Subversion Repositories w11

# $Id: w11a_os_guide.txt 547 2013-12-29 13:10:07Z mueller $

Guide to run operating system images on w11a systems

  Table of content:

    1.  I/O emulation setup

    2.  FPGA Board setup

    3.  Rlink and Backend Server setup

    4.  simh simulator setup

    5.  oskits

        a. Unix systems

        b. DEC operating systems

1. I/O emulation setup ----------------------------------------------------

   All UNIBUS peripherals which exchange data (currently DL11, LP11, PC11, RK11)

   are currently emulated via a backend process. The communication between

   FPGA board and backend server can be via

   - Direct USB connection using a Cypress FX2 USB controller

     - is supported on the nexys2 and nexys3 FPGA boards

     - much faster than serial port connections (see below)

     - also allows to configure the FPGA over the same USB connection

   - Serial port

     - via direct (/dev/ttySx) or via a USB-RS232 adapter. A direct connection

       is limited to 115k Baud on most PCs, while a connection via a USB-RS232

       adapter was tested up to 460k Baud. A USB-RS232 adapter is thus highly

       recommended

     - via integrated USB-RS232 adapter, like on nexys3 board. This is much

       faster, allows bitrates up to 2 M Baud.

     Notes: - A USB-RS232 cable with a FTDI FT232R chip, like the cable offered

              by FTDI as US232R-100 works fine.

            - A USB-RS232 cable with a Prolific Technology PL2303 chip simply

              never gave reliable connections for higher Baud rates.

            - The rest assumes that a USB-RS232 cable with FTDI chip is used

            - A 460k Baud connection gives in practice a disk throughput of

              about 20 kB/s. This allows to test the system but is a bit slow

              to real usage.  In an OS with good disk caching like 2.11BSD the

              impact of such a 'slow disk' is actually smaller than the bare

              numbers suggest.

            - On older linux kernels (prior 2.6.32) it is essential to set the

              latency timer for the FTDI USB-RS232 cable to 1 ms (from the

              power up default of 16 ms), e.g. with

                sudo $RETROBASE/tools/bin/set_ftdi_lat USB0 1

              For linux kernel 2.6.32 or newer the default is 1 ms already.

2. FPGA Board setup -------------------------------------------------------

   - Using Cypress FX2 USB controller for configuration and rlink communication

     - for nexys2

       - connect USB cable to mini-USB connector (between RS232 and PS/2 port)

     - for nexys3

       - connect USB cable to micro-USB connector labeled 'USB PROG'

   - Using serial port for rlink communication

     - for s3board and nexys2

       - connect the USB-RS232 cable to the RS232 port

     - for nexys3

       - connect USB cable to the micro-USB connector 'UART'

         (next to the 5 buttons)

     - connect a JTAG programmer (e.g. Xilinx USB Cable II) to JTAG pins

   - Configure the FPGA

     - if Cypress FX2 port is connected load design with

         make .jconfig

     - otherwise use impact with

         make .iconfig

3. Rlink and Backend Server setup -----------------------------------------

   All examples below use the same basic setup

   - setup vt100 emulator windows

       cd $RETROBASE/tools/oskit/

       telnet_starter -d DL0 &

       telnet_starter -d DL1 &

   - setup rlink connection using ti_rri backend server via the ti_w11

     quick start wrapper script. Ensure that all 8 switches on the board

     are in the indicated positions (SWI=...). The concrete boot script

     name  is given in the following sections

     [for n2,n3 over fx2:]

       SWI = 00000100

       ti_w11 -u     @_boot.tcl

     [for s3,n2 over serial:]

       SWI = 00000010

       ti_w11 -tu0,460k,break,xon   @_boot.tcl

     [for n3 over serial:]

       SWI = 00000010

       ti_w11 -tu0,2M,break,xon     @_boot.tcl

4. simh simulator setup ---------------------------------------------------

   Sometimes it is good to compare the w11a behaviour with the PDP-11 software

   emulator from the simh project (see http://simh.trailing-edge.com/).

   Under $RETROBASE/tools/simh two setup files are provided with configure

   simh to reflect the w11a setup as close as possible:

   - setup_w11a_min.scmd

     Very close the current w11a state when it runs on an S3BOARD

     - processor: 11/70, no FPP, 1 Mbyte

     - periphery:   2 DL11, LP11, RK11, PC11

   - setup_w11a_max.scmd

     Planned configuration for the w11a, in addition

     - processor: 4 Mbyte memory (as on Nexys2, Nexys3,...)

     - periphery: DZ11, RL11/RL02, RK70/RP06, TM11/TU10

   Startup scripts are provided with each oskit. They call the w11a_max

   configuration, so will show in the emulator what w11a can do when

   finished.

   All examples below use the same basic setup

   - setup vt100 emulator window for 2nd DL11

       cd $RETROBASE/tools/oskit/

       telnet_starter -s -d DL1 &

       {Note: the -s ensures that the port numbers used by simh are taken!}

   - start the simulator

     pdp11 _boot.scmd

5. oskits -----------------------------------------------------------------

   Ready to be used 'oskits' are provided under

     $RETROBASE/tools/oskit/

   The tarballs with the disk images are provided from a web server

   and have to be installed separately.

5a. Unix systems -----------------------------------------------------

   Legal and license issues:

     Ancient UNIX systems for the PDP-11 can now be freely used under the

     'Caldera license'. 2.11BSD was released 1992 under the 4 clause BSD

     license. Taken together

       - Unix V1 to V7

       - all BSD Unix versions for PDP-11

     can be freely distributed and used for non-commercial purposes.

   Two oskits are currently provided:

     - unix-v5_rk: Unix V5 System on RK05

     - 211bsd_rk:  2.11BSD system on RK05

   For further details consult the README_set.txt file in the

   oskit directory.

5b. DEC operating systems --------------------------------------------

   Legal and license issues:

     Unfortunately there is no general hobbyist license for DEC operating

     systems for PDP-11 computers. The 'Mentec license' commonly understood

     to cover the some older versions of DEC operating systems, for example

       - RT-11 V5.3 or prior

       - RSX-11M V4.3 or prior

       - RSX-11M PLUS V3.0 or prior

     on software simulators, most notably on the 'simh' suite.

     HOWEVER: THIS LICENSE DOES NOT COVER THE USAGE OF THESE HISTORIC DEC

              OPERATING SYSTEMS ON ANY 'REAL HARDWARE' IMPLEMENTATION OF A

              PDP-11. SO USAGE ON THE W11 IS *NOT* COVERED BY THE

              'Mentec-license'.

   Some oskits are provided with systems sysgen'ed to run on a configuration

   like the w11a.

   - Feel free to explore them with the simh simulator.

     The boot scripts for simh are included ( .simh )

   - In case you happen to have a valid license feel free to try them

     out the W11A and let the author know whether is works as it should.

     For convenience the boot scripts are also included ( .tcl ).

   Three oskits are currently provided

     - rsx11m-31_rk: RSX-11M V3.1 on RK05

     - rsx11m-40_rk: RSX-11M V4.0 on RK05

     - rt11-40_rk:   RT-11 V4.0   on RK05

   For further details consult the README_set.txt file in the

   oskit directory.