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dnl $OpenBSD: prep,v 1.36 2023/03/16 18:04:07 miod Exp $
OpenBSD/MACHINE requires the SRM console. Some alphas come with
the AlphaBIOS (also known as the ARC firmware on older machines) instead;
this is what Windows NT uses. It is fairly simple to replace the AlphaBIOS
with the SRM firmware.
Switching your MACHINE to SRM console:
AlphaServer class machines (except for models 300 and 400) and recent
enough machines (such as the Miata and later models) have enough
flash ROM space to carry both the AlphaBIOS and the SRM console.
To switch to SRM from AlphaBIOS, do the following:
- enter the AlphaBIOS setup upon startup
(F2 key, or Ctrl-B from serial console)
- choose "CMOS Setup" from the menu
- select "Advanced CMOS Setup" (F6 key, or Ctrl-F from serial console)
- change the "Console Selection" setting to "OpenVMS console (SRM)"
- confirm your changes with F10 (or Ctrl-U) twice, then enter.
- power-cycle your system for the changes to take effect.
If you didn't find a "Console Selection" entry (for example on 164SX or
164LX), your system can not hold both the AlphaBIOS and SRM console in
flash, and you will have to upgrade your firmware.
You can get replacement firmware either from a firmware update CD-ROM,
which can be downloaded from
https://archive.org/details/alphafwupcds
Note that, on most models, upgrading the firmware requires a jumper
to be moved on the motherboards; refer to the firmware update
instructions for details.
AXPpci33 Motherboard specific notes:
The 1994 version of the OEM guide has an incorrect pinout for the
serial ports. The newer version used to be available at
ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/axppci/design_guide.ps.Z
with a corrected pinout (as well as more information than the 1994
edition). Although ftp.digital.com does not exist anymore, a few
copies of this document are scattered across various ftp servers
on the globe, such as
https://manx-docs.org/collections/antonio/dec/MDS-2000-01/cd1/ALPHA/AXPCIDGC.PDF
Note that there are two flavors of PC serial connectors. If you
have the wrong kind, you won't get any output from the serial console.
Using the SRM console:
This is not intended to be an exhaustive guide on using the
SRM firmware console. It should, however, give you enough
information to boot OpenBSD/MACHINE.
To see a list of devices connected to your alpha, you can
use the "show device" command. For booting, the devices you
are interested in are "dka*" (the disk drives).
You can set ROM variables by saying "set VARIABLE VALUE".
Some variables you will want to set:
auto_action
Determines what happens when you turn the power on,
halt, or restart your machine. Valid values are:
"halt"
the system will not autoboot, will restart when
rebooted (shutdown -r), and will not restart
when halted (shutdown -h).
"boot"
the system will autoboot on powerup, and when the
system is halted (shutdown -h) or rebooted
(shutdown -r).
"restart"
the system will autoboot on powerup, will restart
when rebooted (shutdown -r), and will not restart
when halted (shutdown -h).
Most users will want to set this to "restart".
bootdef_dev
Default boot device (or list of devices).
boot_file
Name of the kernel to boot. If this variable is empty,
the default "bsd" will be loaded. Note that this variable
does not exist in all versions of the SRM console.
To see a list of all variables on your machine, use the "show"
command with no arguments. If there are too many of them, you
might want to page with "show | more".
You can bypass the boot_file value from the command prompt, with the
-fi option. For example,
boot -fi bsd.rd dka0
will boot the "bsd.rd" kernel on dka0. However, some versions of the
SRM console (mainly on DEC 3000 series) will only let you specify
uppercase filenames. It is preferred to boot without any particular
option, and enter the correct filename at the boot loader "boot>"
prompt.
USB support on the XP1000:
For some unknown reason, the USB interface found on the XP1000
(and possibly the XP900 and the XP1100) is not enabled unless a
specific SRM environment variable is set.
If you plan to use USB devices on these machines, enter
set usb_enable on
at the SRM prompt, followed by
init
before attempting to install OpenBSD.
EISA configuration:
A few MACHINE systems support EISA devices. However, the SRM firmware
has only a very limited knowledge of EISA devices and is not able to
configure them.
Every time an EISA board is added to or removed from the system, the
EISA Configuration Utility needs to be run from a floppy disk using the
``runecu'' command at the SRM prompt. An ECU floppy disk is supposed to
be provided with EISA-capable systems; this disk will be updated with
the current configuration every time it is run, and needs to be
writeable. ECU disks should not be shared between systems.
Redistributing ECU is not allowed, however a copy of it can be
downloaded from:
https://archive.org/details/digitalecudisk
Extract this archive to a newly FAT-formatted 3"1/2 floppy disk to get
a pristine ECU disk.
SRM console boot device restrictions:
The SRM firmware on your system may or may not be able to boot from
any disk controller you may install in your MACHINE.
The built-in disk controllers on your MACHINE will always be supported,
however on IDE-based machines, such as the EB164, 164SX and 164LX, as
well as the low-end Personal Workstation (non-u models), you can plug
in a SCSI controller, and boot from it if it is recognized.
Recent SRM releases for these machines will be able to boot (or netboot)
from the following controllers:
QLogic PCI SCSI controllers
Symbios Logic (NCR) 53C8xx (but not on PC164)
Adaptec AHA-[23]9[34]x[U][W] cards
Intel i8255x-based cards (EtherExpress PRO)
The following controllers are known not to be supported as boot devices
by the SRM:
Adaptec AHA-[23]9[34]xU2 cards
Depending on your specific model, your mileage may vary, though.
OpenBSD/MACHINE console device restrictions:
On systems with no framebuffer supported (currently all
TURBOchannel-based machines), OpenBSD/MACHINE must be used with a
serial console.
Setting an Alpha system to use a serial console is system-specific.
Although most models will default to serial console if no keyboard
is connected on powerup, this behaviour can't be relied upon.
The recommended procedure is:
DEC 3000/[4-9]00
Flip the `S3' switch on the back of the machine
(up for glass console, down for serial console).
When configured to use a serial console, it is also
necessary to set the ``server'' SRM environment
variable to ``on'' for the system to autoboot on
powerup despite the lack of a keyboard and mouse
plugged in.
DEC 3000/300 family machines
Console is selected by the `W2' jumper block, to the
edge of the logic board, near the memory banks.
Setting the jumper cap on pins 1-2 selects glass
console, and on pins 2-3 selects serial console.
All other machines
From the SRM console, enter either
set console serial
or
set console graphics
at the SRM prompt, then enter
init
or cycle power.
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