intro
—
introduction to pmax special files and hardware support
This section describes the special files, related driver functions, and
networking support available in the system. In this part of the manual, the
SYNOPSIS section of each configurable device gives a sample specification for
use in constructing a system description for the
config(1) program. The
DIAGNOSTICS section lists messages which may appear on the console and/or in
the system error log /var/log/messages due to errors
in device operation; see
syslogd(8) for more
information.
This section contains both devices which may be configured into
the system and network related information. The networking support is
introduced in
netintro(4).
This section describes the hardware supported on the pmax (MIPS-based
DECstation/DECsystem) platform. Software support for these devices comes in
two forms. A hardware device may be supported with a character or block
device driver, or it may be used within the networking
subsystem and have a network interface driver. Block and
character devices are accessed through files in the file system of a special
type; see mknod(8). Network
interfaces are indirectly accessed through the interprocess communication
facilities provided by the system; see
socket(2).
A hardware device is identified to the system at configuration
time and the appropriate device or network interface driver is then compiled
into the system. When the resultant system is booted, the autoconfiguration
facilities in the system probe for the device and, if found, enable the
software support for it. If a device does not respond at autoconfiguration
time it is not accessible at any time afterwards. To enable a device which
did not autoconfigure, the system must be rebooted.
The autoconfiguration system is described in
pmax/autoconf(4). A
list of the supported devices is given below.
The following systems are supported:
- DECstation 2100 and 3100
- also known as "PMIN" and "PMAX". The 2100 and 3100
differ only in CPU clock speed.
- DECsystem 5100
- also known as "MIPSMATE".
- DECstation 5000/200
- also known as "3MAX". The 5000/200 has a 25 MHz R3000 and is the
first-generation TURBOchannel platform.
- DECstation 5000/1xx
- also known as "3MIN" or "kmin". The 5000/1xx comes in
20 MHz, 25 MHz, and 33 MHz versions and is numbered appropriately. Two
12.5 MHz TURBOchannel slots are provided.
- DECstation 5000/xx
- also known as "Personal DECstation" or "MAXINE". The
5000/xx comes in 20 MHz, 25 MHz, and 33 MHz variants. A baseboard 1024x786
framebuffer, and two 12.5 MHz TURBOchannel slots are provided.
- DECstation 5000/240 and DECsystem 5900
- also known as "3MAXPLUS". These systems have a 40 MHz R3400 CPU
and three 25 MHz TURBOchannel slots. The 5900 is an expanded-cabinet
version of the 5000/240.
TURBOchannel systems (except the 5000/200) can be upgraded to an
R4000 or R4400 CPU by upgrading the CPU daughterboard.
The Qbus-based DECsystem 5400 and 5500 are not supported.
The multi-processor XMI-bus DECsystem 5800 is not supported.
The devices listed below are supported in this incarnation of the system.
Devices are indicated by their functional interface. Not all supported devices
are listed.
- asc
- NCR 53c94-based SCSI interface, either on DECstation 5000-series baseboard
or PMAZ-AA SCSI option card.
- bba
- baseboard audio on 5000/xx systems.
- dz
- serial driver for DEC custom four-port serial device (dc7085 DZ-11 clone)
on the baseboard of DECstation 2100/3100, 5100, and 5000/200 systems.
- zsc
- serial driver for Zilog SCC asynchronous/synchronous devices on the
baseboard of DECstation 5000-series systems (excluding 5000/200).
- le
- Ethernet driver for baseboard or TURBOchannel option cards.
- ioasic
- Adaptor for the baseboard IO ASIC on second-generation TURBOchannel
machines. An ioasic must be configured on a 5000/1xx, 5000/xx, and
5000/240 if support for baseboard devices or the TURBOchannel bus is
desired.
- wsdisplay
- Pseudo-device driver supporting glass-tty console emulation on DEC
framebuffers, DEC mice, and LK-201 family keyboards.
- sii
- DEC custom SCSI adaptor on DECstation 2100, 3100, and 5100.
- pm
- DECstation 2100/3100 baseboard framebuffer
- tc
- Adaptor for the TURBOchannel I/O expansion bus. This must be included if
any TURBOchannel option cards are supported, or for the baseboard Ethernet
and SCSI devices on a 5000/200.
- cfb
- PMAG-B TURBOchannel 1024x876 unaccelerated 2-D framebuffer.
- sfb
- PMAGB-BA TURBOchannel 1280x1024 accelerated framebuffer.
- mfb
- PMAG-AA TURBOchannel 1280x1024 mono/greyscale unaccelerated
framebuffer.
- tfb
- PMAG-JA and PMAG-RO TURBOchannel 1280x1024 unaccelerated framebuffer.
- px
- PMAG-C TURBOchannel 2-D accelerated graphics board.
- pxg
- PMAG-D, E and F TURBOchannel 2-D/3-D accelerated graphics boards.
The following devices are not supported, due to unavailability of either
documentation or sample hardware:
- LoFi
- DEC Western Research Labs audio card
The floppy-disk drive on the MAXINE baseboard is currently not
supported.
This pmax intro
appeared in NetBSD
1.2.