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# $Id: w11a_os_guide.txt 563 2014-06-22 15:49:09Z 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' is 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 a simulator. It is commonly assumed that the license terms cover the

     usage of the PDP11 simulator from the 'simh' suite. Usage of the e11

     simulator is not covered according to the author of e11.

     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.