[Info-vax] Summary: Installing OpenVMS 8.4 on Integrity rx2800 with no local disks

[Tom Wade]

On 2015-02-08 10:47, Tom Wade wrote:

> One interesting thing though.  I used the recommended BOOT_OPTIONS.COM
> to create the boot entries for the newly installed VMS disk on the SAN
> (it created several entries corresponding to the multiple fiber paths).
>   I also image copied the DGA device onto a local SCSI DKA and added a
> boot option for it too.  The system won't boot automatically from any of
> them.  It just says "boot failed".  Same thing if I select the entry
> manually from the boot menu.  I can access the SAN partition as fs0:
> from EFI, and run the vms_loader.efi interactively to boot.  I must  be
> missing something - the same procedure using BOOT_OPTIONS.COM on the
> rx2600 worked fine with no need to mess about in EFI.

As well as being able to boot directly from the DVD, the ability to 
properly create automatic boot entries using BOOT_OPTIONS.COM on an 
rx2800 i2 is also dependent on the Update patch (I installed Update9 but 
it seems Update5 is the minimum).  Once this patch was installed, and 
the system rebooted (manually via vms_loader.efi), a subsequent re-run 
of BOOT_OPTIONS.COM created the correct automatic boot options.

So, if you are installing OpenVMS 8.4 on an rx2800 i2 system, you can't 
boot the installation DVD directly, but you have to:

* boot using an ILO client, or boot from an image copy of the DVD on a 
USB device (not all USB devices may work here).

* Install VMS onto a local disk or SAN partition.

* Boot this system manually and apply the PCSI and Update patch 
(presumably you could install the patch from the running $$$ prompt onto 
the target system if you put the kit on the same USB drive, but I didn't 
do this).

* Reboot and run the BOOT_OPTIONS.COM procedure.

Alternatively, obtain a copy of the 8.4 Remastered DVD which contains 
drivers for the DVD controller and install in the 'normal' way.

Tom Wade