VAXstation 3100/76 configured as VAXserver and NetBSD - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

14 Jan 2007

...
  9000 VAX wrote:

  The SCSI connector on 3100 76 is wired
differently from the standard.
 I was told that it was because there was no standard when the first
 vaxstation was out. You need a DEC specific SCSI cable to use the
 port. 

 The wiring inside the VAXstation 3100-76 may well be "non-standard",
 but the external connector works perfectly well with any SCSI
 cable which physically connects. Internally there is a single
 cable harness even though the internal devices and external
 devices are separate SCSI channels. So you cannot replace
 the harness (with anything other than the exact same
 harness) without knowing exactly what you are doing.

 If the external connector has been replaced with an
 Amphenol one, then perhaps that was not done properly.

 There's a terminator on the harness too - and my recollection
 is that without it things do not work well (if at all).

 Antonio

Internal works just fine, external has the Amphenol-50, but since there 
are 2 colors of loose wires and a proprietary internal connector it's 
unlikely I can figure the "proper" wiring out. I suppose I could trace 
it from the NCR chips, but for now I just pull the cover and plug stuff 
in the 1st bus. The ground wires on the external bus are all one color, 
and they seem to go to the right places - so it's partially right. If 
only DEC had better documentation.

I hand installed NetBSD from the shell option, and it seems to be 
working better (no panics yet). sushi complains about libcurses and 
won't run, but vi runs ok. It isn't my main VAX, anyway, so I'll 
probably shove it back under the bed for now. I was going to junk it if 
it didn't work, but it pulled itself together. I'd throw VMS on it, but 
(a) everyone needs at least one BSD VAX and (b) the console is shared 
with the 4200 so it would be a bother to run them together as a 
VAXcluster. I'm considering clustering the 4000-200 and my 3000-300X, 
though. Too bad DEC doesn't have the ultimate useless feature: cross-OS 
clustering. Imagine a VMS VAX, Tru64 Alpha, and VMS Integrity 
clustered. Completely pointless, but cool sounding.