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OpenBoot Command Reference Manual
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Preface

The OpenBoot Command Reference manual describes the OpenBoot(TM) firmware that is part of the boot PROM in Sun(TM) systems.

Audience

The features of the OpenBoot firmware allow it to be used by end users as well as by system administrators and developers. This manual is for all such users who want to use the OpenBoot firmware to configure and debug their systems.

Contents

In this manual, you will find information on how to use the OpenBoot firmware to perform tasks such as:
  • Booting the operating system
  • Running diagnostics
  • Modifying system start-up configuration parameters
  • Loading and executing programs
  • Troubleshooting
If you want to write Forth programs or if you want to use the more advanced features of this firmware (such as its debugging capabilities), this manual also describes the commands of the OpenBoot Forth Interpreter.

Assumptions

This manual assumes that you are working on a SPARC(R) system with a version 2.x OpenBoot PROM. Some of the tools and capabilities described in this manual do not exist on the pre-2.x PROM SPARC systems. If you are using a SPARCstation(TM) 1, SPARCstation IPC, or other system with a pre-2.x version PROM, refer to an earlier version of this manual: Open Boot PROM Toolkit User's Guide, part number 800-5279-10. Also see Appendix C in this manual for a list of unsupported commands.

Organization

The OpenBoot Command Reference is organized as follows:
Chapter 1, "Overview," describes the user interface and other main features of the firmware.
Chapter 2, "Booting and Testing Your System," explains the most common tasks for which the OpenBoot firmware is used.
Chapter 3, "Setting Configuration Parameters," details how to perform system administration tasks with NVRAM parameters.
Chapter 4, "Using Forth Tools," describes both basic and advanced functions of the OpenBoot Forth language.
Chapter 5, "Loading and Executing Programs," describes how to load and execute programs from various sources (such as Ethernet, disk, or a serial port).
Chapter 6, "Debugging," describes the firmware's debugging capabilities, including the Disassembler, the Forth Source-level Debugger, and breakpoints.
Appendix A, "Setting Up a TIP Connection," describes how to connect your system to another Sun system using serial ports.
Appendix B, "Building A Bootable Floppy Disk," tells you how to create a bootable floppy diskette from which you can load programs or files.
Appendix C, "Unsupported Commands," lists commands that may not be available in earlier OpenBoot systems and possible workarounds for them.
Appendix D, "Troubleshooting Guide," discusses solutions for typical situations where you cannot boot the operating system.
Appendix E, "Forth Word Reference," contains all currently-supported OpenBoot Forth commands.

Related Documentation

  • A companion document to this manual is:

    · OpenBoot Quick Reference, part number 800-5675-11. This fold-out card is a summary of often-used OpenBoot Forth commands.

  • For information on FCode, the version of Forth implemented in the OpenBoot firmware for using SBus cards, refer to the Sun manuals:

    · Writing FCode Programs, part number 801-7050-10.

    · Writing FCode Programs for SBus Cards, part number 800-4456-10.

  • For more information on the Forth language, read:

    · Starting Forth

    Leo Brodie/Forth, Inc. Prentice-Hall Software Series Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632

    The second edition of Starting Forth describes the current Forth standard dialect, Forth 83.

Note - There are several differences between the versions of Forth described in the above document and the version described in this manual. Specifically, the boot PROM Forth Monitor uses 32-bit numbers instead of 16-bit numbers. Also, the text editor described in the referenced book is not the same as the Forth Monitor editor.

What Typographic Changes and Symbols Mean

The following table describes the type changes and symbols used in this book.
Table P-1
Typeface or SymbolMeaningExample
AaBbCc123The names of commands, files, and directories; on-screen computer outputEdit your .login file. Use ls -a to list all files. system% You have mail.
AaBbCc123What you type, contrasted with on-screen computer
output		system% su
Password:
AaBbCc123Command-line placeholder: replace with a real name or valueTo delete a file, type rm filename.
AaBbCc123Book titles, new words or terms, or words to be emphasizedRead Chapter 6 in User's Guide. These are called class options. You must be root to do this.
Code samples are included in boxes and may display the following:
okThe OpenBoot Forth Monitor promptok
>The OpenBoot Restricted Monitor prompt>
%UNIX C shell promptsystem%
$UNIX Bourne and Korn shell promptsystem$
#Superuser prompt, all shellssystem#
  • Keys are indicated by their name. For example:

    Press the Return key.

  • When you see two keys named, press and hold the first key down and then press the second key. For example:

    To press Control-D, press and hold Control, then press D.

  • In a command line, square brackets indicate an optional entry and italics indicate an argument that you must replace with the appropriate text.

Acknowledgments

Several people contributed to the preparation of this manual and the reference card. They are (in alphabetical order by last name): Thomas Alcorn, Anne Alexander, Mitch Bradley, Gary Croak, Christie Duong, Kevin Hayes, Shuroma Herekar, David Kahn, Tayfun Kocaoglu, Pingchun Lee, Tim Marsland, Margaret McLaren, Bruce Munroe, Theresa Moroney, Talala Mshuja, Michael Saari, David Ten Eyck, Paul Thomas, Anil Visariya, Martin Walsh, Glenn Weinberg, and Mark Wong.