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Introduction
CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP products are distributed in form of a zip file that contains the CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP installation executable ("InstallShell.exe"). The InstallShell procedure offers the possibility to select several modules to install. It is recommended to install all modules (the default).
CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP installation consists of the following steps:
- Perform host system checks (hardware and software) to ensure the host platform meets minimum CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP installation requirements
- Optionally, create a specific CHARON username with administrative privileges
- Extract CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP installation procedure files from its archive
- Install CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP by running "InstallShell.exe" installer and following the instructions
- Install CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP license (hardware dongle or software license)
- Configure CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP host system, for example, network adapter, host OS services, etc.
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Hardware Requirements
Number of CPU cores
Each CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP emulated CPU requires a corresponding physical core. So the total number of the host CPUs must exceed the number of emulated CPUs since some of the host CPUs must be dedicated to serving CHARON I/O operations and host operating system needs.
The following table shows the minimum and recommended number of CPUs required for VAX/PDP11 models:
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Introduction
CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP products are distributed in form of a zip file that contains the CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP installation executable ("InstallShell.exe"). The InstallShell procedure offers the possibility to select several modules to install. It is recommended to install all modules (the default).
CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP
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Minimal number of host CPU cores
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Recommended number of host CPU cores
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VAX 6610
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2
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4
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VAX 6620
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3
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4
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VAX 6630
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4
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6
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VAX 6640
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6
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8
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VAX 6650
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8
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12
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VAX 6660
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8
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12
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installation consists of the following steps:
- Perform host system checks (hardware and software) to ensure the host platform meets minimum CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP installation requirements
- Optionally, create a specific CHARON username with administrative privileges
- Extract CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP installation procedure files from its archive
- Install CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP by running "InstallShell.exe" installer and following the instructions
- Install CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP license (hardware dongle or software license)
- Configure CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP host system, for example, network adapter, host OS services, etc.
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Hardware Requirements
Number of CPU cores
Each CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP emulated CPU requires a corresponding physical core. So the total number of the host CPUs must exceed the number of emulated CPUs since some of the host CPUs must be dedicated to serving CHARON I/O operations and host operating system needs.
The following table shows the minimum and recommended number of CPUs required for VAX/PDP11 models:
CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP model | Minimal number of host CPU cores | Recommended number of host CPU cores |
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VAX 6610 | 2 | 4 |
VAX 6620 | 3 | 4 |
VAX 6630 | 4 | 6 |
VAX 6640 | 6 | 8 |
VAX 6650 | 8 | 12 |
VAX 6660 | 8 | 12 |
| Other models | 2 | 2 |
When starting, the CHARON-VAX software checks the available number of host CPU cores is below this number, . Currently, this check is based on the maximum number of VAX CPUs that can be emulated, not on the number of the actually configured VAX CPUs. Therefore the number of host CPU cores recommended for the maximum number of emulated CPUs - as shown in the right column of the table above - must be available. If the available number of host CPU cores is below this number, CHARON-VAX will issue a warning message even if the requirements for the configured number of VAX CPUs are fulfilled. The CHARON-VAX software will work despite this warning if the requirements for the configured number of VAX CPUs are fulfilled.
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Hyperthreading must be switched off completely. Disable hyperthreading in the BIOS settings of the physical host or, for a VMware virtual machine, edit the virtual machine properties, select the Resources tab then select Advanced CPU. Set the Hyperthreaded Core Sharing mode to None. |
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CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP networking assumes dedicated host Ethernet adapters; their number must be equal to the emulated adapters to be configured in CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP11. One adapter (optionally) can be left to the host for TCP/IP networking etc.
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In case of VMware-based CHARON host it is mandatory to use "E1000" virtual network adapter. Please avoid usage of "E1000E" adapter since it may lead to problems with some TCP/IP services! |
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Starting with ESXi 6.5, it is not possible to select E1000 adapter when a new virtual machine is created using Windows Server 2012, 2016 and Windows 10 templates.
The following workarounds are available:
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) can be left to the host for TCP/IP networking etc.
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All antivirus, screen saver, automatic (scheduled) backup and any other CPU consuming software as well as software that is able to temporarily lock CHARON files (such as automatic indexing) must be turned off, uninstalled and disabled. Alternatively it is also possible to exclude all CHARON executables and material folders from scanning for viruses, but please note that scanning slows down CHARON host anyway - it may be critical for some installations requiring maximum performance. The power scheme must be set to "High Performance" with all the "Sleep" and "Standby" modes turned off. The automatic installation of Microsoft updates must be disabled. MS updates to the CHARON host must be done only in specific service maintainence periods established by the system administrator. Before applying new updates one must shutdown the operating system running on CHARON and stop all the running CHARON instances and services. |
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Save Secure boot is not supported by CHARON at the moment since in this case host OS will not accept signature of distributed NDIS drivers needed for CHARON networking. Disable save secure boot or use CHARON without networking (select "Ignore" when installation procedure reports that NDIS driver is not signed). |
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- On server side (where network license will reside): open port 1947 for both TCP and UDP
- On the client side, if broadcast search for remote licenses is to be used, UDP traffic from port 1947 of the license server to ports 30000-65535 of the client must be permitted.
- Both on server and client sides: setup default gateway
Please consult with your Windows User's Guide on Windows online documentation for details.
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If stricter firewall rules are required, it is possible to open the ports 30000-65535 and 1947 only for the "Sentinel HASP License Manager" (hasplms.exe) service (it will be installed by CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP11). |
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Login as the local system administrator ("Administrator") on the host system.
Create a special user for running CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP (optional). This user must have all the administrative privileges. Please consult with your Windows User's Guide on Windows online documentation for details.
Note The CHARON installation procedure will create a special group called CHARON-GRP and the current user will be automatically included to this group. Do not remove this group and do not remove any CHARON user from it, otherwise a problem with virtual memory allocation may appear on CHARON startup.
The created user may belong to some domain, but please note that in this case you have to add this user to the CHARON-GRP manually as it is described in this article and then reboot CHARON host.
Stay logged in as local system administrator ("Administrator") or log off and login as the CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP user having administrative privileges (if this option has been chosen).
Create a special directory for the CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP distribution kit and copy the provided files there.
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Upgrade cases:
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| 4.7 and below | First uninstall all CHARON products. |
| 4.8 and above | The version 4.10 can be installed directly.
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Directory | Description |
Build_XXX\x86 (and Build_XXX\x64 on x64 systems) | Contains product executables and libraries |
Drivers | Contains the CHARON drivers |
Chapi | Contains CHARON API files used for creating new emulated devices |
InstallShell | Contains the CHARON installation procedure executables |
Logs | Contains the CHARON installation log |
| Redistributables | Contains the redistributables needed for CHARON running (already installed, except the license alert script) |
| Virtual Machines Manager | Contains the most up-to-date version of CHARON Virtual Machines Manager |
| Virtual Machine Templates | Contains templates for creating CHARON Virtual Machines |
| Virtual Machines | Contains the CHARON Virtual Machines |
| Virtual Disk Images | Contains the CHARON virtual disk images, for example "charoncp012" and "idle_vms_pkg_v3.0" |
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If a remote license server is to be used:
- Copy the file "
hasp_install\haspdinst.zip" from the CHARON distribution to any directory on the server, for example "C:\Temp". - Extract the content of this archive to the same directory.
- Login as "Administrator" on the server and open "
cmd.exe" from the "Start" menu. - Switch to that directory.
Install the extracted file.
Example:
...> cd c:\tempc:\temp> haspdinst.exe -fr -kp -nomsgc:\temp> haspdinst.exe -install -cm- Copy the file "
hasp_install\hasplib.zip" from the CHARON distribution to any directory on the server, for example "C:\Temp". - Extract the contents of this archive to the same directory.
- Copy the file "
haspvlib_68704.dll" to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Aladdin Shared\HASP" (in case of x64 host) or "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Aladdin Shared\HASP" (in case of x86 host) - Connect the network HASP dongle to the server USB port.
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Software licenses can also be uninstalled using the method, described in the "Removing CHARON-VAX Software Licenses" chapter of this Guide.
For license servers accessible only via non-broadcast search it is also possible to disable access to network licenses if only a local license is to be used: Click on the "Configuration" link to open the "Configuration for Sentinel Manager" page.
Uncheck the "Allow Access to Remote Licenses" checkbox from the "Access to Remote License Managers" tab then press the "Submit" button to apply changes.
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Login as the local system administrator ("Administrator") on the host system.
Create a special user for running CHARON-VAX / CHARON-PDP. This user must have administrative or standard privileges (in this case login as Administrator for manging NDIS drivers and running NCC utility). Please consult with your Windows User's Guide on Windows online documentation for details.
Add this user to the CHARON-GRP group as it is described in this article and then reboot CHARON host.
Login as the created user.
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