Serial Connection to AlphaServer DS25

[kckcc-it]

We have an old hp AlphaServer DS25 that we are looking to retrieve information off of.

This server has been "out of production" for 10+ years. The only person who know anything about it retired a month ago.

Our thought was to add it to the network, possibly connect to it remotely and hopefully pull the databases off.
Upon researching that, we found out that we don't have a licence for TCPIP
%TCPIP-E-CONFIGERROR, error processing configuration request
-TCPIP-E-NOCLILIC, TCPIP-IP-CLIENT PAK is not enabled

Assuming we cannot purchase this license anymore we decided to try to connect to it via serial and at lease gain remote access that way.
We've tried various settings with "Cisco" console cables, but have yet to successfully connect.

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction for settings within PuTTY (or similar software) and any specific adapter/cables we might need.

Currently (and for the last 10 years) we have been pulling up the needed information and taking a picture.
Hoping to at least be able to copy the information from a remote terminal to hopefully replicate it in a system that we can actually manage...and more importantly backup!

Any help is greatly appreciated, I know this is a bit of an odd ask. Really we're just grasping at straws at this point.

[Bob Blunt · Accepted solution]

WRT: Serial connection on DS25.  You should have two 9-pin RS232 serial ports on the back of the DS25.  Either should work to get to the SRM console, for starters, but you may need to check the setting for the console (serial or graphics, should be "serial").   From there you should be able to boot to a DCL prompt and, hopefully, you still have the password for the SYSTEM account.  The cables and adapters you'll need will be two(2) H8571J (9-pin to MMJ) and one BC16E-xx (xx denotes the length).  Connect to a PC with a similar serial port (should be COM1 or COM2, etc.).  As far as Putty...I'm not sure if Putty will permit you to use one of the COM ports.  If it will then you should be OK to get started.  If Putty won't connect to physical ports find Tera Term on the internet, it will let you connect to a physical port for console use.  Normal port characteristics should be 8 data bits, no parity, one stop bit, 9600bps/baud.

Licenses:  You should still be able to request Alpha Community/Hobbyist licenses and that should be good enough for your current needs.  If you need to run the DS25 for more than casual data retrieval then full Alpha OpenVMS licenses should still be available from VSI (https://vmsssoftware.com).  VSI can also help through Professional Services to extract your required data as needed or there are individial folk who have some capabilities to do so.

bob

Image of the H8571-J below

[Steven Schweda]

> We have an old hp AlphaServer DS25 [...]

   They're all old, now.  VMS version?

      SHOW SYSTEM /NOPROC

   Is that your only VMS system?

> We've tried various settings with "Cisco" console cables, [...]

   Not a very detailed description of anything, including to what you
want to connect the Alpha serial port.

   I'd expect a 9-pin serial port on an old Alpha to have a pin-out like
a normal 9-pin PC serial port, so I'd expect a straight-through cable,
or, at worst, a null-modem cable, to work.  I wouldn't expect to need
anything special.  Do you have a serial break-out box or a voltmeter?

> [...] we have been pulling up the needed information and taking a
> picture.

   "pulling [it] up" on _what_?  Does this AlphaServer have a graphics
head, keyboard, and mouse?

> [...] we don't have a licence for TCPIP [...]

   What do you have?  DECnet?
      SHOW LICE

   If you have any kind of network capability at all on that system,
then there should be a way to get it to talk to some other system
without resorting to what you're doing now.  I can think of some messy
schemes involving DECnet (to some other VMS system). Or Kermit (to
almost anything), but I'd normally use a network connection to get
Kermit installed on the thing, so I'm not sure how to get Kermit onto
the thing with no network.  (But I'd hope that it's possible with only a
serial connection.)

   Even in a previous century, a system with no networking would seem to
have limited utility.

> [...] Alpha Community/Hobbyist licenses [...] from VSI [...]

   Ignoring the legal conflict between non-commercial licenses and
commercial use, VSI licenses are good for VSI software, not (older)
HP[E] software. You might try asking HPE about getting a TCPIP license.
I don't know if they still offer such things, or what that might cost.

[Steven Schweda]

> [...] You might try asking HPE about getting a TCPIP license. [...]

   Or a reseller like Island Computers (islandco.com), who might offer a
better deal than HPE.

[kckcc-it]

Bob,

Thank you for your reply. This is exactly the information I was looking for!
I did have to change the console setting from graphics to serial. So that was my main holdup. I did end up have the proper cables and adapters on hand, so I am now able to access the system from the comfort of my desk!
We went ahead and ordered 2 H8571J and 1 BC16E-xx from Island Computers.

I will look into the Community/Hobbyist licenses. This system contains records from the 80's. My coworker thinks he has a program that can read the databases off of this server. Our plan is to get it on the network, copy the databases off and shut it down for good.
Hopefully we don't need to reach out to VSI, but thank you for the reference just in case.

Again, thank you for your help. It is very much appreciated.

[Steven Schweda]

> [...] I did end up have the proper cables and adapters on hand [...]

Not amazing. Any 9-pin F-F null-modem cable (or equivalent) should
work. If the software at both ends is set to use XON/XOFF flow control,
then I'd expect more than pins 2 and 3 (crossed), plus some ground pin,
to be excessive.

> [...] I'm not sure if Putty will permit you to use one of the COM
> ports. [...]

   Connection type: Serial.  Around here, the default characteristics
are 9600b/s, 8 data, 1 stop, no parity, XON/XOFF, so if the Alpha port
is set to 9600b/s, then I'd expect little trouble.

> I will look into the Community/Hobbyist licenses. [...]

Neither the (discontinued) HPE Hobbyist program nor the VSI Community
program is legal for commercial use.

> [...] Our plan is to get it on the network, [...]

   Any TCPIP license/PAK from VSI will not work with HP[E]-supplied VMS
or TCPIP, so even if you don't care about the legality, you'd need to
upgrade the whole thing to a VSI VMS release. Which might be risky on a
system where the expertise has dispersed.

   As I already suggested, I'd investigate an HPE TCPIP license from a
reseller like Island Computers (islandco.com).  If/when that fails,
moving to VSI software might make some sense.  (But I'd expect that to
cost more than an over-priced serial cable which you didn't need.)

[Sunitha_Mod]

---

@kckcc-it wrote:

Bob,

Thank you for your reply. This is exactly the information I was looking for!
I did have to change the console setting from graphics to serial. So that was my main holdup. I did end up have the proper cables and adapters on hand, so I am now able to access the system from the comfort of my desk!
We went ahead and ordered 2 H8571J and 1 BC16E-xx from Island Computers.

I will look into the Community/Hobbyist licenses. This system contains records from the 80's. My coworker thinks he has a program that can read the databases off of this server. Our plan is to get it on the network, copy the databases off and shut it down for good.
Hopefully we don't need to reach out to VSI, but thank you for the reference just in case.

Again, thank you for your help. It is very much appreciated.

---

Hello @kckcc-it 

That's excellent! 

We are extremely glad to know your concern has been addressed.