Tru64 UNIX on API CS20 HowTo

Greg Schenzel <inittab AT unixdev DOT net>
Copyright 2006
GNU Free Documentation License

This document details the setup of Tru64 on an Alpha Processor, Inc (API) CS20. A CS20 is essentially the same as a HP/Compaq DS20L, since it was the inspiration for the latter. However, there are two major differences: the SCSI controller, and the system sensors. You will need to replace the SCSI disk with an IDE and disable the sysmon daemon if you want to run Tru64 instead of BSD or Linux.

  1. First, open the system up. This entails unscrewing the 2 slides and bracket from each side. There is also a small screw on the back. Once this is off, you should carefully push back the top of the case.
  2. Pop off the bezel on the front of the case.
  3. Remove the hard disk cover on the lower left hand corner of the front.
  4. Pull forward the SCSI disk (SCA-style) from the front.
  5. Lift the SCA adapter upwards and disconnect the SCSI and power cables.
  6. Disconnect SCSI cable from I/O backplane.
  7. Mount an IDE disk in the removed drive bracket and re-insert into the case.
  8. Connect IDE and power cables to the disk drive, and connect the IDE cable directly to the motherboard.
  9. Replace the system cover.
  10. Turn the system on, insert your Tru64 boot CD (5.1B for me), boot from it (`boot dqb0`), follow the installation process.
  11. Remember to allocate 1xRAM for lazy swapping or 2.5-3xRAM for eager swapping. By default, the system will use eager swapping mode. To change this later to lazy mode, edit the line under "vm:" in /etc/sysconfigtab to read "vm-swap-eager=0".
  12. When the system comes back up, Tru64 will complain about system temperature and a failed power supply. The system will shutdown in about 15 minutes if you do not follow this step! This is because the drivers used by envmond don't know anything about the CS20, so you must disable it. This is done by adding "ENVMON_CONFIGURED=0; export ENVMON_CONFIGURED" to /etc/rc.config.
  13. Optionally, take this time to go into single-user mode and update Tru64 to your version's latest patch_kit. Congratulations, you now have a working Tru64 server and a spare 36GB SCSI disk.