Conference turris::microvax

4357.0. "Q-Bus access on a VAX 4000-106" by HYDRA::SCHAFER (Mark Schafer, SPE MRO) Fri Mar 28 1997 11:28

    What's the VMS CPU model code for 4000-106?
    Is there a CPU module user's guide?
    Is there a better way for customers to get this?
    
    Mark Schafer
    SPE MRO
    297-3524
    
From:	MRMTS::MRMTS::MRGATE::"DASMTS::PMDF::vector-networks.co.uk::sbriggs" 28-MAR-1997 10:11:45.17
To:	HDLITE::SCHAFER
CC:	
Subj:	Q-Bus access on a VAX 4000-106

From:	NAME: Stephen Briggs <[email protected]@PMDF@INTERNET>
To:	NAME: mark.schafer <mark.schafer@mro>

Hi Mark,

Long time no contact. Since they changed the DPN setup over here in 
the UK it's been harder to get in. Anyway, I hope you're well.

We have a customer in Italy who is using one of our Q-Bus ARCNET 
cards in a VAX 4000-106 and is getting a VMS 6.2 crash in SYSGEN when 
they load our driver with reason ASYNCWRTERR, asynch mem write error. 
Looking at the listings it seems that this code is used nowadays for 
several kinds of machine checks but I can't get access to the machine 
to work out precisely where it is failing.

The init code in the driver does a few BITB, CLRB, BICB, MOVB 
instructions on the card's CSR; nothing that I would expect to fail 
on any machine that had a working Q-Bus with a working ARCNET card.

Getting the customer to do some stuff with ODT I can see that the
CSR is not changing the way that I would expect, but there are no 
errors reported by ODT. I'm wondering if there is a mem status 
register which isn't being checked by ODT?

So, can you tell me the CPU model code for a 4000-106 (so I can 
identify the right ADP/CPU loadable modules), and do you know if 
there are any specific issues with that machine accessing its Q-Bus 
expansion (I understand from the customer that it's unusual as a 4000 
which doesn't have an internal Q-Bus?), and can I get rapid access to 
a CPU module user's guide for it (e.g. on DEC's Web??) ?

I doubt that there is a fault on the Q-Bus card and the driver has 
been stable & reliable on a large number of single-processor and MP 
systems from VMS v4 through v6, so I'm suspecting that there is 
something funny with Q-Bus access on that system.

Of course the customer would like it working yesterday, my Italian 
isn't too good, and we can't get a dialin to the machine! Ain't it 
always the way.

Thanks for any help,

Steve.
--
Stephen Briggs                        Email: [email protected]
Engineering Director

Vector - "Bringing PC management to your desktop" 

Vector Networks Limited,              Tel : +44 (0)1827 67333
4 Mercury Park, Amber Close,          Fax : +44 (0)1827 67068 
Tamworth, Staffordshire B77 4RP, UK   URL : http://www.vector-networks.co.uk

    Manuals can be found by doing a search for "4000"
    
    http://www-mcslu.das.dec.com/mcsl/mcslhome.html
    
    jim

   I didn't think read-modify operations were supported in register I/O
   space...

   It's distinctly possible there's a delay or other factor specific to
   some VAX 4000-10x series boxes that's tripping the driver -- I have
   learned that the simple fact that a driver doesn't happen to bugcheck
   a system has no bearing on its correctness, nor is it any basis for
   predicting the driver will or will not work on a particular platform.

   The customer will need to get a copy of the crashdump, and/or some
   time on the target (crashing) platform...