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15: <a href="index.html"><img alt="[OpenBSD]" height="30" width="141" src="images/smalltitle.gif" border="0"></a>
16: <p>
17: <h2><font color="#e00000">OpenBSD/vax</font></h2>
18:
19: <hr>
1.10 johns 20:
1.39 miod 21: <p>
22: <a href="images/vax.jpg">
23: <img src="images/vax.jpg" width="350" height="467" align="right" alt="[nothing sucks like a vax]">
24: </a>
25: OpenBSD/vax runs on a large set of the VAX computers manufactured by
26: <a href="http://www.digital.com">Digital</a> (then Compaq, now Hewlett-Packard).
27:
28: <p>
29: A mailing list dedicated to the OpenBSD/vax port is available at
30: <u><font color="#23238e">vax@openbsd.org</font></u>.
31: To join the OpenBSD/vax mailing list, send a message body of <b>"subscribe
32: vax"</b> to <a href="mailto:majordomo@openbsd.org">majordomo@openbsd.org</a>.
33: Please be sure to check our <a href="mail.html">mailing list policy</a> before
34: subscribing.
35:
1.68 nick 36: <a name="toc"></a>
1.39 miod 37: <h3><font color="#0000e0"><i>Table of contents</i></font></h3>
38: <p>
39: <ul>
1.41 jufi 40: <li><a href="#history">History of the port</a>
1.39 miod 41: <li><a href="#status">Current status</a>
1.55 nick 42: <li><a href="#hardware">Supported hardware</a>
1.39 miod 43: <li><a href="#hwdocs">Documentation wanted</a>
44: <li><a href="#install">Getting and installing OpenBSD/vax</a>
45: </ul>
1.1 deraadt 46:
1.3 fn 47: <hr>
1.39 miod 48: <a name="history"></a>
49: <h3><font color="#0000e0"><strong>History:</strong></font></h3>
1.28 hugh 50:
1.12 ericj 51: <p>
1.32 hugh 52: VAX has been a supported OpenBSD architecture since early 2000, when code was
53: synchronized with NetBSD's port. Being the second architecture to run BSD Unix
54: (in 1979!), it seems appropriate that these venerable vaxen should still have
1.39 miod 55: a modern OS.
56:
57: <p>
58: The current codebase is mostly from Berkeley, with contributions of free
59: code from Digital, Mt Xinu, NetBSD, OpenBSD and others.
1.12 ericj 60:
61: <p>
1.53 jolan 62: After the port was synchronized with the NetBSD codebase, fixes and improvements
63: were made, such as support for 16 partitions per drive, support for more VAX
1.39 miod 64: models, improved emulation of unimplemented instructions, and so on.
1.28 hugh 65:
1.39 miod 66: <p>
67: Development is ongoing, and changes are shared among VAX hackers even to
68: this day. The result of this work is an operating system that is stable
69: and familiar to any OpenBSD user.
70:
71: <hr>
72: <a name="status"></a>
73: <h3><font color="#0000e0"><strong>Current status:</strong></font></h3>
74:
75: <p>
76: Currently, all the hardware listed in the
1.55 nick 77: <a href="#hardware">supported hardware</a> section below boots
1.39 miod 78: multi-user, and supports enough of the on-board devices to be generally
1.54 pedro 79: usable.
1.39 miod 80: Some models can only run diskless at the moment, though.
1.35 hugh 81:
82: <p>
1.65 miod 83: As of OpenBSD 4.0, most of the VAXstation frame buffers are
1.74 miod 84: supported.
1.64 miod 85:
86: <p>
87: Of course, regardless of frame buffer support, a complete set of X clients
88: and utilities is available, allowing OpenBSD/vax machines to behave as X11
89: font servers, or run X clients on remote display.
1.35 hugh 90:
1.39 miod 91: <p>
92: There a few problems still left in the OpenBSD/vax port, though:
1.35 hugh 93: <ul>
1.39 miod 94: <li>The current compiler sometimes has optimizer issues (i.e. gcc -O2
95: produces incorrect code, while -O1 or -O0 work). They are slowly being
96: worked on as we are aware of them. Most code should work nowadays.
97: <li>Addressing limits in the pmap module. This can cause the kernel to panic.
1.42 david 98: Some of these situations have been taken care of and fail gracefully,
1.39 miod 99: but there might be unfixed cases.
100: </ul>
1.28 hugh 101:
1.39 miod 102: <hr>
103: <a name="hardware"></a>
104: <h3><font color="#0000e0"><strong>Supported hardware:</strong></font></h3>
1.16 hugh 105:
106: <p>
1.39 miod 107: The list of supported hardware below is not meant to be exhaustive.
1.74 miod 108: Due to a limited inventory of systems available to developers,
109: not all hardware combinations have been tested.
1.39 miod 110:
111: <p>
112: As a result, OpenBSD/vax may actually run on your machine even if it's not
1.32 hugh 113: listed here, and we rely on your testing and feedback to keep this list up
1.39 miod 114: to date.
115: To help us improve the accuracy of this list, <b>PLEASE</b>
116: <a href="faq/faq4.html#SendDmesg">send your dmesg</a> after installation
117: to <a href="mailto:dmesg@openbsd.org">dmesg@openbsd.org</a>.
118:
119: <p>
120: <h4>Supported models</h4>
1.12 ericj 121:
1.13 ericj 122: <p>
1.39 miod 123: <ul>
1.64 miod 124: <li>VAXstation 2000
1.39 miod 125: <li>VAXstation 3100/{30,40} (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
126: <li>VAXstation 3100/{38,48} (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
127: <li>VAXstation 3100/76 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
1.74 miod 128: <li>VAXstation 35x0 and 38x0 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
1.39 miod 129: <li>VAXstation 4000/VLC (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
130: <li>VAXstation 4000/60 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
131: <li>VAXstation 4000/90 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
1.64 miod 132: <li>VAXstation 4000/90A (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
1.39 miod 133: <li>VAXstation 4000/96 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
1.64 miod 134: <li>MicroVAX 2000
1.39 miod 135: <li>MicroVAX 3100/{10,20}{,e} (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
136: <li>MicroVAX 3100/{30,40} (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
137: <li>MicroVAX 3100/80 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
1.51 miod 138: <li>MicroVAX 3100/85 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
1.39 miod 139: <li>MicroVAX 3100/90 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
1.64 miod 140: <li>MicroVAX 3100/95 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
141: <li>MicroVAX 3100/96 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
1.39 miod 142: <li>MicroVAX 3300
143: <li>VAX 4000 100 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
144: <li>VAX 4000 105 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
1.61 mickey 145: <li>VAX 4000 106 (<font color="#009900">SCSI</font>)
1.39 miod 146: <li>VAX 4000 200
147: <li>VAX 4000 300
148: <li>VAX 4000 {400,500,600}
149: <li>VAX 4000 {500A,700A}
1.65 miod 150: <li>VXT2000 and VXT2000+
1.59 kettenis 151: <li><a href="vax-simh.html">SIMH VAX</a>
1.39 miod 152: </ul>
153:
1.64 miod 154: <p>
155: <h4>QBUS devices</h4>
156:
157: <p>
158: <ul>
159: <li>KFQSA MSCP DSSI controller
160: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=uda&sektion=4&arch=vax">uda</a>)
161: <li>Emulex UC08 MSCP SCSI controller
162: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=uda&sektion=4&arch=vax">uda</a>)
163: <li>CXY08 DHV-11 emulating serial ports
164: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=dhu&sektion=4&arch=vax">dhu</a>)
165: <li>DELQA Ethernet
166: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=qe&sektion=4&arch=vax">qe</a>)
167: </ul>
168:
169: <p>
170: <h4>Ethernet controllers</h4>
171:
172: <p>
173: <ul>
174: <li>on-board MicroVAX or VAXstation LANCE Ethernet
175: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=le&sektion=4&arch=vax">le</a>)
176: <li>DEC SGEC
177: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=ze&sektion=4&arch=vax">ze</a>)
178: </ul>
179:
180: <p>
181: <h4>SCSI controllers</h4>
182:
183: <p>
184: <ul>
185: <li>NCR5380
186: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=asc&sektion=4&arch=vax">asc</a>)
187: on-board SCSI
188: <li>NCR53C9x
189: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=ncr&sektion=4&arch=vax">ncr</a>)
190: on-board SCSI
1.74 miod 191: <li>SII
192: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=sii&sektion=4&arch=vax">sii</a>)
193: on-board SCSI on VAXstation 35x0/38x0 I/O module
1.64 miod 194: </ul>
195: <p>
1.74 miod 196: Either one of the first two controllers are found onboard most 3100s and
197: VAXstation 4000s, as well as the VAX 4000 10x series.
1.64 miod 198:
199: <p>
200: <h4>Serial ports</h4>
201:
202: <p>
203: <ul>
204: <li>DZ*11 or compatible serial ports
205: (<a
206: href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=dz&sektion=4&arch=vax">dz</a>)
207: <li>SC26C94 serial ports on VXT2000
208: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=qsc&sektion=4&arch=vax">qsc</a>)
209: </ul>
210:
211: <p>
1.65 miod 212: <h4>Frame buffers</h4>
1.64 miod 213:
214: <p>
215: <ul>
216: <li>VAXstation 3100 on-board monochrome frame buffer
217: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=smg&sektion=4&arch=vax">smg</a>)
218: <li>VAXstation 3100/{30,38,40,48} color frame buffer option
219: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=gpx&sektion=4&arch=vax">gpx</a>)
1.70 miod 220: <li>VAXstation 3100/76 SPX frame buffer, also available as an option for
221: VAXstation 3100/{30,38,40,48}
1.72 miod 222: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=lcspx&sektion=4&arch=vax">lcspx</a>)
1.74 miod 223: <li>VAXstation 35x0/38x0 frame buffer
224: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=legss&sektion=4&arch=vax">legss</a>),
225: without the 16 planes option
1.64 miod 226: <li>VAXstation 4000/60 and 4000/VLC frame buffer
227: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=lcg&sektion=4&arch=vax">lcg</a>)
228: <li>VAXstation 4000/90 color frame buffer
229: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=lcspx&sektion=4&arch=vax">lcspx</a>)
230: <li>VXT2000 color frame buffer
231: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=lcspx&sektion=4&arch=vax">lcspx</a>)
232: </ul>
233:
234: <p>
1.74 miod 235: The VXT2000 monochrome frame buffer, the LEGSS 16 plane option and the
236: SPXg/SPXgt options for VAXstation 4000s are not supported yet.
1.64 miod 237:
238: <p>
1.65 miod 239: <h4>Input devices</h4>
1.64 miod 240:
241: <p>
242: <ul>
243: <li>LK201 and LK401 keyboards
244: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=lkkbd&sektion=4&arch=vax">lkkbd</a>)
245: <li>VSxxx mouse
246: (<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=lkms&sektion=4&arch=vax">lkms</a>)
247: </ul>
248:
1.3 fn 249: <hr>
1.40 miod 250: <a name="hwdocs"></a>
251: <h3><font color="#0000e0"><strong>Documentation wanted:</strong></font></h3>
252:
253: <p>
254: <ul>
1.64 miod 255: <li>Programming info for LCG, SPX, and SPXg/SPXgt framebuffers
1.40 miod 256: <li>Software references for SHAC DSSI
257: <li>Any edition VARM
258: </ul>
259:
260: <hr>
261: <a name="install"></a>
262: <h3><font color="#0000e0">
263: <strong>Getting and installing OpenBSD/vax:</strong>
264: </font></h3>
265:
266: <p>
267: The latest supported OpenBSD/vax release is
1.89 ! miod 268: <a href="55.html">OpenBSD 5.5</a>.
1.40 miod 269: Here are the
1.89 ! miod 270: <a href="http://ftp.OpenBSD.org/pub/OpenBSD/5.5/vax/INSTALL.vax">
! 271: OpenBSD/vax 5.5 installation instructions
1.40 miod 272: </a>.
273:
274: <p>
275: Snapshots are made available from time to time, in
1.84 sthen 276: <a href="http://ftp.OpenBSD.org/pub/OpenBSD/snapshots/vax">this location</a>
1.40 miod 277: as well as in a few
278: <a href="ftp.html">mirrors</a>.
279: Here are the
1.84 sthen 280: <a href="http://ftp.OpenBSD.org/pub/OpenBSD/snapshots/vax/INSTALL.vax">
1.40 miod 281: OpenBSD/vax snapshot installation instructions
282: </a> as well.
1.3 fn 283:
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