The Enhanced Sardine-Free SRM Howto

 By William D. Rekow

 V. 0.03 Beta, 09 June 2003
 
  An extended SRM howto to replace the outdated SRM section in the alpha howto

*/ insert TOC here /*

  1. Introduction

  1.1 History
   
	Completely tired of the extreme lack of good SRM docs, I decided to 
	write one.   I can be reached at jenklowieczyahoo.com If
	I fix a problem for someone I'm happy. Other than that, at this point
	There is no history (hello, this is a beta, )

 1.2 New versions
 
	Welcome to it.  As soon as a new version is available, request it on IRC
	#L0pht on the undernet. In time this will be available on the LDP page, 	and likely a webpage.

 1.2.1 Version History

	Wow, HP sucks! lets write a doc to help anyobody with SRM to use it more	efficiently, as the SRM section is the Alpha howto is sparse.

 1.3 Copyrights and Trademarks

 (c) 2003 William D. Rekow

 This manual may be reproduced in whole or in part, without fee,
  subject to the following restrictions:

  ·  The copyright notice above and this permission notice must be
     preserved complete on all complete or partial copies

  ·  Any translation or derived work must be approved by the author in
     writing before distribution.

  ·  If you distribute this work in part, instructions for obtaining the
     complete version of this manual must be included, and a means for
     obtaining a complete version provided.

  ·  Small portions may be reproduced as illustrations for reviews or
     quotes in other works without this permission notice if proper
     citation is given.

  Exceptions to these rules may be granted for academic purposes: Write
  to the author and ask. These restrictions are here to protect us as
  authors, not to restrict you as learners and educators. All source
  code in this document is placed under the GNU General Public License,
  available via anonymous FTP from the GNU archive site
  .

  1.3.1 Other legalese

    If you screw something up, don't blame me, I deny all legal responsibility
    for what you do (even following these instructions). So, don't attempt to
    sue me, as I don't have anything worthwhile anyway.
 
  1.4.  Acknowledgements and Thanks

  Thanks to the author of the Alpha howto, Neal Crook, and his editor, David
  Mosberger. System Descriptions from their Alpha Howto are used in the 
  Hardware Support section. Their howto may be found at the linux documentation
  project page (insert url here), or on any linux system with the howto 
  collection installed. Thanks in advance to all the other people who will 
  likely have to help out with this monster.

  Thanks to my buddy nitrile from irc.freenode.net for submitting the UP1000 
  section.

 2. Basic Ideas

 2.1 What is SRM console?

  Well, It's sure as hell not "The Matrix".   SRM console is the boot firmware 
  on a DEC Alpha, used to boot VMS, and UNIX like operating systems; and 
  alternately to Directly program the cpu, memory, and set system configutation   variables. SRM is analogous to the BIOS of a PC type machine, or the OpenBoot   firmware of a sparc.

 2.2 Why do I want SRM?

 Well, SRM is a much more capable firmware than the ARC or AlphaBios firmware 
 (Though it is theoretically possible to load both in the flash, and switch 
 betwixt them, except some boards where the firmware images are too large to fit. ie PC164). It is much more "UNIX-like" than the other firmware, and as 
 previously mentioned allows much more access to the hardware. It has it's 
 limitations, as all software does; however it doesn't say "Microsoft" anywhere. SRM is the only way to boot some operating systems, such as VMS, Tru64, *BSD
 and probably something else. Linux is also booted via SRM, but can also be 
 loaded other ways.  SRM will also boot from any device with a valid bootblock
 on any board supported bootable media/controller. You could quite possibly 
 load all the operating systems SRM will boot on your platform one to each disk  and have a true multi-boot system. You are not limited to a single master boot 
 record, as on a PC.

 2.3 Hardware support

  SRM runs on a large amount of the Alpha based systems. Differing systems 
  sometimes require different versions of the firmware, and add-on cards
  supported by the firmware vary by firmware version. The only forseeable
  change to the differing version and device support is if HP was to open-source  the SRM console; which is the least they could do seeing as they are killing 
  the alpha architecture.  See the hardware compatibility/version list for all 
  that is known at this time. 

 2.4 Upgrading and latest versions

  SRM is available from various HP/Compaq/DEC sites, though many links from 
  older pages are broken, and some pages are broken. I will add a full list of
  what I can find as live, however these may be altered and further break the
  links.  If you are using another firmware, fear not! Depending on your 
  platform you can easily install SRM, or update your version.

 2.5 Other questions

  People ask what SRM and PAL stand for. They are, respectively: System 
  Reference Manual, and Programmable Array Logic.

 3. Installing the SRM console

 3.1 Media

 SRM can be installed a variety of ways Including, but not limited to: BOOTP/MOP CDROM, Floppy, and from the OS.  In earlier systems floppy is the most common 
 method. In later systems loading from CDROM is prevalent.

 3.1.1 The floppy method

 The generalized procedure for installing the lastest console from floppy is 
 quite simple. Format a FAT floppy (in early machines this may best be done 
 from a real DOS machine) and put the file fwupdate.exe and the proper flash 
 image for your platform on the newly formatted disk. Depending on your existing firmware you will either type 'fwupdate' or select the supplementary menu and
 use the "update firmware" option. I'm not entirely sure how AlphaBios handles
 this. I will read the docs and add a section from the procedure i see there. 
 In some cases you will have to change the name of the rom file, use the 
 failsafe booter, or use voodoo incantations to install. See the "Hardware
 Compatibility' section for your platform for any special procedures that may
 be necessary

 3.1.2 The CD method

  Damned if I know. I need to read up on this too.

 3.1.3 BOOTP/MOP

 See 3.1.2

 3.1.4 Via OS

 Again, I need to consult with some people, and read some OS specific pages. 

 3.1.5 Failsafe booter

 The failsafe booter is a little exrtra function left in the firmware of most
 Alpha systems. It resides in the first section of the flash, and is toggled by 
 a motherboard jumper. If for some reason your firmware has become hosed you can use the failsafe booter to load firmware onto your machine again. Some 
 incarnations of the failsafe booter may not produce video on the graphics 
 adapter of your system. It may be necessary to use a terminal attatched to 
 the debug port of your machine, if you have this hardware. See the hardware 
 compatibility section for your platform for pointers. I am also going to supply an ascii drawing of an MMJ connector, and other pertinent connectors, as well 
 as combining them.

  To install SRM from the failsafe booter first have a firmware update floppy
  readied. Boot the system with the failsafe booter jumper enabled.
  at the failsafe booter prompt type "fwupdate". Some earlier versions do not
  have the fwupdate command, you must tell it to boot from the floppy. type 
  "flboot fwupdate.exe 900000". SRM will take over, and reinit the system. 
  Power down and unset the jumper after SRM has loaded and been tested.

 3.2 building SRM

 This is not possible anymore. Only some early evaluation boards came with a
 developer's CD which supposedly contained source code for SRM. So, if you want  a painfully old SRM, find one of the CDs. Otherwise badger HP to release the 
 code.

 3.3 Caveats

 Some alpha hardware such as the AXPPci33 was available in multiple 
 configurations. The primary difference would often be The keyboard ports and
 mouse interface. This will prevent you from running VMS or Tru64 if you have
 no PS/2 ports. These Will often be found with windows NT firmware, and when 
 flashed to SRM (V4.7-1860 on the case of the AXPPci33) will generate a 
 "mouse error". It will not affect the functionality of your system under Linux  or *BSD. Some versions of SRM dislike certain graphics options, and certain
 block device controllers. See "hardware comaptibility" section information for
 your platform. (beginning to see a trend?)

 4 Using SRM

 4.1 Starting out

  Seeing as you have the SRM console installed at this point, boot your machine.
  Your system should generate some output about BIOS emulation (I assume this 
  only on PC compatible systems to properly initialize PC type add on cards and
  serial devices) and device driver initialization. Depending on your version of
  SRM console you may get a RAM test and output of the version number. After all
  this is over you should have a prompt like this:

  >>>

  This is the SRM prompt. You can enter commands here to do various things. Your
  two best friends will soon become "boot" and "show". Depending on how you set   your system up, you can avoid seeing this once your OS is installed. The first  most important command to execute (if you don't already know what the firmware  version is) is: 


  >>> show version

  This will show you the SRM console version and PALcode version. If you do not
  have the most recent version of SRM for your platform I recommend you install
  it, unless you have need of a removed feature. The most recent version number   for your platform at the time of writing is in the "hardware support" section
  for your machine type. 

 4.2 SRM devices

  SRM responds to the command 

  >>> show device

  This will show you all the devices that SRM recognizes on your system. Most of  the devices will be available boot devices and are of the most immediate 
  concern. 
 
 4.2.1 PKA
  
  PKA is the SRM shorthand for your SCSI controller, if your controller 
  supported at the firmware level. Even if your controller is unsupported, your
  OS may support it, you may use it, just not boot from it. Other numbers will 
  be after PKA0, seperated by dots. the 7 is the device number. The others 
  include LUN, and the rest I do not know. (some reader? do you know this?)

 4.2.2 DKA

  DKA is the SCSI disk device name. The number supported depends on your 
  controller's SCSI revision. You can generally boot from these (in my case I
  boot from DKA0. DKA? can also be followed by a series of numbers, much like
  the controller. 

 4.2.3 EWA

  EWA is the ethernet device. If your SRM sees this, you most likely have a DEC
  ethernet controller such as a DE205, DE435, or DE500; or possibly some other
  noname cards based on the 21x4x "tulip" chip. You can netboot from this.

 4.2.4 DQA

  DQA, the IDE device. On some systems this will not boot, the AXPPci33 being
  a prime example. On some systems with live bootable IDE the CDROM device will   not boot. Generally these devices number from 0-3. 

 4.2.5 DVA

 Floppy disk. I've had some trouble with 5.25 floppies and dual floppies. I 
 haven't had a chance to try an 8 inch.
 
 4.2.6 Devices I missed

  I've likely missed something. Probably some TurboChannel devices. mail me and
  yell about it. I'll fix it.

 4.3 HELP ME!

  Help is not available in the earlier versions of SRM. Some give you as much
  help as format: "command" "argument" (not too much help). 4.7 is this way. 
  However, as of 5.5-1  (and possibly earlier) there is both a "help" and "man"
  command. Infact there's even a small unix-esque proto-filesystem, some
  devices, and a working "ls" command. Use ls -l, not ls -al. All the SRM 
  commands even show with ls as if they were binary files.

 4.4 SRM commands

  There are quite a few more commands then merely "show" and "boot"  These can 
  vary by platform, and console revision. So some of these commands may not work
  for you 
 
 4.4.1 arc

  arc, or alternately nt will load the arc or alphabios firmware from a floppy.

 4.4.2 boot

  Boots some type of kernel from 

  boot [-file ] [-flags [,]
  [-protocols ] [-halt] []

  -flags can be specified with -fl. The flags are -i (interactive) -s (single)
  -a (automatically multiuser)

 4.4.3 deposit

  This one is cool. you can write data to memory or CPU registers. I'm not
  entirely sure how to use this, But I plan in a section "Programming the CPU
  with SRM" as soon as i can learn to use the CPU directly.  I'm not sure if SRM  can be called and dismissed during OS runtime like OpenBoot.

 4.4.4 examine

  Also cool. any place that can be deposited can be examined. Memory, registers,
  You name it.

 4.4.5 fwupdate

  Updates the firmware. Generally new firmware is loaded from floppy, though 
  new firmware can be loaded from other places.

 4.4.6 set

  allows you to set environment variables
  simply: 

  set   [-default]

  Help may show valid variables.  The -default switch will set something to 
  default.

 4.5 isacfg, the ISA configuratio utility.

  The use of isacfg is a black art of it's own. Other boards based on other 
  busses may have different utilities if they are necessary for that bus.
  The arguments are thusly:

  isacfg [-init] [-slot ] [-dev ]
  [-all|-rm|-mk|-mod] [- ]...

  init resets the table to defaults. slots are not numbered in any specific
  manner, but slot 0 is the onboard hardware. one slot can contain multiple 
  devices. -all shows everything, but on earlier boards if you try to pipe
  it through more your machine will reset. use the halt switch instead. note
  you must use -mod to change settings. Anyone who knows more about this please
  mail me. Pwehaps someone knows how to use this to enable the IDE on some 
  boards like the PC164, or AXPpci33.

  Some devices like the mouse have protection to keep you from removing them. I
  seek a way to circumvent this.

 4.6 sound

  With no arguments it plays The Yellow Rose of Texas over the speaker. has 
  some arguments, and can be used to generate tones. (phreaky)

 5 Second stage bootloaders

  SRM boots a second stage bootloader, which in turn loads the operating system.  Your second stage loader will depend on your OS  

 5.1 Aboot

  Aboot is the linux second stage boot loader. (find out where aboot is, how to
  build it) Aboot is known to read ext2 filesystems and follow symlinks. relies
  on /etc/aboot.conf. configured with abootconf. when booting -fl i you get to 
  ineract with aboot (much like lilo) (how does one properly update this or boot  multiple kernels? Find out how to properly create a partition with the right 
  amount of empty space ahead of it.

 5.1.2 bootlx

  No manpage for this, but it lives in /boot on my alpha. must have SOMETHING
  to do with the boot process. No docs either.
 
 5.1.3 swriteboot

  Writes a second stage bootloader to a disk drive beginning at sector 2. 
  The first sector is modified (probably as an SRM failsafe bootblock) so SRM 
  can read the loader from sector 2 on. You are supposed to leave the first 512
  sectors of the disk empty, but linux fdisk works by cylinder, not sector. See
  5.1, as soon as someone imparts that info it will be here.  256k should be 
  availble for the bootloader to occupy, though according to the docs it 
  shouldn't be much bigger than 80k. 

 5.1.4 e2writeboot

  Writes a Second stage bootloader to an ext2 filesystem. This is normally used
  to create boot floppies.  Writes the loader called linuxboot to a contiguous 
  range of sectors. Unconditionally overwrites any other file called linuxboot.
  The first sector is modified (probably as a failsafe bootblock) so SRM can 
  find linuxboot on the filesystem.

 5.2 The *BSD loader
  
  what's this called? how about a manpage and discussion on how to use/update.

 5.3 the Digital UNIX loader
  
  what is this?

 5.4 The VMS loader

  I'll be surprised if anyone knows this

 6 Hardware Compatibility 

 DEC 3000
  
 Digital built Alpha workstation. Comes in several configurations. Based on
 Turbochannel. I do not recommend an opensource OS on these, because the video
 hardware is unsupported. You will need an H8751-A  MMJ adapter to use this
 under an open source OS, or boot without keyboard/mouse/monitor Many of these
 have onboard binary status displays. good for debugging. You could also use a
 regular terminal or a PC.. but where's the fun in that?

 Known issues

 SRM versions

 HCL 

  NIC

   Onboard NIC

  SCSI

  Video
 
 AXPVME

 Known issues

 SRM versions

 HCL 

  NIC

  SCSI

  Video
 
 Alphabook1

 Send one of these so I can write a description. I need it for.. uhhh.. testing. Yeah.. that's it.. "testing".

 Known issues
  
  Way too scarce.

 SRM versions

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI

   Onboard SCSI

  Video

   Onboard video

 Aspen

 There are two. A baby AT EB64+ derivative, and a Server board with MANY pci 
 slots

 Known issues

 SRM versions

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI

  Video

 Multia

  Multia (aka the Universal Desktop Box): This is a very compact
  pedestal desktop system based on the 21066. It includes 2 PCMCIA
  sockets, 21030 (TGA) graphics, 21040 Ethernet and NCR 810 SCSI disk
  along with floppy, 2 serial ports and a parallel port. It has limited
  expansion capability (one PCI slot) due to its compact size. (There is
  some restriction on when you can use the PCI slot, can't remember
  what) (Note that 21066A-based and Pentium-based Multia's are also
  available).

 Known issues

 SRM versions

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI
 
  Video

 Jensen

  DEC PC 150 AXP (aka Jensen): This is a very old Digital system - one
  of the first-generation Alpha systems. It is only mentioned here
  because a number of these systems seem to be available on the second-
  hand market. The Jensen is a floor-standing tower system which used a
  150MHz 21064 (later versions used faster CPUs but I'm not sure what
  speeds). It used programmable logic to interface a 486 EISA I/O bridge
  to the CPU.

 Known issues

 SRM versions

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI

  Video

 AXPpci33

  The AXPpci33 (aka NoName), is based on the EB66. This design is
  produced by Digital's Technical OEM (TOEM) group. It uses the 21066
  processor running at 166MHz or 233MHz. It is a baby-AT size, and runs
  from a standard PC power supply. It has 5 ISA slots and 3 PCI slots
  (one pair are a shared slot). There are 2 versions, with either PS/2
  or AT connectors for the keyboard. This board has a provision to attatch
  A binary LED display.

 Known Issues

  Will not boot from IDE. Has trouble with some video options. Under debian 3.0
  IDE is inaccessible. I have one of these. It is very picky about what 
  Keyboards it will boot with. 

 SRM versions

 4.7-1860

  This seems to be the last version of SRM available for this board.

 HCL

  NIC

  Any DEC ethernet controller, Including DE204 and DE205. SMC built 21x4x cards
  are recognized as well. (it is likely any 21x4x chip based  card will run)

  SCSI

  Onboard NCR 53C810 IS recognized

  Video

  ATI rage proII 3d will not boot. 

 EB64

  The EB64: Obsolete design using 21064 with memory controller
  implemented using programmable logic. I/O provided by using
  programmable logic to interface a 486<->ISA bridge chip. On-board
  Ethernet, SuperI/O (2S, 1P, FD), Ethernet and ISA. PC-AT size. Runs
  from standard PC power supply.

 Known issues 

 SRM versions

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI
  
  Video
 
 EB64+

  The EB64+: Uses 21064 or 21064A and APECs. Has ISA and PCI expansion
  (3 ISA, 2 PCI, one pair are on a shared slot). Supports 36-bit DRAM
  SIMMs. ISA bus generated by Intel SaturnI/O PCI-ISA bridge. On-board
  SCSI (NCR 810 on PCI) Ethernet (Digital 21040), KBD, MOUSE (PS2
  style), SuperI/O (2S, 1P, FD), RTC/NVRAM. Boot ROM is EPROM. PC-AT
  size. Runs from standard PC power supply.

 Known issues

 SRM versions

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI

  Video

 EB66

  The EB66: Uses 21066 or 21066A. I/O sub-system is identical to EB64+.
  Baby PC-AT size. Runs from standard PC power supply. The EB66
  schematic was published as a marketing poster advertising the 21066 as
  "the first microprocessor in the world with embedded PCI" (for trivia
  fans: there are actually 2 versions of this poster - Neal Crook drew the
  circuits and wrote the spiel for the first version, and some Americans
  mauled the spiel for the second version)

 Known issues

 SRM versions

 HCL
  
  NIC

  SCSI

  Video

 PC64

  The AlphaPC64 (aka Cabriolet): derived from EB64+ but now baby-AT with
  Flash boot ROM, no on-board SCSI or Ethernet. 3 ISA slots, 4 PCI slots
  (one pair are on a shared slot), uses plug-in Bcache SIMMs.  Requires
  power supply with 3.3V output. Anyone with a partnumber, or way to build
  this power supply give me the word.

 Known issues

 SRM versions

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI

  Video

 Deskstation

  Anyone familiar with these?

 EB164

  The EB164: Uses 21164 and ALCOR. Has ISA and PCI expansion (3 ISA
  slots, 2 64-bit PCI slots (one is shared with an ISA slot) and 2
  32-bit PCI slots.  Uses plus-in Bcache SIMMs. I/O sub-system provides
  SuperI/O (2S, 1P, FD), KBD, MOUSE (PS2 style), RTC/NVRAM. Boot ROM is
  Flash. PC-AT-sized motherboard.  Requires power supply with 3.3V
  output.

 Known issues

 SRM versions

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI 

  Video

 PC164

  The PC164 is based on the 21172 chipset and a 21164A processor. It has both 
  64 bit and 32 bit slots, as well as ISA; two of each slot, no shared. There 
  is a cache size selection jumper, but no provision to connect any cache above
  and beyond the board's 1 meg soldered on cache package. This board uses 72
  pin 36 bit simms. All simms must be the same size. This board supports the
  21164A chip from 366 to 500.  Onboard PCI is handled by a CMD646, PCI/ISA
  bridging is provided by an 82378ZB Saturn-I/O chip.  Onboard hardware 
  includes two DB-9 serial ports, two PS/2 connectors, 1 parallel, onboard IDE
  and Floppy controllers. This board is ATX from factor, and requires a
  hard-power ATX power supply. 

 Known issues

  If you're having trouble booting, look at jumper J1, it must be in with four
  SIMMs installed, out with eight. It selects 128 or 256 bit bus width. If 
  Someone understands this "bus width" thing, please explain it. After flashing
  to SRM I constantly have a corrupt isa config table. isacfg -init does NOT
  fix it. 

  Under SRM the ide controller is not always seen

  Devices Must be on the first controller before the second controller is 
  polled. Don't expect IDE devices to be seen if there are no devices on the 
  first IDE channel.

 SRM versions

 5.5-1

 HCL

  NIC

  Any DEC ethernet controller, Inclusing DE204 and DE205. SMC built 21x4x cards
  are recognized as well. (it is likely any 21x4x chip based  card will run)

  SCSI

  AHA29160 NOT recognized.
  Buslogic controllers NOT recognized
  Do not attempt to use an ISA SCSI controller. it won't work.
  AVA-2906 NOT recognized
  AHA-2940uw NOT recognized
  AHA-3985 NOT recognized
  DPT PM1564U3 (is this right? only number on the controller) NOT recognized
 
  Video
   
   PCI All-In-Wonder will not boot

 5.6-3

  This is the latest version of SRM available for this motherboard

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI

  Video

UP1000

  Manufactured by API (Alpha Processor Inc.), codenamed Nautilus.  Originally
  marketed as a Linux system, these are supplied sometimes with ARC by default;
  this is flashable, and will allow you to install FreeBSD etc (but refer to
  known issues). It is essentially an AMD K7 motherboard in ATX form factor
  that you plug a 600-700MHz Slot B EV67 into, and communicates with 64-768MB
  ECC SDRAM through an AMD751 northbridge. Takes EIDE drives using an ALi M5229
  interface. The PCI->ISA bridge is an Ali M1533. Expansion capacity supplied
  with 1 AGP, 4 PCI and 2 ISA slots - none shared. Officially it requires an
  ATX 400W Power supply but 300W will be sufficient provided you don't load up
  your auxilary devices excessively. If buying ask about the CPU mounting
  bracket (aka goalpost) or be prepared to jury rig a bracket of your own.

  Much of this will also apply to UP900,1100,1500 and partially, UP2000. 

 Known issues

  Not strictly speaking a clone but does NOT run Tru64 or OpenVMS. FreeBSD and
  NetBSD support these boards, but NetBSD 1.6.1 needs a specific non-GENERIC
  kernel without AGP support or will fail first (and indeed subsequent)
  post-install boots.

  The UP2000 is a Dual board and _does_ support Tru64, _if_ the onboard Adaptec
  AIC-7891 LVD SCSI controller is disabled (and a compatible one installed).

 SRM versions

  5.6-8
  Latest (and final) stable release

  5.6-14
  Beta. (though seems perfectly fine)

  API firmware, manuals can be found at time of writing at this link:
    http://www.alphalinux.org/firmware/api/

 HCL

  NIC

  Intel 82557 (EtherExpress 100) is compatible.

  SCSI

  ISP1040B 32bit PCI Card recognised and bootable by SRM.

  Video

  S3 86c325 bootable


 PC164LX

 Known issues

  May have trouble with uw2 speed

 SRM versions

  5.8-1 (latest version)

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI

   AHA2940UW2 is NOT recognized
   AHA29160 is NOT recognized
   AHA39160 supposedly recognized
   SYM22910 IS recognized, but may not run at uw2 speed.

  Video 
  
 PC164SX

  You don't want this board. It uses the 21164PC chip, which is dumbed down 
  somehow.

 Known issues

  It sucks.

 SRM versions

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI

  Video

 PC164RX

 Known issues

 SRM versions

 HCL

  NIC

  SCSI

  Video

 Multiprocessor boards

 7. SRM programming reference

  Does anyone actually know how to do this? Has anyone used deposit or examine
  To test a board device?

 8. Serial connections

   Here I am going to explain how to connect to Alpha systems via serial when
   you are having problems. Also, debug codes will be discussed here

 8.1 MMJ

  This is the Digital Modified Modular Jack. It looks almost like a phone jack,
  But the retainer lever is on the side, not centered.  If you shave the lever
  off a 6 conductor phone cable, and jam it into the slot with a toothpick, 
  this will work. Some of the motherboards have this connection as a "debug"
  connector. Many Digital terminals use this as their default way of connecting
  to the terminal server, but in this case we want to connect one (or a 
  substitute) to your motherboard because the machine is not booting. To debug
  The motherboard the only hardware that actually has to be functional is the 
  cache, the chipset, and the processor. When all else fails this is how you 
  must fix your system. 

 8.2 MMJ adaptors

  H8751-A

  H8751-C

  H8751-F

 8.3 VT series terminals and DEC compatible terminals with MMJ

  If you have a Digital video terminal, you may wish to look at http://vt100.net

  VT320

  VT340

  VT420

  Planar flatscreen terminal

   These are cool. you want one of these. It's a VT320 Compatible terminal
   (even takes the same keyboard, as well as PC type) All in a case with a flat
   monochrome LCD panel.

 8.4 pin type connectors

  The AT type motherboards will often have pin type connectors to take PC style
  serial headers. The problem with this is the pins on the motherboard are 
  analogous to the same number pin on a 9 pin serial connector.  Unfortunately
  The PC type header staggers the pins. You'll need to cut, strip, and solder 
  the wires on the PC type header to make a working header for your Alpha.
  Parallel connector is the same way. You should have a volt meter, or atleast
  some way to continuity test wires to check your work, and keep the wires in
  proper order. I had to do this on my AXPpci33 so I could connect a mouse.

 8.5 serial wiring

 8.5.1 Serial types

   DCE vs. DTE

 8.5.2 serial pinouts

  8.5.2.1 MMJ pinout

     1  2  3  4  5  6 

 |--__-__-__-__-__-__--|
 |  || || || || || ||  |
 |  || || || || || ||  |  
 |                     | 
 |  0   0  0  0  0  0  |
 |        _____________|
 |        |
 |________|

     Cable 

  8.5.2.2 RJ45 serial adapter pinout

     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8
     ----------------------
     |                    |
     |                    |
     |                    |
     |_____          _____|
           |_      _|    
             |____|  

         receptacle       

 9. DEC expansion card part reference

 9.1 SCSI
 
  9.1.1 KZPSA
  
  9.1.2 KGPSA

  9.1.3 KZTSA

  9.1.4 KZPCM

  9.1.5 KZPDA

  9.1.6 KZPBA

  9.1.7 KZPAA

  9.1.8 CCMPA

  9.1.9 DWLPA

  9.1.10 DWLPB

 9.2 Network

  9.2.1 DE204

  9.2.2 DE205

  9.2.3 DE435

  9.2.4 DE450

  9.2.5 DE500
 
 9.3 Video

  9.3.1 PBXGA

 9.4 Other

    Source: geocities.com/siliconvalley/peaks/1370/files

               ( geocities.com/siliconvalley/peaks/1370)                   ( geocities.com/siliconvalley/peaks)                   ( geocities.com/siliconvalley)