Adam Fritzler <afritz@iname.com> wrote:
> What exactly is a VAXserver 3300?

A Q-bus MicroVAX-type system with a KA640 CPU. KA640 is almost the same as
KA650, but it's a bit slower (20 MHz instead of 22 and no 64 KB external cache)
and it has on-board Ethernet and DSSI controllers. Of course VMS supports all
of this, but unfortunately all other VAX OSes I know of fall short of this.
Both 4.3BSD-* and NetBSD treat KA640 as a KA650, ignoring the on-board
controllers. AFAIK, Ultrix either does the same or doesn't boot on KA640 at
all.

> Is it the same as a MV3300?  How
> different are they?

They use different versions of KA640 which in turn differ in one (1) bit in the
EPROM. This bit tells VMS whether the machine is "multi-user" (MicroVAX) or
"single-user" (VAXstation or VAXserver). Of course, 4.3BSD-* and NetBSD ignore
it. If this bit bothers you (e.g., prevents you from using VMS the way you want
to), take an EPROM burner and change it. KA650 has 2 27512 EPROMs, which
virtually every EPROM burner should handle, and I assume that KA640 has the
same.

> (Please...no month-long discussions about a
> one-jumper difference need to come from this simple question!)

I hope that my answer is simple enough. Also note that if the discussions you
are complaining about hadn't taken place, I wouldn't have this simple answer.

Sincerely,
Michael Sokolov
Phone: 440-449-0299
ARPA Internet SMTP mail: sokolov@alpha.ces.cwru.edu