HP Apollo 9000 Series 400
See the series 400 article on hpmuseum.net.
Note: This document is based on what appears to be a late model 400s that has been upgraded to a 433s. More on this in the hardware section.
The Hardware
The HP Apollo 9000 400s/433s is based on the Motorola 68030 or 68040 chips. Machines configured with the 68030 run at 50 MHz, while those with the 68040 run at 33 MHz. In real-world performance and HP VUE, the 68040 is much faster.
The 400 series are transitional machines meant as a shared upgrade path for Apollo Domain customers and the HP 9000/300 series after HP’s Apollo acquisition in 1989. In 1990, when these machines were released, they were quite powerful, but RISC chips were still seen as the future of the high-end UNIX market.
In 1991, shortly after the release of the 400 series, HP would release the PA-RISC based 700 series. PA-RISC was more directly competitive with workstation offerings from market leader Sun.
Because these were such a transitional offering, few of them seem to exist today.
Upgrading the 68030 to 68040
Given the cost of these workstations, HP offered an upgrade path from the 68030 to the 68040. Not much is published on how this was done, but it is mentioned in several marketing documents. I was able to find an old mailing list post suggesting that it was a combination of installing a new 68040 in the same socket and a new (or reflashed) EPROM chip. Given various part and date codes on my system, I believe it was a 68030 that received the 68040 upgrade.
Serial Connection
You can connect a standard DB-25 to DB-9 serial cable (and then to serial-to-USB) to the back of the unit and use this for console and boot diagnostics.
To do so, place the system in “Service” mode by flipping the small metal switch under the reset button on the back. Then enable your console (screen /dev/ttyUSB0 9600).
How to Tell Visually Whether a System is Default Apollo/Domain or HP-UX
There are some visual tells that a system was used in a previous life for Apollo/Domain use.
The Tape Drive
Apollo/Domain systems have a large tape drive. Media for Apollo systems seems to have only been provided via tape.
The Apollo Token Ring Adapter
Perhaps the biggest tell is that Apollo/Domain systems have a particular network adapter to connect to their token ring network.
Apollo/Domain vs HP HIL Interfaces
Machines running Apollo/Domain were expected to have a distinct keyboard from the “standard” HP-HIL that was used on the 300 and 700 series. You are unlikely to find one unless it comes with the unit. You can still communicate with Apollo/Domain systems using service mode and an RS-232 connection, however.
Operating Systems
The 400 series was unique in its ability to run both HP-UX and Apollo/Domain. Machines typically shipped from the factory configured for and with one operating system installed.
Switching Between HP-UX and Apollo/Domain Mode
It is straightforward to change the system to operate in one mode or the other. Do the following:
- Connect to the system via serial.
- At the
>prompt, typeCF. - Set either HP-UX mode or Apollo Domain mode in the config tool.
- Reset the system.
Apollo/Domain Notes
Here are the most useful resources I’ve found for working on Apollo/Domain installs:
General Apollo history and resources:
Setting the Calendar for Apollo/Domain
Apollo/Domain is extremely particular about date and time information, relying on it to generate UIDs for files. If you see a message like:
“The calendar is more than a minute slow. Do you want to run the OS with the current calendar setting?”
Connect via serial to the machine and at the boot > prompt run EX CALENDAR.
From the Apollo/Domain command guide:
“This command loads and starts the calendar as a stand-alone utility. The utility identifies itself, then requests the type of disk and the logical volume number. Type W for a Winchester disk, S for a storage module disk, or F for a floppy disk. To specify a unit number, append 0 or 1 to the letter. For example, S1 denotes storage module unit 1. Unit 0 is the default. Next, enter the number of the logical volume if it is not 1.”
I was able to get it to work on my SCSI ID 6 hard disk system with w6:. Note that the colon was required.
You will know the command was successful when you get prompted for a new date and time to enter, indicating it located the time configuration on disk.
Checking the Disk for Apollo/Domain
Apollo/Domain may require checking of the disk. You can use EX SALVOL for this from the boot > prompt.
Apollo/Domain OS Resources
Documentation suggests Apollo SR10.4 will run on this. Again, you’ll need to figure out how to install this via tape. I was lucky enough to have it installed on the hard drive of the unit I purchased. Bitsavers has an archive of 10.4.
HP-UX
Ultimately, I was more interested in running an HP-UX box than an Apollo/Domain box. HP-UX 9 is pretty historically accurate for this system.
The following resources are useful:
- HP-UX 9 install discs for Series 400
- HP-UX Applications disc for Series 400
- Installing and Updating HP-UX 9.0
- Bitsavers all HP-UX documentation
Installation
The guide here should be considered canonical.
If you’re using the install discs above, I encountered an issue where the update prompt after the install disc 1 completed would not recognize the CD-ROM. I found it was possible to continue the installation by placing the CD-ROM into the drive BEFORE the update prompt was shown. In short, you should:
- Complete the install of disc 1.
- Before the computer boots and prompts for the update disc, insert the update disc 2 into the CD-ROM drive.
- When the update disc prompt shows after install, just hit return and allow it to continue.
Note also that you have one shot at doing this; if you reboot, the second phase of the installation requiring the update disc will not be resumed. You will have to start over by reinstalling using install disc 1.
Apart from this one issue, install is very straightforward.
