I've started working on a port of NetBSD to the Apollo DN series
workstations...
only the later models (DN2500, 3000 series, 4000 series, and 5500).  I believe
I have enough info to get a working kernel built for at least serial console
mode...
Have the hardware type/addresses for the serial ports, RTC, and PIC chips, and
the mappings for the ISA bus stuff...

Using the HP300 code as a base to work off of, since it seems the closest
(after all, it is "apollo" in its heritage)...    

I have been disassembling the code from the SAU7 boot prom (the "new" 3500
PROM that is posted on one of the web sites - SCSI support for the 3500?).
Hopefully if I can figure out what it does I may be able to find a way to
squeeze a patch in there to allow booting off SCSI instead of only from the
ESDI disk.  Quite time-consuming to do this disassembly though... I'm only
about a 10th of the way there right now (after over a week).  From poking
around on my 3010 system (SAU8) it seems the SAU8 prom is pretty much the same
(offsets are moved around a bit so there are obviously differences, but there
were large sections of identical code).

I currently have two DN3010's, two DN4500's, and two DN5500's (but not all
hooked up yet)...  this hopefully will give at least one of each "SAU" type to
test on.  Plus I have a bunch of extra parts to keep them going...  I think I
need to find a few "new" keyboards though...  6 machines and I think I only
have 3 keyboards.

Does anyone out there know anything about the "DMMU" on the DN3000???
All the other models I'm trying for at least have standard Motorola MMU's, but
the 3000 doesn't.  I notice that some of the HP/Apollo 300/400 series machines
have
an "HP MMU" - perhaps this is a carryover from Apollo and the DMMU is similar?
Anyone know anything more?  I have doc's on the 3c505 board for ethernet, but
none on the ATR (Apollo Token Ring) board... could use some info on the ATR if
anyone has it.

Anyways, hopefully these old clunker's of mine (and maybe yours?) will wind up
with a "modern" OS someday soon... 

Hey, it was either this or they'd see the dumpster... and I hate to throw out
anything that works....   :-)

Pete Hufnagel
CaptnZilog@aol.com