Article 31990 of comp.os.vms: Path: mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com!not-for-mail From: hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.nospam (Hoff Hoffman) Newsgroups: comp.os.vms,comp.sys.dec,vmsnet.alpha,vmsnet.misc,comp.answers,news.answers Subject: OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Part 1/3 Followup-To: poster Date: 29 Nov 1999 20:06:21 GMT Organization: Compaq Computer Corporation Lines: 1884 Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu Distribution: world Expires: 29 April 2000 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <81umbt$lro$1@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com> Reply-To: hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.com NNTP-Posting-Host: xdelta.zko.dec.com X-Trace: mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com 943905981 22392 16.32.80.251 (29 Nov 1999 20:06:21 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 29 Nov 1999 20:06:21 GMT Summary: This posting contains answers to frequently asked questions about the OpenVMS operating system from Compaq Computer Corporation, and the computer systems on which it runs. Supercedes: <7u7sa4$9e6$1@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com> Xref: mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com comp.os.vms:31990 comp.sys.dec:7967 vmsnet.alpha:84 vmsnet.misc:24 comp.answers:3434 news.answers:18889 Archive-name: dec-faq/vms/part1 Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-modified: 29 November 1999 Version: VMS-FAQ-1.TXT(3) Changes since last edition ========================== Overview text Various updates Update ALPHA2 changes to documentation Update ALPHA7 include serial console settings Update ALPHA4 CSA membership is now free Update DCL4 Extend; add include SYLOGICALS information Update DOC1 Reword ordering information Update DOC2 Various updates Update DOC6 Add a pointer to the "VMS HACK FAQ", comments Update DOC7 New URLs, ECO notification email list Update DOC8 Update URL Update INTRO5 New text, new URLs, updated title Update FILE2 Add discussion of alias entries and system disks Added FILE8 What I/O transfer size limits exist in OpenVMS? Update MGMT3 Various text updates, ODS-3 and ODS-4, Rock Ridge Update MISC1 Remedy erroneously omitted connector keying Update MISC4 Add PS/2 DIN to USB-A adapter info Added MISC13 How do I check for free space on a (BACKUP) tape? Added MGMT24 Add ALP4D20T01_071 information Added MGMT29 How do I switch between AlphaBIOS/ARC and SRM consoles? Added MGMT30 How do I delete an undeletable/unstoppable (RWAST) process? Update SOFT1 Add new Zip URLs, new PGP URL, other updates, new title... Update SOFT4 Add Java URL, OSU email, update the "why not on VAX" text... Update VAX3 VAXstation 3100 manual URL Update VAX5 ibid, reword some text, updated title Update VMS7 changes to part numbers Overview ======== This is part 1/3 of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) posting for the comp.os.vms and vmsnet.misc newsgroups. (comp.os.vms is bidirectionally-gatewayed to the INFO-VAX mailing list - see INTRO3 for further details.) It contains answers to frequently asked questions about Compaq's OpenVMS operating system and the computer systems on which it runs. (Please see INTRO5 before posting.) This FAQ is archived in the following locations: comp.answers and news.answers newsgroups ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/dec-faq/OpenVMS.txt ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/dec-faq/vms ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/dec-faq/vms Other FAQs are generally available in these locations: comp.answers and news.answers newsgroups ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/... User-created HTML versions of the FAQ are located at: http://www.kjsl.com/vmsfaq http://eisner.decus.org/vms/faq.htm Please do NOT send technical questions to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) editor -- well, please do not email any questions that do not also include the answer(s). Please post these questions to the appropriate newsgroup instead -- and see INTRO5 before posting. To make suggestions for changes or additions to this FAQ list, please send mail to the FAQ editor at hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.com. Again, the FAQ editor is *not* in a position to answer general questions. Some general notes: The term "VMS" is synonymous with "OpenVMS". "Alpha", "AlphaGeneration" or "AXP" generally refers to any system or product based on or related to Compaq's Alpha processor architecture. OpenVMS manual names mentioned are those as of V7.2 -- names may be different in other editions of the documentation set. World-Wide Web Universal Resource Locator (URL) notation is used for FTP addresses. Many people have contributed to this list, directly or indirectly. In some cases, an answer has been adapted from one or more postings on the comp.os.vms newsgroup. Our thanks to all of those who post answers. The name (or names) at the end of an entry indicate that the information was taken from postings by those individuals; the text may have been edited for this FAQ. These citations are only given to acknowledge the contribution. Although the editor of this FAQ is an employee of Compaq's Digital Equipment Corporation subsidiary, this posting is not an official statement of either Compaq or Digital Equipment Corporation. AlphaGeneration, AlphaServer, AlphaStation, Alpha AXP, AXP, DEC, DECstation, DECsystem, OpenVMS, ULTRIX, VAX and VMS are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. Compaq and the names of Compaq products are trademarks and/or registered trademarks and/or service marks of Compaq Computer Corporation. OSF/1 is a registered trademark of the Open Software Foundation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd. Other names are properties of their respective owners. Table of Contents - Part 1/3 ____________________________ Introduction ======================================== INTRO1. What is the scope of comp.os.vms? INTRO2. What other newsgroups carry VMS-related information? INTRO3. What is INFO-VAX? INTRO4. How do I subscribe to or unsubscribe from INFO-VAX? INTRO5. How do I submit a question or a response? What is etiquette? INTRO6. What is DECUS? INTRO7. What archives of comp.os.vms/INFO-VAX are available? General questions about OpenVMS ======================================== VMS1. What is OpenVMS? What is its history? VMS2. What is the difference between VMS and OpenVMS? VMS3. How do I port from VMS to OpenVMS? VMS4. Which is better - OpenVMS or UNIX? VMS5. Is Digital dropping support for OpenVMS? VMS7. What OpenVMS CD-ROM products are available? VMS8. In what language is OpenVMS written? VMS9. How do I obtain or transfer a VMS license? VMS10. What is OpenVMS doing about the Euro currency symbol? VMS11. Why hasn't OpenVMS been ported to Intel (IA32) systems? Alpha and Alpha-based systems ======================================== ALPHA1. What do the letters AXP stand for? ALPHA2. What are the OpenVMS differences between VAX and Alpha? ALPHA4. How do I join Digital's Association of Software & Application Partners program? ALPHA5. Seeking performance information for Alpha (and VAX) systems? ALPHA6. Where can I get updated console firmware for Alpha systems? ALPHA7. How do I boot an AlphaStation without monitor or keyboard? ALPHA8. Will OpenVMS run on a Multia? AlphaPC 164LX? 164SX? ALPHA9. What is the least expensive system that will run OpenVMS? ALPHA10. Where can I get more information on Alpha systems? ALPHA11. What are the APB boot flag values? VAX and VAX-based systems ======================================== VAX1. Please explain the back panel of the MicroVAX II VAX2. What is the layout of the VAX floating point format? VAX3. Where can I find more info on VAX systems? VAX4. Where can I find information on NetBSD for VAX systems? VAX5. What system disk size limit on the MicroVAX and VAXstation 3100? VAX6. How does OpenVMS VAX maintain system time? VAX7. What are the VMB boot flag values? VAX8. What is the Accuracy of VAX the Time of Year (TOY) Clock? Documentation and other resources ======================================== DOC1. Where can I find online copies of OpenVMS manuals? DOC2. What online information is available? DOC3. What books and publications are available? DOC4. How do I extract a HELP topic to a text file? DOC5. Does OpenVMS Marketing have an e-mail address? DOC6. What OpenVMS-related WWW sites are available? DOC7. Where can I find patches for OpenVMS and Digital layered products? DOC8. Where can I find info about undocumented OpenVMS features? DOC9. Where is documentation on the DECnet Phase IV protocols? DOC10. Where can I learn about how the VMS executive works internally? DOC11. Where can new users find tutorial information about OpenVMS? Year 2000 Issues ======================================== Y2K1. Does OpenVMS have a problem with the year 2000? Y2K2. What happens with the C tm_year field in the year 2000? Y2K3. What happens with the year 2038 with C? Y2K4. Is the year 2000 a leap year? Y2K5. What is covered by the OpenVMS Y2K Evaluation? Y2K6. Do I need to consider Y2K? Do I even need the Y2K ECO? Table of Contents - Part 2/3 ____________________________ System Management ======================================== MGMT1. What is an installed image? MGMT2. Are there any known viruses for OpenVMS? MGMT3. How do I mount an ISO-9660 CD on OpenVMS? MGMT4. How do I extract the contents of a PCSI kit? MGMT5. I've forgotten the SYSTEM password - what can I do? MGMT6. How do I connect a PostScript printer via TCP/IP? MGMT7. Why can't I do a SET TIME command? MGMT8. How do I change the timezone differential and time in batch? MGMT9. How do I change the node name of an OpenVMS System? MGMT10. What is the correct value for EXPECTED_VOTES in a VMScluster? MGMT11. Why doesn't OpenVMS see the new memory I just added? MGMT12. How do I write a BACKUP saveset to a remote tape? MGMT13. Tell me about SET HOST/DUP and SET HOST/HSC MGMT14. How do I install DECnet Phase IV on VMS 7.1? MGMT15. How do I change the text in a user's UIC identifier? MGMT16. What are the OpenVMS version upgrade paths? MGMT17. Why do I have negative number in the pagefile reservable pages? MGMT18. Do I have to update layered products when updating OpenVMS? MGMT19. How do I change the volume label of a disk? MGMT20. How do I fix a corrupt BACKUP saveset? MGMT21. How can I set up a shared directory? MGMT22. Why does my system halt when I power-cycle the console terminal? MGMT23. Why do I get extra blank pages on my HP Printer? MGMT24. How do I configure ELSA GLoria Synergy graphics on OpenVMS? MGMT25. How do I acquire OpenVMS patches, fixes, and ECOs? MGMT26. How do I rename a DSSI disk (or tape?) MGMT27. How do I move the queue manager database? MGMT28. How do I set a default IP route or gateway on OpenVMS? MGMT29. How do I switch between AlphaBIOS/ARC and SRM consoles? MGMT30. How do I delete an undeletable/unstoppable (RWAST) process? MAIL ======================================== MAIL1. How do I send Internet mail? MAIL2. How do I get IN% or MX% added automatically to Internet addresses? MAIL3. How do I automatically append a signature file to my mail messages? MAIL4. Do I have to use VMS MAIL? I like my Unix mailer better. MAIL5. How can I forward my mail? Can I forward it to an Internet address? MAIL6. How can I forward my mail to a list of addresses? MAIL7. MAIL keeps saying I have new messages, but I don't. What do I do? MAIL8. How do I extract all of my mail messages to a file? MAIL9. How do I send or read attachments in VMS MAIL? Other Utilities ======================================== UTIL1. How do I play an audio CD on my workstation? UTIL2. How do I access a MS-DOS floppy disk from OpenVMS? UTIL3. How do I play sound files on an AlphaStation? DECsound doesn't work DCL and command usage ======================================== DCL1. How do I run a program with arguments? DCL2. How can I redefine control keys in DCL? DCL3. How can I clear the screen in DCL? DCL4. How do I do a REPLY/LOG in a batch stream? DCL5. How do I generate a random number in DCL? DCL6. What does the MCR command do? DCL7. How do I change the OpenVMS system prompt? DCL8. Can I do DECnet task-to-task communication with DCL? File System and RMS ======================================== FILE1. How can I undelete a file? FILE2. Why does SHOW QUOTA give a different answer than DIR/SIZE? FILE3. How do I make sure that my data is safely written to disk? FILE4. What are the limits on file specifications and directories? FILE5. What is the largest disk volume size OpenVMS can access? FILE6. What is the maximum file size, and the RMS record size limit? FILE7. How do I write recordable CDs on OpenVMS? FILE8. What I/O transfer size limits exist in OpenVMS? Table of Contents - Part 3/3 ____________________________ Programming ======================================== PROG1. How do I call from ? PROG2. How do I get the arguments from the command line? PROG3. How do I get a formatted error message in a variable? PROG4. How do I link against SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.STB on an Alpha system? PROG5. How do I do a SET DEFAULT from inside a program? PROG6. How do I create a shareable image transfer vector on an Alpha system? PROG7. How do I turn my Fortran COMMON into a shareable image on Alpha? PROG8. How do I convert between IEEE and VAX floating data? PROG9. How do I get the argument count in a Fortran routine? PROG10. How do I get a unique system ID for licensing purposes? PROG11. What is an executable, shareable, system or UWSS image? PROG12. How do I do a file copy from a program? PROG13. What is a descriptor? PROG14. How many bytes are in a disk block? PROG15. How many bytes are in a memory page? PROG16. How do I create a process under another username? PROG17. Why do lib$spawn, lib$set_symbol fail in detached processes? PROG18. Where can I obtain Bliss, and the libraries and supporting files? PROG19. How can I open a file for shared access? DECwindows ======================================== DECW1. How do I let someone else display something on my workstation? DECW2. How do I create a display on another workstation? DECW3. How can I get the information from SHOW DISPLAY into a symbol? DECW4. How do I get a log of a DECterm session? DECW5. Problem - the DELETE key deletes forward instead of backward! DECW6. Problem - On a DEC2000-300, Motif doesn't start DECW7. Problem - My LK401 keyboard unexpectedly autorepeats DECW8. Problem - My LK411 sends the wrong keycodes or some keys are dead DECW9. How do I set the title on a DECterm window? DECW10. How do I customize DECwindows, including the login screen? DECW11. Why doesn't XtAppAddInput() work on OpenVMS? Miscellaneous ======================================== MISC1. Looking for connector wiring pinouts? MISC2. Where can I find information on escape and control sequences? MISC3. Can I reuse old keyboards, mice and monitors with a PC? MISC4. What connectors and wiring adapters are available? MISC5. Where can I find performance info and specs for older systems? MISC6. What does "failure on back translate address request" mean? MISC7. How to determine the network hardware address? MISC8. Why does my system halt when I powercycle the console terminal? MISC9. Why can't I use PPP and RAS to connect to OpenVMS Alpha? MISC10. Which video monitor works with which graphics controller? MISC11. Where can I get information on storage hardware? MISC12. Does DECprint (DCPS) work with the LRA0 parallel port? MISC13. How do I check for free space on a (BACKUP) tape? Software ======================================== SOFT1. Where can I find freeware/shareware software for OpenVMS? SOFT2. Where can I find the UNIX tool for OpenVMS? SOFT3. Where can I get the Netscape Navigator Mozilla.org Web Browser? SOFT4. Where can I get Java for OpenVMS? SOFT5. VAX C and DEC C, and other OpenVMS C Programming Considerations? ------------------------------------------------------------ INTRO1. What is the scope of comp.os.vms? The comp.os.vms newsgroup is the primary newsgroup for discussion of Digital's OpenVMS operating system and the computer systems on which it runs. Questions about layered products which run on OpenVMS are also welcome, though many of them (in particular, language compilers and database systems) have more specific newsgroups. If a question has some relationship to OpenVMS, it belongs here. ------------------------------------------------------------ INTRO2. What other newsgroups carry VMS-related information? The vmsnet.* hierarchy, run by DECUS, contains several newsgroups of interest, including vmsnet.misc and vmsnet.alpha, the latter being mostly devoted to Alpha topics. There's also vmsnet.sources (and vmsnet.sources.d) to which sources for or pointers to freeware are posted. See the separate "What is VMSNET" monthly posting for further details. The comp.sys.dec newsgroup carries discussions about all Digital systems as well as about Digital itself. ------------------------------------------------------------ INTRO3. What is INFO-VAX? INFO-VAX is a mailing list which is bidirectionally gatewayed to the comp.os.vms newsgroup. This means that postings to comp.os.vms get automatically sent to INFO-VAX subscribers and messages sent to the INFO-VAX list are automatically posted to comp.os.vms. INFO-VAX can be a useful way to participate in the newsgroup if you can't access the group directly through a news reader. An important point to keep in mind is that propagation delays vary, both within the newsgroup and with INFO-VAX mailings. It's possible that postings may not be delivered for several days and some may appear out of order. ------------------------------------------------------------ INTRO4. How do I subscribe to or unsubscribe from INFO-VAX? The address for subscription requests, as well as notes intended for the moderator, is Info-VAX-Request@Mvb.Saic.Com. Subscription requests are handled automatically by a mail server. This mail server ignores the subject line and processes each line of the message as a command. The syntax for subscribing and unsubscribing and setting digest or non-digest modes is: SUBSCRIBE INFO-VAX (ADD is a valid synonym) UNSUBSCRIBE INFO-VAX (REMOVE, SIGNOFF, and SIGN-OFF are valid synonyms) SET INFO-VAX DIGEST (to receive in Digest format) SET INFO-VAX NODIGEST (to receive each message individually) Case is irrelevant and attempts to fetch a copy of the mailing list will be rejected (I consider the information to be confidential). Any message not understood by the mailserver will be forwarded to a human (allegedly) for manual processing. [Mark.Berryman@Mvb.Saic.Com] If you are on Bitnet, send a mail message containing the text "SUBSCRIBE INFO-VAX" to LISTSERV@(nearest listserv system). To unsubscribe, send a message containing the text "SIGNOFF INFO-VAX" to the *SAME* listserv address. If you are on the Internet in the UK, send a message containing the word SUBSCRIBE (or UNSUBSCRIBE) to info-vax-request@ncdlab.ulcc.ac.uk. ------------------------------------------------------------ INTRO5. How do I submit a question or a response? What is etiquette? If you are using a news reader, post your question to comp.os.vms. If you want to submit through INFO-VAX, send the message to Info-VAX@mvb.saic.com. Before posting, please use available local resources, such as the manuals, HELP and this FAQ first. Also make a point of reading the release notes for the product you're using, generally placed in SYS$HELP. Often you'll find the answer, and will save time and effort for all concerned. (And you won't "annoy the natives"...) When posting, please consider the following suggestions: 1. Include a valid e-mail address in the text of your posting or in a "signature" appended to the end. Reply-to addresses in headers often get garbled. 2. If you are submitting a question, please be as specific as you can. Include relevant information such as processor type, product versions (OpenVMS and layered products that apply), error message(s), DCL command(s) used, and a short, reproducible example of problems. Say what you've tried so far, so that effort isn't duplicated. Keep in mind that there's not yet a telepathy protocol for the Internet. (The more detailed your description, the better that people can help you with your question.) 3. If responding to a posting, include in your reply only as much of the original posting as is necessary to establish context. As a guideline, consider that if you've included more text than you've added, you've possibly included too much. Never include signatures and other irrelevant material. 4. Be polite. If the question isn't worded the way you think is correct or doesn't include the information you want, try to imagine what the problem might be if viewed from the poster's perspective. Requests for additional information are often better sent through mail rather than posted to the newsgroup. 5. If you have a problem with Compaq (or any other vendor's) product, please use the appropriate support channel. Don't assume that newsgroup postings will get read, will be responded to by the appropriate developers, or will be later followed up on... Before posting your question to the comp.os.vms newsgroup or sending your message to the INFO-VAX list, also please take the time to review available etiquette information, such as that included in the following documents: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/usenet/primer/part1 ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/usenet/faq/part1 ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/usenet/emily-postnews/part1 ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/usenet/writing-style/part1 ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/usenet/posting-rules/part1 This information will document the etiquette of newsgroups, as well as providing you with the knowledge the vast amount of newsgroup-related information that is readily available to you, and where to find it... Please ***DO NOT POST SECURITY HOLES OR SYSTEM CRASHERS ***. Rather, please report these problems directly to Compaq. (Why? So that Compaq has a change to resolve and distribute a fix before other customer sites can be affected. Most folks in the newsgroups are honest and deserve to know about potential security problems, but a few folks can and will make nefarious use of this same information. Other sites will hopefully return the favor, and not post information that will potentially compromise YOUR site and YOUR computer environment. ------------------------------------------------------------ INTRO6. What is DECUS? DECUS, the Digital Equipment Computer Users Society, is a World Wide organization of Information Technology professionals interested in the products, services, and technologies of Digital Equipment Corporation and related vendors. Membership in the Chapter is free and provides participants with the means to enhance their professional development, forums for technical training, mechanisms for obtaining up-to-date information, advocacy programs, and opportunities for informal disclosure and interaction with professional colleagues of like interest. For further information, see the separate monthly "What is DECUS" posting, or refer to the US DECUS WWW server at http://www.decus.org or the Canadian DECUS WWW server at http://www.decus.ca . ------------------------------------------------------------ INTRO7. What archives of comp.os.vms/INFO-VAX are available? Everything posted since 1990 is archived and available at: ftp://crvax.sri.com/info-vax/ [Arne Vajhxj] ------------------------------------------------------------ VMS1. What is OpenVMS? What is its history? OpenVMS, originally called VMS (Virtual Memory System), was first conceived in 1976 as a new operating system for Digital's new, 32-bit, virtual memory line of computers, eventually named VAX (Virtual Address eXtension). The first VAX model, the 11/780, was code-named "Star", hence the code name for the VMS operating system, "Starlet", a name that remains to this day the name for the system library files (STARLET.OLB, etc.). VMS version X0.5 was the first released to customers, in support of the hardware beta test of the VAX-11/780, in 1977. VAX/VMS Version V1.0 shipped in 1978, along with the first revenue-ship 11/780s. OpenVMS was designed entirely within Digital Equipment Corporation. The principal designers were Dave Cutler and Dick Hustvedt. OpenVMS was conceived as a 32-bit, virtual memory successor to Digital's RSX-11M operating system for the PDP-11. Many of the original designers and programmers of OpenVMS had worked previously on RSX-11M, and many concepts from RSX-11M were carried over to OpenVMS. OpenVMS VAX is a 32-bit, multitasking, multiprocessing virtual memory operating system. Current implementations run on VAX systems from DIGITAL, Compaq, and other vendors. OpenVMS Alpha is a 64-bit multitasking, multiprocessing virtual memory operating system. Current implementations run on Alpha systems from DIGITAL, Compaq, and other vendors. [Paul Winalski] [Arne Vajhxj] For more details on OpenVMS and its features, read the OpenVMS Software Product Description at: http://www.digital.com/info/SP2501/ Additional information on the general features of various OpenVMS releases, release dates, as well as the development project code names of specific releases, is available at: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/os/openvms-release-history.html Additional historical information -- as well as pictures and a variety of other trivia -- is available in the VAX 20th anniversary book: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/20th/vmsbook.pdf ------------------------------------------------------------ VMS2. What is the difference between VMS and OpenVMS? VMS and OpenVMS are two names for the same operating system. Originally, the operating system was called VAX-11/VMS; it changed to VAX/VMS at around VAX/VMS V2.0. When the VMS operating system was ported to the Alpha platform, it was renamed OpenVMS, for both VAX and Alpha, in part to signify the high degree of support for industry standards such as POSIX, which provides many features of UNIX systems. For those versions with POSIX, an OpenVMS license allows you to install and run POSIX for OpenVMS at no additional charge; all you need is the media and documentation which can be found on the Consolidated Distribution and On-Line Documentation CD-ROMs. Support for the POSIX package on more recent OpenVMS releases is not available, various parts of POSIX such as calls from the API are being integrated more directly into OpenVMS. For more information on POSIX for VMS see question SOFT2 What became confusing is that the OpenVMS name was introduced first for OpenVMS AXP V1.0 causing the widespread misimpression that OpenVMS was for Alpha AXP only, while "regular VMS" was for VAX. In fact, Digital officially changed the name of the VAX operating system as of V5.5, though the name did not start to be actually used in the product until V6.0. The proper names for OpenVMS on the two platforms are now "OpenVMS VAX" and "OpenVMS Alpha", the latter having superseded "OpenVMS AXP". [Arne Vajhxj] ------------------------------------------------------------ VMS3. How do I port from VMS to OpenVMS? You already did. Wasn't that easy? (See question VMS2.) ------------------------------------------------------------ VMS4. Which is better - OpenVMS or UNIX? This question comes up periodically, usually asked by new subscribers who are long-time UNIX users. Sometimes, it is ignored totally; other times, it leads to a long series of repetitive messages that convince no one and usually carry little if any new information. Please do everyone a favor and avoid re-starting this perpetual, fruitless debate. [leichter@lrw.com] Seriously, OpenVMS and the better implementations of UNIX are all fine operating systems, each with its strengths and weaknesses. If you're in a position where you need to choose, select the one that best fits your own requirements, considering, for example, whether or not the layered products or specific OS features you want are available. [Steve Lionel] ------------------------------------------------------------ VMS5. Is Digital dropping support for OpenVMS? People who ask this question, most recently, have read about the May 1995 announcement of an association between Digital and Microsoft to provide greater affinity between OpenVMS and Windows NT. Some trade publications interpreted this announcement as signalling that Digital was going to drop OpenVMS and move its customers onto Windows NT. Nothing could be further from the truth. For more information, see: http://www.openvms.digital.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ [VMS6 removed, replaced by Y2K section] ------------------------------------------------------------ VMS7. What OpenVMS CD-ROM products are available? Beginning in December '96, the OpenVMS VAX "binaries-only" and "library package" offerings will be enhanced to include the complete operating system kit. In addition, all online documentation offerings will be enhanced to include the operating system documentation as well as software layered products documentation. The enhanced offerings are indicated by a plus sign (+) in Table 1. New Offerings (New Part Numbers Must Be Ordered) Also beginning in December '96, the complete operating system kits will be combined with layered product kits for OpenVMS Alpha and Digital UNIX[R]. The combination of operating system plus layered products will ship quarterly, on the current schedules. OpenVMS Alpha or Digital UNIX customers may request the new part numbers indicated by an asterisk (*) in Table 1. [This means that anything that ships with the operating system binaries kit ("H-kit"), such as the Freeware CD, will be included with the Software Product Library distribution. Previously, you had to specifically order the OS kit in order to get these extras. - SBL. The OpenVMS Freeware is available separately as part of the OpenVMS Hobbyist program.] For orders or pricing information, contact 1-800-DIGITAL. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1: Software Product Libraries and Online Documentation Libraries ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- One-Time Service (a) Binaries Only - No Documentation Order Subscription --------------------------------------------- -------- ------------ +OpenVMS VAX Software Layered Products and Operating System Library QA-VWJ8A-H8 QT-VWJ8A-C8 *OpenVMS VAX Software Layered Products Library QA-5FW8A-H8 QT-5FW8A-C8 *OpenVMS Alpha Software Layered Products and Operating System Library QA-5FX8A-H8 QT-5FX8A-C8 OpenVMS Alpha Software Layered Products Library QA-4KL8A-H8 QT-4KL8A-C8 One-Time Service (b) Documentation Only Order Subscription ---------------------- -------- ------------ OpenVMS VAX/Alpha OnLine Documentation Library QA-MT3AE-G8 QT-MT3AE-G8 OpenVMS VAX OnLine Documentation Library QA-VYR8A-G8 QT-VYR8A-C8 +OpenVMS Alpha OnLine Documentation Library QA-4KM8A-G8 QT-4KM8A-C8 One-Time Service (c) Library Packages - Binaries, Documentation Order Subscription ---------------------------------------------- -------- ------------ +OpenVMS VAX Software Layered Products and Operating System Library Package QA-YL48A-H8 QT-YL48A-C8 *OpenVMS VAX Software Layered Products Library Package QA-5G88A-H8 QT-5G88A-C8 *OpenVMS Alpha Software Layered Products and Operating System Library Package QA-5G9AA-H8 QT-5G9AA-C8 OpenVMS Alpha Software Layered Products QA-03XAA-H8 QT-03XAA-C8 Library Package ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- + indicates an enhancement * indicates a new offering The following CD-ROMs contain just the OpenVMS Alpha operating system - they are bootable and can be used to run BACKUP in a standalone environment. QA-MT1AP-H8 OpenVMS Alpha V6.1-1H2 hardware release CD-ROM (US$11) QA-MT1AG-H8 OpenVMS Alpha V6.2-1H3 hardware release CD-ROM (US$22) QA-MT1AD-H8 OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-1H1 hardware release CD-ROM (US$22) QA-MT1AR-H8 OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 maintenance release CD-ROM (US$22) ------------------------------------------------------------ VMS8. In what language is OpenVMS written? OpenVMS is written in a wide variety of languages. In no particular order, OpenVMS components are implemented using Bliss, Macro, Ada, PLI, VAX and DEC C, Fortran, UIL, VAX and Alpha SDL, Pascal, MDL, DEC C++, DCL, Message, and Document. And this is certainly not a complete list. However, the rumor is NOT true that an attempt was made to write pieces of OpenVMS in every supported language so that the Run-Time Libraries could not be unbundled. (APL, BASIC, COBOL and RPG are just some of the languages NOT represented!) There are a large variety of small and not-so-small tools and DCL command procedures that are used as part of the OpenVMS build, and a source code control system capable of maintaining over a hundred thousand source files across multiple parallel development projects, and overlapping releases. ------------------------------------------------------------ VMS9. How do I obtain or transfer a VMS license? If you are a DECUS member and are considering acquiring and using a VAX or Alpha system for hobbyist use, (free) licenses for OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha are available to DECUS members. In addition to the license, VAX and Alpha distribution CD-ROM kits are available with OpenVMS, DECwindows Motif, DECnet and TCP/IP networking, compilers, a variety of layered products, and an OpenVMS Freeware kit for a nominal fee. The OpenVMS Freeware is also available separately. For further information, link to: http://www.montagar.com/hobbyist/ Further information on DECUS and on DECUS membership is available at: http://www.decus.org/ To transfer a commercial OpenVMS license from one owner to another, or to purchase a commercial license, you can contact Compaq Computer Corporation at 1-800-DIGITAL (in North America), or your local or regional sales office. [Stephen Hoffman] [Scott Snadow] ------------------------------------------------------------ VMS10. What is OpenVMS doing about the Euro currency symbol? For information on the current status and plans for support of the European Monetary Union's Euro currency symbol in OpenVMS, see: http://www.openvms.digital.com/euro/ ------------------------------------------------------------ VMS11. Why hasn't OpenVMS been ported to Intel (IA32) systems? Why? Business reasons... Because there is a belief that there would be no market to justify the effort and the expense involved in porting OpenVMS to systems using the Intel IA32 architecture. (Each maintainer of a product or package for OpenVMS would have to justify the port to "OpenVMS IA32", akin to a port from OpenVMS VAX to OpenVMS Alpha. The effort involved in porting OpenVMS from VAX to Alpha was huge.) Because every one of the core applications would have to be ported from Alpha to IA32, and then customer and third-party applications would also have to be ported. Because there are design features that required by OpenVMS that are not available on IA32, features that would require redesigning OpenVMS to operate in the environment, making ports rather more difficult. ASTs and interlocked operators are obvious prerequirements. Because Alpha is faster than Intel IA32 systems -- if OpenVMS is to be ported, a port to a slower system is more difficult to sell. Because Intel is expecting to replace IA32 processors with IA64. Because hobbyists have been easily able to acquire OpenVMS systems and the DECUS hobbyist OpenVMS licenses. Because OpenVMS already operates on Compaq and third-party Alpha systems; specific features in support of third-party vendor-customized bootstrap capabilities for use on third-party systems are present in OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later releases. Because there are assumptions that some of the stability of OpenVMS arises from the stability of the underlying VAX and Alpha hardware, and systems based on components such as ISA and random memory SIMMs might not be as stable. But yes, it would be nice to have. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ ALPHA1. What do the letters AXP stand for? While there are many fanciful "definitions" which have circulated widely, the truth is that AXP is not an abbreviation nor an acronym; the letters do not mean anything. They are just three letters chosen to form a trademark. When it came time to chose a "marketing name" for the Alpha AXP line, Digital was in a quandary. The internal "code name" for the project, Alpha, was widely known and would seem the ideal choice, but it was already in common use by a number of other companies and could not be trademarked. A well-known "name search" firm was hired and was asked to come up with two lists of possible names. The first list was intended to evoke the feeling of "extension to VAX", while the second list was to suggest "not a VAX". Unfortunately, none of the choices offered were any good; for example, "VAX 2000" was found on the first list while the second list contained "MONDO" (later to be used for a kids' soft drink). Shortly before announcement, a decision was made to name the new line ARA, for Advanced RISC Architecture. However, a Digital employee in Israel quickly pointed out that this name, if pronounced in the "obvious" manner, sounded very much like an Arabic word with decidely unfortunate connotations. Eventually, AXP was selected; the architecture would be referred to as "Alpha AXP" whereas products themselves would use just "AXP". Despite all this, everyone went on calling the new line "Alpha". Digital has recognized this by coining a new "AlphaGeneration" trademark to apply to all products (hardware, software and services) related to the Alpha AXP line. Digital has phased out the use of the AXP name, using Alpha instead. For example, OpenVMS AXP is now called called "OpenVMS Alpha". ------------------------------------------------------------ ALPHA2. What are the OpenVMS differences between VAX and Alpha? Very few. As of OpenVMS V6.1, the VAX and Alpha platforms are very close to "feature parity". Most applications can just be recompiled and run. Some differences to be aware of: - The default double-precision floating type on OpenVMS Alpha is VAX G_float, whereas on VAX it is usually D_float. D_float is available on Alpha, but D_float values are converted to G_float for computations and then converted back to D_float when stored. Because the G_float type has three fewer fraction bits than D_float, some applications may get different results. IEEE float types are also available on OpenVMS Alpha. - Data alignment is extremely important for best performance on Alpha. This means that data items should be allocated at addresses which are exact multiples of their sizes. Quadword alignment will offer the best performance, especially for character values and those smaller than 32 bits. Compilers will naturally align variables where they can and will issue warnings if they detect unaligned data items. - DEC C is the only C compiler Digital offers on OpenVMS Alpha. It is compatible with DEC C on OpenVMS VAX, but is somewhat different from the older VAX C compiler most people are familiar with. Read up on the /EXTERN_MODEL and /STANDARD qualifiers to avoid the most common problems. - The page size on Alpha systems is variable, but is at least 8K bytes. This can have some effect on applications which use the $CRMPSC system service as well as on the display of available memory pages. The page size is available from $GETSYI(SYI$_PAGE_SIZE). There are also a number of manuals which discuss migration to OpenVMS Alpha available on the documentation CD-ROM media, both in the main documentation and in the archived documentation section. On more recent OpenVMS Alpha versions, OpenVMS Alpha has begun to add features and support not available on OpenVMS VAX. Salient new areas include the following: - 64-bit addressing in OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 and later - Multi-host SCSI support (SCSI TCQ) in V6.2 and later - PCI support (platform-dependent) - OpenVMS Galaxy support in V7.2 and later ------------------------------------------------------------ [ALPHA3 removed, information obsolete] ------------------------------------------------------------ ALPHA4. How do I join Compaq Solutions Alliance? The Compaq Solutions Alliance (CSA) is a (free) program that is open to and that supports software partners, consultants, and service providers: http://www.compaq.com/csa/ CSA provides members with discounts on hardware, porting assistance, and many other benefits. For those familiar with it, the DIGITAL Association of Software & Application (ASAP) Partners program has been incorporated into CSA. Also see the Compaq OEM Website: http://www.digital.com/oem/ The Compaq Solutions Alliance Technical Journal (CTJ) is "web-published" monthly, and available at: http://www.intercontent.com/compaq/ ------------------------------------------------------------ ALPHA5. Seeking performance information for Alpha (and VAX) systems? Compaq makes a wide range of performance documents available through its FTP and WWW Internet servers (see DOC2). The following contain information on current Alpha and VAX products: http://www.digital.com/alphaserver/products.html http://www.digital.com/alphaserver/vax/ The following sites contain information on various retired VAX and Alpha products: http://www.compaq.com/products/workstations/digital/retired/index.html http://www.digital.com/alphaserver/archive/index.html http://www.digital.com/alphaserver/performance/perf_tps.html ------------------------------------------------------------ ALPHA6. Where can I get updated console firmware for Alpha systems? Firmware updates for Digital Alpha systems are available from: ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/ http://www.service.digital.com/alpha/server/firmware/ The files are structured similiar to those on the firmware CD, and are separated by CD release. For example, the contents of the V3.7 firmware CD are located at: ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/v3.7/ The latest and greatest firmware (if released since the last firmware CD) is located at: ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/interim/ Please send your comments and feedback to alpha_server@service.digital.com For information on creating bootable floppies containing the firmware, and for related tools, please see the following areas: ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/utilities/mkboot.txt ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/utilities/mkbootarc.txt ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/utilities/mkntboot.txt ------------------------------------------------------------ ALPHA7. How do I boot an AlphaStation without monitor or keyboard? The AlphaStation series will boot without a keyboard attached. To use a serial terminal as the console, issue the console command SET CONSOLE SERIAL - after that, it will use the terminal. Older Alpha workstations generally can't be booted without a keyboard. The usual settings for the console serial terminal (or PC terminal emulator acting as a serial console are: 9600 baud, 8 bits, no parity, one stop bit (9600 baud, 8N1). The AlphaStation and AlphaServer series use the PC DIN serial connector for the "COM1" and "COM2" serial lines, see MISC1 for details and pinout. ------------------------------------------------------------ ALPHA8. Will OpenVMS run on a Multia? AlphaPC 164LX? 164SX? Yes, there are a set of unsupported images that permit recent OpenVMS Alpha versions to bootstrap on Multia. These images and the associated instructions are available at the OpenVMS Freeware website: http://www.openvms.digital.com/freeware/multia/ The Multia images are not included on the OpenVMS Freeware V4.0 CD-ROM kit, the kit that was distributed with OpenVMS V7.2. (These images became available after Freeware V4.0 shipped.) Other sources of information for OpenVMS on Multia include: http://home.earthlink.net/~djesys/vms/hobbyist/multia.html http://home.earthlink.net/~djesys/vms/hobbyist/mltianot.html http://home.earthlink.net/~djesys/vms/hobbyist/support.html http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/alpha/multiafaq.html [Stephen Hoffman] [David J. Dachtera] OpenVMS Alpha is not supported on the AlphaPC 164LX and 164SX, and the OpenVMS CPU-specific routines and images necessary to bootstrap on these systems do not presently exist. ------------------------------------------------------------ ALPHA9. What is the least expensive system that will run OpenVMS? The cheapest systems presently offered by Compaq that will run OpenVMS are the AlphaServer DS10 server and the AlphaStation XP900 workstation. Other companies sell Alpha-powered systems and Alpha motherboards, some of which will run (and can be purchased with) OpenVMS -- see the OpenVMS Software Product Description (SPD) for details on the supported systems and configurations. There are also many used AlphaStation, AlphaServer, and DEC 3000 models available which are quite suitable. For more experienced OpenVMS system managers, the (unsupported) Multia can bootstrap OpenVMS -- see ALPHA8 for details. Depending on the OpenVMS version and configuration, the OpenVMS Software Product Description (SPD) is available at: http://www.digital.com/info/SP2501/ http://www.digital.com/info/SP4187/ When purchasing a system, ensure that the system itself is supported, that the system disk drive is supported or closely compatible, that the CD-ROM drive is supported or is closely compatable and that it also speciically supports 512 byte block transfers, and particularly ensure that video controller is supported. Use of supported DIGITAL or Compaq hardware will generally reduce the level of integration effort involved. A CD-ROM drive is required for OpenVMS Alpha installations. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ ALPHA10. Where can I get more information on Alpha systems? Compaq operates an AlphaServer information center at: http://www.digital.com/alphaserver/ Alpha Technical information and documentation is available at: http://www.digital.com/alphaserver/technical.html ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/systems/ Alpha motherboard products and Alpha microprocessor documentation: http://www.digital.com/alphaoem/alpha.htm Compaq OEM Website: http://www.digital.com/oem/ Information on Multia hardware is available at: http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/alpha/multiafaq.html [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ ALPHA11. What are the APB boot flag values? The following flags are passed (via register R5) to the OpenVMS Alpha primary bootstrap image APB.EXE. These flags control the particular behaviour of the bootstrap: >>> BOOT -FL root,flags bit description --- ---------------------------------------------- 0 Conversational bootstrap 1 Load SYSTEM_DEBUG.EXE (XDELTA) 2 Stop at initial system breakpoints if bit 1 set (EXEC_INIT) 3 Diagnostic bootstrap (loads diagboot.exe) 4 Stop at bootstrap breakpoints (APB and Sysboot) 5 Secondary bootstrap does not have an image header 6 Inhibit memory test 7 Prompt for secondary bootstrap file 8 Halt before transfer to secondary bootstrap 9 Boot from shadow set 10 LAD/LAST bootstrap 11 Unused 12 Transfer to intermediate primary bootstrap 13 Mark CRD pages bad 14 Unused 15 Unused 16 Enable verbose boot messages 17 Enable subset boot messages If you want to set the boot flags "permanently" use the SET BOOT_FLAGS command, e.g. >>> SET BOOT_OSFLAGS 0,1 ------------------------------------------------------------ ALPHA12. What are Alpha console environment variables? Alpha systems have a variety of variables with values set up within the SRM system console. These environment variables control the particular behaviour of the console program and the system hardware, the particular console interface presented to the operating system, various default values for the operating system bootstrap, and related control mechanisms -- in other words, "the environment variables provide an easily extensible mechanism for managing complex console state." The specific environment variables differ by platform and by firmware version -- the baseline set is established by the Alpha Architecture: AUTO_ACTION ("BOOT", "HALT", "RESTART", any other value assumed to be HALT), BOOT_DEV, BOOTDEF_DEV, BOOTED_DEV, BOOT_FILE, BOOTED_FILE, BOOT_OSFLAGS, BOOTED_OSFLAGS, BOOT_RESET ("ON", "OFF"), DUMP_DEV, ENABLE_AUDIT ("ON", "OFF"), LICENSE, CHAR_SET, LANGUAGE, TTY_DEV. OpenVMS Galaxy firmware can add console environment variables beginning with such strings as LP_* and HP_*, and each particular console implementation can (and often does) have various sorts of platform-specific extensions beyond these variables... The contents of a core set of environment variables are accessable from OpenVMS using the f$getenv lexical and the sys$getenv system service. (These calls are first documented in V7.2, but have been around for quite a while.) Access to arbitary console environment variables is rather more involved, and not directly available. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ VAX1. Please explain the back panel of the MicroVAX II The MicroVAX-series console bulkhead was used with the KA630, KA650, KA655 processors. There are three controls on the console bulkhead of these systems: Triangle-in-circle-paddle: halt enable. dot-in-circle: halt () is enabled, and auto-boot is disabled. dot-not-in-circle: halt () is disabled, and auto-boot is enabled. Three-position-rotary: power-up bootstrap behaviour arrow: normal operation. face: language inquiry mode. t-in-circle: infinite self-test loop. Eight-position-rotary: console baud rate selection select the required baud rate; read at power-up. Those versions of the console bulkhead that do not have an MMJ have a 9-pin submini connector (DB9), and the pinout of this connector predates the PC 9-pin pinout -- the console pinout is consistent with the EIA232 pinout. See MISC4 for details of the DB9 pinout. For those bulkheads not equipped with an MMJ, use the H8575-B adapter to convert the console connector to MMJ. See MISC1 for further details. Also present on the bulkhead is a self-test indicator: a single digit. This matches the final part of the countdown displayed on the console or workstation, and can be used by a service organization to determine the nature of a processor problem. The particular countdown sequence varies by processor type, consult the hardware or owner's manual for the processor, or contact the local hardware service organization for information the self-test sequence for a particular processor module. Note that self-tests 2, 1 and 0 are associated with the transfer of control from the console program to the booting operating system. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ VAX2. What is the layout of the VAX floating point format? The VAX floating point format is derived from one of the PDP-11 FP formats, which helps explain its strange layout. There are four formats defined: F 32-bit single-precision, D and G 64-bit double-precision and H 128-bit quadruple precision. For all formats, the lowest addressed 16-bit "word" contains the sign and exponent (and for other than H, some of the most significant fraction bits). Each successive higher-addressed word contains the next 16 lesser-significant fraction bits. Bit 15 of the first word is the sign, 1 for negative, 0 for positive. Zero is represented by a biased exponent value of zero and a sign of zero; the fraction bits are ignored (but on Alpha, non-zero fraction bits in a zero value cause an error.) A value with biased exponent zero and sign bit 1 is a "reserved operand" - touching it causes an error - fraction bits are ignored. There are no minus zero, infinity, denormalized or NaN values. For all formats, the fraction is normalized and the radix point assumed to be to the left of the MSB, hence 0.5 <= f < 1.0. The MSB, always being 1, is not stored. The binary exponent is stored with a bias varying with type in bits 14:n of the lowest-addressed word. Type Exponent bits Exponent bias Fraction bits (including hidden) ========================================================================== F 8 128 24 D 8 128 56 G 11 1024 53 H 15 16384 113 The layout for D is identical to that for F except for 32 additional fraction bits. Example: +1.5 in F float is hex 000040C0 (fraction of .11[base 2], biased exponent of 129) [Steve Lionel] ------------------------------------------------------------ VAX3. Where can I find more info about VAX systems? Compaq runs a VAX "InfoCenter" at: http://www.digital.com/alphaserver/vax/ Jim Agnew maintains a MicroVAX/VAXstation FAQ at: http://anacin.nsc.vcu.edu/~jim/mvax/mvax_faq.html James Lothian maintains a VAX-11/750 FAQ at: http://www.dcs.napier.ac.uk/~oose5002/750faq.html The VAXstation 3100 Owner's Guide: http://www.whiteice.com/~williamwebb/intro/DOC-i.html A field guide to PDP-11 (and VAX) Q-bus and UNIBUS modules can be found at: http://metalab.unc.edu//pub/academic/computer-science/ history/pdp-11/hardware/field-guide.txt ------------------------------------------------------------ VAX4. Where can I find information on NetBSD for VAX systems? Gunnar Helliesen maintains a NetBSD VAX FAQ at: http://vaxine.bitcon.no/ ------------------------------------------------------------ VAX5. What system disk size limit on the MicroVAX and VAXstation 3100? System disks larger than 1.073 gigabytes (GB) -- 1fffff hexidecimal blocks -- are not supported on any member of the VAXstation 3100 series and on certain older members of the MicroVAX 3100 series, and are not reliable on these affected systems. (See below to identify the affected systems -- the more recent members of the MicroVAX 3100 series systems are NOT affected.) Various of the SCSI commands used by the boot drivers imbedded in the console PROM on all members of the VAXstation 3100 series use "Group 0" commands, which allow a 21 bit block number field, which allows access to the first 1fffff hexidecimal blocks of a disk. Any disk references past 1fffff will wrap -- this wrapping behaviour can be of particular interest when writing a system crashdump file, as this can potentially lead to system disk corruptions should any part of the crashdump file be located beyond 1.073 GB. More recent systems and console PROMs use "Group 1" SCSI commands, which allow a 32 bit block number field. There was a similar limitation among the oldest of the MicroVAX 3100 series, but a console boot PROM was phased into production and was made available for field retrofits -- this PROM upgrade allows the use of the "Group 1" SCSI commands, and thus larger system disks. There was no similar PROM upgrade for the VAXstation 3100 series. Systems that are affected by this limit: o VAXstation 3100 series, all members. No PROM upgrade is available. o MicroVAX 3100 models 10 and 20. No PROM upgrade is available. o MicroVAX 3100 models 10e and 20e. Only systems with console VMB versions prior to V6.4 are affected. A PROM upgrade for these specific systems is (was once) available. Also see: http://www.whiteice.com/~williamwebb/intro/DOC-i.html [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ VAX6. How does OpenVMS VAX maintain system time? VAX systems maintain an interval clock, and a hardware clock. The VAX hardware clock is called the TOY ("Time Of Year") clock. The register associated with the clock is called the TODR ("Time Of Day Register"). The TOY clock -- as used -- stores time relative to January first of the current year, starting at at 00:00:00.00. It is a 100 Hz, 32-bit counter, incremented every 10ms, and thus has a capacity of circa 497 days. OpenVMS (on the VAX platform) stores system date information -- and in particular, the current year -- in the system image, SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.EXE. The TOY is used, in conjunction with the base date that is stored and retrieved from the system image, to initialize the interval clock value that is stored in EXE$GQ_SYSTIME. Once the interval clock is loaded, the system does not typically reference the TOY again, unless a SET TIME (with no parameters) is issued. The interval clock value is updated by a periodic IPL22 or IPL24 (depending on the specific VAX) interrupt. (When these interrupts are blocked as a result of the activity of higher-IPL code -- such as extensive driver interrupt activity or a hardware error -- the clock will "loose" time, and the time value reported to the user with appear to have slowed down.) Because the TOY has a resolution of 497 days, you need to issue a "SET TIME" (with no parameters) at least once between January 1st and about April 11th of each year. The SET TIME is issued during various OpenVMS procedures such as SHUTDOWN, and can be issued directly. Issuing SET TIME resets the value stored in the TOY, and updates the current year saved in the system image. This usage is the reason that OpenVMS installation kits explicitly prompt for the time during bootstrap, and why the time value can "get weird" if the system crashes outside the 497 day window (if no SET TIME was issued to update the saved values), and why the time value can "get weird" if a different SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.EXE is used (alternate system disk, standalone BACKUP, etc). On most (all?) VAX systems, the battery that is associated with the TOY clock can be disconnected and replaced if (when) it fails -- TOY clock problems in VAX systems do regularly get tracked back to a failed nicad or lithium battery pack. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ VAX7. What are the VMB boot flag values? The following flags are passed (via register R5) to the OpenVMS VAX primary bootstrap image VMB.EXE. These flags control the particular behaviour of the bootstrap: The exact syntax is console-specific, recent VAX consoles tend to use the following: >>> BOOT/R5:flags Bit Meaning --- ------- 0 RPB$V_CONV Conversational boot. At various points in the system boot procedure, the bootstrap code solicits parameter and other input from the console terminal. If the DIAG is also on then the diagnostic supervisor should enter "MENU" mode and prompt user for the devices to test. 1 RPB$V_DEBUG Debug. If this flag is set, VMS maps the code for the XDELTA debugger into the system page tables of the running system. 2 RPB$V_INIBPT Initial breakpoint. If RPB$V_DEBUG is set, VMS executes a BPT instruction immediately after enabling mapping. 3 RPB$V_BBLOCK Secondary boot from the boot block. Secondary bootstrap is a single 512-byte block, whose LBN is specified in R4. 4 RPB$V_DIAG Diagnostic boot. Secondary bootstrap is image called [SYSMAINT]DIAGBOOT.EXE. 5 RPB$V_BOOBPT Bootstrap breakpoint. Stops the primary and secondary bootstraps with a breakpoint instruction before testing memory. 6 RPB$V_HEADER Image header. Takes the transfer address of the secondary bootstrap image from that file's image header. If RPB$V_HEADER is not set, transfers control to the first byte of the secondary boot file. 7 RPB$V_NOTEST Memory test inhibit. Sets a bit in the PFN bit map for each page of memory present. Does not test the memory. 8 RPB$V_SOLICT File name. VMB prompts for the name of a secondary bootstrap file. 9 RPB$V_HALT Halt before transfer. Executes a HALT instruction before transferring control to the secondary bootstrap. 10 RPB$V_NOPFND No PFN deletion (not implemented; intended to tell VMB not to read a file from the boot device that identifies bad or reserved memory pages, so that VMB does not mark these pages as valid in the PFN bitmap). 11 RPB$V_MPM Specifies that multi-port memory is to be used for the total EXEC memory requirement. No local memory is to be used. This is for tightly-coupled multi-processing. If the DIAG is also on, then the diagnostic supervisor enters "AUTOTEST" mode. 12 RPB$V_USEMPM Specifies that multi-port memory should be used in addition to local memory, as though both were one single pool of pages. 13 RPB$V_MEMTEST Specifies that a more extensive algorithm be used when testing main memory for hardware uncorrectable (RDS) errors. 14 RPB$V_FINDMEM Requests use of MA780 memory if MS780 is insufficient for booting. Used for 11/782 installations. <31:28> RPB$V_TOPSYS Specifies the top level directory number for system disks with multiple systems. ------------------------------------------------------------ VAX8. What is the Accuracy of VAX the Time of Year (TOY) Clock? The VAX Time-Of-Year (TOY) clock (used to save the time over a reboot or power failure) is specified as having an accuracy of .0025%. This is a drift of roughly 65 seconds per month. The TOY value is used in conjunction with a year value stored in SYS.EXE -- the TOY clock resolution is circa 497 days, meaning that a SET TIME must be issued early each year in order to keep the SYS.EXE and TOY clock values synchronized, and must also be issued whenever a new or different SYS.EXE image is in use. The VAX Interval Time is used to keep the running time, and this has a specified accuracy of .01%. This is a drift of approximately 8.64 seconds per day. Any high-IPL activity can interfere with the IPL 22 or IPL 24 (this depends on the VAX implementation) clock interrupts -- activities such as extensive device driver interrupts or memory errors are known to slow the clock. To help keep more accurate system time, NTP, DECdtss, and other techniques are commonly used. If you do not have IP access to a time-base, then you could use dial-up access to NIST or other authoritative site. (There exists code around that processes the digital-format time that is available via a modem call into the NIST clock, and code that grabs the time off a GPS receiver digital link.) The web sites: http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~ntp/ http://www.nist.gov/ http://www.bldrdoc.gov/timefreq/faq/faq.htm are good time-related resources. ------------------------------------------------------------ DOC1. Where can I find online copies of OpenVMS manuals? The Compaq OpenVMS and layered product documentation is copyrighted material. HTML format on-line product documentation sets for specific Compaq OpenVMS products are presently available at: http://www.openvms.digital.com:8000/ http://www.openvms.digital.com/doc/ Documentation is offered on separately orderable CD-ROM media through a subscription to the Consolidated On-Line Documentation (ConOLD) product (see VMS7.) ConOLD manuals are readable with BNU, a viewer that is supplied with the documentation distribution. BNU can display HTML, Bookreader, and documentation in other formats. MGBOOK, a viewer for Bookreader-format documentation is available for character-cell terminals (eg. VTxxx) via the WKU VMS Freeware file server -- see question SOFT1 for details. [Steve Lionel] [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ DOC2. What online information is available? On your OpenVMS system, the HELP command can provide a wealth of information, not only on DCL commands but on system services (HELP System_Services) and Run-Time Library routines (HELP RTL_Routines). The introduction displayed when you type the HELP command with no additional keywords provides further pointers. OpenVMS Marketing runs a WWW server at http://www.compaq.com/openvms/ (http://www.openvms.digital.com/). Here, you will find product information, strategy documents, the contents of the latest OpenVMS Freeware CD-ROM and much more. Product information for just about everything Digital sells is available from Digital's Internet servers. If you're using a World-Wide-Web (WWW) browser, use http://www.digital.com/info.html For anonymous FTP access, log in to ftp.digital.com. Software Product Descriptions (SPDs) (http://www.digital.com/info/SPHOME/), system performance data (see ALPHA5), product infosheets, release notes and much more are available. In addition, http://www.digital.com/info/forms/search.html provides a handy method to search all of Digital's public web servers for information of any kind. Compaq's Customer Services organization also hosts an Internet server. Various contract-access and non-contract access ECO (patch) kits are available at the URL: http://search.service.digital.com/ For ftp access use ftp://ftp.service.digital.com/ The Compaq Systems and Options catalog and the Interactive Catalog are available at: http://www.digital.com/SOHOME/SOHOMEHM.HTM http://www.systems.digital.com/ Digital's Electronic Connection, also called "E-store", provides product information, prices and even lets you order online. For free access, TELNET to order.sales.digital.com or connect via modem at 800-234-1998. If you're on TYMNET, connect to ECONN. If you need to get pricing for Digital software licenses for your configuration, this is the place to get them. Information on Digital and on Digital hardware, software, products and services is available through various telephone numbers: 1-800-AT-COMPAQ : voice : Compaq (incl DIGITAL, Tandem) products, services 1-800-DIGITAL : voice : DIGITAL products and services 1-800-PCBYDEC : voice : Digital PC hardware and software 1-800-DECINFO : voice : General Corporate Information 1-603-884-0924 : voice : (alternate number for above) 1-800-234-1998 : modem : The Digital Electronic Connection 1-800-DEC-2717 : voice : The DECchip Hotline 1-508-568-6868 : voice : (alternate number for above) 1-800-STORWORK : voice : The Compaq StorageWorks team David Mathog offers two HTML documents which contain useful information about OpenVMS. http://seqaxp.bio.caltech.edu:8000/www/vms_sheet.html http://seqaxp.bio.caltech.edu:8000/www/vms_beginners_faq.html ------------------------------------------------------------ DOC3. What books and publications are available? A bibliography of current and recent OpenVMS books is available at: http://www.levitte.org/~ava/vms_book.htmlx Digital Press offers a number of OpenVMS books. Digital Press is an imprint of Butterworth-Heinemann, and has a web site at: http://www.bh.com/ Information on specific OpenVMS books is also available at: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/books.html ------------------------------------------------------------ DOC4. How do I extract the contents of a HELP topic to a text file? To extract all the text of a HELP topic (and its subtopics) to a text file for perusal with a text editor, printing out, etc., use the following command: $ HELP/OUT=filename.txt help-topic [help-subtopic] If the help text you want is not in the standard help library (for example, it's help for a utility such as MAIL that has its own help library), add /LIBRARY=libname after the HELP verb. To see the names of help library files, do a directory of SYS$HELP:*.HLB. ------------------------------------------------------------ DOC5. Does OpenVMS Marketing have an e-mail address? Yes - if you can't get the answers to questions elsewhere, if you have comments or complaints about OpenVMS, send mail to openvms-info@digital.com. This is NOT a support channel, but an informal method to communicate with OpenVMS Marketing. Please be courteous and careful using this address so that it may continue to be of benefit to all. ------------------------------------------------------------ DOC6. What OpenVMS-related WWW sites are available? http://www.openvms.digital.com/ (Sponsored by OpenVMS Marketing) http://www.montagar.com/ (Sponsored by DECUS - DFWLUG) http://www.levitte.org/~ava/ (Sponsored by Arne Vajhxj) http://www.saiga.com/ (Sponsored by Saiga Systems) http://www.tachyon.com/ (Sponsored by Wayne Sewell) http://www.progis.de/openvms.htm (Sponsored by proGIS Software) http://www.jcameron.com/vms/ (Sponsored by Jeff Cameron) The following web site is sponsored by "The Beave", and provides information that is directly relevent to system managers, security managers, and others interested in ensuring the continued security of OpenVMS systems: http://www.vistech.net/users/beave/hack-vms-faq Suggestions (indirectly) provided by the above include disabling the port 11 and 15 stats provided by IP packages such as Multinet. ------------------------------------------------------------ DOC7. Where can I find patches for OpenVMS and Digital layered products? Digital is now providing many patches (correction kits) for OpenVMS and layered products on the Internet. The easiest way to search for and retrieve the patches is through: http://www.service.digital.com/html/patch_service.html You can also find the patches and the associated README files at: ftp://ftp.service.digital.com/public but you must know what you are looking for. See VMS7 for info on ordering a CD-ROM with patch kits. For a list of OpenVMS ECO kits recently released, you can use: http://Eisner.DECUS.org/conferences/OpenVMS-patches_new_1.HTML You can also sign up for ECO kit email notifications (Digest or individual notifications) directly from Compaq at: http://www1.service.digital.com/patches/mailing-list.html ------------------------------------------------------------ DOC8. Where can I find info about undocumented OpenVMS features? After all this discussion about undocumented VMS features I started a collection of some documentation :-)) about them on http://axp623.gsi.de:8080/www/vms/qaa/undoc.htmlx [zinser@axp603.gsi.de] Also see the following: http://www.levitte.org/~ava/vms_tip.htmlx [Arne Vajhxj] Various examples of undocumented features are also available on the OpenVMS Freeware: http://www.openvms.digital.com/freeware/ DOC9. Where is documentation on the DECnet Phase IV protocols? ------------------------------------------------------------ Specifications for DECnet Phase IV can be found at: http://gatekeeper.dec.com/pub/DEC/DECnet/PhaseIV/index.html ------------------------------------------------------------ DOC10. Where can I learn about how the VMS executive works internally? The OpenVMS Internals and Data Structure book explains how the OpenVMS executive works. The book covers the operating system kernel: process management; memory management; the I/O subsystem; and the mechanisms that transfer control to, from, and among these. It gives an overview of a particular area of the system, followed by descriptions of the data structures related to that area and details of the code that implements the area. The first edition of the OpenVMS Alpha internals book describes Version 1.5. Although there have been several releases of OpenVMS Alpha since Version 1.5 (V6.1, V6.2, V7.0, and V7.1) and many details in the book are no longer accurate, it continues to provide a strong conceptual description of OpenVMS internals. This book has been split into five pieces, each to be updated separately. The first such volume, published in early 1997, was "OpenVMS Alpha Internals and Data Structures: Scheduling and Process Control," which covers the Version 7.0 implementation of true multithreading and the changed scheduling model it implies. The internals books are available through Digital Press, an imprint of Butterworth-Heinemann. You can order by phone (from US and Canada, 1-800-366-2655, or from elsewhere, 781-904-2500). You can also fax an order to 1-800-446-6520 or 781-933-6333. The order form and additional information are available on their web site www.bh.com . ISBN Title 1 55558 156 0 OpenVMS Alpha Internals: Scheduling and Process Control 1 55558 120 X OpenVMS AXP Internals and Data Structures: Version 1.5 1 55558 059 9 VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures: Version 5.2 [Ruth Goldenberg] ------------------------------------------------------------ DOC11. Where can new users find tutorial information about OpenVMS? First, see if your local site has information on this topic. Each site can have site-specific features and configuration. Some sites will have site-specific new user's documentation, covering various site-specific things that are difficult or impossible for the general OpenVMS documentation to cover. Various introductory manuals are available in the OpenVMS documentation set, including the OpenVMS User's Guide. The OpenVMS manuals -- including the OpenVMS User's Guide -- are available at: http://www.openvms.digital.com:800/ Some of the OpenVMS books available from the Butterworth-Heinemann Digital Press imprint (http://www.bh.com) include: Introduction to OpenVMS, 5th Edition, Lesley Ogilvie Rice ISBN 1 55558 194 3 The OpenVMS User's Guide, Second Edition Patrick Holmay ISBN 1 55558 203 6 Introduction to OpenVMS David W Bynon ISBN 1 878956 61 2 OpenVMS System Management Guide Richard Berry ISBN 1 55558 143 9 Using DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS Margie Sherlock ISBN 1 55558 114 5 Writing Real Programs in DCL, Second Edition Hoffman and Anagnostopoulos ISBN 1 55558 191 9 For various features OpenVMS books, please see: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/books.html Various user-maintained websites are also available, including a beginner's FAQ, various user-written FAQs, a bibliography of books on OpenVMS, and information on various other hardware and software topics: http://www.levitte.org/~ava/vms_faq.htmlx http://www.levitte.org/~ava/vms_book.htmlx http://seqaxp.bio.caltech.edu/www/vms_sheet.html http://seqaxp.bio.caltech.edu/www/vms_beginners_faq.html http://multivac.jb.man.ac.uk:8000/helbig/BOOKMARKS/VMS.HTML Members of the DECUS DFWLUG maintain a website with many materials available, including an Overview of OpenVMS, an Introduction to DCL and the TPU Editor, Advanced DCL Command Procedures, OpenVMS Operations: Batch, Print, Tape, an Introduction to OpenVMS Management, to OpenVMS User Management, to OpenVMS Network Management, and to OpenVMS Cluster Management. These training materials have been presented at various DECUS symposia, and can be downloaded from: http://www.montagar.com/openvms_class/ Compaq offers training information and Technical Resource Kits (TRKs) for OpenVMS at: http://www.compaq.com/training/home.html ------------------------------------------------------------ Y2K1. Does OpenVMS have a problem with the year 2000? There are Year 2000 (Y2K) ECO kits available for the following releases: OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2, V5.5-2H4, V6.2, and V7.1 OpenVMS Alpha V6.2, V6.2-1H1, V6.2-1H2, V6.2-1H3, V7.1, V7.1-1H1, V7.1-1H2 The following releases include integrated Y2K readiness: OpenVMS VAX V7.2, and later OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2, V7.2, and later No other generally-released Y2K readiness ECO kits for other (older) OpenVMS releases are currently planned. OpenVMS releases after the releases specified above will have integrated Y2K readiness. The Y2K readiness kits for specific OpenVMS releases prior to V7.1 are currently available to customers with an OpenVMS prior version support software support contract, and can also be purchased separately. The V7.1 Y2K readiness kits are presently available at the service area website: http://search.service.digital.com/ http://www.compaq.com/support/ For the official, most complete, and most current information on the status of Y2K compliance of DIGITAL hardware and software products, including that of OpenVMS and various OpenVMS layered products, please see: http://www.compaq.com/year2000/ http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/products/year-2000/ Information on the customer testing procedures recommended by OpenVMS Engineering are also accessable via the second URL above. Failure to follow the recommended Y2K testing procedures -- particularly around the necessity for performing a disk BACKUP and restoration around any Y2K testing -- can and has led to various problems at customer sites. ------------------------------------------------------------ Y2K2. What happens with the C tm_year field in the year 2000? The localtime() function and various other functions maintain the number of years since 1900 in the "struct tm" structure member tm_year. This field will contain a value of 100 in the year 2000, and the yearly incrementation is expected to continue. The VAX C "two digit" documentation for this area is in error, the VAX C Run-Time Library (RTL) returns a three-digit year. The VAX C RTL and the other integrated RTLs are covered under the OpenVMS operating system Y2K evaluation. For curent information on the Y2K status of OpenVMS language compilers and layered products, see section Y2K1. ------------------------------------------------------------ Y2K3. What happens with the year 2038 with C? The C epoch typically uses a longword (known as time_t) to contain the number of seconds since midnight on 1-Jan-1970. At the current rate of consumption of seconds, this longword is expected to overflow (when interpreted as a signed longword) circa 03:14:07 on 19-Jan-2038 (GMT), as this time is circa 0x7FFFFFFF seconds since the C base date. One could see this longword time value used in any C program that manipulates time using the standard C library routines, regardless of the particular operating system platform. There is currently no standard mechanism for dealing with this overflow (short of promoting all longword integers to quadwords), as the format of the time_t value is implementation-specific. Some implementations and applications will treat time_t as an unsigned longword value, while others treat it as a signed longword value -- the format of time_t is specifically left up to the C compiler implementation by the C standards. Applications written in C will likely have to revisit something similar to the current "Year 2000" evaluation process sometime prior to 2038. The OpenVMS Y2K evaluation does not extend into 19-Jan-2038, or later. For information on OpenVMS and 2038, please see the OpenVMS Y2K website. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ Y2K4. Is the year 2000 a leap year? The year 2000 is a leap year. (That is, the year 2000 is a leap year in the Gregorian calendar, the calendar that is currently used in most parts of the world.) The leap year algorithm that was created by Aloysius Giglio, Father Christopher Clavius, and the Coucil of Trent for the Gregorian Calendar dates back to the 16th Century. The algorithm is simple, but effective: the years that are evenly divisible by 4 are leap years, while the years that are divisible by 100 are not, while the years that are divisible by 400 are. Thus, 1800, 1900, and 2100 are not leap years, while 2000 is. And whenever working with dates, please determine what the local calendar, timezone, and daylight savings time rules are: the Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1698 in some areas of the world, in 1752 in others, and in 1918 in yet others. The specific rules vary both by geography and by date. For further details on this, please see the DECwindows Calendar Help, or please see the answer to DIGITAL SPR number 11-60903, dated 13-Oct-1983. ------------------------------------------------------------ Y2K5. What is covered by the OpenVMS Y2K Evaluation? All supported components of OpenVMS are covered by the OpenVMS Y2K evaluation, including the language run-time libraries and the OpenVMS system-integrated products such as shadowing and RMS journaling. For information on other DIGITAL products, or for additional details on the OpenVMS Y2K evaluation, please see http://www.digital.com/year2000/. ------------------------------------------------------------ Y2K6. Do I need to consider Y2K? Do I even need the Y2K ECO? To answer this, you will need to trade off the risks of Y2K failures with the time and money that will be spent performing a local Y2K evaluation. The performance of a Y2K evaluation is much like the purchasing of insurance. It is quite possible to create an entirely a Y2K safe environment from tools and products that are not Y2K ready, just as it is also possible to have serious Y2K problems in an environment based entirely on Y2K ready products. In other words -- short of knowing that the product has catestrophic Y2K failures, and short of learning where specific known Y2K problems lurk in the products -- you cannot really determine with any certainty that your site is Y2K ready. The only way to tell for certain that your site is Y2K safe is to test your systems and your applications. For some suggested testing procedures, please see the OpenVMS Y2K website. The OpenVMS operating system is in good shape in regard to Y2K, but there are a few small areas of OpenVMS that do require an update for Y2K readiness -- if you are certain that no local software is using any these areas OpenVMS, then you will likely not require the update. If you are not certain, then you have will likely need to test for Y2K problems at your site, and you will also likely want to acquire and install the update. For details on the update process and on what was found in OpenVMS, please see the information in the Y2K kits. And you will obviously need to consider software products other than OpenVMS when making your Y2K readiness determination, as well. [End of Part 1/3] --------------------------- pure personal opinion --------------------------- Hoff (Stephen) Hoffman OpenVMS Engineering hoffman#xdelta.zko.dec.com Article 31991 of comp.os.vms: Path: mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com!not-for-mail From: hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.nospam (Hoff Hoffman) Newsgroups: comp.os.vms,comp.sys.dec,vmsnet.alpha,vmsnet.misc,comp.answers,news.answers Subject: OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Part 2/3 Followup-To: poster Date: 29 Nov 1999 20:08:12 GMT Organization: Compaq Computer Corporation Lines: 2147 Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu Distribution: world Expires: 29 April 2000 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <81umfc$m0j$1@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com> References: <81umbt$lro$1@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com> Reply-To: hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.nospam NNTP-Posting-Host: xdelta.zko.dec.com X-Trace: mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com 943906092 22547 16.32.80.251 (29 Nov 1999 20:08:12 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 29 Nov 1999 20:08:12 GMT Summary: This posting contains answers to frequently asked questions about the OpenVMS operating system from Compaq Computer Corporation, and the computer systems on which it runs. Supercedes: <7u7spm$9e6$2@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com> Xref: mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com comp.os.vms:31991 comp.sys.dec:7968 vmsnet.alpha:85 vmsnet.misc:25 comp.answers:3435 news.answers:18890 Archive-name: dec-faq/vms/part2 Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-modified: 29 November 1999 Version: VMS-FAQ-2.TXT(3) Overview ======== This is part 2/3 of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) posting for the comp.os.vms and vmsnet.misc newsgroups. (comp.os.vms is bidirectionally-gatewayed to the INFO-VAX mailing list - see INTRO3 for further details.) It contains answers to frequently asked questions about Compaq's OpenVMS operating system and the computer systems on which it runs. (Please see INTRO5 before posting.) This FAQ is archived in the following locations: comp.answers and news.answers newsgroups ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/dec-faq/OpenVMS.txt ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/dec-faq/vms ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/dec-faq/vms Other FAQs are generally available in these locations: comp.answers and news.answers newsgroups ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/... User-created HTML versions of the FAQ are located at: http://www.kjsl.com/vmsfaq http://eisner.decus.org/vms/faq.htm Please do NOT send technical questions to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) editor -- well, please do not email any questions that do not also include the answer(s). Please post these questions to the appropriate newsgroup instead -- and see INTRO5 before posting. To make suggestions for changes or additions to this FAQ list, please send mail to the FAQ editor at hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.com. Again, the FAQ editor is *not* in a position to answer general questions. Some general notes: The term "VMS" is synonymous with "OpenVMS". "Alpha", "AlphaGeneration" or "AXP" generally refers to any system or product based on or related to Compaq's Alpha processor architecture. OpenVMS manual names mentioned are those as of V7.2 -- names may be different in other editions of the documentation set. World-Wide Web Universal Resource Locator (URL) notation is used for FTP addresses. Many people have contributed to this list, directly or indirectly. In some cases, an answer has been adapted from one or more postings on the comp.os.vms newsgroup. Our thanks to all of those who post answers. The name (or names) at the end of an entry indicate that the information was taken from postings by those individuals; the text may have been edited for this FAQ. These citations are only given to acknowledge the contribution. Although the editor of this FAQ is an employee of Compaq's Digital Equipment Corporation subsidiary, this posting is not an official statement of either Compaq or Digital Equipment Corporation. AlphaGeneration, AlphaServer, AlphaStation, Alpha AXP, AXP, DEC, DECstation, DECsystem, OpenVMS, ULTRIX, VAX and VMS are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. Compaq and the names of Compaq products are trademarks and/or registered trademarks and/or service marks of Compaq Computer Corporation. OSF/1 is a registered trademark of the Open Software Foundation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd. Other names are properties of their respective owners. Table of Contents - Part 2/3 ____________________________ System Management ======================================== MGMT1. What is an installed image? MGMT2. Are there any known viruses for OpenVMS? MGMT3. How do I mount an ISO-9660 CD on OpenVMS? MGMT4. How do I extract the contents of a PCSI kit? MGMT5. I've forgotten the SYSTEM password - what can I do? MGMT6. How do I connect a PostScript printer via TCP/IP? MGMT7. Why can't I do a SET TIME command? MGMT8. How do I change the timezone differential and time in batch? MGMT9. How do I change the node name of an OpenVMS System? MGMT10. What is the correct value for EXPECTED_VOTES in a VMScluster? MGMT11. Why doesn't OpenVMS see the new memory I just added? MGMT12. How do I write a BACKUP saveset to a remote tape? MGMT13. Tell me about SET HOST/DUP and SET HOST/HSC MGMT14. How do I install DECnet Phase IV on VMS 7.1? MGMT15. How do I change the text in a user's UIC identifier? MGMT16. What are the OpenVMS version upgrade paths? MGMT17. Why do I have negative number in the pagefile reservable pages? MGMT18. Do I have to update layered products when updating OpenVMS? MGMT19. How do I change the volume label of a disk? MGMT20. How do I fix a corrupt BACKUP saveset? MGMT21. How can I set up a shared directory? MGMT22. Why does my system halt when I power-cycle the console terminal? MGMT23. Why do I get extra blank pages on my HP Printer? MGMT24. How do I configure ELSA GLoria Synergy graphics on OpenVMS? MGMT25. How do I acquire OpenVMS patches, fixes, and ECOs? MGMT26. How do I rename a DSSI disk (or tape?) MGMT27. How do I move the queue manager database? MGMT28. How do I set a default IP route or gateway on OpenVMS? MGMT29. How do I switch between AlphaBIOS/ARC and SRM consoles? MGMT30. How do I delete an undeletable/unstoppable (RWAST) process? MAIL ======================================== MAIL1. How do I send Internet mail? MAIL2. How do I get IN% or MX% added automatically to Internet addresses? MAIL3. How do I automatically append a signature file to my mail messages? MAIL4. Do I have to use VMS MAIL? I like my Unix mailer better. MAIL5. How can I forward my mail? Can I forward it to an Internet address? MAIL6. How can I forward my mail to a list of addresses? MAIL7. MAIL keeps saying I have new messages, but I don't. What do I do? MAIL8. How do I extract all of my mail messages to a file? MAIL9. How do I send or read attachments in VMS MAIL? Other Utilities ======================================== UTIL1. How do I play an audio CD on my workstation? UTIL2. How do I access a MS-DOS floppy disk from OpenVMS? UTIL3. How do I play sound files on an AlphaStation? DECsound doesn't work DCL and command usage ======================================== DCL1. How do I run a program with arguments? DCL2. How can I redefine control keys in DCL? DCL3. How can I clear the screen in DCL? DCL4. How do I do a REPLY/LOG in a batch stream? DCL5. How do I generate a random number in DCL? DCL6. What does the MCR command do? DCL7. How do I change the OpenVMS system prompt? DCL8. Can I do DECnet task-to-task communication with DCL? File System and RMS ======================================== FILE1. How can I undelete a file? FILE2. Why does SHOW QUOTA give a different answer than DIR/SIZE? FILE3. How do I make sure that my data is safely written to disk? FILE4. What are the limits on file specifications and directories? FILE5. What is the largest disk volume size OpenVMS can access? FILE6. What is the maximum file size, and the RMS record size limit? FILE7. How do I write recordable CD media (CD-R) on OpenVMS? FILE8. What I/O transfer size limits exist in OpenVMS? ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT1. What is an installed image? The term "install" has two distinct meanings in OpenVMS. The first relates to "installing a product", which is done with either the SYS$UPDATE:VMSINSTAL.COM command procedure or the POLYCENTER Software Installation (PCSI) utility (PRODUCT command). The second meaning relates to the use of the INSTALL utility, which is what concerns us here. The INSTALL utility is used to identify to OpenVMS a specific copy of an image, either executable or shareable, which is to be given some set of enhanced properties. For example, when you issue the SET PASSWORD command, the image SYS$SYSTEM:SETP0.EXE is run. That image needs to have elevated privileges to perform its function. The other important attribute is /SHARED. This means that shareable parts of the image (typically read-only code and data) are loaded into memory only once and are shared among all users on a system. Executable images can be installed /SHARED as well as shareable library images. (The term "shareable" has dual meanings here, too. See the OpenVMS Programming Concepts Manual for further details.) It's important to note that there is no such thing as "installing a shareable image with privileges". The INSTALL utility will let you do it, but the privileges you specify will be ignored. To have a callable routine run with enhanced privileges that are not available to its caller, you must construct your routines as "user-written system services" and install the shareable image with the /PROTECT qualifier. See the OpenVMS Programming Concepts Manual for more information on user-written system services. Note also that in many cases the need to grant privileges to an image can be replaced with the use of the "Protected Subsystems" feature that grants a rights identifier to an image. See the OpenVMS Guide to System Security for information on Protected Subsystems. ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT2. Are there any known viruses for OpenVMS? Viruses are very common on PCs because the PC operating systems such as MS-DOS and MacOS do not implement any sort of scheme to protect the operating system or the file system against hostile action by programs. On these operating systems, any running program can subvert the operating system and take over the hardware, at which point it can do anything it wishes, including hiding copies of itself in other programs or in the file system. This is unlikely on OpenVMS, Unix, and MVS for three reasons. First, the operating system runs in a privileged mode in memory that is protected against modification by normal user programs. Any old program cannot take over the hardware as it can on PC operating systems. Secondly, OpenVMS, Unix, and MVS have file systems that can be set up so that non-privileged programs cannot modify system programs and files on disk. Both of these protection schemes mean that traditional PC virus schemes don't work on these OSes. Third, typical applications and configurations tend to prevent the uncontrolled execution of untrusted code as part of email messages or web access. It is possible for OpenVMS, etc., to be infected by viruses, but to do so, the program containing the virus must be run from a user account that has amplified privileges. As long as the system administrator is careful that only trusted applications are run from such accounts (and this is generally the case), there is no danger from viruses. [Paul Winalski] [Stephen Hoffman] To protect against viruses and other attempts at system interference or misuse, follow the recommendations in the "OpenVMS Guide to System Security". You may also want to consider optional software products which can monitor your system for intrusion or infection attempts. Digital offers the following products in this area: DECinspect Intrusion Detector POLYCENTER Security Reporting Facility POLYCENTER Security Compliance Manager Rocksoft offers the Veracity data integrity tool (for info, send mail to demo@rocksoft.com). [Contributions to this list welcomed] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT3. How do I mount an ISO-9660 CD on OpenVMS? ISO-9660 support was added in the following releases: OpenVMS VAX V6.0 OpenVMS AXP V1.5 An add-on ISO-9960 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, Digital Customer Support kit CSCPAT #1071012, or the F11CD ECO kit. 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. [Jim Dunham] [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT4. 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. ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT5. I've forgotten the SYSTEM password - what can I do? If you need to break into an OpenVMS system because you do not have access to any privileged passwords, such as the password to the SYSTEM username, you will need physical access to the system console, and you will need to perform a conversational reboot. 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 button, entering on the console, or pressing the 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 syntax for the conversational bootstrap varies by system model -- this typically involves specifying a flag of 1, for example: VAX: B/1 B/R5:1 @GENBOO 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: VAX: B/E0000001 B/R5:E0000001 @ Alpha: b -flags e,1 If your 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 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 in order to reset the hardware console password. The syntax used for the console password mechanism varies. 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: SET/STARTUP OPA0: SET WINDOWSYSTEM 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$SYSTEM:STARTUP The result of these two commands will be the normal system startup, but you will be left logged in on the console, running under a privileged username. Without the use of the SPAWN command, you would be logged out when the startup completes. If necessary, you can skip the invocation of the system startup temporarily, and perform tasks such as egistering license PAKs or various other "single-user" maintenance operations. 5. Use the following commands to reset the SYSTEM password: SET DEFAULT SYS$SYSTEM: ! or wherever SYSUAF.DAT resides RUN SYS$SYSTEM:AUTHORIZE MODIFY SYSTEM /PASSWORD=newpassword EXIT These steps will change the SYSTEM password to the specified new newpassword password value. Reboot the system normally -- the SYSTEM password should now be set to the value you specified in Step 5. Some people will suggest a method using the UAFALTERNATE SYSGEN parameter. This approach is not always reliable and is not recommended, as there can easily be an alternate user authorization file configured on the system. For further information on emergency startup and shutdown, as well as for the official OpenVMS documentation on how to change the SYSTEM password from the console in an emergency, please see the OpenVMS System Manager's Manual in the OpenVMS documentation set. You can also use the conversational bootstrap technique shown above (the steps through Step 3) to alter various system parameters. At the SYSBOOT> prompt, you can enter new parameters values: SHOW MAXPROCESSCNT SET . 64 CONTINUE The "." is a shorthand notation used for the last parameter examined. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT6. How do I connect a PostScript printer via TCP/IP? Using UCX as the TCP/IP stack, it is possible to setup queues using the UCX$TELNETSYM in order to print to postscript printers. This assumes however that the printer itself can convert whatever is passed to it into something intelligible. As an example, if the printer has an IP address of 123.456.789.101 and jobs should be passed to port 9100 then : $ INITIALIZE/QUEUE/ON="123.456.789.101:9100"/PROCESSOR=UCX$TELNETSYM - my_ip_queue The port number of 9100 is typical of HP JetDirect cards but may be different for other manufacturers cards. As a better alternative, DCPS Version 1.4 and later support IP queues using either Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS software or Cisco Multinet for OpenVMS. The usage of this type of interface is documented in the Release Notes and the DCPS$STARTUP.TEMPLATE file. [Steve Reece] [Arne Vajhxj] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT7. Why can't I do a SET TIME command? Q: Trying to set the time with SET TIME on my system returns one of these messages: %SET-E-NOTSET, error modifying time -SYSTEM-F-IVSSRQ, invalid system service request %SET-E-NOTSET, error modifying time -SYSTEM-E-TIMENOTSET, time service enabled; enter a time service command to update the time A: This occurs if the time on the local system is controlled by a time service software, for example the distributed time service software (DTSS) provided as part of the DECnet/OSI installation. The DTSS software communicates with one or more time servers to obtain the current time. It entirely controls the local system time (for DECnet/OSI, there is a process named DTSS$CLERK for this); therefore, the usage of the SET TIME command (and the underlying $SETTIM system service) is disabled. The first message is displayed on systems running DECnet/OSI V6.1 and earlier. On systems with newer DECnet/OSI (DECnet-Plus) software, the second (and more informative) message is given. You shouldn't have to change the time manually - you should be doing this through the time server - but if you insist... you'll have to shutdown DTSS: $ MCR NCL NCL> DISABLE DTSS NCL> DELETE DTSS This will shutdown DTSS$CLERK. You may then change the system time as usual. To restart the DTSS software, type @SYS$STARTUP:DTSS$STARTUP You'll need a lot of privs : (CMKRNL,SYSPRV,OPER,SYSNAM,PRMMBX,NETMBX,LOG_IO, ALTPRI) and must be granted the NET$MANAGE identifer to shutdown and restart DTSS. [bol@adv.magwien.gv.at] If you wish to "permanently" disable DTSS on a system running DECnet-Plus, the above NCL sequence must be performed each time the system is bootstrapped. ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT8. How do I change the timezone differential and time in batch? To change the timezone differential and the time when the change to/from Daylight Saving Time (DST) occurs, use SYS$MANAGER:UTC$CONFIGURE_TDF.COM. To use this as batch job, please note: P1 = SET, set the time. P2 = signed timezone differential from UTC in minutes. -360 for standard time (for Chicago) -300 for DST (for Chicago) P3 = signed time change in minutes. If +, enclose in quotes. -60 to go from DST to standard time "+60" to go from standard time to DST Going from standard time to DST (for Chicago): $ SUBMIT/AFTER="+02:00" SYS$MANAGER:UTC$CONFIGURE_TDF - /PAR=(SET,-300,"+60") Going from DST to standard time (for Chicago): $ SUBMIT/AFTER="+02:00" SYS$MANAGER:UTC$CONFIGURE_TDF - /PAR=(SET,-360,-60) If you use this com file interactively, the times are given as signed hour:minute, so that -360 minutes is given as -6:00. Before and after the com file runs, check the system time and the logical SYS$TIMEZONE_DIFFERENTIAL. The logical has the offset from UTC in seconds. Current DST rules for some countries: 1. United States and Canada: DST begins on the first Sunday of April (2am => 3am) DST ends on the last Sunday of October (2am => 1am) 2. UK, France, Germany, Spain: DST begins on the last Sunday of March (2am => 3am) DST ends on the last Sunday of October (3am => 2am) 3. Australia: DST begins on the last Sunday of October (2am => 3am) DST ends on the last Sunday of March (2am => 1am) 4. Singapore: No DST change [Dale Dellutri] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT9. How do I change the node name of an OpenVMS System? The first step is to get a BACKUP of the system disk before making any changes -- use the system disk backup procedures as documented in the OpenVMS System Management Manual, making sure to use the procedures and commands appropriate for the system disk. Changing the node name involves a number of steps -- the node name tends to be imbedded in a number of different data files around the system. Update the SCSNODE in MODPARAMS.DAT, and then run AUTOGEN as far as the SETPARAMS phase. (Do not reboot yet.) Modify the DECnet node name. (NETCONFIG is the DECnet Phase IV tool, and NET$CONFIGURE is the DECnet-Plus tool.) Modify the IP node name. (The UCX tool is UCX$CONFIG.) Modify the host node name on the various queues in the queue database. (each queue has a host name, and it defaults to the SCS node name of the queue's host system. See the command INIT/QUEUE/ON=node for information.) Modify the node name saved in any application databases, or any local node-conditional operations present in the site-specific system startup, etc. (SEARCH for the node name, specifying all types of files.) Rename the SYS$NODE_oldnodename rightslist identifier to match the new name. (Do not change the binary value of this identifier.) Reset any license PAKs that are restricted to the old node name to the new node name. If the node name is part of a disk volume label, see MGMT19. Reboot the node or -- if in a VMScluster -- reboot the whole VMScluster. (This tends to catch any errors immediately.) There are likely a few other areas where the nodename will be stored. 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) I expect I may 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... [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT10. What is the correct value for EXPECTED_VOTES in a VMScluster? The VMScluster connection manager uses the concept of votes and quorum to prevent disk and memory data corruptions -- when sufficient votes are present for quorum, then access to resources is permitted. When sufficient votes are not present, user activity will be blocked. The act of blocking user activity is called a "quorum hang", and is better thought of as a "user data integrity interlock". This mechanism is designed to prevent a partitioned VMScluster, and the resultant massive disk data corruptions. On each OpenVMS node in a VMScluster, one sets two values in SYSGEN: VOTES, and EXPECTED_VOTES. The former is how many votes the node contributes to the VMScluster. The latter is the total number of votes expected when the full VMScluster is bootstrapped. Some sites erroneously attempt to set EXPECTED_VOTES too low, believing this will allow when only a subset of voting nodes are present in a VMScluster. It does not. Further, an erroneous setting in EXPECTED_VOTES is automatically corrected once VMScluster connections to other nodes are established, meaning user data is at risk of severe corruption only during the initial system bootstrap. One can operate a VMScluster with one, two, or many voting nodes. With any but the two-node configuration, keeping a subset of the nodes active when some nodes fail can be easily configured. With the two-node configuration, one must use a primary-secondary configuration (where the primary has all the votes), a peer configuration (where when either node is down, the other hangs), or (preferable) a shared quorum disk. Use of a quorum disk does slow down VMScluster transitions somewhat -- the addition of a third voting node that contributes the vote(s) that would be assigned to the quorum disk makes for faster transitions -- but the use of a quorum disk does mean that either node in a two-node VMScluster configuration can operate when the other node is down. In a two-node VMScluster with a shared storage interconnect, typically each node has one vote, and the quorum disk also has one vote. EXPECTED_VOTES is set to three. Using a quorum disk on a non-shared interconnect is unnecessary -- the use of a quorum disk does not provide any value, and the votes assigned to the quorum disk should be assigned to the OpenVMS host serving access to the disk. For information on quorum hangs, see the OpenVMS documentation. For information on changing the EXPECTED_VOTES value on a running system, see the SET CLUSTER/EXPECTED_VOTES command, and see the OpenVMS system console documentation for the processor-specific console commands used to trigger the IPC (Interrrupt Priority Level %x0C; IPL C) handler. The IPC handler can be used to clear a quorum hang, and to clear disk mount verification hangs. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT11. Why doesn't OpenVMS see the new memory I just added? When adding memory to an OpenVMS system, one 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. 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, to indicate that all available memory should be used. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT12. How do I write a BACKUP saveset to a remote tape? How to do this correctly was described at DECUS a long time ago. On the node with the tape drive, create SAVE-SET.FDL: RECORD FORMAT fixed SIZE 8192 Then create BACKUP_SERVER.COM: $ ! $ ! BACKUP_SERVER.COM - provide remote tape service for BACKUP. $ ! $ set verify $ set noon $ define mu $90$mua93: ! or whatever your real tape drive is $ set rms/network=16 $ mount/nounl/over:id/block=8192 mu: $ convert/fdl=SAVE-SET sys$net mu:save-set. $ dismount/unl mu: $ set noverify On the node where you want to do the backup, do: $ BACKUP input-spec node::"TASK=BACKUP_SERVER" /BLOCK=8192 The only thing that doesn't completely work here is multi-reel savesets. Since the tape is being written through RMS and the magtape ACP, BACKUP won't see the reel switch and will split an XOR group across the reel boundary. As far as I remember, BACKUP will be willing to read such a multi-reel save set (directly, not over the net) since the XOR blocks are simply ignored on read, but it definitely wouldn't be able to do a recovery across the reel boundary. Unfortunately BACKUP can't read tapes over the network because the RMS file attributes on a network task access look wrong (variable length records). [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT13. Tell me about SET HOST/DUP and SET HOST/HSC The OpenVMS DCL commands SET HOST/DUP and SET HOST/HSC are used to connect to storage controllers via the Diagnostics and Utility Protocol (DUP). These commands require that the FYDRIVER device driver be connected. This device driver connection is typically performed by adding the following command(s) into the system startup command procedure: On OpenVMS Alpha: $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN SYSMAN> IO CONNECT FYA0/NOADAPTER/DRIVER=SYS$FYDRIVER On OpenVMS VAX: $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSGEN SYSGEN> CONNECT FYA0/NOADAPTER Alternatives to the DCL SET HOST/DUP command include the console >>> SET HOST command available on various mid- to recent-vintage VAX consoles: Access to Parameters on an Embedded DSSI controller: >>> SET HOST/DUP/DSSI[/BUS:{0:1}] dssi_node_number PARAMS Access to Directory of tools on an Embedded DSSI controller: >>> SET HOST/DUP/DSSI[/BUS:{0:1}] dssi_node_number DIRECT Access to Parameters on a KFQSA DSSI controller: >>> SHOW UQSSP ! to get port_controller_number PARAMS >>> SET HOST/DUP/UQSSP port_controller_number PARAMS These console commands are available on most MicroVAX and VAXstation 3xxx series systems, and most (all?) VAX 4xxx series systems. For further information, see the system documentation and -- on most VAX systems -- see the console HELP text. EK-410AB-MG, _DSSI VAXcluster Installation and Troubleshooting_, is a good resource for setting up a DSSI VMScluster on OpenVMS VAX nodes. (This manual predates coverage of OpenVMS Alpha systems, but gives good coverage to all hardware and software aspects of setting up a DSSI-based VMScluster -- and most of the concepts covered are directly applicable to OpenVMS Alpha systems. This manual specifically covers the hardware, which is something not covered by the standard OpenVMS VMScluster documentation.) [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT14. How do I install DECnet Phase IV on VMS 7.1? On OpenVMS V7.1, all DECnet binaries were relocated into separate installation kits -- you can selectively install the appropriate network: DECnet-Plus (formerly known as DECnet OSI), DECnet Phase IV, and DIGITAL TCP/IP Services (often known as UCX). On OpenVMS versions prior to V7.1, DECnet Phase IV was integrated, and there was no installation question. You had to install the DECnet-Plus (DECnet OSI) package on the system, after the OpenVMS upgrade or installation completed. During an OpenVMS V7.1 installation or upgrade, the installation procedure will query you to learn if DECnet-Plus should be installed. If you are upgrading to V7.1 from an earlier release or are installing V7.1 from a distribution kit, simply answer "NO" to the question asking you if you want DECnet-Plus. Then -- after the OpenVMS upgrade or installation completes -- use the PCSI PRODUCT INSTALL command to install the DECnet Phase IV binaries from the kit provided on the OpenVMS software distribution kit. If you already have DECnet-Plus installed and wish to revert, you must reconfigure OpenVMS. You cannot reconfigure the "live" system, hence you must reboot the system using the V7.1 distribution CD-ROM. Then select the DCL ($$$ prompt) option. Then issue the commands: $$$ DEFINE/SYSTEM PCSI$SYSDEVICE DKA0: $$$ DEVINE/STSTEM PCSI$SPECIFIC DKA0:[SYS0.] $$$ PRODUCT RECONFIGURE VMS /REMOTE/SOURCE=DKA0:[VMS$COMMON] The above commands assume that the target system device and system root are "DKA0:[SYS0.]". Replace this with the actual target device and root, as appropriate. The RECONFIGURE command will then issue a series of prompts. You will want to reconfigure DECnet-Plus off the system, obviously. You will then want to use the PCSI command PRODUCT INSTALL to install the DECnet Phase IV kit from the OpenVMS distribution media. Information on DECnet support, and on the kit names, is included in the OpenVMS V7.1 installation and upgrade documentation. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT15. 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: 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. ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT16. What are the OpenVMS version upgrade paths? Note: See "OpenVMS Alpha Terminology" section, below. OpenVMS Alpha release upgrade (or update) paths: From V1.0, one can upgrade to V1.5. From V1.5, or V1.5-1H1, one can upgrade to V6.1. From 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, V6.2-1H(1,2,3), or V7.0, one can upgrade to V7.1. From V6.2, one 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, one can upgrade to V7.2-1 From V7.1, one can update to V7.1-1H(1,2), V7.1-2, V7.2, V7.2-1 Some typical OpenVMS Alpha upgrade (or update) paths are: V1.0 -> V1.5 -> V6.1 -> (V6.2, V7.0, V7.1, V7.2) V1.5-1H1 -> V6.1 -> (V6.2, V7.0, V7.1, V7.2) V6.1 -> V7.2 V6.2 -> V6.2-1H3 V6.2 -> V7.2-1 V6.2-1H(1,2,3) -> V7.1 V6.2-1H(1,2,3) -> V7.2-1 V7.1 -> V7.1-1H(1,2) V7.1 -> V7.1-2 V7.1 -> V7.2-1 V7.1-1H(1,2) -> V7.2-1 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 VAX V7.1. 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. 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. VMSINSTAL OpenVMS ECO kits are not used on OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later. Prior to V7.1-2, VMSINSTAL-based ECO kits are used for OpenVMS. OpenVMS VAX release upgrade paths: 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 V7.2 (with VAXBACK ECO for V6.1). Some typical OpenVMS VAX upgrade paths are: V5.x -> V5.5 -> V6.0 -> V6.2 -> (V7.0, or V7.1) V5.5-2HW -> V5.5-2 V5.5-2, or V5.5-2H4 -> V6.1 -> (V6.2, V7.0, or V7.1) V6.1 -> VAXBACK V6.1 ECO -> V7.2 V6.2 -> V7.2 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. OpenVMS Cluster Rolling Upgrades: Rolling Upgrades require multiple system disks. Rolling upgrades permit the OpenVMS Cluster to remain available while individual systems are being upgraded to a new OpenVMS release. OpenVMS Cluster rolling upgrades for both OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha may (will) have different, or additional upgrade requirements, and have requirements around which versions of OpenVMS can coexist in a OpenVMS Cluster than what is listed here. See the _OpenVMS Version Upgrade and Installation Manual_, and the OpenVMS Software Product Descriptions http://www.digital.com/info/SPHOME/ for further details on the rolling upgrade, and for support information. The documentation for older releases of OpenVMS VAX includes various platform-specific manuals, manuals that include instructions that are specific to installing and upgrading on the platform. Layered Product and Support Information: For information on Prior Version support, see: http://www.compaq.com/services/software/ss_mature.html For information on supported versions of layered products, and minimum required layered product versions, see: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/os/swroll/index.html For information on the release history of OpenVMS, including information on the code names of various releases and the major features: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/os/openvms-release-history.html Additional release history information, as well as a variety of other trivia, is available in the VAX 20th anniversary book: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/20th/vmsbook.pdf OpenVMS Alpha Terminology: 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. upgrade: Performed via PCSI. Upgrades can typically be applied to a release-specific (and documented) range of prior OpenVMS releases. 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. 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. 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. ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT17. Why do I have 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. 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. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT18. Do I have to update layered products when updating OpenVMS? The Software Public Rollout Reports for OpenVMS list the current and future availability of Compaq's software products shipping on the Software Products Library kits (CDROM consolidations) for OpenVMS Alpha and 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 Compaq 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 reports are updated monthly. Please see: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/os/swroll/index.html [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT19. 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. On OpenVMS V6.0 and later, issue the following PCSI command: $ PRODUCT REGISTER VOLUME To reset the label information stored in the PCSI database to reflect the new disk volume label. 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. Remount the disk appropriately. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT20. How do I fix a corrupt BACKUP saveset? BACKUP savesets can be corrupted by FTP file transfers and by tools such as zip (particularly when the zip tool has not been asked to save and restore OpenVMS file attributes or when it does not support OpenVMS file attributes), as well as via other means of corruptions. If you have problems with the BACKUP savesets after unzipping them or after an FTP file transfer, you can try restoring the appropriate saveset attributes using the tool: $ @RESET_BACKUP_SAVESET_ATTRIBUTES.COM This tool is available on the OpenVMS Freeware (in the [000TOOLS] directory). The Freeware is available at various sites -- see the Freeware location listings elsewhere in the FAQ -- and other similar tools are also available from various sources. In various cases, the following command might work: $ SET FILE/ATTRIBUTES=(RFM:FIX,MRS:32256,LRL:32256,RAT:NONE) file.bck [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT21. How can I set up a shared directory? To set up a shared directory -- where all files created in the directory are accessable 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 AUTHORIZE: ADD/IDENTIFER/ATTRIBUTES=RESOURCE groupidentifier Grant the identifier to each user in the group using AUTHORIZE: GRANT/IDENTIFIER groupidentifier username 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. ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT22. Why does my system halt when I power-cycle the console terminal? Power-cycling serial line equipment -- either a host controller or a serial terminal -- can and often does generate a serial line framing error until the power stabilizes. A serial line framing error on the console serial line is indistiguishable from the BREAK signal that is used to HALT many OpenVMS systems. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT23. 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: http://www.openvms.digital.com/wizard/ http://www.openvms.digital.com/wizard/wiz_1020.html There are a variety of discussions of this and of related printing topics in the Ask The Wizard area. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT24. How do I configure ELSA GLoria Synergy graphics on OpenVMS? The ELSA GLoria Synergy is the PBXGK-BB. On OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and V7.2, acquire the appropriate GRAPHICS PCSI kit, and all prerequisite OpenVMS ECO kits: VMS72_GRAPHICS-V0100 or later VMS712_GRAPHICS-V0100 or later 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. 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. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT25. How do I acquire OpenVMS patches, fixes, and ECOs? You can acquire and download kits containing OpenVMS fixes (ECOs) for various releases via: http://search.service.digital.com/ ftp://ftp.service.digital.com/public/vms/ You can subscribe to an email notification list at: http://www.service.digital.com/patches/mailing-list.html A quarterly distribution is also available on CD-ROM: QT-3CQAA-C8 OpenVMS Alpha QT-3CRAA-C8 OpenVMS VAX For information on ECO checksums, see: http://www1.service.digital.com/svctools/decevent/md5-frame.html [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT26. How do I rename a DSSI disk (or tape?) If you want to renumber or rename DSSI disks or DSSI tapes, it's easy -- if you know the secret incantation... From OpenVMS: $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSGEN SYSGEN> CONNECT FYA0/NOADAPTER SYSGEN> ^Z $ SET HOST/DUP/SERV=MSCP$DUP/TASK=PARAMS ... PARAMS> STAT CONF PARAMS> EXIT ... From the console on most 3000- and 4000-class VAX system consoles... (Obviously, the system must be halted for these commands...) Integrated DSSI: >>> SET HOST/DUP/DSSI[/BUS:[0:1]] dssi_node_number PARAMS KFQSA: >>> SET HOST/DUP/UQSSP port_controller_number PARAMS For information on how to get out into the PARAMS subsystem, also see the >>> HELP at the console prompt for the SET HOST syntax, or see the HELP on SET HOST /DUP (once you've connected FYDRIVER under OpenVMS). Once you are out into the PARAMS subsystem, you can use the FORCEUNI option to force the use of the UNITNUM value and then set a unique UNITNUM inside each DSSI ISE -- this causes each DSSI ISE to use the specfied unit number and not use the DSSI node as the unit number. Other parameters of interest are NODENAME and ALLCLASS, the node name and the (disk or tape) cluster allocation class. Ensure that all disk unit numbers used within an OpenVMS Cluster disk allocation class are unique, and all tape unit numbers used within an OpenVMS Cluster tape allocation class are also unique. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT27. How do I move the queue manager database? To move the location of the queue database, the SYS$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: 0. Checkpoint the journal file. This reduces the file size to the in-memory database size. This will cause the noted delay. $ mcr JBC$COMMAND JBC$COMMAND> DIAG 0 7 1. Stop the queue manager $STOP/QUEUE/MANAGER/CLUSTER 2. Backup the .QMAN$QUEUES and .QMAN$JOURNAL files from the present location for safety. $ backup SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE]SYS$QUEUE_MANAGER.QMAN$* DISK:[DIR] 3. 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] 4. Copy the .QMAN$QUEUES and .QMAN$JOURNAL files to the new directory $ copy SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE]SYS$QUEUE_MANAGER.QMAN$* fast_disk:[qman] 5. Delete the old queue database. $DELETE SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE]SYS$QUEUE_MANAGER.QMAN$* 6. Restart the queue manager pointing to the new location $START/QUEUE/MANAGER fast_disk:[qman] [Dave Sweeney] ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT28. How do I set a default IP route or gateway on OpenVMS? If you have TCP/IP Services, then use the command: $ TCPIP SET ROUTE/GATE=x.x.x.x/DEF/PERM or $ UCX SET ROUTE/GATE=x.x.x.x/DEF/PERM ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT29. How do I switch between AlphaBIOS/ARC and SRM consoles? The specific steps required vary by system. You must first ensure that the particular Alpha system is supported by OpenVMS (see the SPD), that all core I/O components (graphics, disk controllers, etc) in the system are supported by OpenVMS (see the SPD), and that you have an OpenVMS distribution, that you have the necessary license keys (PAKs), and that you have the necessary SRM firmware loaded. Most Alpha systems support loading both the AlphaBIOS/ARC console and the SRM console at the same time, but systems such as the AlphaStation 255 are "half-flash" systems and do not support the presence of both the AlphaBIOS/ARC and SRM console firmware at the same time. If you have a "half-flash" system, you must load the SRM firmware from floppy, from a network download, or from a firmware CD-ROM. Following the normal AlphaBIOS or ARC firmware update sequence to the APU prompt, and then explictly select the target console. In other words, power up the system to the AlphaBIOS or ARC console, use the supplementary options to select the installation of new firmware (typically from CD-ROM), and then rather than using a sequence which updates the current firmware: Apu-> update -or- Apu-> update ARC Apu-> verify Apu-> quit Power-cycle the system Use the following sequence to specifically update (and load) SRM from AlphaBIOS/ARC on a "half-flash" system: Apu-> update SRM Apu-> verify Apu-> quit Power-cycle the system Use the following sequence to specifically update (and load) the AlphaBIOS/ARC console from SRM on a "half-flash" system: >>> b -fl 0,A0 ddcu BOOTFILE: firmware_boot_file.exe Apu-> update ARC Apu-> verify Apu-> quit Power-cycle the system Once you have the SRM loaded, you can directly install OpenVMS or Tru64 UNIX on the system. Do not allow Windows NT to write a "harmless" signature to any disk used by OpenVMS, Tru64 UNIX, or Linux, as this will clobber a key part of the disk. (On OpenVMS, you can generally recover from this "harmless" action by using the WRITEBOOT tool.) If you have a "full-flash" system and want to select the SRM console from the AlphaBIOS or ARC console environment, select the "Switch to OpenVMS or Tru64 UNIX console" item from the "set up the system" submenu. Then power-cycle the system. If you have a "full-flash" system with the SRM conssole and want to select AlphaBIOS/ARC, use the command: >>> set os_type NT and power-cycle the system. For information on acquiring firmware, see ALPHA6. For information on OpenVMS license PAKs (for hobbyist use) see VMS9. For information on the Multia, see ALPHA8. ------------------------------------------------------------ MGMT30. 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 relevent host component has an ECO, acquire and apply it. 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 process quota recommendations for operator BACKUP accounts. 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 it 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 interrum solution -- the real fix is avoiding the loss of the IRP, the process quota leak, or whatever else is "jamming up" this particular process... [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MAIL1. How do I send Internet mail? The simplest answer on most OpenVMS V6.2 and later systems: just enter the Internet (SMTP) address at the "to" prompt in MAIL. On most such systems, this will send your email to the specified recipient. That said, there is no one answer to this question. Internet mail is built upon the TCP/IP protocols, which are not directly supported by OpenVMS -- support requires the installation of a package that understands TCP/IP and specifically one that provides the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP). A number of implementations of TCP/IP are available for OpenVMS -- from Compaq, from third parties, and even a free "support it yourself" form. The MAIL program that comes with OpenVMS does not directly support the mail protocol used on the Internet (though it does recognize SMTP addresses in V6.2 and later), but various programs have been written that use MAIL's "foreign protocol" facility to provide such support -- these tools are called transports. To send mail through a transport, place the transport specifier at the front, and (typically) quote the address. For example, IN%"hoffman@bogushost.compaq.com" -- you *must* include the quotation marks -- indicates that IN transport will be used to send the mail to the address hoffman@bogushost.compaq.com. Common names for the transport are IN%, MX%, and SMTP%. (MX is a widely used, free, mail handler; see question SOFT1. SMTP% is used by Compaq's TCP/IP Services product.) Other systems may use some other name. If none of these prefixes work, please ask your system manager for assistance. [leichter@lrw.com] [Stephen Hoffman] See also MAIL2. ------------------------------------------------------------ MAIL2. How do I get IN% or MX% added automatically to Internet addresses? For older OpenVMS releases, you can acquire the MAILSHR_PATCH package (there's one each for VAX and Alpha) from the WKU FILESERV server (see question SOFT1.). As of OpenVMS V6.2, this is not necessary -- simply enter the SMTP email address directly. If the address specified to MAIL contains an embeded "@" character in it (a quoted string is not needed), MAIL will look to see if the logical name MAIL$INTERNET_TRANSPORT is defined. If it is, then MAIL will use the translation as the transport protocol, otherwise it will use the SMTP transport as is used by TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS. To alter this, for example, if you wanted IN% added, you'd define MAIL$INTERNET_TRANSPORT as "IN". ------------------------------------------------------------ MAIL3. How do I automatically append a signature file to my mail messages? OpenVMS 7.0 adds the ability to automatically append signature files - in MAIL, use the SET SIGNATURE command to specify a signature file name. For earlier versions, see the following paragraphs. The basic MAIL utility which is shipped with VMS does not have an intrinsic mechanism for adding signature files. If you're using an enhanced mail handling package (e.g PMDF), however, it may have provisions for adding signature files to all messages it handles - check the documentation for details. In addition, it's common practice to use an editor to handle addition of `quotation marks' (e.g. >) and signature files to mail messages and news postings. There are several implementations of this for different editors available on the net; for one example, see the MAIL_EDIT package available at ftp://narnia.memst.edu/mail_edit_v1-4.zip [bailey@genetics.upenn.edu] Define the logical MAIL$EDIT to a COM-file, which looks something like the following: $ IF P1 .NES. "" $ THEN $ COPY 'P1', 'P2' $ ELSE $ COPY 'P2' $ ENDIF $ DEFINE/NOLOG SYS$INPUT SYS$COMMAND $ 'P2' $ EXIT Where is the name of the signature-file (including directory and disk) and is EDIT/EDT or EDIT/TPU (or your favorite editor). [Arne Vajhxj] ------------------------------------------------------------ MAIL4. Do I have to use VMS MAIL? I like my Unix mailer better. Several Unix mailers have been ported to VMS, some by the vendors of specific TCP/IP packages, some by users who have made them freely available. See the documentation for your TCP/IP package, and refer to question SOFT1 for information about the availability of the free ports. [Jerry Leichter] ------------------------------------------------------------ MAIL5. How can I forward my mail? Can I forward it to an Internet address? You can use the SET FORWARD command within MAIL to specify where you want all your mail forwarded to. Use SHOW FORWARD to see your current forwarding. To cancel all forwarding, type SET NOFORWARD. You can forward your mail to an Internet address, but you have to be careful because of the way MAIL handles special characters, such as quotation marks. First, determine the address you would use to send mail to the place you want to forward to - say, IN%"fred@fred-host.xxx.com". Take that string and *double all the quotation marks*, producing IN%""fred@fred-host.xxx.com"". Finally, wrap quotation marks around the outside and use the the result with SET FORWARD: MAIL>SET FORWARD "IN%""fred@fred-host.xxx.com""" If you do SHOW FORWARD, you should now see: Your mail is being forwarded to IN%"fred@fred-host.xxx.com". [leichter@lrw.com] Note that the MAIL$INTERNET_TRANSPORT feature doesn't yet work with SET FORWARD in that you'll still have to use the syntax above with the quotation marks. ------------------------------------------------------------ MAIL6. How can I forward my mail to a list of addresses? VMS MAIL does not support forwarding a message to more than one address. (Older versions of MAIL allowed you to specify such forwarding, but it never worked correctly.) Many of the TCP/IP mail packages support forwarding to mailing lists, as does the free MX mail handling system and the DELIVER mail "extender". See the documentation of your TCP/IP package and question SOFT1. [leichter@lrw.com] ------------------------------------------------------------ MAIL7. MAIL keeps saying I have new messages, but I don't. What do I do? The count of new mail messages is kept separately from your mail folder in SYS$SYSTEM:VMSMAIL_PROFILE.DATA. It sometimes happens that this count differs from what's in your mail folder. If this happens, go into MAIL and repeat the READ/NEW command until you see no new mail messages. Then enter the command one more time. This will resynchronize the counters. ------------------------------------------------------------ MAIL8. How do I move all of my mail messages to another system? If you are moving to another OpenVMS system, perhaps the best way is to select each folder and do (in MAIL) a: EXTRACT/APPEND/ALL/MAIL mymail.mai Move MYMAIL.MAI to the other system, then do this (in MAIL): SET FILE mymail.mai COPY/ALL foldername MAIL.MAI This will place a copy of all of your messages in the given folder. If you wanted to maintain the separate folders, do separate EXTRACT commands (above) specifying different .mai files, then repeat the SET FILE, COPY for each one. If you are moving to a non-OpenVMS system, the EXTRACT command above can be used to create a file which you can then copy - how you import it into your mailer is an exercise left to the reader. ------------------------------------------------------------ MAIL9. How do I send or read attachments in VMS MAIL? Is there any way to send or read mail with files as attachments from VMS? Not directly with the OpenVMS MAIL facility, but there are several other options: 1. Install PINE, available commercially from Innosoft or free from Andy Harper. With PINE you can both send and receive MIME messages, if you have the appropriate viewers available. http://www.innosoft.com/ http://www.agh.cc.kcl.ac.uk/files/vms/pine-vms/ ftp://ftp2.kcl.ac.uk/pub/vms/pine-vms/ 2. If you're working from an X11 server use the OpenVMS version of Netscape Navigator. This option is ok for sending mail, but is not optimal for reading it, since Netscape will use POP and remove messages entirely the OpenVMS MAIL system, which is not generally what you want. 3. MPACK/MUNPACK. To send a MIME mail, construct the message with attachments manually using MPACK. You cannot send the resulting file directly through MAIL because an extra blank header line will be inserted between your message and the OpenVMS MAIL headers, which will cause the message to appear as plain text in most mail programs. Some TCP/IP stacks provide a work around for this problem, and if that doesn't work, you should generally be able to force the message directly into the SMTP port of your mail machine. Examples of both methods are in: http://seqaxp.bio.caltech.edu/pub/SOFTWARE/mmail.com To read a MIME mail message, open it in MAIL, extract it to a file, then use MUNPACK to break out and decode the attachments. [David Mathog] 4. With OpenVMS V7.2 and later, use the supplied MIME tool. ------------------------------------------------------------ UTIL1. How do I play an audio CD on my workstation? If you've installed the DECwindows examples, you'll find DECW$CDPLAYER.C, .DAT, .EXE, .UIL, and .UID. Copy the .UID and .DAT files to DECW$USER_DEFAULTS: (typically SYS$LOGIN:), define the logical name DECW$CD_PLAYER to be the device name of your CD-ROM drive (eg. DKA400:), give yourself PHY_IO and DIAGNOSE privileges, and run the .EXE. You can also install the image with these privileges. See the source for additional details - note that the comments regarding the need for SYSGEN CONNECT are no longer applicable (at least as of VMS V5.5-2). There's also SYS$EXAMPLES:CDROM_AUDIO.C and .EXE, a non-Motif program. ------------------------------------------------------------ UTIL2. How do I access a MS-DOS floppy disk from OpenVMS? The Digital Pathworks for OpenVMS product includes a utility called PCDISK that can read and write MS-DOS format diskette. A license for Pathworks is as little as US$99 (QM-2CLAA-AA, File and Print Access license). ProGIS in Germany sells a product called VMove which supports DOS files on many different device types. For more information, send mail to info@progis.rmi.de. Engineering Software has a product called VAKSAT which will read/write/erase files on DOS diskettes. Available for both VAX and Alpha. Contact ed@cityscape.co.uk for more information. MadGoat PC Exchange (PCX) is a utility for copying files to and from MS-DOS format diskettes under VMS, using an RX23 (3.5"), RX26 (3.5"), or RX33 (5.25") diskette drive. For 3.5" diskettes, high-density disks can be read or written; double-density disks are read-only. Only high-density disks are supported on the RX33. http://www.madgoat.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ UTIL3. How do I play sound files on an AlphaStation? DECsound doesn't work The new AlphaStation systems use a different sound board (Microsoft Sound System) than the earlier DEC 3000 AXP systems, and DECsound, as supplied by DECwindows Motif, doesn't support this board. Digital offers an optional product, Multimedia Services for OpenVMS (SPD 64.24.00), which provides a replacement DECsound for this card as well as many other features (an AVI and MPEG player, video capture support, etc.) ------------------------------------------------------------ DCL1. How do I run a program with arguments? The RUN command does not accept arguments. To pass arguments to a program, you must use what is called a "foreign command". For example: $ uudecode :== $disk:[dir]uudecode.exe $ uudecode filespec The leading $ in the symbol definition is what makes it a foreign command. If the device and directory is omitted, SYS$SYSTEM: is assumed. Under OpenVMS V6.2 and later, DCL supports automatic foreign command definition via the logical name DCL$PATH:. An example of a definition of this logical name is: $ DEFINE DCL$PATH SYS$DISK:[],ddcu:[mytooldir],SYS$SYSTEM: DCL will first look for a command in the DCL command table, and if no match is found and if DCL$PATH is defined, it will then look for command procedures and executable images with filenames matching the command specified, in the directories specified via DCL$PATH. The first match found is invoked, and under OpenVMS, the DCL$PATH support will cause a command procedure to be activated in preference to an executable image. For more information on foreign commands or on automatic foreign command support, see the OpenVMS User's Manual. See also question PROG2. If you want to create a detached process that takes arguments from a command line, it must be run under the control of a command line interpreter (CLI) (typically DCL). This is done by placing the command line in a file, specifying SYS$SYSTEM:LOGINOUT.EXE as the image to run and the command file as the input. For example: $ OPEN/WRITE CMD TEMP_INPUT.COM $ WRITE CMD "$ MYCOMMAND arguments" $ CLOSE CMD $ RUN/DETACHED SYS$SYSTEM:LOGINOUT /INPUT=TEMP_INPUT.COM Various OpenVMS library calls (such as lib$spawn(), cli$dcl_parse(), and the C library system() call) require access to a command line interpreter such as DCL to perform requested actions, and will not operate if a CLI is not available. When a CLI is not available, these calls typically return the error status SS$_NOCLI. And as mentioned above, invoke the image LOGINOUT to cause a CLI (such as DCL) to be mapped into and made available in the context of the target process. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ DCL2. How can I redefine control keys in DCL? The DCL DEFINE/KEY command allows you to define function and keypad keys, but not control keys. Also, keys you define with DEFINE/KEY are not recognized inside applications. Many applications which use the SMG$ routines for input have a similar DEFINE/KEY feature. The terminal driver line-editing control keys, including the use of DEL for delete, are not modifiable. ------------------------------------------------------------ DCL3. How can I clear the screen in DCL? The simplest way is the TYPE/PAGE NLA0: command. You can set up a symbol to clear the screen in your LOGIN.COM: $ CLS :== TYPE/PAGE NLA0: ------------------------------------------------------------ DCL4. How do I do a REPLY/LOG in a batch stream? Your terminal must be enabled as an operator terminal before doing the REPLY/LOG, but a batch stream doesn't have a terminal. To make this work, use the following sequence to enable the OPA0: console as the operator terminal; then the REPLY/LOG will be accepted: $ DEFINE/USER SYS$COMMAND _OPA0: $ REPLY/LOG $ DEFINE/USER SYS$COMMAND _OPA0: $ REPLY/ENABLE To disable the system console terminal (OPA0:) as an operator terminal, use the following command: $ DEFINE/USER SYS$COMMAND _OPA0: $ REPLY/DISABLE Also see SYLOGICALS.COM (and SYLOGICALS.TEMPLATE) for information on configuring the behaviour of OPCOM, including the use of the system console (OPA0:) as an operator and the specific contents and behaviour of the system operator log file OPERATOR.LOG. [Arne Vajhxj] [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ DCL5. How do I generate a random number in DCL? Here's my random number generator for inclusion into the OVMS FAQ; just do a GOSUB RAND and the global symbol RANDOM will contain a randomly generated number. The user/programmer can feed the generator a ceiling value (__CEIL) or a new seed (__SEED). $! RAND - returns a positive random number ("RANDOM") between 0 and $! __CEIL - 1. $ RAND: $ $ IF F$TYPE(__SEED) .EQS. "" $ THEN $ ! seed the random number generator, ... $ __NOW = F$CVTIME() $ __HOUR = 'F$EXTRACT(11,2,__NOW)' $ __MINUTE = 'F$EXTRACT(14,2,__NOW)' $ __SECOND = 'F$EXTRACT(17,2,__NOW)' $ __TICK = 'F$EXTRACT(20,2,__NOW)' $ $ __SEED == __TICK + (100 * __SECOND) + (6000 * __MINUTE) + - (360000 * __HOUR) $ ! the generator tends to do better with a large, odd seed, ... $ __SEED == (__SEED .OR. 1) $ ! clean up, ... $ DELETEX/SYMBOL __NOW $ DELETEX/SYMBOL __HOUR $ DELETEX/SYMBOL __MINUTE $ DELETEX/SYMBOL __SECOND $ DELETEX/SYMBOL __TICK $ ENDIF $ $ IF F$TYPE(__CEIL) .EQS. "" THEN __CEIL = %X3FFFFFFF $ $ __SEED == __SEED * 69069 + 1 $ $ RANDOM == (__SEED.AND.%X3FFFFFFF)/(%X40000000/__CEIL) $ $ RETURN [sharris@sdsdmvax.fb3.noaa.gov] ------------------------------------------------------------ DCL6. What does the MCR command do? The MCR command runs the specified image, with a default filespec of SYS$SYSTEM:.EXE, and passes any (optional) command line arguments in the same manner as a foreign command. In other words: $ MCR FOO BAR is equivalent to: $ FOO :== $FOO $ FOO BAR It derives from the RSX operating system from which VMS evolved and is still often used as a shortcut for activating images. The MCR command is different from the MCR command line interpreter, which is provided as part of the optional VAX-11 RSX product that provides RSX emulation under VMS. ------------------------------------------------------------ DCL7. How do I change the OpenVMS system prompt? You can use the SET PROMPT command for this purpose. SET PROMPT sets the DCL prompt to the specified string. When you want to display variable information, you will need to establish a tie-in that provides the information to the SET PROMPT command as required. If you wish to display the default directory for instance, you will have to establish a tie between the SET DEFAULT command and the SET PROMPT commands, as there is no direct way to get the default directory as the DCL prompt. You can easily acquire or create a set of DCL command procedures that perform the SET DEFAULT and SET PROMPT for you. These DCL command procedures often use a command such as: $ set prompt='f$env("default")' More advanced users could implement a system service or other intercept, and use these tools to intercept the directory change and reset the prompt accordingly. (This approach likely involves some kernel-mode programming, and requires write access to various undocumented OpenVMS data structures.) There are related tools available from various sources, including the following web sites: o ftp://ftp.hhs.dk/pub/vms/setpmt/ o ftp://ftp.tmesis.com/sys_service_hook.src o James F. Duff has also made available a Macro32 tool known as TIME_PROMPT, a tool that sets the prompt to the current system time. o Many folks have contributed DCL procedures to perform this task. Visit the newsgroup archives for information and examples. Information in this section has been acquired from various postings that have discussed this topic in the comp.os.vms newsgroup in the past, and examples from Arne Vajhoej, Brian Schenkenberger, James Duff, and others. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ DCL8. Can I do DECnet task-to-task communication with DCL? Yes, you can do this with DCL. The OpenVMS DECnet documentation shows various simple examples using the task object and the TYPE command to trigger the execution of a DCL command procedure on a remote node. A slightly more advanced example of using DCL for DECnet task-to-task -- a procedure that acts as both the client and as the server as appropriate, and that uses a basic form of half-duplex communications -- is included: $! x.com $ $! This procedure must be in the user's login directory. $! Requires a self-referential (not reverential :-) proxy: $! UAF> add/prox :: /default $! Author: Stephen Hoffman, OpenVMS Engineering, Compaq $ $ goto 'f$mode()' $INTERACTIVE: $ open/read/write chan 0::"task=x" $ write chan "Hello" $ read chan parameter $ close chan $ write sys$output parameter $ exit $BATCH: $OTHER: $NETWORK: $ open/read/write chan sys$net $ read chan parameter $ write chan "''parameter' yourself!" $ close chan $ exit An example of a run of the above procedure: $ @x Hello yourself! $ DCL does not include support asynchronous I/O, thus a predetermined protocol or a predetermined "turn-around" command sequence must be implemented in order to avoid protocol deadlocks -- cases where both tasks are trying to write or both tasks are trying to read. The task that is writing messages to the network must write (or write and read) a predetermined sequence of messages, or it must write a message that tells the reader that it can now start writing messages. (This is the essence of a basic half-duplex network protocol scheme.) [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ FILE1. How can I undelete a file? OpenVMS doesn't have an "undelete" function. However, if you are quick to write-protect the disk (or if you can guarantee that no new files get created or existing files extended), your data is still on the disk and it may be possible to retrieve it. The FLORIAN tool available from the WKU Fileserver claims to be able to do this (see question SOFT1.) Other alternatives here include the DFU tool, available on the OpenVMS Freeware CD-ROM distribution. If you are setting up a user environment for yourself or for others, it is quite easy to use DCL to intercept the DELETE command, using a symbol: $ DEL*ETE :== @SYS$LOGIN:MYDELETE.COM The DELETE symbol will cause the procedure to be invoked whenever the user enters the DELETE command, and it can copy the file(s) to a "trashcan" subdirectory before issuing a "real" DELETE on the files. Other procedures can retrieve the file(s) from the "trashcan" subdirectory, and can (and should) clean out the "trashcan" as appropriate. (Realize that this DELETE symbol can interfere with DELETE/GLOBAL and other similar DCL commands.) [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ FILE2. Why does SHOW QUOTA give a different answer than DIR/SIZE? DIR/SIZE doesn't take into account the size of file headers which are charged to your quota. Also, unless you use DIR/SIZE:ALL, you'll see only the "used" size of the file, not the allocated size which is what gets charged against your quota. Also, you may have files in other directories. [Steve Lionel] $ DIR/SIZ=ALL/GRAND [username...] Grand total of D1 directories, F1 files, B1/B2 blocks. $ DIR/SIZ=ALL/GRAND [-]username.DIR Grand total of 1 directory, 1 file, B3/B4 blocks. $ SHOW QUOTA User [username] has B5 blocks used, B6 available, of B7 authorized and permitted overdraft of B8 blocks on disk If the user has no files in other directories and all file-headers are only 1 block, then the following should apply: B5=B2+B4+F1+1 If the diskquota is out of synch, then the system-manager can make a rebuild. [Arne Vajhxj] Also be aware that the DIRECTORY/SIZE command can report larger values than might otherwise be expected when used to evaluate files and/or directories that are alias links -- such as the system roots on OpenVMS system disks -- as the command reports a total that is cumulative over all of the files and directories examined, without regard for which ones might be alias entries and which are not. (In other words, a DIRECTORY/SIZE of an entire OpenVMS system disk will report a disk useage value larger than the (usually more accurate) value reported by the SHOW DEVICE command. This as a result of the alias entries linking each SYS$SYSDEVICE:[SYSCOMMON]SYS*.DIR directory file and the SYS$SYSDEVICE:[000000]VMS$COMMON.DIR file together.) ------------------------------------------------------------ FILE3. How do I make sure that my data is safely written to disk? If your application must absolutely guarantee that data is available, no matter what, there's really no substitute for RMS Journalling. However, you can achieve a good degree of data integrity by issuing a SYS$FLUSH RMS call at appropriate times (if you're using RMS, that is.) If you're using a high-level language's I/O system, check that language's documentation to see if you can access the RMS control blocks for the open file. In C you can use fflush followed by fsync. Note that fsync, which was undocumented for VAX C but is documented for DEC C, takes a file descriptor as an argument, not a *FILE. ------------------------------------------------------------ FILE4. What are the limits on file specifications and directories? A file specification has an aggregate maximum size of 255 characters at present. The node and device specification may be up to 255 characters each - file name and file types may be up to 39 characters each. File versions are from 1 through 32767, though 0 (latest version), -0 (oldest version) and -n (n'th previous version) can be used in most contexts. A file specification may not have more than 8 directories and subdirectories - while it is possible to create subdirectories of greater depth, accessing them is problematic in most cases and this should be avoided. Application developers should use OpenVMS-supplied routines for parsing file specifications - this ensures that changes in what is allowable will not tend to break your application. Consider that various parts of the file specification may contain quoted strings with embedded spaces and other punctuation! Some routines of interest are SYS$FILESCAN, SYS$PARSE and LIB$TRIM_FILESPEC. For further information, see the OpenVMS Guide to File Applications. ------------------------------------------------------------ FILE5. What is the largest disk volume size OpenVMS can access? One Terabyte (2**31 blocks of 2**9 bytes). Prior to the release of V6.0, the OpenVMS file system was limited to disk volumes of 8.5 GB (2**24 blocks) or less. On some systems, there are restrictions in the console program that limit the size of the OpenVMS system disk. Note that data disks are not affected by console program limits. For example, all members of the VAXstation 3100 series are limited to a system disk to 1.073 GB or less due to the console, though larger data disks are possible. Some SCSI disks with capacities larger than 8.6 gigabytes (GB) will require the use of an OpenVMS ECO kit (eg: ALPSCSI04_062 or later) for new SCSI device drivers. Failure to use this ECO can cause "rounding errors" on the SCSI disk device capacity -- OpenVMS will not use nor display the full capacity of the drive -- and "%sysinit-e-error mounting system device status equals 000008C4" (8C4 -> "%SYSTEM-?-FILESTRUCT, unsupported file structure level") errors during bootstrap. (One workaround for the bootstrap when the bitmap is located far into the disk is the use of INIT/INDEX=BEGIN.) The problem here involves the particular extensions and fields used for larger capacity disks within the SCSI specifications and within the various intepretations of same. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ FILE6. What is the maximum file size, and the RMS record size limit? RMS can store individual files of a size up to the maximum supported volume size. Under OpenVMS V6.0 and later, the volume size and the RMS maximum file size limit is 2**31 * 512 bytes -- one terabyte (1 TB). The RMS formats -- sequential, relative, and indexed -- are limited by the one terabyte maximum volume size. RMS relative files are further limited to a number of records that will fit in 32 bits -- 4 billion records. Sequential and indexed formats do not have a record limit. Also see PROG14. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ FILE7. How do I write recordable CD media (CD-R) on OpenVMS? Creation of CD-ROMs using recordable CD media (CD-R) under OpenVMS typically involves one of two approaches: the use of the optional CD-R (`Scribe') capabilities available for the InfoServer or other "offline" hardware packages, or the use of a host-based package such as the CDWRITE13_VMS utility, an OpenVMS port of a Linux tool. OpenVMS has no integrated support for recording CD-R media. OpenVMS can read both ODS2 and ISO9960 format CD-ROMs. InfoServer hardware configurations are no longer availble from DIGITAL, but may potentially be acquired through other means. The CDWRITE13_VMS package is one example of a host-based package that can be used to create CD-R media. The contact for CDWRITE13_VMS is Dr. Eberhard Heuser-Hofmann. One website that discusses this package is located at: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/9999/vmscdwri.html Also see the newest linux-cdwrite package, XCDROAST. Additional information is available via David J. Dachtera at: http://home.earthlink.net/~djesys/vms/cdrom.html Also see: http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/vms.html http://www.faqs.org/faqs/cdrom/cd-recordable/part1/preamble.html [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ FILE8. What I/O transfer size limits exist in OpenVMS? The maximum transfer size is an attribute of the particular I/O device, controller and driver combination; there is no inherent limit imposed by OpenVMS (other than the fact that, today, byte counts and LBNs are generally limited to 32 bits). The maximum size of a device I/O request is limited by the value in UCB$L_MAXBCNT, which is set by the device driver based on various factors. (Also check the setting of the MAXBUF system parameter for buffered I/O transfers, and check the process quotas.) Currently, SCSI drivers limit I/O transfers to FE00(16) bytes, 65024 bytes (decimal). The reasons for this transfer size limitation are largely historical. Similarly, DSSI devices are limited to the same value, this for hardware-specific reasons. Transfers to HSC and HSJ device controllers via the CI are limited to 1,048,576 bytes. Client MSCP-served devices are limited to 65535 bytes -- to help ensure that the I/O fragmentation processing happens on the client and not on the server system. Parts of the OpenVMS I/O subsystem are optimized for data transfers less than 64KB, because (obviously) most I/O operations are (substantially) less than that. OpenVMS can handle larger transfers, if the driver and the device can handle it. Also see FILE1 [John Croll] [End of Part 2/3] --------------------------- pure personal opinion --------------------------- Hoff (Stephen) Hoffman OpenVMS Engineering hoffman#xdelta.zko.dec.com Article 31992 of comp.os.vms: Path: mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com!not-for-mail From: hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.nospam (Hoff Hoffman) Newsgroups: comp.os.vms,comp.sys.dec,vmsnet.alpha,vmsnet.misc,comp.answers,news.answers Subject: OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Part 3/3 Followup-To: poster Date: 29 Nov 1999 20:09:41 GMT Organization: Compaq Computer Corporation Lines: 2057 Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu Distribution: world Expires: 29 April 2000 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <81umi5$m0j$2@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com> References: <81umfc$m0j$1@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com> Reply-To: hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.nospam NNTP-Posting-Host: xdelta.zko.dec.com X-Trace: mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com 943906181 22547 16.32.80.251 (29 Nov 1999 20:09:41 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 29 Nov 1999 20:09:41 GMT Summary: This posting contains answers to frequently asked questions about the OpenVMS operating system from Compaq Computer Corporation, and the computer systems on which it runs. Supercedes: <7u7srb$9e6$3@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com> Xref: mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com comp.os.vms:31992 comp.sys.dec:7969 vmsnet.alpha:86 vmsnet.misc:26 comp.answers:3436 news.answers:18891 Archive-name: dec-faq/vms/part3 Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-modified: 29 November 1999 Version: VMS-FAQ-3.TXT(3) Overview ======== This is part 3/3 of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) posting for the comp.os.vms and vmsnet.misc newsgroups. (comp.os.vms is bidirectionally-gatewayed to the INFO-VAX mailing list - see INTRO3 for further details.) It contains answers to frequently asked questions about Compaq's OpenVMS operating system and the computer systems on which it runs. (Please see INTRO5 before posting.) This FAQ is archived in the following locations: comp.answers and news.answers newsgroups ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/dec-faq/OpenVMS.txt ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/dec-faq/vms ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/dec-faq/vms Other FAQs are generally available in these locations: comp.answers and news.answers newsgroups ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/... User-created HTML versions of the FAQ are located at: http://www.kjsl.com/vmsfaq http://eisner.decus.org/vms/faq.htm Please do NOT send technical questions to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) editor -- well, please do not email any questions that do not also include the answer(s). Please post these questions to the appropriate newsgroup instead -- and see INTRO5 before posting. To make suggestions for changes or additions to this FAQ list, please send mail to the FAQ editor at hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.com. Again, the FAQ editor is *not* in a position to answer general questions. Some general notes: The term "VMS" is synonymous with "OpenVMS". "Alpha", "AlphaGeneration" or "AXP" generally refers to any system or product based on or related to Compaq's Alpha processor architecture. OpenVMS manual names mentioned are those as of V7.2 -- names may be different in other editions of the documentation set. World-Wide Web Universal Resource Locator (URL) notation is used for FTP addresses. Many people have contributed to this list, directly or indirectly. In some cases, an answer has been adapted from one or more postings on the comp.os.vms newsgroup. Our thanks to all of those who post answers. The name (or names) at the end of an entry indicate that the information was taken from postings by those individuals; the text may have been edited for this FAQ. These citations are only given to acknowledge the contribution. Although the editor of this FAQ is an employee of Compaq's Digital Equipment Corporation subsidiary, this posting is not an official statement of either Compaq or Digital Equipment Corporation. AlphaGeneration, AlphaServer, AlphaStation, Alpha AXP, AXP, DEC, DECstation, DECsystem, OpenVMS, ULTRIX, VAX and VMS are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. Compaq and the names of Compaq products are trademarks and/or registered trademarks and/or service marks of Compaq Computer Corporation. OSF/1 is a registered trademark of the Open Software Foundation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd. Other names are properties of their respective owners. Table of Contents - Part 3/3 ____________________________ Programming ======================================== PROG1. How do I call from ? PROG2. How do I get the arguments from the command line? PROG3. How do I get a formatted error message in a variable? PROG4. How do I link against SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.STB on an Alpha system? PROG5. How do I do a SET DEFAULT from inside a program? PROG6. How do I create a shareable image transfer vector on an Alpha system? PROG7. How do I turn my Fortran COMMON into a shareable image on Alpha? PROG8. How do I convert between IEEE and VAX floating data? PROG9. How do I get the argument count in a Fortran routine? PROG10. How do I get a unique system ID for licensing purposes? PROG11. What is an executable, shareable, system or UWSS image? PROG12. How do I do a file copy from a program? PROG13. What is a descriptor? PROG14. How many bytes are in a disk block? PROG15. How many bytes are in a memory page? PROG16. How do I create a process under another username? PROG17. Why do lib$spawn, lib$set_symbol fail in detached processes? PROG18. Where can I obtain Bliss, and the libraries and supporting files? PROG19. How can I open a file for shared access? DECwindows ======================================== DECW1. How do I let someone else display something on my workstation? DECW2. How do I create a display on another workstation? DECW3. How can I get the information from SHOW DISPLAY into a symbol? DECW4. How do I get a log of a DECterm session? DECW5. Problem - the DELETE key deletes forward instead of backward! DECW6. Problem - On a DEC2000-300, Motif doesn't start DECW7. Problem - My LK401 keyboard unexpectedly autorepeats DECW8. Problem - My LK411 sends the wrong keycodes or some keys are dead DECW9. How do I set the title on a DECterm window? DECW10. How do I customize DECwindows, including the login screen? DECW11. Why doesn't XtAppAddInput() work on OpenVMS? Miscellaneous ======================================== MISC1. Looking for connector wiring pinouts? MISC2. Where can I find information on escape and control sequences? MISC3. Can I reuse old keyboards, mice and monitors with a PC? MISC4. What connectors and wiring adapters are available? MISC5. Where can I find performance info and specs for older systems? MISC6. What does "failure on back translate address request" mean? MISC7. How to determine the network hardware address? MISC8. Why does my system halt when I powercycle the console terminal? MISC9. Why can't I use PPP and RAS to connect to OpenVMS Alpha? MISC10. Which video monitor works with which graphics controller? MISC11. Where can I get information on storage hardware? MISC12. Does DCPS work with the LRA0 parallel port? MISC13. How do I check for free space on a (BACKUP) tape? Software ======================================== SOFT1. Where can I find freeware/shareware software for OpenVMS? SOFT2. Where can I find the UNIX tool for OpenVMS? SOFT3. Where can I get the Netscape Navigator Mozilla.org Web Browser? SOFT4. Where can I get Java for OpenVMS? SOFT5. VAX C and DEC C, and other OpenVMS C Programming Considerations? ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG1. How do I call from ? Most OpenVMS system services and RTL routines pass string arguments by descriptor. Languages which support native string data types create descriptors automatically; those which do not (eg., C) require that you set them up explicitly. [eric@tardis.HQ.ileaf.com] There is a lot of information available on how to call system services and Run-Time Library routines, including examples in numerous languages. The best references are: Your language's User Manual OpenVMS Programming Environment Manual OpenVMS Programming Concepts Manual OpenVMS Programming Interfaces: Calling a System Routine OpenVMS Calling Standard In addition, if you are a subscriber to the Digital Software Information Network (available to those with a software support contract), the DSIN database contains hundreds of worked examples of calling system services and RTL routines, including the one that seems to trip up almost everyone, SMG$CREATE_MENU. [Steve Lionel] Arne Vajhxj has put together a collection of OpenVMS example programs. It can be found at: ftp://ftp.hhs.dk/pub/vms/ [Arne Vajhxj] Additional information and examples for OpenVMS (as well as for UNIX and Windows NT) are available via: http://www.partner.digital.com/www-swdev/pages/Home/TECH/techsupport.html http://www.partner.digital.com/www-swdev/pages/Home/TECH/faqs/dunix/dunix.html http://www.partner.digital.com/www-swdev/pages/Home/TECH/faqs/ovms/ovms.html http://www.partner.digital.com/www-swdev/pages/Home/TECH/faqs/wnt/wnt.html [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG2. How do I get the arguments from the command line? If you're writing a program and want to accept arguments from a foreign command, you can use LIB$GET_FOREIGN to get the command line and parse it yourself, or if you're programming in C, use the normal argc/argv method. To write an application which uses the normal DCL verb/qualifier/parameter syntax for invocation, see the description of the CLI$ routines in the OpenVMS Callable Utility Routines Reference Manual. It is possible to write an application which can be used both ways; if a DCL verb isn't used to invoke the image, the application parses the command line itself. One way to do this is to call CLI$GET_VALUE for a required parameter. If it is not present (or you get an error), call LIB$GET_FOREIGN to get the command line and do the manual parse. See also question DCL1. ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG3. How do I get a formatted error message in a variable? Use the SYS$PUTMSG system service with an action routine that stores the message line(s) in the variable of your choice. Be sure the action routine returns a "false" (low bit clear) function value so that SYS$PUTMSG doesn't then try to display the message (unless you want it to.) See the description of $PUTMSG in the System Services Reference Manual for an example of using an action routine. ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG4. How do I link against SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.STB on an Alpha system? LINK/SYSEXE is the OpenVMS Alpha equivalent of linking against SYS.STB. ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG5. How do I do a SET DEFAULT from inside a program? The problem is that SYS$SETDDIR only changes the default directory - NOT the default disk. The default disk is determined by the logical SYS$DISK. If you want to change the default disk within a program, then call LIB$SET_LOGICAL to change the logical SYS$DISK. You will need to call both LIB$SET_LOGICAL and SYS$SETDDIR to change both default disk and the default directory! [Arne Vajhxj] ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG6. How do I create a shareable image transfer vector on an Alpha system? This is something that was greatly simplified for OpenVMS Alpha. You don't need to create a separate transfer vector module; just use the SYMBOL_VECTOR statement in a linker options file. For example, if your shareable image has two routines named FOO and BAR, the linker options file should contain the following line: SYMBOL_VECTOR=(FOO=PROCEDURE, BAR=PROCEDURE) The Linker manual has more details on this. ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG7. How do I turn my Fortran COMMON into a shareable image on Alpha? You need to add SYMBOL_VECTOR=(=PSECT) to your options file. On OpenVMS VAX all OVR/REL/GBL psects were automatically exported into the shareable image's Global Symbol Table. On OpenVMS Alpha you have to tell the linker that you want this done by means of the PSECT keyword in the SYMBOL_VECTOR options file statement. This has several advantages over OpenVMS VAX. First, you don't have to worry about the address of the psect when you try to create a new, upwardly compatible version of the shareable image. Second, you can control which psects, if any, are made visible outside the shareable image. By default, COMMON PSECTs in DEC Fortran for OpenVMS Alpha (as well as most other OpenVMS Alpha compilers) are NOSHR. On VAX, the default was SHR which required you to change the attribute to NOSHR if you wanted your COMMON to be in a shareable image but not write-shared by all processes on the system. If you do want write-sharing, use: CDEC$ PSECT common-name=SHR in the Fortran source code (the CDEC$ must be begin in column 1) or a linker options file PSECT_ATTR statement to set the COMMON PSECT attribute to SHR. For further information, see the Linker manual. ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG8. How do I convert between IEEE and VAX floating data? In OpenVMS V6.1 there is a routine CVT$CONVERT_FLOAT, documented in the LIB$ Run-Time Library Reference Manual, which can perform conversions between any two of the following floating datatypes: VAX (F,D,G,H), little-endian IEEE (single, double, quad), big-endian IEEE (single, double, quad), CRAY and IBM System\370. DEC Fortran (all platforms) has a feature which will perform automatic conversion of unformatted data during input or output. See the DEC Fortran documentation for information on "non-native data in I/O" and the CONVERT= OPEN statement keyword. For further floating-point related information, see: ftp://ftp.hhs.dk/pub/vms/collection/ieee.zip ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG9. How do I get the argument count in a Fortran routine? On VAX, many programmers would use a MACRO routine which accessed the AP register of the caller to get the address of the argument list and hence the argument count. This was not guaranteed to work on VAX, but usually did. However, it doesn't work at all on OpenVMS Alpha, as there is no AP register. On Alpha systems, you must use a language's built-in function to retrieve the argument count, if any. In Fortran this is IARGCOUNT, which is also available in DEC Fortran on OpenVMS VAX. Note that omitting arguments to Fortran routines is non-standard and is unsupported. It will work in many cases - read the DEC Fortran release notes for additional information. ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG10. How do I get a unique system ID for licensing purposes? Many software developers desire to use a unique hardware ID to "lock" a given copy of their product to a specific system. Most Digital VAX and Alpha systems do not have a unique hardware-set "system ID" that can be used for this purpose. Digital does not use hardware IDs in its licensing methods and many users consider a hardware-based licensing scheme to be a negative attribute when considering software purchases. Digital uses a software-based system called the License Management Facility or LMF. This provides for software keys (Product Authorization Keys or PAKS) which support capacity and user-based license checking. Digital sells the DEC LMF PAK Generator for OpenVMS (SPD 31.68.03) for use by software vendors. However, if a hardware-based method is required, the most common method is based on an Ethernet adaptor hardware address. Sample source code for implementing this is available at: http://www.partner.digital.com/www-swdev/pages/Home/TECH/faqs/ovms/ovms.html ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG11. What is an executable, shareable, system or UWSS image? Executable code in OpenVMS typically resides in an image -- an image is a file -- the file extension is typically .EXE -- that contains this code. Common types of images include executable images, shareable images, system images, and protected (UWSS) images. Executable images are programs that can be directly executed. These images can grant enhanced privileges, with an INSTALL of the image with /PRIVILEGE, or can grant enhanced access with the specification of a subsystem identifier on the ACL associated with the image. Shareable images contain code executed indirectly, these images are referenced from executable images and/or from other shareable images. These images can not grant enhanced privileges, even with the use of INSTALL with /PRIVILEGE or a subsystem identifier. These shareable images can be dynamically activated (a LINK that occurs at run-time) via the LIB$FIND_IMAGE_SYMBOL run-time library (RTL) routine. (See `protected images' for information on `privileged shareable images'.) System images are intended to run directly on the VAX or Alpha hardware -- these are normally used for the kernel code that comprises an operating system. Protected images -- also refered to as User-Written System Services (UWSS), or as privileged shareable images -- are similiar in some ways to a standard shareable images, but these images include a `change mode' handler, and execute in an `inner' processor mode (privileged mode; executive or kernel), and code executing in inner modes has implicit SETPRV privilege. Must be INSTALLed with /PROTECT. Note that inner-mode code has restrictions around calling library routines, around calling various system services, and around calling code located in other protected or shareable images. Loadable images and device drivers are images that can be used to add code into the OpenVMS kernel. Pseudo-device drivers are a particularly convenient way to add executable code, with associated driver-defined data structures, into the kernel. The pseudo-device driver includes the UCB and DDB data structures, and a calling interface with support for both privileged and unprivileged access to the driver code via sys$qio[w] calls. A cookbook approach to creating OpenVMS shareable images is available at the (admittedly overly long) URL: http://www.partner.digital.com/www-swdev/pages/Home /TECH/faqs/ovms/ovms-shexe-cook.html [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG12. How do I do a file copy from a program? There are several options available for copying files from within a program. Obvious choices include using lib$spawn(), system(), sys$sndjbc() or sys$creprc() to invoke a DCL COPY command. Other common alternatives include using the callable convert routines and the BACKUP application programming interface (V7.1 and later). [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG13. What is a descriptor? A descriptor is a data structure that describes a string or an array. Each descriptor contains information that describes the type of the data being referenced, the size of the data, and the address of the data. It also includes a description of the storage used for the data, typically static or dynamic. Descriptors are passed by reference. The following are examples of creating and using descriptors in C: #include #include #include int RetStat; char TxtBuf[TXTSIZ] struct dsc$descriptor StaticDsc = { 0, DSC$K_DTYPE_T, DSC$K_CLASS_S, NULL }; struct dsc$descriptor DynDsc = { 0, DSC$K_DTYPE_T, DSC$K_CLASS_D, NULL }; int DynDscLen = 255; $DESCRIPTOR( ConstDsc, "This is a string" ); /* finish setting up a static descriptor */ StaticDsc.dsc$w_length = TXTSIZ; StaticDsc.dsc$a_pointer = (void *) TxtBuf; /* finish setting up a dynamic descriptor */ RetStat = lib$sget1_dd( &DynDscLen, &DynDsc ); if ( !$VMS_STATUS_SUCCESS( RetStat ) ) return RetStat; /* release the dynamic storage */ RetStat = lib$sfree1_dd( &DynDsc ); if (!$VMS_STATUS_SUCCESS( RetStat )) return RetStat; Static descriptors reference storage entirely under application program control, and the contents of the descriptor data structure can be modified as required (by the application). OpenVMS routines do not modify the contents of a static descriptor, nor do they alter the address or length values stored in the static descriptor. (The term "static" refers to the descriptor data structure, and not necessarily to the storage referenced by the descriptor.) Dynamic descriptors reference storage under the control of the run-time library, and the contents of a dynamic descriptor data structure -- once initialized -- can only be modified under control of run-time library routines. The dynamic storage referenced by the dynamic descriptor is allocated and maintained by the run-time library routines. Various OpenVMS routines do alter the contents of the descriptor data structure, changing the value for the amount and the address of the storage associated with the dynamic descriptor, as required. Routines can obviously access and alter the contents of the storage referenced by the descriptor. OpenVMS languages that include support for strings or arrays are expected to use descriptors for the particular structure. Most OpenVMS languages, such as Fortran and BASIC, use descriptors entirely transparently. Some, like DEC C, require the programmer to explicitly create and maintain the descriptor. For further information on string descriptors, see the _OpenVMS Programming Concepts_ manual, part of the OpenVMS documentation set. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG14. How many bytes are in a disk block? A disk block is the minimum unit of disk storage allocation in OpenVMS. Under OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha, the disk volume block size is consistent, with each block containing 512 bytes. The minimum disk allocation granularity actually permissible (in the ODS-2 and ODS-5 volume structures commonly used on OpenVMS) is determined on a per-volume basis, and is typically based on a combination of the total number blocks on the disk volume and the total size of the volume storage bitmap. The allocation granularity is known as the volume cluster factor -- the cluster factor is the number of blocks in a disk cluster, and it is the smallest number of blocks that can be allocated on a particular disk volume. Prior to OpenVMS V7.2, the maximum permissible size of the bitmap requires larger cluster factors as volume sizes increase. Starting with V7.2, the bitmap can be larger, and cluster factors as small as one block can be used. The number of bytes in a file can be determined by multiplying the number of blocks allocated for the file times the number of bytes in a block. For sequential files (only), the FFB (XAB$W_FFB, in the File Header XAB) value can be used to find out how much of the last (XAB$L_EBK) block is used. FFB and EBK are meaningful only for sequential files, and only in a limited context -- partial block allocations are not permitted. For other file formats, the EOF marker is not meaningful. Disk allocations always occur only in units of the cluster factors, which can be from one block up to (potentially) clusters of eighteen blocks or more, depending on the volume cluster factor. OpenVMS assumes that the device driver and the underlying storage device will present the file system with addressable units of storage of 512 bytes in size, or the appearance of same. Various third-party CD-ROM devices, for instance, support only 2048 byte blocks, and such devices are incompatible with the standard OpenVMS device drivers. To determine the number of bytes required for a file from DCL, one option uses the f$file_attributes item EOF, multiplied by the size of a block in bytes (512). This does not account for the unused space in the last block of a sequential file, but it also does not have to differentiate sequential files from other files. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG15. How many bytes are in a memory page? A memory page is the minimum unit of memory allocation in OpenVMS. With OpenVMS VAX, the memory page size matches the disk block size: it is always 512 bytes. With OpenVMS Alpha, the memory page size is variable, and it can range from 8192 bytes (8 kilobytes) up to 64 kilobytes. The current system page size can be determined using the sys$getsyi or f$getsyi PAGE_SIZE item. Programs with hardcoded constants for the memory page size (or page alignment) should always assume a page size of 64 kilobytes. On OpenVMS Alpha, a 512 byte area of memory -- equivilent in size to an OpenVMS VAX memory page -- is refered to as a pagelet. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG16. How do I create a process under another username? Many server processes can operate within the context of the target user using privileges, using calls such as sys$chkpro and (more commonly in this context) sys$check_access as needed to determine if access would be permitted for the specified user within the current security model. With OpenVMS V6.2 and later, the persona system services (SYS$PERSONA_*) can be used to assume the persona of the specified user -- these allow the server to operate as the specified user, in a controlled fashion. The persona services can be used as a "wrapper" around a sys$creprc process creation call, as well -- this will create a seperate process entirely under the assumed persona. Information on the persona system services is included in the OpenVMS V6.2 new features documentation, and in the OpenVMS V7.1 and later system services documentation. These system services exist and are supported in OpenVMS V6.2 and later releases. Typical mechanisms for creating a process under another username include: o personna services around a sys$creprc call. See above. o via DECnet task-to-task, using explicit specification of username and password, or using a DECnet proxy. This creates a network-mode job under the target user. The network-mode job might do little more than a RUN/DETACH of an image passed in via task-to-task -- task-to-task communications are fully available using strictly DCL-to-DCL processing, or using a compiled language and DCL, etc.) o SUBMIT/USER, or the username argument on the sys$sndjbc call. This creates a batch-mode job under the specified username. The batch-mode job might do little more than a RUN/DETACH of an image passed in via a parameter. o the UIC argument on the sys$creprc call. This mimics the UIC of the target user, and is certainly not the prefered mechanism for this task. o Via pseudo-terminals... There are likely a few other mechanisms around... There are various tools available from DECUS and other sources that allow various forms of user impersonation, as well. These tools will require version-dependent kernel code and enhanced privileges for some of (or all of) their operations. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG17. Why do lib$spawn, lib$set_symbol fail in detached processes? The processing within run-time library (RTL) calls such as lib$attach, lib$disable_ctrl, lib$do_command, lib$enable_ctrl, lib$get_symbol, lib$run_program, lib$set_symbol, lib$set_logical, and lib$spawn, is dependent on and requires the presence of a command language interpreter (CLI), such as DCL. Without a CLI present in the current process, these calls will fail with a "NOCLI, no CLI present to perform function" error. Detached processes typically do not have a CLI present. In place of lib$spawn, sys$creprc can often be used. The context of the parent process (symbols and logical names) will not be propogated into the subprocess when sys$creprc is used, though when there is no CLI present in the process this (lack of) propogation is moot. To create a detached process with a CLI, you must specify LOGINOUT as the target image as discussed elsewhere in the FAQ, or only use these calls (and any other calls requiring a CLI) from images that are running in an "interactive", "batch", or "other" mode process. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG18. Where can I obtain Bliss, and the libraries and supporting files? The Bliss language compilers and documentation are available on the OpenVMS Freeware distributions. Bliss language source code that contains the following statement: LIBRARY 'SYS$LIBRARY:STARLET.L32'; or similar requires the presence of the Bliss libraries. These libraries are created on the target system using the Bliss require files, and are built using the following Bliss commands: STARLET.L32 contains the public interfaces to OpenVMS: $ BLISS /LIBRARY=SYS$COMMON:[SYSLIB]STARLET.L32 - SYS$LIBRARY:STARLET.REQ LIB.L32 contains both the public and private interfaces to OpenVMS: $ BLISS /LIBRARY=SYS$COMMON:[SYSLIB]LIB.L32 - SYS$LIBRARY:LIB.REQ+SYS$LIBRARY:STARLET.REQ The equivilent files for Bliss64 are created with: $ BLISS/A64/LIBRARY==SYS$COMMON:[SYSLIB]LIB.L64 - SYS$LIBRARY:LIB.R64+STARLET.REQ+STARLET.R64 $ BLISS/A64/LIBRARY==SYS$COMMON:[SYSLIB]STARLET.L64 - SYS$LIBRARY:STARLET.R64 Some Bliss code may also require the OpenVMS VAX architecture flags. The following is the equivilent of the Alpha ARCH_DEFS.BLI module: ! ! This is the OpenVMS VAX version of ARCH_DEFS.BLI, and ! contains the architectural definitions for conditionally ! compiling OpenVMS Bliss sources for use on VAX systems. ! MACRO VAXPAGE = 1%; MACRO BIGPAGE = 0%; MACRO VAX = ! = 1 if compiled BLISS/VAX %BLISS(BLISS32V)%; ! = 0 if not compiled BLISS/VAX MACRO EVAX = ! = 1 if compiled BLISS/E* ! ! A more appropriate definition can only be used with versions ! of the Bliss compilers that understand the 32E/64E flags. ! %BLISS(BLISS32E) OR %BLISS(BLISS64E)%; ! = 0 if compiled /VAX NOT %BLISS(BLISS32V)%; ! = 0 if compiled /VAX MACRO ADDRESSBITS = %BPADDR%; ! = 32 or 64 based on compiler used [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ PROG19. How can I open a file for shared access? When creating a file, it is often useful to allow other applications and utilities -- such as TYPE -- to share read access to the file. This permits you to examine the contents of a log file, for instance. A C source example that demonstrates how to do this is available in topic 2867 in the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard area: http://www.openvms.digital.com/wizard/ Depending on the environment, you may need to use C calls such as fsync and fflush, and -- in specific cases -- the setvbuf(_IONBF) call. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW1. How do I let someone else display something on my workstation? On a workstation, you go into "Customize" menu of the session manager utility and select "Security". When the pop-up box appears, you can put node/user/tranport to allow who can launch an application to the display on that workstation. [raspuzzi@mrlat.enet.dec.com] > Yah, but this doesn't seem to work with non-VMS systems. What do I put in > for the transport? I tried "TCPIP" just for kicks, but it didn't work. You need a checklist of sorts: 1) Make sure that you've specified the X-windows "display" correctly on the remote side. For DECNET it's something like NODE::0.0, for TCP/IP it's Node.Domain:0.0, etc. On a unix system, define the DISPLAY environment variable so: # setenv DISPLAY myvax.domain:0.0 2) If you've verified 1) and things still aren't working, make sure the Security settings on the VMS side will allow the connection: Pull down the "Options" menu in the Session Manager, select "Security..." near the bottom. If you don't find your host (and username) listed on the left under "Authorized Users", go to the right side of the menu and fill in the three fields, "Node", "Username", "Transport". Then click on the Add botton, then the Apply and OK buttons to add the new host to the security database. a) There are various transports: LOCAL, DECNET, LAT, TCPIP, etc. Select the one appropriate to the client machine's connection to the VMS machine. b) If the connection is DECNET, do *NOT* add :: to the node name! c) If the connection is TCPIP, "Username" _must_ be an asterisk (*) because the TCP/IP protocol used does not provide the remote username. d) If the connection is TCPIP, it's best to use a full domain name, e.g., Node.Subd.Domain. However, you _may_ have to use the IP address itself, rather than the domain name (EWS requires this). I generally add two entries for each TPCIP host, the first using the domain name, the second the IP address. e) There are a various 3rd party vendors who supply TCP/IP packages for VMS, including but not limited to TGV (Multinet) and Wollongong (Pathway ?). Multinet (and DEC's own UCX) call the transport "TCPIP", Wollongong, at least in some incarnations, uses "WINTCP". You need to use the appropriate vendor's package transport name in the "Transport" field. 3) If things _still_ aren't working, make sure the transport you want has been activated for DECwindows. This is a system manager job, but you can do the ground work yourself before bothering the sysmgr. Do the following: $ DIR SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM If that file exists, then do: $ SEARCH SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM - $_ DECW$SERVER_TRANSPORTS You sould find something like: $ decw$server_transports == "DECNET,LOCAL,LAT,TCPIP" If the transport you want, e.g., TCPIP, isn't listed, have your system manager make the appropriate changes and restart DECwindows. If the file doesn't exist, the sysmgr will have to create it by copying the corresponding .TEMPLATE file to .COM and uncommenting the line that defines decw$server_transports. a) If you're wanting to use TCP/IP to connect, make sure TCP/IP is available on the VMS host. TCP/IP is _not_ native to VMS. You need to be running either Digital's UCX or a 3rd party vendor's TCP/IP product. If you're not, none of the above will help. [Fairfield@Slac.Stanford.Edu] There is a log file created in SYS$MANAGER which tells you which transports are loaded, and also tell you what connect attempts were rejected, including showing what the presented credentials were. This file is SYS$MANAGER:DECW$SERVER_0_ERROR.LOG, although the 0 could be another number if you have multiple servers on the workstation. I have found this file to be very useful for tracking down what needs to be put in the Session Manager Security entries. [rabinowitz@bear.com] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW2. How do I create a display on another workstation? $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=net_transport /NODE=remote_node for LAT the command might look like this: $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=LAT /NODE=REMOTE_NODE for DECnet: $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=DECNET /NODE=NODE for TCP/IP $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=TCPIP /NODE=128.12.4.122 Note that LAT is typically used for X terminals but can be used from OpenVMS to OpenVMS systems on OpenVMS Alpha V6.1 (if you have setup the X server to allow the LAT transport - check the docs). LAT will be supported on OpenVMS VAX as a transport for DECwindows in a future OpenVMS VAX release. [raspuzzi@mrlat.enet.dec.com] There is a log file created in SYS$MANAGER which tells you which transports are loaded, and also tell you what connect attempts were rejected, including showing what the presented credentials were. This file is SYS$MANAGER:DECW$SERVER_0_ERROR.LOG, although the 0 could be another number if you have multiple servers on the workstation. I have found this file to be very useful for tracking down what needs to be put in the Session Manager Security entries. [rabinowitz@bear.com] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW3. How can I get the information from SHOW DISPLAY into a symbol? Use the undocumented SHOW DISPLAY/SYMBOL, and then reference the symbols DECW$DISPLAY_NODE, DECW$DISPLAY_SCREEN, DECW$DISPLAY_SERVER and/or DECW$DISPLAY_TRANSPORT. [Fairfield@Slac.Stanford.Edu] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW4. How do I get a log of a DECterm session? If you are working from a Decterm, you can use the AutoPrint feature. Choose the "Printer..." menu item from the "Options" menu, set the printing destination to the name of the file you want, and set "Auto Print Mode". You are now free to continue. It should be noted that ALL the characters and escape sequences are captured, but if you display the log file on a DECterm you will get EXACTLY what you had. [fenster@star.enet.dec.com] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW5. Problem - the DELETE key deletes forward instead of backward! This has to do with Motif's virtual bindings. When a Motif application starts up, it looks at the vendor string returned in the display connection information and attempts to match the string to a table of virtual bindings. You can override the default bindings in your decw$xdefaults.dat file. Here is the entry you would make to get the default VMS bindings. *defaultVirtualBindings:\ osfCancel : F11 \n\ osfLeft : Left \n\ osfUp : Up \n\ osfRight : Right \n\ osfDown : Down \n\ osfEndLine :Alt Right \n\ osfBeginLine :Alt Left \n\ osfPageUp : Prior \n\ osfPageDown : Next \n\ osfDelete :Shift Delete \n\ osfUndo :Alt Delete \n\ osfBackSpace : Delete \n\ osfAddMode :Shift F8 \n\ osfHelp : Help \n\ osfMenu : F4 \n\ osfMenuBar : F10 \n\ osfSelect : Select \n\ osfActivate : KP_Enter \n\ osfCopy :Shift DRemove \n\ osfCut : DRemove \n\ osfPaste : Insert To merge: $ xrdb :== $decw$utils:xrdb.exe $ xrdb -nocpp -merge decw$xdefaults.dat [kleinsorge@star.enet.dec.com] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW6. Problem - On a DEC2000-300, Motif doesn't start Check for a GQ device by doing a SHOW DEVICE G at the DCL prompt. If there is no GQA0 device: a) VMS failed to find the appropriate IRQ information for the Compaq QVision and did not autoconfigure it. Run the correct ECU (for OSF and VMS) and reboot. b) You do not have a Compaq QVision video card. This card should have Compaq printed on it, and identifies itself as a CPQ3011 or a CPQ3111. If it is not one of these 2 devices (as of 7/1/94 and version 6.1) then VMS does not support it. If there is a GQA0 device: a) There may have been a severe error in the DECwindows startup. Type the contents of SYS$MANAGER:DECW$SERVER_0_ERROR.LOG for any information on errors starting the server. b) The sysgen parameter WINDOW_SYSTEM is not set to 1. This is a common way used by system managers to disable server startup. c) You may not have a valid Motif license. To check for the Motif license, type LICENSE LIST DW-MOTIF/FULL and examine the information displayed. Make sure that it is present, valid and active. [kleinsorge@star.enet.dec.com] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW7. Problem - My LK401 keyboard unexpectedly autorepeats There are several modes of failure: a) Pressing 2 and 3 keys at the same time causes one key to autorepeat when released. Check the hardware revision level printed on the bottom of the keyboard. If the revision level is C01, the keyboard firmware is broken. Call field service to replace the keyboard with any revision level other than C01. b) Pressing certain keys is always broken. Typical sympypoms are: delete always causes a autorepeat, return needs to be pressed twice, etc. This is frequently caused by having keys depressed while the keyboard is being initialized. Pressing ^F2 several times or unplugging and replugging the keyboard frequently fix this problem. There is a patch available to fix this problem [contact the CSC for information - a CSCPAT number will be included here when available. - Ed.] c) A key that was working spontaneously stops working correctly. This may be either (a) or (b) or it may be bad firmware. Ensure that you have the most recent firmware installed on your CPU. An old version of the DEC 3000 firmware had a bug that could cause this symptom. [kleinsorge@star.enet.dec.com] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW8. Problem - My LK411 sends the wrong keycodes or some keys are dead Check the firmware revision on the keyboard. Hardware revision B01 introduced an incompatability with the device driver which causes the keyboard to not be recognized correctly. There is a patch available to fix this problem: [AXPDRIV06_061] - the fix is also included in OpenVMS V6.2. The rev A01 keyboard, and the LK450 should work without problems. [kleinsorge@star.enet.dec.com] [inazu_k@ewbv21.enet.dec.com] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW9. How do I set the title on a DECterm window? If you are creating a new DECterm window, check HELP CREATE /TERMINAL /WINDOW_ATTRIBUTES. If you want to change the title of an existing window, use the following control sequences, where is the ANSI escape code, value decimal 27, and is what you want to display: To set the DECterm title, send ]21;\ To set the icon label, send ]2L;\ For example, DCL to display "My DECterm" in title bar: $ ESC[0,8]=27 $ WRITE SYS$OUTPUT "''ESC']21;My DECterm''ESC'\" [p_lee@decus.ch] You can also change the title and the icon using the Options-Window... menu. ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW10. How do I customize DECwindows, including the login screen? To customize various DECwindows Motif characteristics including the defaults used by the SET DISPLAY command, the DECwindows login screen background logo used (the default is the Digital logo), various keymaps, the FileView defaults, session manager defaults, the DECwindows login processing, DECwindows log file processing, and various other DECwindows attributes, see the example file: SYS$STARTUP:DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.TEMPLATE This example template file is typically copied over to the filename SYS$COMMON:[SYS$STARTUP]DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.COM and then modified to meet site-specific requirements. Additionally, various X tools such as xsetroot, bitmap and xrdb -- some these can be useful in customizing the appearance of an application or of the DECwindows Motif display -- are provided in the DECW$UTILS: area. When using DECwindows V1.2-4 and later on OpenVMS Alpha, the default desktop is the Common Desktop Environment (CDE). You can select your prefered desktop (CDE or DECwindows Motif) when logging in, or you can change the default to the DECwindows Motif desktop using the DCL symbol decw$start_new_desktop in the DECwindows private application setup command procedure. See SYS$STARTUP:DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.TEMPLATE for further details, and how to create DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.COM. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW11. Why doesn't XtAppAddInput() work on OpenVMS? XtAppAddInput() does work on OpenVMS. The MIT definition of the X Windows call XtAppAddInput() includes platform-specific arguments. On platforms where C is the typically the primary programming language for the platform, the file descriptor mask is one of the arguments to the XtAppAddInput() call. On OpenVMS, the platform-specific arguments to this call include an event flag and an IOSB, as these are the traditional OpenVMS constructs used to synchronize the completion of asynchronous operations. While it would be easier to port non-OpenVMS C code that calls XtAppAddInput() over to OpenVMS if the arguments included the C file descriptor, this would make the call unusable from other OpenVMS languages, and would make it extremely difficult to use OpenVMS features such as ASTs and sys$qio calls. One restriction on the event flag: the event flag chosen must be from event flag cluster zero. When using the traditional lib$get_ef and lib$free_ef calls to allocate and deallocate event flags, you must first explicitly call lib$free_ef to free up some event flags in event flag cluster zero. Please see the event flag documentation for specific details on these calls and for specific event flags that can be freed in event flag cluster zero. Here is some example code that covers calling this routine on OpenVMS: m->InputID = XtAppAddInput( m->AppCtx, m->InputEF, m->InputIosb, the_callback, 1 ); if ( !((int) m->InputID )) { XtAppErrorMsg( m->AppCtx, "invalidDevice", "XtAppAddInput", "XtToolkitError", "Can't Access Device", (String *) NULL, (Cardinal *) NULL ); ... [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC1. Looking for connector wiring pinouts? DECconnect DEC-423 MMJ pinout: 1: Data Terminal Ready (DTR) 2: Transmit (TXD) 3: Transmit Ground (TXD-) 4: Receive Ground (RXD-) 5: Receive (RXD) 6: Data Set Ready (DSR) +------------------+ | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | +------------+ ++ +____+ The PC-compatible DB9 connector pinout follows: 1: Data Carrier Detect (DCD) 2: Received Data 3: Transmit Data 4: Data Terminal Ready (DTR) 5: Ground 6: Data Set Ready (DSR) 7: Request To Send (RTS) 8: Clear To Send 9: floating The MicroVAX DB9 console connector pinout predates the PC-style DB9 pinout, and uses a then-common (older) standard pinout, and uses the following EIA-232-standard signals: 1: Protective Ground 2: Transmited Data 3: Received Data 4: Request To Send (RTS) 5: Data Terminal Ready (DTR) 6: Data Set Ready (DSR) 7: Signal Ground 8: Shorted to pin 9 on MicroVAX and VAXstation 2000... 9: ...series systems, otherwise left floating. The BC16E-nn (where -nn indicates the cable length) cable key impliicitly "flips over" (crosses-over) the signal wires, so all DECconnect MMJ connectors are wired the same. // ---- ---- | |---------------------------------------| | ---- ---- \\ The BC16-E-nn cross-over wiring looks like this: Terminal Host MMJ MMJ DTR 1 --->-------------->----------------->--- 6 DSR TXD 2 --->-------------->----------------->--- 5 RXD 3 ---------------------------------------- 4 4 ---------------------------------------- 3 RXD 5 ---<--------------<-----------------<--- 2 TXD DSR 6 ---<--------------<-----------------<--- 1 DTR Also see: http://www.partner.digital.com:9003/public/cheat_sheets/cables/padapters.html http://www.networks.digital.com.au/dr/npgc/opdec-mn.html For adapters and connectors, see MISC4. [Stephen Hoffman] [Mike Thompson] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC2. Where can I find information on escape and control sequences? Information on escape and control sequences can be found in the OpenVMS I/O User's Reference Manual, in the section on the terminal driver. This section includes details on the general format and content of these sequences. Specific details on the escape and control sequences supported by a particular serial device are typically found in the documentation provided with the specific device. Information on the sequences supported by DECwindows DECterm terminal emulator are included in the DECwindows documentation. Examples of common escape and control sequences -- those typically used by the OpenVMS screen management package -- can be found in the OpenVMS system file SYS$SYSTEM:SMGTERMS.TXT. The following refers to the function keys on the VTxxx series terminals, and compatibles. In the following, is decimal code 155 and can be replaced by the sequence "[" (without the quotes) particularly for seven-bit operations, SS3 is decimal code 143 and can be replaced by "O" particularly for seven-bit operations. Older VT1xx series terminals and any other terminals operating with seven-bit characters should not be sent eight-bit operators such as and . PF1=P PF2=Q PF3=R PF4=S KP0=p KP1=q KP2=r KP3=s KP4=t KP5=u KP6=v KP7=w KP8=x KP9=y KPCOMMA=l KPMINUS=m KPPERIOD=n ENTER=M DNARROW=B UPARROW=A LFARROW=D RTARROW=C FIND=1~ INSERT=2~ REMOVE=3~ SELECT=4~ PREV=5~ NEXT=6~ F6=17~ F7=18~ F8=19~ F9=20~ F10=21~ F11=23~ F12=24~ F13=25~ F14=26~ HELP=28~ DO=29~ F17=31~ F18=32~ F19=33~ F20=34~ ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC3. Can I reuse old keyboards, mice and monitors with a PC? Older DIGITAL keyboards (with RJ modular jacks), older DIGITAL mice (with RJ modular jacks, or with a DIN connector with pins in a configuration other than the PC-standard DIN connector pin orientation), and older video monitors (with RGB synch-on-green video signaling) all use signaling formats and/or communications protocols that differ from the PC standards, and are neither interchangable nor compatible with typical PC peripheral device controllers. LK201, LK401, VSXXX, VR260, VR290, etc., are incompatible with most PC systems. Newer DIGITAL keyboards (with DIN plugs), newer DIGITAL mice (with PC-pin DIN plugs), and newer video monitors (multi-synch) are often interchangeable with `industry standard' PC systems, and can often be used with most PC peripheral device controllers. LK461, LK471, PC7XS-CA, VRC16, VRC21, etc., are compatible with most PC systems. Rule of thumb: if the peripheral device component was sold for use with the DEC 2000 (DECpc 150 AXP), an AlphaServer series, an AlphaStation series, or more recent system, it will probably work with a PC peripheral controller. If the peripheral device component was sold for use with an VT420 or older terminal, most VAX, most VAXstation, and most Alpha systems with names in the format `DEC ', it probably won't work on a PC. Note that the above is a general guideline, and should not be read to indicate that any particular peripheral device will or will not work in any particular configuration, save for those specific configurations the device is explicitly supported in. [Stephen Hoffman] Software Integrators sells a video adapter card called Gemini P1 which will drive many of the older Digital fixed-frequency monitors on a PC. http://www.si87.com/ Also see MISC10. ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC4. What connectors and wiring adapters are available? The H8571-B converts the (non-2000-series) MicroVAX DB9 to MMJ DECconnect. The MicroVAX 2000 and VAXstation 2000 requires a BCC08 cable (which has the 8-9 short) and the H8571-D for use with DECconnect. More recent DIGITAL and Compaq systems will use either the DECconnect MMJ wiring or (more common on recent systems) the PC-compatible DB9 pinout. DECconnect MMJ adapters: Part: Converts BC16E MMJ male to fit into: H8575-A EIA232 25 pin female (common) H8575-B EIA232 9 pin male (MicroVAX II console) H8571-D EIA232 25 pin male (modem-wired) H8571-J PC/AT 9 pin male (PC serial port) H8572-0 0BC16E MMJ male (MMJ extender) BC16E-** MMJ cable, available in various lengths Numerous additional adapters and cables are available from the _OPEN DECconnect Building Wiring Components and Applications Catalog_, as well as descriptions of the above-listed parts. The H8571-A and H8575-A are MMJ to DB25 (female) and are wired as follows: Also see: http://www.partner.digital.com:9003/public/cheat_sheets/cables/padapters.html http://www.networks.digital.com.au/dr/npgc/opdec-mn.html Jameco offers a USB-A to PS/2 Mini DIN 6 Adapter (as part 168751), for those folks wishing to (try to) use PS/2 Keyboards via USB-A connections. For wiring and pinouts, see MISC4. [Stephen Hoffman] [Eric Dittman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC5. Where can I find performance info and specs for older systems? See ALPHA5 ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC6. What does "failure on back translate address request" mean? The destination node is running DECnet-Plus, and its naming service cannot locate a name to assocate with the source node's address. In other words, the destination node cannot determine the name of the source node. Use the DECNET_REGISTER mechanism (on the destination node) to register or modify the name(s) and the address(es) of the source node. Check the source node namespace, as well. Typically, the nodes involved are using a LOCAL namespace, and the node name and address settings are not coherent across all nodes. Also check to make sure that the node is entered into its own LOCAL namespace. This can be a problem elsewhere, however. Very rarely, a cache corruption has been known to cause this error. To flush the cache, use the command: NCL> flush session control naming cache entry "*" Also check to see that you are using the latest ECO for DECnet-Plus for the version you are running. DECnet-Plus can use the following namespaces: o DECdns: DECnet-Plus distributed name services. o LocalFile: a local file containing names and addresses. o DNS/Bind: the IP distributed name services. o The UCX local host file. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC7. How to determine the network hardware address? Most Alpha and VAX systems have a console command that displays the network hardware address. Many systems will also have a sticker identifying the address, either on the enclosure or on the network controller itself. The system console power-up messages on a number of VAX and Alpha systems will display the hardware address, particularly on those systems with an integrated Ethernet network adapter present. If you cannot locate a sticker on the system, if the system powerup message is unavailable or does not display the address, and if the system is at the console prompt, start with the console command: >>> HELP A console command similar to one of the following is typically used to display the hardware address: >>> SHOW DEVICE >>> SHOW ETHER >>> SHOW CONFIG On the oldest VAX Q-bus systems, the following console command can be used to read the address directly off the (DELQA, DESQA, or the not-supported-in-V5.5-and-later DEQNA) Ethernet controller: >>> E/P/W/N:5 20001920 Look at the low byte of the six words displayed by the above command. (The oldest VAX Q-bus systems -- such as the KA630 processor module used on the MicroVAX II and VAXstation II series -- lack a console HELP command, and these systems typically have the primary network controller installed such that the hardware address value is located at the system physical address 20001920.) If the system is a VAX system, and another VAX system on the network is configured to answer Maintenance and Operations Protocol (MOP) bootstrap requests (via DECnet Phase IV, DECnet-Plus, or LANCP), the MOM$SYSTEM:READ_ADDR.EXE tool can be requested: >>> B/R5:100 ddcu Bootfile: READ_ADDR Where ddcu is the name of the Ethernet controller in the above command. The primarly local DELQA, DESQA, and DEQNA Q-bus controllers are usually named XQA0. An attempt to MOP download the READ_ADDR program will ensue, and (if the download is successful) READ_ADDR will display the hardware address. If the system is running, you can use DECnet or TCP/IP to display the hardware address with one of the following commands. $ MCR NCP SHOW KNOWN LINE CHARACTERISTICS ! DECnet Phase IV $ MCR NCL SHOW CSMA-CD STATION * ALL STATUS ! DECnet-Plus $ UCX SHOW INTERFACE/FULL ! TCP/IP versions prior to V5.0 $ TCPIP SHOW INTERFACE/FULL ! TCP/IP versions V5.0 and later A program can be created to display the hardware address, reading the necessary information from the network device drivers. An example C program for reading the Ethernet hardware address (via sys$qio calls to the network device driver(s)) is available at the following URL: http://www.openvms.digital.com/wizard/swdev/ethernVMS.html To use the DECnet Phase IV configurator tool to watch for MOP SYSID activity on the local area network: $ NCP SET MODULE CONFIGURATOR KNOWN CIRCUIT SURVEILLANCE ENABLED Let the DECnet configurator run for at least 20 minutes. Then issue the following commands: $ NCP SHOW MODULE CONFIGURATOR KNOWN CIRCUIT STATUS TO filename.txt $ NCP SET MODULE CONFIGURATOR KNOWN CIRCUIT SURVEILLANCE DISABLED The resulting file (named filename.txt) can now be searched for the information of interest. Most DECnet systems will generate MOP SYSID messages identifying items such as the controller hardware address and the controller type, and these messages are generated and multicast roughly every ten minutes. Information on the DECnet MOP SYSID messages and other parts of the maintenance protocols is included in the DECnet network architecture specifications referenced in section DOC9. ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC8. Why does my system halt when I powercycle the console terminal? Various VAX and Alpha consoles are designed to process the BREAK signal, treating it as a HALT request. A BREAK is a deliberately-generated serial line framing error. When a serial line device such as a terminal powers up (or sometimes when powering down) it can generate framing errors. These framing errors are indistingushable from a BREAK signal. When a BREAK is received on a serial line console for various VAX systems -- including most VAXstation, MicroVAX, and VAX 4000 series -- it is typically interpreted as a HALT. Alpha systems will also often process a BREAK in a similar fashion, halting the system. There is no uniform or generally-available way to disable this behaviour on every VAX or Alpha system. On some systems, BREAK processing can be disabled in favor of CTRL/P, or CTRL/P is the only way to halt the processor. The most common way to avoid these halts is to disable the serial line console or to simply not power-cycle the console terminal. There is certain important system state information that is displayed only on the console, OpenVMS expects to always have access to the system console. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC9. Why can't I use PPP and RAS to connect to OpenVMS Alpha? OpenVMS Alpha PPP does not presently support authentication, and the Microsoft Windows NT option to disable authentication during a RAS connection apparently doesn't currently work -- RAS connections will require authentication -- and this will thus prevent RAS connections. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC10. Which video monitor works with which graphics controller? To determine the answer to the "will this monitor work with this graphics controller?" question, please first locate the resolution(s) and the frequencies that are possible/supported at both ends of the video cable (on the monitor and the graphics controller, in other words), and then determine if there are any matching settings available. If there are multiple matches, you will need to determine which one is most appropriate for your needs. You will also need to determine if the video monitor or graphics controller requires the 3 BNC signaling with the synchronization signals on the green wire, or the 5 BNC signalling common on many PCs, or other connections such as the DB15 video connector or USB connector used on various systems. If there are no matches, you will likely need to change the hardware at one or both ends of the "video cable". The refresh frequencies for many devices have been posted to comp.os.vms and/or other newsgroups. Search the archives for details. Also see: http://www.repairfaq.org/ http://plop.phys.cwru.edu/repairfaq/REPAIR/F_monfaq.html http://www.mirage-mmc.com/faq/ Also see MISC3. ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC11. Where can I get information on storage hardware? Information on various Compaq OpenVMS and other disk storage hardware and controllers, and related technical information on SCSI, device jumpers, etc., is available at: http://theref.aquascape.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC12. Does DECprint (DCPS) work with the LRA0 parallel port? The parallel printing port LRA0: found on many OpenVMS Alpha systems is capable of some bidirectional communications, with enough for basic operations with most parallel printers. DECprint (DCPS) requires more than just the simple handshaking provided by the LRA0: port, therefore DCPS does not work with the LRA0: port. [Paul Anderson] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC13. How do I check for free space on a (BACKUP) tape? You cannot know for certain, though you can certainly estimate the remaining capacity. Tape media is different than disk media, as disks have a known and pre-determined fixed capacity. Modern disks also appear logically perfect, based on bad block revectoring support and the extra blocks hidden within the disk structure for these bad block replacements. The capacity of tape media is not nearly as pre-determined, and the capacity can vary across different tape media (slightly different media lengths or different foil markers or other variations, for instance) and even on the same media over time (as bad spots in the media arise). Tapes can vary the amount of recording media required, depending on the remaining length of the tape, the numbers of correctable and uncorrectable media errors that might occur, the numbers and sizes of the inter-record gaps and related tape structure overhead, the particular media error recovery chosen, the tape density, the efficiently of any data compression in use, and the storage overhead required by BACKUP, tar, and other similar commands. ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT1. Where can I find freeware/shareware software for OpenVMS? An OpenVMS Freeware CD is distributed with OpenVMS, and is also available seperately as part of the OpenVMS hobbyist program. The OpenVMS Freeware CD is available online at: http://www.openvms.digital.com/freeware/ ftp://ftp.montagar.com/ ftp://mvb.saic.com/freewarev40/ http://freeware.acornsw.com/ and at various other sites. Submissions to the OpenVMS Freeware can be made via: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/freeware/cd.html To order the Freeware, you can order an OpenVMS distribution from Compaq, or you can order the Freeware itself via the OpenVMS hobbyist website: http://www.montagar.com/hobbyist/ The Freeware CD-ROM set contains a large assortment of freeware, and is a good starting point if looking for utilities. Many of the packages listed below are also on the Freeware CD. Some of the most oft-requested OpenVMS tools on the Freeware CD include ZIP and UNZIP, GZIP, MMK (make), PINE, PERL, TAR, UUENCODE and UUDECODE. Many other tools are available on the Freeware. Compaq also has a separate area containing various OpenVMS software tools located at: http://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS/ Hunter Goatley runs a VMS freeware fileserver at Western Kentucky University. If you're using a WWW browser, the URL is: http://www.wku.edu/www/fileserv/fileserv.html The FILESERV packages are also available via anonymous FTP from: ftp.wku.edu, under [.VMS.FILESERV]. ftp.spc.edu, under [.MACRO32.SAVESETS] and [.MX]. ftp.vms.stacken.kth.se, under [.MIRRORS..WKU.VMS.FILESERV]. ftp.shsu.edu, under pub/vms/mx and pub/vms/utilities. nic.switch.ch, under /mirror/vms/spc. ftp.technion.ac.il, under /pub/unsupported/vms/spc. ftp.riken.go.jp or via e-mail from FILESERV@WKUVX1.WKU.EDU. Send the commands HELP and DIR ALL in the body of a mail message for more information. If you get the packages via WWW or FTP, they're in ZIP format which requires the UNZIP (note: this is not Gnu gunzip!) tool to unpack. You can get ZIP and UNZIP from the following areas: ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/unzip.exe ! VAX ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/unzip.alpha_exe ! Alpha ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/fileserv/UNZIP.ZIP http://www.decus.de:8080/www/vms/sw/zip.htmlx http://home.earthlink.net/~djesys/zip.html http://home.earthlink.net/~djesys/unzip.html or you can request the FILESERV_TOOLS package from the e-mail server. [Beware: The [000TOOLS...] pre-built versions of ZIP on the OpenVMS Freeware V4 CD-ROM will erroneously return BILF errors on OpenVMS V7.2 and later. Use of the source on the Freeware V4 to rebuild the ZIP image(s), or acquiring a pre-built ZIP image from one of the above areas can avoid this. The pre-built version of ZIP on the Freeware V4 kit is older than the included ZIP sources, and it contains a latent bug.] Another source of free software is the vmsnet.sources newsgroup (and the corresponding vmsnet.sources.d discussion group). See the monthly posting "vmsnet.sources archives" for a list of sites which archive submissions to vmsnet.sources. CompuServe users should check out the libraries of the VAXFORUM forum. Arne Vajhxj runs an OpenVMS WWW page, with software and other pointers, at: http://www.levitte.org/~ava/ Kermit is available at: http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ or ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/ ZMODEM is available at: ftp://ftp.cs.pdx.edu/pub/zmodem See the FILES file in that directory for further details. Note that this freeware version of ZMODEM will interoperate only with ZMODEM software that is licensed from Omen Technology. (Also on Freeware CD) [Steve Lionel] A good source of software for DEC boxes (and anything else pretty much) is the DECUS library. online catalogs are available as well as some software via ftp.decus.org; there's a gopher server gopher://gopher.decus.org/ an FTP server: ftp://ftp.decus.org/ and a WWW server: http://www.decus.org/ Some DECUS library CD-ROMs are available online at: http://www.acornsw.com/www/acorn/cdrom-via-www.html or gopher://gopher.acornsw.com/ [munroe@dmc.com] Phone for orders is 508 841 3502. Lots of good stuff from lots of good folks, and copies on media (tapes, CDs) are cheap. [Everhart@Arisia.gce.com] MPJZ's Hyper-Software-List for OpenVMS is Martin P.J. Zinser's list of additional software. http://axp616.gsi.de:8080/www/vms/sw.html Chris Higgins's VMS Software List II http://csvax1.ucc.ie/www/vms_sw_list/sw_list.html DECUS SIG Tape collections are available on Mark Berryman's system, ftp://mvb.saic.com David Jones's DECthreads-based HTTP_SERVER World-Wide Web server for VMS. http://kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu/www/doc/serverinfo.html [goathunter@WKUVX1.WKU.EDU] Secure Shell (SSH) Server for OpenVMS: http://kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu/~JONESD/ssh/DOC/ Secure Shell (SSH) Client for OpenVMS: http://www.free.lp.se/fish/ Information on OpenSSL (SSLeay) for OpenVMS: http://www.free.lp.se/openssl/ [Leo Demers] Information on OpenSSL (SSLeay) and OSU Webserver interoperation: http://www.levitte.org/~byerra [Robert Alan Byer] DECwindows Motif V1.2-3 includes NCSA Mosaic 2.4 built for UCX. V1.2-4 includes Spyglass Enhanced Mosaic, which supports many "Netscape" enhancements. Netscape Navigator is also available for OpenVMS. A port of Mosaic 2.7-4 which supports UCX, Multinet and SOCKETSHR/NETLIB is available from: ftp://wvnvms.wvnet.edu/mosaic/ Lynx (a character-cell World-Wide-Web reader) is available from ftp://ftp2.cc.ukans.edu/pub/lynx [Steve Lionel] Netscape Navigator will be available as part of the OpenVMS Internet Product Suite. For further details, see: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/products/ips/index.html PGP (Phil Zimmerman's "Pretty Good Privacy") is available from various distribution sites, including those listed in the PGP FAQ. Information on an OpenVMS download of PGP is available at: http://www.pgpi.com/ http://zone.pspt.fi/pgp/platforms/vms/ http://www.yrl.co.uk/~phil/pds/pds.html An archive of DECwindows and X Windows software can be found at the following sites: http://www2.cenaath.cena.dgac.fr/ftp/index.html http://www2.cenaath.cena.dgac.fr/ftp/decwindows/ ftp://axp.psl.ku.dk/decwindows ftp://ftp2.cnam.fr/decwindows ftp://ftp.et.tudelft.nl/decwindows ftp://ftp.ctrl-c.liu.se/decwindows http://axp616.gsi.de:8080/wwwar/cena/decwindows/cena.html (See also Freeware CD) [Patrick Moreau] ImageMagick is an X11 package for display and interactive manipulation of images. The package includes tools for image conversion, annotation, compositing, animation, and creating montages. ImageMagick can read and write many of the more popular image formats (e.g. JPEG, TIFF, PNM, XPM, Photo CD, etc.). ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/vms/ImageMagick/ImageMagick-3.3.zip (Also on Freeware CD) [cristy@dupont.com] XV is available from: ftp://ftp.cis.upenn.edu/pub/xv ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/graphics/xv http://www.sanface.com/ GHOSTSCRIPT and GHOSTVIEW are available from: ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS/ghostview Version 2.3 of GhostView-VMS is now available from: ftp://iphthf.physik.uni-mainz.de/pub/vms/ [plass@dipmza.physik.uni-mainz.de] XPDF, a viewer for PDF (Adobe Acrobat) files, is available from: http://www.foolabs.com/xpdf/ [Ki Suk Hahn] A Java-based PDF viewer is available from Adobe, and is known to operate on recent OpenVMS Alpha releases: http://www.adobe.com/ Various OpenVMS-related tools -- both freeware and shareware -- such as txt2pdf -- are available from at: http://www.sanface.com/ The MPEG library version 1.1 is available for OpenVMS VAX and Alpha at ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/vms/mpeglib-11-vms.readme ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/vms/mpeglib-11-vms.zip [Patrick Moreau] List of FTP Mirror Sites for the DECWINDOWS archive: =================================================== AXP.PSL.KU.DK (Multinet) Mirror of CENA DECW archive FTP.ET.TUDELFT.NL (MadGoat) Mirror of CENA DECW archive FTP2.CNAM.FR (MadGoat) Mirror of CENA DECW archive ftp.x.org (in /contrib/vms) not really a mirror, but I try to put all my new ports at this site. List of HTTP Mirror Sites for the DECWINDOWS archive: ==================================================== http://axp616.gsi.de:8080/wwwar/cena/decwindows/cena.html Some X clients from the OpenVMS Freeware CDROM are located in [.DECWINDOWS.CDFREEWARE] directory. [Patrick Moreau] I have written and installed on INFO.CS.PUB.RO an 'Archie' clone for VMS software. Telnet to that machine, and login as VMSARCI. It contains now listings for over 30 ftp servers with >14 GB of VMS software. The most useful commands are LIST, which generates a list of scanned ftp servers, and FIND , whichs looks for a file containing "string" in the name; the search modes are only "substring" [default] and "exact", and regex search is not supported (so FIND EMACS will work, but FIND *EMACS* or FIND *EMACS*.* will not). The search is case-insensitive. Those of you that know other ftp servers with VMS software that I haven't found, please let me know. (The program that build the databases can recursively scan whole servers- as FTP.WKU.EDU, or just some directories- as NIC.SWITCH.CH /pub/vms) Sorry, this service is VERY SLOW [by Western standards], because it runs on a quite-busy oldie-but-goodie VAXStation 3400 with 20Mb and a RF71, and the Internet link is only 256 Kpbs (sometimes unavailable). [stfp@roipb.cs.ipb.ro] Perl 5 (object oriented, blah blah) is available for VMS. The primary development ftp site is: ftp://genetics.upenn.edu/perl5/ But this site is mirrored by more than 47 CPAN sites around the world. Each CPAN site is accesible via a cgi-bin script at the perl homesite: http://www.perl.com/CPAN/ (PERL can also be found on the OpenVMS Freeware CD) Charles Lane maintains a web page on how to write cgi-bin scripts in perl 5 for VMS at: http://duphy4.physics.drexel.edu/duphy4/cgi_info.htmlx and I maintain a web page on how to obtain and compile perl5 for VMS at: http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/~pvhp/perl/VMS.html [pvhp@lns62.lns.cornell.edu] MadGoat Software Archives: http://www.madgoat.com/ Western Kentucky University OpenVMS archives: ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/fileserv/ The Levitte (extended :-) Family (and OpenVMS) website: http://www.levitte.org/ http://www.levitte.org/~ava/ http://www.levitte.org/~byerra/ CalTech Software Archives: http://seqaxp.bio.caltech.edu/pub/SOFTWARE/AAA_CONTENTS.TXT DJE Systems Website (David J. Dachtera) http://home.earthlink.net/~djesys/freeware/vms/ Web servers: Apache web server: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/products/ips/apache/ http://www.er6.eng.ohio-state.edu/~jonesd/apache/1_3_9/ OSU Webserver http://www.er6.eng.ohio-state.edu/www/doc/serverinfo.html http://www.kjsl.com/archives/ email list: VMS-WEB-daemon-Request@KJSL.COM CD-R (CD-Recordable) media tools: please see FILE7 Grace (WYSIWYG 2D plotting tool) http://plasma-gate.weizmann.ac.il/Grace/ POV-Ray ("Persistance of Vision" Raytracer) ray-tracing graphics package: http://www.lp.se/~byerra/povray/povray_contents.html [Peter Langstoeger] Majordomo mailing list handler: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/products/ips/majordomo/ PINE (OpenVMS tools for sending and receiving MIME mail): ftp://ftp2.kcl.ac.uk/pub/vms/pine-vms/ http://www.agh.cc.kcl.ac.uk/files/vms/pine-vms/ ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT2. Where can I find the UNIX tool for OpenVMS? POSIX: POSIX-compliant, Digital-supported versions of POSIX routines and utilities: lex, yacc, grep, tar, uuencode, uudecode, rcs, man, cpio, make, awk, ar, mail, etc., the POSIX shell, the POSIX C programming interface, etc. POSIX utilities can be used from within the POSIX shell, and via the DCL `POSIX/RUN POSIX$BIN:tool.' command. POSIX is a separately-installed package, and is licensed with OpenVMS V5.5 later. The POSIX installation kit is included on the consolidated distribution CD-ROM kit, and installation kits are also available separately. The POSIX package is no longer supported on OpenVMS, components of the POSIX standard such as parts of the POSIX API are being added into OpenVMS. C: Common C system and library routines are present in the DEC C run-time library, which is available for V5.5 and later, and is shipped in V6.1 and later. DEC C is the upgrade for VAX C, DEC C and VAX C can coexist on the same system OpenVMS VAX system, and both compilers can be enabled via the "C" license PAK. Also see SYS$EXAMPLES:, and (if either is installed) the DECW$EXAMPLES: and UCX$EXAMPLES: areas. X Windows: Various Digital-supported X Windows utilities: xwd, xev, mosaic WWW browser, xrdb, bmtoa and atobm, xpr, ico, etc. In DECW$UTILS: in DECwindows Motif V1.2-3 and later. Also see DECW$EXAMPLES: for example X and C programs. Miscellaneous tools and examples: Various unsupported OpenVMS tools and code examples: DWAUTH (X Windows SYSUAF authorize-like tool), various versions of grep, fgrep, yacc, vmstar, uuencode, gawk, etc. html tools, the mx SMTP mail exchange package, X windows flight simulator, the mxrn X windows news reader, the OSU HTTPD WWW server, a WWW gopher browser, etc. are all on the FreeWare V2.0 CD-ROM. IP tools: DEC TCP/IP (UCX) contains tools such as ping, uuencode, smtp, snmp, rcp, nfs, tnfs, etc. OpenVMS V6.2 and UCX V3.3 and later can be used together in support of the /FTP, /RCP, /RLOGIN, /TELNET, and /TN3270 qualifiers on various DCL commands. Also see the various C examples in UCX$EXAMPLES: [Stephen Hoffman] vi clones Both vile and elvis (vi clones) run on OpenVms. The current version of vile is 7.1 It's available at http://www.clark.net/pub/dickey/vile/vile.html ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/vile ftp://id.wing.net/pub/pgf/vile [Thomas Dickey] GNU tools: Information on the GNU on VMS Project, which aims to port GNU software to VMS, is available at: http://vms.gnu.ai.mit.edu/ ftp://vms.gnu.ai.mit.edu/gnu-vms/ Software info: http://vms.gnu.ai.mit.edu/software/ Software archive: ftp://vms.gnu.ai.mit.edu/gnu-vms/software/ GCC: The Progis company in Germany has ported GCC (GNU C) to OpenVMS Alpha. You can also find a recent OpenVMS VAX version there. http://www.progis.de/ The latest (known to me) GCC version for VAX/VMS (binaries only) is 2.7.1 from Pat Rankin's site. ftp://ftp.caltech.edu/pub/rankin/ [Jason Armistead] ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT3. Where can I get the Netscape Navigator Mozilla.org Web Browser? OpenVMS Engineering is currently porting mozilla.org's browser to OpenVMS -- OpenVMS baselevels are currently available for download. Mozilla.org is the open source organization providing Netscape and other interested parties with a browser. Netscape is expected to commercialize this mozilla.org browser, add additional proprietary features, and release it as Netscape Communicator (version number TBD). This Netscape Communicator will contain the features that the Internet community expected to see in Netscape Communicator V5. Mozilla.org has announced that it will release a beta version of its browser in mid-Autumn 1999. Soon after, Netscape may/will release a beta version of Netscape Communicator based on the mozilla.org browser. We expect the beta version of Netscape Communicator to be available on OpenVMS about 1 month after its release by Netscape. A customer quality version of this browser is scheduled for release by mozilla.org in late December 1999; soon after, Netscape will release a customer quality version of Netscape Communicator. We expect to release a customer quality version of Netscape Communicator on OpenVMS in early 2000. The mozilla.org browser schedule is available at: http://www.mozilla.org/project/ The latest information and current downloads are available at: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/products/ips/ Please be aware that various certificates for V3.003 Netscape Navigator are presently expired, or are starting to expire. This can potentially cause problems for certificate-based access pending the acquisition of new certifcates. [Sue Denham] [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT4. Where can I get Java for OpenVMS? Java is available on and is included with OpenVMS Alpha, starting with the OpenVMS Alpha V7.2 and later releases. Java download kits are available for OpenVMS Alpha V7.1 and later releases. Java is not available on OpenVMS VAX. As for why: the Java language definition requires a floating point format (IEEE) that is not native to VAX, and this would require the emulation of all floating point operations within Java applications. Further, the C source code used to implement for Java itself is heavily dependent on passing IEEE floating point values around among the many internal subroutines, and adding support for VAX would entail changes to the Compaq C compiler for OpenVMS VAX -- and specifically to the VAX VCG code generator that is used by Compaq C on OpenVMS VAX systems -- in order to add support for passing IEEE-format floating point doubles around. Alternatively, extensive changes to the Java source code to remove the assumption that the double is an IEEE floating point value. There are currently no plans to make a version of Java available for OpenVMS VAX. (A prototype version of Java was created for OpenVMS VAX, and performance was found to be inadequate at best.) If Java2 or other environment lifts the requirements for IEEE floating point as part of the language definition, this decision may be revisited. For additional information on Java for Alpha systems, please see the OpenVMS documentation (V7.2 and later), and the following site: http://www.digital.com/java/alpha/index.html ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT5. VAX C and DEC C, and other OpenVMS C Programming Considerations? VAX C V3.2 was released for OpenVMS VAX systems in 1991. DEC C V4.0 replaced VAX C V3.2 in 1993 as the DIGITAL C compiler for OpenVMS VAX systems. DEC C is the DIGITAL C compiler for OpenVMS Alpha systems. VAX C predates the ANSI C standards, and has various areas that are not compliant with ANSI C requirements. DEC C is an ANSI C compiler, and can also compile most VAX C code when /STANDARD=VAXC is specified. As of V6.0, DEC C was renamed Compaq C. Both compilers can be installed at the same time on the same OpenVMS VAX system, allowing a migration from VAX C to DEC C, and allowing the same DEC C code to be used on OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha. In 1999, the C compiler version is Compaq C V6.0. The system manager can choose the system default C compiler when Compaq C is installed on a system with VAX C, and a C programmer can explicitly select the required compiler for a any particular compilation. A current "C" license PAK allows access to both VAX C and Compaq C on the same OpenVMS VAX system. Various Compaq C versions can be installed on OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2 and later. OpenVMS VAX releases such as V5.5-2 and V6.0 will require the installation of a Compaq C RTL kit, a kit that is included with the Compaq C compiler. OpenVMS VAX versions V6.1 and later do not require a seperate RTL kit, but Compaq C RTL ECO kits are available to resolve problems found with the C RTL on various OpenVMS releases. Wwith Compaq C, for automatic resolution of the standard C library routines by the LINKER utility, use the /PREFIX qualifier, such as /PREFIX=ALL_ENTRIES. If a particular application program replaces an existing C library routine, use /PREFIX=(ALL_ENTRIES,EXCEPT=(...)). (VAX C required explicit specification of an RTL shareable image or C object library during the link.) When the /PREFIX is requested, the compiler generates a "decc$" prefix on the specified symbols. This prefix allows the LINKER to resolve the external symbols against the symbols present in the DECC$SHR library. The DECC$SHR library is included in the IMAGELIB.OLB shareable image library, and IMAGELIB is searched by default when any program (written in any language) is LINKed. Because the standard C library routine names are very likely to match application routines written in other languages, a prefix "decc$" is added to the C symbol names to assure their uniqueness; to prevent symbol naming conflicts. C programs, however, can sometimes have private libraries for various purposes, and the external routines share the same names as the library routines. (This is not recommended, but there are applications around that use this technique.) Thus the need to explicity specify whether or not the "decc$" prefix should be prepended to the external symbol names by the compiler. The qualifiers, and most (all?) with associated pragmas, that may be of interest when migrating VAX C code to Compaq C include: /PREFIX=ALL_ENTRIES As mentioned above. Failure to specificy this qualifier can cause the compiler to not add the prefixes for the names of the C library routines into the references placed in the object module, which can in turn cause problems resolving the external symbols in the library when the object code is linked. /ASSUME=WRITABLE_STRING_LITERALS Some VAX C programs erroneously write to the string literals. By default, Compaq C does not allow the constants to change. /SHARE_GLOBALS Enables sharing ("shr") of globals and of extern variables. Compaq C sets externs as non-shareable ("noshr"), VAX C as "shr". /EXTERN_MODE=COMMON_BLOCK VAX C assumes common block model for external linkages. /[NO]MEMBER_ALIGNMENT Refers to the padding placed between member elements within a struct. Disabling member alignment packs the data more tightly into memory, but this packaging has performance implications, both on OpenVMS VAX and particularly on OpenVMS Alpha systems. Permit structure members to be naturally aligned whenever possible, and avoid using /NOMEMBER_ALIGNMENT. If you need to disable member alignment, use the equivilent #pragma to designate the specific structures. The alignment of structure members normally only comes into play with specific unaligned data structures -- such as the sys$creprc quota itemlist -- and with data structures that are using data that was organized by a system using byte or other non-member alignment. Versions of Compaq C such as V6.0 include the capability to extract the contents of the standard header libraries into directories such as SYS$SYSROOT:[DECC$LIB...], and provide various logical names that can be defined to control library searches. With Compaq C versions such as V6.0, the default operations of the compiler match the expectations of most OpenVMS programmers, without requiring any definitions of site-specific library-related logical names. (And logical names left from older DEC C versions can sometimes cause the compiler troubles locating header files.) Example C code is available in SYS$EXAMPLES:, in DECW$EXAMPLES (when the DECwindows examples are installed), in UCX$EXAMPLES (when Digital TCP/IP Services is installed), on the Freeware CD-ROMs, and at web sites such as http://www.openvms.digital.com/wizard/ [End of Part 3/3] --------------------------- pure personal opinion --------------------------- Hoff (Stephen) Hoffman OpenVMS Engineering hoffman#xdelta.zko.dec.com