB50 storage controller supports up to 9999 disks instead of the 4 disk limitation of the original hardware. This design modification has the advantage of using only one VAXBI slot for up to 9999 disk and tape devices.

    The I/O behavior of the virtual KDB50 storage controller is as follows:

    • Up to 16 connected disks operate in parallel without any I/O performance degradation.

    • For systems with more than 16 heavily used disks, configure two storage controllers and distribute the heavily loaded disks evenly.

    • VMS can boot only from the first 10 devices (DU0 - DU9) on the KDB50 storage controller, same as for the original hardware.

    The line below loads an emulated KDB50 storage controller:

    load KDB50 PUA

    The KDB50 storage controller emulation has the following configuration parameters:

    vax_bi_node_id

    Parameter

    vax_bi_node_id

    TypeNumeric
    Value

    Specifies the VAXBI slot in which the virtual KDB50 storage controller is placed. For CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP a free slot between 1 (1) and 15 (F) must be chosen.

    Initially set to 14.

    container

    Parameter

    container[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    Possible values of the parameter are strings in one of the following forms:

    • Physical disk drives
      • "\\.\PhysicalDrive<X>", where X is 0, 1, …
        "\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID =XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX)"

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

        Example:

        Div
        classsmall

        set PUA container[3]="\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID= 6008-05F3-0005-2950-BF8E-0B86-A0C7-0001)"

        .

    • 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
        classsmall

        set PUA container[0]="\\.\PhysicalDrive(iScsiTarget= iqn.2008-04:iscsi.charon-target-test1, LUN= 1)"

        .

    • Floppy drives
      • "\\.\A:"
      • "\\.\B:"
        .
    • CD-ROM drives (read-only)
      • "\\.\CdRom<X>", where X is 0, 1, ...
        .
    • CHARON-VAX disk images
      • [<drive>":\"<path-name>"\"]<file-name>[".vdisk"]

    This parameter is initially not set, thus creating NO storage elements on the storage controller

    media_type

    Parameter

    media_type[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    Overrides the default (automatically determined) MSCP media type of the device.

    Syntax:

    "<device-name>,<device-type>"

    where:

    • <device-name> is either: “DU”, “DK”, “SCSI”, “DI”, “DSSI” or “DJ”

    • <device-type> is in the form of: “LLD” or “LLLD”, where “L” is a letter from A through Z, and “D” is a decimal number from 0 through 99

    If not specified, the device name is set to “DU” and the device type is selected, based on the disk size for the disk storage elements. For tape storage elements, the device name and type are set to “MI” and “TF86”, respectively.

    Initially not specified.

    geometry

    Parameter

    geometry[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    This formatted string value specifies the explicit geometry of the disk storage element with MSCP unit number: N. This parameter is not applicable to tape storage elements.

    The string format is <X>”/”<Y>[“/”<Z>] where:

    • X is the number of sectors per track

    • Y is the number of tracks per cylinder

    • Z (optional) is the number of cylinders on the unit. If omitted, Z is calculated based on X, Y and the total number of sectors on the unit that reflects the size of the disk storage element

    If this parameter is not set, CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP will configure the geometry based on the most probable disk type.

    Initially not set.

    use_io_file_buffering

    Parameter

    use_io_file_buffering[N]

    N=0…9999

    Type

    Text String

    Value

    Instructs CHARON-VAX to enable host operating system I/O cache on reading/writing operations.

    The following values are possible:

    • "true" or "write-back" - the "write back" caching mode is used
    • "write-through" - the "write through" caching mode is used

    • "false" - caching is switched off

    (info) Note that this caching has a significant effect only in case of mapping to disk and tape containers, not physical drives.

    When enabled, host operating system I/O cache may significantly improve I/O performance of the virtual system. At the same time maintaining I/O cache requires additional host resources (CPU and memory) which may negatively affect overall performance of the virtual system.

    Initially is set to "false".

    Example:

    set PUA use_io_file_buffering[0]=true
    Div
    classpagebreak

     

    Example:

    Create a KDB50 MSCP controller in BI slot 1 of a VAX/PDP11:

    ...