[Info-vax] Transferring file to VMS emulated in SIMH (was: Re: Transferring file to VMS emulated in SIMH)

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2019-01-01 11:30:55 +0000, zibree at gmail.com said:

> On Monday, December 31, 2018 at 5:04:56 PM UTC+2, hb wrote:
>> On 12/31/2018 02:40 AM, Stephen Hoffman wrote:
>>> Prolly easier to get the network configured and going, and transfer the 
>>> files that way.   Or send files via ISO-9660:1988, if you really need 
>>> the local transfers in the absence of add-on FAT tools on OpenVMS, or 
>>> ilk.
>> 
>> Without any network, ISO-9660 is probably the easiest way to transfer 
>> files. Unfortunately the plain V5.5-2 doesn't support ISO-9660.
>> 
>> On the other hand, the OP did't try to convert the file he already 
>> copied from the tape. It would have worked.
> 
> Well for example:

Well aware of block-mode fie transfers.  I am somewhat familiar with 
transferring files around where OpenVMS is involved, as are some other 
folks around here.  Try an RMS file that doesn't map to 
sequential-fixed-512, if you really want to have some "fun" here.

> from linux:
> for b in {0..255};do for a in {0..255};do printf "\x$(printf %x
> $a)";done;done >64k.bin
> ...
> So it is indeed possible to transfer files in an easy way.

Sure, if you want to avoid using TCP/IP Services to perform the 
transfer.  OpenVMS was late to IP due to the focus on DECnet and 
particularly on OSI networking, and which meant that OpenVMS still 
hasn't integrated IP.  There are still folks pushing DECnet and OSI 
over IP, too.  Some of us have implemented these file transfers using 
xmodem tools and asynch DDCMP DECnet and Kermit other such, and various 
of us have written networking stacks, because that's what we did back 
then.  Using Ethernet multicasts can be quite entertaining for some 
tasks too, though most folks now build on UDP or DTLS, or just use the 
tools and apps that are now available.

> Without using kermit or other things you must use only if on a real vax.

I'd have used the IP to this variant IP stack, assuming no other VAX 
and no more recent OpenVMS VAX version was handy.

If you really want to experience classic DEC, you'll also want to try 
PDP-11/RSX-11M, and particularly try building an app larger than the 
available I-space using TKB.  You're seemingly fond of learning about 
old and gnarly bits, and TKB is among the canonical DEC gnarly bits

The initial installation and first bootstrap is the toughest part of 
trying to deal with these old OpenVMS releases, and it's still a 
problem to this day.  Folks try to treat these systems as Linux or BSD 
or otherwise, and VAX/VMS and OpenVMS is... different.


-- 
Pure Personal Opinion | HoffmanLabs LLC