Re: VS3100M76 - current

[Holm Tiffe <holm%freibergnet.de@localhost>]

Johnny Billquist wrote:

> On 2014-05-22 17:54, Holm Tiffe wrote:
> >Johnny Billquist wrote:
> >
> >[..]
> >>>
> >>>Hm. I'm booting -current over the net now, will try to using its
> >>>installboot.
> >>
> >>Back in the 1.5 days, I believe I used disklabel to install the boot
> >>blocks... Check the arguments to disklabel, there are several that are
> >>relevant here...
> >
> >I've tried installboot and disklabel in several combinations of the
> >arguments and watched the contens of /dev/rsd0c and wasn't able to
> >install the boot successfully.
> >
> >But :-)
> >
> >The installboot from -current using the sdboot from -current worked
> >at the first try. I can boot 1.5.3 from the Quantum disk.
> >The primary bootstrap is rev 1.11 on both systems, dont checked for
> >differences in the 2nd bootstrap jet..
> 
> Excellent.
> Thinking more about it, I might actually have been using dd in the end 
> to get the boot block in... :-)
> I seldom installed a new boot block back then, since once you had one 
> in, it usually worked and you never touched it again.


That's the primary source of my problems:

One installs a NetBSD on a VAX and is updating this thing, not new
installing. This way you may get a working -current sometime, but Nobody
knows if this is still INSTALLABLE at this platform.

Using dd for install the bootstrap has been my next idea, but I had to read
about the exact location of the boot on the disk. It isn't starting at 0 so
far as I know.
> 
> >>>While watching again that spinner, there MUST be something wrong.
> >>>You can't compare the speed of netbooting 1.5.3 and 6-current.
> >>>The differene is by factor 100 or more. I've gunzipped several kernels in
> >>>the mantime, that really doesn't take that long, even on that slow VAXen.
> >>>
> >>>Is it possible that thre is something wrong with interrupts..?
> >>
> >>No idea. I wouldn't suspect interrupts to be the problem, but I can't
> >>really exclude anything.
> >>
> >>    Johnny
> >
> >:-)
> >
> >Who can..
> >
> >That booting is really (really!) dog slow. It takes 15-20 minutes at least
> >where 1.5.3 is up in a minute or two or so..
> 
> I bet there are several factors, but the unzipping is most of it, I think.
> If I remember right, the spinner moves once for every block read (or n 
> blocks). But the unpacking and moving around will not move the spinner, 
> which is a data point here.

The first time it is spinning faster and then it slows down.
Like a buffer that is read in and then decompressed as block.
Every next block that get read in has an extra handling or so.
This is how it looks. Nevertheless it takes much much to long.
> 
> >Since this happens while booting from cdrom and from the net (from the same
> >server) I think something is running in timeouts or so..
> 
> Well, the thing in common then is the unpacking. Reading is done through 
> two very different paths...
> 
>       Johnny

At first, I have 1.5.3 running multiuser in the network, fine so far but a
little bit dated. I'm called now to come to the barbicue down in the
backyard. Next I'll measure the times for you so that you get an eassumption
how long this kernel loading takes...

Regards,

Holm


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