DEC 7000 AXP, VAX 7000 Technical Bulletin Number 3

This technical bulletin, "DEC 7000 AXP VAX 7000 Technical Bulletin Number 3" (EK-70TBA-T3. A01), updates the existing documentation for DEC 7000/10000 and VAX 7000/10000 systems.

Key information provided includes:

• New CPU Modules: It introduces the KA7AB CPU module for VAX 7000/10000 systems and the KN7AB CPU module for DEC 7000/10000 systems.

  • The KN7AB features the DECchip 21064A (275 MHz) with improved caches (8KB to 16KB instruction/data), parity protection, and better branch prediction.
  • The KA7AB features the NV5 CPU (137.5 MHz) for VAX systems.

• New Hardware Support:

  • KFMSB Adapter: Enables DSSI bus support on DEC 7000/10000 systems, providing an XMI interface to two DSSI buses.
  • MS7AA-FA Memory Module: A new 2-gigabyte memory module supported on both VAX and DEC 7000/10000 systems.

• System Upgrades & Compatibility: Details various upgrade paths using these new modules, console revision requirements for new hardware (e.g., V3.5 for KA7AB, V3.2 for KFMSB/MS7AA-FA), and required operating system versions (OpenVMS AXP 6.1, DEC OSF/1 3.0, OpenVMS VAX 6.1).

• User and Service Information: Covers changes to console commands (e.g., Set System_Variant), updates to internal processor registers for the new CPUs, and lists power requirements (in Equivalent Power Units - EPUs) for new options to help determine the need for a second power regulator.

The document is intended for system managers and service engineers to support the new components and configurations.