CHARON-11 PDP-11 Software Emulator
Version: 2.5 Build 117 Release Notes 
22 March 2005

© 2005 Software Resources International S.A.
Email: charon@sri-gva.ch 

Features OF CHARON-11 VERSION 2.5
=================================

This version supports:

- Hosts platforms running on Windows XP and Windows 2003 Server 
  Standard Edition. 

- Provides more reliable Newtork connectivity.

- New optional KW11-L50 and KW11-L60 with smoother time transition for 
  specialised real time applications. 

- A corrected WIRE function

- A correction for IEQ-11 operation over the BCI-2104.

- A new Network feature allowing Network filtering.
Example
   load delqa wha
   # only these protocols are passed to Charon
   set wha protocols="loopback decnet lat 6006"

   # remove broadcast packets if rx_queue has X elements

   set wha drop_broadcast=1

   #wait milliseconds if rx_queue is full

   set wha timeout=100

- Improved "running as a service" facility. 
  Can start Wire automatically from the configuration file.

Version 2.5 is available to supported customers at no charge, requires an
update to the CHARON-11 license key to run.

Version 2.5 does not support CHANA/ETHERD. Does NOT support more than one 
instance of CHARON-11 on a given host system.

Known problems with this release.
=================================

1. XXDP diagnostics

As CHARON-11 is a software emulator it is not appropriate to 
implement all hardware delays and features. As a result certain 
XXDP hardware tests fail. See the disclaimer in the front of the 
CHARON-11 User Manual.

2. Serial Lines

Like he Digital Equipment DZV11 the CHARON-11 DZV11 only supports 
4 lines but third party devices are available with eight and 
sixteen lines.

A problem has been reported with a emulated DHV11, running a 
DDCMP communications driver starting with an XDT. 
The application can clear this problem by issuing several “Go” 
commands. 

There may be some problems using certain types of half duplex
modems with CHARON-11.

3. Start Up Box

If a bus adapter is installed use the command prompt to start 
CHARON-11 as it is not possible to specify the 
startup parameter for a 2xxx Bus adapter using the Start Up box.

Pressing the “ESC” button will immediately close the Start Up Box
but CHARON-11 may be left running if required. 

4. Strating as a service

CHARON-11 may be set up as seevice as described in the User manual.
But we recommend that customers awaiut full verification and 
documentation before exercising this features.
 
Licensing and hardware requirements
-------------------------------------

The CHARON-11 Emulator terms of use and license and warranty 
conditions are displayed by the product installation procedure.

Only customers in possession of a valid CHARON-11 License 
key may install and use CHARON-11.

Hardware and Software Requirements:

A personal computer with a CPU clock of at least 500 MHz and 128
MB memory. 
A Windows XP professional or Windows 2003 Server Standard 
Edition operating system with 160 MB of free disk space. The 
software takes less than 10 MB but sufficient space must be allowed 
for PDP-11 container files. 
A LAN connection or a CD-ROM drive to load the 
installation kit. 
One free USB port. 
If using CHARON-11 for networking a network card must be dedicated 
to CHARON-11.

Installation procedure for CHARON-11 Emulator on Windows
---------------------------------------------------------

Before strating the installation of CHARON-11 version 2.5
apply the license key update to enable version 2.5.

Save your work (Configuration files, disk images etc.) then 
uninstall CHARON-11 and the Hardlock driver before 
installating CHARON-11 version 2.5. 
 
Remove the CHARON license key

CHARON-11 Emulator for Windows is protected with a hardware
license key. 

Insert the CHARON-11 Emulator for Windows CD. If the CHARON-11
installation menu does not start automatically it may be started 
by running the setup.exe procedure in the root directory of the 
CD.

Follow the instructions on the screen to install the License key 
driver and CHARON-11.

Insert the license key after installing the new driver. The 
installation facilitates retry if the installation checks for the key 
before it has been inserted.

Notes

1. The CHARON-11 installation procedure allows you to select
   the installation directory.

2. Note that the installation procedure does not install a PDP-11 
   operating system image, a PDP-11 OS and application software
   are not part of the CHARON-11 Emulator product.

3. The Ethernet emulation setup procedure is executed after the 
   installation of CHARON-11 Emulator. It consists of three steps 
   (in this order): adding a network driver to your system (which
   requires a restart) configuring the network card for your
   network and inserting the name of the host Ethernet 
   adapter in the definition of the Ethernet adapter emulator in
   the CHARON-11 configuration file. See the CHARON-11 Emulator 
   manual.

Program removal
---------------

You can remove both CHARON-11 Emulator and the Hardlock device 
driver using the standard Windows procedure: 
Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove programs

Troubleshooting
---------------

A. Operating system

CHARON-11 Emulator needs a bootable PDP-11 system image to 
operate. Consult your CHARON-11 Emulator documentation to learn how to 
copy or generate such a system image.

Use the proper shutdown procedures of the operating system you
are running on CHARON-11 before terminating the CHARON-11 
Emulator execution. Otherwise you risk corruption of the 
CHARON-11 system or user disk images.

B. Ethernet adapter

If the Ethernet adapter emulator does not work properly, check
with Netsetup that the correct Ethernet device ID (which is longer on W2000) 
is entered in the CHARON-11 configuration file. You can use 
cut and paste between the Netsetup window and the configuration
file text editor. If the PDP-11 emulator uses TCP/IP, disable
any other protocols for the adapter you assign to CHARON-11 
Emulator.

Note that the operating system you are running on 
CHARON-11 Emulator (e.g. RSX-11M+) must be configured for the same 
DECnet address as you have set in Netsetup.

C. License Key

The Hardlock license key must remain installed on your computer
during the CHARON-11 Emulator installation and must always be 
present when you run CHARON-11 Emulator.

The CHARON-11 license key MTBF is approximately 100 years. 

If removing the license key while the CHARON-11 Emulator is
running, a warning message is displayed. At this stage a maximum 
of 10 minutes is available to save your files and shut down the 
emulated PDP-11 system. Reapplying the key during this period will
not help, the termination process cannot be undone.

Certain licenses are date-limited and the license key registers 
its use over time. Changing the host system date (or 
installing the CHARON-11 Emulator on another system with a 
different system date) will cause a warning to correct the 
system date. If the warnings are ignored, the accumulated 
errors cause the license to invalidate itself. Daylight saving Time 
and leap year changes are correctly accommodated.

In case of difficulty installing the CHARON License driver. Consult 
the Hardlock directory on the CHARON-11 installation CD or see the 
Aladdin websiite for updated drivers;
http://www.aladdin.de/produkte/hardlock/hardlock_support_setup.html
(Note: Normally all drivers are bundled in a package called 
 hldrv32.zip, but advanced releases are often available in a packege 
 called hldinst.zip. Note: use these installation procedures to 
 uninstall the driver)

[10-07-008]
