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HP OpenVMS Systemsask the wizard |
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The Question is: Our branch office was handed down some old Digital hardware that we intend on getting up and running. We received 2 MV3100's and 2 DELNI's. I'm assuiming that the DELNI's need software on the host VAX to boot with. My question is what software do I need t o get the DELNI's up and communicating with the MV3100's? It may possibly be already be installed on the 3100's so how do I tell if it is? I browsed through the FAQ's and did some searches on Compaq's site but couldn't find the answer to my question. Thanks. The Answer is : The DELNI can be thought of as a box containing a length of "ThickWire" ethernet cable with eight AUI connectors (numbered 1 to 8) spaced along the cable at the required separation interval. The DELNI does not need to be booted, nor does it run any software, nor is its presence in the network visible to any network applications. A DELNI requires power, AUI cables, and the appropriate setting for the "global" switch. The only configuration issue is if the ninth AUI connector (the "global port" connector; female, and labelled with a small square) is used to connect the DELNI into a larger network, the adjacent slide switch should be pushed to the end marked with a square. If used locally, the switch should be moved to the end marked with a square containing a diagonal line. There are rules governing the maximum cascade of DELNI devices, which depend somewhat on what other devices are present -- in particular, multiport repeaters such as the DEMPR, and multiple levels of DELNI devices. There should be no transceiver heartbeat configured when the global port is connecting to the backbone, or when a repeater is in use. And if you have two or more DELNI devices connected to the same backbone segment, the maximum cable length of the backbone is limited to 300 meters. These and the few other rules involved are unlikely to be relevant in configurations with a single DELNI, in configurations such as yours. For a two node network, you will need at most one DELNI. Simply connect the systems to the DELNI, place the global switch into local mode, turn on the power, and you have the equivalent of an Ethernet network cabled with the requisite amount of "ThickWire" cabling. That said, most (all?) MicroVAX 3100 models had both thin and "ThickWire" ethernet connectors. I'd recommend using thinwire to connect the two nodes. The ThinWire network will operate at the same 10 megabit speed as the "ThickWire" Ethernet network, but rather with less clutter and with one less powered device.
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