Installing SCO OpenServer 5.x and SCO UNIX on FT1200 Server Products

We have received many queries in respect of installing the above products on to the FT1200 mini-server series product. The purpose of this bulletin is to try to address the different configuration combinations that are possible with SCO products on this server.

SCO UNIX 3.2v4.2 and earlier releases

While it is possible with some difficulty to install this product, Apricot do not recommend its installation on this platform, and will not support this configuration.

SCO OpenServer 5.0.x

Prior to installation of SCO OpenServer 5.x, it is important that any add-in cards are installed and configured correctly. (The principal exception being installation of OpenServer 5.0.4 with a Adaptec 1510A card – see later section in this IPB)

If Specialix AT SI/XIO card is installed.

Set the switches on the Specialix card such that SW1=0, SW2=D and LK1=8. This will put the card start address at D8000. Testing at MEPCD has shown that a setting of D0000 for this card does not function correctly.

If Adaptec 1510A or 1510B card is installed.

1510A only

Set the interrupt jumper to I9. Any other jumpers should be removed in order to set the card I/O address to 340h

1510B only

Set all switches on the card to OFF. This sets the adapter to be active, and on I/O address 340h

Boot system into MS-DOS and run ‘1510CFG.EXE’ at prompt. Set card to use IRQ9, and Plug ‘n’ Play mode to disabled. In addition, it is also worthwhile to set Initiate Sync Negotiation and Enable Disconnection, to "No" for the appropriate SCSI ID being used for the tape drive. We have found that this is sometimes required on other hardware platforms to enable older tape drives to function correctly.

BIOS Settings

Boot the system and enter system setup (F1 key). If a Specialix AT SI/XIO card is fitted, select Advanced Setup -> Rom Shadowing. Set shadowing for

D8000 – DFFFF to ‘Disabled’. Exit from that menu, and select

Plug ‘n’ Play -> Memory Resources and set the range D8000 – DFFFF to ‘ISA Legacy’. (Note that the Specialix card is likely to be configured to polled mode, ie., no IRQ set).

If an Adaptec 1510A or 1510B card is fitted, select Plug ‘n’ Play -> I/O Port Resources and set all I/O ranges from 340h to 35fh to ‘ISA Legacy’. Select Plug ‘n’ Play -> IRQ Resources and set IRQ9 to ‘ISA Legacy’.

It is important to note that in the case of the Adaptec 1510B card, the BIOS settings must NOT be changed prior to running the DOS configuration programme (1510CFG.EXE). If this has been done, the configuration programme will not be able to identify the presence of the card in the system.

In this case, reset the system BIOS settings back to default, run the Adaptec configuration programme to identify and configure the card, and then configure the PnP BIOS settings as described above.

Installing SCO OpenServer 5.0.0 and 5.0.2

At the boot: prompt, the following syntax will be required:

defbootstr ahslink="alad wd" Sdsk=alad(0,0,0,0)

This will load the replacement ‘alad’ driver required for the Adaptec 7880, and a replacement ‘wd’ driver so that the system will be able to use the IDE CD-ROM.

Additionally, if a 1510A or 1510B card is installed for tape drive support, add:

kernel.adapter=spad(0x340,0x9,0)

to the end of the bootstring. This tells the kernel to address a device at I/O address 340h and IRQ9, which in this case, is the Adaptec 1510 card. Ensure that this card (if installed) is set up as described previously. If the bootstring is not specified at boot time, SCO will try to install the card on IRQ11. As IRQ11 is used as default by the onboard Adaptec 7880 controller, the system will not boot. If this is the case, the only course of action is to set IRQ11 to "ISA Legacy" in the BIOS, boot the system into UNIX, and manually edit the /etc/conf/sdevice.d/spad file to set the controller to use IRQ9. The line should appear like this:

spad Y 1 5 0 9 340 35f 0 0

Once changed, link the kernel and re-boot the system. IRQ11 may now be returned to "Plug n Play".

Installation will now proceed. When prompted to insert the ‘fd(60)alad volume’, insert the ‘Advanced Hardware Supplement Boot Time Loadable Drivers Version 5.2.0’ diskette. This is supplied as standard with SCO OpenServer 5.0.2, or is available on Area 39 of Insight Online as AHS52BTL.Z, if the installation is for SCO OpenServer 5.0.0.

Insert the same diskette when prompted to insert the ‘fd(60)wd volume’. Both the ‘alad’ and ‘wd’ drivers are contained on this diskette.

During the installation, select the "IBM VGA" option for the graphics adapter. When the installation is complete, install the AHS 5.2 Graphics Drivers supplement through SCOAdmin, and change the video adapter to "ATI Mach64 PCI". Note that the "ATI Mach64 VESA" driver is incompatible, and as such, should not be used on this system.

Installing SCO OpenServer 5.0.4

The installation of SCO OpenServer 5.0.4 requires no additional bootstring options to be entered during installation. All system BIOS settings must still be set as described previously however. The correct ATI graphics adapter driver is included within the software, and can be selected during installation as the "ATI Mach64 PCI" option. The IDE CD is now directly supported on this version, and when prompted, select "secondary" and "master" for installation on the FT1200. Similarly, many of the Network Interface Cards we now ship with this product, can be automatically detected during installation.

This version of OpenServer uses the newer "smad" driver as against the "spad" driver in earlier releases, for the Adaptec 15xx series of SCSI adapters.

This driver will always try to use IRQ11 by default when loaded, unless the card settings are readable. In the case where an Adaptec 1510A is fitted, the driver will not be able to read the jumper settings, even when set correctly. If this configuration is required to run a tape drive for example, we recommend that the 1510A card is removed during installation of the operating system, and installed again after completion. This is to avoid conflicts with the onboard Adaptec 7880 which uses IRQ11.

When the 1510A card is re-installed, ensure that the FT1200 BIOS settings are set as previously described. Boot the system into single-user mode. You will need to edit the file /etc/conf/pack.d/smad/space.c

Find the line that reads thus:

aha_change smad_irq[SCSI_NSMAD];

And change it to read:

aha_change smad_irq[SCSI_NSMAD] = {1,9};

The figure "9" corresponds to the new interrupt value to use. The kernel will now need to be relinked, and the system re-booted. When OpenServer loads, it should now correctly report the presence of the 1510 adaptor on IRQ9. By default, the smad driver will use the correct I/O base address range of

340h – 35Fh, so this will not need to be changed. (Unless more than one 1510A is fitted, in which case, the /etc/conf/pack.d/smad/space.c file may be altered to take the additional I/O base address into account)

To add the tape drive, run mkdev tape as usual.

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