From:	SMTP%"RELAY-INFO-VAX@CRVAX.SRI.COM"  2-FEB-1994 08:54:49.60
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Subj:	Re: Is this upgrade supportable by VMS?

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Subject: Re: Is this upgrade supportable by VMS?
Message-Id: <1994Feb1.045024.1@spcvxb.spc.edu>
From: terry@spcvxb.spc.edu (Terry Kennedy, Operations Mgr.)
Date: Tue, 1 Feb 1994 09:50:24 GMT
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In article <2ih21d$6qr@agate.berkeley.edu>, avk@hafnium.cchem.berkeley.edu (Tony Konashenok) writes:
> I have outgrown my VS II and want to upgrade it. There are plenty of
> various old boards on the market, but the one most appealing to me is
> KA640. The question is whether a combination of KA640-BA and VCB02 will
> be recognized by VMS as a workstation. If not, will a change of PROMs
> on the CPU remedy the problem? Are there any other facts I should keep
> in mind?

  It should work. Let me explain: MicroVAX systems after the MicroVAX II came
in two flavors, called "timeshare" and "server". These are often identified
by the -Ax and -Bx suffixes on the part number. The only difference is what
the board reports itself to VMS as, license-wise.

  Sticking a video card into a "server" CPU turns it into a "station" system
and changes the license from a B license to a D license.

  Of course, you need to have the appropriate license(s) for the system, and
while things may work with the old licenses, you should verify that you're
in compliance with DEC's licensing policies.

 [Before somebody takes me to task for the above explanation, yes, I'm aware
of the new user-based VMS licenses and the ROMs on the latest Q-bus VAXes,
but anything found in the hobbyist category is likely to be old enough that
my explanation covers it].

> Another question on the same board: will it work with no DSSI disks
> hooked up? I heard a rumor it won't (I mean under VMS).

  As long as you have a DSSI terminator on the DSSI bus, it should work. With-
out the terminator it may hang during startup.

  By the way, you might want to consider the KA650 CPU or even the KA655. Both
are available at nice low prices these days. Just make sure you get a recent
KA650 (rev K or newer, I think) if you want to run certain 3rd-party controller
cards. This is the infamous "DMA problem".

  Lastly, remember that you *can't* use MicroVAX II memory (MS630) in the 
MicroVAX III series (KA640/650/655). You'll need MS650 memory. You can get the
old 8Mb MS650 boards for next to nothing these days.

	Terry Kennedy		Operations Manager, Academic Computing
	terry@spcvxa.bitnet	St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ USA
	terry@spcvxa.spc.edu	+1 201 915 9381