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Table of Contents

Please review this document before proceeding with installation of CHARON-AXP

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• The number of available Intel or AMD CPU cores in the emulator host should be at least 1.5 times the number of emulated AXP CPU cores
• The recommended number of available CPU cores in the emulator host is 2 times the number of emulated AXP CPU cores
• Intel Xeon E5 v3, minimum 3GHz CPUs are recommended for optimal CHARON-AXP performance
• DDR4 2133 MHz RAM is recommended for optimal CHARON-AXP performance. The minimum amount host memory depends on the amount of HP Alpha memory that is desired and on the number of CHARON instances running on one host. As a rule of thumb, the minimum host memory is the total  The minimum host memory = (2Gb +  the amount of HP Alpha memory for all emulator instances plus  2GB, with a minimum of 2GB, resulting in 4GB minimum recommended host memoryemulated) per CHARON-AXP instance.
• Mid range and high end RAID controllers with at least 1GB write-enabled cache with battery backup is recommended. Using low end RAID controllers can cause problems such as significant performance degradation. RAID10 is preferred. RAID5 is not recommended.

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• The system prompt is displayed on the same line when "power off" command is issued. New line should be used instead (by inserting the EOL symbol after  the ">>> power off") (ID#4565)
• "mkdskcmd" utility does not work correctly with upper case letters in the files paths (ID#4562)
• Low performance on OpenVMS/AXP V7.2-1 with CHARON-AXP/ES40 (ID#3964)
• "102% done" appears after vdisk creation is finished (ID#4136)
• WebUI: Unclear warning/error message "Model name wasn't found in the file". (ID#4178, 4192)
• WebUI prompts "Instance hadn't been started", but actually it has been started (ID#4195)
• WebUI: Some part of the output display is hidden in Java applet console (ID#4196)
• Extra symbol ")" in log file (ID#4214)
• Layout of the PC keyboard keys to the right of the alphabet characters is not mapped to layout of VT100 keyboard by default. There is a workaround to this problem - usage of special script created by Geoff Kingsmill (http://www.decuslib.com/decus/freewarev50/decxterm/decxterm ). Run this script and in xterm run CHARON-AXP normally according to instructions in the User's Guide. (ID#3030)
• EWA0 is offline in DE500AA under FC15 (ID#3346)
• WebUI: When "Select disk type" menu is opened that it's almost impossible to select a big disk nearly the list end: menu is closed quickly (ID#3592)
• Impossible to edit files using emulator's console (ID#4206)
• Fail to build KGPSA on FC19 (ID#4212)
• mkdskcmd utility display wrong "n%" symbol (ID#4219)
• hasp_srm_view "fungerprint" message needs to be corrected (ID#4235)
• Deinstallation of CHARON kit fails to remove all CHARON files and directories (ID#4236)
• TAP port does not work on FC (ID#4237)
• Fix typos and spelling errors in CFG templates (ID#4240)
• License install on RHEL fails if the command provided by the Guide is used (ID#4241)
• Installing CHARON-AXP on RHEL result in "No package python-psutil available" message (ID#4243)
• Physical Tape configuration on RHEL 6.4 running Tru64 5.1B renders I/O error (ID#4254)
• Emulator runs beyond license expiry date when host time is moved backward (ID#4058)
• FT builds to run with Production licenses (ID#4263)
• Too many warning when de-installing WebUI package on Fedora Linux (ID#4290)
• CHARON-AXP generates out of order packets in case of multiple sessions on sender (ID#4302)
• CPUSPINWAIT crash on DL380 Gen8 3.0GHz platform (ID#4307)
• Incorrect message in LOG file on RedHat 6.5 (ID#4326)
• Emulated DE602 is not shown in AXP SRM console (ID#4330)
• CHARON creates an empty log file if it runs as daemon (ID#4343)
• Incorrect info in LOG file when local license is removed and network or SL license is catched (ID#4349)
• Emulator hangs when started from VNC session on FC16 (ID#4287)
• Outdated Copyright 2012 and 2013 in CHARON and its CFG files (ID#4369, 4377)
• Sometimes F6 button does not stop CHARON (ID#4365)
• Incorrect info about HOST in CHARON LOG files (ID#4367)
• Incorrect help (and probably documentation) for msdskcmd utility (ID#4372)
  
• Pronosticos COBOL problem (ID#3415, 3563)
• AS1000 and AS1000a are not bootable from DGA disk (virtual and physical) (ID#4476)
• Some issues appeared after CHARON host hardware upgrade (ID#4478)
• Physical tape file name is changed after some files copying under Tru64 (ID#4491)
• Incorrect error messages in LOG if CFG file contains errors (ID#4493)
• Oracle 10g cannot be installed on some models properly (ID#3813)
• Serial port on Tru64 does not work as expected against RHEL (ID#4457)
• Under FedoraCore 20 emulator unable to start from non-privileged account (ID#4494)
  
• A valid Network license is not automatically detected on expiration of SL (Software License) which causes CHARON stop. (ID#4179)
  
• Segmentation Violation while installing Oracle 10g on AlphaServer 400/1000/1000A (ID#4531)

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• Note that the following models of HP Alpha refuse to start with the associated "cpu_architecture" parameter:
  

  - AlphaServer 2000 5/250 (starts only with cpu_architecture = EV4)
  - AlphaServer 2000 5/300 (starts only with cpu_architecture = EV4)
  - AlphaServer 2000 5/375 (starts only with cpu_architecture = EV4)
  - AlphaServer 2100 5/250 (starts only with cpu_architecture = EV45)
  - AlphaServer 2100 5/300 (starts only with cpu_architecture = EV45)
  - AlphaServer 2100 5/375 (starts only with cpu_architecture = EV45)
  - AlphaServer 2100 5/400 (starts only with cpu_architecture = EV45)

  This problems is under investigation and will be fixed in next releases (ID#4697)
  

• The total number of devices (both controllers and units, including disks) displayed by CHARON SRM console is limited to 48. Note that it does not affect the actual number of configured devices provided to CHARON guest OS.
• Certain Fedora Core Linux versions of kernel may make CHARON to exit with an error "Operation not permitted: Unable to open "/proc/<XXXX>/pagemap" for reading". Workaround is usage of "root" account in this situation (ID#4669)
• Note that CHARON network adapters "adapter_mode"/"EIx0_MODE" environment variable "100BaseT-FD" value leads to improper working of the virtual network adapters. It is recommended to use other values instead (if it is acceptable) or the default "Auto" value to make CHARON network adapters collect the speed and the duplex settings directly from the mapped host network adapter. (ID#4676)
• Note that the version of CHARON-AXP and the versions of all other CHARON products (for example CHARON-VAX) must be identical on the same host since all CHARON products use a singular set of shared libraries. Please contact STROMASYS in case if a corresponded version of the already installed CHARON products is needed.
• HW partitioning is not supported in CHARON, but it can present the same HW layout with its possibility to run multiple instances in the same time.
• "NCU" utility cannot be installed on RHEL7 due to absence of TUNCTL package. Just exclude its installation using the following command: "yum install *.rpm --exclude=*ncu*" (ID#4529)
• "NCU" utility may display incorrect network interface ("eth2") if user creates a bridge on one of the available host interfaces (ID#4563)
• Some problems with display of the status of the network adapters may appear after creating a virtual network interfaces in "NCU" utility (ID#4563)
• If CHARON is mapped to a physical CD-ROM it may be displayed as a "Virtual CD-ROM" in CHARON SRM console. It happens due to some restriction of the Linux CD-ROM interface ("dev/sr", "/dev/scd", "/dev/cdrom") - it does now allow to query actual peripheral identification (SCSI Vendor ID / SCSI Product ID). The workaround is:
  - Usage of the "media_type" parameter in configuration file. See the User's Guide for more information.
  - Usage of the SCSI Generic Interface ("/dev/sg<N>") rather than the CD-ROM ("dev/sr<N>", "/dev/scd<N>", "/dev/cdrom") interface. (ID#4564)
• PCI Passthrough KGPSA emulation may work incorrectly if physical FC PCI adapter shares PCI interrupt line with any other PCI module(s)
• Installation of Digital UNIX 4.0g fails on AS4100 when FC is configured (ID#3191)
• CHARON-AXP does not emulate LSI 53C810 SCSI controller. CHARON-AXP emulates Qlogic KZPBA SCSI controller, which is the reason that the earliest supported VMS version is 6.2-1H3, and earliest supported Tru64 version is 3.2. 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 (ID#2291)
• 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)
• Telnet sessions to CHARON-AXP console ports do not support ESC sequences of VT100 by default. To enable it open xterm, connect to CHARON-AXP and press "Ctrl-]" once connected. Then issue a command "mode char" to enable character mode. If it is also required to map righthand part of the keyboard correctly use the xterm started by the Geoff Kingsmill script (see above). (ID#3030)
• "CRC error" may occur while running the command "BACKUP/LIST/REW MKA100:..." on OpenVMS Alpha Version 8.4. This problem can also be observed on AXP hardware (ID#2925)
• Some delay may be experienced during OpenVMS 7.3-2 boot if product is running under FC (ID#3368)
• There is no DE500-BA device driver for OpenVMS 6.2-1H3. VMS patches are necessary in order to support the DE500-BA device with the emulator models AS1200/AS4000/AS4100 (ID#3091). The VMS 6.2-1H3 patches for these models are: 
  ALPBOOT12_062
  ALPLAN06_062
  ALPCLUSIO01_062
  ALPCPU1603_062 (is CPU specific for AS4100. Please check VMS patch documentation for relevant patches for other Alpha models)
• The DE500-BA device error count will be equal to 1 on OpenVMS 8.2/8.3. It has no negative effect on VMS boot and operations (ID#2963)
• Performance tests can cause VMS 6.2-1H3 to hang on an emulated AS400
• The CHARON console does not appear in WebUI if running on WinXP x64 (ID#3956)

• Network speed auto negotiation works with some restrictions (see the table below). It is always recommended to use full-duplex mode on the emulator host.

  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. VMS and Tru64 are able to see more devices.
• The firmware does not support the command recall using the up/down arrow keys.
• 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.
• Microsoft Windows for Alpha is not supported on CHARON-AXP
• 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.
• Emacs hangs if the OPA0 console is used. Emacs works fine over an SSH connection.
• Please note that CHARON-AXP has not been tested with SAN attached storage volumes over 2TB in size.

• 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 commands:

  # mount -u / # mount /usr # rcmgr set ENVMON_CONFIGURED 0

  then "exit" (Ctrl-D) to multi user mode.
  

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Login as the "root" user and move to the CHARON-AXP RPM folder (unzipped from the archive provided).

Install the 32-bit glibc package required by Sentinel HASP runtime:

 Sometimes it is not possible to use an online repository for the installation of 32-bit glibc package. In this case follow the procedure described in the User's Guide.

Please note that WebUI is now excluded from the kit and distributed as a separate product. Consult with its User's Guide for details of its installation. 

Also please note that the "NCU" package cannot be installed on Red Hat Linux 7. 

Issue:

To install all CHARON packages except the NCU one issue:

Please refer to the CHARON-AXP for Linux User's Guide for more details.

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In case of upgrade or re-installation of the Sentinel run-time it is mandatory to apply the "charon-hasp-..." component as well as it is shown in the following example (for RHEL 6.5):

It is strongly recommended to use only the Sentinel run-time included to CHARON-AXP v4.6 Build 168-03 kit.

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