CHARON-VAX V4.7 Build 171-01 for Windows - Release Notes

Products included in the CHARON-VAX version 4.7 build 171-01 for Windows

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

CHARON-VAX/XM version 4.7 build 171-01 for Windows
CHARON-VAX/XM PLUS version 4.7 build 171-01 for Windows
CHARON-VAX/XK PLUS version 4.7 build 171-01 for Windows
CHARON-VAX/XL version 4.7 build 171-01 for Windows
CHARON-VAX/XL PLUS version 4.7 build 171-01 for Windows
CHARON-VAX/6610 PLUS version 4.7 build 171-01 for Windows
CHARON-VAX/6620 PLUS version 4.7 build 171-01 for Windows
CHARON-VAX/6630 PLUS version 4.7 build 171-01 for Windows
CHARON-VAX/6660 PLUS version 4.7 build 171-01 for Windows

Supported software platforms

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard and Datacenter Editions, 64 bit version (please notice that only R2 revision is supported)
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (SP1) Standard and Enterprise Editions, 64 bit version (please notice that only R2 revision is supported)
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate (SP1) Editions, 32 bit and 64 bit versions
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional Edition, 32 and 64 bit versions
VMware ESXi 5.x and 6.0 (requires a supported Windows operating system on top of a ESXi virtual machine)
Microsoft Hyper-V (requires a supported Windows operating system on top of a Hyper-V 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 v3 generation and above (E3 v3, E5 v3, E7 v3), CPUs with a clock frequency of 3GHz and higher are recommended for optimal CHARON performance.
DDR4 RAM 1866 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.
DEP (Data Execution Prevention) must be set to "Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only".
Hosting server should always run at full speed. Power management and the screen saver should be disabled on the hosting server.
Windows UAC should be disabled.
On VMware, E1000 network adapters must be used for CHARON; VM network adapters dedicated to CHARON and vSwitch dedicated to CHARON network segment should be set to Promiscuous mode.

New functionality introduced in build 171-01 since previous release (build 158-04)

New platform support
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (please notice Server 2012 is not supported)
- VMware ESXi 6.0
- Microsoft Hyper-V on Server 2012 R2
- Please notice Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are not supported (ID#4498)
CHARON product packaging
- All emulated VAX models are installed by default. Allowed VAX models are controlled by CHARON license (ID#4711)
- New icons and graphical design for CHARON executables, utilities and installation procedure (ID#4586, 4587, 4588, 4688)
- WebUI component is not selected for installation by default (ID#4497)
New configuration options and configuration changes
- MPIO storage path support is implemented (ID#4328)
- VLANs are supported (ID#4401)
- The log file language is set to English (ID#4509)
- CHARON console log rotation has been implemented (ID#4639)
- CHARON log file format switched to UTF-8 (ID#4188)
- Rotating log file switch can be configured to be triggered by maximum file size and time period (ID#4639)
- LK401-AT keyboard sequences (i. e. PF4 + Compose) is supported (ID#3837)
New licensing options. Please refer to User Manual and online Knowledge Base for details, technical restrictions, and best practices (ID#2856, #4137, #4285)
- Software licensing (SL) is available. Software license is bound to physical system hardware components or virtual machine hardware components (ID#4344)
- Network licensing is available, for both hardware dongles (require special dongle) and software licensing
- CHARON instance counter on a Network license switched to instance mode from station/instance mode, which allows CHARON instances to be spread around the network at user convenience. For example, a Network license with 6 CHARON instances allows to run 3 instances on a first hosting server, 2 instances on a second hosting server, and one instance in a third hosting server. In the previous versions of CHARON Network license controlled number of hosting systems and CHARON instances per host system.
- CHARON license check order can be managed via configuration file, Production and Backup license IDs can be specified (ID#4249)
- Software License can be relocated to another host
- New parameter "license_key_lookup_retry" has been introduced allowing to set a number of license retries with specified time interval for the license checks on CHARON startup (ID#4399)
- License protection run time package (Sentinel) has been upgraded to the current stable version (ID#4209, 4711)
- Please notice that CHARON HASP runtime environment is customized by Stromasys. Environment downloaded directly form SafeNet would not provide full functionality (specifically, Software Licensing will not work). Stromasys will maintain and distribute HASP environment updates as CHARON product patches if necessary
CHARON utilities
- Logmond supports multi instance and rotating log configurations
- MTD utility supports SCSI Passthrough mode for tapes without Windows driver (ID#3927)
- Network Control Center (NCC) performs CHARON network driver cleanup on request (ID#4610)
- Launcher utility shows most recent CHARON version first (ID#4673)
- An option to schedule a CHARON service stop through CHARON Service Manager (ID#4701)
- CHARON utilities fully support mixed encoding in log files (ID#4642, 4646)
- mkdskcmd utility does not allow to reduce vdisk size (ID#4506)
The InstallShell program is now able to detect the presence of installed versions 4.8 and above in case of downgrade and will display a popup to remind the current version has to be uninstalled before reinstalling version 4.7. There is no new build created with this update published on 15 Feb 2017

Problems fixed in build 171-01 since build 158-04

Fixed Reflection terminal emulator program error on closing CHARON (ID#4623)
Fixed an installation of CHARON NDIS driver with CHARON Network Control Center on Windows 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1 (ID#4687)
Fixed a segmentation violation in SGEC module on CHARON-VAX boot (DOW issue) (ID#4638)
Fixed an incorrect handling of block data transfer via CI/DSSI cluster interconnect (ID#4648)
Fixed an overflow of SST Queue Progress Counter (ID#4434, 4539)
Fixed an exception (C0000005) at 10005324: Segmentation violation crash (ID#4481, 4540)
Fixed various issues with CHARON on the fly switching between primary and backup licenses of different types (local, network, software) (ID#4058, 4179, 4502, 4622)
Adjusted a CHARON network driver to function with HP Proliant G8 family built-in network adapters (LOM 1Gbe x 4) (ID#4354)
Fixed CHARON service startup issues if Putty console is configured as for foreground run (ID#4458)
Fixed a crash during a reboot after performing Autogen (ID#4598)
Fixed VAX/VMS 5.5-2 DSSI Cluster hang on boot (ID#4658)
Fixed logging with RAM set to 8MB for MicroVAX configuration (ID#4699)
Fixed an "F6" key handling for CHARON-VAX running as a service (ID#4600)
Fixed VAX SRM console test 19 failure on autoboot after Windows boot (ID#4528, 4672)
Fixed CHARON Service Manager crash when viewing log files with different encoding and/or long lines (ID#4475)
Fixed CHARON handling for Spare licenses (ID#4622)
Fixed log monitoring service (LOGMOND) startup (ID#4634)
Fixed Invalid message Charon Mail Report (ID#4700)
Fixed a HASP_view utility crash on viewing expired NetTime license (ID#4702)
Fixed a false warning from Installation procedure about changes to some files which had not been changed (ID#4523)
Fixed InstallShell privileges for installation from non Administrator user (ID#4527)
Fixed NCC handling for virtual network adapters and network bridges (ID#4097, #4099)
Fixed a VAX console hang if not enough I/O cores are set for VAX 66x0 (ID#4331)
Fixed MSCP disks shown as DSSI in SRM console (ID#1840)
Fixed VMS on VAX 66x0 presenting vtape container as a vdisk (ID#4352)
Fixed an occasional time drift (ID#4341)
Fixed VAX 66x0 crash due to segmentation violation (ID#4304)
Fixed out of order network packets transmission if multiple network sessions are established with a single host (ID#4302)
Fixed iSCSI disk sharing MV II and MV 3600 (ID#3054)
Fixed a Putty console startup issue (ID#4193)
Fixed a Launcher issue with saving configuration change to a CHARON service (ID#4098, 4208)
Minor fixes to logging and utilities version information (ID#4214, 4349, 4388, 4425)
Fixed NCC reporting lack of privileges (ID#4256)
Various WebUI fixes (ID#3632, ID#4036, ID#4128, ID#4130, ID#4131, ID#4178, ID#4195, ID#4196, ID#3592, ID#4177)

Configuration changes required when upgrading from previous versions of CHARON-VAX to build 171-01

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 Update Service for details
The following Microsoft Windows update has to be installed on Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 in order to support new CHARON drivers signed with SHA2 signature:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/SecurityAdvisories/2015/3033929
If VMware is used, it must be upgraded to version 5.x or 6.0
It's recommended to archive the old CHARON log before starting the new version n order to avoid mixing character encoding in the log file
Launcher cannot start CHARON over a Remote Desktop connection. Alternative access methods (physical console, HP ILO, Teamviewer, VNC) can be used. However Launcher is able to create and modify CHARON service, and CHARON Service Manager can be used to manage CHARON startup and shutdown.
Intelligent packet processing should be switched off for the network adapters dedicated to CHARON with "Network Control Center" (NCC) utility. Please refer to FTP, NFS, and general network issues with CHARON-AXP and CHARON-VAX on Windows for details
The user that runs CHARON-VAX must have local administrator privileges and be a member of CHARON-GRP group (which is created during the CHARON installation)
CHARON executables, libraries and data (disk container 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
DEP (Data Execution Prevention) should be set to "Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only"
Power management and screen saver should be switched off on the hosting server
CHARON-VAX configuration file should be reviewed if migrating from CHARON-VAX for Linux. Linux specific configuration parameters (for example, network adapter references) should be changed to Windows specific parameters. Please refer to the user manual for details.
Please note that the actual network communication speed and mode are determined by the Windows network speed and mode settings.
For network connections, interface="connection:..." syntax is preferred in the CHARON configuration file
The packet_port keyword in the CHARON configuration file can be used on any hosting platform instead of the platform specific keywords ndis5_chpack_port and ndis6_chpack_port.

For example, the CHARON configuration file lines:
load ndis5_chpack_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
and
load ndis6_chpack_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
can be replaced with:
load packet_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
For the emulated network adapters the communication speed and mode is recommended to be commented out (set to automatic). If it is necessary, the example is below:
load DE500BA/dec21x4x EWA interface=EWA0
load packet_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
set EWA adapter_mode="100BaseT-FD"
On VMware, E1000 network adapters should be used for CHARON; virtual appliance network adapters and vSwitch should be set to Promiscuous mode
On VMware, legacy_mode should be set in CHARON configuration for emulated AXP network adapters if Promiscuous mode cannot be set (this solution does not work in multi-instance configurations)

Known restrictions of build 171-01

Network booting is supported with exception of VAX6xxx models.
Do not use the "Disable TCP chimney offload" feature of "CHARON Network Control Center" (NCC) utility since it may lead to some critical problems relevent to CHARON license checking. If for any reason you have already used this feature proceed with the following:
1. Run CMD with administrative privileges
2. Issue the command: netsh interface tcp show chimneyapplications
3. Then for each installed CHARON executable from the list run the following command: netsh inter tcp delete chimneyapplication "C:\<full path to CHARON executable.exe>"
A segmentation violation in module NCR53C94 may very rarely occur. If that happens, please provide CHARON configuration and log files to Stromasys (ID#4633)
CMS commands may slow down due to a its internal design. STROMASYS provides (on request) a special OpenVMS utility to solve the problem (ID#4651)
CHARON cannot correctly define the total number of available CPUs on mutli CPU groups systems (NUMA architecture, etc) - it reports only a number of the CPUs found in its first group. This problem will be fixed in future releases.
As a workaround, enable "Node interleaving" from the BIOS (if available) to make the BIOS report the total number of available CPUs (as a part of one consolidated NUMA group) to the operating system.
For example, on HP Proliant servers, the configuration sequence is the following:
- Boot the server, press F9 and enter BIOS setup.
- Select "Advanced Options" -> "Advance Performance Tuning Options" -> "Node Interleaving", set it to "Enabled".
- Boot Windows.
"Violation of constraint" may happen on RDB loading on VAXserver 3600 (ID#2832)
USB drives and devices are not supported (ID#3323)
MicroVAX II emulator hangs while booting MDM (ID#3382)
CHARON may not boot from physical tapes (ID#1936)
WebUI folder and files do are not removed on uninstallation (ID#4213)
CHARON-VAX does not emulate graphical adapter. Applications hardcoded to use graphical hardware as their own interfaces may not function correctly
Only Windows SCSI devices with a driver that uses SCSIport method could be used with the direct SCSI access. Those include most of the device drivers on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 (R2), and most non disk devices on Windows 7 and Server 2008 (R2). If SCSIport is not supported (and Storport method is used instead), direct SCSI access can't be used.
This is most likely to be the case for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 (R2) disk controller drivers.
This restriction mainly applies to the disk access. Most part of tape drivers currently support SCSIport. When direct SCSI access is used for devices without Windows drivers, this restriction does not apply
CHARON does not support direct access to SCSI devices on Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2. It's recommended to use CHARON-VAX for Linux if access to SCSI devices is necessary.
CHARON-VAX has limited support for teamed network adapters. They could be used only if the MAC address of the virtual VMS network adapter is not changed during CHARON-VAX session. In this case the desired MAC address should be set manually in the properties of the network team and in the CHARON-VAX configuration file by "station_address=XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX" configuration option.
CHARON-VAX does not support virtual network adapters (i.e. MS bridges, etc).
Network speed auto negotiation works with some restrictions. It is always recommended to use full duplex mode on the hosting server.
The firmware does not support the history of commands called with the up/down arrow keys.
VMS 7.x Monitor utility shows the maximum CPU quantity instead of actually configured quantity.
A Telnet session from OpenVMS running on emulated host may freeze console output. The console output can hang when the virtual serial line sends XOFF/XON sequence. The TELNET client sends XOFF to the remote node's TELNET server to suspend output, but for unknown reason XON is discarded and remote node's TELNET server has no chance to resume output. The console remains "frozen". As the remote site is not sending any output to it. When that happens, the local node is reachable over network, and can be unlocked by typing the 'break' character - usually "Ctrl-]" and exiting telnet session by typing "exit" at "TELNET>" prompt.
Emacs hangs if the OPA0 console is used. Emacs works fine over telnet connection.
Running CHARON as a Service may be compromised as CHARON Service manager may not be able to identify all configured disks.
VMS command START/CPU does not start an emulated CPU if it had been previously stopped with STOP/CPU command. This problem will be fixed in the next CHARON-VAX release.
CHARON-VAX Service Manager and Network Control Center could show some minor problems on Simplified Chinese version of Windows.
The correct license must be available to enable the CHARON-VAX to start. The software may wrongly report that no license is present if the correct license is not present. Check the capability of your license by using the utility "HaspView" which is available as a part of the kit.
If installed on VMware, sometimes the POST tests report errors for emulated VAX models 4106 and 4108.
If CHARON s being moved to another hosting platform and direct the SCSI access method is used to access some SCSI devices, the new hosting platform SCSI drivers should support the SCSIport method. If drivers supporting SCSIport method are not available, direct SCSI access cannot be used. This is most likely to be the case for most Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 (R2) devices. The recommended workaround for disk access is to use \\.\PhysicalDriveX method

New functionality introduced in build 158-04

New platform support
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012
- VMware ESXi 5.5
Platform support dropped
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows XP
New emulated VAX models
- VAX 6640 with 4 VAX CPUs and VAX 6650 with 5 VAX CPUs have been added to CHARON-VAX/6660 product (ID#4303). Please refer to SPD for details.
- VAX 4000 models 700 and 705 have been added to CHARON-VAX/XL (PLUS) CHARON-VAX/XK PLUS products (ID#4171). Please refer to SPD for details.
- VAX6640 and VAX6650 models are added as separate products (ID#4303)
New emulated hardware components
- Combined hardware (FPGA based) and software emulation of DRV11-WA is implemented. Available for CHARON-VAX/Xx products. Please contact Stromasys Sales for details (ID#3619).
Driver updates
- Synchronized CHARON network NDIS driver between CHARON-VAX and CHARON-AXP allowing CHARON product mix on a same host (ID#4140, #4143).
New logging options
- VAX console logging – allows capture of an entire session from console prompt to VMS shutdown in a file (ID#3587, #3988).
- Log rotation mechanism and improved filtering. CHARON utilities (Launcher, WebUI, CHARON manager) include support for rotating CHARON log (ID#2281, #3723, #3724, #3725).
- Statistics counters for storage and network subsystems. Available for debugging purposes only (ID#4141).
- Logging of host CPU affinity (ID#3879).
- CHARON log is created in English language only, the rest of localization are disabled (ID#4509)
- Since this release CHARON uses UNICODE for its log files (ID#4188)
- Log file messages are extended with indications of CPU "Halt"/"Run" transitions (ID#4264)
New installation options
- CHARON installation supports 'batch" automated mode (ID#3532).
- CHARON installation upgrades NDIS5/6 driver installed by previous CHARON versions (ID#3819).
- CHARON installation provides status and diagnostics on network driver installation (ID#3618).
New configuration options
- PhysicalDrive container can be configured with device ID and iSCSI target ID to provide persistence across Windows reboots (ID#3667).
- A DEQNA network adapter option (rx_serialization) has been added in order to work around the situation when network packets are delivered to VMS 5.5 too quickly. It's achieved by delaying incoming traffic by 1ms where appropriate. Outgoing traffic is not delayed. (ID#3916.
CHARON utilities improved
- The "Utility" folder in the CHARON start menu has been renamed to "Utilities" (ID#3586).
- The CHARON Launcher provides an option to upgrade CHARON services (ID#3679, #4026, #4098, #4206).
- The HASPVIEW utility has been significantly improved (ID#3539, 3637, 3657, 3742, 3757, 3847, 4059).
- The command line version of MKDISK utility reports progress during disk image creation (ID#3793).
- NCC is able to show its specific error message in its silent mode (ID#3617).
- The LOGMOND utility now offers usage help (invoke without parameters to view) (ID#3580).
- The WebUI is significantly improved (ID#3552, #3676, #3677, 3678).
- A Link to the Putty terminal emulator has been added to the CHARON start menu (ID#3556).
- New "HASP View" utility is able to show all the available license keys and the content of the license they contain (ID#4461)
- The "HASP View" utility is able to display the multi site configuration license parameters and it is improved (ID#4059, 4165)
- CHARON supports disabling network offload features with a special option in Network Control Center (NCC) (ID#4298)
- "MkDisk" utility is able to extend the existing disk container size without destroying its content (ID#4329)
- Additional protection checks are implemented in "MkDskCmd" utility for its "disk transfer" functionality (ID#4506)
- "logmond" utility is significantly improved. Now it supports CHARON rotating log and multi-instances configurations - it is able to monitor log files of all CHARON instances running as services on host.
- Network Control Center supports VLAN (ID#4453)
- The performance improvement package included into the kit is updated (ID#4424)

New functionality introduced in previous builds

Networking part (carrier sense logic) is improved (ID#4339)
"disconnect_timeout" parameter is introduced for the embedded 53C94 SCSI controller of MicroVAX 3100-96/98 and VAX 4000-106/108 mapped to physical SCSI devices (ID#4438)
A Web User Interface (WebUI) was introduced.
The HASP View utility has been updated (Sentinel HASP SL and network licenses are supported now) and integrated with WebUI (ID#3552, #3539, #3130).
A new "Logmond" utility is introduced to allow automatic execution of user-defined actions in case HASP license key is removed (ID#2415).
The "S3QBUS" BUS adapter based on FPGA S3BASE PCI board was introduced (ID#3400).
HASP RTL version control in CHARON installation procedure was implemented (ID#3426).
The Launcher utility can update parameters for existing CHARON services, making it possible to avoid re-installing them (ID#3501).
The Launcher utility can create CHARON services without license checking (ID#3550, #3333).
The Sentinel HASP drivers included with CHARON kits have been updated to version 5.95 (ID#3398).
The "Geometry" parameter was introduced for tape images (ID#2561)
The MUX driver was excluded from CHARON installations (ID#3410).
CHARON services are removed automatically on full deinstallation (ID#3322).
The Installation procedure does not check license and host system requirements during installation (ID#3262, #3256).
CHARON production kits use OQEDC Sentinel HASP licence keys only (ID#3638).
CHARON-VAX is supported on VMware ESXi 4.2 update 1.
The license parameters "expiration date" and "backup time counter" can be updated without stopping CHARON-VAX. This change allows CHARON evaluation or annual licenses to be updated "on the fly" to the permanent production licenses or to the next year annual licenses. Please note that other CHARON configuration parameters must remain unchanged.
CHARON-VAX/XX now supports virtual SCSI tapes on NCR SCSI controllers.
CHAPI (CHARON API) functionality is fully supported by CHARON-VAX QBUS based emulators starting from this release.
CHARON network packet driver name "packet_port" in CHARON configuration file had been made platform independent. For example:
load packet_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
It is still possible to use "ndis6_chpack_port" names of the driver, however we recommend updating the CHARON-VAX configuration file
Management of the .ROM and .DAT files is improved (ID#3085)
All network connections have "Half Duplex 10BaseT" mode by default
HASP View functionality and usability has been improved
The Installation procedure displays the End User Agreement and asks user to agree with the terms and conditions in order to proceed
The Installation procedure can install and deinstall CHARON products without the license key plugged in. However older versions of CHARON-VAX still may require a valid license
The CHARON Service Management Utility has been updated. It is present in the Windows System Tray at all times. It can be accessed and used to manage CHARON-VAX instances
New utilities and drivers have been added to the installation kit. For more information please refer to the User Manual
Only Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate Editions and Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard and Enterprise Editions are supported by this release
CHARON products and utilities clean up the system's registry settings on deinstallation
PMAD-AA TurboChannel Ethernet Adapter for VAXstation 4000 Model 90 was added
All products have been brought to the same version level 4.2
CHARON-VAX supports Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
CHARON-VAX supports VMware ESX(i) 4.2. 3rd party hardware or software might be required to provide CHARON-VAX with access to the HASP license dongle. Please note that additional support charges may be requested for installations on VMware.
The Network Control Center configuration assistant supports all types of VAX network interfaces available to CHARON-VAX
The CHARON-VAX utilities support simplified Chinese
The emulator opens log files in append mode
The 'repeated messages' logging filter is enabled by default
The MkDisk utility has been expanded to handle .VDISK metadata
The installation procedure can disable all unnecessary services. Note that this operation disables host networking completely to make it a platform fully dedicated to CHARON-VAX.
The CHARON-VAX executables are able to automatically configure DEP settings during installation
The installation product directory can be freely chosen
Full deinstallation removes all traces of the product
The "io_delay_ms" parameter has been added to all the CHARON-VAX/XX products for "virtual_scsi_disk"
The HASP_HL_VIEW utility has been added. It is able to display both HASP-HL and HASP-SRM license key content. The user interface of HASP_HL_VIEW has been improved as well as its functionality
The HOSTPrint utility has been updated: now the maximum length of each line is adjusted automatically.
The installation log now lists all attributes of installed files, including size, product and file version, modification date, etc.

Problems fixed in previous builds

Fixed PMAD-AA incorrect reporting of MAC/station address to VMS 5.5-2H4 (ID#4255)
Fixed CHARON DIT licensing in application and service mode (ID#4182, #4301)
Fixed CHARON-VAX/6660 crash with "divided by zero" error (ID#4316)
Fixed DECNET operating over serial lines (ID#3035)
Fixed poor DECNET performance in Network Load test (ID#2985)
Fixed physical serial line lock-ups (ID#3036, #3991)
Fixed VMS hang on attempting to login over modem (ID#3053)
Fixed incorrect license behavior when host time is backdated (ID#4058)
Fixed MTD utility issue with no access to some SCSI tape drives (ID#3927)
Fixed CHARON crash with exception (C0000005) at 000000000071EF46: Segmentation violation (ID#4066)
Fixed NCC monitoring features (ID#3922)
Fixed Windows SErver 2012 version detection (ID#3920, #3921)
Fixed MicroVAX II running OpenVMS 4.5 network circuit going down every few seconds (ID#3916, #4068)
Fixed Launcher crash in case of config file lines are too long (ID#3910)
Fixed VAX VMS 6.2 (patched) crash with disks over 17GB (ID#3895)
Fixed issues setting up DSSI VAX Cluster (ID#3885)
Fixed an issue with MOUNT/cluster of a shared iSCSI disk on VAX 6310 (ID#3390)
Fixed inappropriate license check interval (ID#3754)
Fixed BIRQ handling on VAX (ID#3756)
Improved CHARON logging for missing license (ID#3116)
Fixed on the fly switch to backup dongle (ID#3690)
Fixed CD-ROM going offline if there was no disk in the host CD-ROM drive on CHARON startup (ID#3518)
Various fixes in CHARON logging and clear reporting of the issues (ID#3747, #3774, #3775, #3799, #3816, #4214)
Various fixes for HaspView utility (ID#3720, #3722)
Fixed MKDISK disk size calculation (ID#3812)
Fixed Service update functionality on CHARON Launcher (ID#3808)
Various CHARON Launcher fixes (ID#3566, #3567, #3752, #4033, #4055)
Various CHARON Service manager fixes (ID#3744)
Various WebUI fixes (ID#3512, #3593, #3597, #3615, #3627, #3670, #3676, #3692, #3711, #3712, #3713, #3714, #3720, #3743, #3751, #3769, #3890, #3903, #3975,#4022, #4025, #4050, #4123, #4124, #4128, #4129, #4130, #4131, #4136, #4178, #4192, #4195, #4196)
Drive error when tried to boot from unit 0 of MU (ID#3599)
Shadowing with physical drive does not work properly with VAX 3100 / 4000 models (ID#3313)
CDROM does not work properly with VAX 3100 / 4000 models (ID#3314)
"Removable" qualifier does not work in cerrain situations (ID#2738)
VAXELN hangs at boot stage on CHARON-VAX VAX4000 Model 90 (ID#3499)
CHARON-66x0 VAX6k310 hangs on "Initializing system" stage (ID#3363)
Ultrix V4.3 and V4.5 does not boot properly on CHARON-VAX MicroVAX II (ID#3365)
OpenVMS 5.5-2 boot fails on CHARON-VAX VAX4000 Model 106 (ID#3413)
In certain sitiations CHARON-VAX VAX6000 Model 310 is not bootable (ID#3565)
CHARON-VAX VAX6000 Model 310 cannot use Charon IDLE package utilities (ID#3578)
CHARON-VAX permanently bugchecking in UCX FTP ACP (ID#3582)
Several DMA problems on the new FPGA base PCI2QBUS adapter (ID#3583)
The installation process becomes slow if a lot of CHARON products have already been installed on one host (ID#3388)
CHARON crashes with "C0..005" exception in some particular environments (ID#3425)
F6 pressing does not stop Charon if console is physical VT100 (ID#3483)
Backup license works more time than specified (ID#3484)
CHARON-VAX 6620+ crashes VMS extensively when running on 4.4GHz Core i7 when ACE is enabled (ID#3494)
CHARON-VAX VAX66x0 SMP configuration crash with CPUSANITY when running on high end server (ID#3533)
VAX VMS BUG CHECK happens when CPUSPINWAIT CPU spinwait timer expired (ID#3540)
CHARON-VAX VAX6620 hangs when running VAX ROM diagnostic (ID#3542)
Launcher cannot install a CHARON service in case of SL license (ID#3566)
Wrong service dependency list for SL-protected executables (ID#3567)
CHARONMANAGER.HLP is 0 KB in size (damaged file) (ID#3408)
Guard Page Violation exception walking through exception stack to avoid exception during exceptions processing (ID#3424)
Update HASP View in order not to decrease counters (ID#3310)
CHARON-VAX VAX6000 Model 310 is unable to initialize a virtual tape (ID#3389)
QUART handles DTR incorrectly (ID#3429)
"set term/speed=***" comand does not work with physical VT100 (ID#3409)
CHARON-VAX VAXstation 4000 model 90 does not display PMAD-AA instance in its SRM console (ID#3339)
Error message during installation of CHARON-VAX on Windows 7 (ID#3367)
Issue configuring TL891 on Windows Server 2008R2 (ID#3369)
HASP HL License Recording Utility migration to 3.21 firmware (ID#2520)
Crash of CHARON-VAX/XM+ build 122-04 emulating VS4090 model (ID#3292)
VCB02 screen refuses to close on shutdown (ID#3295)
VAXstation 4000 Model 90 is unable to bootfrom MDM virtial tape container (ID#2969)
The same tray icons for Service Manager and started Charon (ID#3291)
CHARON services incorrect dependence (ID#3325)
Broken initialization in PMAD-AA module (may crash VS4K90 emulator) (ID#3341)
Modem problem on Charon-VAX for Windows (ID#3269)
After upgrading to 3.3.91 the serial lines do not operate correctly anymore in particular environments (ID#2014)
Assertion check failed at line 170, file ../storage/mscpctlr.cxx (ID#3274)
DEP exception list is not populated with installed VAX models (ID#2405)
CHARON-VAX VAX4108 cluster system crash (ID#3096)
CHARON shows "Windows 7 Business Edition" instead of "Windows 7 Professional" (ID#3167)
CHARON-VAX VAX6000 Model 310 is not bootable (ID#3205)
CHARON-66x0 Models VAX6k610 / VAX6k620 are not bootable (ID#3208)
Licence can be limited both by execution counter and expiration date (ID#3303, #3311)
CHARON service exits on user logoff (ID #3134)
UETP fails on a tape image if CHARON runs on VMware (ID#2427)
There is a problem to stop CHARON if it runs as service in the "automatic" mode with the CHARON Service Manager utility. Workaround: Run the "CharonManager.exe" utility from Administrator (right click of the mouse on the executable, "run from Administrator" option). (ID#2624)
The message "MODEL NOT INSTALLED" occurs when trying to start Charon on Windows 7/2008/2008R2/Vista via the Launcher utility. Workaround: Run the "Launcher.exe" utility from Administrator (right click of the mouse on the executable, "run from Administrator" option). (ID#2557)
Some serial line errors on CHARON-VAX when MOXA board is used (ID#3210)
Physical drive does not work properly with VAX3100 / 4k models (ID#3261)
Hibernation of remote host connected to CHARON-VAX via telnet (console) leads to break of connection till CHARON is restarted (ID#3268)
CHARON shows "Windows 7 Business Edition" instead of "Windows 7 Professional" (ID#3167)
CHARON Service is unable to show console window (ID#3179, 3180)
CHARON Service is unable to detect Windows Server 2008 R2 host shutdown. (ID#3181)
VAX6660 becomes slow if 3.5Gb emulated memory is configured (ID#2789)
Idle Slowdown is not working on MVII/3600 (ID#2816)
Utilities from idle_vms_pkg.vdisk are not working with MVII/3600 (ID#2817)
SHUTDOWN utilities from idle_vms_pkg.vdisk produce no effect on MV3100/4000 (ID#2818)
CHARON causes Windws to reboot every time when OpenVMS starts TCP service right after starting DECnet (ID#2324)
Remote desktop issues with license access on Server 2008 R2 (ID#2571)
In some cases \\.\SCSI... access to disk device is blocked by Windows OS (ID#2740)
VAX 4000 hangs booting VMS from virtual DSSI drive (ID#2733)
VAX 6000 is unable to boot from KFMSA XMI DSSI Adapter (ID#2759)
CHARON service is installed with incorrect Home Directory specified (ID#2776)
Incorrect behavior of COBOL application (ID#2787)
Setting "scs_node_name=STREAMER " is not stored properly (ID#2831)
SHOW DEV shows no UQSSP devices after VMS shutdown (ID#2877)
"%MOUNT-F-NOSUCHDEV, no such device available" is reported sometimes when booting VAX/VMS V7.3 with DSSI disk drives (emulation timing issue) (ID#2873)
Truncated DMA transfer errors happen when booting VAX/VMS V7.3 from DSSI disk drive (ID#2872)
Setting "MI,TF85" parameter for HSD50 tape device causes CHARON to exit (ID#2830)
Incorrect "OS Environment" content is reported in CHARON log file on Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 (ID#2820)
FEPROM content is not preserved if CHARON exits abnormally or runs as service (ID#2777)
OpenVMS hangs at shutdown if certain CHARON configurations are used (OPCCRASH hangs) (ID#2508)
Incorrect log messages about unconfigured serial lines were removed
SCSIcheck utility does not recognize iSCSI volumes correctly (ID#2448)
CHARON-VAX Service does not stop on Windows Server 2008/Vista/7 if configured for a certain stop time in the CHARON Service Manager (ID#2424)
Fail to copy log messages from Charon Service Manager (ID#2417)
Remove extra spaces from Virtual Disk Table and Virtual Disk Metadata files (ID#2596)
Windows registry keys to be removed on complete deinstallation (ID#2572)
Ticket #8029: Mounting disks is happening slower than in the previous releases (ID#2566)
"sst.h:906 assert(immediate_ssts == 0)" happens from time to time when running VAX 6610 (ID#2560)
When trying to run CHARON-VAX executables the following error message is displayed: "The procedure entry point SetThreadStackGuarantee could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll" (ID#2615)
Install Wizard crash (ID#2643)
The charon.rom file cannot be created (ID#2440)
VMS 6.1 and below does not install from standalone backup and does not boot (ID#2438)
POST errors in TEST Subtest (ID#2307)
Chinese-Simplified locale makes CHARON-VAX process non-operational (ID#2697)
USB Floppy Drive is OFFLINE to VMS when connected to SCSI Controller of MicroVAX 3100 Model 98 (ID#2696)
Problem using CDrom on HP 465c blade server connected via USB (ID#2651)
CHARON-VAX crashed with incorrect configuration file (network part) (ID#2622)
The default CFG file produces error messages about missing serial devices TTA0, TTA1 and TTA2 (ID#2338)
DAT72 tape problem: "error in tape label processing" and "tape is not valid ANSI format" error messages (ID#2213)
Windows Server 2008 CN: "Invisible" Installation Log (empty log file) (ID#2678)
A file "mkdisk.vtable" is absent in the kit -- it prevents the MKDISK from starting normally (ID#2589).
Incorrect text encoding in the NetDiag help on Chinese systems (ID#2373).
Install procedure does not inform when unsupported host platform is attempted (ID#2431).
Putty Console does not work (no proper session is available) when CHARON-VAX runs as a service (ID#2452).
ID#2471 - Ticket #7687: Pressing "F6" button terminates emulator. The default reaction must be changed to "none"
Network Control Center utility does not recognize teamed interfaces (ID#2331)
Some license messages are absent in the LOG file, for example "the license is expired" (ID#2040)
Grammar error in message text: some typos should be corrected (ID#2428)
log_method="append" does not work if specified separately from the other configuration commands for the logging definition (ID#2450).
Utilities help does not start when "F1" is pressed on Windows 2008 / Vista operating systems (ID#2498)
Ticket #7774: Problems NDIS6 driver - memory leak is found (ID#2490)
Many question marks sometimes displayed in the Network Control Center Chinese help file (ID#2373)
"EXA0: Failed to create symbolic link to the packet driver" error prevents using CHARON-VAX networking despite the configuration is correct (ID#2554)
"Back" button does not always work during installation
An error message could appear during uninstallation of CHARON-VAX through Control Panel
CHARON-VAX may wrongly report that no license is present if the correct license is present.
Too many scheduled starts and stops of CHARON-VAX service in a short period of time could cause CHARON-VAX crash.

Distribution and Installation

The kit is distributed as a standard CHARON installation. The installer version is 6.10

Before installation:

Make sure there are no CHARON-VAX configurations running.
Make sure that Windows has all recent updates installed:
- Do not enable "Automatic updates" (since they may affect CHARON execution), but instead run "Check for updates" applet (Control Panel\System and Security\Windows Update) and install all the important updates.
- If the suggested updating cannot be performed install just following updates to provide support of SHA2: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/3033929.aspx#ID0EDC

Installation instructions:

Unpack CHARON kit into a temporary (installation) folder.
Run the "InstallShell.exe" file in the installation folder.
Choose the products to install and proceed with suggested steps.
Please note that the media may contain more products than allowed by your license.

Product Documentation and Knowledge Base