Ajrlkb Rl8a/Rl02 Performance Exerciser

Summary

This document is a technical manual for the AJRLKB RL8A/RL02 Performance Exerciser, a diagnostic software tool developed by Digital Equipment Corporation. Its purpose is to verify the operational reliability of RL02 disk drive subsystems.

Key Features and Capabilities:

• Operational Modes: The program supports two main modes: "Accept Mode" (automated testing using standard parameters) and "Manual Intervention Mode" (allowing the operator to configure specific data patterns, transfer lengths, and disk addressing).
• Stress Testing: The exerciser simulates a high-use user environment by performing random or fixed seeks, reads, and writes on 1 to 4 RL02 disk drives. It utilizes an overlapped, randomized approach to maximize system throughput.
• Diagnostic Reporting: It maintains detailed performance statistics and error logs for each drive. These reports include error summaries, operation counts, and specific status codes.

• Hardware/Software Requirements:

  • Processor: PDP-8A, 8E, 8F, 8M, or VT278.
  • Memory: At least 8K of read/write memory.
  • Storage: 1 to 4 RL02 disk drives with RL8A/RL02 or RL278/RL02 controllers.
  • Prerequisites: Requires the prior successful completion of basic CPU, memory, and diskless diagnostics.

• System Integration: The software includes routines to handle system power-fail scenarios, allowing for automatic recovery and resumption of testing.

• Operator Control: The program interacts with the operator via a console terminal, allowing for the addition or dropping of drives during runtime, modification of parameters, and the examination of status registers.

The document concludes with a complete assembly listing of the program code, including subroutines for hardware interaction, error handling, and message reporting.