Charon-VAX V4.10 Build 202-03 for Linux - Release Notes

Version: 2 - Published: Jul 8, 2020 

Table of Contents

Please review this document before proceeding with installation of CHARON-VAX for Linux

Products included in the CHARON-VAX version 4.10 build 202-03 for Linux

In this document the terms CHARON and CHARON-VAX are used to refer to all the products below:

• CHARON-VAX/XM version 4.10 build 202-03 for Linux

• CHARON-VAX/XM PLUS version 4.10 build 202-03 for Linux

• CHARON-VAX/XK PLUS version 4.10 build 202-03 for Linux

• CHARON-VAX/XL version 4.10 build 202-03 for Linux

• CHARON-VAX/XL PLUS version 4.10 build 202-03 for Linux

• CHARON-VAX/6610 PLUS version 4.10 build 202-03 for Linux

• CHARON-VAX/6620 PLUS version 4.10 build 202-03 for Linux

• CHARON-VAX/6630 PLUS version 4.10 build 202-03 for Linux

• CHARON-VAX/6660 PLUS version 4.10 build 202-03 for Linux

Supported software platforms

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.x, 64bit

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 - 6.10, 64bit

• CentOS 7.x, 64bit

• VMware ESXi 5.5 and 6.x up to 6.7 (requires a supported Linux operating system on top of a ESXi virtual machine)

Hosting hardware requirements and configuration recommendations

• The number of available x86/x64 compatible (Intel or AMD) CPU cores in the hosting server should be at least 150% of the number of emulated CPU cores.

• The recommended number of available (Intel or AMD) CPU cores in the hosting server is twice the number of emulated CPU cores.

• Intel Xeon E-series v3 and above with a CPU clock frequency from 3GHz; to achieve the best performance use the latest Intel Xeon CPUs from the Scalable Processors family.

• DDR4 RAM 2133 MHz and above is recommended for optimal CHARON performance.

• The minimum host memory size depends on the amount of emulated VAX memory and on the number of CHARON instances running on one host. The minimum host memory = (2Gb +  the amount of VAX memory emulated) per CHARON-VAX instance.

• Mid range and high end RAID controllers with at least 1GB cache with write-back enabled and battery backup option is recommended.
  (Using low-end RAID controllers may cause significant performance degradation and CHARON-VAX crash. RAID5 and similar configurations are not recommended.)

• Intel HT (Hyper-Threading Technology) should be disabled on the hosting server.

• Hosting server should always run at full speed. Power management and the screen saver should be disabled on the hosting server.

• The Port Group Security Tab containing the CHARON network adapter(s) must be set to Promiscuous mode, MAC Address Change and Forged Transmit=Accept.

New functionalities introduced in build 202-03 since previous release (build 194-02)

• IEQ11 board is implemented on top of (couple of) NI PCI-GPIB interface cards (ID#4670)

• Linux bonding adapters are supported (ID#4750)

• Kernel version and System release are included to the log (ID#5393)

• Log is flushed regularly and asynchronously to facilitate online LOG monitoring by third-party tools (ID#5532)

• VMware Ethernet adapters: in addition to the E1000, E1000E and VMXNETx adapters are now fully supported.

• Copyrights are updated in all sample configuration files (ID#5399)

• Licensing mechanism is improved (ID#5375, 5458, 5459)

• Network License management processing changes (ID#4631)

• hasp_srm_view output is improved (ID#5392)

• "ncu" utility is improved (ID#5404)

Problems fixed in build 202-03 since build 194-02

• Fixed a problem when Charon-VAX hung on exit waiting for PUTTY to terminate (ID#5528)

• Fixed a problem when VAX Cluster hung in certain configurations (Support Case 00030570, 00030564, ID#5426)

• Fixed a problem when it was impossible to mount physical tape on "MicroVAX_3100_Model_98" model (ID#5488, 5489)

• Fixed a problem when sometimes network does not work with PMAD-AA  (ID#5067)

• Fixed a problem leading to the message "(95) Operation not supported: EWA0: Failed to query for max frame size. Assume 1518." (ID#4899)

• Fixed an issue when Team0 interface disappearing after being dedicated to Charon with NCU (ID#5434)

• Fixed a problem where CharonCP failed to install on OpenVMS 6.2-1H3 (ID#5329). 

• Fixed a problem where Charon reports "Can not change current ethernet address... Dynamic change of ethernet address is disabled or is not supported" if port_enable_mac_addr_change is set to false (error code 00000113) as an error instead of a warning (ID#5443)

Configuration changes required when upgrading from previous version(s) or migrating from Windows platform to build 202-03

• E1000E and VMXNETx VMware adapters are fully supported

• A CHARON license update is required. Stromasys might request a HASP dongle state (c2v file) or a host fingerprint taken by HASP Update Service (which is included in the CHARON kit) in order to issue a license update. Please refer to License installation for details

• Uninstall any installed version of CHARON-VAX before installing the new version

• If VMware is used, it must be upgraded to version 5.x, 6.0, 6.5 or 6.7

• It's recommended to archive the old CHARON log files before starting the new version in order to avoid mixing character encoding in the log files

• CHARON-VAX cannot be started remotely via ssh, telnet, VNC, etc., if a local HASP dongle or a local software license is used. Please use Charon Linux Toolkit. Alternatively, network dongle or network software license can be used. Another option is to configure CHARON-VAX as a Linux service/daemon manually. See "Running as system service" chapter for details of how to configure CHARON-VAX as a service/daemon

• Intelligent packet processing should be switched off for the network adapters dedicated to CHARON with "Network Configuration Utility" (ncu) utility. Please refer to FTP, NFS, and general network issues with CHARON-AXP and CHARON-VAX on Linux for details

• Linux Xterm does not provide the full functionality of a VT100 terminal by default. Please refer to the user manual for the details of setting up the mode for emulating VT100.

• The CHARON-VAX configuration file should be reviewed if migrating from CHARON-VAX for Windows. Windows specific configuration parameters (for example, network adapter references) should be changed to Linux specific parameters. Please refer to the "CHARON-VAX V4.10 for Linux - User's Guide" for details.

• CHARON executables, libraries and data (disk container files) files should be excluded from all the antivirus checks, including on-the-fly checks and scheduled scans

• HT (Hyper-Threading Technology) should be disabled on the hosting server

• Power management and screen saver should be switched off on the hosting server

• Please note that the actual network communication speed and mode are determined by the Linux network speed and mode settings. This feature is required to avoid network timeouts in VAX/VMS during the negotiation phase

• The extension of the kfddb.cfg file, used to load extra pair of DSSI port on some VAX models, and kzdda.cfg file, used to load optional SCSI controller on some VAX models, has changed to .icfg. Existing configuration files have to be updated.