Alpha DS15 Tru64 5.1B " NHD7 " CD

[Techtricks]

Hi,

Can any one guide me how to create the bootable
cd for NHD7 to install Tru64 5.1B OS on Alpha
DS 15 server.

I got the patch from ITRC but it is not a bootable image, even i tried burning the same but of no use.

Thanks and regards

Nagaraju

[Eric van Dijken]

First time install as normal, with all the cd swaps. When your install is 100% completed you will have a "working" DS15 kernel.

Create a new 5.1B Install cdrom and add this saved DS15 kernel to it, with a name easy to remember name, like: "ds15vmunix"

Start the installation with ">>> boot -file ds15vmunix dqa0"

During installation the install process will try to generate a new kernel (which will not work on the DS15, until NHD7 is installed)

Until you install NHD7 you will have to copy the "ds15vmunix" from your install cd onto your installation disk (dsk0) than reboot again with the "ds15vmunix" from your installation disk. And the installation process will continue.

Its not pretty, but beats the 20+ cd swaps normally needed.

[Techtricks]

Hi,

I am facing problem in the initial stage itself, i have a DS15 new system along with
VMS 7.3-2 ver.

If i want to start installation of TRU64
5.1B os on DS15, without NHD7 Cd, installation process is dumping continoulsy,
Hence i am trying to create NHD7 CD so that i can start.

Guide me how do i solve this issue.

Thanks and regards

[Johan Brusche]

N,

Insert the CD you burned into a PC CDdrive, and you will find on there a pdf file with detailed installation instructions.

__ Johan.

[Eric van Dijken]

The can get the NHD7 ISO file from: http://www4.itrc.hp.com/service/cki/patchDocDisplay.do?admit=-938907319+1110957248103+28353475&patchId=NHD7
Or you could order the CD from HP (if you are unable to create an CD)

The CD will also contain the "Tru64 UNIX New Hardware Delivery,
Release Notes and Installation Instructions"
(in i think .pdf format)

When you have the NHD7 cd and the 5.1B install cd. You can start the installation with:
>>> boot -fl fa -fi "GENERIC" dqa0
But read the document mention above first!

[Eric van Dijken]

(after a re-read of your problem)

Are you saying that you are unable to create the NHD7 CD, as you don't have access to a UNIX system. The NHD7 software comes in the form of a tar file.
And the only UNIX system you have, is the DS15 which will not work until you have the NHD7 cdrom (catch-22)

But i am sure that there are other ways to create the cd, maybe even on VMS. Guess you would need a GNU tar (to unpack) and a MKISOFS (to create the ISO) for that.

Or you could just order the NHD7 cd from HP.
(Or find someone that is willing to put the ISO online for you, not sure if thats allowed by HP)

[Johan Brusche]

Since the system came with VMS I suppose bootdef_dev is pointing to the disk with VMS.

Please try setting "bootdef_dev" to a null string and then boot the Tru64 V5.1B distribution CD. If you do not have a V5.1B
CD then do not bother continuing with the NHD7.

__ Johan.

[Eric van Dijken]

Johan,

I never succeeded booting a DS15 into Unix (Original 5.1B build 2650 CD) without a kernel panic, even before the installer started.

But your mileage may vary.

Eric.

[Techtricks]

Dear Friends,

I have extracted the .tar file from other
unix system then i copied to windows system, to burn the cd, but the cd created with NHD7 is not in ISO format, i just copied the folder extracted from .tar file, i think this is not going to help me to boot the system, unless i have ISO image file.

Can u suggest me how to create ISO image or is there any other option i can install
TRU64 5.1B with out NHD7 media, so that i can install NHD7 after installing TRU64 5.1B.

Thanks and regards

Nagaraju s

[Eric van Dijken]

If you boot the original Tru5.1B cdrom set and have read chapter 4.2.2.1 from the NHD7 instruction manual. You can start the installation with the following command (using the original 5.1B cdrom set):

>>> boot -fl fa -fi "GENERIC" dqa0

During installation a new kernel will be generated (after 20+ cdrom swaps between the orginal set and the NHD7 cdrom)

But chapter 4.2.2.1 will explain it all, read it and all will be (hopefully) clear to you.

[Eric van Dijken]

(An other re-read)

No, you cannot combine the original Tru5.1B set with the NHD7 set, into a installtion cdrom which installs NHD7 together with Tru5.1B.

Normally you would install 5.1B and than update it with NHD7.

But as the DS15 requires drivers which are only in the NHD7 set. You have to install using a special way.
This requires many cd swaps, which is not pretty. But does work.

Slipstreaming both cd's into 1 cd....... (my best guess, is not HP supported. And a lot of hard and difficult (non-documented, or HP internal use only) work. I am not saying it can't be done. Unless you have 200+ systems, i wouldn't burn my fingers on it.)

[Brandon Malli]

Does anyone have any tips on creating the the 5.1B boot cd with a working DS15 kernel? I'm really not sure what format the boot cd needs to be in...my guess is UFS.

[Eric van Dijken]

It will be very hard to create a cd which will install Tru64 UNIX on a DS15, without any special tricks.

During Tru64 installation, kernel sources are installed on the system. And a new/fresh kernel will be build. But these sources will not include the "NHD7" drivers, which are needed to make a working DS15 kernel.....


As for the special tricks, maybe you can overwrite the kernel sources, with the DS15 kernel sources during the "postload" phase of the installation process. Maybe that will do the trick, but haven't tried that myself.

[Brandon Malli]

I actually don't intend to do an install from the CD - only to get a CD that is bootable without doing all the disk swaps that come with using the ">>> boot -fl fa -fi "GENERIC" dqa0" command. Basically we do a lot of system restores and we used to boot off of CD - restore the filesystems - and voila! But now with all the disk swaps it really adds a lot of time to the restore. If I had a CD that I could boot without doing the disk swaps I would be good to go.

[Eric van Dijken]

You could try to put a working DS15 kernel on your "install" CD. Tried that once, worked until i got a DS15 with a different hardware configuration. Than it failed again. Which brought me back to the CD swaps to install the system.

Maybe 5.1b-3 will help, but haven't seen that one yet. (nor PK5 for 5.1B-2)

[Brandon Malli]

That is exactly what I have been trying to do. Can you recommend a CD burning utility (and/or procedure) that will allow me to copy the OS disk + add another file?

[Eric van Dijken]

Just put the files from the CD in a directory (call it "BUILD", for the example). Add the "ds15kernel" file.

Then run the following Tru64 command's:

# cd BUILD
# mkisofs -D -R -d -o -b -quiet \
-p "your name" \
-P "your org." -V "V5.1Br2650_O1" \
-o ../TRU64DS15.iso .

# disklabel -w -t cdfs -f ../TRU64DS15.iso
# echo "\0\c" || dd bs=1024k conv=sync >> ../TRU64DS15.iso

Then i ftp/copy the file to a PC with a CD burner installed and burn the image to CD-R.

Put the cd into your DS15, and boot it using:
P>>> b -file ds15kernel dqa0

[Brandon Malli]

Awesome thanks a lot - I was missing the disklabel part!

[Brandon Malli]

Everything is working great now. One tip I have is to copy the genvmunix kernel from a known good DS15 as well. We have 3 different DS15 based platforms here and I can boot off of CD with genvmunix on all of them.

Thanks again for everything.

[bourdages Arline]

DS15 server with tru64 51B: I did copy my tru64 51b CD and my NHD7 CD on my WORK directory. I did follow the recommandation of Eric van Dijken and it does work. But I like to be certain that the ds15kernel file is ok: Which file should be use for the DS15kernel. Should I use /540/vmunix or /540/genvmunix. ( from NHD7 CD). I did use the vmunix. Is that OK
Thanks and regards.
Arline.