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From: tedcrane@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Ted Crane)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: SID Register
Message-ID: <784@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>
Date: Wed, 22-Apr-87 10:51:22 EST
Article-I.D.: batcompu.784
Posted: Wed Apr 22 10:51:22 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 24-Apr-87 23:44:21 EST
References: <8704210709.AA12730@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Reply-To: tedcrane@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu.UUCP (Ted Crane)
Distribution: world
Organization: Program of Computer Graphics, Cornell University
Lines: 28

In article <8704210709.AA12730@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> RAJAH@UREGINA1.BITNET ("A. Mahendra RAJAH") writes:
>
>  The system service SYS$GETSYI would return the system I.D. register value
>  and a whole lots more....

I think A.M.R.'s article was related to my earlier question and summary 
regarding "Identifying your VAX by any means possible."   Since he's not
the first to recently claim that the SID register is usable to identify a VAX...

The documentation of SYS$GETSYI tells you to look at the Hardware Handbook
for info on what is actually returned.  That tome says:
	System type	SID contains
	730		CPU type (i.e., 730), ucode and hardware rev level
	750		CPU type, ucode and hardware rev level
	780		CPU type, eco level, manufacturing plant, serial number
			(but I believe later model 780's didn't make proper
			use of the serial number field)
That's all thats in my copy.  I know from experience that
	uVAX II		SAME value in all machines
I hear that the 8000's also have Rev level informatin in the SID register,
and that the 2000's may have a "real" serial number in theirs.

So, from a practical point of view, you CAN'T use the SID register to uniquely
identify a VAX.  Anyone have more pertinent info on the 8000's?
-- 
- ted crane, alias (tc)
tedcrane@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu          BITNET: tedcrane@CRNLTHRY
tedcrane@squid.tn.cornell.edu            DECnet: GOPHER::THC