Field Test of ISL

This document outlines the field test plan for the Initial System Load (ISL) software, designed for Digital Equipment Corporation's 6000 and 9000 CPU platforms. The primary objective is to test the networked ISL function in combination with the InfoServer 100 and VMS 5.4 field test software, enabling VMS installation from CD-ROM over an Ethernet network onto a client's local disk.

A field test aims to evaluate products still in development within a realistic user environment, verifying functionality, quality, performance, packaging, documentation, and support readiness. Digital seeks at least three customer sites with prerequisite hardware (a 6000-based system and Ethernet) and technical expertise to participate.

Customers are responsible for installing the provided InfoServer 100 hardware and VMS 5.4 software, conducting significant product testing, and reporting issues daily via an online Quality Assurance Report (QAR) system. Digital provides the InfoServer 100 and software but not the client 6000 platform or terminals.

The networked ISL process involves a user booting the client CPU, loading the ISL_LVAX.SYS file from the InfoServer 100 over Ethernet, and interacting with an on-screen menu. From this menu, users can "Choose Service" to boot a "Standalone backup" utility, either by discovering available network services (e.g., VMS054) or by entering a known service name. This utility then performs the VMS installation from the CD (on the InfoServer) to the client's local disk, with DAD1 identified as the source media. The test concludes with the complete installation of the VMS operating system.