COMPAT_OSF1(8)          NetBSD System Manager's Manual          COMPAT_OSF1(8)

NAME
     compat_osf1 -- setup procedure for running OSF/1 binaries

DESCRIPTION
     NetBSD supports running OSF/1 (a.k.a Digital Unix, a.k.a. Tru64) binaries
     on NetBSD/alpha systems.  Most programs should work, including the ones
     that use the shared object libraries.  Programs that make direct MACH
     system calls will not work.  The OSF/1 compatibility feature is active
     for kernels compiled with the COMPAT_OSF1 option enabled (see
     options(4)).

     To run dynamically linked programs, you will need the OSF/1 shared
     libraries, runtime linker, and certain configuration files found in /etc.
     These are installed in a ``shadow root'' directory called /emul/osf1.
     Any file operations done by OSF/1 programs run under NetBSD will look in
     this directory first, and fall back to the file system proper.  So, if an
     OSF/1 program opens /etc/svc.conf, NetBSD will first try to open
     /emul/osf1/etc/svc.conf, and if that file does not exist it will then try
     /etc/svc.conf.  Shared libraries and configuration specific to OSF/1
     should be installed in the shadow tree.

   Setting up /emul/osf1
     The simple technique is to install pkgsrc/emulators/osf1_lib.  (You may
     also want to install pkgsrc/www/navigator and/or pkgsrc/www/communica-
     tor.)

     Alternatively, if you have access to an OSF/1 machine and if the licens-
     ing details permit, you can copy the contents of:
           /shlib
           /usr/shlib
           /etc/sia
           /usr/lib/X11/locale

     (The latter is required to run Netscape Navigator or Communicator.)

     Also copy
           /etc/svc.conf
           /usr/ccs/lib/cmplrs/otabase/libots.so
           /sbin/loader

     Or, simply NFS mount the appropriate directories under /emul/osf1.

SEE ALSO
     config(1), options(4)

BUGS
     Your hostname(1) must contain a dot or your resolv.conf(5) must contain a
     search line.  Without one of those, the OSF/1 resolver will die and no
     hostname resolution will be possible.

     Certain values in /emul/osf1/etc/svc.conf can cause programs to fail with
     ``Bad system call''.

     Pathnames pointed to by symbolic links are not looked up in the shadow
     root when running an OSF/1 executable.  This is not consistent.

NetBSD 5.0_STABLE              November 4, 1999              NetBSD 5.0_STABLE
