Useful Links

OpenVMS Documentation

Documentation for the OpenVMS operating system and layered products.

• OpenVMS Documentation Repository
• Platforms Documentation Archive
• Equipment Corporation Document Archive

The BITSAVERS.ORG DEC Documents Library on the biggest digital library of Internet sites. You should also try different search queries, such as DEC, Compaq, VMS, OpenVMS, VAX, Alpha, AXP, etc. to get more results.

• RAID Software for OpenVMS Guide to Operations for Version 3.0, 2005
• Digital Equipment Corporation documents catalog

A catalog of about 10,000 documents published by DEC before it was bought by Compaq on the Manx catalog of manuals for old computers.

• OpenVMS Introduction

A guide to OpenVMS fundamentals and programming basics written by H.G. Essel, M. Richter, and W. Schiebel from GSI in 1987 and revised in 1995.

Hardware Documentation

Documentation for the hardware working with OpenVMS.

• Integrity iLO 2 Operations Guide
• Integrated Lights-Out 2 User Guide (for Firmware 1.75 and 1.77)
• Integrated Lights-Out 2 User Guide (June 2012)
• iLO 2 Scripting and Command Line Guide
• Integrity rx2660 Server User Service Guide
• Integrated Lights-Out Management Processor Scripting and Command Line Resource Guide for HP Integrated Lights-Out 2 version 2.00
• Technical Journal V15. vKVM Functionality and Usage on OpenVMS
• Technical Journal V15. BL8x0c i2: Overview, Setup, Troubleshooting, and Various Methods to Install OpenVMS
• Integrity Integrated Lights-out 2 Management Processor (iLO 2 MP) Operations Guide for HP Integrity BL860c, rx2660, rx3600, and rx6600
• of IPMI, SMASH, and WS-Management in HP ProLiant remote server management. Technology brief
• Management Architecture for Server Hardware (SMASH) Command Line Protocol (CLP) Architecture White Paper
• Console Reference
• SRM Console for Alpha Microprocessor Motherboards
• Server DS20 User's Guide by Compaq, 1998
• Server DS20L User's Guide by HP, 2002
• Support Guide to Best Practices for OpenVMS on HP Alphaserver Platforms, version 1.1, March 2007

OpenVMS-related Topics

• OpenVMS with SDA Extensions and Availability Manager

PDF of a presentation by Jim Mehlhop of Software Concepts International, 2017 on SDA data structures, lists, and extensions and Availability Manager fundamentals, including quorum principles and deadlocks management.

• Making the most out of a system crash

PDF of a presentation by Richard Bishop at the OpenVMS European Technical Update Days in October 2006. Covers crash dump theory, dump file settings, relevant SYSGEN parameters, and principles of selection of processes that must be dumped on a crash.

• Multi-threading: concepts and application tuning, an article in OpenVMS Technical Journal v19, January 2013
• Advanced OpenVMS Performance Tips & Tricks

PDF of a presentation by Guy Peleg of Maklee Engineering on system tuning techniques and how to speed up common system manager operations.

• Performance Sandbox

PDF of a presentation delivered by Christian Moser of Maklee Engineering in April 2016. Covers OpenVMS possible performance issues, methods of monitoring and fixing them.

• The Digital Technical Journal archive

A collection of all 42 Digital Technical Journals, scanned from the paper originals.

• Seminars slide sets, Articles, and Webinars

OpenVMS seminars slides and papers by XDelta Limited.

• Equipment Corporation hardware fansite

A collection of info containing descriptions, serial numbers, guides, manuals, firmware, and other necessary stuff mostly for DEC-engineered and produced hardware.

• Minimum supported VMS versions

OpenVMS compatibility table with VAX and Alpha-based hardware for versions up to 7.3.

• OpenVMS VAMP Board

A board running on the community version of OpenVMS. The topics are mainly OpenVMS-related.

• Managing and Monitoring High-Performance Computing Clusters with IPMI

The article introduces the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification in the context of high-performance computing clusters.

• Understanding and maintaining the Integrity Console

PDF of the slides presented by Jim Mehlhop at the Connect OpenVMS Boot Camp 2011. Includes information on RX2600 console and physical interfaces, EFI, BMC, MP, iLO, booting, updating firmware, and backing up the system board configuration.

• Console

PDF of a presentation by Jim Mehlhop of Software Concepts International about the Integrity Console and UEFI, 2017.

• UEFI Specifications

The official resource for UEFI Specifications.

• Firmware Interface Specification Version 1.10, December 2002, from the Intel Corp.
• UEFI Forum Learning Center

Links to papers, industry resources, presentations, and videos on the official UEFI website.

• Phoenix Technologies Wiki

An archived version of the Phoenix Developer Reference Wiki. Contains information about the UEFI architecture and the list of the commands used to write UEFI applications.

• UEFI Architecture and Technical Overview

An archived version of an article by Wolfgang Rosenberg Sr. that covers the key concepts of UEFI and its differences from BIOS and EFI.

• Shell

An archived version of an article by Wolfgang Rosenberg Sr. for the Intel Developer Zone website that covers the main features of the EFI shell and describes its syntax.

• Shells and scripting

An archived version of an article about the EFI Shell and scripting. Contains EFI shell command summary and scripting rules and examples.

• Instructions for Using EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) for Server Configuration on Intel Server Boards and Intel Server Systems
• EFI How To Guide

The manual discusses how to use main EFI shell features, such as disk utilities, boot manager, activating device drivers, writing and running batch scripts, etc.

• Tour beyond BIOS Memory Map Design in UEFI BIOS. White Paper

This paper introduces the design of the memory map in a UEFI BIOS. Archived version.

• device-tree peripherals in ACPI

The presentation demonstrates the new features in the ACPI 5.1 specification which make it possible for ACPI to transparently represent devices using existing device-tree bindings.

• Technology Journal. Volume 15, Issue 1, 2011

PDF of UEFI Today: Bootstrapping the Continuum, the Intel Technology Journal Volume 15, 2011. A set of articles written by engineers from Intel and its partners discussing UEFI's main features, architecture, security, and prospects.

• the Interface Between the Operating System and Platform Firmware

A section on the Intel website on the EFI/UEFI specification containing a collection of helpful resources on the topic, as well as links to Linux ELILO Sources.

• Secrets of EFI

PDF of a presentation delivered by Martin Vorländer of PDV-Systeme at the OpenVMS Technical Update Days 2012.

• Integrity Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), Management Processor (MP) and Multi-Operating System (OS) Load lab

PDF of the slides presented during Integrity Labs Session 3204 giving an overview of the MP, EFI, describing firmware initialization and specifics for loading different operating systems.

• description

An article on UEFI in the [1], a wiki about the creation of operating systems. Contains information about UEFI vs. legacy BIOS, UEFI class 0–3 and CSM, Secure Boot, developing with GNU-EFI, emulation with QEMU and OVMF, NVRAM variables, bootable UEFI applications, exposed functionality, PC firmware developers, UEFI applications binary format, calling conventions, language binding, EFI byte code, and common problems with UEFI.

• Power to Firmware

An article by Amit Singh, June 2004, on the history of EFI, EFI drivers, EFI services, benefits of EFI, EFI shell, GUID based partitioning scheme, Universal Graphics Adapter, EFI Byte Code, Experimenting with EFI, Open Firmware, and GUI Widgets in Open Firmware.

• to various articles about UEFI on the x86asm.net website
• for EFI by Roderick W. Smith

The article covers the basics of writing and compiling the code for UEFI format executables. It also explains the notion of UEFI services.

• a driver to a UEFI firmware

An article by Pete Batard discussing how you can add a new file system EFI driver, such as the ones produced by EfiFs, to an existing UEFI firmware image.

• II Driver Writer's Guide for UEFI 2.3.1

This document is provided to help developers prepare UEFI drivers using the EDK II development environment. UEFI driver standards are described in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Specification, at [2]. This document provides basic information for the most common categories of UEFI drivers; other driver designs are possible.

• Driver Development Guide for All Hardware Device Classes, version 1.0, November 2011
• and MP Commands cheat sheet
• Shell Command Reference Manual Rev. 1.1 (Nov. 2007)
• Integrity Servers – EFI and EFI/POSSE Commands
• Tutorial

A presentation delivered at the Plumbers Conference 2012 by Harry Hsiung of the Intel Corp. on EFI basics, security features, development platforms, resources, and backup.

• as the Converged Firmware Infrastructure

A presentation delivered by Dong Wei of HPE in April 2012 that covers the UEFI history, its specifications features, the SecureBoot technology, and IPv6 support under UEFI.

• BIOS: Developing with the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, Third Edition

The Amazon order page for the book “Beyond BIOS: Developing with the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface” by Vincent Zimmer, Michael Rothman, Suresh Marisetty.

• the UEFI Shell: Moving the Platform Beyond DOS

The Amazon order page for the book “Harnessing the UEFI Shell: Moving the Platform Beyond DOS” by Michael Rothman.

• Boot: A Guide for Embedded Firmware Developers

The Amazon order page for the book “Quick Boot: a Guide for Embedded Firmware Developers” by Pete Dice.

OpenVMS Freeware

Software for OpenVMS distributed free of charge.

• OpenVMS Freeware FTP storage

The Open Source packages provided as a part of the OpenVMS freeware collection are available for download.

• 2.7.8

Python 2.7.8 for OpenVMS and some libraries.

• printing symbiont

A symbiont that allows you to use a null printer. Code patterns, tech talks, open-source projects, developer advocates, and more. More than 100 open source programs, a library of knowledge resources. See the code. Software design patterns.

• Miller's collection

A collection of OpenVMS utilities (last updated in 2015).

• Undocumented Features

PDF of OpenVMS Undocumented Features, a presentation by Stephen Hoffman for European Technical Update 2004.

• System Management

A PowerPoint presentation on OpenVMS System Management, including work organization and scripts development tips, by Andy Park of TrueBit.

• Resource Center

An OpenVMS freeware repository supported by Process Software, a supplier of communications software solutions to mission-critical environments.

• for OpenVMS Development
• of open source software ports

Blogs

Blogs with OpenVMS-related information in English unless otherwise specified.

• [3]

Free accounts on a VAX, a few ports to OpenVMS and other products, and some tutorials in German.

• Rieck

OpenVMS history, presentations from seminars and bootcamps, articles on OpenVMS networking and databases, hardware, and links.

• [4]

Command procedures, system administration, SAN, hardware, and programming articles.

• [5]

Articles on installing and working with OpenVMS on the Raymii.org blog.

• Cameron

Articles on OpenVMS system management tips, DCL tricks, and Fortran and Pascal code examples.

• Informatique
• in the Attic
• Vajhøj
• Gerhart's website

Various articles on OpenVMS system management and interaction with EFI.

• news and commentary
• Goatley

Open the dropdown menu in the OpenVMS Resource Center section to read a series of articles on programming for OpenVMS. Press the OpenVMS Resource Center button to get access to the * [6] OpenVMS freeware repository.

• Report

A Kevin G. Barkes blog mainly about IT and OpenVMS-related topics.

• OpenVMS Consultant

A series of columns about OpenVMS technical issues written by Robert Gezeltzer for his website.

• Technical Info

DocuWiki containing a series of articles describing how to solve some specific tasks.

Miscellaneous

• videos
• On-Line

The legendary user group started in March 1987 that aggregates OpenVMS fans from all over the world and has become an invaluable source of OpenVMS-related presentations, notes, Q&A, and email submissions gathered through the years passed.

• Hobbyist Portal
• of DCL command procedures

An archived catalog of DCL command procedures published at OpenVMS.org (removed from the original website; some of the links on the site may not work).

• OpenVMS Courses
• News blog archive
• materials on Organization of Computers (taught by M.S.Schmalz at the University of Florida)
• crowd-sourced System Programming wiki-book

A Plain C Programming Wiki built by students and faculty from the University of Illinois. Includes review questions, exams topics, and glossaries and discusses major programming questions in an informal style.

• Memory

Slides on virtual memory and paging.

• memory - practice

Slides on Virtual Memory by Timothy Roscoe for Computer Architecture and Systems Programming course lectures.

• SCSSYSTEMID calculator

A simple web-based tool for converting between DECnet and MAC addresses of Ethernet network adapters connected to DECnet.

Hardware Emulation and Online Systems

• [https://www.avtware.com/%7CAdvanced Virtualization Technologies (vtVAX,

vtAlpha)]

• [https://github.com/lenticularis39/axpbox%7CAXPbox Alpha Emulator (based

on the discontinued es40)]

• (AlphaVM-Basic, AlphaVM-Pro)
• [7]
• Computer Museum's Online Systems
• Specialties (FreeAXP, Avanti)
• Simulator (PDP, VAX, other non-DEC architectures)
• (Charon-PDP, Charon-VAX, Charon-AXP, Charon-AXP Plus, other non-DEC systems emulators)
• (PDP, VAX)
• MP
• Logical Company (nuVAX)

SAN/NAS Storage: Theory and Practice

• to Storage Area Networks, a book by Jon Tate, Pall Beck, Hector Hugo Ibarra, Shanmuganathan Kumaravel, and Libor Maklas on IBM Redbooks, December 2017

This book provides an introduction to SAN and Ethernet networking, and how these networks help to achieve a smarter data center. The publication describes preferred practices for deploying and using advanced Brocade Fabric Operating System (FOS) features to identify, monitor, and protect Fibre Channel (FC) SANs from problematic devices and media behavior.

• Storage Concepts and Protocols version 3.0 by Mark Lippitt and Erik Smith for EMC Technooks

The book presents fabric design considerations, explains how SAN technology works, and describes IP SAN concepts.

• EMC Host Connectivity Guide for HP OpenVMS
• and Scaling BROCADE SAN Fabrics: Design and Best Practices Guide, a BROCADE Technical Note, March 2001

The PDF contains BROCADE recommendations and guidelines for configuring a Storage Area Network (SAN). It includes several reference topologies and also provides pointers to products/solutions from BROCADE partners that can be used to implement the target configuration/solution.

• SAN/Storage Technical Update

A PDF of the slides of OpenVMS V8.3 Storage Features, a presentation delivered by Manfred Kaser or HPE on the IT-Symposium 2007.

• storage: Working with a SAN's logical unit numbers

A series of articles describing the functions of logical unit numbers (LUNs), their correct implementation on a system, and how to use them to manage storage.

• for the VMS Administrator

PDF of a presentation by Greg Guthman about managing a 3PAR storage connected to an OpenVMS environment.

Non-English Resources

French

• [8]

Articles on DCL programming, security, system management, and an OpenVMS hacker guide.

• Ada Alliance

Gérard Calliet's blog on porting the Ada compiler to modern architectures.

German

• News
• Gerhart's website

Various articles on OpenVMS system management and interaction with EFI (English and German).

• [9]

Free accounts on a VAX, a few ports to OpenVMS and other products, and some tutorials in German.

Italian

• Hardware and Software Installation Guide

Russian

• BOS: Hardware: EFI, UEFI, and PI

An article about EFI, UEFI, and PI. Contains information on UEFI images, platform initialization, UEFI tables and protocols, Device Path, EFI and Linux variables, the boot manager, booting Linux in UEFI mode, booting PXE, installing CentOS with PXE boot, fast boot, EFI services, UEFI shell, UEFI Secure Boot, and some links on EFI including resources in English and Russian.

• FAQ: Answers to frequently asked questions about UEFI and GPT

A forum-based UEFI FAQ on the * Forum. Talks about UEFI and GPT basics, explains SecureBoot concepts, and includes information on how to manually add UEFI boot menu options.

• ourselves with the MBR and GPT structures
• UEFI

An article about UEFI (outside of the Linux context). Contains a BIOS vs. UEFI and MBR vs. GPT comparison, differences in booting operating systems on BIOS- and UEFI-powered systems, explains SecureBoot concepts, and describes some UEFI features, including possibly harmful actions.

• - GUID Partition Table
• Shley's Blog

A series of articles on UEFI internals, standards, security, reverse engineering, and UEFI NVRAM.

• Basics

An article that discusses SAN on a high level.

• Channel Technology Basics