On December 23, Dave Arthur wrote:
> I'd like to bother someone for some information on a uVAXII
> 
> I just inherited one, in a castered case with the following
> 
> KA630 processor
> 4 RD54's
> 1 TK50
> 
> It also has a CMD SCSI controller.

  FOUR RD54's?!  That's a great config!  How much RAM does it have?
Is there a DEQNA or DELQA in there somewhere?

> I intend on outting netBSD on it ....
> Here are the questions -
> 
> What is the syntax at the >>> prompt, I tried the same commands I use 
> with my KA650 and they don't work :-(

  The KA630's ROM is much more limited than later machines.  You've
only got the deposit/examine commands, the boot commands, and a few
other misc things.  There's no "show dev" or "show mem" or anything
like that.

> The CMD SCSI controller, does anyone know if this controllers 
> support bootable devices, also is it supported by netBSD ?

  The CMD SCSI controller probably emulates an MSCP device.  If it
does, you're in good shape...both the boot ROM and NetBSD/vax should
deal with it just fine.

> How much slower is the KA630 vs the KA650 ?

  The KA650 is supposed to be 2.8x the performance of the KA630.  You
can put a KA650 in that system easily; replace the CPU and RAM
boards.


                       Regards,
                       -Dave McGuire
                        mcguire@neurotica.com