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Re: DSSI and VAX 4000-200



I used a KFQSA and an RF71 with a PDP-11/73 on BSD2.11 for a while and it worked fine. I used a KA655 with it for configuration. The drive has its own console. Very cool when I first saw it. 

My research on KZQSA is that it is SHAC controller with the sector buffer on the Qbus. My understanding is that SHAC controller is DSSI and SCSI controller. There is information in some VAX manual (KA660?). I speculate that DEC said the controller was no good for disks because the performance would be so bad. At this point no open source drive exists for it either.

I have never heard anyone admit to having a RQZX1. They must be very rare, but as a DEC supported MSCP Qbus SCSI adapter it must be good. 

I have used CMD and Viking SCSI controllers with much luck and there are SCSI to ATA adapters that let you use modern ATA drives.

-chuck

On Mon, Dec 28, 2020 at 9:53 AM Johnny Billquist <bqt%update.uu.se@localhost> wrote:
Building natively do not work, and have not worked for quite a while.
However, there is now hope that this might get solved once a new version
of gcc gets in.

Unless I remember wrong, the KFQSA is the Qbus controller that speaks
MSCP on the host side, but interfaces to DSSI.
It sortof works, but in my experience, NetBSD hangs sooner or later when
using it. Something not entirely right in the NetBSD code, I would suspect.

KZQSA is supposedly only for CD and tape. Not disks... Also, it seems to
have a different programming model than Qbus MSCP controllers, so I
guess it would be quite an effort to add support for.

If you want official SCSI supported disks on Qbus, DEC had the RQZX1,
which should work fine with NetBSD.

Or else locate a CMD, Viking or Emulex SCSI controller.

But good that you're having some progress.

   Johnny

On 2020-12-28 15:03, James Robinson wrote:
> Hi Johnny,
> Just to let you know, I added the KFQSA and set it to ID 6 and I was
> able to see the two drives in the unit.
> I then proceeded to net boot the vax and install NetBSD 9.1 on the
> drives. I have my 2Gb drive as "/" and my 1GB as "/usr/pkg". I NFS
> mounted "/usr/pkgsrc" and also "/usr/src"....
> I also picked up an old MicroVAX 3100-40 for around $150 and added 3 "1
> Gb" drives to the internal SCSI bus.
>
> A couple of things to note about NetBSD 9.1 and the 3100-400:
> 1) the current kernel need to have the patch applied for the Lance
> network controller.
> 2) my SCSI Digital RRD40 will crash the kernel.
> 3) I am having issues with the 9.1 src and the tools compile under the
> GCC src. (will figure that out and let people know.)
>
> I also found out that my KZQSA (Q-Bus SCSI) is not supported, on the Old
> 4000-200, but that gives me a hobby on the snowy days in Upstate NY... ;-)
> Thanks for all you help,
> Jim
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, Nov 15, 2020 at 8:10 PM James Robinson <jmr13031%gmail.com@localhost
> <mailto:jmr13031%gmail.com@localhost>> wrote:
>
>     Hi Johnny,
>     Just getting back to the VAX, so here is what I did and am thinking.
>     I have a KFQSA installed in my VAXServer 4000-200 and configured for
>     2 disks.
>     >>set host/uqssp/maint/serv 0
>     ? set 0 772150 21
>     ? set 1 760334 21
>     ? set 6 KFQSA
>
>     I was going to run a DSSI cable from the left bulkhead connector on
>     my VAX chassis to the front of the KFQSA's board connector.
>     This I hope will allow me to jumper my internal chassis DSSI bus
>     with my 2 hard drives, to the KFQSA.
>     Seeing that the KFQSA is supported in NetBSD and the controller on
>     the KA660's SHAC is currently not, I was hoping to boot via the KFQSA.
>     I see that my KA660's SHAC is set to id 7 and that is why I chose id
>     6 for the KFQSA.
>     Does this sound about right?
>     Thanks,
>     James
>
>
>     On Mon, Jul 20, 2020 at 8:03 AM Johnny Billquist <bqt%update.uu.se@localhost
>     <mailto:bqt%update.uu.se@localhost>> wrote:
>
>         On 2020-07-19 15:06, James Robinson wrote:
>          > I know the on board DSSI controller is not supported. But can
>         I use a
>          > Q-Bus version (m7769) and jumper over to the internal bus to
>         get access
>          > to my drives?
>
>         Not sure what jumpers you are thinking about, but yes, the KFQSA
>         is just
>         a normal MSCP controller from the computer point of view. So it
>         works
>         (but see below).
>
>          > I think I would need to configure it as controler 6 because
>         the SHAC is
>          > at 7.
>
>         Not sure what you are talking about here. The KFQSA sits on the
>         Qbus,
>         and connects to DSSI disks. If you plan to connect both DSSI
>         controllers
>         to the disks, then yes, one should be unit 6 and the other 7.
>
>          > Or should I just get a SCSI card and not use the internal drives.
>
>         Obviously all up to you... :-)
>
>          > Or better yet, help finish the port for the SHAC
>         controller.... :-)
>
>         That would also be nice. I have had a long term plan to get the
>         whole CI
>         code from Ultrix ported over to NetBSD. Obviously this might not be
>         possible to distribute as is, since it's copyrighted. But it
>         would be a
>         start. However, I have been too busy with other things, and
>         meanwhile
>         NetBSD have deteriorated some.
>
>         Anyway, I happen to have a KFQSA, and last I tested it with
>         NetBSD, it
>         ran for a while, but NetBSD got stuck after some time. I think
>         there are
>         some bugs somewhere that either plays badly with the KFQSA, or
>         else are
>         buggy in some other way (having two UDA-50 on two separate
>         Unibuses on
>         an 8650 also do not work).
>
>         So there is some chance that you will not find things very
>         usable in the
>         end anyway, even with the KFQSA.
>
>             Johnny
>
>         --
>         Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
>                                             ||  on a psychedelic trip
>         email: bqt%softjar.se@localhost <mailto:bqt%softjar.se@localhost>             ||
>         Reading murder books
>         pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
>


--
Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
                                   ||  on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt%softjar.se@localhost             ||  Reading murder books
pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol


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