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HP OpenVMS Systemsask the wizard |
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The Question is: I have a VAX 4000/300 that I recently acquired. I have little knowledge of VMS and VAX hardware, and I obtained the box for the express purpose of learning the platform. I joined DECUS, and soon after received my shiny new copy of OpenVMS 7.2-1. I have a Sun external SCSI-2 CD-ROM that I thought I could use to build the box but from the documentation I found on the web it appears that the external connectors are DSSI and not SCSI. So how can I install OpenVMS on this system? Can I do a net install of some sort? I have a Sun Sparc 2 running Solaris 7 Server, a Red Hat Linux 6.0 Alpha box (Multia/UDB 166 Alpha processor), and a Windows 2000 PC at my disposal to help with that effort if it is possible. Is there a cheap DSSI to SCSI-2 adapter I can pur chase somewhere? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jason Corley corleyja@hotmail.com The Answer is : Acquisition of the correct bootable load media for the particular platform is central to the initial load of OpenVMS onto the target platform. You will require a bootable load device supported by OpenVMS (eg: SCSI CD-ROM, TK50, etc), or a bootable load device that you can gain the assistance of another hobbyist to create the necessary bootable media, or a disk that you can transfer to another OpenVMS system and load OpenVMS VAX onto it there. Options can include booting and loading via a SCSI tape or (512-byte block) SCSI CD-ROM connected to DSSI via the HSD DSSI to SCSI adapter, via a TK50 or TK70 or other similar tape connected to the Q-bus, via an RRD-series (or other 512-byte block) CD-ROM drive on a Q-bus to SCSI (KZQSA or third-party), or other approach. External StorageWorks bricks are also sometimes used, as these can often easily be transfered to another OpenVMS system. See the FAQ for information on the 512-byte block requirements for CD-ROM devices. For information on the installation process itself, please see the OpenVMS manuals. Installation of OpenVMS from a non-standard device or media should generally only be attempted by an experienced OpenVMS system manager, as the task usually requires advanced skills (and quite often an "assist" from another OpenVMS system, in order to create the necessary installation media for the particular widget).
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