Very Computer

So what is a SRM Console?
   what is a ARC Console?

One better than the other?

Do different machines come with different consoles or what?

                                Reg.Clemens

Raymond

SRM is the console for DU, it has a commandline interface about as
intuitive as ed(1). SRM is for Real Men :-)

Quote:> One better than the other?

SRM has a number of advantages if you use more than one machine: It can
be driven through a terminal server, it can be configured to handle
unrecognized PCI devices and it can be used to boot over the net.

Quote:> Do different machines come with different consoles or what?

- Alex

: SRM is the console for DU, it has a commandline interface about as
: intuitive as ed(1). SRM is for Real Men :-)

It looks that Alex qualifies to such elated category of Real Men that
I do not have the slightest chance to apply. A '?' response to any
unrecognized input "ed style" does not seem to me intuitive at all and
for him this is as easy as SRM. :-)

: > One better than the other?

: ARC is easier to use if you have no manual

I do not recall if I ever seen any other SRM manual beyond that
what shows up on a screen.  'help show | more' and similar actually
provide much more information than mysterious menus with boxes
which always reject what you typed for inscrutable reasons.
Quick - what to do to make UX autobooting?  :-)

   Michal

Give me a command language interface anyday...

Rgrds, Chris

Arc/Alphabios --> NT or Linux
SRM --> Tru64,OpenVMS,BSD's and Linux as well.

Jeff Donsbach

Quote:> These consoles are referring to the kind of Bios that you have jammed
> into the flash rom. The SRM console is a console to boot NT and Linux
> systems and the ARC console for FreeBSD, DEC-Unix and OpenVMS. The major
> differnce is that the SRM is compiled 32bit code (specially for NT wich
> runs on 32 bit modus) and the SRM is compiled in 64bit.
> With the proper MILO you can boot Linux in either one of these consoles
> unlike FreeBSD, DecUnix and OpenVMS wich need the ARC console.

> Raymond

I have a follow up to this question, since this is a Linux/Alpha newsgroup:
Is there any advantages running the one over the other when using Linux,
and only Linux?

And one for myself: Is it possible to switch from ARC to SRM on
the 164LX motherboards?

- Idar Tollefsen

I'll hardly remember many SRM commands.
Now that I can telnet into SRM console and print the help output or
scroll back to it, it is much easier to use, though.

I could save the help screens somewhere, but I'm afraid they are
copyrighted.

- Alex

smit/smitty is still my favorite example.  Virtually identical
on bitmapped graphics as on ASCII graphics, all of it driving scripts
and commands available from the command line (and an F6 key to
remind you...)

Cheers,
Mathew

--
:wq

I played around with SRM when I first got my Alpha, but since switching
to ARC I've had no desire to switch back.

Now if I could only get rid of that "(C) Microsoft" message... :(

--

#include <stddisclaimer.h>
Microsoft - "Creative non-fulfilment of your lowest expectations"
Don't even *THINK* of spamming this address!

The set of display cards that are officially supported
on any particular platform may be different for ARC and SRM.

I assume that SRM supports whatever Tru64 and OVMS want supported
and ARC supports whatever NT wanted.  (I'm not a spokesman and I
don't understand that area.)

Some cards that aren't officially supported may work well enough
for the install process.

On all the machines I've used, SRM supports the serial port.  You
can normally force it to go there by unplugging the keyboard.  This
doesn't help if you are trying to install Red Hat or any other
system with a PC based GUI mentality.

--
These are my opinions, not necessarily my employers.

-E

Quote:> smit/smitty is still my favorite example.  Virtually identical
> on bitmapped graphics as on ASCII graphics, all of it driving scripts
> and commands available from the command line (and an F6 key to
> remind you...)