4. Hercules Configuration File

4.1 The Configuration File

This chapter describes the configuration file for the Hercules Emulator. By default the configuration file is
named “hercules.cnf” or “hercules.conf”. It is located in the configuration directory, refer to the Hercules
Installation Guide for details of the directory structure. The configuration file contains the processor defini-
tions in the system parameters section, the device layout in the device definitions section and Hercules
runtime parameters also in the system parameters section.

The configuration file - especially the device definition part - is roughly equivalent to the IOCDS definitions
found on a real mainframe environment. It is an ASCII text file that is read and interpreted by the Hercules
Emulator during its initialization phase.

4.2 System Parameters

The system parameters describe the processor definition and some Hercules internal runtime parame-
ters.

The processor definitions include the processor model, CPU serial number, memory configuration and
architecture mode. They describe the processor hardware that is to be emulated.

The Hercules runtime parameters define values that Hercules requires as an emulated environment.
These parameters include values like port numbers, directory paths and priorities.

The following table shows an overview of all valid system parameters. Please note that the availability of
certain system parameters depends on the build options used when Hercules was compiled. For a list of
all build options and the related system parameters please consult “