[HECnet] SIMH/VAX "temporary VMS cluster" for satellite installation notes

[Jordi Guillaumes i Pons]

El 03/10/2013, a les 1:37, Ryan Blair <blairrya at cse.msu.edu> va escriure:

Since this has come up a few times as a recommendation (but without
details on how to do it), I figured I'd provide my [really terse
and unclean] notes on how to set up a SIMH/VAX image you can use
to temporarily satellite boot VAXen into a cluster just to lay a
fresh copy of VMS down onto them (and then on reboot have the
targets be standalone machines).

Please let me know if you have suggestions for cleaning this up!
I'd love feedback for this.
(...)
### installing VMS from a remote CD on a satellite-booted node:
$ mount/over=id $1$dua3:
(that's $ALLOCLASS$REMOTEDEVICE:)
$ MOUNT/FOREIGN DUA0:
$ backup $1$dua3:[000000]vms073.b/save_set dua0:/init /image/verify/list $
DISMOUNT DUA0:
$ MOUNT/OVER=ID DUA0:
$ COPY $1$dua3:[000000]vms073.* DUA0:[000000]
### if you want DECWindows you'll need DECW073.* too
$ DISMOUNT DUA0:
$ @SYS$SYSTEM:SHUTDOWN
(make sure to pick REMOVE_NODE)
SET BOOT DUA0:
BOOT

These download services are typically implemented using the host-based
InfoServer support.
### END


Wouldn't it be easier to use the "CREATE a duplicate system disk for XXXXX" of the config_cluster menu once you have setup the satellite? I mean, you could have a "clean" VMS install in a simh simulated VAX configured as a cluster boot server, then simply add any new machine as a satellite, configure the satelite so its own disk is visible from the boot node and then copy the clean system disk over the new machine. After that it is just question of updating MODPARAMS.DAT with the identifiers for your new system (and making it stand-alone if you don't want it to be clustered), clean up and initialize the DECNET databases and you will be done...


Jordi Guillaumes i Pons
jg at jordi.guillaumes.name
HECnet: BITXOV::JGUILLAUMES