xref: /openbsd/distrib/notes/alpha/prep (revision 891d7ab6)
1dnl	$OpenBSD: prep,v 1.30 2010/03/07 14:53:02 miod Exp $
2OpenBSD/MACHINE requires the SRM console.  Some alphas come with
3the AlphaBIOS (also known as the ARC firmware on older machines) instead;
4this is what Windows NT uses. It is fairly simple to replace the AlphaBIOS
5with the SRM firmware.
6
7Switching your MACHINE to SRM console:
8
9    AlphaServer class machines (except for models 300 and 400) and recent
10    enough machines (such as the Miata and later models) have enough
11    flash ROM space to carry both the AlphaBIOS and the SRM console.
12
13    To switch to SRM from AlphaBIOS, do the following:
14    - enter the AlphaBIOS setup upon startup
15      (F2 key, or Ctrl-B from serial console)
16    - choose "CMOS Setup" from the menu
17    - select "Advanced CMOS Setup" (F6 key, or Ctrl-F from serial console)
18    - change the "Console Selection" setting to "OpenVMS console (SRM)"
19    - confirm your changes with F10 (or Ctrl-U) twice, then enter.
20    - power-cycle your system for the changes to take effect.
21
22    If you didn't find a "Console Selection" entry (for example on 164SX or
23    164LX), your system can not hold both the AlphaBIOS and SRM console in
24    flash, and you will have to upgrade your firmware.
25
26    You can get replacement firmware either from a firmware update CD-ROM,
27    which can be downloaded from
28	ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/alphaserver/firmware/v73.zip
29    However, this CD-ROM image only supports AlphaServer DS10, DS20, DS20L,
30    and ES40.  Firmware update for other models can be picked individually
31    via FTP from
32	ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/alphaserver/firmware/retired_platforms/
33
34    Please refer to
35	http://h18002.www1.hp.com/alphaserver/firmware/index.html
36    for more information.
37
38    Note that, on most models, upgrading the firmware requires a jumper
39    to be moved on the motherboards; refer to the firmware update
40    instructions for details.
41
42AXPpci33 Motherboard specific notes:
43
44    The 1994 version of the OEM guide has an incorrect pinout for the
45    serial ports.  The newer version used to be available at
46	ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/axppci/design_guide.ps.Z
47    with a corrected pinout (as well as more information than the 1994
48    edition). Although ftp.digital.com does not exist anymore, a few
49    copies of this document are scattered accross various ftp servers
50    on the globe, such as
51	ftp://ftp.uniroma2.it/Digital/support/axppci/design_guide.ps.Z
52    or
53        http://vt100.net/mirror/mds-199909/cd1/alpha/axpcidgc.pdf
54
55    Note that there are two flavors of PC serial connectors.  If you
56    have the wrong kind, you won't get any output from the serial console.
57
58Using the SRM console:
59
60    This is not intended to be an exhaustive guide on using the
61    SRM firmware console.  It should, however, give you enough
62    information to boot OpenBSD/MACHINE.
63
64    To see a list of devices connected to your alpha, you can
65    use the "show device" command.  For booting, the devices you
66    are interested in are "dva0" (the floppy drive) and
67    "dka*" (the disk drives).
68
69    You can set ROM variables by saying "set VARIABLE VALUE".
70    Some variables you will want to set:
71
72	auto_action
73		Determines what happens when you turn the power on,
74		halt, or restart your machine.  Valid values are:
75
76		"halt"
77			the system will not autoboot, will restart when
78			rebooted (shutdown -r), and will not restart
79			when halted (shutdown -h).
80		"boot"
81			the system will autoboot on powerup, and when the
82			system is halted (shutdown -h) or rebooted
83			(shutdown -r).
84		"restart"
85			the system will autoboot on powerup, will restart
86			when rebooted (shutdown -r), and will not restart
87			when halted (shutdown -h).
88
89		Most users will want to set this to "boot".
90
91	bootdef_dev
92		Default boot device (or list of devices).
93
94	boot_file
95		Name of the kernel to boot.  If this variable is empty,
96		"bsd" will be loaded.  Note that this variable does not
97		exist in all versions of the SRM console, in which case
98		you need to always boot manually and specify a kernel
99		filename if it differs from "bsd".
100
101	boot_osflags
102		Flags to pass to the kernel (there is no need to prefix
103		them with a `-' dash sign).
104
105    To see a list of all variables on your machine, use the "show"
106    command with no arguments.  If there are too many of them, you
107    might want to page with "show | more".
108
109    You can bypass the boot_file and boot_osflags values from the command
110    prompt, with the -fi (to override boot_file) and -fl (to override
111    boot_osflags) options. For example,
112
113	boot -fi bsd -fl c dka0
114
115    will boot the "bsd" kernel with the "c" flag on dka0.  However, some
116    versions of the SRM console (mainly on DEC 3000 series) will only let
117    you specify uppercase filenames.
118
119USB support on the XP1000:
120
121    For some unknown reason, the USB interface found on the XP1000
122    (and possibly the XP900 and the XP1100) is not enabled unless a
123    specific SRM environment variable is set.
124
125    If you plan to use USB devices on these machines, enter
126	set usb_enable on
127    at the SRM prompt, followed by
128	init
129    before attempting to install OpenBSD.
130
131SRM console boot device restrictions:
132
133    The SRM firmware on your system may or may not be able to boot from
134    any disk controller you may install in your MACHINE.
135    The built-in disk controllers on your MACHINE will always be supported,
136    however on IDE-based machines, such as the EB164, 164SX and 164LX, as
137    well as the low-end Personal Workstation (non-u models), you can plug
138    in a SCSI controller, and boot from it if it is recognized.
139
140    Recent SRM releases for these machines will be able to boot (or netboot)
141    from the following controllers:
142	QLogic PCI SCSI controllers
143	Symbios Logic (NCR) 53C8xx (but not on PC164)
144	Adaptec AHA-[23]9[34]x[U][W] cards
145	Intel i8255x-based cards (EtherExpress PRO)
146    The following controllers are known not to be supported as boot devices
147    by the SRM:
148	Adaptec AHA-[23]9[34]xU2 cards
149
150    Depending on your specific model, your mileage may vary, though.
151
152OpenBSD/MACHINE console device restrictions:
153
154    On systems with no framebuffer supported (currently all
155    TURBOchannel-based machines), OpenBSD/MACHINE must be used with a
156    serial console.
157
158    Setting an Alpha system to use a serial console is system-specific.
159    Although most models will default to serial console if no keyboard
160    is connected on powerup, this behaviour can't be relied upon.
161    The recommended procedure is:
162
163	DEC 3000/[4-9]00
164		Flip the `S3' switch on the back of the machine
165		(up for glass console, down for serial console).
166
167		When configured to use a serial console, it is also
168		necessary to set the ``server'' SRM environment
169		variable to ``on'' for the system to autoboot on
170		powerup despite the lack of a keyboard and mouse
171		plugged in.
172
173	DEC 3000/300 family machines
174		Console is selected by the `W2' jumper block, to the
175		edge of the logic board, near the memory banks.
176
177		Setting the jumper cap on pins 1-2 selects glass
178		console, and on pins 2-3 selects serial console.
179
180	All other machines
181		From the SRM console, enter either
182			set console serial
183		or
184			set console graphics
185		at the SRM prompt, then enter
186			init
187		or cycle power.
188
189