PCI I/O Bypass controller
Table of Contents
General description
CHARON-AXP supports PCI I/O bypass controller for accessing to disk images and host physical disks. PCI I/O bypass controller requires a specific driver to be installed.
PCI I/O bypass controller support is available only for OpenVMS guest operating system.
Prerequisites
This release supports VMS version V6.2-1H3 and higher. Bypass disks can not be used as a boot device in V6.2-1H3, higher versions do not have this restriction.
Make sure that the latest Bypass controller kit has been installed, especially for VMS versions before V7.3-2.
Installation
Open your VM configuration and attach the virtual disk "ovms_tool.vdisk" located by default in the "C:\Program Files\CHARON\Virtual Disk Images\OpenVMS tools package" directory:
set PKA container[400] = "C:\Program Files\CHARON\Virtual Disk Images\OpenVMS tools package\ovms_tools.vdisk"
- Run VM, boot guest OpenVMS operating system.
- Mount the disk, its label is "TOOLS" (Example:
$ MOUNT DKA400: TOOLS
) Use the POLYCENTER Software Installation (PCSI) utility to install the Bypass Driver. The following example demonstrates the "PCSI
PRODUCT INSTALL"
command to execute and the expected output (the example assumes the utilities virtual disk image is attached asDKA400:
):$ PRODUCT INSTALL CHARON_DISK/SOURCE=DKA400:[BYPASS]
%PCSI-I-CANNOTVAL, cannot validate DKA400:[BYPASS]SRI-AXPVMS-CHARON_DISK-V0104--1.PCSI;1
-PCSI-I-NOTSIGNED, product kit is not signed and therefore has no manifest file
The following product has been selected:
SRI AXPVMS CHARON_DISK V1.4 Layered Product
Do you want to continue? [YES] YES
Configuration phase starting ...
You will be asked to choose options, if any, for each selected product and for any products that may be installed to satisfy software dependency requirements.
SRI AXPVMS CHARON_DISK V1.4: Charon disk driver V1.4 for OpenVMS Alpha.
Copyright (C) 1976, 2009 Software Resources International
CHARON_DISK was produced by Software Resources International
* This product does not have any configuration options.
Execution phase starting ...
The following product will be installed to destination:
SRI AXPVMS CHARON_DISK V1.4 DISK$TARDISSYSTEM:[VMS$COMMON.]
Portion done: 0%...10%...20%...80%...100%
The following product has been installed:
SRI AXPVMS CHARON_DISK V1.4 Layered Product
Loading PCI I/O bypass controller
Syntax for loading PCI I/O bypass storage adapter:
load pci_io_bypass <name> |
The <name> can be DI<x>, DR<x> or DU<x>
where x is selected according to VMS naming scheme, i.e. A stands for the first controller of given type, B - for the second, etc.
Example:
load pci_io_bypass DIA |
In AlphaStation 400 configuration use the following syntax for PCI I/O bypass storage loading:
load pci_io_bypass DIA irq_bus = isa
The adapter instance name ("DIA" in the example above) is used then for parametrization, for example:
set DIA container[0]="C:\My disks\vms_distribution.vdisk" |
The numbers in the square brackets represent a number of device on PCI I/O Bypass controller.
The maximum number of I/O Bypass controller devices is 64.
By default I/O Bypass controller uses PCI slot corresponded to the <x> parameter (see above). If instead some particular slot is needed, refer to this section for details of specific placement of PCI peripherals on CHARON Virtual Machine (VM) PCI bus (note that "irq_bus" and "irq" parameters are ignored for I/O Bypass controller). In this case the <x> will be changed automatically according to custom position of I/O Bypass controller on PCI bus.
I/O Bypass controller is implemented for OpenVMS only.
Configuration parameters
The I/O Bypass controller has the following configuration parameters:
container
Parameter | container[N] N is 0..32766 (no more than 64 units) |
---|---|
Type | Text string |
Value | Possible values of the parameter are strings in one of the following forms:
This parameter is initially not set, thus creating NO storage elements on the controller.. |
removable
Parameter | removable[N] N is 0..32766 (no more than 64 units) |
---|---|
Type | Boolean |
Value | When set to "true", the removable configuration parameter instructs CHARON VM to report the corresponding virtual disk as removable. Note to set this parameter to "true" if this disk storage element is:
By default the removable configuration parameter is set to "false". Example: |
geometry
Parameter | geometry [N] N is 0..32766 (no more than 64 units) |
---|---|
Type | Text String |
Value | This formatted string value specifies the explicit geometry of the disk storage element. This parameter is not applicable to tape storage elements. The string format is ”*/*/*/<B>" or ”*,*,*<B>" where B is the total size of the disk (in blocks) reported to the guest OS. If omitted it is calculated automatically. If this parameter is not set, CHARON VM 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 is 0..32766 (no more than 64 units) |
---|---|
Type | Text String |
Value | Instructs CHARON VM to enable host operating system I/O cache on reading/writing operations. The following values are possible:
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:
|
Empty disk images are created with the "MkDisk" utility.
CHARON-AXP is able to boot from disk images of any OpenVMS/Alpha version.
Usage example
Example using DR disk devices (disk drives connected to a SWXCR raid controller):
|
Deinstallation
- Do a conversational boot. Please refer to your OpenVMS system administration guide for instructions.
- Set the
NOAUTOCONFIG
system parameter to1
- Boot OpenVMS
- Remove the product with the "
$ PRODUCT REMOVE CHARON_DISK
" command. - Set the
NOAUTOCONFIG
system parameter to0
and reboot.
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