Running CHARON-AXP for Windows

Introduction

It is possible to run one or several instances of CHARON-AXP at the same time if your license allows it.

For multiple instances, please use only absolute paths and unique names to all the files referenced in the configuration file of each CHARON-AXP instance (log, toy clock, rom files and all the other data such as disk images (Exception: clustering) - all these objects to be discussed later in this document). Also, hardware devices (e.g., CD-ROM) may be used by only one instance at a time (not shared).

For example:

...
set session log="C:\Charon Instances\1st_es40.log"
set rom container="C:\Charon Instances\1st_es40.bin"
set toy container="C:\Charon Instances\1st_es40.dat"

load KZPBA PKA scsi_id = 7
set PKA container[0]="C:\Charon Instances\1st_es40_boot_disk.vdisk"
...

Please refer to the next chapters for more details concerning CHARON-AXP configuration details.

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Running from a Desktop shortcut

The CHARON installation procedure creates a shortcut on the desktop for so-called "default" HP Alpha model and shortcuts under "Start" menu for all HP Alpha models included during installation.

Desktop shortcut:

"Start" menu shortcuts:

To run a specific CHARON-AXP model, double click the target model's desktop shortcut (or click on "Start" menu shortcut).

By default the CHARON sample configuration files do not contain any specification for disks and network; you need to update a copy of the sample configuration file to specify your specific disk and network configuration.

Depending on settings, Windows may display a Firewall warning dialog asking to confirm CHARON access to different networks.

Check the desired options and press "Allow access" button.

The CHARON icon will appear in the system tray menu:

Next, the HP Alpha emulated console will appear (in the default configuration. Some configurations may not start the console):

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.

If the CHARON icon in the system tray menu disappears, it means a critical error happened at run-time. In this case you have to analyze the CHARON log file, by default stored in the CHARON executables folder. The default location for log files is "C:\Program Files\CHARON\Build_XXX\x64". The name of the log file depends on the model of emulated HP Alpha and the date and time, for example "AlphaServer_1200-2015-01-20-13-40-32-000000000.log"

The easiest way to find the needed log file is to sort all the files in the CHARON executables directory by date of modification.

Generally it is not recommended to use template (sample) configuration files (used in shortcuts) for your configuration since those files are part of the installation and may be deleted by the CHARON installation procedure on modifications or re-installation. It is a good practice to copy the required configuration template from "C:\Program Files\CHARON\Build_XXX\x64" directory to some local file and build the configuration from there.

Once the sample configuration files are copied, the CHARON default shortcut (created by the installation procedure) can be changed to use your target configuration file:

Right click on CHARON shortcut for target HP Alpha model
Choose "Properties"
In the "Target" edit box, change the default template configuration file path and name to the local one. For example "C:\My configurations\my_es40.cfg"
Press "Apply" button

The next step is to install or copy a system disk for CHARON operation. This can be either installation of a new OpenVMS, Tru64 Unix, etc. system using a distribution provided by HP or a transfer of data from an existing HP Alpha system. These possibilities will be discussed in detail in the next chapters.

To exit from the CHARON-AXP emulator use the following methods:

Configuration with no changes to the template configuration file
- Right click on CHARON icon in the system tray menu, choose "Stop & Exit":
- Type "power off" in CHARON-AXP SRM console
Configuration file updated to enable "F6" button in the configuration file to trigger exit from CHARON:
- To exit, press "F6" in the console window
- Use CHARON icon tray menu as shown above

Before stopping the CHARON-AXP service, shutdown the operating system running in CHARON-AXP.

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Running from the Launcher utility

Running from the "CHARON Launcher" utility is very convenient during the debugging of your CHARON configuration. The utility shows CHARON log updates in real time. If RDP is used to connect to the CHARON host, CHARON-AXP may not see the license. To solve this, start CHARON as a Service instead. From the Launcher, CHARON runs as a user process which will terminate if the user logs off. This is not the case if the virtual machine is defined as a service: the process will continue to run until stopped.

Start the Launcher:

In the Launcher main interface, click the "Browse" button to select the desired CHARON configuration file:

Select the desired configuration file:

The Launcher will display the CHARON model specified in the selected configuration file:

Now it is possible to run CHARON. Press the "Run selected configuration" button.

Depending on system settings, Windows may display a Firewall warning dialog asking to confirm CHARON access to different networks.

Check the desired options and press "Allow access" button.

Next, the CHARON icon will appear in the system tray menu:

Right after that the HP Alpha emulated console will appear (in the default configuration. Some configurations may not start the console):

The Launcher will display CHARON log file:

Log messages have the following colors:

Color	Error level

Color	Error level
	Information
	Warning
	Error