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[/] [w11/] [tags/] [w11a_V0.6/] [doc/] [w11a_os_guide.txt] - Rev 25
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# $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 <sys>.jconfig
- otherwise use impact with
make <sys>.iconfig
3. Rlink and Backend Server setup -----------------------------------------
All examples below use the same basic setup
- setup vt100 emulator windows
cd $RETROBASE/tools/oskit/<oskit-name>
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 <boot-script> is given in the following sections
[for n2,n3 over fx2:]
SWI = 00000100
ti_w11 -u @<oskit-name>_boot.tcl
[for s3,n2 over serial:]
SWI = 00000010
ti_w11 -tu0,460k,break,xon @<oskit-name>_boot.tcl
[for n3 over serial:]
SWI = 00000010
ti_w11 -tu0,2M,break,xon @<oskit-name>_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/<oskit-name>
telnet_starter -s -d DL1 &
{Note: the -s ensures that the port numbers used by simh are taken!}
- start the simulator
pdp11 <oskit-name>_boot.scmd
5. oskits -----------------------------------------------------------------
Ready to be used 'oskits' are provided under
$RETROBASE/tools/oskit/<oskit-name>
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_<oskit-name>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 ( <kit>.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 ( <kit>.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_<oskit-name>set.txt file in the
oskit directory.
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