(last updated: 08-Aug-2016)
The unit came with just the 1MB onboard RAM. I have added another 4MB, 1MB in each of four 30-pin SIMM sockets.
09-Nov-2009
The unit arrived today via UPS Ground, having been purchased from eBay seller 'XXXXX' for $9.99 + 14.95 s/h. I was the only bidder. The package was very well done, in bubble wrap and peanuts. Kudos to the seller.
09-Nov-2009
As usual, I used my vacuum + Windex wipe down method of cleaning the unit. It already was really clean when it arrived. I opened it up for a looksee inside and it was nice and clean inside. Must have been used in a well-controlled environment in its previous life. I reassembled the case and prepared to power up.
This unit includes a flash card already inserted in the card slot. The flash card is Xyplex branded and is labeled:
1 MBYTE FLASH COMM-SERVER S/W KIT 2 440-00588 9214 MX1600-C2
The flash card has a small switch embedded in the edge, but there are no markings related to it. I'm sure it is a write-lock switch, to prevent accidental erasure, but I'll have to figure out which way it goes. As received, the switch is toward the inboard portion (to the left, when held for insertion) of the card.
09-Nov-2009
Luckily, this unit includes a 1MB flash card, presumably with the OS already installed. This will make things much easier than was the case with my first MAXserver 1600. On that unit, I had to buy a flash card separately (I got two), network boot the terminal server, and flash the OS to the flash card myself. I'm curious about the version of software in the flash card and how it compares to the software I was able to locate on the internet for my first MAXserver.
First, without bothering to connect up to a serial port or the ethernet, I just plugged it in. The fan is noisy, probably bearing degradation, but otherwise seems good. On the front panel I see the countdown from 16 down to 1 and then the RUN light lights up and flickers seemingly randomly...maybe looking for the LAN.
09-Nov-2009
After about ten minutes I powered down and took a few photos. I noted the markings on the RAM chips (MYB51425682-70) and searched the internet. Turns out these are 1x256Kb chips, so the eight installed give me 1MB onboard. I dug out some spare 30-pin 1MB SIMMS from my stash and loaded the 4 empty SIMM slots, so this should bring me up to 5MB total.
I re-powered the system, and watched the front panel countdown. It was much slower than before. Looks like the tests from 14 down to about 8 are RAM related. After about a minute the boot sequence completed just fine. I took a couple of additional photos with the RAM installed.
10-Nov-2009
Today I want to check out the system's operational status. I cabled the thin ethernet to my network, and connected the serial port #1 to a PC running terminal emulator software via Cat5 cable -- DB25-RJ45 adapter -- female-to-female null modem adapter -- DB25-to-DE9 adapter.
On power up I see the countdown from 16 to 1, then the LAN lED lights, and the CARD LED lights for a few seconds then goes out. The RUN light is flickering in its usual way.
Hitting enter on my terminal (emulator) I see the #1 LED light up and I get the following output:
Terminal Server, Type 74, Rev D.00.00 Ethernet address 08-00-87-01-5B-BB, port 1 Initializing...Memory Card; No load file.
So, it would appear that the Flash card is emtpy or not formatted, or that it is bad, or that the Flash card socket and circuitry is bad inside the unit. The easiest way to check is to borrow the Flash card from my other MAXserver and boot with it. I did so. At the same time, I noticed that Flash card also has a 'Protect' switch with markings indicating that the card is protected when the switch is to the outboard (to the right) position. So that will be useful for this system's card.
Powering up with the alternate Flash card shows the countdown sequence, then the CARD LED lights up for a much longer time, maybe 12-15 seconds, and then the RUN LED lights and holds steady without flickering. The front panel port lights come on in some kind of sequence then go out. On the serial terminal I hit enter and see:
Welcome to the Xyplex Terminal Server.
Enter username>
So the system is alive and running the OS. This confirms that the hardware works and that the Flash card has been wiped or formatted.
Using my notes (which are incomplete) from my first MAXserver on how to flash the firmware to the Flash card, I learned the following:
To enter ROM configuration:
1- Press RESET (with paperclip) holding until all LEDs light 2- Release RESET 3- Press RESET holding while LED sequence finishes and 14, 15, 16 are on steady 4- Release RESET 5- On serial terminal, hitting ENTER twice will give:
Terminal Server, Type 74, Rev D.00.00 Ethernet address 08-00-87-01-5B-BB, port 1 Configuration in progress. Please wait
6- Entering (will not echo) "access
Welcome to the Configuration Menu.
Terminal Server Configuration/Maintenance Menu
1. Display unit configuration
2. Modify unit configuration
3. Initialize server and port parameters
4. Revert to stored configuration
S. Exit saving configuration changes
X. Exit without saving configuration changes
Enter menu selection [X]:
Selecting 1 to display configuration confirms that my memory upgrade worked, showing 5MB total. Woohoo!
10-Nov-2009
To Netboot the system:
1- Copy these files into TFTP directory (on Debian 3.0 'Aero-6') /boot:
- flshupg.txt - mcffs1.sys - xpcs00s.sys (3MB+ version)
2- Enter MAXserver ROM config menu 3- Enable 'DTFTP' (all enabled) 4- Change IP address to '192.168.1.8' 5- Change server IP address to '192.168.1.32' (Aero-6 acting as boot server) - Change boot file to 'xpcs00s.sys' 6- Exit saving changes 7- Reboot the MAXserver
With these changes, I can now connect via the serial terminal.
To enter Privileged mode:
1- Get a connection by pressing ENTER twice
2- Login with any name
3- Enter 'Xyplex> SET PRIV
Well, well, throughout this process, somewhere along the way, with the Xyplex 1MB Flash card in place, I rebooted the unit, and lo!, it booted from the card with a software version of v4.4s19! So, there is software on the card, after all, but a very old version.
I played around a bit, trying different ways to boot. I was successful at netbooting the 6.0.2 OS, but I was not able to boot from the Flash card a second time. I was successful booting from the other MAXserver's Flash card, but could not get the original Flash card to boot again.
Okay, I finally figured it out! To use the firmware in the original Flash card requires TFTP. Turns out that if I configure the MAXserver to TFTP download the file 'mcffs1.sys' (I mistakenly used this file trying to load the 6.0.2 firmware) then that file will be netbooted and it will then load the firmware from the Flash card. Interesting. I wonder if the Flash card is supposed to have this file onboard, but it is corrupted and by netbooting this loader then it can load the firmware from the Flash card. Well, at least the mystery is solved.
A quick scan of the 'flshupg.txt' document indicates that the loader program must reside in AREA 1 on the Flash card. Looks like mine is corrupted or inadvertantly erased.
26-May-2014
Returning to this system, a review of the installation doc says that to install software to the flash card it must first be formatted, then the 'GET' of the main OS file 'xpcs00s.sys' will also get a copy of the loader 'mcffs1.sys' automatically. Well, I'm interested in seeing if I can preserve the current OS, so I have a plan. Rather than 'GET'ing the OS file, I'll try to get the loader on its own.
Don't know if that will work, but at this point I really have nothing to lose. The OS on the card is not usable (except by TFTPing the loader first), so I might as well go ahead and try it on this system's 1MB Xyplex Flash Card.
Another option, of course, is to simply use my second, spare IBM Flash Card, installing everything to it from scratch, just as I did with my first MAXserver 1600.
14-Jun-2014
Because installing the OS onto a Flash card requires the whole net-booting setup, I fired up Aero-2 running Debian 3.0 (Woody) and double checked all of the settings for BOOTP and TFTP. A little fiddling with the location of the MAXserver files finally made it work. The key is to have a correct /etc/bootptab entry, and to make sure that the TFTP entry in /etc/inetd.conf is correctly pointing to the desired directory that holds the files to be netloaded.
As it turns out, I learned that once the system is booted, the flash card can be removed and/or reformatted etc. The OS is running entirely from RAM after it boots. This made things a little easier for me for this task.
By borrowing the 2MB flash card from my MAXserver #1 unit, I was able to boot up from that flash card. Then I removed it, and inserted the 1MB Xyplex flash card for further work. I learned that it was not possible to simply update the flash card loader file alone. A full format of the card is required, and then the loader AND the OS image file are downloaded together in one operation, which writes them to the flash card.
So, I booted the system with the working flash card from unit #1, and then inserted the 1MB Xyplex card. I cabled up a serial terminal to port 1. Then I issued these commands to format and install the needed files via TFTP:
(enter)(enter) ACCESS (will not echo) (type in any name) Xyplex> SET PRIVILEGED Xyplex>> DEFINE MANAGER LOAD ENABLE Xyplex>> FORMAT CARD Xyplex>> SET SERVER GET CARD LOAD FILE "maxserver/xpcs00s.sys" IP ADDRESS 192.168.1.32
That's it. The loader file is also automatically downloaded and written with the OS image file.
I updated the penciled label on the Xyplex flash card and rebooted the system with:
Xyplex>> INITIALIZE
The system booted correctly by reading the flash card. All done and ready to go!
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