PROGRAMMABLE DEVICE SUPPORT Software Installation Guide

This document, published in November 1984, serves as an installation guide and release notes for the PROGRAMMABLE DEVICE SUPPORT (PDS) software on VAX/VMS systems (Version 3.5). It is designed for system managers responsible for setting up and maintaining VAX/VMS and PDS software.

The manual outlines the purpose of PDS as a factory tool to manage, document, and optimize programmable devices, such as Allen-Bradley PLC-2/30, PLC-3, and Modicon 484, 584. It highlights PDS's use of a "production library" to store programs, eliminating issues associated with cassette tapes, providing a common interface for remote uploading/downloading, controlling user access, and enabling automatic device reloads after power failures.

Hardware requirements include a VAX 11/750 or VAX 11/780 with at least 4 megabytes of memory and VT100 or VT200-Series terminals. Software prerequisites include BASEWAY Version 1.0 and VAX FMS Version 2.1. The installation process, estimated to take 20-30 minutes, involves backing up the system disk, ensuring sufficient disk space (approximately 5600 blocks post-installation), and executing the VMSINSTAL procedure from a privileged system manager account. It also details preliminary checks such as ensuring DECnet is down and no other users are logged into the system.

The "Release Notes" section provides critical information regarding PDS operations. It states that PDS replaces the standard BASEWAY user definition editor, with the PDS editor's "LIBRARY" field specifically creating user library records and VMS directories. Existing BASEWAY users defined before PDS installation will need to be updated. The notes also describe issues with PLC-2 and PLC-3 loads, where the 1771-KA card is exclusively allocated during upload/download, potentially leaving it disabled if the process is prematurely terminated. Furthermore, a current restriction prevents multiple translation processes from running simultaneously for the same programmable device vendor due to fixed temporary file names, a limitation expected to be addressed in future releases.