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

[Jan-Erik Soderholm]

Den 2015-01-29 kl. 21:36, skrev Tom Wade:
> Hi,
>
> I have to install OpenVMS 8.4 on an Integrity rx2800 i2.  It has no local
> disks, only SAN storage.  From what I can see, this system cannot boot from
> the DVD due to lack of support for the SATA DVD drive in the base O/S.
>

I have installed OpenVMS *from* the SAN disks. In that case AlphaServer,
but if the rx2800 can see the disks (and I expect the SAN disks to be
bootable at all, since you will run SAN-only after the install, right?)
I see no reason why that shouldn't work.

What I did:

Copied the OpenVMS 8.4 ISO image (remotely from my home to the
site) to another running system.

Copied the ISO to one fresh unused SAN disk from that system.

Booted the target system from the "VMS dist SAN disk" (a copy
of the CD dist). Any system that you can temporarily shutdown
can be used for that, b.t.w. Doesn't have to be the final
target system.

Run a usual install (in my case an UPGRADE, but that should
not make any difference). Even an UPGRADE can be run from
another system then the final target system.

Added UPDATE pathes and other LPs from another "dist" SAN disk.

Re-booted the targat system from the newly installed SAN disk.


This should work from an rx2600 if the rx2600 sees the SAN
disks and can boot any of the visable SAN disks.


> The article describing this,
>
> http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c02962662&sp4ts.oid=5033573
>
>
> states that "This issue has been elevated to OpenVMS Engineering requesting
> OpenVMS 8.4 patch V0500 be released on CD, but as of yet it has not
> happened."  Does anyone know if this is still the case ?  Is there a HW
> version DVD release?
>
> I have access to an rx2600 (currently running 8.3).

That could be the "helper" box where you copy the ISO to
a SAN disks and you could also use it to "prepare" the
system disk for the target machine.

Then just boot the target machine from the new system disk.


Jan-Erik.


> I was considering
> using this machine to install 8.4 with patch UPDATE5 on a USB stick, and
> trying to boot that on the target machine.  Is this feasible ?
>
> Thanks for any pointers
>
> Tom Wade
>
>