[HECnet] VAX 4000/500 & DSSI

Hi, It’s been a long while. Slightly off-topic but this is the best DEC group I am still part of so here goes… A friend and I might well be about to rescue a pair of VAX 4000/500 systems. We aren’t sure how much we’ll be able to transport in one go but we have them earmarked at least. Firstly are there any “gotchas” to look out for on these fridge-sized absolute units? I know little aside from what I’ve read in the DEC documentation so far. Secondly, I am aware these are DSSI based systems. We aren’t sure if the owners will release the disks yet as they could insist on retaining them for data destruction. If we lose them are we completely shanghai’d? Are there and modern solutions for DSSI emulation around at non-stupendous (i.e. hobbyist) prices? If we need to net-boot them the what’s the skinny on that? I think you can do it using a SimH VAX and some clustering magic IIRC? All help is greatly appreciated. If we get these I want to put a big effort into saving them and getting them running. I will need a lot of help as I am not at all well versed in VAX hardware. Thanks!