17 May
2012
17 May
'12
12:07 p.m.
On 05/17/2012 05:19 AM, jim s wrote:
You need specific models of machines for the card to
be hosted. The
microcode for the system I think includes OS/2 It's been some time
since I loaded and ran the microcode on a cold machine.
There is also a way to run the cards hosted on an RS 6000 hosted by AIX.
The microcode involved is actually the microcode for the S/390
processor on the board. That comes from a "LIC" (Licensed Internal
Code) file. That file is tough to get (but one need only ask), is
different between the three types of P/390 card, but it is the same
whether the card is hosted under AIX or OS/2.
The rest of the software is simply a set of drivers and a few
utilities. It's quite easy to install. The drivers provide for the
emulation of I/O hardware to access mass storage and network devices.
DASD is emulated by container files on the host system. Upon
initialization, this software loads the LIC data into the card, then
it's capable of booting whatever mainframe OS you want to run on it.
I've run OS/390 v2r9 and v2r10, and VM/ESA v2.3 on mine.
As Sridhar mentioned, the software doesn't want to install on later
releases of AIX. Something later than 4.3.3 MIGHT work, but 5.1 does not.
These cards hosted under AIX are quite nice.
The later P390/E cards with 1GB of RAM onboard are as scarce as hens'
teeth. I'd love to get my hands on one.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA