Following on from getting a VAX/VMS system emulated on the Pi, and installing DECnet on it, I’ve had a look at getting an old copy of ULTRIX (Unix for the VAX) running.
Having already got Simh up and running, I just cloned the SD card from the VMS host and deleted the VMS specific bits, copied across an image of the Ultrix 4.0 install tape, knocked together a shonky .ini file and tried it…
Firstly, here is the vax.ini file that I’m using:
; ; Load CPU microcode load -r /home/vax/data/ka655x.bin ; set cpu 16m set tto 7b set tti 7b set cr dis set lpt dis set rl dis ; Set up the disk set rq0 ra81 att rq0 /home/vax/data/ultrix.dsk set rq1 dis set rq2 dis set rq3 dis set ry dis set ts dis ; Set up the tape drive set tq tk50 att tq0 /home/vax/data/Ultrix_4.0_Supported.tap set tq1 dis set tq2 dis set tq3 dis ; Assign a MAC address suitable for this machine set xq mac=AA-00-04-00-FD-04 attach xq eth0 ;att xq 1 ;att nvr ultrix.nvr ;dep bdr 0 boot cpu
The tape image files should be downloaded from http://bitsavers.org/bits/DEC/vax/ultrix/4.0/ gunzipped and put into the data directory.
Finally, here is a transcript of the install session. I’ve edited out a lot of whitespace, and highlighted the user responses in red.
root@thay:/home/vax/bin# ./vax VAX simulator V3.9-0 Eth: opened OS device eth0 KA655-B V5.3, VMB 2.7 Performing normal system tests. 40..39..38..37..36..35..34..33..32..31..30..29..28..27..26..25.. 24..23..22..21..20..19..18..17..16..15..14..13..12..11..10..09.. 08..07..06..05..04..03.. Tests completed. >>>boot mua0 (BOOT/R5:0 MUA0 2.. -MUA0 1..0.. Ultrixload (using VMB version 13) Sizes: text = 768800 data = 1248256 bss = 945472 Rewinding tape ... Starting at 0x4d4d ULTRIX V4.0 (Rev. 160) System #3: Thu Apr 5 08:42:35 EDT 1990 real mem = 16723968 avail mem = 11548672 Buffer configuration adjusted to run with small system page table using 245 buffers containing 1672192 bytes of memory KA655 processor with an FPU CPU microcode rev = 6, processor firmware rev = 83 Q22 bus uda0 at uba0 uq0 at uda0 csr 172150 vec 774, ipl 17 klesiu0 at uba0 uq16 at klesiu0 csr 174500 vec 770, ipl 17 NO LOOPBACK ra0 at uq0 slave 0 (RA81) tms0 at uq16 slave 0 (TK50) WARNING: clock gained 87 days -- CHECK AND RESET THE DATE! *** STANDALONE ULTRIX ENVIRONMENT *** If you select the BASIC Installation option from the list that follows, the installation software creates file systems on default partitions on your system disk and loads the mandatory ULTRIX software subsets. If you require additional installation choices, select the ADVANCED Installation option. Select one of the following options: 1) BASIC Installation 2) ADVANCED Installation 3) System management Enter your choice: 2
I chose to install the ADVANCED Installation as I wanted the online manual pages, and intend to have a play with UUCP at some point (along with some other things). If you’re just having a play about with ULTRIX, you can probably just go for the BASIC Installation.
*** SYSTEM DISK SELECTION ***
The installation booklet for your processor explains the following table
of system disk drives. Select one of the devices below to contain the
root file system:
SYSTEM DISK TABLE
Selection Device ULTRIX Device Controller Controller
Name Name Number Name Number
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 RA81 ra0 0 RQDX3 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Enter your choice: 1
You selected RA81, device number 0. Make sure this disk drive
is on line and write-enabled (if applicable to your disk drive), then
confirm your choice.
Use RA81, ra0, for your system disk? (y/n) []: y
The installation procedure now allocates the root file system on
partition 'a' of the system disk, ra0 RA81.
Making the root file system on ra0 RA81.
The installation procedure is now restoring the root file system to
partition 'a' of the system disk, ra0 RA81.
The installation procedure now checks the root file system on partition 'a'
of the system disk, ra0 RA81.
** /dev/rra0a
** Last Mounted on /mnt
** Phase 1 - Check Blocks and Sizes
** Phase 2 - Check Pathnames
** Phase 3 - Check Connectivity
** Phase 4 - Check Reference Counts
** Phase 5 - Check Cyl groups
223 files, 6198 used, 9353 free (17 frags, 1167 blocks, 0.1% fragmentation)
*** BOOTSTRAP COMMAND SEQUENCE ***
Enter the following boot sequence at the console mode prompt
after the installation software halts the processor:
>>> b dua0
syncing disks... done
HALT instruction, PC: 8005F28D (BRB 8005F28C)
Note here that you’ll need to boot the cpu from SimH before you boot from the tape, so:
sim> boot cpu KA655-B V5.3, VMB 2.7 Performing normal system tests. 40..39..38..37..36..35..34..33..32..31..30..29..28..27..26..25.. 24..23..22..21..20..19..18..17..16..15..14..13..12..11..10..09.. 08..07..06..05..04..03.. Tests completed. >>>b dua0 (BOOT/R5:0 DUA0 2.. -DUA0 1..0.. Ultrixboot - V4.0 Sat Mar 31 04:11:56 EST 1990 Loading (a)vmunix ... Sizes: text = 990392 data = 232960 bss = 1248872 Starting at 0x4d4d ULTRIX V4.0 (Rev. 160) System #5: Thu Apr 5 08:44:16 EDT 1990 real mem = 16723968 avail mem = 11992064 Buffer configuration adjusted to run with small system page table using 239 buffers containing 1672192 bytes of memory KA655 processor with an FPU CPU microcode rev = 6, processor firmware rev = 83 Q22 bus uda0 at uba0 uq0 at uda0 csr 172150 vec 774, ipl 17 klesiu0 at uba0 uq16 at klesiu0 csr 174500 vec 770, ipl 17 qe0 at uba0 csr 174440 vec 764, ipl 17 qe0: DEC DELQA Ethernet Interface DEQNA-lock Mode, hardware address aa:00:04:00:fd:04 ra0 at uq0 slave 0 (RA81) tms0 at uq16 slave 0 (TK50) *** SYSTEM NAME SPECIFICATION *** Select the name of your system using alphanumeric characters. The first character must be a letter. For example, tinker. Enter your system name: judoon
You can pick whatever name you like (up to a maximum of 6 characters if you intend to play with DECnet later). I chose judoon to fit in with the naming scheme on my network.
You selected judoon as the name of your system. Is this correct? (y/n) [y]: y *** DATE AND TIME SPECIFICATION *** The current date and time should be specified using the following format: yymmddhhmm Use two digits for year (yy), month (mm), day (dd), hour (hh), and minute (mm). Enter the time in 24-hour format. For example, 11:30 p.m. on May 3, 1990 would be entered as: 9005032330 Enter the date and time: 8407010429
Hang on, isn’t that 1984? Well yes. ULTRIX doesn’t play nice with dates after 2000, and 1984 just happens to fit neatly with 2012. Next comes the timezone selection. If you’re not in the UK, you’ll need to change these.
*** TIME ZONE SELECTION ***
Select the time zone for your area, using the options listed in the
table below. You can also enter the number of hours (-12 to 12) in
time east of Greenwich.
Selection Time Zone
---------------------------------
e Eastern
c Central
m Mountain
p Pacific
g Greenwich
---------------------------------
Enter your choice: g
Does your area alternate between Daylight Savings and Standard
time? (y/n) [y]: y
Select your geographic area for Daylight Savings Time, using the
options in the table below.
Selection Geographic Area
--------------------------------
u USA
a Australia
e Eastern Europe
c Central Europe
w Western Europe
--------------------------------
Enter your choice [u]: w
The current date and time is Sun Jul 1 03:29:08 GMT 1984
Next its time to set the root password. Usual password rules apply: Don’t use “password”.
*** SPECIFY THE SUPERUSER PASSWORD *** The installation booklet for your processor instructs you on how to enter the superuser password. Changing password for root Enter new password: {not echoed} Verify: {not echoed} *** FILE SYSTEM DEFAULT OPTION *** The following table shows the default file system layout on RA81, ra0: partition bottom top size overlap default a 0 32767 32768 c root b 32768 99457 66690 c swap, dump g 99458 259457 160000 c /usr If you choose the defaults, the var area will be allocated to /usr/var. Do you want to choose the default file system layout? (y/n): y Making the new file system for /usr on /dev/rra0g RA81 This distribution media includes subsets for ULTRIX Worksystem Software (UWS). A UWS license (on a workstation) or a UWS Server License (on a timesharing machine or server) is required to install these subsets. Do you want to install ULTRIX Worksystem Software? y/n []: n
I didn’t bother with this, mainly down to the lack of having a license. Not installing it will save time and disk space too.
*** SUPPORTED SOFTWARE INSTALLATION *** Please make sure your installation tape is mounted and on-line. Are you ready (y/n)? y Positioning Tape *** Enter Subset Selections *** The following subsets are mandatory and will be installed automatically: * Base System * Kernel Configuration Files * TCP/IP Networking Utilities * Network File System Utilities * Extended (Berkeley) Mailer The subsets listed below are optional: 1) System Exerciser Package 2) RAND Mail Handler 3) Kerberos Network Authentication 4) Enhanced Security Features 5) Document Preparation Software 6) Printer Support Environment 7) Adobe Font Metric Files 8) Software Development Utilities 9) RPC Runtime Environment 10) RPC Development Environment 11) Internationalization Tools 12) Source Code Control System 13) Pascal Development Package 14) VAX C/ULTRIX 15) On Line Manual Pages 16) Accounting Software 17) Communications Utilities 18) Bisynchronous Communications 19) Maintenance Operations Protocol 20) Unix-to-Unix Copy Facility 21) All of the Above 22) None of the Above 23) Exit without installing subsets Enter your choice(s): 17 20 5 15 8 14
These options are entirely, um, optional. I wanted to include the man pages (which need the document preparation system), UUCP, VAX C, the software development stuff and communication utilities. If you don’t want any of this, then 22 would be your option. But then you might as well have just installed the BASIC Installation (see above).
You are installing the following subsets:
Base System Kernel Configuration Files
TCP/IP Networking Utilities Network File System Utilities
Extended (Berkeley) Mailer Document Preparation Software
Software Development Utilities VAX C/ULTRIX
On Line Manual Pages Communications Utilities
Unix-to-Unix Copy Facility
Is this correct? (y/n): y
At this point it would be advisable to go and find something else to do. On the test run though on my server this took about five minutes. On the Pi, over an hour.
Copying Base System (ULTBASE400) from tape
Verifying Base System (ULTBASE400)
Copying Kernel Configuration Files (ULTBIN400) from tape
Verifying Kernel Configuration Files (ULTBIN400)
Copying TCP/IP Networking Utilities (ULTINET400) from tape
Verifying TCP/IP Networking Utilities (ULTINET400)
Copying Network File System Utilities (ULTNFS400) from tape
Verifying Network File System Utilities (ULTNFS400)
Copying Extended (Berkeley) Mailer (ULTUMAIL400) from tape
Verifying Extended (Berkeley) Mailer (ULTUMAIL400)
Copying Document Preparation Software (ULTDCMT400) from tape
Verifying Document Preparation Software (ULTDCMT400)
Copying Software Development Utilities (ULTPGMR400) from tape
Verifying Software Development Utilities (ULTPGMR400)
Copying VAX C/ULTRIX (ULTVAXC400) from tape
Verifying VAX C/ULTRIX (ULTVAXC400)
Copying On Line Manual Pages (ULTMAN400) from tape
Verifying On Line Manual Pages (ULTMAN400)
Copying Communications Utilities (ULTCOMM400) from tape
Verifying Communications Utilities (ULTCOMM400)
Copying Unix-to-Unix Copy Facility (ULTUUCP400) from tape
Verifying Unix-to-Unix Copy Facility (ULTUUCP400)
Rewinding Tape...
The installation software has successfully installed the software
subsets. You can now remove the tape containing the software subsets
from the device.
*** CONFIGURATION FILE KERNEL OPTION SELECTION ***
Selection Kernel Option
---------------------------------------------------------------
1 Local Area Transport (LAT)
2 Bisynchronous Communication protocol (VAX only)
3 Computer Interconnect (CI) network
4 Ethernet Packet Filter
5 Enhanced Security Features
6 DECnet
7 All of the above
8 None of the above
----------------------------------------------------------------
Enter the selection number for each kernel option you want.
For example, 1 3 : 7
Having no idea by this point, I just plumped for everything.
You specified the following kernel options:
Local Area Transport (LAT)
Bisynchronous Communication protocol
Computer Interconnect (CI) network
Ethernet Packet Filter
Enhanced Security Features
DECnet
Is this correct? (y/n) [n]: y
*** SYSTEM CONFIGURATION PROCEDURE ***
The installation software found these devices in the floating
address space:
dz0 on uba0 at 0160100
dz1 on uba0 at 0160110
dz2 on uba0 at 0160120
dz3 on uba0 at 0160130
Configuration file complete.
Do you want to edit the configuration file? (y/n) [n]: n
Once again: No idea. Also, I tried this on my server version and I’m still having flashbacks to the ED text editor. Never Again!
*** PERFORMING SYSTEM CONFIGURATION ***
*** DEVICE SPECIAL FILE CREATION ***
*** SOFTWARE INSTALLATION PROCEDURE COMPLETE ***
The following files were created during the installation procedure:
/vmunix - customized kernel
/genvmunix - generic kernel
/usr/adm/install.log - installation log file
/usr/adm/install.FS.log - file systems log file
/usr/adm/install.DEV.log - special device log file
Enter the following boot sequence at the console mode prompt
after the installation software halts the processor:
>>> b dua0
syncing disks... done
HALT instruction, PC: 80080411 (BRB 80080410)
Once again you’ll need to boot the cpu before you boot from the disk.
sim> boot cpu KA655-B V5.3, VMB 2.7 Performing normal system tests. 40..39..38..37..36..35..34..33..32..31..30..29..28..27..26..25.. 24..23..22..21..20..19..18..17..16..15..14..13..12..11..10..09.. 08..07..06..05..04..03.. Tests completed. >>>b dua0 (BOOT/R5:0 DUA0 2.. -DUA0 1..0.. Ultrixboot - V4.0 Sat Mar 31 04:11:56 EST 1990 Loading (a)vmunix ... Sizes: text = 711280 data = 124416 bss = 705976 Starting at 0x2b4d ULTRIX V4.0 (Rev. 161) System #1: Sun Jul 1 04:30:40 GMT 1984 real mem = 16723968 avail mem = 12550144 using 408 buffers containing 1672192 bytes of memory KA655 processor with an FPU CPU microcode rev = 6, processor firmware rev = 83 Q22 bus uda0 at uba0 uq0 at uda0 csr 172150 vec 774, ipl 17 klesiu0 at uba0 uq16 at klesiu0 csr 174500 vec 770, ipl 17 qe0 at uba0 csr 174440 vec 764, ipl 17 qe0: DEC DELQA Ethernet Interface DEQNA-lock Mode, hardware address aa:00:04:00:fd:04 dz0 at uba0 csr 160100 vec 300, ipl 17 dz1 at uba0 csr 160110 vec 310, ipl 17 dz2 at uba0 csr 160120 vec 320, ipl 17 dz3 at uba0 csr 160130 vec 330, ipl 17 ra0 at uq0 slave 0 (RA81) tms0 at uq16 slave 0 (TK50) Thu Jan 1 00:00:31 GMT 1970 Automatic reboot in progress... /dev/ra0a: 632 files, 5777 used, 9774 free (174 frags, 1200 blocks, 1.1% fragmentation) /dev/rra0g: umounted cleanly Warning Creating new license database Warning creating new history file check quotas: done. savecore: checking for dump...dump does not exist local daemons: syslog sendmail. Removing remnant Opser files preserving editor files clearing /tmp standard daemons: update cron accounting network snmpd. start errlog daemon - elcsd Sun Jul 1 05:39:05 GMT 1984 ULTRIX V4.0 (Rev. 161) (judoon)
Now log in as root, with your carefully chosen password, and set up the TCP/IP networking.
login: root Password: {not echoed} ULTRIX V4.0 (Rev. 161) System #1: Sun Jul 1 04:30:40 GMT 1984 Digital Equipment Corporation Nashua, New Hampshire *** SOFTWARE INSTALLATION PROCEDURE COMPLETE *** The following files were created during the installation procedure: /vmunix - customized kernel /genvmunix - generic kernel /usr/adm/install.log - installation log file /usr/adm/install.FS.log - file systems log file /usr/adm/install.DEV.log - special device log file # netsetup install You will be asked a series of questions about your system. Default answers are shown in square brackets ([]). To use a default answer, press the RETURN key. Your system's name is "judoon". Is this correct [yes]? yes Your system can have one or more abbreviation names. An abbreviation name reduces the number of keystrokes required for network commands. A common abbreviation name is the first letter of the system name. Press the RETURN key if you do not want any abbreviation names for judoon. Otherwise, enter one or more abbreviation names, separated by blank spaces: <cr> You do not want any abbreviation names for judoon. Is this correct [yes]? yes For a Class A network, the network number is in the range 1 through 126. For a Class B network, the network number consists of two fields separated by periods. The first field is in the range 128 through 191, and the second field is in the range 1 through 254. For a Class C network, the network number consists of three fields separated by periods. The first field is in the range 192 through 223, the second field is in the range 0 through 255, and the third field is in the range 1 through 254: Class A: 1 through 126 Class B: 128.1 through 191.254 Class C: 192.0.1 through 223.255.254
My network is the class C 192.168.0.* network, and the ip address for this machine will be 192.168.0.143, so:
Enter the network number for judoon: 192.168.0 The network number is 192.168.0. Is this correct [yes]? yes Subnetworks allow the systems on a given local area network to be on different network wires. If your existing local area network is using subnet routing, you need to know how many bits of your host number are being reserved for specifying the subnetwork address. Are you setting up judoon on a network that uses subnet routing [no]? no You will NOT set up judoon on a network that uses subnet routing. Is this correct [yes]? yes You are setting up judoon on a Class C network. Valid Class C host numbers (including the subnet number) are in the range 1 through 254. Enter the host number for judoon: 143 The Host number is 143. Is this correct [yes]? yes ***** UPDATING /etc/hosts WITH judoon AND localhost ***** An Internet Protocol (IP) broadcast address is an address in which the bits of the host number are either all ones or all zeros. You need to know what the other hosts on your existing local area network are using as their broadcast address. If you are setting up your own network, use the default.. WARNING! You must use the same broadcast address as all of the other hosts on your network. This is very important! If you use all ones your IP broadcast address is: 192.168.0.255 if you use all zeros your IP broadcast address is: 192.168.0.0 Enter a "1" if you use all ones, or "0" if you use all zeros [1]: 1 You are using all ones for your broadcast address. Is this correct [yes]? yes Please specify the device name and unit number of your network interface. This information is entered in the /etc/rc.local file so that the correct device is initialized when you bring the system to multiuser mode. The device name consists of the network device as found in your system config file. The following are some common network device names: Device Name Description ----------- ----------- xna0 DEBNI - BI bus ni0 DEBNT, DEBNA - BI bus de0 DEUNA, DELUA - UNIBUS qe0 DEQNA, DELQA - Q-Bus ln0 DESVA, Busless LANCE network interface ne0 Second Generation Ethernet Controller interface scs0 SCS network interface to CI What is the device name of your Network Interface [qe0]? qe0 Your Network interface is "qe0". Is this correct [yes]? yes ***** UPDATING /etc/rc.local WITH network configuration information ***** Network numbers have names so you can refer to them by name rather than by number. The network name is entered in the /etc/networks file. If you are adding judoon to an existing network, you should use the same names as the other hosts on the network use for the various network numbers. If you are not adding judoon to an existing network, you can name the network number whatever you want. You can assign alias names for the network number. What is the name of network 192.168.0 [ethernet]? <cr> The network name for judoon is "ethernet". Is this correct [yes]? yes Enter any aliases for ethernet: <cr> You do not have any aliases for ethernet. Is this correct [yes]? yes ***** UPDATING /etc/networks WITH ethernet ***** ***** ADD/CHANGE SYSTEMS IN /etc/hosts *****
I didn’t bother with messing about in the /etc/hosts file, as I planned to import the /etc/hosts file from another machine.
Enter the host name, abbreviations, network number, and host number for each host on the network. Enter this information on separate lines when prompted. This information is stored in the /etc/hosts file. When finished, press the RETURN key at the hostname prompt. Enter the name of the host you want to add to /etc/hosts: Are you finished adding hosts [yes]? yes Enter the names of trusted hosts. Trusted hosts are systems you consider to be secure. Be careful if you select trusted hosts. Any users on a trusted host can log in to judoon without password verification if they have a valid account on your system. The names of the trusted hosts are stored in the /etc/hosts.equiv file. When you have finished entering the names of trusted hosts, press the RETURN key. Enter the name of a trusted host: <cr> Have you finished entering the names of trusted hosts [yes]? yes ***** SETTING UP /usr/hosts DIRECTORY ***** ***** NETWORK SETUP COMPLETE *****
Now, start up networking. Quite why the system doesn’t do this automatically is beyond me.
# ifconfig qe0 192.168.0.143
As the /etc/hosts file is empty, I grabbed a copy from my main server (which the other machine periodically grab their copies from). Obviously you shouldn’t (and shouldn’t be able to) grab my copy, and this is just an example.
# ftp 192.168.0.200 Connected to 192.168.0.200. 220 recondite FTP server (Version 6.4/OpenBSD/Linux-ftpd-0.17) ready. Name (192.168.0.200:root): tony Password (192.168.0.200:tony): {not echoed} 331 Password required for tony. 230- Linux recondite 2.6.32-41-generic #89-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 27 22:22:09 UTC 2012 i686 GNU/Linux 230- Ubuntu 10.04.4 LTS 230- 230- Welcome to Ubuntu! 230- * Documentation: https://help.ubuntu.com/ 230- 230- 0 packages can be updated. 230- 0 updates are security updates. 230- 230- *** System restart required *** 230 User tony logged in. ftp> get /etc/hosts 200 PORT command successful. 150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for '/etc/hosts' (317 bytes). 226 Transfer complete. local: /etc/hosts remote: /etc/hosts 338 bytes received in 0.02 seconds (17 Kbytes/s) ftp> exit 221 Goodbye.
Now ping a machine on the network (but not the machine on which the ULTRIX system is being simulated).
# ping tardis
tardis is alive
Finally, add a non-privilidged user, so that you don’t completely arse things up by playing about as root.
# adduser Enter login name for new user (initials, first or last name): tony Enter uid for new user [268]: <cr> Enter full name for new user: Tony Blews What login group should this user go into [users]: <cr> Enter another group that 'tony' should be a member of (<RETURN> only if none): <cr> Enter parent directory for tony [/usr/users]: <cr> /usr/users not found, do you want to create it [yes]? <cr> The shells are: /bin/sh /bin/csh /usr/bin/ksh /usr/bin/sh5 Enter the users login shell name [/bin/csh]: <cr> Adding new user ... Creating home directory... Until the password is set for tony they will not be able to login. Changing password for tony Enter new password: {not echoed} Verify: {not echoed}
Now either play about with the thing a bit more, leaving it running for a while, or shut it down and go to sleep. I chose sleep, as it was 6am by the time I finished this.
# shutdown now Shutdown at 05:42 (in 0 minutes) [pid 168] System shutdown time has arrived erase ^?, kill ^U, intr ^C # <ctrl-e> Simulation stopped, PC: 800033C4 (TSTL 24(R3)) sim> quit Goodbye Eth: closed eth0 root@thay:/home/vax/bin# exit
I’ve still got a few things to get working on judoon, such as getting DECnet running, using NFS to mount part of the filesystem from my server, and seeing if some very old code from about 1990 that I have on some floppy disks will compile.
