VAX 6000-400 System Technical User's Guide

This document is the VAX 6000-400 System Technical User's Guide, published by Digital Equipment Corporation.

It serves as a comprehensive technical reference manual providing information for:

• Software Development: How to write software and program customized to the CPU.
• Field-Level Repair: Details needed for hardware maintenance and troubleshooting.
• Detailed Theory of Operation: An in-depth understanding of the system's internal workings.

The guide is structured into seven chapters, covering:

• System Overview: Introduction to the VAX 6000-400 system, its configurations, architecture, typical components, and physical layout.
• Major Subsystems: In-depth descriptions of the XMI bus (its protocol, transactions, addressing, and error handling), the KA64A CPU Module (its internal architecture, cache memory, memory management, exceptions, interrupts, and boot procedures), the optional FV64A Vector Processor Module (its functional units, and error handling), and the MS62A Memory Module (its features, and error handling).
• Interfacing: Details on the DWMBA XMI-to-VAXBI Adapter, which facilitates communication between these different bus architectures.
• Support Systems: Information on the power and cooling systems for the VAX 6000-400.
• Error Handling: Extensive coverage of error detection, reporting, and recovery mechanisms across various system components.