Preface

OpenBoot 3.x Command Reference describes how to use Sun^(TM) systems that implement firmware that responds as those described by IEEE Standard 1275- 1994., Standard For Boot Firmware.

This manual contains information on using 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

This manual also describes the commands of the OpenBoot Forth Interpreter which you can use to write Forth programs or if you want or use the more advanced features of this firmware (such as its debugging capabilities).

Who Should Use This Book

This manual is written for all users, including systems designers, systems administrators, and end users, who want to use the OpenBoot to configure and debug their SBus and PCI-based systems.

Assumptions

The information in this manual is for a system that uses Version 3.x OpenBoot. Other OpenBoot implementations may use different promptsor formatting, and may not support all of the tools and capabilities described in this manual.

How This Book Is Organized

Chapter 1, "Overview," describes the user interface and other main features of OpenBoot.

Chapter 2, "Booting and Testing Your System," explains the most common tasks for which OpenBoot is used.

Chapter 3, "Setting Configuration Variables," 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 serial port).

Chapter 6, "Debugging," describes the debugging capabilities of the OpenBoot, including decompiler, Forth source-level debugger, and breakpoints.

Appendix A, "Setting Up a TIP Connection," describes how to create a bootable floppy diskette from which you can load programs or files.

Appendix B, "Building a Bootable Floppy Disk," describes how to create a bootable floppy diskette from which you can load programs or files.

Appendix C, "Troubleshooting Guide," discusses solutions for typical situations when you cannot boot the operating system.

Appendix D, "Sun Ultra 30 UPA/PCI System," contains some PCI-related information for Sun Ultra 30 systems.

Appendix E, "Sun Ultra 450 UPA/PCI System," contains some PCI-related information for Sun Ultra 450 systems.

Appendix F, "Forth Word Reference," contains all currently-supported OpenBoot Forth commands.

Related Documentation

A companion document to this manual is:

• OpenBoot 3.x Quick Reference Guide, p/n 802-5835-10.

For information on OpenBoot FCode, refer to:

• Writing FCode 2.x Programs, p/n 802-1941-10
• Writing FCode 3.x Programs, p/n 802-6287-10

For information about Open Firmware, refer to the following manual:

IEEE Standard 1275-1994 Standard for Boot (Initialization, Configuration) Firmware, Core Requirements and Practices (IEEE Order Number SH17327. 1- 800-678-4333.) Also see http://playground.sun.com/1275.

For more information about Forth and Forth programming, refer to:

• ANSI X3.215-1994, American National Standard for Information Systems-Programming Languages-FORTH.
• Starting FORTH, Leo Brody. FORTH, Inc., second edition, 1987.
• Forth: The New Model, Jack Woehr. M & T Books, 1992.
• Forth Interest Group (1-510-89-FORTH)

http://forth.org/fig.html

What Typographic Changes and Symbols Mean

The following table describes the typeface changes and symbols used in this book.

Typeface or Symbol	Meaning	Example
AaBbCc123	The names of commands, files, and directories; on-screen computer output	Edit your .login file. Use ls -a to list all files. machine_name% You have mail.
AaBbCc123	What you type, contrasted with on-screen computer output	machine_name%su Password:
AaBbCc123	Command-line placeholder: replace with a real name or value	To delete a file, type rm filename.
AaBbCc123	Book titles, new words or terms, or words to be emphasized	Read 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:
ok	OpenBoot command prompt	ok
%	UNIX C shell prompt	system%
$	UNIX Bourne and Korn shell prompt	system$
#	Superuser prompt, all shells	system#

This manual follows a number of typographic conventions:

• Keys are indicated by their name. For example:

  Press the Return key.

• When you see two key names separated by a dash, press and hold the first key down, then press the second key. For example:

To enter Control-C, press and hold Control, then press C, then release both keys.

• When you see two key names separated by a space, press and release the first key and then press and release the second key. For example:

  To enter Escape B, press and release Escape, then press and release B.

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

  help [word]

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