CHARON-VAX for Linux configuration

Table of Contents

Creation of your own configuration file using a template

By default, all the CHARON templates are located in the "/opt/charon/cfg" folder. Copy the appropriate template configuration file(s) to your home directory or to any directory intended for CHARON-VAX, name them meaningfully and set proper privileges.

Example:

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

Once the file has been created you can open it in your favorite editing tool and proceed with modifications 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.

Note: the lines preceded by the comment sign "#" inside the configuration files will not be interpreted. You can use this sign to debug your configuration.

VAX model specification

The first configuration statement is the specification of the exact VAX hardware model to emulate.

Example:

You must leave this line untouched.

If you create the CHARON-VAX configuration file from scratch, it must be the very first uncommented line in the configuration file.

Configuration name

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

Example:

You can optionally uncomment this line to differentiate this CHARON-VAX instance from all others in a multi-instances environment. The configuration name can be any label that is meaningful. It is reported in the log file and is used to set the log file name for rotating log (see further: Rotating log (default)).

Log file parameters

Execution of CHARON-VAX creates one log file or a set of log files reflecting the progress of its start-up and ongoing operation - start and end time of execution, system information, license and configuration details, warnings, reports on problems that may occur, etc. In case of possible problems either with the running CHARON-VAX or the emulated system configuration (such as the absence or malfunction of certain devices), the log file(s) is the primary source to be analyzed for troubleshooting.  If it becomes necessary to contact Stromasys for support, the configuration and log files, plus the license number, will be requested to begin problem resolution.

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

Rotating log (default)

By default CHARON-VAX utilizes a so called "rotating log" mechanism. This means that a new default log file is created each time CHARON starts and can switch to another log file if the size of the log file exceeds 64Kb (this behavior can be changed with the "set session log_file_size" and "set session log_rotation_period" parameters; see more details in the "General Settings" chapter of this guide). 

This mode is turned on if all the log parameters above are disabled (commented out) or the "session_log" parameter is pointing to an existing directory rather than to a file. If a directory is specified, the log files will be created in that directory.

The 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. 

Single log

Alternatively it is possible to use a single log file: uncomment the "set session log" line and specify the desired CHARON-VAX log file name. Optionally, a path can be added to the log file name. If the path is not specified, the log file is created in the directory from where the guest (emulated machine) is started.

The log file can be extended ("log_method = append") or overwritten ("log_method = overwrite") by CHARON-VAX.

Below is a specification of a CHARON-VAX log file located in the "/my_logs" directory which will be appended each time CHARON-VAX starts:

TOY, ROM and EEPROM containers

The next objects to be configured are TOY, ROM and EEPROM containers (their presence depends on the VAX model). It is always recommended to enable them. If a container file of the given name does not exist, CHARON-VAX will create it. Specific paths can be added to the file name specification.

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

The ROM container stores an intermediate state of the Flash ROM and some console parameters. It is highly recommended to define its location:

EEPROM stores the NVRAM content. It is highly recommended to define its location:

Emulated memory (RAM) size

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

Example:

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

The following table lists all the parameters per model:

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

Console

Mapping to system resources

The next step is the specification of the VAX console (OPA0) serial line.

Example:

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

The default setting is "operator_console".

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:

IF VAX 4000 and MicroVAX 3100 models are used, it is possible to configure up to 4 independent console lines: OPA0, TT0, TT1 and TT2. The main one is OPA0.

 Note there are a number of additional parameters for CHARON-VAX serial line configuration. Follow this link for details.

Exit on pressing F6 key

A hot key can be defined to stop the execution of the CHARON-VAX virtual machine:

It is strongly recommended to uncomment this line to provide CHARON-VAX the ability to exit by pressing the "F6" key.

Disk subsystem

The next step is the configuration of the disk subsystem and mapping it to the system resources using the samples given in the template configuration files.

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

MSCP disk controllers (RQDX3, KDB50, KDM70)

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

The first line ("load RQDX3 DUA") loads disk controller RQDX3 with name DUA, followed by 4 lines showing different ways of mapping to the host resources:

Type of mapping	Description
"<file-name>.vdisk"	Mapping to files representing physical disks of the VAX system (disk images).  These files can be created from scratch with "mkdskcmd" utility. Data and OS disk backups are transferred from the original system via tapes or network and restored into these container files.  Mapping may also include the full path, for example: "/my_disks/my_boot_disk.vdisk"
"/dev/sd<L>"	Mapping to physical disks. "L" is letter here. Be careful not to destroy all the information from the disk dedicated to CHARON-VAX by mistake! These disks can not be formatted by the host OS.  It is also possible to use not a whole disk, but previously created partitions on it. In this case the syntax is the following: "/dev/sd<L><N>" where N is the number of partition to be used.  Since "/dev/sd<L>" addressing is not persistent, so it is strongly recommended to use "/dev/disk/by-id/wwn-*" syntax instead to refer the disk by its WWID - especially in the enviroments utilizing FC and SAN storages (see below).
"/dev/dm-<N>" "/dev/mapper/mpath<N>" "/dev/mapper/disk<N>"	Mapping to multipath disk.  Be careful not to destroy all the information from the disk dedicated to CHARON-VAX by mistake.   These disks must not be formatted by the host OS.
"/dev/disk/by-*"	Mapping to physical disk. by-id (addressing by the disk ID, for example "/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST1000DM003-9YN162_S1D01QJ4") by-label (addressing by the disk label, for example "/dev/disk/by-label/MyStorage") by-uuid (addressing by the disk UUID, for example "/dev/disk/by-uuid/0e808a2f-cdd3-4944-a245-f729ffd73882")  Be careful not to destroy all the information from the disk dedicated to CHARON-VAX by mistake. These disks must not be formatted by the host OS.
"/dev/sr<N>"	Mapping to CD-ROMs. There are some variants of this mapping: "/dev/cdrom<N>" or "/dev/cdrom"
"<file-name>.iso"	Mapping to an ISO file for reading distribution CD-ROM images.

The numbers in the square brackets represent unit numbers associated with each container of the MSCP controller. For example, the line of the configuration sample above, referring container #2, creates the "DUA2" disk. The maximum unit number allowed is 9999, significantly more than the original hardware provided.

It is possible to load several RQDX3 controllers DUB, DUC, etc. (see lines 6-7, above) by configuring specific addresses for them on the Qbus. Use the "CONFIGURE" utility available on the VAX console to determine the addresses. Please refer to specific HP documentation for further information.

Please also refer to the HP documentation for information on placement of additional KDM70 controllers on an XMI bus (VAX 6000 models) and additional KDB50 controllers on a BI bus (VAX 6310).

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.

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"

Note that versions of VAX/VMS older than 5.5-2H4 do not support the optional SCSI controller and might fail to boot if it is loaded.

Follow this link for details of NCR53C94 SCSI controller controllers configuration.

Tape subsystem

Some MSCP and SCSI controllers support tape devices, however CHARON-VAX also emulates specific MSCP tape devices such as TQK50 and TUK50.

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

TQK50 controller

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, line 3 of the configuration sample above creates tape drive "MUA1". The maximum unit number allowed is 9999, significantly more than the original hardware provided

It is possible to load several TQK50 controllers (see the lines 4-5) by configuring specific addresses for them on the Qbus. Use the "CONFIGURE" utility available on the VAX console to determine the addresses. Please refer to specific HP documentation for further information.

TUK50 controller

TUK50 is a UNIBUS controller used by the VAX 6310:

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

Serial Lines

CHARON-VAX supports the following serial lines controllers: CXA16, CXB16, CXY08, DHQ11, DHV11, DZV11, DZQ11, DL11, DLV11, DZ11, DHW42-AA, DHW42-BA and DHW42-CA.

All of them are configured according using 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:

The example above loads a DHQ11 serial line controller with one "TXA0" line mapped to the host virtual serial line "/dev/tty0".

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>").

The number of serial lines possible for each controller depends on its type and corresponds to the HP specification of a given controller.

It is possible to load several CXA16, CXB16, CXY08, DHQ11, DHV11, DZV11, DZQ11, DL11, DLV11 and DZ11 controllers (see the lines 12-16) by configuring specific addresses for them on the Qbus. Use the "CONFIGURE" utility available on the VAX console to determine the addresses. Please refer to specific HP documentation for further information.

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.

Note that additional parameters exist for CHARON-VAX serial lines configuration, follow this link for details.

Networking

CHARON-VAX 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 a DELQA virtual adapter named "XQA". The following 2 lines map it to the host network interface "eth1".

Note that the mapping is performed in 2 steps:

1. A mapping object "packet_port" named "XQA0" is loaded and connected to the host interface "eth1" so CHARON-VAX will use this interface for its networking
2. The loaded DELQA virtual adapter "XQA" is connected to the "packet_port" object "XQA0"

It is possible to load several DEQNA, DESQA, DELQA, DEUNA and DELUA controllers (see the lines 4-5) by configuring specific addresses for them on the Qbus. Use the "CONFIGURE" utility available on the VAX console to determine the addresses. Please refer to the HP specific documentation for further information.

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

Follow this link for more details of CHARON-VAX network controllers configuration.

Auto boot

CHARON-VAX can be configured to automatically boot an operating system at start up.

The MicroVAX 3100,  VAX 6310 and VAX 4000 models boot automatically if the correct boot flags are set at the VAX console level:

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

The ROM of certain VAX models (MicroVAX II, MicroVAX 3600, MicroVAX 3900, VAXserver 3600 and VAXserver 3900) does not allow the SRM console to accept the above command to enable auto booting. As a workaround, a specific setting can be defined in  the configuration file:

The CHARON-VAX 6000 models have a similar configuration setting:

Host load balance for SMP systems

The VAX 6620 through VAX 6660 models emulate 2-6 CPUs respectively. In this situation, loading of the host system can be tuned with the following configuration file settings: