MacOS TCP/IP networking setup

[AussieSusan]

Running OpenVMS AXP in axpbox that is build natively on MacOS 10.13.6 (High Sierra). I also have the latest Parallels Desktop running Windows and Linux VMs successfully. I want to get the OpenVMS TCPIP software running so that it can connect to my network (and the internet). I have added the following into the es40.cfg file:

pci0.4 = dec21143 { adapter = "bridge0" mac = "08-00-DE-AD-BE-EF" }

When axpbox starts it lists all of the interfaces and asks me to select one: but which? Should I connect direct to 'en1' which is the WiFi interface ('en0' is the Ethernet interface but I don't have an ethernet connection to this iMac) or 'bridge1' which I think is the Parallels bridge. My understanding of networking, especially on the MacOS, is basic at best so if someone has this working I would love to see the correct incantations. Happy to provide any other information but I don't know what at this stage. Susan

[lenticularis39]

If you want to connect the AXPbox VM to the internet, you should choose the Wi-Fi interface (en1) - the VM should then be able to get an IP adress from the AP through DHCP. I'm not sure whether it will work, though - some users reported having problems with connecting to Wi-Fi interfaces on Linux (this might be different on macOS).

[AussieSusan]

Thanks for the suggestion - I tried that (even running axpbox under sudo in case it was a permission issue using libpcap) but no success. I started Parallels and saw that it created a couple of interfaces (vnic0 and vnic1) and tried those as well. I have my ethernet port (en0) bridged to the WiFi (en1) (so that I can connect ethernet devices through the iMac) and that doesn't work. (However I might try creating an AXPBOX system on some other hardware (???RPi4???) that I can connect to the ethernet cable and see if that works!.) Susan

[lenticularis39]

You can also try running AXPbox inside a Parallels VM - networking works in VirtualBox and QEMU, so there's chance it'll work in Parallels.

[gmpalter]

I ran into a similar problem of being prompted for the adapter even though I had specified one in the es40.cfg file. Apparently, the sample config file has a typo. It's missing trailing semi-colons. Your config file should read

pci0.4 = dec21143
{
  adapter = "bridge0";
  mac = "08-00-DE-AD-BE-EF";
}

As others have mentioned, you should be using either en0 or en1 as the adapter. bridge0 is the Thunderbolt bridge that Apple configures on all Macs with multiple Thunderbolt ports.

[lenticularis39]

I ran into a similar problem of being prompted for the adapter even though I had specified one in the es40.cfg file. Apparently, the sample config file has a typo. It's missing trailing semi-colons. Your config file should read

pci0.4 = dec21143
{
  adapter = "bridge0";
  mac = "08-00-DE-AD-BE-EF";
}

As others have mentioned, you should be using either en0 or en1 as the adapter. bridge0 is the Thunderbolt bridge that Apple configures on all Macs with multiple Thunderbolt ports.

Thank you for pointing this out, I fixed it.

[DoktorCranium]

I have managed to run OpenVMS 8.4 2L2 fully networked on the Apple M1 hardware using Parallels instance Debian aarch64 Linux on which axbpox runs. Using a second network interface that Parralles adds to the bridge100 on the Mac - I can connect and interact fully with OpenVMS from the host M1 system. https://twitter.com/astr0baby/status/1416569230074462212

[AussieSusan]

@DoktorCranium - I've just got my M1 iMac. Can you please provide step-by-step guide to what you have done? I'm not quite sure what you mean by the 'second network interface' and how this is used? Also, when I look at the twitter entry you link to, I have tried the 'ifconfig -i bridge100' command but it comes back that 'i' is an illegal option. Susan