VAXstation 2000 netboot

[der Mouse]

I'm trying to netboot a VAXstation 2000. After having problems I'm
inclined to attribute to overheating (it works fine for a while, then
flakes out), I pulled the framebuffer. After more problems, I took the
whole machine apart and laid it out in the open with fans blowing on
it. :-)

I'm trying to netboot. (The machine has a disk, which has VMS on it -
it boots VMS from the disk OK; I was vaguely surprised I remembered
enough to log in and shut it down cleanly...it's been *ages*.)

The network seems to work. "t 90" spits out a packet, which the
bootserver can see with tcpdump. "b esa0:" gives

>>> b esa0:


-ESA0

%VMB-F-ERR, PC = 00000765
%VMB-I-STS, R0 = 00000056
84 FAIL
>>>

(there is a relatively long pause before the "-ESA0" is printed). The
boot.mopin question worked on a MicroVAX-II, and I don't see any
indication that it's machine-specific...anyone have any ideas what's
wrong?

I don't suppose anyone has NetBSD support for DECnet, so I can boot VMS
on the VS2k and check that the network works that way?

der Mouse

mo...@rodents.montreal.qc.ca
7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B

[Peter Joules]

In article <2000022711...@Twig.Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA>, der
Mouse <mo...@Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA> writes

>
>I'm trying to netboot. (The machine has a disk, which has VMS on it -
>it boots VMS from the disk OK; I was vaguely surprised I remembered
>enough to log in and shut it down cleanly...it's been *ages*.)
>
>The network seems to work. "t 90" spits out a packet, which the
>bootserver can see with tcpdump. "b esa0:" gives
>
> >>> b esa0:
>
>
> -ESA0
>
> %VMB-F-ERR, PC = 00000765
> %VMB-I-STS, R0 = 00000056
> 84 FAIL
> >>>

I am getting exactly the same with my MicroVAX 2000. I posted a
question about it a week or two ago and got no answer. If anyone mails
you privately then please let me know what the answer is.

--
Regards
Pete

[der Mouse]

Last night, I wrote that I was trying to netboot a VS2k and was seeing

>> >>> b esa0:
>>
>>
>> -ESA0
>>
>> %VMB-F-ERR, PC = 00000765
>> %VMB-I-STS, R0 = 00000056
>> 84 FAIL
>> >>>

I've now investigated further. It seems that the bootserver is getting
MOP RPR packets to the multicast address and is responding with ASV
packets, but the VAX never hears them, or pays no attention.

On the chance that the VAX wanted the data directly rather than an ASV,
I hacked on mopd to add -m, telling it to treat multicast same as
unicast...it made no difference, except that the bootserver was sending
data instead of ASVs. :-)

As I remarked, the machine boots MicroVMS. Is there any easy way to
use uVMS to tell whether the Ethernet can receive? Everything looks as
though the network just plain isn't receiving anything.

I also got private mail from someone else with the same symptoms.

Does *anyone* have a VS2k or uV2k successfully booting diskless?

[Paul Jimbo Duncan G7KES]

Ville U Hautakangas wrote:

> I use the thinwire ethernet connector, never used a transceiver on that
> type of machine. Assumably older DEC devices want the setting thing on the
> transceiver disabled. Heck, I just can't recall what the little DIP was
> called... it's found on newer transceivers.

Most newer transcievers have a "heartbeat" switch, but it should
normally be turned off.

HTH,

Paul
~~~~

--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Duncan Tel: +44 1703 596385
Information Systems Group,
NERC Research Vessel Services,
Room 451/11,
Southampton Oceanography Centre,
Empress Dock,
Southampton,
SO14 3ZH. E-mail: p...@soc.soton.ac.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------------

[Ville U Hautakangas]

> Does *anyone* have a VS2k or uV2k successfully booting diskless?

I've had VS2000 netbooting and running VMS 5.5-something and currently I
netboot experimental linux-vax kernels on it. No problems at all. I use
the same mopd as with NetBSD, but haven't tried NetBSD on a VS2K.

I use the thinwire ethernet connector, never used a transceiver on that
type of machine. Assumably older DEC devices want the setting thing on the
transceiver disabled. Heck, I just can't recall what the little DIP was
called... it's found on newer transceivers.

- hautis

[der Mouse]

>> Does *anyone* have a VS2k or uV2k successfully booting diskless?

> I've had VS2000 netbooting and running VMS 5.5-something and
> currently I netboot experimental linux-vax kernels on it. No
> problems at all. I use the same mopd as with NetBSD, but haven't
> tried NetBSD on a VS2K.

If you use the same mopd, Something Is Wrong.

However, I am happy to report that I have managed to get something
working. I downloaded boot.mop via the console serial line (initially,
by processing it into many "d/l/p" commands; then I wrote a small
"grappling hook" that allows me to download at almost full serial line
rate, which is about four times as fast). Explicitly telling it to
boot le()netbsd managed to bring up the diskless kernel.

Now, since I have hard evidence that the Ethernet can indeed receive
packets, I really want to know what's wrong with MOP-booting! :-/

Well, with luck it soon won't matter. The machine does have a disk
that I should be able to set it up to boot from.

[Aaron J. Grier]

On Mon, Feb 28, 2000 at 10:11:26AM +0000, Paul Jimbo Duncan G7KES wrote:

> Most newer transcievers have a "heartbeat" switch, but it should
> normally be turned off.

except when hooked to DEC hosts! :)

--
Aaron J. Grier | "Not your ordinary poofy goof." | agr...@poofygoof.com
"Time Correct function allows automatically correcting slight variation
of your key touching manner." -- Roland MSQ-700 manual