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Archive-name: dec-faq/vms/part4
Posting-Frequency: quarterly
Last-modified: 02 Sep 2005
Version: VMSFAQ_20050902-04.TXT
System Management Information
Rocksoft offers the Veracity data integrity tool (for
info, send mail to demo@rocksoft.com). MD5 tools are
also available.
Tools to scan OpenVMS file systems for Microsoft
Windows infections are and have been available,
including a commercial package from Sophos , and a
port of the open source Clam Antivirus scanner at
http://www.clamav.net/ and with an OpenVMS port at
http://fafner.dyndns.org/~alexey/clamav.zip.
These scanning tools are particularly useful for
systems running Samba or Advanced Server (PATHWORKS),
as these servers tend to have a higher population of
files intended for Microsoft Windows systems users,
and as common virus and worm attacks can find and
infect files on the file shares that these products can
provide. These infections do not target OpenVMS itself,
though the OpenVMS server (and any other platform and
any other server capable of storing files for Windows
systems) can silently host files containing common
Microsoft Windows infections.
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5.3 Sources of OpenVMS security information?
Where can I get information on OpenVMS system security?
o http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/doc
o http://www.blacksheepnetworks.com/security/resources/openvms/
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5.4 How do I mount an ISO-9660 CD on OpenVMS?
ISO-9660 support was added in the following releases:
o OpenVMS VAX V6.0
o OpenVMS AXP V1.5
An add-on ISO-9660 kit was also available for OpenVMS
VAX V5.5, V5.5-1, V5.5-2, and V5.5-2H4. This requires
the installation of the F11CD kit from the InfoServer
CD, from the Consolidated Distribution CD under the
InfoServer area, or the F11CD ECO kit. (Upgrades to V6
and later are strongly recommended.)
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By default, OpenVMS senses the specific type of media.
If you are working with dual-format media-media that
uses both the ODS-2 and ISO-9660 formats on the same
CD-ROM-then MOUNT will first detect and then default
to the ODS-2 format. If you wish to override this and
explicitly mount the media using ISO-9660, use the
command:
$ MOUNT/MEDIA_FORMAT=CDROM device-name[:] [volume-label]
In most circumstances, you will not need nor will
you want to include an explicit /MEDIA_FORMAT
specification. For further information, please refer to
the OpenVMS MOUNT Utility Manual. Particularly note the
information on the MOUNT /MEDIA_FORMAT and /UNDEFINED_
FAT qualifiers.
The MOUNT /UNDEFINED_FAT qualifier is of interest
because ISO-9660 media can be mastered on a wide
variety of operating system platforms, and these
platforms do not necessarily support the semantics
needed for files containing predefined record formats.
The /UNDEFINED_FAT allows you to specify the default
attributes for files accessed from volumes using the
ISO-9660 format.
An example which works for most CD-ROMs is:
$ MOUNT/MEDIA_FORMAT=CDROM/UNDEFINED_FAT=STREAM:2048 DUA0: FREEWARE
This particular MOUNT command forces access to the
CD-ROM media using the ISO-9660 volume structure, and
the use of the MOUNT /UNDEFINED_FAT qualifier causes
any file whose file attributes are "undefined" to be
returned with "stream" attributes with a maximum record
length 2048.
On OpenVMS, the ISO-9660 format is (internally)
considered to be the ODS-3 file structure, while the
High Sierra extensions to the standard are considered
to be the ODS-4 file structure. The Rock Ridge
extensions are not currently available on OpenVMS.
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System Management Information
For details on ODS-1 and ODS-2 file specifications,
see Kirby McCoy's VMS File System Internals Manual
(published by Digital Press, but potentially out of
print), and see:
o http://pdp-11.trailing-edge.com/www/ods1.txt
o Look for the Freeware V5.0 directory ODS2 at
http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
__________________________________________________________
5.5 How do I extract the contents of a PCSI kit?
A growing number of OpenVMS products are being provided
in PCSI (POLYCENTER Software Installation) kits which
are installed using the PRODUCT INSTALL command. These
are alternatives to or replacement for VMSINSTAL kits
which were BACKUP savesets. PCSI kits are not BACKUP
savesets and are structured differently from VMSINSTAL
kits.
If you want to extract product files from a PCSI
kit, create a directory into which the kit should be
expanded and use the following command:
$ PRODUCT COPY prodname /SOURCE=[where-the-kit-is] -
/DEST=[destination-directory] /FORMAT=REFERENCE
A PCSI kit file has a file specification of the
following form:
DEC-VAXVMS-FORTRAN-V0603-141-1.PCSI
In this example, "FORTRAN" is the "prodname". PCSI
will expand the kit files into the directory you
specify and subdirectories beneath such as [SYSEXE],
[SYSLIB], etc., reflecting the eventual destination
of files found there. Most of the actual product
files (images, etc.) will be in the subdirectories.
In the top-level directory will be a file with the
file type PCSI$DESCRIPTION that specifies where various
files should go. For more details, see the POLYCENTER
Software Installation Developer's Guide for OpenVMS,
which can be found in the OpenVMS documentation on the
Consolidated Online Documentation CD-ROM.
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System Management Information
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5.6 Emergency (Conversational) System Startup?
If you need to perform system management operations
on an OpenVMS system and cannot access the system
through normal means-the password on the SYSTEM
username was forgetten and no other privileged
usernames are available, or one or more core system
product authorization key (PAK) software licenses
are unavailable or expired-then you must perform a
conversational (emergency) bootstrap.
Here are the steps:
1 Halt the system. Exactly how this is done depends
on the specific system model: Depending on the
model, this can involve pressing the <HALT> button,
entering <CTRL/P> on the console, or pressing the
<BREAK> key on the console.
2 At the console prompt, use a console command to
boot into the SYSBOOT utility. (SYSBOOT allows
conversational changes to system parameters.) (The
console syntax for the conversational bootstrap
varies by system model and by system architecture-
this typically involves specifying a flag with
the lowest bit set. See Section 14.3.5 for related
details.) For example:
On VAX, use one of the following three commands
depending on the particular model of VAX system
involved:
B/R5:1
B/1
@GENBOO
On Alpha:
b -flags 0,1
If your system has a non-zero system root (such
as root SYSE, shown here), you will have to use a
console command such as the following:
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On VAX:
B/E0000001
B/R5:E0000001
@<console media procedure name varies widely>
On Alpha:
b -flags e,1
On the IA-64 architecture systems, you can establish
and manage an EFI boot alias for a conversational
bootstrap as discussed in Section 14.3.5.1 and
in Section 14.3.10, or you can use VMS_LOADER.EFI
interactively as shown here. Of the core mechanisms
discussed in Section 14.3.5.1, the following uses
an EFI Shell command to perform a conversational
bootstrap of root SYSE via the partition device
fsn:. There are alternative mechanisms available.
fsn:\efi\vms\vms_loader.efi -flags e,1
If your Alpha system has a hardware password
(various systems support a password that prevents
unauthorized access to the console), you will need
to know theis password and will need to enter it
using the LOGIN or similar command at the console.
If you get an "Inv Cmd" error trying to perform a
conversational bootstrap, and you do not have the
hardware console password for the console LOGIN
command, you are stuck-you will need to call for
hardware service for assistance in resetting the
hardware console password. The implementation and
the syntax used for the console password mechanism
does vary by implementation.
3 Once at the SYSBOOT prompt, request that OpenVMS
read the system startup commands directly from the
system console, that the window system (if any)
not be started, and that OpenVMS not record these
particular parameter changes for subsequent system
reboots:
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SET/STARTUP OPA0:
SET WINDOW_SYSTEM 0
SET WRITESYSPARAMS 0
CONTINUE
4 At the $ prompt, the system will now be accepting
startup commands directly from the console. Type the
following two DCL commands:
$ SPAWN
$ @SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP
5 You should now see the dollar ($) prompt of DCL.
The result of these two commands will be the normal
system startup, but you will be left logged in
on the console, running under a fully privileged
username. Without the use of the SPAWN command, you
would be logged out when the startup completes.
Perform the task(s) required, such as resetting
the password on the SYSTEM username as described
in Section 5.6.1 or registering one or more license
product authorization keys (PAKs) as described in
Section 5.6.2.
6 Once you log out of this session, the system will
complete the startup and can be used normally. You
can choose to reboot the system, but that is not
necessary.
Some system managers will suggest a method using
the UAFALTERNATE system parameter rather than the
SET/STARTUP OPA0: command shown. This approach is
not always available and is accordingly less commonly
recommended, as there can easily be an alternate user
authorization database (SYS$SYSTEM:SYSUAFALT.DAT)
configured on the system. With a system manager that
has configured an alternate SYSUAFALT.DAT file, the
UAFALTERNATE method will fail-well, assuming you do
not know the password of a privileged username stored
within SYSUAFALT.DAT, of course.
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The UAFALTERNATE system parameter is used to trigger
what is sometimes known as the console backdoor. The
OPA0: system console is critical to system operations
and system security, and will allow access when the
SYSUAF system authorization database is unavailable
or corrupted, when core product license PAKs are not
registered, expired or disabled (NOLICENSE errors), or
in various other cases of system failures. All this is
in addition to the role of the console in the display
of certain system-critical event messages. Access
to the OPA0: console has a security exposure that is
equivalent to direct access to the system hardware.
When LOGINOUT detects an error (such as a SYSUAF
corruption, by a missing SYSUAF, missing product
licenses, or other trigger), it will prevent access
to the OpenVMS system from all terminals except the
system console. The OPA0: system console will be
allowed access, and the resulting process will be
fully privileged. Resetting the UAFALTERNATE system
parameter-in the absence of an alternate SYSUAF system
authorization database-will cause the console backdoor
to be opened simply because LOGINOUT cannot locate
SYS$SYSTEM:SYSUAFALT.DAT. When the authorization
database cannot be located, access will be granted
from the console only.
For further information on emergency startup and
shutdown, as well as for the official OpenVMS
documentation on how to change the SYSTEM password from
the console in an emergency, please see the OpenVMS
System Manager's Manual in the OpenVMS documentation
set.
For information and recommendations on setting up
OpenVMS system security, please see the NCSC Class
C2 appendix of the Guide to OpenVMS System Security
manual, also in the OpenVMS documentation set.
You can also use the conversational bootstrap technique
shown earlier (the steps until SET/STARTUP) to alter
various system parameters, as well. At the SYSBOOT
prompt, you can enter new parameters values:
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SHOW MAXPROCESSCNT
SET . 64
CONTINUE
The <.> is a shorthand notation used for the last
parameter examined within SYSGEN and SYSBOOT.
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5.6.1 I've forgotten the SYSTEM password - what can I do?
If you have forgotten or do not have the password
for the SYSTEM username, you must perform the
conversational bootstrap as described in Section 5.6,
and must enter the following commands once you have
reached the dollar ($) prompt:
$ SET DEFAULT SYS$SYSTEM: ! or wherever your SYSUAF.DAT resides
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:AUTHORIZE
MODIFY SYSTEM /PASSWORD=newpassword
EXIT
You have now reset the password on the SYSTEM
username.
_____________________________
5.6.2 My product licenses have expired - what can I do?
If you have a system with no licenses for OpenVMS or
for OpenVMS users and thus cannot log into the OpenVMS
system normally, you should be able to log into the
console serial terminal-this is the terminal device
known as OPA0:-and perform the commands necessary.
For systems that are not configured with an accessable
console serial terminal-as can be the case with how
some DECwindows workstations are configured-you
must log in over the network or from a local serial
connection. If you cannot log in over a network
connection (SET HOST, telnet, etc) or from another
local serial terminal connection, you will have to
halt the system and perform a conversational bootstrap
as described in Section 5.6. You must then enter
licensing-related commands once the conversational
bootstrap has reached the dollar ($) prompt.
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Use the following DCL command to invoke a menu that
allows you to manage and to register new or replacement
license PAKs:
$ @SYS$UPDATE:VMSLICENSE
You have now registered the license PAKs. Direct use of
the DCL commands LICENSE and SHOW LICENSE and such is
also obviously available.
If you wish to connect a serial console on your
DECwindows workstation, please see Section 14.3.3.3,
Section 14.3.6, Section 11.10, and Section 14.17.
For information on troubleshooting DECwindows, please
see Section 11.5.
__________________________________________________________
5.7 How do I change the node name of an OpenVMS System?
The first step is to get a BACKUP of the system
disk before making any changes-use the system disk
backup procedures as documented in the OpenVMS System
Management Manual, making sure to use the procedures
and commands appropriate for the system disk.
Changing the node name involves a number of steps-the
node name tends to be imbedded in a number of different
data files around the system.
o Update the SCSNODE in MODPARAMS.DAT, and then run
AUTOGEN as far as the SETPARAMS phase. (Do not
reboot yet.)
o Modify the DECnet node name. (NETCONFIG is the
DECnet Phase IV tool, and NET$CONFIGURE is the
DECnet-Plus tool.)
o Modify the host node name on the various queues in
the queue database. (each queue has a host name,
and it defaults to the SCS node name of the queue's
host system. See the command INIT/QUEUE/ON=node
for information.) Site-specific startup command
procedures can explicitly specify the (local or
even the current) node on the /ON parameter in an
INIT/QUEUE/START/ON= command.
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o Modify the node name saved in any application
databases, or any local node-conditional operations
present in the site-specific system startup, etc.
(SEARCH for the node name, specifying all types of
files.)
o Use the AUTHORIZE utility command RENAME/IDENTIFIER
to rename the SYS$NODE_oldnodename rightslist
identifier to match the new node name. (Do not
change the binary value of this identifier, and
do not delete the identifier.)
If you have erroneously deleted or duplicate the
identifier, you can locate existing references to
the binary identifier value using the Freeware DFU
package, and specifically the commands SEARCH/ACE
and /OWNER. You must (re)create the correctly-named
identifier using the binary value that is often
stored in various Access Control List Entry (ACE)
structures and object owner fields associated with
files and objects present in the OpenVMS system.
o Reset any license PAKs that are restricted to the
old node name to the new node name.
o If the node name is part of a disk volume label, see
Section 5.13.
o Reboot the node or-if in a VMScluster-reboot the
whole VMScluster. (This tends to catch any errors
immediately.)
o Modify the IP node name. (The TCP/IP Services tool
is UCX$CONFIG prior to V5.0, and is TCPIP$CONFIG
in V5.0 and later releases.) Note that TCP/IP
Services ties the IP host name to the current
SCSNODE value within its UCX$CONFIGURATION.DAT or
TCPIP$CONFIGURATION.DAT database. Thus if SCSNODE
is changed, the IP host name reconfiguration must
occur, and the required reconfiguration can occur
only after a system reboot. Accordingly, it is
best to perform the TCP/IP Services host name
reconfiguration step after the reboot.
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There are likely a few other areas where the nodename
will be stored. Local procedures and data files are one
such example, and various sites will have the system
name loaded in the operator control panel via the OCP_
TEXT console environment variable available at the SRM
prompt on some Alpha systems is another.
If the system is configured in a VMScluster and you
change either the SCSNODE or the SCSSYSTEMID-but not
both values-then you will have to reboot the entire
VMScluster. (The VMScluster remembers the mapping
between these two values, and will assume that a
configuration problem has occured if a mismatched
pair appears, and will refuse to let a node with a
mismatched pair join the VMScluster.)
To calculate the correct SCSSYSTEMID value, multiply
the DECnet Phase IV area number by 1024, and add
the DECnet Phase IV node number. For example, the
SCSSYSTEMID value for a DECnet node with address 19.22
is 19478. ((19 * 1024) + 22 = 19478)
This may well have missed one or two configuration
tools (or more!) that are needed at your site-the node
name tends to get stored all over the place, in layered
products, and in local software...
Also see Section 15.6.3 and Section 15.6.4.
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5.8 Why doesn't OpenVMS see the new memory I just added?
When adding memory to an OpenVMS system, you should
check for an existing definition of the PHYSICALPAGES
(OpenVMS VAX) or PHYSICAL_MEMORY (OpenVMS Alpha)
parameter in the SYS$SYSTEM:MODPARAMS.DAT parameter
database, use a text editor to reset the value in the
file to the new correct value as required, and then
perform the following command:
$ @SYS$UPDATE:AUTOGEN GETDATA REBOOT FEEDBACK
This AUTOGEN command will reset various system
parameters based on recent system usage (FEEDBACK),
and it will reset the value for the PHYSICALPAGES
parameter to the new value. It will also reboot the
OpenVMS system.
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PHYSICALPAGES and PHYSICAL_MEMORY can also be used to
deliberately lower the amount of memory available for
use by OpenVMS. This ability can be useful in a few
specific circumstances, such as testing the behaviour
of an application in a system environment with a
particular (lower) amount of system memory available.
PHYSICALPAGES and PHYSICAL_MEMORY can be set to -1 (on
OpenVMS Alpha) or (better and simpler) the entry can be
removed from the MODPARAMS.DAT file, to indicate that
all available memory should be used.
__________________________________________________________
5.9 How do I change the text in a user's UIC identifier?
The text translations of the numeric User
Identification Code (UIC) are based on identifiers
present in the OpenVMS rightslist. Documentation on
this area is included in the _Guide to OpenVMS System
Security_ manual.
To control the identifiers shown for a user's UIC,
you use AUTHORIZE. Each user has an associated group
identifier, and an identifier specific to the user. And
each user should have a unique UIC.
To alter the text of a user or group identifier, use
commands such as:
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:AUTHORIZE
UAF> rename/ident oldgroupid newgroupid
UAF> rename/ident olduserid newuserid
If you should find yourself missing an identifier for
a particular user, you can add one for the user's UIC
using a command such as:
UAF> add/ident/value=uic=[group,user] newuserid
The UIC user identifier text is assigned when the
username is created, and is the text of the username.
The UIC group group identifier is assigned when the
first username is created in the UIC group, and the
text is based on the account name specified for the
first user created in the group. The value of this
identifier is [groupnumber, 177777]. To add a missing
group identifier, use an asterisk as follows:
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UAF> add/ident/value=uic=[group,*] newgroupid
You may find cases where an identifier is missing from
time to time, as there are cases where the creation
of a UIC group name identifier might conflict with
an existing username, or a user identifier might
conflict with an existing group identifier. When these
conflicts arise, the AUTHORIZE utility will not create
the conflicting group and/or user identifier when the
username is created.
You can can add and remove user-specified identifiers,
but you should avoid changing the numeric values
associated with any existing identifiers. You should
also avoid reusing UICs or identifiers when you add
new users, as any existing identifiers that might be
present on objects in the system from the old user will
grant the same access to the new user. Please see the
security manual for details.
__________________________________________________________
5.10__What_are_the_OpenVMS_version upgrade paths?
5.10.1 OpenVMS Alpha Upgrade (or Update) Paths
Note
Upgrade path information here has occasionally
been found to be wrong. Information here does
not reflect cluster rolling upgrade requirements;
see Section 5.10.4 for related rolling upgrade
information; versions permissible for rolling
upgrades can be and often are more constrained.
When upgrade information here conflicts with
the official documentation, please assume that
the information here is wrong. Corrections and
updates to this material are welcome.
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From V1.0,
you can upgrade to V1.5.
From V1.5, or V1.5-1H1,
you can upgrade to V6.1.
From V6.1,
you can upgrade to V6.2.
From V6.1, or V6.2,
you can upgrade to V7.0.
From V6.1, V6.2, V6.2-1H(1,2,3), or V7.0,
you can upgrade to V7.1.
From V6.2,
you can update to V6.2-1H1, V6.2-1H2, or V6.2-1H3.
From V6.2, V6.2-1H(1,2,3), V7.1, V7.1-1H(1,2), or V7.2,
to V7.2-1.
From V6.2, ... or V7.2,
to V7.2-1H1, to 7.3.
From V7.1, you can update to V7.1-1H(1,2), ...
to V7.2-1H1, to 7.3.
From 7.2, 7.2-1, 7.2-1H1, 7.2-2, 7.3 or 7.3-1,
you can upgrade to V7.3-2
From V7.3, V7.2-2, V7.2-1H1, V7.2-1, and V7.1-2,
you can upgrade to V7.3-1
From V7.3-1,
you can upgrade to V7.3-2 or to V8.2.
From V7.3-1 or V7.3-2,
you can upgrade to V8.2.
Some typical OpenVMS Alpha upgrade (or update) paths
are:
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V1.0 -> V1.5 -> V6.1 -> (V6.2, V7.0, V7.1, V7.2, V7.3)
V1.5-1H1 -> V6.1 -> (V6.2, V7.0, V7.1, V7.2, V7.3)
V6.2 -> V6.2-1H3
V6.2 -> V7.2-1
V6.2 -> V7.3
V6.2-1H(1,2,3) -> V7.1
V6.2-1H(1,2,3) -> V7.2-1
V6.2 through 7.1-1H2 inclusive -> V7.3
V7.1 -> V7.1-2
V7.1 -> V7.2-1
V7.1-1H(1,2) -> V7.1-2
V7.1-1H(1,2) -> V7.2-1
V7.1-2 -> V7.3-1
V7.2 -> V7.2-1H1
V7.2 -> V7.3 -> V7.3-1
V7.2-1 -> (V7.3, V7.3-1)
V7.2-2 -> (V7.3, V7.3-1, V7.3-2)
V7.3 -> (V7.3-1, V7.3-2)
V7.3-1 -> (V7.3-2, V8.2)
V7.3-2 -> V8.2
Note that OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 does not include support
for hardware and/or configurations first supported in
OpenVMS Alpha V6.2-1H1, V6.2-1H2, or V6.2-1H3; one must
upgrade to OpenVMS Alpha V7.1, or later.
One cannot update directly to a V6.2-1Hx Limited
Hardware Release (LHR) from any release prior to the
baseline V6.2 release. The same prohibition holds
for performing updates directly to V7.1-1Hx from
any release prior to V7.1-this is not supported, and
does not produce the expected results. The LHR kits
can, however, be directly booted and can be directly
installed, without regard to any operating system that
might be present on the target disk.
Users of OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-1H1, V7.1-1H2, V7.2-1H1 or
other hardware are encouraged to upgrade to the next
available non-hardware-release, and should preferably
upgrade to the current or to a supported OpenVMS Alpha
release.
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OpenVMS Alpha updates for LHRs (through V7.1-1Hx)
require the use of VMSINSTAL for the update. These
LHR releases use PCSI for the installation, but not for
the update. Non-LHR releases use PCSI for installs and
upgrades.
OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later use PCSI for LHRs
and for OpenVMS upgrades and for all OpenVMS ECO
kit installations; V7.1-2 and later use upgrades and
not updates. VMSINSTAL OpenVMS ECO kits (updates) are
not used on OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later; prior to
V7.1-2, VMSINSTAL-based ECO (update) kits are used for
OpenVMS.
_____________________________
5.10.2 OpenVMS I64 Upgrade Paths
Note
Upgrade path information here has occasionally
been found to be wrong. Information here does
not reflect cluster rolling upgrade requirements;
see Section 5.10.4 for related rolling upgrade
information; versions permissible for rolling
upgrades can be and often are more constrained.
When upgrade information here conflicts with
the official documentation, please assume that
the information here is wrong. Corrections and
updates to this material are welcome.
From V8.2
you can upgrade to V8.2-1
Some typical OpenVMS I64 upgrade (or update) paths are:
V8.2 -> V8.2-1
OpenVMS I64 V8.2 is the first production release.
OpenVMS I64 V8.0 and V8.1 were intended for early
adopters of OpenVMS on Integrity servers, and are not
considered to be production releases.
To utilize OpenVMS I64 V8.2, you must perform a full
installation of V8.2. No supported upgrade path to
V8.2 is available from previous releases; there is no
upgrade from OpenVMS I64 E8.2, nor from the earlier
V8.1 or V8.0 releases.
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_____________________________
5.10.3 OpenVMS VAX Release Upgrade Paths
Note
Upgrade path information here has occasionally
been found to be wrong. Information here does
not reflect cluster rolling upgrade requirements;
see Section 5.10.4 for related rolling upgrade
information; versions permissible for rolling
upgrades can be and often are more constrained.
When upgrade information here conflicts with
the official documentation, please assume that
the information here is wrong. Corrections and
updates to this material are welcome.
From V5.0 through V5.4-3 inclusive, one can upgrade to V5.5.
From V5.5, V5.5-1, or V5.5-2HW, one can upgrade to V5.5-2.
From V5.5, V5.5-1, or V5.5-2, one can upgrade to V6.0.
From V5.5-2, V5.5-2H4, or V6.0, one can upgrade to V6.1.
From V6.0, or V6.1, one can upgrade to V6.2.
From V6.1, or V6.2, one can upgrade to V7.0.
From V6.1, V6.2, or V7.0, one can upgrade to V7.1.
From V6.1, one can upgrade to V7.3 (with VAXBACK ECO for V6.1).
Some typical OpenVMS VAX upgrade paths are:
V5.x -> V5.5 -> V6.0 -> V6.2 -> (V7.1, V7.2, V7.3)
V5.5-2HW -> V5.5-2
V5.5-2, or V5.5-2H4 -> V6.1 -> (V6.2, V7.0, or V7.1)
V6.1 -> V6.1 with VAXBACK ECO -> (V7.2, V7.3)
V6.2 -> V7.2
V6.2 -> V7.3
Note that OpenVMS VAX V6.0 does not include support for
hardware and/or configurations first added in OpenVMS
VAX V5.5-2H4, one must upgrade to OpenVMS VAX V6.1.
Note that OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2HW is a pre-release version
of V5.5-2. Any system running it should be upgraded to
V5.5-2, or later.
If you attempt a direct upgrade from OpenVMS VAX V6.1
to V7.2 or later without having first applied the
VAXBACK ECO kit to your V6.1 system, you will receive
an error message:
%BACKUP-E-INVRECTYP, invalid record type in save set
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and the upgrade will fail. Acquire and apply the
VAXBACK ECO kit for OpenVMS VAX V6.1. OpenVMS VAX V6.2
and later do not require an application of an ECO for
an upgrade to V7.2 and later.
_____________________________
5.10.4 OpenVMS Cluster Rolling Upgrade Paths
Rolling Upgrades permit the OpenVMS Cluster and the
applications to remain available while individual
systems are being upgraded to a new OpenVMS release.
Rolling Upgrades require multiple system disks.
OpenVMS Cluster Rolling Upgrades for OpenVMS
Alpha, OpenVMS I64 and OpenVMS VAX may (will)
have architecture-specific, or additional upgrade
requirements or prerequisites, and have requirements
around which versions and architectures of OpenVMS can
coexist within a OpenVMS Cluster than what are listed
here.
For specific details on Rolling Upgrades, please see
the OpenVMS Upgrade and Installation Manual for the
particular release, and the OpenVMS Software Product
Descriptions for OpenVMS and for OpenVMS Cluster
software:
o http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx,
and SPD 82.35.xx.
for further details on the Rolling Upgrade, and for
support information.
_____________________________
5.10.5 OpenVMS VAX Manual Organization
The documentation for older releases of OpenVMS VAX
was comprised of various platform-specific manuals,
manuals that include instructions that are specific
to installing and upgrading on the particular VAX
platform. These older manuals can be useful for
learning platform- or console-specific operations
or requirements for the particular (and older) VAX
platform.
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There is far less console command syntax, and console
storage media variability, among the more recent Alpha
and Integrity processors. The newer platform operator
and management interfaces are far more consistent
across the platform lines.
_____________________________
5.10.6 OpenVMS Product Version and Support Information
For information on Prior Version Support (PVS) and
Mature Product Support (including information on
support end dates for OpenVMS and various layered
products), please see the support resources link
available at the main OpenVMS website or the services
links available at the main services website:
o http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/
o http://www.hp.com/go/services
And see the following links, with the caveat that the
direct "/hps" links shown here may become stale:
o http://www.hp.com/hps/os/os_pvs.html
o http://www.hp.com/hps/os/os_ovms.html
For information on the supported and required versions
of layered products, and the minimum required layered
product versions for various configurations, please see
the Software Rollout Report (SWROLL), available at:
o http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/os/swroll/
For additional related information, see Section 2.6.1.
For information on the release history of OpenVMS,
including information on the code names of various
releases and the major features:
o http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/os/openvms-
release-history.html
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Additional release history information, as well as a
variety of other trivia, is available in the VAX 20th
anniversary book:
o http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/20th/vmsbook.pdf
_____________________________
5.10.7 OpenVMS Alpha and I64 Upgrade Terminology
OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64 use the POLYCENTER
Software Product Install Utility, occasionly refered to
as SPIU and rather more commonly known as PCSI. PCSI
is a component of the OpenVMS operating system, and is
available on OpenVMS VAX, OpenVMS Alpha, and OpenVMS
I64.
The following terms apply to OpenVMS Alpha and to
OpenVMS I64 Upgrades and Installations using PCSI:
o UPDATE: Typically used for Limited Hardware Releases
(LHR) releases. Performed via VMSINSTAL. Applies
only to the OpenVMS release that the LHR is based
on, or to an intermediate LHR. (eg: V7.1-1H2 applies
only to V7.1-1H1 and to V7.1, not to any other
releases.) LHRs within a series are cumulative,
containing all files and features of previous LHRs
in the same series.
VMSINSTAL-based Updates and VMSINSTAL-based ECO
kits are not generally used to upgrade OpenVMS on
releases of OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later, nor are
thse used on OpenVMS I64; only PCSI-based Upgrades
and Installs are used. VMSINSTAL remains available
for other uses and other products; for upgrades and
installations of products other than OpenVMS itself.
o UPGRADE: Performed via PCSI. Upgrades can typically
be applied directly to a release-specific range
of earlier OpenVMS releases. The product release
documentation specifies the prior OpenVMS releases;
if your release is not one of the specified
releases, you will have to perform one or more
additional upgrades (through intermediate OpenVMS
releases) to reach one of the prerequisite releases.
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o INSTALL: Performed via PCSI. With an installation,
no existing version of the operating system is
assumed present, nor are any files from any copy of
the operating system might be present preserved, and
the entire contents of the target disk are destroyed
via a disk initialization.
o PRESERVE: Performed via PCSI. Otherwise similar
to an installation, this option skips the disk
reinitialization. User files on the target disk
are preserved. Any existing operating system files
on the target disk are clobbered.
o LHR: Limited Hardware Release. LHRs are specific to
and are targeted at new hardware configurations, and
are not shipped to customers with support contracts.
At least one LHR kit must be specifically acquired
when purchasing new hardware, new hardware that
is not (yet) supported by any mainline (non-LHR)
release. LHRs have an "H" in the OpenVMS version
string, indicating a "Hardware" release.
You will not generally want to continue using an LHR
once a subsequent OpenVMS release is available; you
will want to upgrade off the LHR at your earliest
convenience.
For minimum OpenVMS versions for various platforms, see
Section 2.12.
__________________________________________________________
5.11 Why do I have a negative number in the pagefile reservable
pages?
Seeing a negative number in the reservable pages
portion of the SHOW MEMORY/FULL command can be normal
and expected, and is (even) documented behaviour. A
pagefile with a negative number of reservable pages
is overcommitted, which is generally goodness assuming
that every process with reserved pages does not try to
occupy all of the reserved pagefile space at the same
time.
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To understand how the pagefile reservation process
works, think about how a traditional bank operates when
accepting customer deposits and making loans. It's the
same idea with the pagefile space. There is less money
in the bank vault than the total deposits, because much
of the money has been loaned out to other customers
of the bank. And the behaviour parallels that of the
pagefile down to the problems that a "run on the bank"
can cause for banking customers. (Though there is no
deposit insurance available for pagefile users.)
If all of the running applications try to use the
reserved space, the system manager will need to enlarge
the pagefile or add one or more additional pagefules.
To determine if the pagefile is excessively
overcommitted, watch for "double overcommitment"-
when the reservable space approaches the negatation
of the available total space-and watch that the
total amount of free space available in the pagefile
remains adequate. If either of these situations arises,
additional pagefile storage is required.
Additional pagefile information: Additional pagefiles
can typically be created and connected on a running
OpenVMS system. New processes and new applications will
tend to use the new pagefile, and existing applications
can be restarted to migrate out of the more congested
pagefiles. Pagefiles are generally named PAGEFILE.SYS,
and multiple pagefiles are generally configured on
separate disk spindles to spread the paging I/O load
across the available disk storage. When multiple
pagefiles are present on recent OpenVMS versions, each
pagefile file should be configured to be approximately
the same total size as the other pagefiles.
For additional information on pagefile operations
and related commands, see the system management
and performance management manuals in the OpenVMS
documentation set.
With OpenVMS V7.3 and later, the displays have been
changed and these negative values are no longer
visible.
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__________________________________________________________
5.12 Do I have to update layered products when updating
OpenVMS?
The Software Public Rollout Reports for OpenVMS list
the current and future availability of HP software
products shipping on the OpenVMS Software Products
Library kits (CDROM consolidations) for OpenVMS Alpha
and/or OpenVMS VAX. Specifically, the required minimum
versions for product support are listed.
Comprehensive Public Rollout Information, listing
previous product versions as well as currently shipping
versions, has been compiled into a separate set of
reports. The product information is grouped to show
Operating System support.
You may or may not be able to use older versions of
local applications, third-party products, and various
HP OpenVMS layered products with more recent versions
of OpenVMS. User-mode code is expected to be upward
compatible. Code executing in a privileged processor
mode-typically either executive or kernel mode-may
or may not be compatible with more recent OpenVMS
versions.
These Software Rollout (SWROLL) Reports are updated
regularly. Please see:
o http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/os/swroll/
For related information, see Section 2.6.1.
__________________________________________________________
5.13 How do I change the volume label of a disk?
Dismount the disk, and mount it privately. If the disk
is mounted by more than one node in an OpenVMS Cluster,
dismount it from all other nodes. If this disk is an
OpenVMS system disk, shut down all other nodes that are
bootstrapped from this disk.
Issue the SET VOLUME/LABEL command, specifying the new
label.
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On OpenVMS V6.0 and later, issue the following PCSI
command to reset the label information stored within
the PCSI database to reflect the new disk volume label:
$ PRODUCT REGISTER VOLUME old-label device
Locate any references in the system startup (typically
including the disk MOUNT commands) and any DISK$label
references in application files, and change the
references appropriately.
If this is a system disk (for the host or for a
satellite), also check the DECnet MOP or LANCP boot
database, as well as any references to the disk created
by CLUSTER_CONFIG*.COM.
If Compaq Analyze is in use, check the system startup
procedures for the Compaq Analyze tool. Certain
versions of Compaq Analyze will record specific disk
volume labels within the startup procedures.
Remount the disk appropriately.
__________________________________________________________
5.14 How can I set up a shared directory?
To set up a shared directory-where all files created
in the directory are accessible to the members of
specified group of users-you can use an access control
list (ACL) and an identifier.
The following also shows how to set up a resource
identifier, which further allows the disk resources
to be charged to the specified identifier rather than
each individual user. (If you don't want this, then
omit the attributes option on the identifier creation
and omit the entry added in the disk quota database.
Add an identifier using the AUTHORIZE utility:
ADD/IDENTIFER/ATTRIBUTES=RESOURCE groupidentifier
Grant the identifier to each user in the group using
AUTHORIZE:
GRANT/IDENTIFIER groupidentifier username
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If disk quotas are in use, add an entry via SYSMAN for
each disk:
DISKQUOTA ADD groupidentifier -
/PERMQUOTA=pq/OVERDRAFT=od/DEVICE=ddcu:
Set the shared directory to have an ACL similar to the
following using the SET SECURITY (V6.0 and later) or
SET ACL (versions prior to V6.0) command:
(DEFAULT_PROTECTION,S:RWED,O:RWED,G,W)
(IDENTIFIER=groupidentifier,OPTIONS=DEFAULT,-
ACCESS=READ+WRITE+EXECUTE+DELETE)
(IDENTIFIER=groupidentifier, -
ACCESS=READ+WRITE+EXECUTE+DELETE)
(CREATOR,ACCESS=READ+WRITE+ACCESS+DELETE)
If there are files already resident in the directory,
set their protections similarly. (The OPTIONS=DEFAULT,
DEFAULT_PROTECTION, and CREATOR ACEs apply to
directories.)
The default protection mask is used to establish
the default file protection mask, this mask does not
prevent the users holding the specified groupidentifier
from accessing the file(s), as they can access the file
via the explicit identifier granting access that is
present in the ACL.
For further information, see the OpenVMS Guide to
System Security Manual, specifically the sections on
ACLs and identifiers, and resource identifiers.
__________________________________________________________
5.15 Why do I get extra blank pages on my HP Printer?
For information on configuring telnet print symbiont,
on device control libraries such as SYSDEVCTL.TLB, and
for ways of dealing with the extra blank pages that can
arise on various HP printers, please see the OpenVMS
Ask The Wizard area, starting particularly with topic
(1020):
o http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/
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For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The
Wizard (ATW) area and for a pointer to the available
ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see Section 3.8.
There are a variety of discussions of this and of
related printing topics in the Ask The Wizard area,
in addition to topic (1020).
Also see Section 5.34.
__________________________________________________________
5.16 Drivers and Configuration of New Graphics Controllers?
This section contains information on various
graphics controllers supported by OpenVMS Alpha, and
specifically information on where and how to obtain
device drivers for specific early OpenVMS releases-
device drivers for controllers are integrated into
and shipped with OpenVMS Alpha, but versions of
these device drivers are sometimes made available for
specific earlier OpenVMS releases.
_____________________________
5.16.1 The ELSA GLoria Synergy
On OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2, V7.2, and V7.2-1, acquire the
appropriate GRAPHICS PCSI kit, and all prerequisite
OpenVMS ECO kits:
o VMS712_GRAPHICS-V0300 or later
o VMS72_GRAPHICS-V0100 or later
o VMS712_GRAPHICS-V0300 or later
The ELSA GLoria Synergy is the PBXGK-BB; the PowerStorm
3D10T. Please ensure you have the most current ECOs
for this and other graphics controllers installed;
check for and install the current GRAPHICS kit. (See
Section 4.3.2 for some unexpectedly related details.)
On OpenVMS Alpha V7.2-1, the files necessary for this
graphics controller are located in the distribution
CD-ROM directory:
DISK$ALPHA0721:[ELSA.KIT]
Also check for any available (later) ECO kits.
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An earlier kit (ALP4D20T01_071) (for V7.1, V7.1-
1H1, and V7.1-1H2) was once available, but has been
superceded and is not recommended. Use of V7.1-2
or later (and use of one the above GRAPHICS kits as
required) is typically the best approach.
OpenVMS V7.2-2 and later mainline releases directly
support the controller.
Additional information is available in topics (3419)
and (5448) in the Ask The Wizard area:
o http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/
For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The
Wizard (ATW) area and for a pointer to the available
ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see Section 3.8.
Support for the ELSA GLoria Synergy is integrated into
all current OpenVMS Alpha releases.
_____________________________
5.16.2 PowerStorm 300, PowerStorm 350
The PowerStorm 300 is the PBXGD-AC, while the
PowerStorm 350 is the PBXGD-AE.
For support of the PowerStorm 300 and PowerStorm 350
graphics controllers, acquire and install the following
available ECO kits:
For OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2:
o DEC-AXPVMS-VMS712_P350-V0100-4 or later
o DEC-AXPVMS-VMS712_GRAPHICS-V0300-4 or later
For OpenVMS Alpha V7.2-1:
o DEC-AXPVMS-VMS721_P350-V0100-4 or later
o DEC-AXPVMS-VMS721_GRAPHICS-V0300-4 or later
Support for the PowerStorm 300 and PowerStorm 350
series graphics controllers is integrated into current
OpenVMS Alpha releases.
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_____________________________
5.16.3 PowerStorm 3D30, PowerStorm 4D20
PowerStorm 3D30 (PBXGB-AA), PowerStorm 4D20 (PBXGB-
CA) information is available in Ask The Wizard topics
including topic (2041):
o http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/
For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The
Wizard (ATW) area and for a pointer to the available
ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see Section 3.8.
_____________________________
5.16.4 Radeon 7500
Install the current GRAPHICS ECO kit for OpenVMS Alpha
V7.2-2 or V7.3-1 for support of the Radeon 7500 series
PCI and AGP graphics controllers.
Support for this controller (without an ECO kit) is
first integrated into and available in OpenVMS Alpha
V7.3-2. (Please do always install the most current
GRAPHICS ECO kit whenever one is available, however.)
__________________________________________________________
5.17 How can I acquire OpenVMS patches, fixes, and ECOs?
You can acquire and download kits containing OpenVMS
fixes (ECOs) for various releases, as well as related
support information, via the ITRC support center:
o http://www.itrc.hp.com/
o ftp://ftp.itrc.hp.com/openvms_patches/
Some systems with Internet firewalls may/will have
to use passive mode FTP to access the above sites.
Assuming recent/current versions of the TCP/IP Services
package, the DCL FTP command necessary is:
$ DIRECTORY/FTP/ANONYMOUS/PASSIVE ftp.itrc.hp.com::
You can subscribe to an email notification list at the
ITRC site.
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For a list of OpenVMS ECO kits recently released, you
can use:
o http://Eisner.DECUS.org/conferences/OpenVMS-patches_
new_1.HTML
Examples and ECO kit installation instructions are
included in the cover letter. For ECO kit email
notifications, lists of available ECO kits, cover
letters and other associated documentation, look in:
o http://www.itrc.hp.com/
o ftp://ftp.itrc.hp.com/openvms_patches/
For additional information, please see Section 5.17.
Do NOT attempt to install a VMSINSTAL-based OpenVMS
ECO kit on OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later. While
VMSINSTAL itself remains available, it is not used
for OpenVMS Alpha ECO kits starting in OpenVMS Alpha
V7.1-2. OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later use PCSI for
OpenVMS ECO kits.
See Section 5.30 for information on ECO kit checksums.
__________________________________________________________
5.18 How do I move the queue manager database?
To move the location of the queue database, the
SYS$QUEUE_MANAGER.QMAN$QUEUES and SYS$QUEUE_
MANAGER.QMAN$JOURNAL files, to a disk that is fast(er),
has plenty of free space, and that is not heavily used.
If the queue database is on a (busy) OpenVMS system
disk, you can and probably should move it off the
system disk to another disk spindle.
To move the queue database:
1 Checkpoint the journal file. This reduces the file
size to the in-memory database size. This will cause
the noted delay.
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:JBC$COMMAND
JBC$COMMAND> DIAG 0 7
2 Stop the queue manager
$ STOP/QUEUE/MANAGER/CLUSTER
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3 Backup the .QMAN$QUEUES and .QMAN$JOURNAL files from
the present location for safety.
$ backup SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE]SYS$QUEUE_MANAGER.QMAN$* DISK:[DIR]
4 Create a new directory for the queue database.
Insure that this disk is accessible to all nodes
that can run the queue manager. If the /ON list for
the queue manager is "/ON=(*)", the disk must be
available to all nodes in the cluster
$ CREATE/DIR fast_disk:[qman]
5 Copy the .QMAN$QUEUES and .QMAN$JOURNAL files to the
new directory
$ copy SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE]SYS$QUEUE_MANAGER.QMAN$* fast_disk:[qman]
6 Delete the old queue database.
$ DELETE SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE]SYS$QUEUE_MANAGER.QMAN$*;*
7 Restart the queue manager pointing to the new
location
$ START/QUEUE/MANAGER fast_disk:[qman]
__________________________________________________________
5.19 How do I delete an undeletable/unstoppable (RWAST)
process?
"Undeleteable" jobs are usually "undeleteable" for
a reason-this can track back to insufficient process
quotas, to a kernel-mode error in OpenVMS or a third-
party device driver, or to other odd problems.
These undeletable jobs typically become of interest
because they are holding onto a particular resource
(eg: tape drive, disk drive, communications widget)
that you need to use... If the particular device
supports firmware, ensure that the device firmware
is current - TQK50 controllers are known for this when
working with old firmware. (That, and the infamous
"MUA4224" firmware bug.) If this device has a driver
ECO kit available, acquire and apply it... If the
particular relevant host component has an ECO, acquire
and apply it.
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Useful tools include SDA (to see what might be going
on) and DECamds (which increase and thus potentially
fix quota-related problems). (nb: Applications with
quota leaks will obviously not stay fixed.)
If the stuck application is BACKUP, ensure you have the
current BACKUP ECO and are directly following the V7.1
or (better) V7.2 or later process quota recommendations
for operator BACKUP accounts. Quota details are in the
OpenVMS System Manager's Manual.
If the firmware and ECO levels are current, the best
approach is to take a system crashdump, and pass a copy
of the dump file along to whomever is maintaining the
device driver for the particular device/widget/driver
involved, with any details on how you got into this
situation. (The reboot involved with taking the
crashdump will obviously clear the problem.)
There was some kernel-mode code (typically for OpenVMS
VAX) that can reset the device ownership field, but
that is rather obviously only an interim solution-
the real fix is avoiding the loss of the IRP, the
process quota leak, or whatever else is "jamming up"
this particular process...
__________________________________________________________
5.20 How do I reset the error count(s)?
The system reboot is the only supported approach prior
to V7.3-2, but a reboot is obviously undesirable in
various situations-there is presently no supported
mechanism to reset error counts once the error(s) have
been logged on these older releases. On V7.3-2 and
later, you can use the DCL command:
$ SET DEVICE/RESET=ERROR_COUNT
As for an unsupported approach-and be aware of the
potential for triggering a system crash, you need
to determine the system address of the error count
field. For a device, this is at an offset within the
device's UCB structure. On VAX, the field is at an
offset symbolically defined as UCB$W_ERRCNT. On Alpha,
this field's offset is symbolically defined as UCB$L_
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ERRCNT. The former is a word in size; the latter is a
longword.
You now need to locate the system address of the UCB$%_
ERRCNT field of the device you wish to reset. Enter
SDA. In the following, you will see designations in
{} separated by a /. The first item in braces is to be
used on the VAX and the second item should be used on
an Alpha. (ie. {VAX/Alpha})
$ ANALYZE/SYSTEM
SDA> READ SYS${SYSTEM/LOADABLE_IMAGES}:SYSDEF.STB
SDA> ! SHOW DEVICE the device with the error(s)
SDA> SHOW DEVICE <ddnc:>
SDA> EVALUATE UCB+UCB${W/L}_ERRCNT
Hex = hhhhhhhh Decimal = -dddddddddd UCB+offset
Record the hexadecimal value 'hhhhhhhh' returned.
You can now exit from SDA and $ RUN SYS$SHARE:DELTA or
do what I prefer to do, issue the following:
SDA> SPAWN RUN SYS$SHARE:DELTA
On both VAX and Alpha, the DELTA debugger will be
invoked and will ident- ify itself. On Alpha, there
will be an Alpha instruction decoded. For those
unfamiliar with DELTA, it does not have a prompt and
only one error message-Eh? (Well, for sake of argument,
there might be another error produced on the console if
you're not careful. This second error is more commonly
known as a system crash.)
If you are on a VAX, enter the command: [W
If you are on Alpha, enter the command: [L
These set the prevailing mode to word and longword
respectively. Remem- ber the UCB${W/L)_ERRCNT
differences?
Now issue the command 1;M
DELTA will respond with 00000001
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You are now poised to ZAP the error count field. To do
so you need to en- ter the system address and view its
contents. The format of the command to do this is of
the form:
IPID:hhhhhhhh/
For an IPID, use the IPID of the SWAPPER process. It is
always: 00010001
Thus, to ZAP the error count, you would enter:
00010001:hhhhhhhh/
When you enter the / SDA will return the content of
the address hhhhhhhh. This should be the error count
(in hexadecimal) of the device in question. If it is
not, you did something wrong and I'd suggest you type a
carriage return and then enter the command EXIT to get
out of DELTA. Regroup and see where your session went
awry.
If you entered your address correctly and the error
count was returned as in the following example, you can
proceed.
00010001:80D9C6C8/0001 ! output on VAX, 1 error
00010001:80D9C6C8/00000001 ! output on Alpha, 1 error
You can now ZAP the error count by entering a zero and
typing a carriage return. For example:
00010001:80D9C6C8/0001 0<return> ! output on VAX. 1 error
00010001:80D9C6C8/00000001 0<return> ! output on Alpha, 1 error
Now type the command EXIT and a carriage return.
Alternatively, reboot the system.
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__________________________________________________________
5.21 How do I find out if the tape drive supports compression?
For various SCSI-based MK-class magnetic tape devices:
$ Devdepend2 = F$GETDVI("$n$MKcxxx:","DEVDEPEND2")
$ Comp_sup = %X00200000
$ Comp_ena = %X00400000
$ IF (Devdepend2.AND.Comp_sup).EQ.Comp_sup THEN -
WRITE SYS$OUTPUT "Compression supported"
$ IF (Devdepend2.AND.Comp_ena).EQ.Comp_ena THEN -
WRITE SYS$OUTPUT "Compression enabled"
__________________________________________________________
5.22 Can I copy SYSUAF to another version? To VAX? To Alpha?
The format of the SYSUAF.DAT, RIGHTSLIST, and
associated files are upward-compatible, and compatible
across OpenVMS VAX, OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64
systems. (This compatibility is a a basic requirement
of mixed-version OpenVMS Cluster configurations and
OpenVMS upgrades-for specific support information,
please see the OpenVMS Cluster rolling upgrade and
mixed-version requirements.) That said, it's the
contents of the SYSUAF and RIGHTSLIST files that will
make this more interesting.
The same basic steps necessary for moving RIGHTSLIST
and SYSUAF files to another node are rather similar
to the steps involved in merging these files in an
OpenVMS Cluster-see the appendix of the OpenVMS Cluster
documentation for details of merging files. (You might
not be merging the contents of two (or more) files, but
you are effectively merging the contents of the files
into the target system environment.)
Considerations:
o applications often hold SYSUAF or RIGHTSLIST open,
meaning a system reboot is often the best way to
activate new files.
o the meanings of the RESTRICTED and CAPTIVE flags
settings on the UAF entries have changed over time.
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o the new NET$PROXY.DAT file that is initially created
based on the contents of the NETPROXY.DAT during the
OpenVMS VAX V6.1 upgrade and during the OpenVMS
Alpha V6.2 upgrade. This file is maintained in
parallel with NETPROXY.DAT.
o the RIGHTSLIST identifier values and UIC values that
end up scattered around the target system must be
rationalized with the contents of the new RIGHTSLIST
and SYSUAF files.
The lattermost case-resolving the identifier values-
is often the most interesting and difficult part. If
you find that an identifier value (or identifier name)
from the source RIGHTSLIST collides with that of an
identifier existing on the target system, you must
first determine if the two identifiers perform the
same function. In most cases, they will not. As such,
you will have to find and chance all references to
the identifier value(s) (or name(s)) to resolve the
"collision".
If you encounter a collision, changing both of the
identifier binary values (or names) involved in
the collision to new and unique values can prevent
security problems if you should miss a couple of
identifiers embedded somewhere on the target system
during the whole conversion process-rather than the
wrong alphanumeric value for the identifier being
displayed, you'll simply see the binary format for
the identifier displayed, and no particular access
will be granted. And any DCL commands or such that
reference the old alphanumeric name will fail, rather
than silently (and potentially erroneously) succeeding.
Similar requirements exist for UIC values, as these too
tend to be scattered all over the system environment.
Like the binary identifier values, you will find UIC
values associated with disks, ACLs, queues, and various
other structures.
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For a list of the various files shared in an OpenVMS
Cluster and that can be involved when relocating
an environment from one node to another (or merging
environments into an OpenVMS Cluster), please see the
SYLOGICALS.TEMPLATE file included in OpenVMS V7.2 and
later releases.
Procedures to extract the contents of a (potentially
corrupt) queue database are provided on the OpenVMS
Freeware (V5) and can be used to combine two queue
databases together while shuffling files between
OpenVMS Cluster hosts.
For related discussions of splitting a cluster into two
or for removing a node from cluster (political divorce,
etc), see topics (203), (767), (915) and others in the
Ask The Wizard area:
o http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/
For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The
Wizard (ATW) area and for a pointer to the available
ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see Section 3.8.
__________________________________________________________
5.23 How do I delete (timeout) idle processes?
There is no such command integrated within OpenVMS,
though there are (optional) timers available within
certain terminal servers and similar devices, and there
is an integrated time-of-day mechanism that provides
control over when a user can access OpenVMS.
As for available tools, there are DECUS, freeware,
and third-party tools known variously as "idle process
killers" (IPK) or "terminal timeout" programs, as well
as various other names. Examples include: Saiga Systems
Hitman, Watchdog, MadGoat Watcher (via the MadGoat
site or the OpenVMS Freeware), Kblock, the Networking
Dynamics tool known as Assassin, and the Zap tool.
Also available is the XLNperformance system management
utility, from XLNsystems.
A related package (for DECwindows sessions) is
xtermlock.
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If the forgetful users are in an application menu
environment, the menu can potentially be extended to
provide this capability.
__________________________________________________________
5.24 Do I need a PAK for the DECevent (HP Analyze) tool?
DECevent and HP (Compaq) Analyze are available to
customers with support contracts. The PAK is required
only for the advanced functions of DECevent, the basic
bits-to-text translation of the error log does not
require a license PAK. Ignore the prompt, in other
words. (The PAK should be available to you if you have
a hardware support contract or warrantee, and the PAK
enables the use of the advanced error analysis and
notification capabilities within DECevent.)
Please see the following website for details and
downloads: Analyze)
o http://www.compaq.com/support/svctools/
Also see the tool that is available on V7.3-2 and
later.
$ ANALYZE/ERROR/ELV
__________________________________________________________
5.25 INITIALIZE ACCVIO and ANSI tape label support?
A change was made (back in 1988) to (as it was then
known) VAX/VMS V5.1-1 that added support for the then-
new ANSI X3.27-1987 magnetic tape label standard. Prior
to the ANSI X3.27-1987 standard, the date field in the
ANSI HDR1 record permits dates only as far as the end
of Year 1999. With ANSI X3.27-1987, dates through Year
1999 and dates from Years 2000 to 2099 are permitted.
Versions of INIT.EXE and MTAACP.EXE from VAX/VMS
releases prior to V5.1-1 will potentially have problems
properly processing ANSI magnetic tapes when Y2K and
later dates are involved-the DCL INITIALIZE command is
known to encounter access violation (ACCVIO) errors.
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The available solutions include upgrades, or setting
the date back. Direct initialization of the tape with
the new headers (via $qio) is also clearly possible,
though the limitation within the old MTAACP.EXE magtape
ACP image is not nearly so easy to bypass.
__________________________________________________________
5.26 How do I recover from INSVIRMEM errors?
Prior to OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 and on all OpenVMS VAX
releases, VIRTUALPAGECNT and PGFLQUOTA limit the amount
of virtual address space that is available to each
process.
Further limiting the amount of address space is the
size of system space (S0 and S1 space). On OpenVMS
Alpha versions prior to V7.0 and on all OpenVMS VAX
releases, VIRTUALPAGECNT and MAXPROCESSCNT together
determine the size of the page table data structures
that occupy large tracts of system space. When no
system virtual address space is available for the stuff
that needs it-this includes the page tables, non-paged
pool, and various other structures-then the values of
VIRTUALPAGECNT and MAXPROCESSCNT cannot be increased.
In OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 and later, the page table data
structures have been moved out of S0 and S1 space and
into page table space. In OpenVMS Alpha V7.2 and later,
certain large data structures found in non-paged pool
(eg: lock management structures) have been moved into
64-bit space, thus freeing up room in non-paged pool
and in S0 and S1 space (where non-paged pool resides)
while also permitting much larger data structures.
__________________________________________________________
5.27 How can I prevent a serial terminal line from initiating a
login?
In SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM, issue the command:
$ SET TERMINAL/NOTYPEAHEAD/PERMANENT ddcu:
This will prevent any unsolicited terminal input on
ddcu:, and this unsolicited input is what triggers
JOB_CONTROL to start up LOGINOUT on the terminal. Once
LOGINOUT starts up on the serial line, you can see
interesting behaviour (eg: audits, process creations,
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etc) as LOGINOUT tries to "chat" with whatever device
is hooked onto the remote end of the serial terminal
line.
__________________________________________________________
5.28 How does PCSI use the image BUILD_IDENT field?
The (undocumented) build ident field in an OpenVMS
Alpha image header is 16 bytes long, and is used as
a counted string of 0-15 characters (ie, as an .ASCIC
string, a string with the character count in byte 0)
and was originally introduced to provide information
for use by VMSINSTAL patch kits to determine whether an
image should be replaced or not.
Starting with OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2, OpenVMS Engineering
uses the PCSI utility to package and install ECO kits
for OpenVMS. PCSI uses the generation attribute (a
32-bit unsigned integer) specified for files in the
product description file (PDF) of a PCSI kit as the
basis for performing file conflict detection and
resolution. When a product is installed, PCSI modifies
the build ident field of Alpha image headers to store
an encoded form of the generation number. It also looks
at the build ident field of previously installed images
to obtain the generation information for those files as
input to the file conflict processing algorithm. (Only
images have this field, obviously.)
PCSI interprets the build ident field of a previously
installed image as follows:
o if the string length is 15, the 5th character is
a hyphen, and the last ten characters are a ten
digit number with leading zeros, then the last ten
characters are treated as a valid generation number.
o for V7.1-2 through V7.2-1, inclusive, if the above
test fails, the information is obtained from the
PCSI product database.
o in releases after V7.2-1 and with current PCSI ECO
kits, if the above test fails, an invalid generation
number is treated as 0000000000 so that the ECO kit
will simply replace the image rather than assuming
the PCSI database is in error.
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So, what will you see in the image identification
displayed via the ANALYZE/IMAGE command?
For an image that has been built as part of an OpenVMS
Engineering system build, you will generally see a
build ID string in the format "X6TE-SSB-0000"-X6TE is
the build number for the OpenVMS Alpha V7.2-1 release.
This id format is used within the OpenVMS system build,
and can generally only be seen associated with images
that have not yet been processed via PCSI.
During the installation of V7.2-1, PCSI will modify
the image header to have a build ident string of
"X6TE-0050120000". During installation of an ECO
kit containing this image with a generation number
of 50130052, for example, PCSI would determine that
50130052 is greater than 50120000, and will replace the
existing image on the target disk with the version of
the image included in the ECO kit.
Ranges of PCSI generation numbers for various OpenVMS
releases are included in Table 5-1. The use of xxxx
indicates a range of generations is available, from
0000 to 9999, inclusive. The format of, the particular
operation of, and the assignment of PCSI generation
numbers is subject to change without notice.
________________________________________________________________
Table 5-1 PCSI Generation Number
_______________________________________________________
Generation
Number____________Generation_Source____________________
0040100000 V7.1-2
004011xxxx V7.1-2 ECOs
0050100000 V7.2
005011xxxx V7.2 ECOs
0050120000 V7.2-1
005013xxxx V7.2-1 ECOs
0050140000 V7.2-1H1
005015xxxx V7.2-1H1 ECOs
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---------------------------- #include <rtfaq.h> -----------------------------
For additional, please see the OpenVMS FAQ -- www.hp.com/go/openvms/faq
--------------------------- pure personal opinion ---------------------------
Hoff (Stephen) Hoffman OpenVMS Engineering hoff[at]hp.com
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