The OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions

(FAQ)

ABSTRACT

This document contains answers to many common questions on the OpenVMS

operating system, and covers OpenVMS, and OpenVMS running on Itanium, Alpha,
and VAX hardware.
While this document is available in multiple formats, the text-format version is far and
away generally the easiest format to search.

Revision/Update Information OpenVMS V8.3

Revision/Update Information: Revision Date/September 2006

FAQ
Contents

PREFACE i

OPENVMS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) iii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1–1

1.1 WHAT CORE OPENVMS URLS DO YOU NEED TO KNOW? 1–1

1.2 WHAT ARE THE OPENVMS USENET NEWSGROUPS? 1–2

1.2.1 What is the scope of the comp.os.vms newsgroup? 1–2
1.2.2 What newsgroups carry VMS-related information? 1–2
1.2.3 What newsgroup archives are available? 1–3
1.2.4 What is the INFO-VAX mailing list? 1–3
1.2.4.1 How do I subscribe to or unsubscribe from INFO-VAX? • 1–3

1.3 WHAT IS [N]ETIQUETTE? 1–4

1.4 WHAT OPENVMS USER GROUP(S) ARE AVAILABLE? 1–5

1.5 OPENVMS SUPPORT, QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS? 1–5

1.5.1 Corporate contacts for OpenVMS Business Issues? 1–6
1.5.2 OpenVMS Ambassadors? 1–6
1.5.3 Contact for OpenVMS Marketing Issues and Questions? 1–6
1.5.4 Contact URLs for OpenVMS Technical Issues? 1–7

CHAPTER 2 GENERAL INFORMATION 2–1

2.1 WHAT IS OPENVMS? WHAT IS ITS HISTORY? 2–1

2.2 WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VMS AND OPENVMS? 2–2

iii
 Contents

2.3 WHAT’S IN A NAME? TERMINOLOGY AND PRODUCTS? 2–3

2.3.1 How do I port from VMS to OpenVMS? 2–4

2.4 WHICH IS BETTER, OPENVMS OR UNIX? 2–4

2.5 IS HP CONTINUING FUNDING AND SUPPORT FOR OPENVMS? 2–4

2.6 WHAT OPENVMS DISTRIBUTION KITS ARE AVAILABLE? 2–5

2.6.1 Where can I download OpenVMS and Layered Product
Kits? 2–7

2.7 IN WHAT LANGUAGE IS OPENVMS WRITTEN? 2–7

2.8 OBTAINING AND TRANSFERING OPENVMS LICENSES? 2–8

2.8.1 Questions asked by Hobbyist OpenVMS licensees? 2–8
2.8.1.1 Vendors offering Hobbyist Licenses • 2–9
2.8.2 OpenVMS Educational and CSLG licenses? 2–10
2.8.3 What developer and partner licensing programs are
available? 2–10
2.8.4 How do I obtain or transfer an OpenVMS license? 2–10

2.9 DOES OPENVMS SUPPORT THE EURO CURRENCY SYMBOL? 2–10

2.10 OPENVMS PORTS? ITANIUM? PORTS TO IA-32, EM64T OR AMD64

SYSTEMS? 2–11

2.11 ARE THERE ANY NETWORK-ACCESSIBLE OPENVMS SYSTEMS? 2–14

2.12 WHAT VERSION OF OPENVMS DO I NEED? 2–15

2.13 HOW CAN I SUBMIT OPENVMS FREEWARE? 2–16

2.14 PORTING APPLICATIONS TO OPENVMS? 2–16

2.15 WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO OPENVMS SOFTWARE

DEVELOPERS? 2–18

iv
 Contents

2.16 MEMORY MANAGEMENT, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, PROCESS

SCHEDULING, ETC? 2–18

2.17 BASIC UNITS OF MEASUREMENT? 2–19

2.17.1 How many bytes are in a disk block? 2–19
2.17.2 How many bytes are in a memory page? 2–20
2.17.3 How do I convert? Disk Blocks? KB, MB, GB, TB? 2–21

CHAPTER 3 DOCUMENTATION 3–1

3.1 WHERE CAN I FIND ONLINE COPIES OF OPENVMS MANUALS? 3–1

3.2 WHAT ONLINE INFORMATION AND WEBSITES ARE AVAILABLE? 3–1

3.3 HOW DO I EXTRACT THE CONTENTS OF A HELP TOPIC TO A TEXT

FILE? 3–4

3.4 DOES OPENVMS MARKETING HAVE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS? 3–4

3.5 WHERE CAN I LEARN ABOUT OPENVMS EXECUTIVE INTERNALS? 3–5

3.6 WHERE CAN NEW USERS FIND TUTORIAL INFORMATION ABOUT

OPENVMS? 3–5
3.6.1 Tutorial Websites? 3–5
3.6.2 Books and Tutorials? 3–7

3.7 WHAT OPENVMS MAILING LISTS AND FORUMS ARE AVAILABLE? 3–8

3.8 WHAT IS THIS ASK THE WIZARD WEBSITE I’VE HEARD ABOUT? 3–10

3.9 WHERE CAN I FIND THE LATEST C RUN-TIME LIBRARY

MANUALS? 3–11

v
 Contents

CHAPTER 4 TIME AND TIMEKEEPING 4–1

4.1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF OPENVMS TIMEKEEPING, PLEASE? 4–1

4.1.1 Details of the OpenVMS system time-keeping? 4–2
4.1.1.1 VAX hardware time-keeping details... • 4–2
4.1.1.1.1 TOY clock • 4–2
4.1.1.1.2 EXE$GQ_SYSTIME • 4–3
4.1.1.1.3 EXE$GQ_TODCBASE • 4–3
4.1.1.1.4 EXE$GL_TODR • 4–3
4.1.1.2 Alpha hardware time-keeping details... • 4–4
4.1.1.2.1 Battery-Backed Watch (BB_WATCH) Chip • 4–4
4.1.1.2.2 EXE$GQ_SYSTIME • 4–5
4.1.1.2.3 EXE$GQ_SAVED_HWCLOCK • 4–5
4.1.1.3 Why does VAX need a SET TIME at least once a
year? • 4–6
4.1.2 How does OpenVMS VAX maintain system time? 4–6

4.2 KEEPING THE OPENVMS SYSTEM TIME SYNCHRONIZED? 4–7

4.3 EXTERNAL TIME-BASE HARDWARE? 4–9

4.3.1 Why do my cluster batch jobs start early? 4–9
4.3.2 Why does my OpenVMS system time drift? 4–10
4.3.3 Resetting the system time into the past? 4–10
4.3.4 How can I drift the OpenVMS system time? 4–11
4.3.5 How can I configure TCP/IP Services NTP as a time
provider? 4–11

4.4 MANAGING TIMEZONES, TIMEKEEPING, UTC, AND DAYLIGHT SAVING

TIME? 4–13
4.4.1 Creating, Updating and Managing Timezone Definitions? 4–15
4.4.1.1 Customizing or Updating your TDF (Timezone)
Setting? • 4–16
4.4.1.2 US Daylight Time Changes Starting 1-Mar-2007? • 4–17
4.4.2 Timezones and Time-related Logical Names? 4–18
4.4.3 How to troubleshoot TDF problems on OpenVMS? 4–19

4.5 WHY DOES THE SET TIME COMMAND FAIL? HELP MANAGING
DTSS? 4–20

vi
 Contents

4.6 SETTING TIME ON ALPHASERVER ES47, ES80, GS1280 CONSOLE? 4–22

4.7 UTC VS GMT VS VS UT1/UT1/UT2 TDF? WHAT ARE THESE

ACRONYMS? 4–24

4.8 USING W32TIME OR AN SNTP AS A TIME PROVIDER? 4–25

CHAPTER 5 SYSTEM MANAGEMENT INFORMATION 5–1

5.1 WHAT IS AN INSTALLED IMAGE? 5–1

5.2 ARE THERE ANY KNOWN VIRUSES FOR OPENVMS? 5–2

5.3 SOURCES OF OPENVMS SECURITY INFORMATION? 5–3

5.4 HOW DO I MOUNT AN ISO-9660 CD ON OPENVMS? 5–4

5.5 HOW DO I EXTRACT THE CONTENTS OF A PCSI KIT? 5–5

5.6 EMERGENCY (CONVERSATIONAL) SYSTEM STARTUP? 5–6

5.6.1 I’ve forgotten the SYSTEM password - what can I do? 5–9
5.6.2 My product licenses have expired - what can I do? 5–9

5.7 HOW DO I CHANGE THE NODE NAME OF AN OPENVMS SYSTEM? 5–10

5.8 WHY DOESN’T OPENVMS SEE THE NEW MEMORY I JUST ADDED? 5–12

5.9 HOW DO I CHANGE THE TEXT IN A USER’S UIC IDENTIFIER? 5–12

vii
 Contents

5.10 WHAT ARE THE OPENVMS VERSION UPGRADE PATHS? 5–13

5.10.1 OpenVMS Alpha Upgrade (or Update) Paths 5–13
5.10.2 OpenVMS I64 Upgrade Paths 5–15
5.10.3 OpenVMS VAX Release Upgrade Paths 5–16
5.10.4 OpenVMS Cluster Rolling Upgrade Paths 5–17
5.10.5 OpenVMS VAX Manual Organization 5–18
5.10.6 OpenVMS Product Version and Support Information 5–18
5.10.7 OpenVMS Alpha and I64 Upgrade Terminology 5–19

5.11 WHY DO I HAVE A NEGATIVE NUMBER IN THE PAGEFILE RESERVABLE

PAGES? 5–20

5.12 DO I HAVE TO UPDATE LAYERED PRODUCTS WHEN UPDATING

OPENVMS? 5–21

5.13 HOW DO I CHANGE THE VOLUME LABEL OF A DISK? 5–22

5.14 HOW CAN I SET UP A SHARED DIRECTORY? 5–22

5.15 WHY DO I GET EXTRA BLANK PAGES ON MY HP PRINTER? 5–23

5.16 DRIVERS AND CONFIGURATION OF NEW GRAPHICS

CONTROLLERS? 5–24
5.16.1 The ELSA GLoria Synergy 5–24
5.16.2 PowerStorm 300, PowerStorm 350 5–25
5.16.3 PowerStorm 3D30, PowerStorm 4D20 5–25
5.16.4 Radeon 7500 5–26

5.17 HOW CAN I ACQUIRE OPENVMS PATCHES, FIXES, AND ECOS? 5–26

5.18 HOW DO I MOVE THE QUEUE MANAGER DATABASE? 5–27

5.19 HOW DO I DELETE AN UNDELETABLE/UNSTOPPABLE (RWAST)

PROCESS? 5–28

5.20 HOW DO I RESET THE ERROR COUNT(S)? 5–28

viii
 Contents

5.21 HOW DO I FIND OUT IF THE TAPE DRIVE SUPPORTS

COMPRESSION? 5–30

5.22 CAN I COPY SYSUAF TO ANOTHER VERSION? TO VAX? TO

ALPHA? 5–31

5.23 HOW DO I DELETE (TIMEOUT) IDLE PROCESSES? 5–32

5.24 DO I NEED A PAK FOR THE DECEVENT (HP ANALYZE) TOOL? 5–33

5.25 INITIALIZE ACCVIO AND ANSI TAPE LABEL SUPPORT? 5–33

5.26 HOW DO I RECOVER FROM INSVIRMEM ERRORS? 5–34

5.27 HOW CAN I PREVENT A SERIAL TERMINAL LINE FROM INITIATING A

LOGIN? 5–34

5.28 HOW DOES PCSI USE THE IMAGE BUILD_IDENT FIELD? 5–35

5.29 HOW CAN I TELL WHAT SOFTWARE (AND VERSION) IS

INSTALLED? 5–37

5.30 WHAT FILE CHECKSUM TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE FOR OPENVMS? 5–38

5.31 WHAT (AND WHERE) IS THE OPENVMS MANAGEMENT STATION? 5–38

5.32 HOW TO DETERMINE CURRENT DISK FRAGMENTATION LEVEL? 5–38

5.33 SYSBOOT-I-FILENOTLOC, UNABLE TO LOCATE

SYS$CPU_ROUTINES? 5–39

5.34 HOW CAN I CUSTOMIZE THE DCPS DEVICE CONTROL FOR A NEW
PRINTER? 5–39

ix
 Contents

5.35 WHY DO $GETDEV MOUNTCNT AND SHOW DEVICE MOUNT COUNTS

DIFFER? 5–40

5.36 WHAT SOFTWARE IS NEEDED FOR POSTSCRIPT PRINTERS? 5–41

5.37 HOW DO I REMOVE A PCSI-INSTALLED PATCH (ECO) KIT? 5–41

5.38 SYSINIT-E, ERROR MOUNTING SYSTEM DEVICE,

STATUS=0072832C 5–41

5.39 RESOLVING LICENSE PAK PROBLEMS? 5–42

5.40 CHANGING THE OPENVMS VERSION NUMBER? 5–43

5.41 HOW TO PREVENT USERS FROM CHOOSING OBVIOUS

PASSWORDS? 5–44

5.42 PLEASE HELP ME WITH THE OPENVMS BACKUP UTILITY? 5–45

5.42.1 Why isn’t BACKUP/SINCE=BACKUP working? 5–45
5.42.1.1 Why has OpenVMS gone through the agony of this
change? • 5–45
5.42.1.2 Can you get the old BACKUP behaviour back? • 5–46
5.42.2 What can I do to improve BACKUP performance? 5–46
5.42.3 Why is BACKUP not working as expected? 5–47
5.42.4 How do I fix a corrupt BACKUP saveset? 5–49
5.42.5 How do I write a BACKUP saveset to a remote tape? 5–50
5.42.6 How to perform a DoD security disk erasure? 5–51
5.42.7 How to enable telnet virtual terminals? 5–52
5.42.7.1 Volume Shadowing MiniCopy vs MiniMerge? • 5–52
5.42.7.1.1 Mini-Copy? • 5–53
5.42.7.1.2 Mini-Merge? • 5–54

5.43 PLEASE EXPLAIN DELETE/ERASE AND FILE LOCKS? 5–54

5.44 MANAGING FILE VERSIONS? 5–54

5.45 HOST-BASED VOLUME SHADOWING AND RAID? 5–56

x
 Contents

5.46 ENCRYPTION AND COMPRESSION? 5–56

5.47 COLLECTING PC SAMPLES BEFORE CRASH? 5–57

CHAPTER 6 INFORMATION ON MAIL 6–1

6.1 MAIL KEEPS SAYING I HAVE NEW MESSAGES, BUT I DON’T. WHAT DO I
DO? 6–1

6.2 HOW DO I SEND OR READ ATTACHMENTS IN VMS MAIL? 6–1

6.3 HOW CAN I BLOCK SMTP MAIL RELAY SPAM? 6–2

CHAPTER 7 INFORMATION ON UTILITIES 7–1

7.1 HOW DO I PLAY AN AUDIO CD ON MY WORKSTATION? 7–1

7.2 HOW DO I ACCESS A MICROSOFT WINDOWS FLOPPY DISK FROM

OPENVMS? 7–2

7.3 HOW DO I PLAY SOUND FILES ON AN ALPHASTATION? DECSOUND

DOESN’T WORK. 7–2

7.4 HOW DO I READ IBM EBCDIC TAPES ON OPENVMS? 7–3

7.5 HOW CAN I PATCH AN OPENVMS ALPHA IMAGE? 7–3

CHAPTER 8 DCL DETAILS 8–1

8.1 DCL SYMBOLS AND OPENVMS LOGICAL NAMES? 8–1

xi
 Contents

8.2 HOW DO I RUN A PROGRAM WITH ARGUMENTS? 8–3

8.3 HOW CAN I CLEAR THE SCREEN IN DCL? 8–4

8.4 USING REPLY/LOG FROM DCL? DISABLING CONSOLE OPCOMS? 8–4

8.5 HOW DO I GENERATE A RANDOM NUMBER IN DCL? 8–5

8.6 WHAT DOES THE MCR COMMAND DO? 8–6

8.7 HOW DO I CHANGE THE OPENVMS SYSTEM PROMPT? 8–6

8.8 CAN I DO DECNET TASK-TO-TASK COMMUNICATION WITH DCL? 8–7

8.9 HOW CAN I GET THE WIDTH SETTING OF A TERMINAL? 8–7

8.10 WHY DOESN’T DCL SYMBOL SUBSTITUTION WORK? 8–8

8.11 HOW CAN I SUBSTITUTE SYMBOLS IN A PIPE? 8–8

8.12 USE OF RUN/DETACH, LOGINOUT, AND LOGICAL NAMES? 8–9

8.13 HOW TO USE ESCAPE AND CONTROL CHARACTERS IN DCL? 8–9

CHAPTER 9 FILES 9–1

9.1 HOW CAN I UNDELETE A FILE? 9–1

9.2 WHY DOES SHOW QUOTA GIVE A DIFFERENT ANSWER THAN

DIR/SIZE? 9–1

9.3 HOW DO I MAKE SURE THAT MY DATA IS SAFELY WRITTEN TO

DISK? 9–2

xii
 Contents

9.4 WHAT ARE THE LIMITS ON FILE SPECIFICATIONS AND

DIRECTORIES? 9–3

9.5 WHAT IS THE LARGEST DISK VOLUME SIZE OPENVMS CAN

ACCESS? 9–4

9.6 WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM FILE SIZE, AND THE RMS RECORD SIZE
LIMIT? 9–6

9.7 HOW DO I WRITE CD-RECORDABLE OR DVD MEDIA ON

OPENVMS? 9–6
9.7.1 CD and DVD notation, terminology? 9–9
9.7.2 Use of RRD42 and other older (embossed-media) CD
drives? 9–11
9.7.3 Creating Bootable OpenVMS I64 CD or DVD Media?
SYS$SETBOOT? 9–11

9.8 WHAT I/O TRANSFER SIZE LIMITS EXIST IN OPENVMS? 9–12

9.9 CAN I USE ODBC TO CONNECT TO OPENVMS DATABASE FILES? 9–12

9.10 IF MY DISKS ARE SHOWN AS VIOC COMPATIBLE, AM I USING

XFC? 9–13

9.11 RMS SEQUENTIAL FILES AND PLATFORM PORTABILITY? 9–13

9.12 HOW TO READ LOCKED FILES? 9–14

CHAPTER 10 OPENVMS PROGRAMMING INFORMATION 10–1

10.1 MODULAR PROGRAMMING, FACILITY PREFIXES AND SYMBOL

NAMING? 10–1

10.2 CAN I HAVE A SOURCE CODE EXAMPLE OF CALLING...? 10–2

xiii
 Contents

10.3 HOW DO I GET THE ARGUMENTS FROM THE COMMAND LINE? 10–4

10.4 HOW DO I GET A FORMATTED ERROR MESSAGE IN A VARIABLE? 10–4

10.5 HOW DO I LINK AGAINST SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.STB ON AN ALPHA

SYSTEM? 10–4

10.6 HOW DO I DO A SET DEFAULT FROM INSIDE A PROGRAM? 10–5

10.7 HOW DO I TURN MY FORTRAN COMMON INTO A SHAREABLE IMAGE ON

ALPHA? 10–5

10.8 HOW DO I CONVERT BETWEEN IEEE AND VAX FLOATING DATA? 10–5

10.9 HOW DO I GET THE ARGUMENT COUNT IN A FORTRAN ROUTINE? 10–6

10.10 HOW DO I GET A UNIQUE SYSTEM ID FOR LICENSING

PURPOSES? 10–6

10.11 WHAT IS AN EXECUTABLE, SHAREABLE, SYSTEM OR UWSS

IMAGE? 10–7

10.12 HOW DO I DO A FILE COPY FROM A PROGRAM? 10–8

10.13 WHAT IS A DESCRIPTOR? 10–8

10.14 HOW DO I CREATE A PROCESS UNDER ANOTHER USERNAME? 10–10

10.15 WHY DO LIB$SPAWN, LIB$SET_SYMBOL FAIL IN DETACHED

PROCESSES? 10–11

10.16 WHERE CAN I OBTAIN BLISS, AND THE LIBRARIES AND SUPPORTING
FILES? 10–12

xiv
 Contents

10.17 HOW CAN I OPEN A FILE FOR SHARED ACCESS? 10–13

10.18 HOW CAN I HAVE COMMON SOURCES FOR MESSAGES,

CONSTANTS? 10–13

10.19 HOW DO I ACTIVATE THE OPENVMS DEBUGGER FROM AN

APPLICATION? 10–14

10.20 DEALING WITH ENDIAN-NESS? 10–14

10.21 HOW TO RESOLVE LINK-I-DATMISCH ERRORS? 10–15

10.22 HP C AND OTHER OPENVMS C PROGRAMMING

CONSIDERATIONS? 10–15
10.22.1 Other common C issues 10–18
10.22.2 Other common C++ issues 10–19

10.23 STATUS OF PROGRAMMING TOOLS ON OPENVMS VAX? 10–21

10.24 CHOOSING A VERSION NUMBER FOR APPLICATION CODE? 10–22

10.25 SELECTING A PROCESS DUMP DIRECTORY? 10–23

10.26 ACCESS TO ITANIUM ASSEMBLER? 10–23

10.27 KERNEL-MODE CODING RESTRICTIONS? 10–24

10.28 DECODING AN ACCESS VIOLATION (ACCVIO) ERROR? 10–25

10.29 GENERATING AN AUTODIN-II CRC32? 10–26

10.30 ENABLING BUILT-IN TRACING? 10–26

10.31 ACCESSING A WEB SERVER FROM DCL? 10–27

xv
 Contents

CHAPTER 11 DECWINDOWS 11–1

11.1 HOW DO I LET SOMEONE ELSE DISPLAY SOMETHING ON MY

WORKSTATION? 11–1

11.2 HOW DO I CREATE A DISPLAY ON ANOTHER WORKSTATION? 11–2

11.3 HOW CAN I GET THE INFORMATION FROM SHOW DISPLAY INTO A
SYMBOL? 11–3

11.4 HOW DO I GET A LOG OF A DECTERM SESSION? 11–3

11.5 WHY IS DECWINDOWS MOTIF NOT STARTING? 11–4

11.6 HOW DO I SET THE TITLE ON A DECTERM WINDOW? 11–5

11.7 HOW DO I CUSTOMIZE DECWINDOWS, INCLUDING THE LOGIN

SCREEN? 11–6
11.7.1 How do I customize DECwindows keymapping? 11–8
11.7.2 Why does the DELETE key delete forward instead of
backward? 11–9

11.8 WHY DOESN’T XTAPPADDINPUT( ) WORK ON OPENVMS? 11–10

11.9 WHY DO THE KEYBOARD ARROW KEYS MOVE THE DECWINDOWS

CURSOR? 11–11

11.10 WHY DOES HALF MY DECWINDOWS DISPLAY BLANK? 11–11

11.11 %DECW-W-NODEVICE, NO GRAPHICS DEVICE FOUND ON THIS

SYSTEM? 11–12

11.12 HOW CAN I RESET THE WARNING BELL VOLUME? 11–13

11.13 HOW CAN I ALTER THE DECWINDOWS CDE BACKDROP? 11–14

xvi
 Contents

11.14 HOW CAN I ENABLE THE DECWINDOWS TCP/IP TRANSPORT 11–14

11.15 CAN I USE DECWINDOWS 1.2-* ON OPENVMS V7.3-2 OR LATER? 11–14

11.16 HOW TO ADD FONTS INTO DECWINDOWS? 11–15

CHAPTER 12 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 12–1

12.1 WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION ON ESCAPE AND CONTROL

SEQUENCES? 12–1

12.2 DOES DECPRINT (DCPS) WORK WITH THE LRA0 PARALLEL

PORT? 12–2

12.3 HOW DO I CHECK FOR FREE SPACE ON A (BACKUP) TAPE? 12–3

12.4 CORRECTLY USING LICENSE PAKS AND LMF? 12–4

CHAPTER 13 FINDING AND USING SOFTWARE 13–1

13.1 WHERE CAN I FIND FREEWARE/SHAREWARE/SOFTWARE FOR

OPENVMS? 13–1

13.2 WHERE CAN I FIND UNIX TOOLS FOR OPENVMS? 13–13

13.2.1 C system and library routines 13–13
13.2.2 X Windows utilities and routines 13–13
13.2.3 TCP/IP Tools and Utilities for OpenVMS? 13–14
13.2.4 The vi text editor 13–14
13.2.5 The Emacs Text Editor 13–15
13.2.6 GNV: Various GNU tools 13–15
13.2.6.1 GCC compiler • 13–15

13.3 WHAT IS THE STATUS OF PL/I ON OPENVMS? 13–16

xvii
 Contents

13.4 WHERE CAN I GET THE MOZILLA WEB BROWSER? 13–17

13.5 WHERE CAN I GET JAVA FOR OPENVMS? 13–17

13.6 OBTAINING USER INPUT IN DCL CGI SCRIPT? 13–18

13.7 HOW CAN A BATCH JOB GET ITS OWN BATCH ENTRY NUMBER? 13–19

13.8 HOW DO I CONVERT TO NEW CMS OR DTM LIBRARIES? 13–19

13.9 WHERE CAN I GET PERL FOR OPENVMS? 13–20

13.10 OBTAINING THE DECMIGRATE (AEST OR VEST, AND TIE)

TRANSLATOR? 13–21

13.11 WHERE CAN I GET ZIP, UNZIP, SELF-EXTRACTING ZIP, ETC? 13–22

13.12 ARE VAX HARDWARE EMULATORS AVAILABLE? 13–23

CHAPTER 14 HARDWARE INFORMATION 14–1

14.1 WHAT ARE THE OPENVMS DIFFERENCES AMONG VAX, ALPHA, AND
IA-64? 14–1

14.2 SEEKING PERFORMANCE INFORMATION FOR ALPHA (AND VAX)

SYSTEMS? 14–2

14.3 CONSOLE COMMANDS, SERIAL LINES, AND CONTROLS? 14–3

14.3.1 What commands are available in the Alpha SRM
console? 14–3
14.3.2 What does SRM mean? What is PALcode? 14–4

xviii
 Contents

14.3.3 Alpha COM ports and VAX console serial line

information? 14–4
14.3.3.1 Which terminal device name is assigned to the COM
ports? • 14–4
14.3.3.2 Which serial port is the console on the MicroVAX
3100? • 14–5
14.3.3.3 How can I set up an alternate console on a
VAXstation? • 14–5
14.3.3.4 Please explain the back panel of the MicroVAX II • 14–6
14.3.4 What are Alpha console environment variables? 14–6
14.3.5 What are the boot control flag values? 14–7
14.3.5.1 What are the I64 IPB boot flag values? • 14–7
14.3.5.2 What are the Alpha APB boot flag values? • 14–9
14.3.5.3 What are the VAX VMB boot flag values? • 14–10
14.3.6 How do I boot an AlphaStation without monitor or
keyboard? 14–12
14.3.7 Downloading and using SRM console Firmware? 14–13
14.3.7.1 Where can I get updated console firmware for Alpha
systems? • 14–13
14.3.7.2 How do I reload SRM firmware on a half-flash Alpha
system? • 14–14
14.3.7.3 How do I switch between AlphaBIOS/ARC and SRM
consoles? • 14–15
14.3.8 Console Management Options 14–17
14.3.9 Why do my EFI Boot Aliases Fail? 14–18
14.3.10 Can OpenVMS access the EFI console Boot Aliases? 14–18
14.3.11 Downloading and using EFI Console Firmware? 14–18

14.4 WHAT PLATFORMS WILL OPENVMS OPERATE ON? 14–20

14.4.1 on the Alpha Multia? 14–21
14.4.2 on AlphaPC 164LX? AlphaPC 164SX? 14–23
14.4.2.1 on the NoName AXPpci33 system? • 14–23
14.4.3 on the Alpha XL series? 14–24
14.4.4 OpenVMS on the Personal Workstation -a and -au series? 14–24
14.4.4.1 OpenVMS on the Whitebox Windows-Only series
Alpha? • 14–25
14.4.4.2 OpenVMS and Personal Workstation ATA (IDE)
bootstrap? • 14–26
14.4.5 On the Intel Itanium IA-64 platform? 14–27
14.4.5.1 Where can I get Intel Itanium information? • 14–27

14.5 WHAT IS THE LEAST EXPENSIVE SYSTEM THAT WILL RUN

OPENVMS? 14–28

xix
 Contents

14.6 WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ON ALPHA SYSTEMS? 14–29

14.7 DESCRIBE ALPHA INSTRUCTION EMULATION AND INSTRUCTION

SUBSETS? 14–30

14.8 SO HOW DO I OPEN UP THE DEC 3000 CHASSIS? 14–31

14.9 WHAT IS BYTE SWIZZLING? 14–31

14.10 WHAT IS THE LAYOUT OF THE VAX FLOATING POINT FORMAT? 14–33

14.11 WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFO ABOUT VAX SYSTEMS? 14–33

14.12 WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION ON NETBSD FOR VAX

SYSTEMS? 14–34

14.13 WHAT SYSTEM DISK SIZE LIMIT ON THE MICROVAX AND VAXSTATION
3100? 14–34

14.14 WHAT ARE THE VAX PROCESSOR (CPU) CODES? 14–35

14.15 WHERE CAN I GET SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE SUPPORT

INFORMATION? 14–36

14.16 WHERE CAN I GET HARDWARE SELF-MAINTENANCE SUPPORT

ASSISTANCE? 14–37

14.17 WHY DOES MY SYSTEM HALT WHEN I POWER-CYCLE THE CONSOLE

TERMINAL? 14–37

14.18 CAN I REUSE OLD KEYBOARDS, MICE AND MONITORS WITH A

PC? 14–38

14.19 WHICH VIDEO MONITOR WORKS WITH WHICH GRAPHICS

CONTROLLER? 14–39

xx
 Contents

14.20 WHERE CAN I GET INFORMATION ON STORAGE HARDWARE? 14–41

14.21 WHY DOES MY LK401 KEYBOARD UNEXPECTEDLY AUTOREPEAT? 14–41

14.22 PROBLEM - MY LK411 SENDS THE WRONG KEYCODES OR SOME KEYS

ARE DEAD 14–42

14.23 WHICH DE500 VARIANT WORKS WITH WHICH OPENVMS

VERSION? 14–42

14.24 HOW DO I SET THE SPEED AND DUPLEX ON OPENVMS I64? 14–44

14.25 THIRD-PARTY OR UNSUPPORTED

DISK/TAPE/CONTROLLERS/SCSI/WIDGETS? 14–44
14.25.1 Lists of third-party widgets on OpenVMS? 14–46
14.25.2 Are the 2X-KZPCA-AA and SN-KZPCA-AA LVD Ultra2
SCSI? 14–47
14.25.3 Resolving DRVERR fatal device error? 14–47

14.26 LOOKING FOR CONNECTOR WIRING PIN-OUTS? 14–47

14.27 WHAT CONNECTORS AND WIRING ADAPTERS ARE AVAILABLE? 14–50

14.28 WHAT IS FLOW CONTROL AND HOW DOES IT WORK? 14–52

14.29 CD AND DVD DEVICE REQUIREMENTS? 14–53

14.30 OFFICE-FRIENDLY (QUIETER) INTEGRITY RX2620 SERIES? 14–54

14.31 KVM SWITCHES FOR ALPHASERVER AND INTEGRITY SERVERS? 14–55

14.32 CHANGING PROCESSOR (CPU) IDENTIFICATION CODES? 14–55

xxi
 Contents

CHAPTER 15 INFORMATION ON NETWORKS AND CLUSTERS 15–1

15.1 HOW TO CONNECT OPENVMS TO A MODEM? 15–1

15.2 OPENVMS AND IP NETWORKING? 15–1

15.2.1 How to connect OpenVMS to the Internet? 15–1
15.2.2 Connecting to an IP Printer? 15–2
15.2.3 How do I connect a PostScript printer via TCP/IP? 15–2
15.2.4 How do I set a default IP route or gateway on OpenVMS? 15–3
15.2.5 How can I set up reverse telnet (like reverse LAT)? 15–4
15.2.6 Why can’t I use PPP and RAS to connect to OpenVMS
Alpha? 15–4

15.3 OPENVMS AND DECNET NETWORKING? 15–4

15.3.1 Can DECnet-Plus operate over IP? 15–4
15.3.2 What does "failure on back translate address request"
mean? 15–5
15.3.3 Performing SET HOST/MOP in DECnet-Plus? 15–5
15.3.4 How to flush the DECnet-Plus session cache? 15–6

15.4 HOW TO DETERMINE THE NETWORK HARDWARE ADDRESS? 15–6

15.4.1 How do I reset the LAN (DECnet-Plus NCL) error
counters? 15–8
15.4.2 How do I install DECnet Phase IV on VMS 7.1? 15–8

15.5 HOW CAN I SEND (RADIO) PAGES FROM MY OPENVMS SYSTEM? 15–9

15.6 OPENVMS, CLUSTERS, VOLUME SHADOWING? 15–10

15.6.1 OpenVMS Cluster Communications Protocol Details? 15–10
15.6.1.1 OpenVMS Cluster (SCS) over DECnet? Over IP? • 15–10
15.6.1.2 Configuring Cluster SCS for path load balancing? • 15–11
15.6.1.2.1 Cluster Terminology? • 15–11
15.6.1.2.2 Cluster Communications Control? • 15–12
15.6.1.2.3 Cluster Communications Control Tools and Utilities? • 15–13
15.6.2 Cluster System Parameter Settings? 15–13
15.6.2.1 What is the correct value for EXPECTED_VOTES in a
VMScluster? • 15–14
15.6.2.1.1 Why no shadowing for a Quorum Disk? • 15–16
15.6.2.2 Explain disk (or tape) allocation class settings? • 15–16

xxii
 Contents

15.6.2.2.1 How to configure allocation classes and Multi-Path

SCSI? • 15–17
15.6.3 Tell me about SET HOST/DUP and SET HOST/HSC 15–18
15.6.4 How do I rename a DSSI disk (or tape?) 15–19
15.6.5 Where can I get Fibre Channel Storage (SAN)
information? 15–20
15.6.6 Which files must be shared in an OpenVMS Cluster? 15–20
15.6.7 How can I split up an OpenVMS Cluster? 15–22
15.6.8 Details on Volume Shadowing? 15–23
15.6.8.1 Does volume shadowing require a non-zero allocation
classes? • 15–23

INDEX

TABLES
1–1 Core Websites 1–1
1–2 INFO-VAX Mail Server Commands 1–4
2–1 OpenVMS Alpha Media Kits 2–5
2–2 OpenVMS I64 Order Numbers 2–6
2–3 OpenVMS I64 Media Suffix 2–6
2–4 OpenVMS Source Listings Kits 2–6
2–5 OpenVMS Alpha Version Rule-Of-Thumb 2–15
3–1 OpenVMS Websites 3–2
3–2 OpenVMS Tutorial and Documentation Websites 3–5
3–3 DP Books 3–7
3–4 OpenVMS Mailing Lists 3–8
3–5 OpenVMS Discussion Forums 3–10
5–1 PCSI Generation Number 5–36
11–1 X Windows Display Commands 11–1
14–1 I64 Conversational Bootstrap Flags 14–8
14–2 Alpha Conversational Bootstrap Flags 14–9
14–3 VAX Conversational Bootstrap Flags 14–10
14–4 DE500 Speed and Duplex Settings 14–43
14–5 DEC MMJ Pin-out 14–47
14–6 PC DB9 Pin-out 14–48
14–7 MicroVAX DB9 Pin-out 14–49
14–8 DECconnect MMJ Connectors and Adapters 14–50

xxiii
 Contents

14–9 Shared/paired VAX Boards 14–55

15–1 Cluster Common Shared Files 15–20

xxiv
Preface

i
OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This is the OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) posting for the
comp.os.vms and comp.sys.dec usenet newsgroups.
Suggestions and Updates Welcome!

Please send your suggestions for changes, additions,

or corrections directly to FAQ Editor (hoff{NoSpam-
atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-dot}org)
No Support Questions, Please

Please do not send technical questions to the FAQ Editor

(hoff{NoSpam-atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-dot}org) . The
FAQ Editor (hoff{NoSpam-atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-
dot}org) is not in a position to answer general questions,
nor to provide general product support. Rather, please
post your questions to the appropriate newsgroup, or
please contact your preferred hardware and/or software
support organization(s) directly.
Your understanding in this matter is greatly appreciated.
If you believe any particular discussion worthy of inclusion in a future
edition of the FAQ and particularly once you have or know both the
question and the answer, please then send the entire discussion along to
the FAQ Editor (hoff{NoSpam-atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-dot}org) for
potential inclusion.
Do note that the FAQ Editor (hoff{NoSpam-atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-
dot}org) takes URL link continuity seriously, and strives to maintain
current links. This is, however, a large task, and it is only becoming
more difficult. URL link continuity is also something that you can assist
with, of course. If you should find a dead link or a stale URL pointer,
please notify the FAQ Editor (hoff{NoSpam-atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-
dot}org) . If you have or can find the current, correct or updated
URL, of course, that greatly assists the FAQ Editor (hoff{NoSpam-
atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-dot}org) in maintaining the most current
set of links.

iii
 OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Thank you!
Post to Newsgroups With Care!
Please consider reading Section 1.3 before posting to the
comp.os.vms or any other newsgroups. (What you post can
come back to haunt you.)

Contributors
Many people have contributed to this FAQ, directly and/or indirectly.
In many cases, part or all of an answer included in the FAQ has been
adapted from one or more postings from the comp.os.vms or other
newsgroup—this though individual citations and specific quotations
are generally not included in this FAQ. (The FAQ Editor (hoff{NoSpam-
atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-dot}org) wishes to thank to all of those folks
who post answers to the newsgroups, and that have contributed to the
contents of and to the general improvements of this FAQ.)
The following is an incomplete list of the folks that have contributed
directly or indirectly to the contents of the OpenVMS FAQ. Additions,
corrections, and updates to this list of contributors and to the contents
of the FAQ itself are welcome, and all omissions and misspellings are
unintentional. Thanks to each of the contributors here, and to all of the
folks that have participated in the FAQ and in the newsgroups.
Jim Agnew, Paul Anderson, Jason Armistead, Zoltan Arpadffy, John
AtoZ, Bailey, Gary Barclay, (The) Beav, Jeremy Begg, Colin Blake,
Fabrice Blanquart, Ken Blaylock, Kenneth Block, Bol, Craig Berry,
Mark Berryman, Jim Becker, Verell Boaen, Bol, Jim Brankin, Richard
Brodie, Colin Butcher, Robert Alan Byer, Jeff Campbell, Scott Campbell,
Antonio Carlini, Keith Cayemberg, Ken Chaney, Cristy, John Croll,
David J. Dachtera, Robert Deininger, Dale Dellutri, Leo Demers, Sue
Denham, Thomas Dickey, Eric Dittman, Mike Duffy, Jim Dunham, Eric,
Glenn Everhart, Ken Fairfield, Yaacov Fenster, Gunther Froehlin, Harry
Garonzik, Derek Garson, John Gillings, Andy Goldstein, Clair Grant,
Hunter Goatley, Ruth Goldenberg, Vance Haemmerle, Ki Suk Hahn,
SHarris, Rich Hearn, Fletcher Hearns, Phillip Helbig, Hein van den
Heuvel, Stephen Hoffman, Eberhard Heuser-Hofmann, Sue Holt, Mark
Hopkins, Horn, Jaf, Leif Jansson, Kevin Jenkins, Don R. Jones, Henry
Juengst, inazu_k, Geoff Kingsmill, Fred Kleinsorge, Felix Kreisel, Veli
Korkko, Ruslan R. Laishev, Peter ‘‘EPLAN’’ Langstoeger, Norm Lastovica,
p_lee, Jerry Leichter, Richard Levitte, Tom Linden, Steve Lionel, Denis
Maillard, Kerry Main, John E. Malmberg, David Mathog, Dale Miller, Ian
Miller, Dick Munroe, Patrick Moreau, Morrison, otis, George Pagliarulo,

iv
 OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Keith Parris, Guy Peleg, Plass, pvhp, David Rabahy, Stan Rabinowitz,
Mike Raspuzzi, Steve Reece, Neil Rieck, Ian Ring, Aaron Sakovich,
Warren Sander, Mark Schafer, Brian Schenkenberger, Atlant Schmidt,
Wayne Sewell, Steven Shamlian, Sue Skonetski, Scott Snadow, Sue
Sommer, Scott Squires, stfp, Dave Sweeney, Mike Thompson, Arne Vajhøj,
Martin Vorländer, Peter Weaver, William Webb, Williams, Paul Winalski,
Uwe Zinser.
Again, any omission from this list and any errors or misspellings are
entirely unintentional. Please notify the FAQ Editor (hoff{NoSpam-
atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-dot}org) of any omissions, corrections, or
updates that might be needed within this list. And thanks to each of
these individuals for their assistance and for their contributions, and
particularly for sharing their expertise.

FAQ Archives and FAQ Locations

The OpenVMS FAQ is archived in (at least) the following locations:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/faq/
• ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.os.vms/
• comp.answers
• news:news.answers
• http://www.faqs.org/
• http://www.google.com/
• http://eisner.decus.org/vms/faq.htm
• http://www.hoffmanlabs.org

Other internet FAQs are generally available in these locations:

• comp.answers
• news:news.answers
• ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/
• http://www.faqs.org/
• http://www.google.com/

v
 OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

FAQ File Formats and Production Information

This FAQ is available in ASCII text, Postscript, Bookreader, and
HTML, and potentially in other file formats. Certain formats, such
as the Adobe Acrobat PDF conversion from the Postscript format, are
provided downstream from the FAQ text formatting, and are provided and
maintained by others.
As the HTML-format FAQ is not a single monolithic (and accordingly
large) HTML file, it is the most difficult format to search using the
most common standard (platform-local) tools. Accordingly, the FAQ
Editor (hoff{NoSpam-atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-dot}org) recommends
downloading, using and searching the ASCII text FAQ format.
The OpenVMS FAQ is maintained in DECdocument SDML format and
all FAQ maintenance and the primary output file format conversions are
performed on OpenVMS systems. For information on the DECdocument
product, please contact Touch Technologies.

Old FAQ Section Notations Available in Index

For the folks that are familiar with older editions of this FAQ and
specifically for those folks looking for the older section name keywords,
please see the index entries located under FAQ Sections (Old). These
older section names include the prefixes DCL, DECW, DOC, FILES,
MISC, MGMT, INTRO, SOFT, VMS, etc., followed by the section number.

The Fine Print

Corrections and suggestions are welcome. Should you believe you can
provide better stewardship of this FAQ, or should you have strong feelings
over the content, structure, organization or implementation of the FAQ,
do realize you may be offered the editorship. The editor maintains this
document as a free service to the OpenVMS community.
While the information contained here is believed correct, the use of any
and all information acquired from this document is entirely at the risk
of the user(s). If your system should crash or your data should become
corrupted or the answer(s) found here should be found erroneous, that is
solely your risk and your responsibility.
Though various folks that have contributed to this FAQ are or have
been employees of Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), this posting and the
information contained within this FAQ are not an official statement of
HP, nor a commitment by HP. All information, comments or opinions

vi
OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

included, cited or otherwise referenced here may or may not reflect the
stated opinions of HP, of the FAQ editor, or of any other entity.
All trademarks, registered trademarks, servicemarks and registered
servicemarks used or referenced here are the properties of their respective
owner(s) or holders. Please route any corrections, requests or related
updates to the FAQ Editor (hoff{NoSpam-atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-
dot}org)
The redistribution, reposting and/or the web-serving of complete and
unaltered copies of this FAQ document is permitted. Other uses only with
prior permission.
The master copy of this FAQ is posted at
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/faq

Translations of this FAQ into various languages may be available, please

contact the maintainer(s) of any translated document for assistance or
feedback involving the particular translated edition of this FAQ.

vii
1 Introduction

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
1.1 What core OpenVMS URLs do you need to know?
If you have no other OpenVMS URLs bookmarked, you will want to be
familiar with the URLs listed in Table 1–1:

Table 1–1 Core Websites

URL Contents
Core OpenVMS Information, including roadmaps and release schedules
http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/

OpenVMS and Core Layered Product Documentation

http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/doc/

Core OpenVMS Support Search Engine URLs, the ITRC support and discussion forums, and the
ITRC FTP-accessable Patch Area
http://www2.itrc.hp.com/service/james/CPQhome.do (formerly the NLSA Natural
Language Search Assistant, and formerly AskQ.)
http://www.itrc.hp.com/
ftp://ftp.itrc.hp.com/openvms_patches/

The OpenVMS Freeware

http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/

The OpenVMS Hobbyist License Program

http://www.openvmshobbyist.org/
http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/license_software_programs/index.html

1–1
 Introduction

1.2 What are the OpenVMS Usenet Newsgroups?

There are a huge number of newsgroups available, some of which discuss
topics of interest to folks using OpenVMS operating system. Key among
these are the comp.os.vms newsgroup and the vmsnet.* heirarchy of
newsgroups.

1.2.1 What is the scope of the comp.os.vms newsgroup?

The comp.os.vms newsgroup is the primary newsgroup for discussion of
the HP 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 in comp.os.vms .

1.2.2 What newsgroups carry VMS-related information?

The vmsnet.* hierarchy is operated by the Encompass users group
(formerly known as DECUS), and contains various newsgroups of interest,
including vmsnet.misc and vmsnet.alpha.
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Besuchen Sie bitte den newsgroup
de.comp.os.vms.
The comp.sys.dec newsgroup carries general discussions about various
HP computer systems, and specifically systems that were acquired by
HP as part of the acquisition of Compaq, systems which had previously
been acquired by Compaq as part of the acquisition of Digital Equipment
Corporation (DIGITAL).
Also of interest are resources and conferencing systems including
Encompasserve (formerly known as DECUServe) and Ken Farmer’s
OpenVMS.Org forums:
• telnet://eisner.decus.org/
• http://www.openvms.org/

1–2
 Introduction

1.2.3 What newsgroup archives are available?

Extensive archives of INFO-VAX mailings and comp.os.vms
postings are archived and available at SRI International:
http://mvb.saic.com/freeware/info-vax/
Google also has extensive newsgroup archives available at
• http://www.google.com/

1.2.4 What is the INFO-VAX mailing list?

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 newsgroup directly through a newsreader. Note that INFO-
VAX is a closed mailing list, which means that only subscribers may post
to it. Please see Section 1.2.4.1 for information on how to subscribe, and
how you can subscribe such that you can post from multiple addresses but
still receive no more than one copy of the mailings.
Please remember that propogation delays can and do vary, meaning that
mailings and postings may be delayed or even lost. It is quite possible
that postings may not be delivered for several days, and that some
postings will appear out of the expected order.
For details on the available archives, please see Section 1.2.3.

1.2.4.1 How do I subscribe to or unsubscribe from INFO-VAX?

The address for subscription requests is Info-VAX-
Request[at]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, as well as setting various
parameters on your subscription, is:

1–3
 Introduction

Table 1–2 INFO-VAX Mail Server Commands

Command Description
HELP Acquire information on mail server
SUBSCRIBE INFO-VAX Join to the mailing list
UNSUBSCRIBE INFO-VAX Leave the mailing list
SET INFO-VAX DIGEST Select periodic omnibus mail messages
from the mail server, rather than
multiple individual messages for each
posting.
SET INFO-VAX NODIGEST Separate mail delivery of each
message posted
SET INFO-VAX NOMAIL Establish an email address for posting,
though not for receiving, mail.
SET INFO-VAX MAIL Establish an email address for both
posting and for receiving mail from the
mailing list.

The mail server is not case-sensitive; case is irrelevant. Settings and

policies can be retrieved from the mail server, typically using HELP.
The INFO-VAX moderator can be contacted directly at the email address
Mark.Berryman[at]Mvb.Saic.Com.

1.3 What is [n]etiquette?

Before posting or emailing a question, please use the available local
resources, such as the OpenVMS manuals, the HELP, and the resources
and information in and referenced by this FAQ. See Section 1.1, for
instance. Please (try to) use these first.
When posting, please consider the etiquette/netiquette suggestions
that are available in RFC 1855, a document available at various sites
including: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt .
Note
Please do not post security holes or system crashers
Rather, please report these problems directly to HP. Why?
So that HP has a chance to resolve and to distribute a fix
before other customer sites can be affected.

1–4
 Introduction

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 courtesy, and will not
post information that will potentially compromise your site
and your computer environment.

1.4 What OpenVMS user group(s) are available?

Encompass, the Enterprise Computing Association, is a user group
comprised of information technology professionals that are interested
in the Enterprise-oriented products, services, and technologies of Compaq
and of the former DIGITAL. Encompass offers newsletters, the Encompass
website, and offers various gatherings and related services, including
symposia events and local users group meetings.
Encompass is a descendent of the organization known as DECUS, the
Digital Equipment Computer Users Society.
For more information on Encompass, please visit the Encompass web site:

• http://www.encompassus.org/

The organization comprised of customers of Hewlett-Packard Company

(HP) that is probably most analogous to the Encompass organization is
Interex:
• http://www.interex.org/

Like Encompass, Interex offers various services and events of interest

to folks that presently work with and/or that wish to learn about HP
products and offerings. Please see the Interex website for details.

1.5 OpenVMS Support, Questions and Comments?

The following section includes contacts for OpenVMS Feedback, and
information on how to obtain technical support information.

1–5
 Introduction

1.5.1 Corporate contacts for OpenVMS Business Issues?

The HP corporate contact for OpenVMS business issues is Ann McQuaid,
the HP General Manager directly in charge of OpenVMS and OpenVMS
Engineering, while feature requests and other related matters should be
routed to MaryJane Vazquez, the OpenVMS Business Manager.
Ann and MaryJane will quite obviously respond best to cogently-worded
OpenVMS corporate-level business issues or requests. With all due
respect to all involved, neither Ann nor MaryJane are appropriate
contacts for technical support matters nor for technical support requests,
nor for any other non-corporate-related, non-business-related issues—
these questions are best routed to the local or regional customer support
center; to the support, technical and engineering teams.
To reach Ann or MaryJane via electronic mail, place a dot between the
first and the surname, and append the expected HP.COM domain.

1.5.2 OpenVMS Ambassadors?

The OpenVMS Ambassadors are senior HP engineers with advanced
technical knowledge and advanced training in OpenVMS, with detailed
knowledge of current and future OpenVMS releases and product plans,
and with contacts directly with the HP and ISV hardware and software
engineering organizations developing OpenVMS and OpenVMS hardware
platforms, as well as layered products and tools. Further, Ambassadors
are experienced with integrating HP OpenVMS and application-specific
products and ISV applications to solve specific business requirements.
OpenVMS Ambassadors are based throughout the world.
Your HP sales representative or HP reseller will be able connect you with
your local OpenVMS Ambassador.

1.5.3 Contact for OpenVMS Marketing Issues and Questions?

Please see Section 3.4.

1–6
 Introduction

1.5.4 Contact URLs for OpenVMS Technical Issues?

For formal technical issues and technical support, please contact your
software support organization, or your local HP Customer Support Center
or HP Reseller. In North America, you can call 1-800-HP-INVENT.
For informal (free) support resources, see the newsgroups including
comp.os.vms ( news:comp.os.vms comp.os.vms ), see the ITRC discussion
forums, the James support database search engine (search assistant tool)
( http://www2.itrc.hp.com/service/james/CPQhome.do ), and see sections of
this document including the platform support information in Section 14.4,
sources of software and hardware support in Section 14.15, information
on third-party devices and unsupported hardware in Section 14.25, and
the many other sections of this document.
Please remember to review and to bookmark the following support URLs:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/
• http://www2.itrc.hp.com/service/james/CPQhome.do
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (reference only; use ITRC
forums for new questions)
• ftp://ftp.itrc.hp.com/openvms_patches/

1–7
2 General Information

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
2.1 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 the then-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 HP and specifically within the
former Digital Equipment Corporation (DIGITAL). Two of the principal
designers were Dave Cutler and Dick Hustvedt, though with a wide
variety of other contributors. OpenVMS was conceived as a 32-bit, virtual
memory successor to the 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
HP and other vendors, as well as on hardware emulators; for additional
information on emulators, please see Section 13.12 and
OpenVMS Alpha is a 64-bit multitasking, multiprocessing virtual memory
operating system. Current implementations run on Alpha systems from
HP, and other vendors.
OpenVMS has also been ported to the Intel IA-64 architecture, and
specifically to HP Integrity systems using microprocessors from the Intel
Itanium Processor Family. This implementation of OpenVMS is officially
known as ‘‘HP OpenVMS for Integrity Servers’’ and more commonly as
‘‘OpenVMS I64’’, and it operates in the native Itanium IA-64 architecture

2–1
 General Information

and 64-bit environment. OpenVMS I64 provides support for applications

requiring 32- or 64-bit virtual addressing capabilities entirely within the
native 64-bit Itanium execution environment. (For details on this and
related terminology, please see Section 14.4.5.)
For more details on OpenVMS and its features, please read the OpenVMS
Software Product Description at:
• http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx, and SPD
82.35.xx.

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.compaq.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.compaq.com/openvms/20th/vmsbook.pdf

For information on the FreeVMS project, and on hobbyist and educational

versions of OpenVMS, please see:
• http://www.systella.fr/~bertrand/FreeVMS/indexGB.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeVMS
• http://www.openvmshobbyist.org/
• http://www.openvmsedu.com/

Also please see the related software licensing topics Section 2.8.4,
Section 2.8.1, and Section 2.15, and (for developers working on commercial
applications for OpenVMS) Section 2.8.3.

2.2 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 (and for the Itanium Processor Family), in part to signify

2–2
 General Information

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, the official name of the VAX operating system was changed as of
V5.5, though the name did not start to be actually used in the product
until V6.0.

2.3 What’s in a Name? Terminology and Products?

The proper names for OpenVMS on the various platforms are ‘‘OpenVMS
VAX’’, ‘‘OpenVMS Alpha’’, and ‘‘OpenVMS I64’’. Use of ‘‘OpenVMS AXP’’
and of ‘‘VAX/VMS’’ are deprecated.
The VAX and Alpha terms are largely interchangeably used as the names
of platforms, of processor or microprocessor implementations, and of the
respective computing architectures.
Somewhat confusing to long-time OpenVMS users, Intel IA-32, IA-64,
and EM64T, and AMD AMD64 are the names of various computing
architectures and of architectural extensions. Only. These are not the
names of any implementations, nor of any platforms.
Intel Itanium is the name of a family of microprocessor implementations
of the Intel IA-64 architecture, as Intel Pentium and Xeon are the
names of families of microprocessor implementations of Intel IA-32 and
(potentially) of the EM64T extensions.
I64 is the generic name for the various HP Integrity platforms supported
by HP OpenVMS for Integrity Servers (and more commonly as ‘‘OpenVMS
I64’’); for the platforms supported by OpenVMS I64. (For additional
related terminology, please see Section 14.4.5.)

2–3
 General Information

2.3.1 How do I port from VMS to OpenVMS?

You already did. Wasn’t that easy? Please see Section 2.2 for details.

2.4 Which is better, OpenVMS or UNIX?

This question comes up periodically, usually asked by new subscribers
and new posters who are long-time UNIX or Linux users. Sometimes,
the question 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.
That said, 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, and considering
the expected cost-of-ownership over the lifetime of the system installation.
If you are asking this question, you are probably comparing OpenVMS to
UNIX. It was once certainly true that OpenVMS and UNIX were quite
different. In more recent times, there are tools and C APIs on OpenVMS
that directly provide or that easily support porting UNIX programs and
commands, and there are equivalent packages bringing various OpenVMS
features and mechanisms to UNIX platforms.
If you seek UNIX tools on OpenVMS rather than the more philosophical
discussion found in this section, please see the GNV package and other
GNU discussions in Section 13.2.6, and please see the plethora of C calls
currently available in the HP C Run-Time Library documentation, briefly
discussed over in Section 13.2.1.

2.5 Is HP continuing funding and support for OpenVMS?

Yes.
Active development of new OpenVMS releases is underway, as well as the
continuation of support.
Please see the following URLs for details, roadmaps, and related
information:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/

2–4
 General Information

2.6 What OpenVMS distribution kits are available?

Various distributions are available.
For the most current information on the available part numbers and
current products (OpenVMS distribution kits, media, documentation,
etc) and the most current associated licensing information, please see
the current OpenVMS Software Product Description (SPD) document,
available at:
• http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx, and SPD
82.35.xx.

The CD-ROMs listed in Table 2–1 contain just the OpenVMS Alpha
operating system. The operating system distribution kits are bootable,
and can be used to run BACKUP from the optical media, as well as
performing an installation or upgrade.

Table 2–1 OpenVMS Alpha Media Kits

Part Description
QA-MT1AG-H8 OpenVMS Alpha V6.2-1H3 hardware release CD-ROM;
also requires QA-MT1AA-H8.6.2
QA-MT1AR-H8 OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 maintenance release CD-ROM
QA-MT1AT-H8 OpenVMS Alpha V7.2-1 maintenance release CD-ROM
QA-MT1AU-H8 OpenVMS Alpha V7.2-2 maintenance release CD-ROM
QA-MT3AA-H8 OpenVMS Alpha and VAX products and documentation
on CD-ROM
QA-MT3AE-H8 OpenVMS Alpha and VAX documentation on CD-ROM

OpenVMS I64 is distributed on DVD-ROM media, and is bootable.

OpenVMS I64 licensing is implemented on a per-processor-socket
basis, with the classic license tiers based on the numbers of processor
sockets that can be present. Further, three general product and licensing
groupings are optionally available with OpenVMS I64, the Foundation
Operating Environment (FOE), the Enterprise Operating Environment
(EOE), and (as/when/if available) the Mission Critical Operating
Environment (MCOE). Seperate per-product licenses are generally also
available for various of the products within the Operating Environment
groups.

2–5
 General Information

Table 2–2 OpenVMS I64 Order Numbers

Part Description
BA322AA#??? OpenVMS I64 FOE Product
BA323AA#??? OpenVMS I64 EOE Product
BA324AA#??? OpenVMS I64 MCOE Product

The product suffix required for the order numbers listed in Table 2–2 can
be found in Table 2–3.

Table 2–3 OpenVMS I64 Media Suffix

Suffix Description
A18 OpenVMS I64 FOE V8.2 DVD media
AJR OE media kit on DVD media
0D1 Factory installation

The OpenVMS VAX, OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64 source listings
sets referenced in Table 2–4 include the source listings of most of
OpenVMS, and these machine-readable distributions are invaluable
for any folks working directly with OpenVMS internals, as well as for
folks interested in seeing examples of various OpenVMS programming
interfaces.

Table 2–4 OpenVMS Source Listings Kits

Part Description
QB-MT1AB-E8 OpenVMS Alpha Source Listings kit and license
QT-MT1AB-Q8 OpenVMS Alpha Source Listings Updates
BA422AA OpenVMS I64 Source Listings kit and license
QB-001AB-E8 OpenVMS VAX Source Listings kit and license
QT-001AB-Q8 OpenVMS VAX Source Listings Updates
BA422AA OpenVMS I64 source listings kit and license

Additional OpenVMS packages and technologies including NetBeans,

XML, SOAP, UDDI, JDK, Perl, Tomcat, SSL and such are discussed
within the OpenVMS e-Business Infrastructure Package SPD 80.58.xx.
2–6
 General Information

Again, please see the OpenVMS SPD and the documents and parts
referenced there for the most current information.
For information on non-commercial software distributions for use by and
for OpenVMS Hobbyists, please see Section 2.8.1.

2.6.1 Where can I download OpenVMS and Layered Product Kits?

HP customers with commercial licenses and support contracts can
download software product distribution kits from the following HP
website:
• http://www1.sqp.com/

You can also find pointers to the Software Rollout Report and to the
OpenVMS SPD listings via the above SQP website.
Information on obtaining and transfering licenses is available in
Section 2.6 and Section 2.8.4, while information on the OpenVMS
Hobbyist licensing program and on obtaining hobbyist product
distribution kits is in Section 2.8.1.

2.7 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.

2–7
 General Information

2.8 Obtaining and Transfering OpenVMS licenses?

The following sections describe hobbyist and educational license programs,
as well as information on commercial licenses and transfers.
For information on the available commercial OpenVMS licenses and for
information on license transfers, please see Section 2.8.4. OpenVMS
Hobbyist licenses are discussed in Section 2.8.1. For information on the
licensing implementation, troubleshooting licensing problems, on the
License Unit Requirements Table (LURT), and other related details,
please see Section 5.39. For configuring and troubleshooting LMF, see
Section 12.4.

2.8.1 Questions asked by Hobbyist OpenVMS licensees?

If you are a member of an HP-recognized user group (eg: Encompass,
Enterex, DECUS), and are considering acquiring and using a VAX, Alpha
or (soon) IA-64 system for hobbyist (non-commercial) use, (free) license
product authorization keys (PAKs) for OpenVMS VAX, OpenVMS Alpha,
and (reportedly) OpenVMS I64, and layered products are available.
In addition to the license keys, OpenVMS VAX and Alpha distribution
CD-ROM distribution kits are available with OpenVMS, DECwindows
Motif, DECnet and TCP/IP networking, compilers, and a variety of
layered products. (A hobbyist distribution for OpenVMS I64 is expected.)
(While the hobbyist CD-ROM distributions are intended for and tailored
for OpenVMS Hobbyists, the contents and capabilities of the Hobbyist
installation kits included within the OpenVMS Hobbyist distribution do
not differ from the standard distribution installation kits. The products
are chosen to reflect the most popular products and the space available on
the media.)
If you have questions on what else is authorized by the license agreement
and on what other distribution media is available to you, well, please read
the applicable software license agreement(s).
For further information, please link to:
• http://www.openvmshobbyist.org/

On the OpenVMS Hobbyist license registration form at the above website

(as of August 2005), you are offered the choice of the ‘‘OpenVMS VAX’’
license(s), the ‘‘OpenVMS Alpha’’ license(s), and the ‘‘Layered Products’’
licenses. You will want the operating system license for your particular

2–8
 General Information

OpenVMS platform and you will want the ‘‘Layered Products’’ licenses.
You will want to select and to acquire two sets of license PAKs.
For vendors wishing to license products specifically for hobbyist use (and
to not issue hobbyist PAKs), the program provides hobbyists with the
license PAK OPENVMS-HOBBYIST.
If you plan to use a hardware emulator (eg: VAX emulator) on a Microsoft
Windows platform, make sure you have an OpenVMS distribution
kit that can be installed and/or booted with the particular emulator
package you plan to use. For additional information on emulators,
please see Section 13.12 and particularly please see the emulator-related
documentation.

2.8.1.1 Vendors offering Hobbyist Licenses

• GrayMatter Software
http://www.graysoft.com/GSCHobbyPR.html
http://www.graysoft.com/GSCHobbyPR.html
• Argent Software
http://jams.argent-software.com/hobby.html
• Kednos
http://www.kednos.com/
• LJK
http://ljk.com
• Process Software
http://www.process.com/openvms/hobbyist.html
• Raxco
http://www.raxco.com/hobbyist/
• Software Resources International (SRI)
http://www.softresint.com/charon-vax/Tools_and_tips.htm

Hobbyist license product additions, and any updates for products already
listed here are welcome. Please contact the FAQ Editor (hoff{NoSpam-
atsign}hoffmanlabs{NoSpam-dot}org)

2–9
 General Information

2.8.2 OpenVMS Educational and CSLG licenses?

For information on OpenVMS licenses for educational customers, please
see the HP Campus Software License Grant (CSLG) license program and
the OpenVMS Educational license program:
• http://www.openvmsedu.com/

2.8.3 What developer and partner licensing programs are available?

Commercial software developers can join the HP DSPP program, and can
(potentially) receive discounts on various software product licenses and
software distributions, as well as on hardware purchases.
• http://www.hp.com/go/dspp/

The DSPP program is the descendent of the DIGITAL ISVN and DIGITAL
ASAP programs and the Compaq CSA program, and the analogous
developer and partner programs at HP.
One of the benefits available is a (free) license product authorization
key (PAK) that enables the generation of license PAKs—the so-called
PAKGEN PAK generator license PAK. An example of this is available
on the OpenVMS Freeware V8.0 distribution. (And no, you can’t use the
Freeware PAKGEN PAK to generate any license PAK you might want.)
Please see Section 2.8.3 for additional details on the DSPP program.
For information on the OpenbVMS Hobbyist and OpenVMS Educational
license programs, please see Section 2.8.1.

2.8.4 How do I obtain or transfer an OpenVMS license?

To transfer a commercial OpenVMS license from one owner to another,
or to purchase a commercial license, you can contact HP at regional sales
office or reseller.
For information on the hobbyist license program, please see Section 2.8.1.

2.9 Does OpenVMS support the Euro currency symbol?

OpenVMS can generate the %xA4 character code used for the Euro, and
the DECwindows DECterm can display the glyph. Please check with the
vendor of your terminal or terminal emulator for additional details.

2–10
 General Information

2.10 OpenVMS Ports? Itanium? Ports to IA-32, EM64T or AMD64 systems?

OpenVMS has been ported to and is operational on four architectures:
VAX, Alpha, IA-64, and IA-32. The first three have available native
ports of OpenVMS, the fourth is available via emulation. VAX is
the oldest architecture, and limited to 32-bit virtual and up to 34-bit
physical addressing. The Alpha and IA-64 architectures are both 64-bit
architectures, with 64-bit virtual addressing available. The available
IA-32 emulation is provided for the OpenVMS VAX and other VAX
operating systems, and provides a 32-bit VAX environment. For additional
information on the emulation, please see Section 13.12.
As for (the lack of) a native port for IA-32, OpenVMS Engineering
presently and continues to believe that there would be insufficient
market (read: profit, customer interest) to justify the cost involved in
a native port of OpenVMS to systems using the Intel IA-32 architecture.
In addition to the direct costs involved in any port and in addition
to the substantial effort involved in moving backwards from a 64-bit
environment on Alpha and on IA-64 to a 32-bit platform (such as IA-32),
and the exceedingly non-trivial device qualification costs and the costs in
moving backwards into older PCI and I/O environments (IA-32 systems
more than a few years old have equivalently aged I/O support and buses),
each organization and each person maintaining a product or a package
for OpenVMS will have to justify a port to ‘‘OpenVMS IA-32’’, ‘‘OpenVMS
EM64T’’ or ‘‘OpenVMS AMD64’’, akin to the decisions and the effort
involved in porting a product from OpenVMS VAX to OpenVMS Alpha, or
the port to OpenVMS I64.
Platform ports of many of the various products can be easy, and many
of the ports of applications using documented OpenVMS features are
expected to require little more than a source rebuild. Other products can
and do depend on platform-specific or undocumented features, and the
associated ports can be more involved. Regardless, ports of operating
systems are very large and involved projects. The prerequisite product
requirements for an OpenVMS operating system port are also non-trivial,
as well—compilers in particular are obviously required, and the suite
of compilers provided must maintain a very high degree of source-level
compatibility across the platforms. In the case of the HP Integrity port,
OpenVMS I64 V8.0 used cross-compilers and cross-tools operating on
OpenVMS Alpha systems, while V8.2 and later have various native
compilers available.

2–11
General Information

The OpenVMS I64 port was centrally built using the existing OpenVMS
Alpha environment and around the work and the knowledge from the
OpenVMS Alpha port, and OpenVMS Engineering fully expects that
customers and ISVs will use and will continue to use OpenVMS Alpha
systems to assist with their own ports to OpenVMS I64. OpenVMS
Engineering fully expects to see customers using mixed-architecture
clusters and fully shared file systems, as well.
OpenVMS Engineering is well aware of the AMD AMD64 (64-bit)
platform and processors. (At least one of the available VAX emulators
can reportedly utilize parts of the AMD64 instruction set, please contact
the VAX emulator vendor(s) or maintainer(s) for assistance and details
on their products.) OpenVMS Engineering is also well aware of the Intel
EM64T platform and processors. There are no plans to provide a native
port of HP OpenVMS for any systems based on the AMD AMD64 nor
Intel EM64T architectures.
As part of the work leading to the Itanium port, senior engineers had
extensively evaluated the products and the architectures available
across the high-end 64-bit computing space, and chose to target Itanium
for 64-bit environments—this while under the Compaq organization.
This included looking at IA-32. HP (a co-developer of Itanium with
Intel) had seperately chosen to target Intel Itanium for its high-end
computer products. Compaq then announced plans for the future of Alpha
through EV7-series products and platforms, and HP (entirely seperately)
announced plans for PA-RISC products and platforms. The Itanium target
has been maintained consistently since the Itanium port was announced
by Compaq, and has also been consistently maintained by HP and by the
combined company. For those folks prefering to follow the schedules and
the product deliveries, OpenVMS Engineering had OpenVMS I64 V8.0
ready (internally) ahead of schedule—and with more features available
within the release than had been originally planned for the release. (For
information on and for schedules of future OpenVMS releases, please see
the roadmap that is available at the OpenVMS website.)
OpenVMS I64 itself does not require and does not plan to utilize the
Itanium IA-32 32-bit environment for the operation of OpenVMS itself.
OpenVMS I64 V8.0 and later run natively on the Itanium processor
family, with no use of IA-32 instructions. While OpenVMS can and does
support 32-bit OpenVMS applications and addressing on Itanium, this
is done with sign-extension addressing techniques entirely analogous to
what was done with 32-bit applications operating in the 64-bit Alpha
environment. Both OpenVMS 32-bit and 64-bit applications operate

2–12
General Information

within the native Itanium instruction set and run-time environment, and
do not use the Itanium IA-32 environment.
But yes, a native IA-32 port or a native AMD AMD64 or Intel EM64T port
of OpenVMS would certainly be nice to have—this, of course, following
the traditional Linux preference for having a Linux port available for
most (all?) computer architectures known, and even for certain high-
end refrigerators and toasters, and similar appliance-like devices. (The
downside of this all-encompassing approach: this requires near-infinite
engineering and support costs from the various vendors involved, and
the qualification efforts and costs of most everything—everywhere. Or
reduced or eliminated testing and support efforts. Or an unfortunate
combination of these two. These costs are huge, and the benefits derived
from the work are comparatively small when given the comparable
costs of more targeted (and thus supported and supportable) hardware
configurations—the platform targets are and must be carefully selected
and considered by each vendor. Put another way, there are no plans to
provide a native port of HP OpenVMS for systems based on Intel IA-32
processors, nor for systems based on AMD AMD64 nor Intel EM64T
architectures and processors.
All this material having been written, have you looked at the system
configurations and pricing of the available HP Integrity Intel Itanium
systems? Low-end computer hardware is clearly a commodity product,
and the systems are priced, serviced, upgraded, and replaced accordingly.
Intel Itanium is a commodity microprocessor presently used in platforms
available from various hardware vendors, including (obviously) from
HP. Further, Itanium is a microprocessor available from and supported
by Intel, a semiconductor vendor known for exceedingly high-volume
microprocessor fabrication process and production capabilities.
For information on supported platforms and processors, please see the
OpenVMS Software Product Description (SPD) at:
• http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx, and SPD
82.35.xx.

Please see Section 14.4.5 for Intel Itanium terminology.

2–13
 General Information

2.11 Are there any network-accessible OpenVMS systems?

Yes, though various restrictions can and do apply.
• Hobbes
Hobbes is a MicroVAX 3100 Model 40 for which free access and
accounts are available to OpenVMS enthusiasts. This system has
BASIC, Pascal, Fortran, and C compilers installed. If you would like
an account on Hobbes, please see the FAQ at
• http://www.hobbesthevax.com/
• OpenVMS Galaxy Test-Drive
HP currently offers an OpenVMS Galaxy Test-Drive system, based
on an AlphaServer 4100 series configured as two instances of the
OpenVMS operating system. For details, please visit:
• http://www.testdrive.hp.com/
• HP DSPP Test-Drive
The HP DSPP program offers various test-drive systems, including
an HP Integrity Itanium development system and an HP OpenVMS
I64 installation on an HP Integrity rx2600 server. For details on
the DSPP program and on the test-drive systems, please see section
Section 2.8.3 and please visit:
• http://www.testdrive.hp.com/
• http://www.hp.com/dspp/
The test-drive systems do require registration, though access to the
systems is free.
• Encompasserve
Encompasserve offers free access an OpenVMS Alpha system.
• telnet://eisner.decus.org/
• OpenECS
OpenECS offers free access to a VAX 6000 model 530 system. If
interested, please visit:
• http://vax6k.openecs.org/
• The Deathrow Cluster
The maintainers of the Deathrow Cluster offer access to an OpenVMS
VAX and an OpenVMS Alpha system, configured in a cluster.
• telnet://deathrow.vistech.net

2–14
 General Information

• The Preatorian Public OpenVMS Cluster

The maintainers of the Deathrow Cluster offer access to an OpenVMS
Alpha cluster. Details are at the website listed below:
• http://www.preatorian.net

2.12 What version of OpenVMS do I need?

For information on supported platforms, please see the OpenVMS
Software Product Description (SPD) for the particular OpenVMS version
of interest.
• http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx, and SPD
82.35.xx.

For a table of the minimum and (as applicable) maximum OpenVMS

versions required for various platforms, please see the hardware
support chart at HP OpenVMS website and (as available) the following
(potentially volatile; intra-website) link:
• http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/hw_supportchart.html

For information on the Multia, related Alpha single-board computers,

or other officially unsupported systems, please see Section 14.4.1 and
Section 14.4.2.1.
The following is a rule-of-thumb for Alpha platform support. The table
Table 2–5 contains the earliest OpenVMS Alpha release with support for
a particular series of Alpha microprocessors:

Table 2–5 OpenVMS Alpha Version Rule-Of-Thumb

Microprocessor OpenVMS
Generic Generation Version General Comments
EV4 21064 V1.0 few systems; most
EV4 require later;
upgrade available
EV5 21164 V6.2 subsequent upgrade
available
EV56 21164A V6.2-1H3 subsequent upgrade
to V7.1 and later

2–15
 General Information

Table 2–5 (Cont.) OpenVMS Alpha Version Rule-Of-Thumb

Microprocessor OpenVMS
Generic Generation Version General Comments

EV6 21264 V7.1-2 subsequent upgrade

typically to V7.2-1 or
later
EV67 21264A V7.1-2 subsequent upgrade
typically to V7.2-1 or
later
EV68 21264B, C and D V7.2-1 believed/probable;
currently an
unconfirmed
expectation

Specific hardware present and various system configurations can require

OpenVMS Alpha releases later than those referenced in Table 2–5.

2.13 How can I submit OpenVMS Freeware?

For the guidelines and submission info, please visit the URL:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/

To order the current OpenVMS Freeware CD-ROM kit (shipping and

handling charges apply), please request part number QA-6KZAA-H8.

2.14 Porting applications to OpenVMS?

Porting can range from simple to rather complex, and depends on the
features used on the original platform.
This section covers generic porting, and porting among OpenVMS VAX
OpenVMS Alpha, and OpenVMS I64. (Porting among OpenVMS VAX,
OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64 is often quite simple and involves
little more than rebuilding from source, though a few applications
using features specific to the platform or the architecture, or using
undocumented or unsupported interfaces can and likely will require
some additional effort to port.)

2–16
General Information

Several manuals on porting from OpenVMS VAX to OpenVMS Alpha

are available in the OpenVMS documentation set, including information
on porting VAX Macro32 assembler code to the Macro32 compiler on
OpenVMS Alpha, on management differences, on upgrading privileged
code, and application migration:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/doc/

Documentation on porting to OpenVMS I64 is available, as well.

Details on the C programming environment are available at:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/commercial/c/c_index.html

Details on porting VAX C to HP C are are available at:

• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/commercial/c/index_vax.htm

An OpenVMS Porting Library is available at:

• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/ebusiness/Technology.html

Information on the Enterprise Toolkit, a Visual-based development

environment for developing applications for OpenVMS using a Microsoft
platform, is available at:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/commercial/et/et_index.html

Details on DCE, CORBA, BridgeWorks, and COM/DCOM middleware is

available at:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/commercial/middleware.html

Information on the COE standards is available at:

• http://diicoe.disa.mil/coe/

A wide variety of programming development tools and middleware are

available as commercial products (eg: DECset, IBM WebSphere MQ—
formerly MQseries), and various tools are also available as shareware or
as Freeware. Please see other sections of this FAQ, and please see:
• http://www.hp.com/go/dspp_catalog

2–17
 General Information

2.15 What resources are available to OpenVMS software developers?

The HP Developer and Software Product Partner (DSPP) program is open
to and intended to support and to assist HP OpenVMS software partners,
consultants, and service providers:
• http://www.hp.com/dspp/

DSPP provides members with various benefits, please see the website for
details.
For those not familiar with the DSPP program or with its history, the
DIGITAL Association of Software and Application Partners (ASAP)
program and the DIGITAL Independent Software Vendors Network
(ISVN) program were incorporated into the Compaq CSA program, and
the CSA program has subsequently been incorporated into the HP DSPP
program.
Please see Section 2.8.3 for additional details on the DSPP program.

2.16 memory management, resource management, process scheduling, etc?

So you have been instructed to write a school research paper on
OpenVMS, and you need technical content on the OpenVMS Virtual
Memory System, on any memory segmentation, on OpenVMS Resource
Management, on the OpenVMS File System, on the OpenVMS user
interface, etc.
Invariably, your professor/instructor/teacher will ask you a series of
questions. Most commonly, the questions will request descriptions of one
or more of the following items, and at varying levels of detail:
• process scheduling algorithm(s)
• Interprocess comunications
• Process or system synchronization constructs
• Memory management and/or virtual memory implementation
• RMS or XQP file structures
• Resource management
• History of HP OpenVMS
• History of Compaq and/or of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)

2–18
 General Information

Any particular presentation or research paper, and particularly a

scholastic presentation, can have many different potential target
audiences, and very different presentation levels. Further, the usual
underlying reason for scholastic presentations and scholastic research
projects really has little to do with the subject matter, it is a task
specifically intended to teach the student(s) (eg: you) how to perform the
research. The instructor already knows most of (all of?) the information
that you have been asked to collect.
For very technical details on OpenVMS and OpenVMS internals, the book
you want is the Internals and Data Structures Manual (IDSM), available
in your school or computing center library, and the IDSM can also be
purchased. Additional technical details of the Alpha microprocessor are
available in the Alpha Architecture Reference Manual documentation that
is available for download. (Pointers to Alpha technical documentation are
available in Section 14.6, and elsewhere.)
For higher-level (less technical) details, the OpenVMS documentation set
is available on-line. The Programming Concepts and the File Systems
manual are probably the best manuals to start with, depending on the
particular level of detail the research requires.
And please understand the hesitation of various folks to provide you with
a completely-written research report on your topic. Why? We might have
to work with you after you graduate—you need to know how to perform at
least basic research on your own, regardless of the topic.

2.17 Basic Units of Measurement?

OpenVMS and the underlying hardware use various units of
measurement for disk and memory storage, and related abbreviations
also typically exist. This section covers the most common units, and the
associated abbreviations.

2.17.1 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

2–19
 General Information

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 V7.2 and
later optionally provide for a cluster factor of one up to volumes of
approximately 137 gigabytes.)
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.

2.17.2 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.

2–20
 General Information

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 I64, the memory page size is also variable, ranging from
4096 bytes (4 kilobytes) up to 256 megabytes (MB) and potentially up
to 4 gigabytes (GB). As with OpenVMS Alpha, sys$getsyi and f$getsyi
and the PAGE_SIZE itemcode can and should be used to determine the
current system page size. In general, OpenVMS I64 will use a page size
of 8 kilobytes, or larger.
On OpenVMS Alpha and on OpenVMS I64, a 512 byte area of memory—
equivalent in size to an OpenVMS VAX memory page—is often refered to
as a ‘‘pagelet’’.

2.17.3 How do I convert? Disk Blocks? KB, MB, GB, TB?

The smallest granularity of disk storage addressing is called a disk block,
or sometimes a disk sector. Groups of disk blocks are usually organized
together into the smallest unit of storage that can be allocated, and this
unit is called a disk cluster. The number of blocks in a cluster is the
cluster factor, and is established when the disk volume is initialized.
Each individual disk block is composed of five hundred twelve (512) bytes,
or one-half kilobyte. Each byte is comprised of eight bits. A bit represents
the smallest unit of information, typically refered to as a one or a zero.
OpenVMS tends to uses base two notation for disk storage, while disk
storage capacity specifications from most storage vendors will generally
use base ten notation.
An OpenVMS disk block is 512 bytes in size; this is one-half kilobyte in
base two notation.
The following table describes the prefix, the abbreviation, and the
associated base ten (as used by marketing and by storage vendors) and
base two (OpenVMS and various other operating systems) values.

2–21
 General Information

Base Ten Base Two

-------------------------------- -------------------------
Kilobyte (KB) 10**3 1000 2**10 1024
Megabyte (MB) 10**6 1000000 2**20 1048576
Gigabyte (GB) 10**9 1000000000 2**30 1073741824
Terabyte (TB) 10**12 1000000000000 2**40 1099511627776
Petabyte (PB) 10**15 1000000000000000 2**50 1125899906842624
Exabyte (EB) 10**18 1000000000000000000 2**60 1152921504606846976
The base ten representation of the 2**40 value is 1099511627776, which is
obviously rather ugly. When viewed as a base eight or base sixteen (octal
or hexadecimal, respectively) value, the value is far nicer. Specifically,
the value is 10000000000 and 40000000 when represented in octal and
hexadecimal, respectively.
FAQ Notation
Within the OpenVMS FAQ, a thousand bits (either assuming
base two or base ten, as determined by the context) is
refered to as a kilobit, and is always represented by the
appreviation Kb, while a thousand bytes is refered to
as a kilobyte and is always abbreviated as KB. Similar
notational usage also holds for Megabits (Mb) and
Megabytes (MB), and for the various other units.
OpenVMS operating system references to system and storage are
generally to the base-two version (eg: 1024, in the case of a kilobyte
or kilobit) while storage hardware references and hardware specifications
are generally to the base-ten version (eg: 1000).
To convert OpenVMS disk blocks to (base two) kilobytes (KB; 1024 bytes),
simply divide by two. To convert blocks to (base two) megabytes, divide
by 2048. Blocks to (base two) gigabytes (GB), divide by 2097152. These
particular divisions can also be performed using bitshifts: to divide a
value by two, shift the binary value rightward by one bit position.
To convert OpenVMS disk blocks to (base ten) kilobytes, divide by
approximately 1.953125.
For those folks with an interest in odd applications for prefixes, and
particularly for those folks also rummaging around deep within the
OpenVMS operating system, a microfortnight is approximately one
second.

2–22
3 Documentation

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
3.1 Where can I find online copies of OpenVMS manuals?
The HP OpenVMS and HP Layered Product documentation is copyrighted
material.
HTML format on-line product documentation sets for specific HP
OpenVMS products are presently available at:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/doc/

Documentation is offered on separately orderable CD-ROM media through

a subscription to the Consolidated On-Line Documentation (ConOLD)
product (see Section 2.6.) 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 Section 13.1 for details.
Information on the XPDF DECwindows PDF viewer for OpenVMS is
available in Section 13.1, and XPDF kits are available on various
Freeware distributions. An alternative on OpenVMS Alpha uses the
Adobe Java PDF viewer, though this viewer is generally considered to
be both slower and more resource-intensive when compared to the XPDF
viewer.

3.2 What online information and websites are 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 web server at http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/

3–1
 Documentation

Here, you will find product information, strategy documents, product

roadmaps, the contents of the latest OpenVMS Freeware CD-ROM and
more.

Table 3–1 OpenVMS Websites

URL Sponsor
HP OpenVMS Marketing
http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/
Encompass DFWCUG
http://www.openvmshobbyist.org/
Arne Vajhøj
http://www.levitte.org/~ava/
Saiga Systems
http://www.saiga.com/
Wayne Sewell
http://www.tachysoft.com/
proGIS Software
http://www.progis.de/openvms.htm
Jeff Cameron
http://www.jcameron.com/vms/
David Mathog’s (quite useful) information about OpenVMS.
http://saf.bio.caltech.edu/soft_doc.html
Cracking
‘‘The Beave’’
Includes system cracking information that can be of interest to OpenVMS System Managers, and to
OpenVMS Network and Security Managers. This information is available at the Deathrow cluster.
http://manson.vistech.net/ht_root/Hack-VMS-faq
Undocumented Features
DECUS Deutschland
http://zinser.no-ip.info/www/eng/vms/qaa/undoc.htmlx
Arne Vajhøj
http://www.levitte.org/~ava/vms_tip.htmlx
The OpenVMS Freeware contains various examples of undocumented features and interfaces

3–2
 Documentation

Table 3–1 (Cont.) OpenVMS Websites

URL Sponsor

http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
Comparisons of UNIX and Linux shell commands and DCL Commands
http://www.mcsr.olemiss.edu/unixhelp/VMStoUNIX.html
http://wwwvms.mppmu.mpg.de/vmsdoc/UNIX_VMS_CMD_XREF.HTML
Comparisons of emacs and OpenVMS text editor commands
http://www.unh.edu/cis/docs/vms-to-unix/Emacs/cheat-sheet.html
Bibliographies
http://www.openvms.org/pages.php?page=Books
http://www.levitte.org/~ava/vms_book.htmlx
Introductory
Please see Table 3–2 for listings of introductory web sites and related materials.
Programming
An OpenVMS Programming FAQ
http://www.pdv-systeme.de/users/martinv/VMS_Programming_FAQ.html
Networking
Tutorial information and tips for connecting OpenVMS systems to the Internet
http://www.tmesis.com/internet/
Documentation and Specifications for DECnet Phase IV, DECnet task-to-task DCL examples, and a
whole lot more.
http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/
HP OpenVMS Documentation
Please see Table 3–2 for listings of documentation web sites and related materials.
System Performance
See Section 14.2.
Patch (ECO) Kits
For the HP Services FTP server hosting Various contract-access and non-contract
access ECO (patch) kits, see section Section 5.17.
Catalogs and Pricing
HP Product QuickSpecs and product information
http://www.hp.com/go/productbulletin/

3–3
 Documentation

Table 3–1 (Cont.) OpenVMS Websites

URL Sponsor

The HP Systems and Options Catalog (SOC) archive

http://www.compaq.com/products/
quickspecs/soc_archives/SOC_Archives.html
Hardware and Software Archives
The VAXarchive, including hardware and software information
http://vax.sevensages.org/index.html
A VAX to Alpha upgrade diary
http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/docs/alpha_diary.html
Scanned versions of old DIGITAL manuals from DFWCUG
http://www.montagar.com/~patj/dec/hcps.htm
A wide variety of HP VAX, Alpha, platform and other product documentation. Some introductory,
some technical.
http://www.compaq.com/support/techpubs/qrg/index.html
dtrwiz’s Datatrieve website
http://dtrwiz.home.netcom.com/

3.3 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.

3.4 Does OpenVMS Marketing have an e-mail address?

Yes - if you can’t get the answers to marketing questions elsewhere,
if you have comments or complaints about OpenVMS, send mail to
openvms-info{atsign}hp.com. This address is not a support channel,
and is solely intended to provide informal method to communicate directly
with members of OpenVMS Marketing.

3–4
 Documentation

3.5 Where can I learn about OpenVMS executive internals?

The OpenVMS Internals and Data Structure manual (IDSM) 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, V7.1, etc) 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, see Section 3.6

3.6 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.

3.6.1 Tutorial Websites?

Various websites with OpenVMS information are available; Table 3–2
contains some suggested URLs.

Table 3–2 OpenVMS Tutorial and Documentation Websites

URL Sponsor
Introductory

3–5
 Documentation

Table 3–2 (Cont.) OpenVMS Tutorial and Documentation Websites

URL Sponsor

http://www.levitte.org/~ava/vms_faq.htmlx
http://saf.bio.caltech.edu/vms_sheet.html
http://seqaxp.bio.caltech.edu/www/vms_beginners_faq.html
Various introductory materials
http://www.montagar.com/openvms_class/
Members of the Encompass DFWCUG 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.
http://www.mcsr.olemiss.edu/unixhelp/VMStoUNIX.html
A comparison table of various command-level tasks, with information
on the UNIX and Linux shell command(s), and on the OpenVMS DCL
command(s).
HP OpenVMS Documentation
http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/doc/
Various introductory guides as well as more advanced manuals are
available in the OpenVMS and layered product documentation set.
HP OpenVMS Training
http://www.compaq.com/training/home.html
http://www.openvms.compaq.com/wbt/index.html
HP offers training information and Technical Resource Kits (TRKs)
and other Training for OpenVMS. An OpenVMS certification (testing)
program is also available.
http://www.jcameron.com/vms/
An OpenVMS Quiz
http://www.CCSScorp.com/
CCSS Interactive Learning has OpenVMS training materials
http://www.acersoft.com/
AcerSoft Training information, and Shannon Knows Punditry

3–6
 Documentation

Table 3–2 (Cont.) OpenVMS Tutorial and Documentation Websites

URL Sponsor

http://www.mindiq.com/
MindIQ training information
http://www.quadratrix.be/
Quadratrix; OpenVMS training, products and services; affiliated with
Global Knowledge and KeyJob

3.6.2 Books and Tutorials?

Some of the OpenVMS books that are now or that have been available
from the Elsevier Digital Press imprint
• http://www.digitalpressbooks.com/

are listed in Table 3–3:

Table 3–3 DP Books

Title and Author ISBN

Getting Started with OpenVMS 1-55558-279-6
Michael D. Duffy
Getting Started with OpenVMS System Management, 2nd 1-55558-243-5
Edition
David Donald Miller, et al
Introduction to OpenVMS, 5th Edition 1-55558-194-3
Lesley Ogilvie Rice
Introduction to OpenVMS 1-878956-61-2
David W Bynon
OpenVMS Alpha Internals: Scheduling and Process Control 1-55558-156-0
OpenVMS AXP Internals and Data Structures: Version 1.5 1-55558-120-X
OpenVMS System Management Guide 1-55558-143-9
Baldwin, et al
The OpenVMS User’s Guide, Second Edition 1-55558-203-6
Patrick Holmay

3–7
 Documentation

Table 3–3 (Cont.) DP Books

Title and Author ISBN

Using DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS 1-55558-114-5

Margie Sherlock
VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures: Version 5.2 1-55558-059-9
Writing Real Programs in DCL, Second Edition 1-55558-191-9
Hoffman and Anagnostopoulos
Writing OpenVMS Alpha Device Drivers in C 1-55558-133-1
Sherlock and Szubowicz

Within the above table, no attempt is made to track which books are
currently in print, or are currently out of print.
For various featured OpenVMS books, also please see the books link at
the OpenVMS website:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms

For a bibliography of various OpenVMS books, please see:

• http://www.levitte.org/~ava/vms_book.htmlx

3.7 What OpenVMS mailing lists and forums are available?

Various OpenVMS mailing lists are available, with some of the available
lists detailed in Table 3–4, as are the various discussion forums in
Table 3–5.

Table 3–4 OpenVMS Mailing Lists

Subscription Interest Area

OpenVMS Freeware archive announcement list [email protected]
[email protected]
Two-way echo of vmsnet.internals [email protected]
[email protected]

1 This
is the subscription address. Usually, you will want to send a mail message with no subject line, and a
SUBSCRIBE or HELP command in the body of the mail message.

3–8
 Documentation

Table 3–4 (Cont.) OpenVMS Mailing Lists

Subscription Interest Area

OpenVMS Alpha Internals discussions [email protected]
[email protected]
BLISS discussions [email protected]
[email protected]
Process Software MultiNet mailing list (news [email protected]
gateway) [email protected]
Process Software TCPware mailing list (news [email protected]
gateway) [email protected]
Process Software PMDF mailing list (news gateway) [email protected]
[email protected]
The Software Resources International (SRI) [email protected]
CHARON-VAX VAX emulator package [email protected]
Info-Zip’s Zip & UnZip discussion list [email protected]
[email protected]
RADIUS-VMS, a RADIUS server for OpenVMS [email protected]
discussion forum [email protected]
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) running OpenVMS [email protected]
[email protected]
Users of Mark Daniel’s WASD web server for http://wasd.vsm.com.au/
OpenVMS VAX and Alpha exists. Information about
this list server and details on how to subscribe to
the list are available at the referenced website.
VMS Forum http://www.neurophys.wisc.edu/comp/ava/vms_
forum.htmlx

1 This
is the subscription address. Usually, you will want to send a mail message with no subject line, and a
SUBSCRIBE or HELP command in the body of the mail message.

Various OpenVMS discussion forums are available, with some of the

available lists detailed in Table 3–5.

3–9
 Documentation

Table 3–5 OpenVMS Discussion Forums

Description Forum Location

The comp.os.vms newsgroup
news:comp.os.vms
HP ITRC Forums
http://forums.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/familyhome.do?familyId=288
Hunter Goatley: The HG OpenVMS Message Board
http://www.goatley.com/scripts/vmsboard/view.com
Computing.Net: OpenVMS Message Area
http://www.computing.net/openvms/wwwboard/wwwboard.html
Tek-Tips: DEC (HP/Compaq): OpenVMS Forum
http://www.tek-tips.com/gthreadminder.cfm/lev2/3/lev3/19/pid/951
OpenVMS.Org forums
http://www.openvms.org/
OpenVMSHobbyist.Org forums
http://www.openvmshobbyist.org/
Encompasserve (DECUSserve) Notes Conferences
telnet://www.encompasserve.org/

3.8 What is this Ask The Wizard website I’ve heard about?
The HP OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) website was an informal area
discussing OpenVMS, containing questions and answers on a wide variety
of topics.
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.
To access a cited topic directly, use the URL filename WIZ_topic-
number.HTML, or use the topic search engine. Cited topics are shown
in parentheses, and act as unique topic addresses. These should not be
confused with the relative topic numbers shown at the site. For example,

3–10
 Documentation

the topic (1020) can be accessed directly using the URL filename wiz_
1020.html, at the web site that the following URL resolves into:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/

A zip archive (named wizard.zip) containing all of the available topics

and questions can be downloaded from the above URL. The wizard.zip zip
archive is completely regenerated when/if existing topics posted out to the
ATW website are updated. Copies of this wizard.zip archive also generally
ship out on the OpenVMS Freeware, as well.
New (informal) questions and discussions are now being directed away
from the ATW area to the ITRC area, and specifically to the ITRC
discussion forums:
• http://www.itrc.hp.com/

3.9 Where can I find the latest C run-time library manuals?

The C run-time library (RTL) reference documentation has been moved
from the C language documentation set to the OpenVMS documentation
set. For the most recent version of the C RTL documentation and the
OpenVMS standard C library, please see the OpenVMS manuals.
In addition to the user-mode C RTL, there is a second kernel-mode RTL
accessable to drivers on OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64. For details
on this second library and on the duplicate symbol errors that can be
triggered when this library is referenced during an incorrectly-specified
LINK command, please see Section 10.22.1. For general information on
this kernel RTL, see the Digital Press book Writing OpenVMS Device
Drivers in C. For details, please see the associated OpenVMS source
listings distribution.
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/doc/

3–11
4 Time and Timekeeping

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
This chapter discusses time, timekeeping, system time
synchronization, clock skew and clock drift, implications of using
SUBMIT/AFTER=TOMORROW, and other time-related topics.

4.1 A brief history of OpenVMS Timekeeping, please?

Why does OpenVMS regards November 17, 1858 as the beginning of
time...
The modified Julian date adopted by the Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory (SAO) for satellite tracking is Julian Day 2400000.5, which
turns out to be midnight on November 17, 1858.
SAO started tracking satellites with an 8K (nonvirtual) 36-bit IBM 704
in 1957 when Sputnik went into orbit. The Julian day was 2435839 on
January 1, 1957. This is 11225377 octal, which was too big to fit into an
18-bit field. With only 8K of memory, the 14 bits left over by keeping the
Julian date in its own 36-bit word would have been wasted. SAO also
needed the fraction of the current day (for which 18 bits gave enough
accuracy), so it was decided to keep the number of days in the left 18 bits
and the fraction of a day in the right 18 bits of one word.
Eighteen bits allows the truncated Julian Day (the SAO day) to grow as
large as 262143, which from November 17, 1858, allowed for 7 centuries.
Possibly, the date could only grow as large as 131071 (using 17 bits),
but this still covers 3 centuries and leaves the possibility of representing
negative time. The 1858 date preceded the oldest star catalogue in use
at SAO, which also avoided having to use negative time in any of the
satellite tracking calculations.
The original Julian Day (JD) is used by astronomers and expressed
in days since noon January 1, 4713 B.C. This measure of time was
introduced by Joseph Scaliger in the 16th century. It is named in honor
of his father, Julius Caesar Scaliger (note that this Julian Day is different
from the Julian calendar that is named for the Roman Emperor Julius
Caesar!).

4–1
 Time and Timekeeping

Why 4713 BC? Scaliger traced three time cycles and found that they were
all in the first year of their cyle in 4713 B.C. The three cycles are 15, 19,
and 28 years long. By multiplying these three numbers (15 * 19 * 28 =
7980), he was able to represent any date from 4713 B.C. through 3267
A.D.
The starting year was before any historical event known to him. In fact,
the Jewish calendar marks the start of the world as 3761 B.C. Today his
numbering scheme is still used by astronomers to avoid the difficulties of
converting the months of different calendars in use during different eras.
The following web sites:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/products/year-
2000/leap.html
• http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~ntp/
• http://www.nist.gov/
• http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/
• http://www.tondering.dk/claus/calendar.html
• http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Things/gregorian_calendar.html
• http://www.timeanddate.com

are all good time-related resources, with some general and some specific
to OpenVMS.

4.1.1 Details of the OpenVMS system time-keeping?

4.1.1.1 VAX hardware time-keeping details...
4.1.1.1.1 TOY clock
This is battery backed up hardware timing circuitry used to keep
the correct time of year during rebooting, power failures, and system
shutdown. This clock only keeps track of months, days, and time. The
time is kept relative to January 1st, at 00:00:00.00 of the year the clock
was initiailized.
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 0.0025%. This is a
drift of roughly 65 seconds per month.

4–2
 Time and Timekeeping

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.

4.1.1.1.2 EXE$GQ_SYSTIME
This is the OpenVMS VAX system time cell. This cell contains the number
of 100ns intervals since a known reference. This cell is incremented by
100000 every 10ms by an hardware interval timer.
4.1.1.1.3 EXE$GQ_TODCBASE
This cell contains the time and date the system time was last adjusted
by EXE$SETTIME. It uses the same format as EXE$GQ_SYSTIME. On
adjustment of the system time a copy of EXE$GQ_SYSTIME is stored in
this cell in both memory and on disk. This cell is used to get the year for
the system time.
4.1.1.1.4 EXE$GL_TODR
This cell contains the time and date the system time was last adjusted by
EXE$SETTIME. It uses the same format as the time of year clock. On
adjustment of the system time this cell gets saved back to both memory
and disk. The contents of this cell are used to test the validity of the TOY
clock.
The system parameters SETTIME and TIMEPROMPTWAIT determine
how the system time will be set.
• IF SETTIME = 0 and the TOY clock is valid
THEN the contents of the TOY clock are compared to those of
EXE$GL_TODR. IF the TOY clock is more than a day behind
EXE$GL_TODR
THEN the TOY clock is presumed invalid.
• IF the TOY clock is within a day of EXE$GL_TODR
THEN the system time is calculated as follows:
• EXE$GQ_SYSTIME = EXE$GQ_TODCBASE + ((TOY_CLOCK -
EXE$GL_TODR) * 100000)

4–3
 Time and Timekeeping

• IF SETTIME = 1 or the TOY clock is invalid

THEN the value of TIMEPROMPTWAIT determines how to reset the
time of year. IF TIMEPROMPTWAIT > 0
THEN the user is prompted for the time and date, for a length of
time equal to TIMEPROMPTWAIT microfortnights.
• IF TIMEPROMPTWAIT = 0
THEN the time of year is the value of EXE$GL_TODR + 10ms.
• IF TIMEPROMPTWAIT < 0
to proceed until they do so.
• THEN the user is prompted for the time and date and unable

When booting a CD-ROM containing an OpenVMS VAX system, the

system will typically be deliberately configured prompt the user to input
the time – this is necessary in order to boot with the correct time.
If either TIMEPROMPTWAIT or SETTIME are set to zero, OpenVMS
VAX will use the TOY clock to get the time of year, and the year will
be fetched from the distribution medium. The value of the year on the
distribution medium (saved within the SYS.EXE image) will most likely
be that of when the kit was mastered, and cannot be changed. Unless
the current year happens to be the same year as that on the distribution,
most likely the year will be incorrect. (Further, with the calculation of
Leap Year also being dependent on the current year, there is a possibility
that the date could be incorrect, as well.)

4.1.1.2 Alpha hardware time-keeping details...

4.1.1.2.1 Battery-Backed Watch (BB_WATCH) Chip
This is battery backed up hardware timing circuitry used to keep the
correct time of year during rebooting, power failures, and system
shutdown. This clock keeps track of date and time in 24 hour binary
format.
The BB_WATCH time is used to initialize the running system time
during bootstrap, and the BB_WATCH time is read when the SET TIME
command is issued with no parameters; when the running system time
is reset to the value stored in the BB_WATCH. The running system time
is written into the BB_WATCH when the SET TIME command is issued
with a parameter.

4–4
 Time and Timekeeping

The specification for maximum clock drift in the Alpha hardware clock is
50 parts per million (ppm), that is less than ±0.000050 seconds of drift per
second, less than ±0.000050 days of drift per day, or less than ±0.000050
years of drift per year, etc. (eg: An error of one second over a day-long
interval is roughly 11ppm, or 1000000/(24*60*60).) Put another way, this
is .005%, which is around 130 seconds per month or 26 minutes per year.
The software-maintained system time can drift more than this, primarily
due to other system activity. Typical causes of drift include extensive
high-IPL code (soft memory errors, heavy activity at device IPLs, etc) that
are causing the processing of the clock interrupts to be blocked.

4.1.1.2.2 EXE$GQ_SYSTIME
This is the OpenVMS Alpha system time cell. This cell contains the
number of 100ns intervals since November 17, 1858 00:00:00.00. This cell
is incremented by 100000 every 10ms by an hardware interval timer.
4.1.1.2.3 EXE$GQ_SAVED_HWCLOCK
This cell is used by OpenVMS Alpha to keep track of the last time and
date that EXE$GQ_SYSTIME was adjusted. It keeps the same time
format as EXE$GQ_SYSTIME. The value in this cell gets updated in
memory and on disk, every time EXE$GQ_SYSTIME gets adjusted.
• The system parameters SETTIME and TIMEPROMPTWAIT
determine how the system time will be set.
• If SETTIME = 0
then EXE$INIT_HWCLOCK reads the hardware clock to set the
system time.
• IF TIMEPROMPTWAIT > 0
THEN the value of TIMEPROMPTWAIT determines how long
the user is prompted to enter the time and date. If time
expires and no time has been entered the system acts as if
TIMEPROMPTWAIT = 0.
• IF TIMEPROMPTWAIT = 0
THEN the system time is calculated from the contents of
EXE$GQ_SAVED_HWCLOCK + 1.
• IF TIMEPROMPTWAIT < 0
THEN the user is prompted for the time and date and unable to
continue until the information is entered.

4–5
 Time and Timekeeping

Unlike the VAX, the Alpha hardware clock tracks the full date and time,
not just the time of year. This means it is possible to boot from the CD-
ROM media without entering the time at the CD-ROM bootstrap. (This
provided that the time and date have been initialized, of course.)
IA-64 (Itanium) hardware time-keeping details to be added...

4.1.1.3 Why does VAX need a SET TIME at least once a year?
Because the VAX Time Of Year (TOY) has a resolution of 497 days, the
VAX system time is stored using both the TOY and the OpenVMS VAX
system image SYS.EXE. Because of the use of the combination of the
TOY and SYS.EXE, you need to issue a SET TIME command (with the
time parameter specified) at least once between January 1st and about
April 11th of each year, and whenever you change system images (due to
booting another OpenVMS VAX system, booting the standalone BACKUP
image, an ECO that replaces SYS.EXE, etc).
The SET TIME command (with the current time as a parameter) is
automatically issued during various standard OpenVMS procedures such
as SHUTDOWN, and it can also obviously be issued directly by a suitably
privileged user. Issuing the SET TIME command (with a parameter)
resets the value stored in the TOY, and (if necessary) also updates the
portion of the time (the current year) saved in the SYS.EXE system
image.
This VAX TOY limit is the reason why OpenVMS VAX installation
kits and standalone BACKUP 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).

4.1.2 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.

4–6
 Time and Timekeeping

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 into the running system as part of
the system bootstrap, 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 implementation) 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 or a correctable (soft) memory
error—the clock will ‘‘loose’’ time, and the time value reported to the user
with appear to have slowed down.)
When SET TIME is issued with no parameters, the TOY clock is loaded
into the system clock; the running system clock is set to the time stored
in the TOY clock. This assumes the TOY clock is more accurate than the
system clock, as is normally the case.
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
failures are quite commonly caused by a failed nickel-cadmium (NiCd) or
lithium battery, or by a failed Dallas chip.

4.2 Keeping the OpenVMS system time synchronized?

To help keep more accurate system time or to keep your system clocks
synchronized, TCP/IP Services NTP, DECnet-Plus DTSS (sometimes
known as DECdtss), DCE DTS, and other techniques are commonly used.
If you do not or cannot have IP access to one of the available time-base
servers on the Internet, then you could use dial-up access to NIST or
other authoritative site, or you can use a direct connection to a local
authorative clock.
There exists code around that processes the digital (ie: binary) format
time that is available via a modem call into the NIST clock (the
Automated Computer Telephone Service (ACTS) service), and code that
grabs the time off a GPS receiver digital link, or a receiver (effectively
a radio and a codec) that processes the time signals from radio stations
WWV, WWVH, WWVB, or similar.

4–7
Time and Timekeeping

Processing the serial or hardware time protocols often involves little

more than reading from an EIA232 (RS232) serial line from the receiver,
something that is possible from most any language. Information on
correctly drifting the OpenVMS system clock to match the time-base time
is available within the logic of at least one OpenVMS Freeware package.
(See Section 4.3 for a few potential hardware options.)
One example of acquring a time-base through local integrated hardware
involves the IRIG time format (IRIG-A, -B, -G), a binary signal containing
the current time in hours, minutes, seconds and days since the start of
the current year. IRIG can also contain the time of day as the number
of seconds since midnight. HP Custom Systems and third-party vendors
have variously offered IRIG-based reader/generator modules for OpenVMS
systems.
One of the easiest approaches is a network-based GPS or other similar
receiver. Basically, this is a network server box that provides an NTP
server with the necessary hardware for external synchronization. In
addition to the antenna and the receiver and processing components,
these devices provide a network interface (NIC) and support for an
NTP time server, and applications including the NTP support within
TCP/IP Services and within various third-party IP stacks can then be
used to synchronize with the the NTP information provided by time-base
receivers. No other host software is required, and no host configuration
steps and no host software beyond NTP are required. (See Section 4.3 for
a few potential hardware options.)
Differing time servers (DECnet-Plus DTSS, DCE DTS, NTP, etc) do not
coexist particularly well, particularly if you try to use all these together
on the same node. Please pick and use just one. (If needed, you can
sometimes configure one package to acquire its timebase from another
protocol, but one and only one time server package should have direct
control over the management of and drifting of the local OpenVMS system
time. In the specific case of DECnet-Plus DTSS, older product versions
and versions V7.3 and later provide a provider module, a module which
permits DTSS to acquire its time from NTP. For details on this, please see
the comments in the module DTSS$NTP_PROVIDER.C.)
Unlike DECnet-Plus, TCP/IP Services NTP is not capable of connecting
to a time-base other than the network time base or the local system
clock. Third-party and open source NTP implementations are available
for OpenVMS, as well.
Useful URLs:
• http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/service/nts.htm

4–8
 Time and Timekeeping

• http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/service/acts.htm
• http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/
• http://www.time.gov/

4.3 External time-base hardware?

Here are a few possibilities for providers of a GPS-based receiver with an
embedded NTP server, strictly culled from the first few pages of a Google
search. Availability, pricing, OpenVMS compatibility and other factors are
not known.
• http://www.galleon.eu.com/
• http://www.meinberg.de/english/
• http://www.ntp-servers.com/

For a direct-connected (local, non-IP, non-NTP) link, there are serial

options available. Google finds Spectracom Corporation has a NetClock
that could be used here, based on a quick look—I do not know if there is
OpenVMS host software, but that would be possible to write for the ASCII
data stream that the device supports. (Such coding requires knowledge
of serial I/O, character processing, and knowledge of the clock drift API
mechanisms in OpenVMS—there exists Freeware tools that could be used
to learn how to tie into the clock drifting mechanisms of OpenVMS.)
• http://www.spectracomcorp.com/

http://www.spectracomcorp.com/
Information on, and experiences or recommendations for or against these
or other similar devices is welcome.

4.3.1 Why do my cluster batch jobs start early?

Your system time is skewed across your cluster members, and the cluster
member performing the queue management tasks has a system time set
later than the system time of the member running the batch job.
This behaviour is most noticable when using
SUBMIT/AFTER=TOMORROW and similar constructs, and use of
/AFTER="TOMMOROW+00:01:00" or such is often recommended as a
way to avoid this. The combination time value specified should be larger
than the maximum expected time skew. In the example shown, the
maximum cluster clock skew is assumed less than 1:00.
4–9
 Time and Timekeeping

You can also maintain your system times in better synchronization, with
available tools described in Section 4.2 and elsewhere.

4.3.2 Why does my OpenVMS system time drift?

Memory errors, hardware problems, or most anything operating at or
above IPL 22 or IPL 24 (clock IPL is system family dependent; code
executing at or above the clock IPL will block the processing of clock
interrupts), can cause the loss of system time. Clock drift can also be
caused by normal (thermal) clock variations and even by the expected
level of clock drift.
When clock interrupts are blocked as a result of the activity of high-IPL
code—such as extensive driver interrupt activity or a hardware error or a
correctable (soft) memory error—the clock will ‘‘loose’’ time, and the time
value reported to the user with appear to have slowed down. Correctable
memory errors can be a common cause of system time loss, in other words.
Heavy PCI bus traffic can also cause lost time.
One bug in this area involved the behaviour of certain graphics controllers
including the ELSA GLoria Synergy PBXGK-BB; the PowerStorm 3D10T
effectively stalling the PCI bus. See Section 5.16 for details on the
ELSA GLoria Synergy controller, and make certain you have the current
GRAPHICS ECO kit installed.
Clock drift can also be (deliberately) caused by the activity of the DTSS or
NTP packages.
Also see Section 4.1.1.2.1, Section 4.1.1, and Section 4.3.4.

4.3.3 Resetting the system time into the past?

You can resynchronize system time using DCL commands such as SET
TIME and SET TIME/CLUSTER, but these commands can and obviously
will cause the current system time to be set backwards when the specified
time predates the current system time. This time-resetting operation can
cause application problems, and can adversely effect applications using
absolute timers, applications that assume time values will always be
unique and ascending values, and applications.
Setting the time backwards by values of even an hour has caused various
run-time problems for applications and layered products. For this reason,
this technique was not considered supported during the Year 2000 (Y2K)
testing; a system or cluster reboot was strongly recommended as the
correct means to avoid these problems.

4–10
 Time and Timekeeping

Application programmers are encouraged to use the time-related and

TDF-related events that are available with the $set_system_event system
service, and/or to use UTC or similar time, as these techniques can permit
the application to better survive retrograde clock events. (There is an
ECO to repair problems seen in the DECnet-Plus support for generating
TDF events from DTSS, and this applies to V7.3 (expected to be in
ECO4 and later) V7.3-1 (expected to be in ECO3 and later) and V7.3-2
(expected to be in ECO1 and later). Apply the most current DECnet-Plus
ECO kits for these OpenVMS releases, for best TDF event support from
DECnet-Plus.)
See Section 4.3.4 and Section 4.3.1.

4.3.4 How can I drift the OpenVMS system time?

With DECdts and TCP/IP Services NTP, the system time value is "drifted"
(rather than changed), to avoid the obvious problems that would arise
with "negative time changes". The same basic clock drifting technique is
used by most (all?) time servers operating on OpenVMS, typically using
the support for this provided directly within OpenVMS.
An example of the technique used (on OpenVMS VAX) to drift the system
time is the SETCLOCK tool on the OpenVMS Freeware.
For information on the use of the EXE$GL_TIMEADJUST and EXE$GL_
TICKLENGTH cells on OpenVMS Alpha, see OpenVMS AXP Internal and
Data Structures, located on page 348.
For those areas which switch between daylight saving time (DST) and
standard time, the time value is not drifted. The time is adjusted by the
entire interval. This procedure is inherent in the definition of the switch
between DST and standard time. (Do look at either not switching to
daylight time, or (better) using UTC as your time-base, if this change-over
is not feasible for your environment.)
See Section 4.3.4 and Section 4.3.3.

4.3.5 How can I configure TCP/IP Services NTP as a time provider?

An NTP time provider provides its idea of the current time to NTP clients
via the NTP protocol. Most systems are NTP clients, but...
NTP has a heirarchy of layers, called strata. The further away from the
actual NTP time source (Internet time servers are at stratum 1), the
lower the strata (and the larger the number assigned the statum).

4–11
Time and Timekeeping

NTP explicity configured at stratum one provides time to NTP operating

at lower strata, and the provided time is acquired based on the local
system time or via some locally-accessible external time source.
NTP at other (lower) strata both receive time from higher strata and can
provide time to lower strata, and automatically adjust the local stratum.
The highest stratum is one, and the lowest available stratum is fifteen.
The TCP/IP Services NTP package can operate at any stratum, and can
be configured as a peer, as a client, or as a broadcast server. NTP can also
provide time to a DECnet-Plus DTSS network, see Section 4.2.
With TCP/IP Services V5.0 and later, the only supported reference clock
is the LCL (local system clock). If your system has an excellent clock
or if the system time is being controlled by some other time service or
peripheral (such as DTSS services, GPS services, a cesium clock, a GPIB
controller or other similar time-related peripheral), you can configure
NTP to use the system clock as its reference source. This will mimic the
master-clock functionality, and will configre NTP as a stratum 1 time
server. To do this, enter the following commands in TCPIP$NTP.CONF:
server 127.127.1.0 prefer
fudge 127.127.1.0 stratum 0
For local-master functionality, the commands are very similiar. Use:
server 127.127.1.0
fudge 127.127.1.0 stratum 8
The difference between these two is the stratum, and the omission of the
prefer keyword. Specifying a higher stratum allows the node to act as a
backup NTP server, or potentially as the sole time server on an isolated
network. The server will become active only when all other normal
synchronization sources are unavailable. The use of "prefer" causes NTP
to always use the specified clock as the time synchronization source.
With the TCP/IP Services versions prior to V5.0, the NTP management is
rather more primitive. To configure the local OpenVMS system from an
NTP client to an NTP server (on TCP/IP Services versions prior to V5.0),
add the following line to the sys$specific:[ucx$ntp]ucx$ntp.conf file:
master-clock 1
Also, for TCP/IP Services prior to V5.0, see the NTP template file:
SYS$SPECIFIC:[UCX$NTP]UCX$NTP.TEMPLATE

4–12
 Time and Timekeeping

Note that NTP does not provide for a Daylight Saving Time (DST) switch-
over, that switch must arise from the timezone rules on the local system
and/or from the SYS$EXAMPLES:DAYLIGHT_SAVINGS procedure.
(Further, there is a known bug in SYS$EXAMPLES:DAYLIGHT_
SAVINGS.COM in V7.3, please obtain the available ECO kit.)
For current TCP/IP Services and related OpenVMS documentation, please
see:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/doc/

4.4 Managing Timezones, Timekeeping, UTC, and Daylight Saving Time?

You will want to use the command procedure:
• SYS$MANAGER:UTC$TIME_SETUP.COM

to configure the OpenVMS Timezone Differential Factor (TDF) on

OpenVMS V6.0 and later. Select the BOTH option. This configures
the OpenVMS TDF settings, though it may or may not configure the TDF
and the timezone rules needed or used by other software packages. Please
do NOT directly invoke the following command procedures:
• SYS$MANAGER:UTC$CONFIGURE_TDF.COM ! do not directly use
• SYS$MANAGER:UTC$TIMEZONE_SETUP.COM ! do not directly use

TCP/IP Services V5.0 and later use the OpenVMS TDF, UTC, and
timezone support. Earlier versions use a TDF mechanism and timezone
database that is internal to the TCP/IP Services package. Also on the
earlier versions, the TDF must be manually configured within TCP/IP
Services, in addition to the OpenVMS configuration of the TDF.
DECnet-Plus in V7.3 and later uses the OpenVMS TDF, UTC, and
timezone support, and displays its timezone prompts using UTC$TIME_
SETUP.COM. Earlier versions use a TDF TDF mechanism, timezone
database, and automatic switch-over that is internal to the DECnet-Plus
package. Also on earlier versions, the TDF must be configured within the
DECnet-Plus DECdtss package, in addition to the OpenVMS configuration
of the TDF.
Application code using HP C (formerly Compaq C, formerly DEC C)
will use the OpenVMS UTC and TDF mechanisms when the C code is
compiled on OpenVMS V7.0 and later (and when the macro _VMS_V6_
SOURCE is NOT defined). HP C does NOT use the OpenVMS UTC and
TDF mechanisms when the C code is compiled on OpenVMS releases

4–13
Time and Timekeeping

prior to V7.0, or when the preprocessor declaration _VMS_V6_SOURCE is

declared.
DCE DTS TDF management details to be determined.
In OpenVMS Alpha V6 releases (V6.1, V6.2, V6.2-1Hx, etc), the
TDF value is written to SYS$BASE_IMAGE.EXE. With OpenVMS
Alpha V7.0 and later and with OpenVMS VAX V6.0 and later,
SYS$SYSTEM:SYS$TIMEZONE.DAT contains the TDF. This means
that OpenVMS Alpha systems will need to have the TDF value reset
manually—usually within SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM—on reboots prior to
V7.0.
During OpenVMS Bootstrap, the SYSINIT module reads
SYS$TIMEZONE.DAT to acquire the TDF for use in the system global
cell EXE$GQ_TDF. This is done to ensure that the system boots with a
valid TDF (a value which may be zero). The UTC system services get
the TDF from this cell. These services, as well as the HP C RTL, must
have a valid TDF. (Prior to OpenVMS V7.3, if either DECnet-Plus or
DECnet/VAX Extensions is configured and run, the image DTSS$SET_
TIMEZONE.EXE is invoked and can override the TDF and timezone
rule settings from SYSINIT or from UTC$TIME_SETUP.COM— this
image runs even if DTSS is disabled. If the settings do not match (due
to inconsistencies in timezone specification in UTC$TIME_SETUP.COM
and NET$CONFIGURE.COM), DTSS will reset the values to match its
definitions.)
Prior to OpenVMS V7.3, daylight saving time (DST) switchover is handled
automatically only when DCE DTS or DECnet-Plus DTSS is in use. In
V7.3, OpenVMS can be configured to automatically switch over to daylight
time, and also generates an event that interested applications can use to
detect the switch-over between standard time and daylight time.
The manual switchover between daylight time and standard time
is correctly accomplished via the SYS$EXAMPLES:DAYLIGHT_
SAVINGS.COM command procedure procedure.
Note
NTP (alone) does NOT provide automatic switch-over.
Note
The DST switch-over does NOT drift the time value; the
switch-over applies the entire difference as a unit, as is
standard and expected practice. (Do look at either not
switching to daylight time, or (better) using UTC as your
time-base, if this one-hour change is not feasible within

4–14
 Time and Timekeeping

your environment.) (For information associated with

drifting the systen time, please see Section 4.3.4.)
If you switch the TDF or DST setting, you will also want to restart or
reconfigure any time-sensitive applications (those not using the time
differential factor (TDF) change event available in V7.3 and later).
Examples of these applications can include the need to restart the NFS
client and NTP. (In the case of NTP, will want to try to ‘‘drift’’ the time
(see Section 4.2 and see Section 4.3.4), and will find that the DST switch-
over will exceed the NTP-defined maximum threshold allowed for drifting.
Hence the NTP restart is presently required.)

4.4.1 Creating, Updating and Managing Timezone Definitions?

One issue with the UTC implementation on OpenVMS is the behaviour
of C functions and other programs that use SYS$TIMEZONE_RULE;
the OpenVMS mechanism assumes all control over the timezone and the
daylight time switchover. This allows calculation of the time by the C
library and various applications.
This can be incompatible with a system or application that requires
manual modifications to the DST or TDF settings, or that requires a
local or customized timezone definition. For such a site to ensure the
timekeeping is correct, the site must provide procedure that sets the local
time and the TDF when the SYS$TIMEZONE_RULE says to do it.
If a site requires a non-standard time switch-over, as in coordinating with
a shift change or due to changes in the local or regional timezone rules,
the site will need to use the zic compiler to create a custom timezone rule.
Additionally, applications may need to have special actions taken or
actions queued just before the time change takes effect. If the application
source code is available, one of the best ways to handle this is via the
TDF and time-change notification events available via the OpenVMS
sys$set_system_event system service.
For information on zic and related tools used to manage the OpenVMS
Timezone database, please see the HP C Run-time Library Utilities
Reference Manual—though the title would imply otherwise, this
particular manual is part of the OpenVMS documentation set, and not
part of the HP C (formerly Compaq C, formerly DEC C) documentation
set.
For related information, see Section 4.4.1.1.

4–15
 Time and Timekeeping

4.4.1.1 Customizing or Updating your TDF (Timezone) Setting?

Individual, local, and regional differences on the use (or the lack of use)
of Daylight Saving Time (DST) are quite common, as are occasional
regulatory changes to the particular applicable regional DST settings.
(eg: The United States Government is expecting to change its DST rules
starting in March of 2007; please see Section 4.4.1.2 for details.)
DST-related ECO kits are now available for various of the supported
releases, please see the ECO FTP site for details.
If you need or wish to add, modify or remove DST rules for your area,
or otherwise alter the rules for your local area, you will probably end up
creating a variation to an existing timezone rule, or potentially simply
downloading a new set of DST rules. This requirement can arise, for
instance, if your local region changes its timezone rules, or if you are
using an OpenVMS release that does not have an ECO kit for the US
DST rules available.)
The necessary zone line to add for support of the hypothetical new
WhereEverLand timezone will probably look something like this:
# Zone NAME GMTOFF RULES/SAVE FORMAT [UNTIL]
Zone WhereEver 2:00 - WhereEver
The OpenVMS source files for the timezone rules are stored here:
SYS$COMMON:[SYS$ZONEINFO.SYSTEM.SOURCES]
You’ll then want to use the zic compiler to compile your own new timezone
definition, or to compile a new set of timezone definitions that have been
freshly downloaded from a published source.
The zic compiler is documented in the OpenVMS Documentation Set, and
specifically in the HP C Run-Time Library Reference Manual. (Despite
the name of this manual, it is part of the OpenVMS documentation set
and not of the C manuals.)
Once you have created and compiled a new timezone rule (or have
downloaded and have compiled a whole new set of timezone rules), use
the SYS$MANAGER:UTC$TIME_SETUP.COM to select the new timezone
if necessary—with V7.3 and later, this tool will automically notice the new
timezone and will offer it, on earlier releases, you may/will have to hack
the code of the tool somewhat to allow it to present the new timezone
rule. (If an existing timezone rule is simply changing, you don’t need this
re-selection step.)

4–16
 Time and Timekeeping

Note
As mentioned in Section 4.4.2, please don’t modify
or redefine the TZ logical name (found on older
configurations), or the SYS$TIMEZONE_NAME logical
name, or any other time- or timezone-related logical names
directly yourself. Rather, please use the zic compiler
and/or the UTC$TIME_SETUP.COM procedure.
For various published timezone rules or updated to same, see the tar.gz
files (these are gzipped tar archives) available at:
• ftp://elsie.nci.nih.gov/pub/

These are gzipped tar archives, and are the pubished source used for
the OpenVMS timezone rules on OpenVMS V7.3 and later, and within
the predecessor C run-time environment timezone support used on older
OpenVMS releases. You’ll need to first gunzip and then use vmstar to
unpack and access the contents of the archives.
The published timezone rules include the effective date ranges for the
individual rules, so you can reload your rules prior to a particular set
of new rules becoming effective. The effective dates for the particular
timezone rules are additionally necessary to allow the appropriate
translation of older dates and times within the appropriate historical
context of the particular date and time value.
For related information, see Section 4.4.1.

4.4.1.2 US Daylight Time Changes Starting 1-Mar-2007?

The United States Federal Government is presently expecting to change
its DST rules starting in March, 2007. (The change-over date and the
planned change itself has not come to pass as of this writing, hence the
phrasing used.)
As amended, US daylight time will be increased to be effective from the
second Sunday in March through the first Sunday of November. Other
countries, US local political geographies and businesses may or may not
follow suite and implement these changes, obviously.
For further regulatory details, see the US Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15
U.S.C 260a(a)), as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
For details on how to create, customize or to download new rules and to
update your local timezone rules, please see Section 4.4.1.1.

4–17
 Time and Timekeeping

4.4.2 Timezones and Time-related Logical Names?

Various logical names are used to manage time and timezones, and
you should avoid direct modification of these logical names as the
implementations are subtle and quick to change. As discussed in section
Section 4.4.3, you will want to use the following command procedure to
maintain the time and the timezone:
• SYS$MANAGER:UTC$TIME_SETUP.COM

If you want to venture into uncharted territories and modify the TDF
used within older releases of TCP/IP Services—within releases prior
V5.0—you can attempt to use the following undocumented commands:
SET TIME/DIFF=[positive or negative TDF integer]
GENERATE TIME
to reset the value of the logical name UCX$TDF.
Prior to OpenVMS V7.3, the command:
$ SETTZ :== $SYS$SYSTEM:DTSS$SET_TIMEZONE
$ SETTZ MODIFY
can be used to modify the settings of the SYS$TIMEZONE_DAYLIGHT_
SAVING, SYS$TIMEZONE_DIFFERENTIAL, and SYS$TIMEZONE_
NAME system logical names based on the SYS$TIMEZONE_RULE.
The following are other TDF-related logical names used/available on
OpenVMS systems, with typical daylight time and standard time settings
for the US Eastern Time (ET) timezone.
$daylight_time:
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE MAIL$TIMEZONE EDT
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE NOTES$TIMEZONE "-0400 EDT"
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE LISP$DAYLIGHT_SAVING_TIME_P true ! Not ’EDT’
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE LISP$TIME_ZONE 05 ! Constant
$
$standard_time:
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE MAIL$TIMEZONE EST
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE NOTES$TIMEZONE "-0500 EST"
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE LISP$DAYLIGHT_SAVING_TIME_P false ! Not ’EST’
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE LISP$TIME_ZONE 05 ! Constant
$
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE UCX$NFS_TIME_DIFFERENTIAL -
’f$integer(f$element(0," ",f$logical("notes$timezone"))/-100)’
For information on modifying these timezone logical names and on
managing the timezone rules, see Section 4.4.1.

4–18
 Time and Timekeeping

4.4.3 How to troubleshoot TDF problems on OpenVMS?

This is an OpenVMS Alpha system prior to V7.0 and the startup is not
invoking the procedure:
SYS$MANAGER:UTC$TIME_SETUP.COM
This is an OpenVMS system prior to V6.0, where there is no OpenVMS
TDF nor UTC available.
The version of the application does not use the OpenVMS TDF. This
includes TCP/IP Services prior to V5.0, applications using HP C built on
or targeting OpenVMS prior to V7.0, and systems using the DECnet-Plus
DTSS mechanisms prior to the release associated with OpenVMS V7.3.
(DCE DTS TDF management details to be determined.)
If you should find either of the following two timezone-related database
files located in SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSEXE]:
• SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSEXE]SYS$TIMEZONE.DAT
• SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSEXE]SYS$TIMEZONE_SRC.DAT

These two files are in an erroneous location and must be recreated in the
correct directory:
SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE]
If the DCL command:
$ DIRECTORY SYS$SYSTEM:SYS$TIMEZONE*.DAT
shows these files in SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSEXE], then delete them and use
SYS$MANAGER:UTC$TIME_SETUP.COM to recreate them.
On OpenVMS versions prior to V7.3, if the file:
$ SYS$STARTUP:DTSS$UTC_STARTUP.COM
is present on your system, then you may need to invoke:
$ @SYS$UPDATE:DTSS$INSTALL_TIMEZONE_RULE.COM
to recreate the timezone files correctly. Invoke this command immediately
after [re]executing SYS$MANAGER:UTC$TIME_SETUP.COM.)
If SYS$UPDATE:DTSS$INSTALL_TIMEZONE_RULE.COM is not
present on your system, then you may need to execute the following
commands:

4–19
 Time and Timekeeping

$ DELETE SYS$STARTUP:DTSS$UTC_STARTUP.COM
$ DEASSIGN/SYSTEM/EXEC SYS$TIMEZONE_RULE.
If your system time is being reported as being off by one hour (or
whatever the local DST change), please see sections Section 4.7,
Section 4.4 and Section 10.22.1.

4.5 Why does the SET TIME command fail? Help managing DTSS?
If you try to set the system time with the SET TIME command, and see
one of the following 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
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-Plus 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-Plus, 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-Plus V6.1 and
earlier. On systems with newer 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:
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:NCL
DISABLE DTSS
DELETE DTSS
This will shutdown DTSS$CLERK. You may then change the system time
as usual. To restart the DTSS software, type
$ @SYS$STARTUP:DTSS$STARTUP
You will need a number of privileges to issue this command, and you must
also be granted the NET$MANAGE identifer to shutdown and to restart
DTSS.

4–20
Time and Timekeeping

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. (On DECnet-Plus V7.3 and later, you can define the logical
name NET$DISABLE_DTSS to disable the DTSS startup. This logical
name must be defined in the command procedure SYLOGICALS.COM,
as this logical name must be present and defined sufficiently early in the
OpenVMS system bootstrap sequence for it to function.)
If DTSS is running and no time servers are configured, you can (and will)
see the following messages at regular intervals:
%%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM 2-SEP-1999 19:41:20.29 %%%%%%%%%%%
Message from user SYSTEM on UNHEDI
Event: Too Few Servers Detected from: Node LOCAL:.mynode DTSS,
at: 1999-09-02-19:41:20.296-04:00Iinf
Number Detected=0,
Number Required=1
eventUid 5FA70F4F-616E-11D3-A80E-08002BBEDB0F
entityUid DE9E97DE-6135-11D3-8004-AA000400BD1B
streamUid D6513A46-6135-11D3-8003-AA000400BD1B
You can either configure the appropriate number of time
servers, or you can disable DTSS, or you can ignore it and (if
OPCOM is set to write to the log via via the logical names
in SYLOGICALS.COM/SYLOGICALS.TEMPLATE) clean out
OPERATOR.LOG regularly.
You can also simply disable the display of these messages:
$ run sys$system:ncl
block event dispatcher outbound stream local_stream -
global filter -
((Node, DTSS), Too Few Servers Detected)
If you wish to disable the automatic TDF adjustment for the daylight
time switch-over (on OpenVMS versions prior to V7.3), you can use the
command:
$ run sys$system:ncl
set dtss automatic TDF change = false
or alternatively, you can set the local timezone to one that does not
include the automatic daylight time change-over.
OpenVMS V7.3 and later simplify time and timezone management.

4–21
 Time and Timekeeping

4.6 Setting time on AlphaServer ES47, ES80, GS1280 console?

To set the base system time on an member of the AlphaServer ES47,
AlphaServer ES80 or AlphaServer GS1280 series system family, you must
access the Platform Management Utility (PMU). The PMU is implemented
within this family of related AlphaServer systems, and is part of a layer
providing services beyond those of the traditional Alpha SRM console
layer, and within a layer architecturally implemented beneath the SRM
console. In particular, the PMU and related management components
are used to provide services across multiple vPars or nPars partitions. In
particular, the SRM obtains and manages the local system time on these
systems as a delta time offset from the underlying base system time.
Neither the SRM console nor OpenVMS directly accesses nor alters the
underlying base system time nor other information maintained within the
PMU layer.
The PMU uses the System Management components, centrally
including the Backplane Manager (MBM) module found in each
drawer, user interface, PCI and CPU management components, and
the interconnections among these provided by the private system
management LAN. When the system has power applied and the main
breakers are on, the MBMs are active.
The PMU offers a command line interface for a serial communications or
telnet connection and allows command and control of the MBM, and of
the server. The PMU and the MBM system management components are
responsible for the following tasks:
• Show the system configuration and provide the basic debugging
capability
• Initiate the firmware update or load the test firmware version
• Power on or off, halt, or reset the system or partition
• The system partitioning and cabling functions
• Displays of the health of hardware environment, including
such constructs as fans, power supplies and environmental and
temperature values.
• Remote server management tasks
• The connection to the virtual SRM console
• Set and show the base system time.

4–22
Time and Timekeeping

You can use the MBM commands SHOW TIME and SET TIME to view
and to manipulate the base system time. The delta time value for the
primary MBM will be indicated, and it is this value in conjunction with
the base time that is used to generate the time available to OpenVMS
via the SRM console. If you issue a SET TIME=time command from
OpenVMS, the delta time will change, but not the MBM base system
time. If you change the MBM base system time, the calculated time
available to OpenVMS via the SRM console(s) will change. (Resetting the
base time thus involves changing the base system time, and then issuing
SET TIME=time command(s) to each of the OpenVMS vPars or nPars
environments to adjust the respective delta time values.) Rebooting,
resetting or issuing an MBM SET TIME will reset the system time.
Typically, you will want to establish the MBM time value once, and
probably setting it to UTC or such, and you will then want to boot each
partition conversationally, setting the SETTIME system parameter to
force the entry of the time within each booting system environment. Once
the MBM time value has been set once, you will typically not want to
alter it again. You will typically want to manage and modify only the
time values within each partition.
The time and data values stored in the primary MBM and replicated
in the zero or more secondary MBMs that might be present within the
system are coordinated.
To enter the PMU from the SRM console, and to exit back to SRM:
MBM - (PMU, Platform Management Utility)
From SRM P00> enter {Esc} {Esc} MBM
CTRL/[ CTRL/[ MBM (MBM must be uppercase)
MBM> connect (to exit to SRM)
The CTRL/[ is the escape character. Use the cited key sequences to enter
the PMU. You can also access the PMU through a modem, or from a
terminal or terminal emulator or terminal server connected to the server
management LAN. Having the server management LAN bridged to an
untrusted LAN can be unwise, however, and with risks analogous to those
of configuring a traditional VAX or Alpha console serial line to an open
terminal server or to a dial-in modem.
See the AlphaServer GS1280 documentation for additional information.

4–23
 Time and Timekeeping

4.7 UTC vs GMT vs vs UT1/UT1/UT2 TDF? What are these acronyms?

The results of an international compromise—though some would say
an international attempt to increase confusion—UTC is refered to as
‘‘Coordinated Universal Time’’ (though not as CUT) in English and
as ‘‘Temps Universel Coordinné’’ (though not as TUC) in French. (No
particular information exists to explain why UTC was chosen over the
equally nonsensical TCU, according to Ulysses T. Clockmeister, one of the
diplomats that helped establish the international compromise.)
Universal Time UT0 is solar time, UT1 is solar time corrected for a wobble
in the Earth’s orbit, and UT2 is UT1 corrected for seasonal rotational
variations in rotation due to the Earth’s solar orbit.
GMT—Greenwich Mean Time—is UT1. GMT is the time at the classic
site of the since-disbanded Royal Greenwich Observatory; at the most
widely-known tourist attraction of Greenwich, England.
UTC is based on an average across multiple atomic clocks, and is kept
within 0.9 seconds of GMT, through the insertion (or removal) of seconds.
In other words, UTC matches GMT plus or minus up to 0.9 seconds, but
UTC is not GMT.
TDF is the Timezone Differential Factor, the interval of time between
the local time and UTC. Areas that celebrate daylight saving time (DST)
will see periodic changes to the TDF value, when the switch-over between
daylight time and standard time occurs. The switch-over itself is entirely
left to local governmental folks, and can and has varied by political entity
and politics, and the switch-over has varied over the years even at the
same location.
If your local OpenVMS system time is off by one hour (or whatever the
local DST change) for some or all applications, you probably need to reset
your local TDF. (For related details, please see sections Section 4.4 and
Section 10.22.1.)
Further discussions of history and politics, the Royal Observers’
outbuildings, and the compromise that left the English with the Time
Standard (the Prime Meridian) and the French with the standards for
Distance and Weight (the Metric System) are left to other sources. Some
of these other sources include the following URLs:
• ftp://elsie.nci.nih.gov/pub/
• http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/time.html
• http://nist.time.gov/

4–24
 Time and Timekeeping

4.8 Using w32time or an SNTP as a time provider?

No standards-compliant NTP or SNTP server is reportedly capable of
synchronizing with the Microsoft Windows w32time services.
Further, NTP clients are not generally capable of synchronizing with an
SNTP server.
Open Source (Free) NTP servers (qv: OpenNTP) are available for
Microsoft Windows platforms, and TCP/IP Services and third-party
packages all provide NTP servers for OpenVMS, and NTP and SNTP
clients can synchronize with these srvers.

4–25
5 System Management Information

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
5.1 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’’ (UWSS) 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.

5–1
 System Management Information

5.2 Are there any known viruses for OpenVMS?

Viruses and worms are common on personal computers because the
operating systems involved, such as the Microsoft MS-DOS, Windows 95,
Windows 98 and Windows ME variants, do not particularly protect the
operating system or the file system against hostile action by programs.
Microsoft Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP do implement
protections for specific configurations and do implement memory
protection models, but many users of these systems choose to operate
with full adminstrator access and thus the available protections are
entirely defeated and entirely not relevent, and any program that can
activate itself or can cause the user to activate the code can subvert
the operating system and take over the hardware, at which point the
malicious code can do most anything it wishes, including hiding copies of
itself in other programs or in the file system, redistributing itself via mail,
IM, or network connections, or can be used as a zombie in staging attacks
on other systems.
This is less likely with multi-user systems such as OpenVMS, Unix,
Linux, MVS and other platforms for various reasons. First, the operating
system runs in a privileged mode in memory that is protected against
modification by normal user programs. Any program cannot simply
take over the hardware as it can on operating systems without security
and particularly without memory page protections. Secondly, multi-
user systems can be set up so that non-privileged programs cannot
modify system programs and files on disk, and this is normal for most
installations. Both of these protection schemes mean that traditional
viral infections don’t work on these OSes. Third, typical applications and
configurations tend to prevent the uncontrolled execution of untrusted
code as part of received mail messages or web access; one of the
central vulnerabilities of the Microsoft Windows platform involves its
intentionally easy ability to dynamically (and transparently) activate code
and macros that are embedded within mail messages and within data
files.
It is possible for OpenVMS and other multi-user systems to become
infected by viruses or worms, but to do so, the program containing the
virus must be run from a user account that has amplified privileges. So
long as the system administrator is careful that only trusted applications
are run from such accounts (and this is generally the case) and so long
as there are no OpenVMS system security breaches (due to malicious
operator activity, OpenVMS errors, or errors within trusted and privileged
product packages) there is no of modifications to the operating system or
other protected files from the virus or the worm.

5–2
 System Management Information

The FAQ maintainer is aware of a few (and very old) DECnet worms that
have affected OpenVMS systems on DECnet networks (‘‘WANK’’ was one),
but is aware of no OpenVMS viruses that are loose in the field.
To protect against viruses and other attempts at system interference or
misuse, please follow the security recommendations in the OpenVMS
Guide to System Security. Additionally, you will want to keep your
OpenVMS ECOs current and you will want to apply all mandatory ECO
kits and any security MUPs for OpenVMS and OpenVMS products, and
you will want to keep to OpenVMS releases with Prior Version Support
(PVS) or with Current Version Support. (This is obviously a general
system maintenance recommendation, in addition to being a good system
security recommendation—new security features and capabilities are
implemented in more recent OpenVMS releases, for instance. Details on
PVS releases are available over in Section 5.10.6.) You may also want to
consider optional software products which can monitor your system for
intrusion or infection attempts. Computer Associates (CA) offers various
products in this area, as to other vendors.
Rocksoft offers the Veracity data integrity tool (for info, send mail to
[email protected]). MD5 tools are also available; see Section 5.30 for
details on MD5.
Tools to scan OpenVMS file systems for Microsoft Windows infections
are and have been available, including a commercial package
from Sophos , and a port of the open source Clam Antivirus
scanner at http://www.clamav.net/ and with an OpenVMS port at
http://fafner.dyndns.org/~alexey/clamav.zip.
These scanning tools are particularly useful for systems running Samba
or Advanced Server (PATHWORKS), as these servers tend to have a
higher population of files intended for Microsoft Windows systems users,
and as common virus and worm attacks can find and infect files on the
file shares that these products can provide. These infections do not target
OpenVMS itself, though the OpenVMS server (and any other platform
and any other server capable of storing files for Windows systems) can
silently host files containing common Microsoft Windows infections.

5.3 Sources of OpenVMS security information?

Where can I get information on OpenVMS system security?
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/doc
• http://www.blacksheepnetworks.com/security/resources/openvms/

5–3
 System Management Information

5.4 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-9660 kit was also available for OpenVMS VAX V5.5, V5.5-
1, V5.5-2, and V5.5-2H4. This requires the installation of the F11CD kit
from the InfoServer CD, from the Consolidated Distribution CD under the
InfoServer area, or the F11CD ECO kit. (Upgrades to V6 and later are
strongly recommended.)
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.

5–4
 System Management Information

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.
For details on ODS-1 and ODS-2 file specifications, see Kirby McCoy’s
VMS File System Internals Manual (published by Digital Press, but
potentially out of print), and see:
• http://pdp-11.trailing-edge.com/www/ods1.txt
• Look for the Freeware V5.0 directory ODS2 at
http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/

5.5 How do I extract the contents of a PCSI kit?

A growing number of OpenVMS products are being provided in PCSI
(POLYCENTER Software Installation) kits which are installed using the
PRODUCT INSTALL command. These are alternatives to or replacement
for VMSINSTAL kits which were BACKUP savesets. PCSI kits are not
BACKUP savesets and are structured differently from VMSINSTAL kits.
If you want to extract product files from a PCSI kit, create a directory
into which the kit should be expanded and use the following command:
$ PRODUCT COPY prodname /SOURCE=[where-the-kit-is] -
/DEST=[destination-directory] /FORMAT=REFERENCE
A PCSI kit file has a file specification of the following form:
DEC-VAXVMS-FORTRAN-V0603-141-1.PCSI
In this example, ‘‘FORTRAN’’ is the ‘‘prodname’’. PCSI will expand the
kit files into the directory you specify and subdirectories beneath such
as [SYSEXE], [SYSLIB], etc., reflecting the eventual destination of files
found there. Most of the actual product files (images, etc.) will be in the
subdirectories. In the top-level directory will be a file with the file type
PCSI$DESCRIPTION that specifies where various files should go. For
more details, see the POLYCENTER Software Installation Developer’s
Guide for OpenVMS, which can be found in the OpenVMS documentation
on the Consolidated Online Documentation CD-ROM.

5–5
 System Management Information

5.6 Emergency (Conversational) System Startup?

If you need to perform system management operations on an OpenVMS
system and cannot access the system through normal means—the
password on the SYSTEM username was forgetten and no other
privileged usernames are available, or one or more core system product
authorization key (PAK) software licenses are unavailable or expired—
then you must perform a conversational (emergency) bootstrap.
Here are the steps:
1 Halt the system. Exactly how this is done depends on the specific
system model: Depending on the model, this can involve pressing the
HALT button, entering CTRL/P on the console, or pressing the BREAK key

on the console.
2 At the console prompt, use a console command to boot into the
SYSBOOT utility. (SYSBOOT allows conversational changes to
system parameters.) (The console syntax for the conversational
bootstrap varies by system model and by system architecture—
this typically involves specifying a flag with the lowest bit set. See
Section 14.3.5 for related details.) For example:
On VAX, use one of the following three commands depending on the
particular model of VAX system involved:
B/R5:1
B/1
@GENBOO
On Alpha:
b -flags 0,1
If your system has a non-zero system root (such as root SYSE, shown
here), you will have to use a console command such as the following:
On VAX:
B/E0000001
B/R5:E0000001
@<console media procedure name varies widely>
On Alpha:
b -flags e,1

5–6
System Management Information

On the IA-64 architecture systems, you can establish and manage

an EFI boot alias for a conversational bootstrap as discussed
in Section 14.3.5.1 and in Section 14.3.10, or you can use VMS_
LOADER.EFI interactively as shown here. Of the core mechanisms
discussed in Section 14.3.5.1, the following uses an EFI Shell
command to perform a conversational bootstrap of root SYSE via
the partition device fsn:. There are alternative mechanisms available.
fsn:\efi\vms\vms_loader.efi -flags e,1
If your Alpha system has a hardware password (various systems
support a password that prevents unauthorized access to the console),
you will need to know theis password and will need to enter it
using the LOGIN or similar command at the console. If you get
an ‘‘Inv Cmd’’ error trying to perform a conversational bootstrap,
and you do not have the hardware console password for the console
LOGIN command, you are stuck—you will need to call for hardware
service for assistance in resetting the hardware console password.
The implementation and the syntax used for the console password
mechanism does vary by implementation.
3 Once at the SYSBOOT prompt, request that OpenVMS read the
system startup commands directly from the system console, that the
window system (if any) not be started, and that OpenVMS not record
these particular parameter changes for subsequent system reboots:
SET/STARTUP OPA0:
SET WINDOW_SYSTEM 0
SET WRITESYSPARAMS 0
CONTINUE
4 At the $ prompt, the system will now be accepting startup commands
directly from the console. Type the following two DCL commands:
$ SPAWN
$ @SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP
5 You should now see the dollar ($) prompt of DCL.
The result of these two commands will be the normal system startup,
but you will be left logged in on the console, running under a fully
privileged username. Without the use of the SPAWN command, you
would be logged out when the startup completes.
Perform the task(s) required, such as resetting the password on the
SYSTEM username as described in Section 5.6.1 or registering one
or more license product authorization keys (PAKs) as described in
Section 5.6.2.

5–7
System Management Information

6 Once you log out of this session, the system will complete the startup
and can be used normally. You can choose to reboot the system, but
that is not necessary.

Some system managers will suggest a method using the UAFALTERNATE

system parameter rather than the SET/STARTUP OPA0: command
shown. This approach is not always available and is accordingly less
commonly recommended, as there can easily be an alternate user
authorization database (SYS$SYSTEM:SYSUAFALT.DAT) configured
on the system. With a system manager that has configured an alternate
SYSUAFALT.DAT file, the UAFALTERNATE method will fail—well,
assuming you do not know the password of a privileged username stored
within SYSUAFALT.DAT, of course.
The UAFALTERNATE system parameter is used to trigger what is
sometimes known as the console backdoor. The OPA0: system console is
critical to system operations and system security, and will allow access
when the SYSUAF system authorization database is unavailable or
corrupted, when core product license PAKs are not registered, expired
or disabled (NOLICENSE errors), or in various other cases of system
failures. All this is in addition to the role of the console in the display of
certain system-critical event messages. Access to the OPA0: console has a
security exposure that is equivalent to direct access to the system hardware.
When LOGINOUT detects an error (such as a SYSUAF corruption,
by a missing SYSUAF, missing product licenses, or other trigger),
it will prevent access to the OpenVMS system from all terminals
except the system console. The OPA0: system console will be allowed
access, and the resulting process will be fully privileged. Resetting the
UAFALTERNATE system parameter—in the absence of an alternate
SYSUAF system authorization database—will cause the console
backdoor to be opened simply because LOGINOUT cannot locate
SYS$SYSTEM:SYSUAFALT.DAT. When the authorization database
cannot be located, access will be granted from the console only.
For further information on emergency startup and shutdown, as well as
for the official OpenVMS documentation on how to change the SYSTEM
password from the console in an emergency, please see the OpenVMS
System Manager’s Manual in the OpenVMS documentation set.
For information and recommendations on setting up OpenVMS system
security, please see the NCSC Class C2 appendix of the Guide to
OpenVMS System Security manual, also in the OpenVMS documentation
set.

5–8
 System Management Information

You can also use the conversational bootstrap technique shown earlier
(the steps until SET/STARTUP) to alter various system parameters, as
well. At the SYSBOOT prompt, you can enter new parameters values:
SHOW MAXPROCESSCNT
SET . 64
CONTINUE
The . is a shorthand notation used for the last parameter examined within
SYSGEN and SYSBOOT.

5.6.1 I’ve forgotten the SYSTEM password - what can I do?

If you have forgotten or do not have the password for the SYSTEM
username, you must perform the conversational bootstrap as described
in Section 5.6, and must enter the following commands once you have
reached the dollar ($) prompt:
$ SET DEFAULT SYS$SYSTEM: ! or wherever your SYSUAF.DAT resides
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:AUTHORIZE
MODIFY SYSTEM /PASSWORD=newpassword
EXIT
You have now reset the password on the SYSTEM username.

5.6.2 My product licenses have expired - what can I do?

If you have a system with no licenses for OpenVMS or for OpenVMS users
and thus cannot log into the OpenVMS system normally, you should be
able to log into the console serial terminal—this is the terminal device
known as OPA0:—and perform the commands necessary.
For systems that are not configured with an accessable console serial
terminal—as can be the case with how some DECwindows workstations
are configured—you must log in over the network or from a local serial
connection. If you cannot log in over a network connection (SET HOST,
telnet, etc) or from another local serial terminal connection, you will have
to halt the system and perform a conversational bootstrap as described
in Section 5.6. You must then enter licensing-related commands once the
conversational bootstrap has reached the dollar ($) prompt.
Use the following DCL command to invoke a menu that allows you to
manage and to register new or replacement license PAKs:
$ @SYS$UPDATE:VMSLICENSE

5–9
 System Management Information

You have now registered the license PAKs. Direct use of the DCL
commands LICENSE and SHOW LICENSE and such is also obviously
available.
If you wish to connect a serial console on your DECwindows workstation,
please see Section 14.3.3.3, Section 14.3.6, Section 11.10, and
Section 14.17.
For information on troubleshooting DECwindows, please see Section 11.5.

5.7 How do I change the node name of an OpenVMS System?

The first step is to get a BACKUP of the system disk before making
any changes—use the system disk backup procedures as documented
in the OpenVMS System Management Manual, making sure to use the
procedures and commands appropriate for the system disk.
Changing the node name involves a number of steps—the node name
tends to be imbedded in a number of different data files around the
system.
• 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$CONFIGURE is the DECnet-Plus tool.)
• Modify the host node name on the various queues in the queue
database. (each queue has a host name, and it defaults to the
SCS node name of the queue’s host system. See the command
INIT/QUEUE/ON=node for information.) Site-specific startup
command procedures can explicitly specify the (local or even the
current) node on the /ON parameter in an INIT/QUEUE/START/ON=
command.
• Modify the node name saved in any application databases, or any local
node-conditional operations present in the site-specific system startup,
etc. (SEARCH for the node name, specifying all types of files.)
• Use the AUTHORIZE utility command RENAME/IDENTIFIER to
rename the SYS$NODE_oldnodename rightslist identifier to match
the new node name. (Do not change the binary value of this identifier,
and do not delete the identifier.)

5–10
System Management Information

If you have erroneously deleted or duplicate the identifier, you can

locate existing references to the binary identifier value using the
Freeware DFU package, and specifically the commands SEARCH/ACE
and /OWNER. You must (re)create the correctly-named identifier
using the binary value that is often stored in various Access Control
List Entry (ACE) structures and object owner fields associated with
files and objects present in the OpenVMS system.
• 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 Section 5.13.
• Reboot the node or—if in a VMScluster—reboot the whole VMScluster.
(This tends to catch any errors immediately.)
• Modify the IP node name. (The TCP/IP Services tool is UCX$CONFIG
prior to V5.0, and is TCPIP$CONFIG in V5.0 and later releases.)
Note that TCP/IP Services ties the IP host name to the current
SCSNODE value within its UCX$CONFIGURATION.DAT or
TCPIP$CONFIGURATION.DAT database. Thus if SCSNODE is
changed, the IP host name reconfiguration must occur, and the
required reconfiguration can occur only after a system reboot.
Accordingly, it is best to perform the TCP/IP Services host name
reconfiguration step after the reboot.

There are likely a few other areas where the nodename will be stored.
Local procedures and data files are one such example, and various sites
will have the system name loaded in the operator control panel via the
OCP_TEXT console environment variable available at the SRM prompt on
some Alpha systems is another.
If the system is configured in a VMScluster and you change either the
SCSNODE or the SCSSYSTEMID—but not both values—then you will
have to reboot the entire VMScluster. (The VMScluster remembers the
mapping between these two values, and will assume that a configuration
problem has occured if a mismatched pair appears, and will refuse to let a
node with a mismatched pair join the VMScluster.)
To calculate the correct SCSSYSTEMID value, multiply the DECnet
Phase IV area number by 1024, and add the DECnet Phase IV node
number. For example, the SCSSYSTEMID value for a DECnet node with
address 19.22 is 19478. ((19 * 1024) + 22 = 19478)
This may well have missed one or two configuration tools (or more!) that
are needed at your site—the node name tends to get stored all over the
place, in layered products, and in local software...
5–11
 System Management Information

Also see Section 15.6.3 and Section 15.6.4.

5.8 Why doesn’t OpenVMS see the new memory I just added?
When adding memory to an OpenVMS system, you should check
for an existing definition of the PHYSICALPAGES (OpenVMS
VAX) or PHYSICAL_MEMORY (OpenVMS Alpha) parameter in the
SYS$SYSTEM:MODPARAMS.DAT parameter database, use a text editor
to reset the value in the file to the new correct value as required, and
then perform the following command:
$ @SYS$UPDATE:AUTOGEN GETDATA REBOOT FEEDBACK
This AUTOGEN command will reset various system parameters based
on recent system usage (FEEDBACK), and it will reset the value for the
PHYSICALPAGES parameter to the new value. It will also reboot the
OpenVMS system.
PHYSICALPAGES and PHYSICAL_MEMORY can also be used to
deliberately lower the amount of memory available for use by OpenVMS.
This ability can be useful in a few specific circumstances, such as testing
the behaviour of an application in a system environment with a particular
(lower) amount of system memory available.
PHYSICALPAGES and PHYSICAL_MEMORY can be set to -1 (on
OpenVMS Alpha) or (better and simpler) the entry can be removed
from the MODPARAMS.DAT file, to indicate that all available memory
should be used.

5.9 How do I change the text in a user’s UIC identifier?

The text translations of the numeric User Identification Code (UIC) are
based on identifiers present in the OpenVMS rightslist. Documentation
on this area is included in the _Guide to OpenVMS System Security_
manual.
To control the identifiers shown for a user’s UIC, you use AUTHORIZE.
Each user has an associated group identifier, and an identifier specific to
the user. And each user should have a unique UIC.
To alter the text of a user or group identifier, use commands such as:
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:AUTHORIZE
UAF> rename/ident oldgroupid newgroupid
UAF> rename/ident olduserid newuserid

5–12
 System Management Information

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.

5.10 What are the OpenVMS version upgrade paths?

5.10.1 OpenVMS Alpha Upgrade (or Update) Paths
Note
Upgrade path information here has occasionally been
found to be wrong. Information here does not reflect
cluster rolling upgrade requirements; see Section 5.10.4 for
related rolling upgrade information; versions permissible
for rolling upgrades can be and often are more constrained.
When upgrade information here conflicts with the official
documentation, please assume that the information here
is wrong. Corrections and updates to this material are
welcome.

5–13
System Management Information

From V1.0,
you can upgrade to V1.5.
From V1.5, or V1.5-1H1,
you can upgrade to V6.1.
From V6.1,
you can upgrade to V6.2.
From V6.1, or V6.2,
you can upgrade to V7.0.
From V6.1, V6.2, V6.2-1H(1,2,3), or V7.0,
you can upgrade to V7.1.
From V6.2,
you can update to V6.2-1H1, V6.2-1H2, or V6.2-1H3.
From V6.2, V6.2-1H(1,2,3), V7.1, V7.1-1H(1,2), or V7.2,
to V7.2-1.
From V6.2, ... or V7.2,
to V7.2-1H1, to 7.3.
From V7.1, you can update to V7.1-1H(1,2), ...
to V7.2-1H1, to 7.3.
From 7.2, 7.2-1, 7.2-1H1, 7.2-2, 7.3 or 7.3-1,
you can upgrade to V7.3-2
From V7.3, V7.2-2, V7.2-1H1, V7.2-1, and V7.1-2,
you can upgrade to V7.3-1
From V7.3-1,
you can upgrade to V7.3-2 or to V8.2.
From V7.3-1 or V7.3-2,
you can upgrade to V8.2.
From V7.3-2 or V8.2,
you can upgrade to V8.3.
Some typical OpenVMS Alpha upgrade (or update) paths are:
V1.0 -> V1.5 -> V6.1 -> (V6.2, V7.0, V7.1, V7.2, V7.3)
V1.5-1H1 -> V6.1 -> (V6.2, V7.0, V7.1, V7.2, V7.3)
V6.2 -> V6.2-1H3
V6.2 -> V7.2-1
V6.2 -> V7.3
V6.2-1H(1,2,3) -> V7.1
V6.2-1H(1,2,3) -> V7.2-1
V6.2 through 7.1-1H2 inclusive -> V7.3
V7.1 -> V7.1-2
V7.1 -> V7.2-1
V7.1-1H(1,2) -> V7.1-2
V7.1-1H(1,2) -> V7.2-1
V7.1-2 -> V7.3-1
V7.2 -> V7.2-1H1
V7.2 -> V7.3 -> V7.3-1
V7.2-1 -> (V7.3, V7.3-1)
V7.2-2 -> (V7.3, V7.3-1, V7.3-2)
V7.3 -> (V7.3-1, V7.3-2)
V7.3-1 -> (V7.3-2, V8.2)
V7.3-2 -> (V8.2, V8.3)

5–14
 System Management Information

Note that OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 does not include support for hardware
and/or configurations first supported in OpenVMS Alpha V6.2-1H1,
V6.2-1H2, or V6.2-1H3; one must upgrade to OpenVMS Alpha V7.1, or
later.
One cannot update directly to a V6.2-1Hx Limited Hardware Release
(LHR) from any release prior to the baseline V6.2 release. The same
prohibition holds for performing updates directly to V7.1-1Hx from any
release prior to V7.1—this is not supported, and does not produce the
expected results. The LHR kits can, however, be directly booted and can
be directly installed, without regard to any operating system that might
be present on the target disk.
Users of OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-1H1, V7.1-1H2, V7.2-1H1 or other
hardware are encouraged to upgrade to the next available non-hardware-
release, and should preferably upgrade to the current or to a supported
OpenVMS Alpha release.
OpenVMS Alpha updates for LHRs (through V7.1-1Hx) require the use
of VMSINSTAL for the update. These LHR releases use PCSI for the
installation, but not for the update. Non-LHR releases use PCSI for
installs and upgrades.
OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later use PCSI for LHRs and for OpenVMS
upgrades and for all OpenVMS ECO kit installations; V7.1-2 and later use
upgrades and not updates. VMSINSTAL OpenVMS ECO kits (updates)
are not used on OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later; prior to V7.1-2,
VMSINSTAL-based ECO (update) kits are used for OpenVMS.

5.10.2 OpenVMS I64 Upgrade Paths

Note
Upgrade path information here has occasionally been
found to be wrong. Information here does not reflect
cluster rolling upgrade requirements; see Section 5.10.4 for
related rolling upgrade information; versions permissible
for rolling upgrades can be and often are more constrained.
When upgrade information here conflicts with the official
documentation, please assume that the information here
is wrong. Corrections and updates to this material are
welcome.

5–15
 System Management Information

From V8.2,
you can upgrade to V8.2-1 or V8.3
From V8.2-1,
you can upgrade to V8.3
Some typical OpenVMS I64 upgrade (or update) paths are:
V8.2 -> V8.2-1 -> V8.3
OpenVMS I64 V8.2 is the first production release. OpenVMS I64 V8.0
and V8.1 were intended for early adopters of OpenVMS on Integrity
servers, and are not considered to be production releases.
To utilize OpenVMS I64 V8.2, you must perform a full installation of V8.2.
No supported upgrade path to V8.2 is available from previous releases;
there is no upgrade from OpenVMS I64 E8.2, nor from the earlier V8.1 or
V8.0 releases.

5.10.3 OpenVMS VAX Release Upgrade Paths

Note
Upgrade path information here has occasionally been
found to be wrong. Information here does not reflect
cluster rolling upgrade requirements; see Section 5.10.4 for
related rolling upgrade information; versions permissible
for rolling upgrades can be and often are more constrained.
When upgrade information here conflicts with the official
documentation, please assume that the information here
is wrong. Corrections and updates to this material are
welcome.
From V5.0 through V5.4-3 inclusive, one can upgrade to V5.5.
From V5.5, V5.5-1, or V5.5-2HW, one can upgrade to V5.5-2.
From V5.5, V5.5-1, or V5.5-2, one can upgrade to V6.0.
From V5.5-2, V5.5-2H4, or V6.0, one can upgrade to V6.1.
From V6.0, or V6.1, one can upgrade to V6.2.
From V6.1, or V6.2, one can upgrade to V7.0.
From V6.1, V6.2, or V7.0, one can upgrade to V7.1.
From V6.1, one can upgrade to V7.3 (with VAXBACK ECO for V6.1).
Some typical OpenVMS VAX upgrade paths are:
V5.x -> V5.5 -> V6.0 -> V6.2 -> (V7.1, V7.2, V7.3)
V5.5-2HW -> V5.5-2
V5.5-2, or V5.5-2H4 -> V6.1 -> (V6.2, V7.0, or V7.1)
V6.1 -> V6.1 with VAXBACK ECO -> (V7.2, V7.3)
V6.2 -> V7.2
V6.2 -> V7.3

5–16
 System Management Information

Note that OpenVMS VAX V6.0 does not include support for hardware
and/or configurations first added in OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2H4, one must
upgrade to OpenVMS VAX V6.1.
Note that OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2HW is a pre-release version of V5.5-2.
Any system running it should be upgraded to V5.5-2, or later.
If you attempt a direct upgrade from OpenVMS VAX V6.1 to V7.2 or later
without having first applied the VAXBACK ECO kit to your V6.1 system,
you will receive an error message:
%BACKUP-E-INVRECTYP, invalid record type in save set
and the upgrade will fail. Acquire and apply the VAXBACK ECO kit for
OpenVMS VAX V6.1. OpenVMS VAX V6.2 and later do not require an
application of an ECO for an upgrade to V7.2 and later.

5.10.4 OpenVMS Cluster Rolling Upgrade Paths

Rolling Upgrades permit the OpenVMS Cluster and the applications to
remain available while individual systems are being upgraded to a new
OpenVMS release.
Rolling Upgrades require multiple system disks.
OpenVMS Cluster Rolling Upgrades for OpenVMS Alpha, OpenVMS I64
and OpenVMS VAX may (will) have architecture-specific, or additional
upgrade requirements or prerequisites, and have requirements around
which versions and architectures of OpenVMS can coexist within a
OpenVMS Cluster than what are listed here.
For specific details on Rolling Upgrades, please see the OpenVMS
Upgrade and Installation Manual for the particular release, and the
OpenVMS Software Product Descriptions for OpenVMS and for OpenVMS
Cluster software:
• http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx, and SPD
82.35.xx.

for further details on the Rolling Upgrade, and for support information.

5–17
 System Management Information

5.10.5 OpenVMS VAX Manual Organization

The documentation for older releases of OpenVMS VAX was comprised of
various platform-specific manuals, manuals that include instructions that
are specific to installing and upgrading on the particular VAX platform.
These older manuals can be useful for learning platform- or console-
specific operations or requirements for the particular (and older) VAX
platform.
There is far less console command syntax, and console storage media
variability, among the more recent Alpha and Integrity processors.
The newer platform operator and management interfaces are far more
consistent across the platform lines.

5.10.6 OpenVMS Product Version and Support Information

For information on Prior Version Support (PVS) and Mature Product
Support (including information on support end dates for OpenVMS and
various layered products), please see the support resources link available
at the main OpenVMS website or the services links available at the main
services website:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/
• http://www.hp.com/go/services

And see the following links, with the caveat that the direct ‘‘/hps’’ links
shown here may become stale:
• http://www.hp.com/hps/os/os_pvs.html
• http://www.hp.com/hps/os/os_ovms.html

For information on the supported and required versions of layered

products, and the minimum required layered product versions for
various configurations, please see the Software Rollout Report (SWROLL),
available at:
• http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/os/swroll/

For additional related information, see Section 2.6.1.

For information on the release history of OpenVMS, including information
on the code names of various releases and the major features:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/os/openvms-release-
history.html

5–18
 System Management Information

Additional release history information, as well as a variety of other trivia,

is available in the VAX 20th anniversary book:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/20th/vmsbook.pdf

5.10.7 OpenVMS Alpha and I64 Upgrade Terminology

OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64 use the POLYCENTER Software
Product Install Utility, occasionly refered to as SPIU and rather more
commonly known as PCSI. PCSI is a component of the OpenVMS
operating system, and is available on OpenVMS VAX, OpenVMS Alpha,
and OpenVMS I64.
The following terms apply to OpenVMS Alpha and to OpenVMS I64
Upgrades and Installations using PCSI:
• UPDATE: Typically used for Limited Hardware Releases (LHR)
releases. Performed via VMSINSTAL. Applies only to the OpenVMS
release that the LHR is based on, or to an intermediate LHR. (eg:
V7.1-1H2 applies only to V7.1-1H1 and to V7.1, not to any other
releases.) LHRs within a series are cumulative, containing all files
and features of previous LHRs in the same series.
VMSINSTAL-based Updates and VMSINSTAL-based ECO kits are not
generally used to upgrade OpenVMS on releases of OpenVMS Alpha
V7.1-2 and later, nor are thse used on OpenVMS I64; only PCSI-based
Upgrades and Installs are used. VMSINSTAL remains available
for other uses and other products; for upgrades and installations of
products other than OpenVMS itself.
• UPGRADE: Performed via PCSI. Upgrades can typically be applied
directly to a release-specific range of earlier OpenVMS releases. The
product release documentation specifies the prior OpenVMS releases;
if your release is not one of the specified releases, you will have
to perform one or more additional upgrades (through intermediate
OpenVMS releases) to reach one of the prerequisite releases.
• 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.

5–19
 System Management Information

• 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.
You will not generally want to continue using an LHR once a
subsequent OpenVMS release is available; you will want to upgrade
off the LHR at your earliest convenience.

For minimum OpenVMS versions for various platforms, see Section 2.12.

5.11 Why do I have a negative number in the pagefile reservable pages?

Seeing a negative number in the reservable pages portion of the SHOW
MEMORY/FULL command can be normal and expected, and is (even)
documented behaviour. A pagefile with a negative number of reservable
pages is overcommitted, which is generally goodness assuming that every
process with reserved pages does not try to occupy all of the reserved
pagefile space at the same time.
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.

5–20
 System Management Information

Additional pagefile information: Additional pagefiles can typically be

created and connected on a running OpenVMS system. New processes
and new applications will tend to use the new pagefile, and existing
applications can be restarted to migrate out of the more congested
pagefiles. Pagefiles are generally named PAGEFILE.SYS, and multiple
pagefiles are generally configured on separate disk spindles to spread the
paging I/O load across the available disk storage. When multiple pagefiles
are present on recent OpenVMS versions, each pagefile file should be
configured to be approximately the same total size as the other pagefiles.
For additional information on pagefile operations and related commands,
see the system management and performance management manuals in
the OpenVMS documentation set.
With OpenVMS V7.3 and later, the displays have been changed and these
negative values are no longer visible.

5.12 Do I have to update layered products when updating OpenVMS?

The Software Public Rollout Reports for OpenVMS list the current and
future availability of HP software products shipping on the OpenVMS
Software Products Library kits (CDROM consolidations) for OpenVMS
Alpha and/or OpenVMS VAX. Specifically, the required minimum versions
for product support are listed.
Comprehensive Public Rollout Information, listing previous product
versions as well as currently shipping versions, has been compiled into
a separate set of reports. The product information is grouped to show
Operating System support.
You may or may not be able to use older versions of local applications,
third-party products, and various HP OpenVMS layered products with
more recent versions of OpenVMS. User-mode code is expected to be
upward compatible. Code executing in a privileged processor mode—
typically either executive or kernel mode—may or may not be compatible
with more recent OpenVMS versions.
These Software Rollout (SWROLL) Reports are updated regularly. Please
see:
• http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/os/swroll/

For related information, see Section 2.6.1.

5–21
 System Management Information

5.13 How do I change the volume label of a disk?

Dismount the disk, and mount it privately. If the disk is mounted by more
than one node in an OpenVMS Cluster, dismount it from all other nodes.
If this disk is an OpenVMS system disk, shut down all other nodes that
are bootstrapped from this disk.
Issue the SET VOLUME/LABEL command, specifying the new label.
On OpenVMS V6.0 and later, issue the following PCSI command to reset
the label information stored within the PCSI database to reflect the new
disk volume label:
$ PRODUCT REGISTER VOLUME old-label device
Locate any references in the system startup (typically including the disk
MOUNT commands) and any DISK$label references in application files,
and change the references appropriately.
If this is a system disk (for the host or for a satellite), also check the
DECnet MOP or LANCP boot database, as well as any references to the
disk created by CLUSTER_CONFIG*.COM.
If Compaq Analyze is in use, check the system startup procedures for the
Compaq Analyze tool. Certain versions of Compaq Analyze will record
specific disk volume labels within the startup procedures.
Remount the disk appropriately.

5.14 How can I set up a shared directory?

To set up a shared directory—where all files created in the directory are
accessible to the members of specified group of users—you can use an
access control list (ACL) and an identifier.
The following also shows how to set up a resource identifier, which
further allows the disk resources to be charged to the specified identifier
rather than each individual user. (If you don’t want this, then omit the
attributes option on the identifier creation and omit the entry added in
the disk quota database.
Add an identifier using the AUTHORIZE utility:
ADD/IDENTIFER/ATTRIBUTES=RESOURCE groupidentifier
Grant the identifier to each user in the group using AUTHORIZE:
GRANT/IDENTIFIER groupidentifier username

5–22
 System Management Information

If disk quotas are in use, add an entry via SYSMAN for each disk:
DISKQUOTA ADD groupidentifier -
/PERMQUOTA=pq/OVERDRAFT=od/DEVICE=ddcu:
Set the shared directory to have an ACL similar to the following using
the SET SECURITY (V6.0 and later) or SET ACL (versions prior to V6.0)
command:
(DEFAULT_PROTECTION,S:RWED,O:RWED,G,W)
(IDENTIFIER=groupidentifier,OPTIONS=DEFAULT,-
ACCESS=READ+WRITE+EXECUTE+DELETE)
(IDENTIFIER=groupidentifier, -
ACCESS=READ+WRITE+EXECUTE+DELETE)
(CREATOR,ACCESS=READ+WRITE+ACCESS+DELETE)
If there are files already resident in the directory, set their protections
similarly. (The OPTIONS=DEFAULT, DEFAULT_PROTECTION, and
CREATOR ACEs apply to directories.)
The default protection mask is used to establish the default file protection
mask, this mask does not prevent the users holding the specified
groupidentifier from accessing the file(s), as they can access the file
via the explicit identifier granting access that is present in the ACL.
For further information, see the OpenVMS Guide to System Security
Manual, specifically the sections on ACLs and identifiers, and resource
identifiers.

5.15 Why do I get extra blank pages on my HP Printer?

For information on configuring telnet print symbiont, on device control
libraries such as SYSDEVCTL.TLB, and for ways of dealing with the
extra blank pages that can arise on various HP printers, please see the
OpenVMS Ask The Wizard area, starting particularly with topic (1020):
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.
There are a variety of discussions of this and of related printing topics in
the Ask The Wizard area, in addition to topic (1020).
Also see Section 5.34.

5–23
 System Management Information

5.16 Drivers and Configuration of New Graphics Controllers?

This section contains information on various graphics controllers
supported by OpenVMS Alpha, and specifically information on where and
how to obtain device drivers for specific early OpenVMS releases— device
drivers for controllers are integrated into and shipped with OpenVMS
Alpha, but versions of these device drivers are sometimes made available
for specific earlier OpenVMS releases.

5.16.1 The ELSA GLoria Synergy

On OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2, V7.2, and V7.2-1, acquire the appropriate
GRAPHICS PCSI kit, and all prerequisite OpenVMS ECO kits:
• VMS712_GRAPHICS-V0300 or later
• VMS72_GRAPHICS-V0100 or later
• VMS712_GRAPHICS-V0300 or later

The ELSA GLoria Synergy is the PBXGK-BB; the PowerStorm 3D10T.

Please ensure you have the most current ECOs for this and other graphics
controllers installed; check for and install the current GRAPHICS kit.
(See Section 4.3.2 for some unexpectedly related details.)
On OpenVMS Alpha V7.2-1, the files necessary for this graphics controller
are located in the distribution CD-ROM directory:
DISK$ALPHA0721:[ELSA.KIT]
Also check for any available (later) ECO kits.
An earlier kit (ALP4D20T01_071) (for V7.1, V7.1-1H1, and V7.1-1H2) was
once available, but has been superceded and is not recommended. Use of
V7.1-2 or later (and use of one the above GRAPHICS kits as required) is
typically the best approach.
OpenVMS V7.2-2 and later mainline releases directly support the
controller.
Additional information is available in topics (3419) and (5448) in the Ask
The Wizard area:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

5–24
 System Management Information

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.
Support for the ELSA GLoria Synergy is integrated into all current
OpenVMS Alpha releases.

5.16.2 PowerStorm 300, PowerStorm 350

The PowerStorm 300 is the PBXGD-AC, while the PowerStorm 350 is the
PBXGD-AE.
For support of the PowerStorm 300 and PowerStorm 350 graphics
controllers, acquire and install the following available ECO kits:
For OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2:
• DEC-AXPVMS-VMS712_P350-V0100–4 or later
• DEC-AXPVMS-VMS712_GRAPHICS-V0300–4 or later

For OpenVMS Alpha V7.2-1:

• DEC-AXPVMS-VMS721_P350-V0100–4 or later
• DEC-AXPVMS-VMS721_GRAPHICS-V0300–4 or later

Support for the PowerStorm 300 and PowerStorm 350 series graphics
controllers is integrated into current OpenVMS Alpha releases.

5.16.3 PowerStorm 3D30, PowerStorm 4D20

PowerStorm 3D30 (PBXGB-AA), PowerStorm 4D20 (PBXGB-CA)
information is available in Ask The Wizard topics including topic (2041):
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.

5–25
 System Management Information

5.16.4 Radeon 7500

Install the current GRAPHICS ECO kit for OpenVMS Alpha V7.2-2 or
V7.3-1 for support of the Radeon 7500 series PCI and AGP graphics
controllers.
Support for this controller (without an ECO kit) is first integrated into
and available in OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-2. (Please do always install the
most current GRAPHICS ECO kit whenever one is available, however.)

5.17 How can I acquire OpenVMS patches, fixes, and ECOs?

You can acquire and download kits containing OpenVMS fixes (ECOs)
for various releases, as well as related support information, via the ITRC
support center:
• http://www.itrc.hp.com/
• ftp://ftp.itrc.hp.com/openvms_patches/

Some systems with Internet firewalls may/will have to use passive mode
FTP to access the above sites. Assuming recent/current versions of the
TCP/IP Services package, the DCL FTP command necessary is:
$ DIRECTORY/FTP/ANONYMOUS/PASSIVE ftp.itrc.hp.com::
You can subscribe to an email notification list at the ITRC site.
For a list of OpenVMS ECO kits recently released, you can use:
• http://Eisner.DECUS.org/conferences/OpenVMS-patches_new_1.HTML

Examples and ECO kit installation instructions are included in the cover
letter. For ECO kit email notifications, lists of available ECO kits, cover
letters and other associated documentation, look in:
• http://www.itrc.hp.com/
• ftp://ftp.itrc.hp.com/openvms_patches/

For additional information, please see Section 5.17.

Do NOT attempt to install a VMSINSTAL-based OpenVMS ECO kit on
OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later. While VMSINSTAL itself remains
available, it is not used for OpenVMS Alpha ECO kits starting in
OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2. OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later use PCSI
for OpenVMS ECO kits.
See Section 5.30 for information on ECO kit checksums.

5–26
 System Management Information

5.18 How do I move the queue manager database?

To move the location of the queue database, the
SYS$QUEUE_MANAGER.QMAN$QUEUES and SYS$QUEUE_
MANAGER.QMAN$JOURNAL files, to a disk that is fast(er), has plenty
of free space, and that is not heavily used. If the queue database is on a
(busy) OpenVMS system disk, you can and probably should move it off the
system disk to another disk spindle.
To move the queue database:
1 Checkpoint the journal file. This reduces the file size to the in-
memory database size. This will cause the noted delay.
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:JBC$COMMAND
JBC$COMMAND> DIAG 0 7
2 Stop the queue manager
$ STOP/QUEUE/MANAGER/CLUSTER
3 Backup the .QMAN$QUEUES and .QMAN$JOURNAL files from the
present location for safety.

$ backup SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE]SYS$QUEUE_MANAGER.QMAN$* DISK:[DIR]

4 Create a new directory for the queue database. Insure that this disk
is accessible to all nodes that can run the queue manager. If the /ON
list for the queue manager is ‘‘/ON=(*)’’, the disk must be available to
all nodes in the cluster
$ CREATE/DIR fast_disk:[qman]
5 Copy the .QMAN$QUEUES and .QMAN$JOURNAL files to the new
directory
$ copy SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE]SYS$QUEUE_MANAGER.QMAN$* fast_disk:[qman]
6 Delete the old queue database.
$ DELETE SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE]SYS$QUEUE_MANAGER.QMAN$*;*
7 Restart the queue manager pointing to the new location
$ START/QUEUE/MANAGER fast_disk:[qman]

5–27
 System Management Information

5.19 How do I delete an undeletable/unstoppable (RWAST) process?

‘‘Undeleteable’’ jobs are usually ‘‘undeleteable’’ for a reason—this can track
back to insufficient process quotas, to a kernel-mode error in OpenVMS or
a third-party device driver, or to other odd problems.
These undeletable jobs typically become of interest because they
are holding onto a particular resource (eg: tape drive, disk drive,
communications widget) that you need to use... If the particular device
supports firmware, ensure that the device firmware is current – TQK50
controllers are known for this when working with old firmware. (That,
and the infamous ‘‘MUA4224’’ firmware bug.) If this device has a driver
ECO kit available, acquire and apply it... If the particular relevant host
component has an ECO, acquire and apply it.
Useful tools include SDA (to see what might be going on) and DECamds
(which increase and thus potentially fix quota-related problems). (nb:
Applications with quota leaks will obviously not stay fixed.)
If the stuck application is BACKUP, ensure you have the current
BACKUP ECO and are directly following the V7.1 or (better) V7.2 or
later process quota recommendations for operator BACKUP accounts.
Quota details are in the OpenVMS System Manager’s Manual.
If the firmware and ECO levels are current, the best approach is to take
a system crashdump, and pass a copy of the dump file along to whomever
is maintaining the device driver for the particular device/widget/driver
involved, with any details on how you got into this situation. (The reboot
involved with taking the crashdump will obviously clear the problem.)
There was some kernel-mode code (typically for OpenVMS VAX) that
can reset the device ownership field, but that is rather obviously only an
interim solution—the real fix is avoiding the loss of the IRP, the process
quota leak, or whatever else is ‘‘jamming up’’ this particular process...

5.20 How do I reset the error count(s)?

The system reboot is the only supported approach prior to V7.3-2, but a
reboot is obviously undesirable in various situations—there is presently
no supported mechanism to reset error counts once the error(s) have been
logged on these older releases. On V7.3-2 and later, you can use the DCL
command:
$ SET DEVICE/RESET=ERROR_COUNT

5–28
System Management Information

As for an unsupported approach—and be aware of the potential for

triggering a system crash, you need to determine the system address of
the error count field. For a device, this is at an offset within the device’s
UCB structure. On VAX, the field is at an offset symbolically defined as
UCB$W_ERRCNT. On Alpha, this field’s offset is symbolically defined as
UCB$L_ERRCNT. The former is a word in size; the latter is a longword.
You now need to locate the system address of the UCB$%_ERRCNT field
of the device you wish to reset. Enter SDA. In the following, you will
see designations in {} separated by a /. The first item in braces is to be
used on the VAX and the second item should be used on an Alpha. (ie.
{VAX/Alpha})
$ ANALYZE/SYSTEM
SDA> READ SYS${SYSTEM/LOADABLE_IMAGES}:SYSDEF.STB
SDA> ! SHOW DEVICE the device with the error(s)
SDA> SHOW DEVICE <ddnc:>
SDA> EVALUATE UCB+UCB${W/L}_ERRCNT
Hex = hhhhhhhh Decimal = -dddddddddd UCB+offset
Record the hexadecimal value ’hhhhhhhh’ returned.
You can now exit from SDA and $ RUN SYS$SHARE:DELTA or do what I
prefer to do, issue the following:
SDA> SPAWN RUN SYS$SHARE:DELTA
On both VAX and Alpha, the DELTA debugger will be invoked and will
ident- ify itself. On Alpha, there will be an Alpha instruction decoded.
For those unfamiliar with DELTA, it does not have a prompt and only one
error message—Eh? (Well, for sake of argument, there might be another
error produced on the console if you’re not careful. This second error is
more commonly known as a system crash.)
If you are on a VAX, enter the command: [W
If you are on Alpha, enter the command: [L
These set the prevailing mode to word and longword respectively. Remem-
ber the UCB${W/L)_ERRCNT differences?
Now issue the command 1;M
DELTA will respond with 00000001
You are now poised to ZAP the error count field. To do so you need to en-
ter the system address and view its contents. The format of the command
to do this is of the form:
IPID:hhhhhhhh/

5–29
 System Management Information

For an IPID, use the IPID of the SWAPPER process. It is always:

00010001
Thus, to ZAP the error count, you would enter:
00010001:hhhhhhhh/
When you enter the / SDA will return the content of the address
hhhhhhhh. This should be the error count (in hexadecimal) of the device
in question. If it is not, you did something wrong and I’d suggest you type
a carriage return and then enter the command EXIT to get out of DELTA.
Regroup and see where your session went awry.
If you entered your address correctly and the error count was returned as
in the following example, you can proceed.
00010001:80D9C6C8/0001 ! output on VAX, 1 error
00010001:80D9C6C8/00000001 ! output on Alpha, 1 error
You can now ZAP the error count by entering a zero and typing a carriage
return. For example:
00010001:80D9C6C8/0001 0 return ! output on VAX. 1 error
00010001:80D9C6C8/00000001 0 return ! output on Alpha, 1 error
Now type the command EXIT and a carriage return.
Alternatively, reboot the system.

5.21 How do I find out if the tape drive supports compression?

For various SCSI-based MK-class magnetic tape devices:
$ Devdepend2 = F$GETDVI("$n$MKcxxx:","DEVDEPEND2")
$ Comp_sup = %X00200000
$ Comp_ena = %X00400000
$ IF (Devdepend2.AND.Comp_sup).EQ.Comp_sup THEN -
WRITE SYS$OUTPUT "Compression supported"
$ IF (Devdepend2.AND.Comp_ena).EQ.Comp_ena THEN -
WRITE SYS$OUTPUT "Compression enabled"

5–30
 System Management Information

5.22 Can I copy SYSUAF to another version? To VAX? To Alpha?

The format of the SYSUAF.DAT, RIGHTSLIST, and associated files are
upward-compatible, and compatible across OpenVMS VAX, OpenVMS
Alpha and OpenVMS I64 systems. (This compatibility is a a basic
requirement of mixed-version OpenVMS Cluster configurations and
OpenVMS upgrades—for specific support information, please see the
OpenVMS Cluster rolling upgrade and mixed-version requirements.) That
said, it’s the contents of the SYSUAF and RIGHTSLIST files that will
make this more interesting.
The same basic steps necessary for moving RIGHTSLIST and SYSUAF
files to another node are rather similar to the steps involved in merging
these files in an OpenVMS Cluster—see the appendix of the OpenVMS
Cluster documentation for details of merging files. (You might not be
merging the contents of two (or more) files, but you are effectively merging
the contents of the files into the target system environment.)
Considerations:
• applications often hold SYSUAF or RIGHTSLIST open, meaning a
system reboot is often the best way to activate new files.
• the meanings of the RESTRICTED and CAPTIVE flags settings on
the UAF entries have changed over time.
• the new NET$PROXY.DAT file that is initially created based on the
contents of the NETPROXY.DAT during the OpenVMS VAX V6.1
upgrade and during the OpenVMS Alpha V6.2 upgrade. This file is
maintained in parallel with NETPROXY.DAT.
• the RIGHTSLIST identifier values and UIC values that end up
scattered around the target system must be rationalized with the
contents of the new RIGHTSLIST and SYSUAF files.

The lattermost case—resolving the identifier values—is often the most

interesting and difficult part. If you find that an identifier value (or
identifier name) from the source RIGHTSLIST collides with that of an
identifier existing on the target system, you must first determine if the
two identifiers perform the same function. In most cases, they will not.
As such, you will have to find and chance all references to the identifier
value(s) (or name(s)) to resolve the ‘‘collision’’.

5–31
 System Management Information

If you encounter a collision, changing both of the identifier binary values

(or names) involved in the collision to new and unique values can prevent
security problems if you should miss a couple of identifiers embedded
somewhere on the target system during the whole conversion process—
rather than the wrong alphanumeric value for the identifier being
displayed, you’ll simply see the binary format for the identifier displayed,
and no particular access will be granted. And any DCL commands or such
that reference the old alphanumeric name will fail, rather than silently
(and potentially erroneously) succeeding.
Similar requirements exist for UIC values, as these too tend to be
scattered all over the system environment. Like the binary identifier
values, you will find UIC values associated with disks, ACLs, queues, and
various other structures.
For a list of the various files shared in an OpenVMS Cluster and that can
be involved when relocating an environment from one node to another
(or merging environments into an OpenVMS Cluster), please see the
SYLOGICALS.TEMPLATE file included in OpenVMS V7.2 and later
releases.
Procedures to extract the contents of a (potentially corrupt) queue
database are provided on the OpenVMS Freeware (V5) and can be used
to combine two queue databases together while shuffling files between
OpenVMS Cluster hosts.
For related discussions of splitting a cluster into two or for removing a
node from cluster (political divorce, etc), see topics (203), (767), (915) and
others in the Ask The Wizard area:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.

5.23 How do I delete (timeout) idle processes?

There is no such command integrated within OpenVMS, though there are
(optional) timers available within certain terminal servers and similar
devices, and there is an integrated time-of-day mechanism that provides
control over when a user can access OpenVMS.

5–32
 System Management Information

As for available tools, there are DECUS, freeware, and third-party tools
known variously as ‘‘idle process killers’’ (IPK) or ‘‘terminal timeout’’
programs, as well as various other names. Examples include: Saiga
Systems Hitman, Watchdog, MadGoat Watcher (via the MadGoat site or
the OpenVMS Freeware), Kblock, the Networking Dynamics tool known
as Assassin, and the Zap tool. Also available is the XLNperformance
system management utility, from XLNsystems.
A related package (for DECwindows sessions) is xtermlock.
If the forgetful users are in an application menu environment, the menu
can potentially be extended to provide this capability.

5.24 Do I need a PAK for the DECevent (HP Analyze) tool?

DECevent and HP (Compaq) Analyze are available to customers with
support contracts. The PAK is required only for the advanced functions
of DECevent, the basic bits-to-text translation of the error log does not
require a license PAK. Ignore the prompt, in other words. (The PAK
should be available to you if you have a hardware support contract or
warrantee, and the PAK enables the use of the advanced error analysis
and notification capabilities within DECevent.)
Please see the following website for details and downloads: Analyze)
• http://www.compaq.com/support/svctools/

Also see the tool that is available on V7.3-2 and later.

$ ANALYZE/ERROR/ELV

5.25 INITIALIZE ACCVIO and ANSI tape label support?

A change was made (back in 1988) to (as it was then known) VAX/VMS
V5.1-1 that added support for the then-new ANSI X3.27-1987 magnetic
tape label standard. Prior to the ANSI X3.27-1987 standard, the date
field in the ANSI HDR1 record permits dates only as far as the end of
Year 1999. With ANSI X3.27-1987, dates through Year 1999 and dates
from Years 2000 to 2099 are permitted.
Versions of INIT.EXE and MTAACP.EXE from VAX/VMS releases prior to
V5.1-1 will potentially have problems properly processing ANSI magnetic
tapes when Y2K and later dates are involved—the DCL INITIALIZE
command is known to encounter access violation (ACCVIO) errors.

5–33
 System Management Information

The available solutions include upgrades, or setting the date back. Direct
initialization of the tape with the new headers (via $qio) is also clearly
possible, though the limitation within the old MTAACP.EXE magtape
ACP image is not nearly so easy to bypass.

5.26 How do I recover from INSVIRMEM errors?

Prior to OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 and on all OpenVMS VAX releases,
VIRTUALPAGECNT and PGFLQUOTA limit the amount of virtual
address space that is available to each process.
Further limiting the amount of address space is the size of system space
(S0 and S1 space). On OpenVMS Alpha versions prior to V7.0 and on all
OpenVMS VAX releases, VIRTUALPAGECNT and MAXPROCESSCNT
together determine the size of the page table data structures that
occupy large tracts of system space. When no system virtual address
space is available for the stuff that needs it—this includes the page
tables, non-paged pool, and various other structures—then the values of
VIRTUALPAGECNT and MAXPROCESSCNT cannot be increased.
In OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 and later, the page table data structures
have been moved out of S0 and S1 space and into page table space.
In OpenVMS Alpha V7.2 and later, certain large data structures found in
non-paged pool (eg: lock management structures) have been moved into
64-bit space, thus freeing up room in non-paged pool and in S0 and S1
space (where non-paged pool resides) while also permitting much larger
data structures.

5.27 How can I prevent a serial terminal line from initiating a login?
In SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM, issue the command:
$ SET TERMINAL/NOTYPEAHEAD/PERMANENT ddcu:
This will prevent any unsolicited terminal input on ddcu:, and this
unsolicited input is what triggers JOB_CONTROL to start up LOGINOUT
on the terminal. Once LOGINOUT starts up on the serial line, you
can see interesting behaviour (eg: audits, process creations, etc) as
LOGINOUT tries to ‘‘chat’’ with whatever device is hooked onto the
remote end of the serial terminal line.

5–34
 System Management Information

5.28 How does PCSI use the image BUILD_IDENT field?

The (undocumented) build ident field in an OpenVMS Alpha image header
is 16 bytes long, and is used as a counted string of 0-15 characters (ie, as
an .ASCIC string, a string with the character count in byte 0) and was
originally introduced to provide information for use by VMSINSTAL patch
kits to determine whether an image should be replaced or not.
Starting with OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2, OpenVMS Engineering uses the
PCSI utility to package and install ECO kits for OpenVMS. PCSI uses the
generation attribute (a 32-bit unsigned integer) specified for files in the
product description file (PDF) of a PCSI kit as the basis for performing
file conflict detection and resolution. When a product is installed, PCSI
modifies the build ident field of Alpha image headers to store an encoded
form of the generation number. It also looks at the build ident field of
previously installed images to obtain the generation information for those
files as input to the file conflict processing algorithm. (Only images have
this field, obviously.)
PCSI interprets the build ident field of a previously installed image as
follows:
• if the string length is 15, the 5th character is a hyphen, and the last
ten characters are a ten digit number with leading zeros, then the last
ten characters are treated as a valid generation number.
• for V7.1-2 through V7.2-1, inclusive, if the above test fails, the
information is obtained from the PCSI product database.
• in releases after V7.2-1 and with current PCSI ECO kits, if the above
test fails, an invalid generation number is treated as 0000000000 so
that the ECO kit will simply replace the image rather than assuming
the PCSI database is in error.

So, what will you see in the image identification displayed via the
ANALYZE/IMAGE command?
For an image that has been built as part of an OpenVMS Engineering
system build, you will generally see a build ID string in the format
‘‘X6TE-SSB-0000’’—X6TE is the build number for the OpenVMS Alpha
V7.2-1 release. This id format is used within the OpenVMS system build,
and can generally only be seen associated with images that have not yet
been processed via PCSI.

5–35
 System Management Information

During the installation of V7.2-1, PCSI will modify the image header to
have a build ident string of ‘‘X6TE-0050120000’’. During installation of an
ECO kit containing this image with a generation number of 50130052, for
example, PCSI would determine that 50130052 is greater than 50120000,
and will replace the existing image on the target disk with the version of
the image included in the ECO kit.
Ranges of PCSI generation numbers for various OpenVMS releases are
included in Table 5–1. The use of xxxx indicates a range of generations
is available, from 0000 to 9999, inclusive. The format of, the particular
operation of, and the assignment of PCSI generation numbers is subject to
change without notice.

Table 5–1 PCSI Generation Number

Generation Number Generation Source

0040100000 V7.1-2
004011xxxx V7.1-2 ECOs
0050100000 V7.2
005011xxxx V7.2 ECOs
0050120000 V7.2-1
005013xxxx V7.2-1 ECOs
0050140000 V7.2-1H1
005015xxxx V7.2-1H1 ECOs
0050160000 V7.2-2
005017xxxx V7.2-2 ECOs
0060000000 V7.3
006001xxxx V7.3 ECOs
0060020000 V7.3-1
006003xxxx V7.3-1 ECOs
0060100000 V7.3-2
006011xxxx V7.3-2 ECOs
0070040000 V8.2
007005xxxx V8.2 ECOs
0070060000 V8.2-1
007007xxxx V8.2-1 ECOs

5–36
 System Management Information

5.29 How can I tell what software (and version) is installed?

There is unfortunately no consistent nor single way to make this
determination—this is one of the reasons that a move to PCSI
installations is underway.
On OpenVMS Alpha, you can use VMSINSTAL.HISTORY and PRODUCT
SHOW PRODUCT to determine what packages have been installed via
the VMSINSTAL and PCSI tools, respectively.
To see which OpenVMS Alpha ECO kits have been applied, look in
VMSINSTAL.HISTORY on OpenVMS Alpha prior to V7.1-2, and use
PRODUCT SHOW PRODUCT/FULL on OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and
later.
On OpenVMS VAX, you can use PRODUCT SHOW PRODUCT and
(for software that is installed via VMSINSTAL on V7.3 and later) in
VMSINSTAL.HISTORY.
For products installed on OpenVMS VAX prior to V7.3 using
VMSINSTAL, there is no reliable way to determine what products
have been installed. If the product provides a RELEASE_NOTES file
(as many do), you can look for the list of these files via DIRECTORY
SYS$HELP:*.RELEASE_NOTES. Again, this approach is NOT reliable:
some kits do not provide release notes, some system managers will install
only the release notes, some system managers will delete release notes,
and release notes for multiple versions can be present.
On most packages, you can generally use ANALYZE/IMAGE on one of
the core images, looking at the image identification area. Some of the
product-specific mechanisms available are:
• DQS DQS$VERSION logical name
• C CC/VERSION
• C++ CXX/VERSION
• TCP/IP TCPIP SHOW VERSION command

5–37
 System Management Information

5.30 What file checksum tools are available for OpenVMS?

The undocumented (prior to V8.2) DCL command CHECKSUM is the
usual means, and provides a rather simple-minded checksum suitable to
detect basic file corruptions. Starting with V8.2, additional algorithms
beyond the classic XOR scheme are available.
One of the most common schemes beyond the CHECKSUM XOR scheme
is MD5, and information and a source code example are available
via the MD5 RFC. Pre-built versions of MD5 are available at the
OpenVMS Freeware website ( http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
), and on the OpenVMS Freeware V8.0 distribution. Also see the
CHECKSUM/ALGORITHM=MD5 command available on OpenVMS
V8.2 and later.
The OpenVMS Alpha ECO (patch) kit checksums available at the ECO
website are determined using the following DCL command sequence:
$ CHECKSUM kitname.pcsi-dcx_axpexe
$ SHOW SYMBOL CHECKSUM$CHECKSUM
See Section 5.17 for information on acquiring OpenVMS ECO (patch)
kits.

5.31 What (and where) is the OpenVMS Management Station?

For information and current kits for the OpenVMS Management Station
(OMS), a PC-based tool that permits you to manage an OpenVMS system,
please see:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/products/argus/

5.32 How to determine current disk fragmentation level?

The HP OpenVMS Disk File Optimizer (DFO) defragmentation
package provides a fragmentation monitoring tool, and a DFO product
authorization key (PAK) is not required for the fragmentation reporting
tool:
$ DEFRAG SHOW/VOLUME ddcu:
The DFU tool available on the OpenVMS Freeware can generate a report
on the disk fragmentation:
DFU> REPORT ddcu:

5–38
 System Management Information

5.33 SYSBOOT-I-FILENOTLOC, Unable to locate SYS$CPU_ROUTINES?

A message at the OpenVMS Alpha bootstrap such as the following:
%SYSBOOT-I-FILENOTLOC, Unable to locate
SYS$CPU_ROUTINES_1C02.EXE
%SYSBOOT-E-LDFAIL, failed to load execlet,
status = 00000910
indicates that the particular OpenVMS Alpha release does not contain
support for the target platform. In this case, OpenVMS does not recognize
Alpha family 1C member 02 as a supported platform. A later version of
OpenVMS might support the platform, or there might be no support on
any release. Ensure that you have the most current firmware, and review
the minimum version requirements for the platform.
The execlet load failure and other similar bootstrap status values can
often be decoded using either of the following techniques:
$ exit %x910
%SYSTEM-W-NOSUCHFILE, no such file
$
$ x = f$message(%x910)
$ show symbol x
X = "%SYSTEM-W-NOSUCHFILE, no such file"
$
Also see Section 14.4.4.1.

5.34 How can I customize the DCPS device control for a new printer?
To customize DCPS for an otherwise unsupported printer, you can try the
following sequence:
• Extract the most closely-associated setup modules from the existing
device control library, DCPS$DEVCTL.TLB. (For instance, you can
probably extract and use the HP LaserJet 4000 series definitions for
the HP LaserJet 4050 series. Each printer will vary, please consult
the printer documentation for specifics and requirements.)
• rename each extracted setup module to a corresponding:
LPS$$UNRECOGNIZED_*

5–39
 System Management Information

• Insert all of the above-renamed setup modules into a newly-created

device control library specific to the new printer:
$ LIBRARY/TEXT/CREATE -
SYS$COMMON:[SYSLIB]HP4050_DEVCTL.TLB
LPS$$UNRECOGNIZED*
The above assumes the filename HP4050_DEVCTL.TLB, alter as
required.
• Set up your DCPS startup procedures to include a search-list logical
name such as:
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE DCPS_HP4050_LIB -
SYS$LIBRARY:HP4050_DEVCTL.TLB, -
SYS$LIBRARY:DCPS$DEVCTL.TLB
• Supply DCPS_HP4050_LIB as the library parameter in the queue
startup for this printer, this is the P3 parameter to the command
procedure SYS$STARTUP:DCPS$EXECUTION_QUEUE.COM.
• The HP4050_DEVCTL library may/will need to be recreated and
modules re-edited and replaced with each DCPS upgrade, particularly
if any modules are updated in the original library. You will also want
to determine if the upgraded version of DCPS directly supports the
particular printer.
• To customize the processing of file extensions within DCPS (to enable
or disable graybar output, for instance), use the information available
in:
SYS$LIBRARY:DCPS$FILE_EXTENSION_DATA_TYPE.DAT_DEFAULT

to create your own site-specific:

SYS$LIBRARY:DCPS$FILE_EXTENSION_DATA_TYPE.DAT
Also see Section 5.15.

5.35 Why do $GETDEV MOUNTCNT and SHOW DEVICE mount counts differ?
MOUNTCNT returns the local mount count, while SHOW DEVICE
returns the cluster-wide mount count.

5–40
 System Management Information

5.36 What software is needed for Postscript printers?

The NorthLake PrintKit (www.nls.com) and DECprint Supervisor (DCPS)
are common choices for support of Postscript printers on OpenVMS.
• http://www.nls.com/
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/Print/print_sw_prods.html

You may also require the installation of an IP transport stack.

Also please see Section 15.2.2 and Section 15.2.3.

5.37 How do I remove a PCSI-installed patch (ECO) kit?

You cannot PRODUCT REMOVE a PCSI patch (ECO) kit.
In order to remove an ECO kit, PCSI would have to have copies of all
the other version of the files from all other patches and products that
previously were installed. This can clearly involve a large number of files
and a large archive of old file versions and a substantial quantity of disk
space. While removal is clearly theoretically possible, it is not currently
implemented.
The following is the supported mechanism to remove a PCSI patch kit.
1 Execute a PRODUCT SHOW PRODUCT product-name. /FULL
command. The ‘‘maintenance’’ column (132 column width) shows the
patches that have been installed. Keep a copy of this listing.
2 Acquire kits for all of the maintenance kits listed.
3 Re-install the prior FULL version of the product. This will remove all
patch kits, setting to product back to ‘‘original’’ condition.
4 Re-install all the patches in the list from step 1, except those patches
which you have determined you do not want.

The above information also applies to PCSI PARTIAL kits.

5.38 SYSINIT-E, error mounting system device, status=0072832C

This message can arise during an OpenVMS system bootstrap...
%MOUNT-F-DIFVOLMNT, different volume already mounted on this device
For details and further information, use the DCL command:
$ HELP/MESSAGE /STATUS=%X72832C

5–41
 System Management Information

5.39 Resolving License PAK Problems?

The PAK release date, the PAK termination date, and the PAK version
are the usual culprits when a license product authorization key (PAK)
check failure occurs.
The PAK termination date is the date when the license PAK will expire.
The PAK release date is the date of the most recent release date of the
software package that will be permitted by the particular license PAK.
(The release date check is analogous to a product version check.) The
PAK version indicates the most recent product version that is permitted
by the license.
Having multiple license PAKs registered (and active) can also cause
problems if an expired PAK gets loaded. You will want to DISABLE
license PAKs you do not wish to have loaded.
Other problems include a failure to register each PAK in all license
databases throughout a multiple-system-disk cluster, with a consistent set
of /INCLUDE lists specified across each of the duplicated PAKs.
Additionally, you could have an invalid LMF$LICENSE logical name
defined. (If no LMF$LICENSE logical name is defined, the standard
license database named SYS$SYSTEM:LMF$LICENSE.LDB will be
used.)
You can display license failures by defining the following logical name:
$ DEFINE/SYS/EXEC LMF$DISPLAY_OPCOM_MESSAGE TRUE
Enable your terminal as a license operator (REPLY/ENABLE=LICENSE),
define the LMF$DISPLAY_OPCOM_MESSAGE logical name, and then
try the failing operation again. You should see one or more OPCOM
messages displayed.
If you have the LMF$DISPLAY_OPCOM_MESSAGE logical name defined,
you can (will?) see spurious license check failures—various products will
check for multiple licenses, and a few products will check for PAKs that
either have not yet been or will not be issued. Once you figure out which
license has failed, you will want to deassign this logical name.
Note
That there are no license check failures does not indicate
that the particular product or operation or use is
permissible per applicable licensing agreements. Please
consult the applicable agreement(s) for licensing-related
information and requirements.
5–42
 System Management Information

To register a license PAK on a DECwindows system when DECwindows

cannot start (because of an expired license or other licensing problem),
follow the steps outlined in section Section 5.6 up through the use of the
AUTHORIZE command. In place of the AUTHORIZE command, use the
console to register the license PAKs. Also see Section 12.4 for licensing
and troubleshooting information.
For information on licensing and on the numbers of license units
required for various products and various platforms, the License Unit
Requirements Table (LURT) is available at:
• http://www.compaq.com/products/software/info/

5.40 Changing the OpenVMS Version Number?

Fool your friends, baffle your enemies, run the OpenVMS version of your
choice! Instantly back-port all those useful new OpenVMS features to an
ancient OpenVMS version!
On OpenVMS Alpha systems:
$ SET DEFAULT SYS$COMMON:[SYS$LDR]
$ RUN SYSVER
REPLACE V9.9
WRITE
$ EXIT
How does SYSVER work? SYSVER looks for SYS$BASE_IMAGE.EXE
within the default directory, and updates the version string stored within.
And yes, obviously, SYS$BASE_IMAGE.EXE resides in the directory
SYS$COMMON:[SYS$LDR].
On OpenVMS VAX systems:
$ set default SYS$COMMON:[SYS$LDR]
$ copy SYS.EXE SYS.EXE_IN-CASE-I-FAIL
$ patch SYS.EXE
define sys$gq_version=800044b8
set mode ascii
!examine sys$gq_version
!examine sys$gq_version+4
deposit sys$gq_version = "V9.9"
deposit sys$gq_version+4 = " "
update
exit
$ Exit
Then reboot the system at your leisure.

5–43
 System Management Information

5.41 How to prevent users from choosing obvious passwords?

To prevent users from selecting obvious passwords on OpenVMS, you
will want to use the reserved password (password screening) mechanism.
Effectively, you merge your list of reserved passwords into the existing
reserved words database maintained by OpenVMS. (You can also then
require all users to reset their passwords—via the pre-expired password
mechanism—thus forcing users to select new passwords.) For details on
the password screening mechanism, of the reserved password database
(VMS$PASSWORD_DICTIONARY.DATA), and details of how to merge
your list of prohibited passwords into the database, please see the
associated chapter in the OpenVMS security manual. For details of
the password expiration mechanism, see the AUTHORIZE command
qualifier /PWDEXPIRED.
You can also implement a site-specific password filter with the information
provided in the back of the OpenVMS Programming Concepts manual.
The password filter permits you to establish particular and site-specific
password requirements. For details, please see the system parameter
LOAD_PWD_POLICY and the programming concepts manual, and see
the examples in SYS$EXAMPLES:. (Examples and documentation on
V7.3 and later reflect both platforms, the examples are found only on
OpenVMS VAX kits on earlier releases. The capabilities have existed on
both the VAX and Alpha platforms for some time now.)
To verify current passwords, you can also use a technique known
to system crackers as the ‘‘dictionary attack’’ – the mechanism that
makes this attack somewhat more difficult on OpenVMS is the hashing
scheme used on OpenVMS, and the file protections used for the SYSUAF
authorization database. Given a dictionary of words and the unprotected
contents of the SYSUAF file, a search for obvious passwords can be
performed. Interestingly, a ‘‘dictionary attack’’ also has the unfortunate
side-effect of exposing the password to the user—while this is clearly the
goal of a system cracker, authorized privileged and non-privileged system
users should not know nor have access to the (cleartext) passwords of
other users.
Accordingly, OpenVMS does not store the cleartest password. Further,
OpenVMS uses a password hashing algorithm, not an encryption
algorithm. This means that storage of a cleartext password is deliberated
avoided, and the cleartext value is deliberately very difficult to obtain.
The hash is based on a Purdy Polynomial, and the hash itself includes
user-specific values in addition to the password, values that make the
results of the password hash unique to each user.

5–44
 System Management Information

Regardless of the use of a password hashing scheme, if a copy of your

password file should become available to a system cracker, you will want
to force all users to use new passwords immediately.
If you should require a user to verify a password, use the username,
the user’s salt value (this value is acquired via $getuai) and the user’s
specified cleartext password, and compare the resulting hashed value
(using a call to $hash_password) against the saved hashed password
value (this value also acquired via $getqui). For reasons of security, avoid
saving a cleartext password value in any data files, and do not maintain
the cleartext password in memory longer than required. (Use of sys$acm
on V7.3-1 and later is recommended.)
Kerberos authentication (client and server) is available on OpenVMS V7.3
and later. Integration of Kerberos support into various Compaq and into
third-party products is expected.
External authentication is available in V7.3-1 and later, with support for
user-written external authentication in V7.3-2 and later.
If you are simply looking for OpenVMS access and the SYSTEM and all
other privileged passwords are forgotten or otherwise unavailable, please
see section Section 5.6 and/or the OpenVMS documentation set.
Also please see the NCSC C2 guidelines in the OpenVMS security
manual.

5.42 Please help me with the OpenVMS BACKUP utility?

5.42.1 Why isn’t BACKUP/SINCE=BACKUP working?
If you are seeing more files backed up than previously, you are seeing
the result of a change that was made to ensure BACKUP can perform
an incrementation restoration of the files. In particular, if a directory
file modification date changes, all files underneath it are included in the
BACKUP, in order to permit incremental restoration should a directory
file get renamed.

5.42.1.1 Why has OpenVMS gone through the agony of this change?
When a directory is renamed, the modified date is changed. When the
restoration needs to restore the directory and its contents, and the
restoration should not result in the restoration of the older directory
name when a series of incremental BACKUPs are restored. Thus an
incremental BACKUP operation needs to pick up all of the changes.

5–45
 System Management Information

Consider performing an incremental restoration, to test the procedures.

This testing was how OpenVMS Engineering found out about the
problem that was latent with the old BACKUP selection scheme—the
old incremental BACKUP scheme would have missed restoring any files
under a renamed directory. Hence the change to the selection mechanisms
mentioned in Section 5.42.1.

5.42.1.2 Can you get the old BACKUP behaviour back?

Yes, please see the /NOINCREMENTAL qualifier available on recent
OpenVMS versions (and ECO kits). Use of this qualifier informs BACKUP
that you are aware of the limitations of the old BACKUP behaviour
around incremental disk restorations.

5.42.2 What can I do to improve BACKUP performance?

Use the documented commands in the manual for performing incremental
BACKUPs. Use the documented incremental procedures. Don’t try to use
incremental commands in a non-incremental context.
Also consider understanding and then using /NOALIAS, which will likely
be a bigger win than will anything to do with the incremental BACKUPs,
particularly on system disks and any other disks with directory aliases.
See the OpenVMS documentation for additional details.
Ignoring hardware performance and process quotas, the performance
of BACKUP during a disk saveset creation is typically limited by three
factors:
1 Default extend size
The default behavior can have poor performance, as the extend
operation can involve extensive additional processing and I/O
operations. Consider changing the default extend value on the
volume, or change the extend for the process:
$ set rms/extend=65000
2 Output IO size
The default IO size for writing an RMS sequential file is 32 blocks, an
increase from the value of 16 blocks used on earlier versions. Setting
this to the maximum of 127 can reduce the number of IOs by almost a
factor of 4:
$ set rms/block=127

5–46
 System Management Information

Note that the performance might be better on some controllers if the

block count is a multiple of 4 - e.g. 124
3 Synchronous writes to the saveset
Starting with OpenVMS V7.3, you can now persuade RMS to turn
on write-behind for sequential files opened unshared. (Please see
the V7.3 release notes or more recent documentation for details.)
Enabling the write-behind operations involves setting the dynamic
system parameter RMS_SEQFILE_WBH to 1. This parameter is
dynamic, and it can be enabled and disabled without a reboot, and
changes in its setting can and will directly effect the running system.
In order to get the full benefit from write-behind operations, you also
need to increase the RMS local buffer count from the default of 2 to a
larger number. Raising the value to 10 is probably a reasonable first
estimate for this value.
$ run sys$system:sysman
PARAMETERS USE ACTIVE
PARAMETERS SET RMS_SEQFILE_WBH 1
PARAMETERS WRITE ACTIVE
EXIT
$ SET RMS/BUFFER=10/EXTEND=65000/BLOCK=127
$ BACKUP source-specification ddcu:[dir]saveset.bck/SAVE

5.42.3 Why is BACKUP not working as expected?

First, please take the time to review the BACKUP documentation, and
particularly the BACKUP command examples. Then please download and
install the most current BACKUP eco kit. Finally, please please set the
process quotas per the System Management documentation. These steps
tend to resolve most problems seen.
BACKUP has a very complex interface, and there are numerous command
examples and extensive user documentation available. For a simpler
user interface for BACKUP, please see the documentation for the
BACKUP$MANAGER tool.
As for recent BACKUP changes, oddities, bugs, etc:
• A change made in OpenVMS V6.2 WILL cause more files to be
included into a file-based BACKUP saveset using /SINCE=BACKUP
as all files underneath any directory with a sufficiently recent
(selected) date will be included in the saveset. This change was
deliberate and intentional, and was mandated by the need to provide
a functional incremental restoration.

5–47
System Management Information

Without the inclusion of these apparently-extra files, an incremental

saveset can NOT be reliably restored.
• As part of the OpenVMS V6.2 change, the /SINCE command—without
the specification of the =BACKUP keyword—selected more files than
it should have. This is a bug. This bug has been remedied in the
OpenVMS BACKUP source code and in some of (all of?) the BACKUP
ECO kits.

When working with BACKUP, you will want to:

• Ensure you have your process quotas set per the recommendations in
the OpenVMS System Management documentation. Deviation from
these values can and will lead to access violation (ACCVIO) and other
untoward behaviour.
• Get the current BACKUP ECO kit and install it BEFORE you attempt
to troubleshoot any problems.
• Learn about the /NOINCREMENTAL (new) and /NOALIAS (V6.2
and later) command qualifiers. The former qualifier returns to the
pre-V6.2 behaviour of the /SINCE file selection mechanism, while
the latter (specified with /IMAGE) reduces the replication of files on
system disks and other disks with file alias and directory alias entries.
Both of these can reduce the numbers of files that will be selected and
thus included into the saveset.
Learn what /IGNORE=INTERLOCK means. This command probably
does not provide what you think it does—those file system interlocks
that this command is ignoring were implemented for a reason, after
all. Ignoring these interlocks can lead to missed data and potentially
to corruptions to individual files stored within the output saveset,
corruptions that may or may not be reported. For details on this
BACKUP command qualifier, please see the Ask The Wizard topic
(2467).

When working with the BACKUP callable API:

• Build your applications with the most current BACKUP API available.
Changes made to the V7.1-2 and V7.2 API were incompatible with the
V7.1 and V7.2-1 and later APIs, and this incompatibility was repaired
via a BACKUP ECO kit. Do NOT build your application with the
versions of the BACKUP API that shipped with V7.1-2 and V7.2, as
these are incompatible with the BACKUP API constants that were
used on other versions.

5–48
 System Management Information

5.42.4 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; use the zip ‘‘-V’’ option), as well as via other means of
corruptions.
If you have problems (eg: NOTSAVESET errors) with the BACKUP
savesets after unzipping them or after an FTP file transfer, you can try
restoring the appropriate saveset attributes using the tool:
$ BACKUP/LIST saveset.bck/SAVE
Listing of save set(s)
%BACKUP-F-NOTSAVESET, saveset.bck/SAVE is not a BACKUP save set
$ @SRH:[UTIL]RESET_BACKUP_SAVESET_FILE_ATTRIBUTES.COM saveset.bck
$ BACKUP/LIST saveset.bck/SAVE
Listing of save set(s)
Save set: saveset.bck
Written by: username
...
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, a SET FILE/ATTRIBUTES command can also be
used. As the parameters of this command must be varied as the target
BACKUP saveset attributes vary, this approach is not recommended.
Also see the ‘‘SITE VMS’’, /FDL, and various other file-attributes options
available in various FTP tools. (Not all available FTP tools support any
or all of these options.)
Browser downloads (via FTP) and incorrect (binary or ascii FTP transfer
modes) are notorious for causing RMS file corruptions and particularly
BACKUP saveset corruptions. You can sometimes help encourage the
browser to select the correct FTP transfer type code (via RFC1738):
• ftp://host/urlname.ext;type=i ! request ftp image/binary transfer
• ftp://host/urlname.ext;type=a ! request ftp ascii/text transfer

5–49
 System Management Information

You can also often configure the particular web browser to choose
the appropriate transfer mode by default, based on the particular file
extensions, using a customization menu available in most web browsers.
You can select that the specific file extentions involved use the FTP binary
transfer mode, which will reduce the number of corruptions seen.

5.42.5 How do I write a BACKUP saveset to a remote tape?

How to do this correctly was described at DECUS long ago. On the
OpenVMS host with the tape drive, create the following SAVE-SET.FDL
file:
RECORD
FORMAT fixed
SIZE 8192
Then create BACKUP_SERVER.COM:
$ !
$ ! BACKUP_SERVER.COM - provide remote tape service for BACKUP.
$ !
$ set noon
$ set rms/network=16
$ allocate mka500 tapedev
$ mount/nounload/over:id/block=8192/assist tapedev
$ convert/fdl=SAVE-SET sys$net tapedev:save-set.
$ dismount/unload tapedev
$ stop/id=0
On the node where you want to do the backup, use the DCL command:
$ backup -
srcfilespec -
node"user pwd"::"task=backup_server"/block=8192/save
One area which does not function here is the volume switch; multi-reel or
multi-cartridge savesets. Since the tape is being written through DECnet
and RMS and the magtape ACP, BACKUP won’t see the media switch and
will split an XOR group across the reel boundary. BACKUP might well be
willing to read such a multi-reel or multi-cartridge saveset (directly, not
over the net) as the XOR blocks are effectively ignored until and unless
needed for error recovery operations. BACKUP likely will not be able to
perform an XOR-based recovery across reel or cartridge boundaries.
Unfortunately BACKUP can’t read tapes over the network because the
RMS file attributes on a network task access look wrong; the attributes
reported include variable length records.

5–50
 System Management Information

5.42.6 How to perform a DoD security disk erasure?

Sometimes refered to as disk, tape, or media declassification, as
formatting, as pattern erasure, or occasionally by the generic reference
of data remanence. Various references to the US Deparment of Defence
(DoD) or NCSC ‘‘Rainbow Books’’ documentation are also seen in this
context.
While this erasure task might initially appear quite easy, basic
characteristics of the storage media and of the device error recovery
and bad block handling can make this effort far more difficult than it
might initially appear.
Obviously, data security and sensitivity, the costs of exposure, applicable
legal or administrative requirements (DoD, HIPPA or otherwise), and
the intrinsic value of the data involved are all central factors in this
discussion and in the decision of the appropriate resolution, as is the
value of the storage hardware involved.
With data of greater value or with data exposure (sometimes far) more
costly than the residual value of the disk storage involved, the physical
destruction of the platters may well be the most expedient, economical,
and appropriate approach. The unintended exposure of a bad block
containing customer healthcare data or of credit card numbers can quite
be costly, of course, both in terms of the direct loss, and the longer-term
and indirect costs of such exposures.
Other potential options include the Freeware RZDISK package,
the OpenVMS INITIALIZE/ERASE command (and potentially in
conjunction with the $erapat system service) and OpenVMS Ask
The Wizard (ATW) topics including (841), (3926), (4286), (4598), and
(7320). For additional information on sys$erapat, see the OpenVMS
Programming Concepts manual and the OpenVMS VAX examples module
SYS$EXAMPLES:DOD_ERAPAT.MAR. Some disk controllers and even
a few disks contain support for data erasure. Some DSSI Disk ISEs, for
instance.
For the prevention of casual disk data exposures, a generic
INITIALIZE/ERASE operation is probably sufficient. This is not
completely reliable, particularly if the data is valuable, or if legal,
administrative or contractual restrictions are stringent—there may
well be revectored blocks that are not overwritten or not completely
overwritten by this erasure, as discussed above, and these blocks can
obviously contain at least part of most any data that was stored on the

5–51
 System Management Information

disk – but this basic disk overwrite operation is likely sufficient to prevent
the typical information disclosures.
You will want to consult with your site security officer, your corporate
security or legal office, with HP Services or your prefered service
organization, or with a firm that specializes in erasure or data
declassification tasks. HP Services does traditionally offer a secure disk
declassification service.

5.42.7 How to enable telnet virtual terminals?

To enable virtual terminal support for telnet and rlogin devices, add the
following logical name definitions into SYLOGICALS.COM:
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE TCPIP$RLOGIN_VTA TRUE
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE TCPIP$TELNET_VTA TRUE
See SYS$STARTUP:SYLOGICALS.TEMPLATE for details on the typical
contents of SYLOGICALS.COM.
In SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM, ensure that a command similar to the
following is invoked:
$ SYSMAN IO CONNECT VTA0/NOADAPTER/DRIVER=SYS$LOADABLE_IMAGES:SYS$TTDRIVER.EXE
In MODPARAMS.DAT, add the following line or (if already present) mask
the specified hexidecimal value into an existing TTY_DEFCHAR2, and
perform a subsequent AUTOGEN with an eventual reboot:
TTY_DEFCHAR2 = %X20000
This value is TT2$M_DISCONNECT.
On older TCP/IP Services—versions prior to V5.0—you will have to
perform the following UCX command:
$ UCX
UCX> SET CONF COMM/REMOTE=VIRTUAL

5.42.7.1 Volume Shadowing MiniCopy vs MiniMerge?

MiniMerge support has been available for many years with OpenVMS
host-based volume shadowing, so long as you had MSCP controllers (eg:
HSC, HSJ, or HSD) which supported the Volume Shadowing Assist known
as ‘‘Write History Logging’’.

5–52
 System Management Information

If you are interested in mini-merge and similar technologies, please see

the Fibre Channel webpage and the information available there:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/fibre/

Mini-Merge support was originally intended to be controller-based and

was expected with HSG80 series storage controllers and was expected to
require ACS 8.7 and OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-1.
Host-based Mini-Merge (HBMM) is now available for specific OpenVMS
releases via a shadowing ECO kit, and is also present in OpenVMS V8.2
and later. HBMM applies to the HSG80 series and—like host-based
volume shadowing—to most other (all other?) supported storage devices.
The following sections describe both Mini-Copy and Mini-Merge, and can
provide a basis for discussions.

5.42.7.1.1 Mini-Copy?
A Shadowing Full Copy occurs when you add a disk to an existing
shadowset using a MOUNT command; the entire contents of the disk
are effectively copied to the new member (using an algorithm that goes
through in 127-block increments and reads one member, compares with
the target disk, and if the data differs, writes the data to the target disk
and loops back to the read step, until the data is equal for that 127-block
section). (This is one of the reasons why the traditional recommendation
for adding new volumes to a shadowset was to use a BACKUP/PHYSICAL
copy of an existing shadowset volume, simply because the reads then
usually matched and thus shadowing usually avoided the need for the
writes.)
If you warn OpenVMS ahead of time (at dismount time) that you’re
planning to remove a disk from a shadowset but re-add it later, OpenVMS
will keep a bitmap tracking what areas of the disk have been modified
while the disk was out of the shadowset, and when you re-add it later
with a MOUNT command OpenVMS only has to update the areas of the
returned disk that the bit-map indicates are now out-of-date. OpenVMS
does this with a read source / write target algorithm, which is much faster
than the shenanigans the Full Copy does, so even if all of the disk has
changed, a Mini-Copy is faster than a Full Copy.

5–53
 System Management Information

5.42.7.1.2 Mini-Merge?
A Shadowing Merge is initiated when an OpenVMS node in the
cluster (which had a shadowset mounted) crashes or otherwise leaves
unexpectedly, without dismounting the shadowset first. In this case,
OpenVMS must ensure that the data is identical, since Shadowing
guarantees that the data on the disks in a shadowset will be identical.
In a regular Merge operation, Shadowing uses an algorithm similar to
the Full Copy algorithm (except that it can choose either of the members’
contents as the source data, since both are considered equally valid), and
scans the entire disk. Also, to make things worse, for any read operations
in the area ahead of what has been merged, Shadowing will first merge
the area containing the read data, then allow the read to occur.
A Merge can be very time-consuming and very I/O intensive. If a node
crashes, the surviving nodes can query to determine what exact areas of
the disk the departed node was writing to just before the crash, and thus
Shadowing only needs to merge just those few areas, so this tends to take
seconds, as opposed to potentially requiring many minutes or even hours
for a regular full Merge.

5.43 Please explain DELETE/ERASE and File Locks?

DELETE/ERASE holds the file lock and also holds a lock on the parent
directory for the duration of the erasure. This locking can obviously cause
an access conflict on either the file or on the directory—it might well
pay to rename files into a temporary directory location before issuing
the DELETE/ERASE, particularly for large files and/or for systems with
multiple overwrite erase patterns in use; for any systems where the
DELETE/ERASE erasure operation will take a while.

5.44 Managing File Versions?

Some applications will automatically roll file version numbers over, and
some will require manual intervention. Some will continue to operate
without the ability to update the version, and some will be unable to
continue. Some sites will specifically (attempt to) create a file with a
version of ;32767 to prevent the creation of additional files, too.
To monitor and resolve file versions, you can use commands including:
$ SET FILE/VERSION_LIMIT=n filename
$ SET DIRECTORY/VERSION_LIMIT=n [directory]

5–54
System Management Information

And you can also monitor file version numbers, and can report problems
with ever-increasing file versions to the organization(s) supporting the
application(s) generating files with ever-increasing version numbers for
details on potential problems, and for any recommendations on resetting
the version numbers for the particular product or package. If required, of
course.
The following pair of DCL commands—though obviously subject to timing
windows— can be used to rename all the versions of a file back down to a
contiguous sequence of versions starting at 1:
$ RENAME file.typ;* RENAME.TMP;
$ RENAME RENAME.TMP;* file.typ;
The key to the success of this RENAME sequence is the specification
of (only) the trailing semicolon on the second parameter of each of the
RENAME commands.
You may also see the numbers of files reduced with DELETE commands,
with multiple directories, or with PURGE commands such as the following
examples:
$ PURGE/BEFORE="-2-"
$ PURGE/BEFORE="TODAY-2-"
$ PURGE/KEEP=10"
You can use DFU (Freeware) to quickly and efficiently scan for all files
with large(r) version numbers:
DFU SEARCH/VERSION=MINIMUM=nnnn
If you are creating or supporting an application, selecting temporary or
log file filenames from among a set of filenames—selecting filenames
based on time, on process id, on the day of week, week number, or month,
on the f$unique lexical (V7.3-2 and later), etc—is often useful, as this
approach more easily permits on-line adjustments to the highest file
versions and easily permits on-line version compression using techniques
shown above. With differing filenames, you are less likely to encounter
errors resulting from files that are currently locked. You can also detect
the impending version number limit within the application, and can clean
up older versions and roll the next file version creation to ;1 or such.
Also see Section 9.4.

5–55
 System Management Information

5.45 Host-based Volume Shadowing and RAID?

Host-based Volume Shadowing (HBVS) is Disk Mirroring is RAID Level 1.
HBVS is capable of shadowing devices of different geometries, of different
block counts (with dissimilar device shadowing; allowing for mixtures of
hardware) and—with dynamic volume expansion—of growing volumes
on the fly, and HBVS is capable of shadowing/mirroring/raid-1 operations
across cluster configurations up to the full span—please see the Cluster
SPD for the current supported span; the supported span limit is currently
multiple hundreds of kilometers—of a cluster. HBVS can be layered onto
controller (hardware) RAID, as well.
For information on host-based striping, please see the StorageWorks
RAID product.

5.46 Encryption and Compression?

To increase the difficulty of data decryption by an unintended recipient,
the process of encryption seeks to eliminate patterns—such as repeated
series of characters—within the input data, while compression is the
process of locating and using patterns amd repeated sequences within the
data in an attempt to reduce the aggregate volume of data; encryption
and compression are typically at odds.
As a rule, encryption is not particularly sensitive to the particular input
data (and the process also tends to provide the same or an increased data
volume out as the encrypted results), while the efficiency of compression
is sensitive to the input data. You have likely already seen that some
files compress better than others, and some files and some BACKUP
operations that don’t compress particularly efficiently with drive-level
compression. (Disabling the BACKUP XOR redundancy blocks can
sometimes assist with the efficiency of zip compression, too.) Encrypted
data is often basically uncompressible; the better the encryption, the
worse the achievable compression.
Put another way, always compress before you encrypt. If you are using
encryption with drive-level compression (drive-level compression is
commonly found on magnetic tape devices including DAT/DDS and
DLT devices), do not expect the compression to provide any significant
reduction in the volume of data as the drive-level compression is obviously
further along in the I/O pipe and downstream from the encryption. Don’t
expect to achieve a 2:1 compression ratio for an encrypted file. You may
see an increase in output size with compression enabled, and entirely
disabling drive-level compression may be a reasonable course. This

5–56
 System Management Information

assumes the drive compression logic doesn’t itself notice this and disable
its own compression.

5.47 Collecting PC Samples Before Crash?

The following assumes there is an OpenVMS system-level problem,
whether a hang or otherwise, and that you are going to generate a
crashdump as part of debugging this. To collect PC samples before forcing
the system crash, most OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha systems
can be halted and then continued from the console; basically a CTRL/P or
HALT , examine the PC via console-specific command, and a CONTINUE

command at the OPA0: console terminal. By recording a series of sample

PC values, you can often spot loops and use this data to determine exactly
what is active when you are later looking at the crashdump file using the
system dump analyzer (SDA, ANALYZE/CRASH).
To force the system crash, the command is usually CRASH. Certain older
processors lack a console CRASH command and require a published series
of console deposit commands. See the OpenVMS manuals or the manuals
for your processor for details on the particular console command sequence.
Alpha systems using USB-based consoles do not reliably permit the
CONTINUE, and the Integrity servers and the EFI console do not offer
this console command mechanism. Other Alpha systems and the SRM
console do permit the CONTINUE, as does the console found on many
VAX systems.
Additionally, to ensure that you receive a crashdump during an
unintended halt instruction on your VAX or Alpha system, ensure that the
console AUTO_ACTION mechanism is set to RESTART,REBOOT, or the
console-specific equivalent. A kernel-level halt will then trigger a restart,
and the restart will fail, and the failure will trigger a crashdump, and the
completion of the crashdump will trigger a reboot.

5–57
6 Information on Mail

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
6.1 MAIL keeps saying I have new messages, but I don’t. What do I do?
if you see the %MAIL-W-NONEWMAIL, no new messages error reported
when MAIL indicates you have messages, then the NEWMAIL count has
become skewed from reality.
The count of new mail messages is kept separately from your mail folder,
and is stored in VMSMAIL_PROFILE.DATA. It sometimes happens that
this count differs from what is stored in your mail folder. If this arises,
invoke MAIL and repeatedly enter the READ/NEW command (or press
the keypad hyphen key on an LK-compatible keyboard) until you see no
new mail messages. Then enter the command one more time. This will
resynchronize the counters.
If you are operating in a cluster and find your mail counts inconsistent
across cluster members, your customer is likely missing a definition of
the VMSMAIL_PROFILE logical name—and is probably also missing
definitions of other logical names associated with other shared files—or
has one or more inconsistent definitions of this and likely of other logical
names.
For details on the configuration data files that must be shared within a
cluster, please see SYS$STARTUP:SYLOGICALS.TEMPLATE on V7.2
and later.

6.2 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:
• 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.process.com/

6–1
 Information on Mail

• http://www.agh.cc.kcl.ac.uk/files/vms/pine-vms/
• ftp://ftp2.kcl.ac.uk/pub/vms/pine-vms/
• If you are working from an X Windows display, you can use the
OpenVMS version of Netscape Navigator or Mozilla. The mail
download protocol chosen to access the mail server from the Navigator
or Mozilla mail client can be POP or IMAP, with the former causing
messages to be downloaded while the latter permits messages to be
retained on the mail server. Most folks prefer IMAP for this reason.
• 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://saf.bio.caltech.edu/pub/software/openvms/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.
MPACK/MUNPACK tools are also available on OpenVMS Freeware
V5.0.
• With OpenVMS V7.2 and later, use the MIME tool supplied with
OpenVMS.

6.3 How can I block SMTP mail relay spam?

Use the anti-spam capabilities present in the TCP/IP Services V5.1 and
later SMTP servers.
Use a firewall.
On earlier TCP/IP Services releases, some simple DCL can reportedly
prevent relay SMTP spam. Use the UCX command SHOW SERVICE
SMTP/FULL to find the directory containing the UCX$SMTP_RECV_
STARTUP.COM file, and insert the following DCL:

6–2
 Information on Mail

$ !
$ ! Block spam.
$ !
$ MY_ADDRESS_LONG[0,32]=F$INTEGER(F$TRNLNM("SYS$REM_NODE")-"::")
$ MY_ADDRESS=F$FAO("!UB.!UB.!UB.!UB",F$CVUI(0,8,MY_ADDRESS_LONG),-
F$CVUI(8,8,MY_ADDRESS_LONG),F$CVUI(16,8,MY_ADDRESS_LONG),-
F$CVUI(24,8,MY_ADDRESS_LONG))’"
$ MY_ADDRESS_REVERSE=F$FAO("!UB.!UB.!UB.!UB",-
F$CVUI(24,8,MY_ADDRESS_LONG),F$CVUI(16,8,MY_ADDRESS_LONG),-
F$CVUI(8,8,MY_ADDRESS_LONG),F$CVUI(0,8,MY_ADDRESS_LONG))’"
$ WRITE SYS$OUTPUT F$TIME()+" "+F$TRNLNM("SYS$REM_NODE")+MY_ADDRESS
$ UCX SHOW HOST ’MY_ADDRESS_REVERSE’.INPUTS.ORBS.ORG
$ IF $STATUS.EQ.1
$ THEN
$ WRITE SYS$OUTPUT "SPAM from relay rejected"
$ EXIT
$ ENDIF
$ UCX SHOW HOST ’MY_ADDRESS_REVERSE’.SPAMSOURCES.ORBS.ORG
$ IF $STATUS.EQ.1
$ THEN
$ WRITE SYS$OUTPUT "SPAM source relay rejected"
$ EXIT
$ ENDIF
$ !
$ ! Run receiver.
$ !
$ run sys$system:ucx$smtp_receiver.exe
$ goto exit

6–3
7 Information on Utilities

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
7.1 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. (These privileges are required, as the access
to the CD-related extensions will require the use of the privilege-protected
IO$_DIAGNOSE I/O function code.) You can also install the image with
these privileges. See the source for additional details - note that the
comments regarding the need for SYSGEN CONNECT are no longer
applicable (at least as of VMS V5.5-2).
There’s also SYS$EXAMPLES:CDROM_AUDIO.C and .EXE,
a non-Motif program, available on OpenVMS VAX, and
DECW$EXAMPLES:DECW$CDPLAYER.* on OpenVMS VAX and
OpenVMS Alpha.
The standard OpenVMS ATA (IDE) SYS$DQDRIVER device driver does
not support the necessary does not support the necessary IO$_DIAGNOSE
function code that is required for access to audio CD media commands (on
OpenVMS versions prior to V7.3), but an updated SYS$DQDRIVER
device driver (source code and all) with this capability and with the source
code of an updated DECW$CDPLAYER CD audio player is available
on the OpenVMS Freeware website (www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/,
look for the directory /dqdriver/), and these updates are also included
on OpenVMS Freeware V5.0, and OpenVMS ECO kits containing newer
versions of the driver are available. Freeware V6.0 has a version of
DQDRIVER that is newer than that of the OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-2
release, with additional capabilities and with improved error diagnostics.
OpenVMS Alpha V7.3 and later include a version of SYS$DQDRIVER
with the necessary IO$_DIAGNOSE support.

7–1
 Information on Utilities

7.2 How do I access a Microsoft Windows floppy disk from OpenVMS?

The HP Advanced Server (formerly known as PATHWORKS) for
OpenVMS product includes an unsupported and undocumented utility
called PCDISK, and this tool can read and write various Microsoft MS-
DOS and Microsoft Windows FAT-format diskettes, and can usually access
FAT-format volumes written by other operating systems.
ProGIS in Germany sells a product called VMove which supports DOS
files on many different device types. For more information, send mail to
[email protected].
Engineering Software has a product called VAKSAT which will read,
write, and erase files on MS-DOS FAT diskettes. Available for both VAX
and Alpha. Contact [email protected] for more information.
MadGoat PC Exchange (PCX) is a utility for copying files to and from
MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows (FAT) format diskettes under OpenVMS,
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/

The Freeware package WINFX is available on Freeware V6.0, and can

read the FAT volume structure.
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/

7.3 How do I play sound files on an AlphaStation? DECsound doesn’t work.

Various of the more recent AlphaStation systems use a different sound
board (Microsoft Sound System) than the earlier DEC 3000 series
systems, and DECsound, as supplied by DECwindows Motif, doesn’t
support this board nor this interface. HP offers an optional product,
Multimedia Services (MMOV) for OpenVMS:
• http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx, and SPD
82.35.xx.

which provides a replacement for DECsound for this card as well as many
other features (an AVI and MPEG player, video capture support, etc.)
Ensoniq sound support is also available.

7–2
 Information on Utilities

7.4 How do I read IBM EBCDIC tapes on OpenVMS?

Most (all?) IBM EBCDIC-based systems can read and write ANSI-
labeled ASCII magtapes. Fixed-length records (MOUNT /FOREIGN
/BLOCKSIZE=512 /RECORDSIZE=512, for one-block records) and the
DCL COPY command can be used to transfer fixed-record-size text files
out onto tape media, or to read from fixed-record tape media. Please
consult the IBM documentation for the details and command syntax
needed when reading and writing ANSI media using IBM JCL or other
applicable IBM command language.
There exists various freeware around (TAPECOPY, ETAPE, TCOPY,
MTEXCH) that can read and write EBCDIC tapes. Visit the
Encompasserve (DECUS) website software archives search engine and
search for ‘‘EBCDIC’’ for details.
• http://www.encompassus.org

OpenVMS does not include an integrated tool for EBCDIC tape

processing, but does provide a character conversion API useful within
application programs.
One source for ETAPE is:
• http://www.ualr.edu/ftp/vms/ETAPE_SRC/

The OpenVMS Freeware V5.0 distribution included this ETAPE tool, as

well.

7.5 How can I patch an OpenVMS Alpha image?

Using the OpenVMS Freeware tool ZAP:
• Look for the RMS_TOOLS directory on Freeware V5.0:
http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/

tell ZAP to read a block (bucket) of information based on the virtual

block number (VBN), using X for hexadecimal. Dump yourself
into the OpenVMS debugger with R2 pointing into the buffer,
EXAMINE/INSTRUCTION as needed, alter the buffer as required, GO to
get out of the debugger and back into ZAP, and use the ZAP W command
to write the updated block.

7–3
8 DCL Details

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
8.1 DCL Symbols and OpenVMS Logical Names?
DCL symbols are programming-style variables implemented within the
DCL command interpreter, and these are used both for programming and
to provide command verb synonyms. Symbols are local to the command
interpreter operating within a particular process, and are not shared.
Lists of symbols can be copied into subprocesses during a subprocess
creation operation, but these symbols are neither copied back into the
parent process when the subprocess exits, nor are symbols ever shared
across processes.
Symbols can be specified in and utilized in basic mathematical operations,
and bit-level operations are available with the f$cvsi and f$cvui bit
extraction lexical functions, and with the square-brackets notation for bit
insertion (see Section 8.13 for an example), and with bitwise operators.
Symbols are of two basic types, STRING and INTEGER, and these (or an
undefined symbol) can be differentiated with the f$type lexical function.
DCL symbols can also be used as a mechanism to abbreviate a DCL
command verb, or an easy way to invoke a DCL command procedure.
Symbols can have local or global scope within a process, and scope is
affected by nested procedure calls and DCL constructs such as CALL and
SET SCOPE, but such discussions are beyond the scope of this section.
OpenVMS Logical names can store device names, device and directory
specifications, rooted or searchlist specifications, and full filenames.
Logical names can also store arbitrary data, but there are no native
mathematical or bitwise operators available. Analogous to DCL symbols,
process-local logical names can be copied into subprocesses during a
subprocess creation operation, but these process-local logical names are
neither copied back into the parent process when the subprocess exits, nor
are these logical names ever shared.

8–1
DCL Details

Logical names are implemented deep within the OpenVMS executive,

and are organized into logical name tables. Logical names can be stored
in tables private to a process( LNM$PROCESS, the process-local logical
name table) , that can be shared among processes in the same job tree
( LNM$JOB, the job logical name table) or in logical name tables that
are shared among larger groups of processes (eg: LNM$GROUP, the
UIC group logical name table and LNM$SYSTEM, the system-wide
logical name table). Logical names are centrally intended to provide
various I/O-related capabilities, including device independence and
configuration customization—correctly-written application programs
can use logical names to avoid embedding specific device or device
and directory specifications, and to allow filename and configuration
customizations.
One of the most powerful capabilities of logical names beyond the device
independence provided involves the defaulting capabilities; you can use
RMS parsing (directly, or with mechanisms such as the f$parse lexical
function) to provide a filename and a default filename. To provide the
mechanism that allows SYSUAF to be located in an arbitrary position or
even an arbitrary filename, a construct similar to the following is used:
$ UAF = F$PARSE("SYSUAF","SYS$SYSTEM:.DAT")
This design allows the logical name SYSUAF to be optionally defined, and
– when present—to specify the particular location and name of the file.
Portions of the full file specification that are omitted are retrieved using
the default translation of SYS$SYSTEM: and the file type of .DAT.
Logical names also have assigned processor modes, as some translations
must be trustworthy. In the example above, only trusted and privileged
system users should be able to redirect the SYSUAF authorization
database, so any definition of the SYSUAF logical name must be made in
EXECUTIVE mode in a trusted logical name table.
As for common OpenVMS terminology, logical names are ‘‘defined’’
and the associated processing is refered to as ‘‘translation’’, while
symbols are ‘‘equated’’ and the associated processing is refered to as
‘‘substitution’’. ‘‘Lexical functions’’ are processing routines built into DCL,
and typically prefixed with f$. Many of the lexical functions are built
upon correspondingly-named system services, though not all.
Symbol substitution occurs only when the DCL command interpreter
is reading and processing the command input; for information on DCL
symbol substitution, see Section 8.10. For program access, see the RTL
routines lib$set_symbol and lib$get_symbol.)

8–2
 DCL Details

For information on logical name translation, please see f$trnlnm lexical

function and the DCL commands DEFINE and DEASSIGN, as well as
underlying system services such as sys$trnlnm. Logical name translation
occurs when requested, or as the file or I/O operation is started.
Please see the OpenVMS User’s Guide in the OpenVMS documentation
set for a far more detailed description of these constructs.
For related materials, please see Section 8.10 and Section 8.11.

8.2 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’’, and either an
explicit command as shown here, or an automatic foreign command. For
example:
$ unzip :== $disk:[dir]unzip.exe
$ unzip -?
The leading $ in the equivilence name for the symbol definition is what
makes the DCL symbol a foreign command. If the device and directory
are 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 Section 10.3.
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:

8–3
 DCL Details

$ 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.
For examples of how TCP/IP Services sets up its foreign commands
(which includes tools such as uuencode and uudecode), please see
the DCL command procedure SYS$STARTUP:TCPIP$DEFINE_
COMMANDS.COM.
Also see Section 8.12.

8.3 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:

8.4 Using REPLY/LOG from DCL? Disabling Console OPCOMs?

Your terminal must be enabled as an operator terminal before the
REPLY/LOG command can be used, but a DCL procedure (batch command
file, system startup, etc) does not have an associated terminal. To make
this work, use the following sequence to enable the OPA0: console as the
operator terminal, then the REPLY/LOG command 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

8–4
 DCL Details

Also see SYLOGICALS.COM (and SYLOGICALS.TEMPLATE) for

information on configuring the behaviour of OPCOM, including the
(default) use of the system console (OPA0:) as an operator terminial
and the specific contents and behaviour of the system operator log file
OPERATOR.LOG.

8.5 How do I generate a random number in DCL?

With V7.3-2 and later, f$unique can be useful here. Alternatively, here
is a pseudo-random number generator, just do a GOSUB RAND and the
global symbol RANDOM will contain a randomly generated number. You
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.
$! sharris-at-sdsdmvax.fb3.noaa.gov
$ 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

8–5
 DCL Details

8.6 What does the MCR command do?

The MCR is an artifact of RSX compatibility mode, the operating system
from which OpenVMS is descended. MCR is the Monitor Console Routine,
and the command is intended to activate RSX compatibility mode utilities.
When used on OpenVMS, the command is most commonly used to run
the specified image and—because the tool detects the image is not a
compatibility-mode image—it acts as a form of RUN command with
the default file specification of SYS$SYSTEM:.EXE. MCR passes any
(optional) command line arguments in a fashion similar to a foreign
command. In other words:
$ MCR FOO BAR
is equivalent to:
$ FOO :== $FOO
$ FOO BAR
MCR is not documented. Use of a foreign command or the DCL$PATH
mechanism is preferred. For details on this, see Section 8.2.

8.7 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$environment("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.)

8–6
 DCL Details

There are related tools available from various sources, including the
following web sites:
• ftp://ftp.hhs.dk/pub/vms/setpmt/
• ftp://ftp.tmesis.com/sys_service_hook.src
• 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.
• Many folks have contributed DCL procedures to perform this task.
Visit the newsgroup archives for information and examples.

8.8 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. An example DCL command
procedure that is rather more advanced than using the TYPE command
as a trigger is included in the Ask The Wizard area:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.
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.)

8.9 How can I get the width setting of a terminal?

$ width = f$getdvi(terminal,"DEVBUFSIZ")

8–7
 DCL Details

8.10 Why doesn’t DCL symbol substitution work?

The DCL symbol substitution processing occurs only at the DCL prompt,
not within data and not within files. If you wish to perform symbol
substitution in this environment, you typically write a small file
containing the command(s) and data to be invoked—potentially only
the data—and you then invoke the created procedure or reference the
specified data.
In this case, use of a file containing nolinemode commands or other
techniques might be useful—you will want to ensure that the text editor
you use does not attempt to use screen mode or similar, as this is not
generally considered adventageous within a command procedure.
Tools such as FTP have alternatives: COPY/FTP.
DCL symbol substitution occurs in two passes, using the ampersand and
the apostrophe. In most cases, only the apostrophe is necessary. In a
few cases—such as the DCL PIPE command—you will may need to use
the ampersand to get the substitution to work. The following example
uses ampersand substitution to transfer the contents of the header into a
logical name:
$ PIPE CC/VERSION | (READ SYS$PIPE hdr ; DEFINE/JOB/NOLOG hdr &hdr )
A logical name (in the job logical name table; shared by all processes in
the current job) was used as DCL symbols cannot be returned back out
from a DCL PIPE or other spawned subprocess.
For related materials, please see Section 8.1 and Section 8.11.

8.11 How can I substitute symbols in a PIPE?

Use DCL ampersand substitution, and not apostrophe substitution.
$ pipe show system | search sys$input opcom | (read sys$input pid ;
pid=f$element(0," ",pid) ; define/system opcom_pid &pid)
$ show log opcom_pid
"OPCOM_PID" = "0000020B" (LNM$SYSTEM_TABLE)

8–8
 DCL Details

8.12 Use of RUN/DETACH, LOGINOUT, and logical names?

With a command to create a detached process such as:
$ RUN/DETACHED SYS$SYSTEM:LOGINOUT /INPUT=TEMP_INPUT.COM
If you are trying to use a logical name as the /INPUT, /OUTPUT or
/ERROR on a RUN/DETACH command, then you must translate the
logical name specifications to physical references before passing them, or
the definitions must reside in a logical name table that is visible to the
newly-created process.
Also note that LOGINOUT only creates the SYS$LOGIN, SYS$LOGIN_
DEVICE, and SYS$SCRATCH logical names if it is processing a login
that is based on the contents of a SYSUAF record—without access
to the associated SYSUAF record, this information is not available to
LOGINOUT. (If you want to see these particular logical names created,
then please specify the /AUTHORIZE qualifier on the RUN/DETACHED
command.)
If you do not specify LOGINOUT as the image, then there is no easy
way to get these logical names. Also, any logical names that are used in
the target image file specification must also be in a logical name table
accessible (by default) by the newly-created detached process. Shared
tables include the group (if the process is in the same UIC group) and
the system table. (If the target process is to be in another UIC group, a
suitablly privileged user or application can create the necessary logical
name(s) directly in the other group logical name table.)
When in doubt, create a short DCL command file as input, and use a
SHOW LOGICAL and similar commands to examine the context. (And
use physical device and directory references on the RUN/DETACH of the
LOGINOUT image, when specifying this command file as /INPUT.) Also
remember to check both security auditing and system accounting when
troubleshooting problems with the RUN/DETACH.
Also see Section 8.2.

8.13 How to use escape and control characters in DCL?

To write a message and then the bell character, use:
$ bell[0,7] = 7
$ write sys$output "Hello’’bell’"

8–9
DCL Details

To write blinking text, use:

$ esc[0,7] = 27
$ text = "Blinking Text"
$ write sys$output "’’esc’[5m’’text’’’esc’[m"
Also see sections Section 11.6, Section 12.1.

8–10
9 Files

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
9.1 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 various
websites can potentially recover the file, see question Section 13.1 for
pointers. 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.)

9.2 Why does SHOW QUOTA give a different answer than DIR/SIZE?
DIRECTORY/SIZE doesn’t take into account the size of file headers which
are charged to your quota. Also, unless you use DIRECTORY/SIZE:ALL,
you will 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.

9–1
 Files

$ DIRECTORY/SIZE=ALL/GRAND [username...]
Grand total of D1 directories, F1 files, B1/B2 blocks.
$ DIRECTORY/SIZZ=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 has drifted out of synchronization, then the system-
manager can force a quota rebuild—due to various factors, the quota file
can potentially drift from the actual use over time, and a periodic rebuild
can be performed at appropriate intervals.
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.)

9.3 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 Journaling and host- or
controller-based shadowing. 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.
For details on disk bad block handling on MSCP and on SCSI disk
devices, please see Ask The Wizard (ATW) topic (6926).
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

9–2
 Files

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.

9.4 What are the limits on file specifications and directories?

A file specification has an aggregate maximum size of 255 characters
(NAM$C_MAXRSS) at present, assuming ODS-2 limits and traditional
DCL process parsing settings (SET PROCESS/PARSE_STYLE). The node
and device specification may be up to 255 characters each—file name
and file types may be up to 39 characters each. File versions are from 1
through 32767, though 0 (latest version), -0 (oldest version) and -n (n’th
previous version) can be used in most contexts. A file specification may
not have more than 8 directories and subdirectories or—with a rooted
directory, two sets of eight are possible—and while it is possible to create
subdirectories of greater depth, accessing them under ODS-2 is somewhat
problematic in most cases, and thus should be avoided.
Under ODS-5 with extended DCL parsing (SET PROCESS/PARSE_
STYLE), the filename length limits are up around 4,095 (NAML$C_
MAXRSS) characters, and directories can be around 255 levels deep.
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.
Performance of larger directory files improves (greatly) with OpenVMS
V7.2 and later—operations on directory files of 128 blocks and larger were
rather slower on earlier OpenVMS releases due to the smaller size of the
directory cache and due to the directory I/O processing logic.
For fastest directory deletions, consider a reverse deletion—delete from
the last file in the directory to the first. This reversal speeds the deletion
operation by avoiding unnecessary directory I/O operations as the files are
deleted. Tools such as the Freeware DFU can be used for this purpose, as
can various available reverse-DELETE DCL command procedures.
Also see Section 5.44.

9–3
 Files

9.5 What is the largest disk volume size OpenVMS can access?
One Terabyte (TB; 2**31 blocks of 2**9 bytes; 0x07FFFFFFF blocks). 255
volumes in a volume set. The largest contiguous allocation possible for
any particular file is 0x03FFFFFFF blocks.
Prior to the release of V6.0, the OpenVMS file system was limited to disk
volumes of 8.38 GB (2**24 blocks, 16777216 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. This limit
due to the SCSI drivers used by and built into the console ROM to read
the OpenVMS bootstrap files, and these same drivers are also used by
OpenVMS to write the system crashdump.
There are numerous discussions of this VAXstation 3100 in the
comp.os.vms newsgroup archives. Please use Google newsgroup
search to search the archives for further details, for discussions of the
workarounds, and for details of the potential for a simple failed bootstrap
and particularly for discussions of the potential for severe system disk
corruptions on crashes.
Some SCSI disks with capacities larger than 8.58 gigabytes (GB) will
require the use of an OpenVMS ECO kit (eg: ALPSCSI04_062 or later;
see Section 14.25 for details) 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.
For ATA (IDE) disk drives:
• Versions of SYS$DQDRIVER *BEFORE* X-15 topped out at 8.455
GB.
Fixed drivers (equal or greater than "X-15") were shipped in:
• OpenVMS Alpha V7.2-1, and later
• V7.2 UPDATE V1.0 ECO, and later
9–4
Files

• V7.1-2 UPDATE V1.0 ECO, and later

• V7.1-2 UPDATE V3.0 ECO, and later
• The newer SYS$DQDRIVER driver operates to disks up to 33 GB
without (known) problems, and effectively works with rather larger
disks (up to circa 137 GB) but is known to report an incorrect number
of "cylinders" with disks above 33 GB.

See Section 14.4.4.2 for additional ATA SYS$DQDRIVER information.

Be aware that a known restriction in certain older versions of the Alpha
SRM Console prevents booting most ATA (IDE) drives larger than
8.455 GB, depending on exactly where the various files are located on
the volume. Updated SRM consoles for systems with SRM and ATA
(IDE) drive support are (will be) available. (OpenVMS Engineering has
successfully bootstrapped 20GB ATA (IDE) disks using the appropriate
SRM console version.)
Note
All disk-related listed in this section are stated in units of
"disk (base ten) gigabytes" (1 GB = 10^9 bytes) and not in
units of "software (base two) gigabytes" (1 GB = 2^30; 1 GB
= 1073741824.) bytes. Please see Section 14.25 for details of
the nomenclature and of the units.
Be aware that larger disks that are using an extension of SCSI-2— disks
that are using a mode page field that the SCSI-2 specifications normally
reserved for tape devices—to permit a larger disk volume size will require
a SCSI driver update for OpenVMS, and this change is part of V7.1-2
and later, and also part of ALPSCSI07_062 and later. (These larger disks
disks will typically report a DRVERR, or will see the volume size "rounded
down".) SCSI disks larger than 16777216 blocks cira 8.455 GB (base ten);
8GB (base two) require this ECO, or require the use of OpenVMS Alpha
V7.1-2 or later.
Applications written in C can be limited to file sizes of two gigabytes and
less, as a result of the use of longword values within C file operations, and
specifically off_t. This restriction is lifted in OpenVMS V7.3-1 and later,
and with the application of the C ECO kits available for specific earlier
releases. The use of a longword for off_t restricts applications using
native C I/O to file sizes of two gigabytes or less, or these applications
must use native RMS or XQP calls for specific operations.
Also see Section 14.13, Section 14.25.

9–5
 Files

9.6 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).
‘‘Use a volume set to provide a large, homogeneous public file space. You
must use a volume set to create files that are larger than a single physical
disk volume. (The file system attempts to balance the load on the volume
sets, for example, by creating new files on the volume that is the least full
at the time.)’’
‘‘You can add volumes to an existing volume set at any time. The
maximum number of volumes in a volume set is 255.’’ Further, with a
255 member bound-volume set, the theoretical maximum limit of files is
4,261,478,145 files, less the directories and reserved files.
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 Section 2.17.1, Section 14.25.

9.7 How do I write CD-Recordable or DVD media on OpenVMS?

How to create CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, or DVD+RW
media on OpenVMS?
For information on CD and DVD optical media drives on OpenVMS,
please see Section 14.29. For information on the creation of OpenVMS
media and of OpenVMS bootable media, a full step-by-step sequence
is documented in the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard topic (9820). An
abbreviated version of the sequence is included here.
Recording (writing) of CD and DVD optical media requires a recording
or media mastering application or tool, and both commercial and non-
commercial options are available. For OpenVMS V8.3 and later, see the
COPY/RECORDABLE_MEDIA command available within OpenVMS
itself. Alternatively, please see CDRECORD (both non-DVD and DVD
versions are available, and at least one commercial version is available),
and also see DVDwrite (commercial) or DVDRECORD (open source). A
port of CDRECORD is present in OpenVMS V7.3-1 and later.
• Acquire a comparatively recent SCSI-based or ATAPI (IDE) CD-
R or DVD-R/RW or DVD+R/RW drive. Older drives can be very

9–6
 Files

problematic, while newer drives are readily available, and are cheap
and very fast, and tend to have better compliance with current
standards. Use of older drives is not recommended. Related device
requirements information is available in Section 14.29.
• Get the most recent LDDRIVER available on the Freeware, or
activate and use the LD version latent in OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-
1 and V7.3-2 by loading the LD command verb (look within
SYS$MANAGER:CDRECORD.COM for related details), or use the
integrated LD found in OpenVMS V8.2 and later.
In particular, you will want to use the current ECO kit for LDDRIVER
(as available), or the version of LD distributed with V8.2. The
OpenVMS V8.2 version of LDDRIVER was also kitted on Freeware
V7.0 as LD071.
If you are not running OpenVMS V8.2, the specified LD071 kit or
later, or a current ECO with the update, you will want to upgrade, or
you will want to use the DCL command:
SET FILE/CACHING_ATTRIBUTES=NO_CACHING
on the LD partition file. This is a workaround for an incompatibility found between
older LDDRIVER versions and the XFC caching support.
As an alternative to LD and LDDRIVER, you can acquire and load
the VD64 package from the Freeware.
• Use the COPY/RECORDABLE_MEDIA command available within
OpenVMS V8.3 and later, or use the version of CDRECORD
built in V7.3-1 or later, or obtain and utilize one of the open
source or commercial versions of the CDRTOOLS/CDRECORD or
DVDRTOOLS/CDRECORD tools, or other similar recording tools.
Freeware V6.0 distribution. ( http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
) An OpenVMS port of the cmcd CD audio ripper is also reportedly
available. http://www.amb.org/xmcd/
Versions of CDRECORD (non-DVD) are latent in OpenVMS Alpha
V7.3-1 and later. Commercial versions of CDDRECORD—with
DVD capabilities—are also available for various platforms, and
particularly a variant of CDRECORD known as CDRECORD-ProDVD.
COPY/RECORDABLE_MEDIA is built into OpenVMS V8.3 and later.

Beware the tool chosen: some versions and configurations of

CDRECORD can record DVD media, as can the DVDRECORD
package, as can the commercial DVDwrite package. Many versions
of CDRECORD cannot record DVD media, including the version

9–7
Files

of CDRECORD latent within OpenVMS and the version found on

Freeware V6.0; these versions cannot record DVD media.
• Build the contents of the disk on the LD or VD64 device partition.
• Use the chosen recording tool to record the contents of the LD or
VD64 partition directly onto the optical medium.

Alternatively, consider the following command on OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-1

and later:
@SYS$MANAGER:CDRECORD.COM HELP
While folks have had success getting PC-based CD-R/RW or DVD-R/RW
or DVD+R/RW tools to work with OpenVMS partitions, it is far easier
and more reliable to use the OpenVMS-based versions of these tools
and directly-attached devices. If you use a Windows-based tool, you will
want to specifically select its raw mode, image mode, or block-copy mode,
depending on the terminology within the particular tool. The transfer
mode and selections is variously refered to as a disk-at-once (DAO)
2048-byte block ISO Mode 1 raw/image/block data disk recording mode.
More details: Creation of CD recordable or DVD recordable media
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 (PC-based packages will be included
in this), or the use of a host-based package such as the CDRECORD
or COPY/RECORDABLE_MEDIA (V8.3 and later) or other utilities,
including OpenVMS ports of common open-source tools made available
by Dr. Eberhard Heuser-Hofmann and various others. Commercial
packages and options are also available. Dr. Heuser-Hofmann has
DVDwrite , a commercial package which can record DVD media. (
http://home.tiscali.de/dvd4openvms )
OpenVMS can read ODS-2, ODS-5, and ISO-9660 format CD-ROMs and
DVD-ROMs directly. (If you are very careful, you can create a dual-
format CD-R; a CD-R with both ODS-2 and ISO-9660 or both ODS-5 and
ISO-9660 or both.)
OpenVMS does not support ISO-9660:1999, nor the Joliet or Rock Ridge
extensions to ISO-9660, nor can OpenVMS decrypt copy-protected video
DVDs.

9–8
 Files

InfoServer hardware configurations are no longer available from

HP, but may potentially be acquired through other means; as used
equipment. InfoServer support also has very specific CD-R recording
device prerequisites, and these recording devices are no longer generally
available.
Packages related to the use of DVD archiving are also available, see the
multi-volume capabilities of the DVDarchive/restore Freeware.
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/9999/vmscdwri.html
Additional information is available at the following sites:
• http://www.djesys.com/vms/cdrom.html
• http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/vms.html
• http://www.faqs.org/faqs/cdrom/cd-recordable/part1/preamble.html
• http://www.tmesis.com/CDrom/
• http://www.tditx.com/~odsiso/

U.S. Design offers a package that includes the tools necessary to create
a CD or DVD-R with either ISO-9660 or ODS-2 format, for standalone
CD-R/RW, DVD-R, or DVD+R/RW drives, for recent OpenVMS versions.
Details are available at:
• http://www.usdesign.com/

Also see Section 9.7.2 for details on access to recorded media on older
CD-ROM drives.

9.7.1 CD and DVD notation, terminology?

CD-ROM is pre-recorded Compact Disk media, and is the original and
oldest CD format. The original CD media was physically stamped, a
recording process that is now largely reserved to the highest-volume
media reproduction requirements.
CD-R is CD Recordable, a write-once storage medium that can be read by
all but the oldest of CD drives; a format which can be read and often even
recorded by most CD-RW drives.
CD-RW is CD ReWritable, a format which is readable by many CD drives
and by most CD-R drives, and with media that can be recorded and
re-recorded by CD-RW drives.

9–9
Files

CD media recording speeds are listed as multiples of 150 kilobytes

per second, so a 10X drive records at 1500 kilobytes (1.5 megabytes)
per second. 600 MB (70 minutes) and 700 MB (80 minutes) recording
capacities are both widely available. The minutes designation is derived
from the traditional audio-format recording capacity of the particular
media.
DVD-R/RW is the older of two common Digital Versatile Disk recording
formats, and the DVD-R Recordable or DVD-RW ReWritable media can
be read by many DVD drives. As with CD-R formats in older CD drives,
older DVD and particularly first-generation DVD players may have
problems reading this media format.
DVD+R/RW is the newer of the two common Digital Versatile Disk
recording formats, and the DVD+R Recordable or DVD+RW ReWritable
media can be read by many DVD drives. Akin to DVD-R/RW media, older
and particularly first-generation DVD drives can have problems reading
this media format.
The DVD Plus-series drives and media tend to record faster than Minus
drives, as (as of this writing) the Plus (+) drives do not require an initial
media formatting pass and the Minus (-) drives do. While the appropriate
Plus (+) or Minus (-) DVD raw media must be chosen for the particular
DVD recorder (and DVD recording drives that are compatible with and
capable of using both Plus and Minus media are available), the resulting
recorded media is generally readable (playable) in all recent DVD drives
and DVD players, regardless of type. (Compatibility is best within the
same media-series devices of course, but be certain to verify compatibility
across devices regardless of the particular device or particular recording
media chosen.)
Presently Plus (+) media is slightly more expensive than Minus (-), but
with the prices of all CD and all DVD media continuing to consistently
fall, the differences in DVD media costs are becoming irrelevent for all
but the production of huge volumes of DVD media.
The rated DVD recording speeds are in multiples of 1353 kilobytes per
second, thus a DVD 1X drive is roughly equivalent to a CD 9X drive in
I/O requirements and transfer speed.
DVD drive recording speed can and does vary. DVD disk drive recording
speed is limited by the rated recording speed of the media used, so the
slower (and cheaper) DVD media will not record any more quickly in a
faster drive. A 2.4X DVD drive loaded with 1X media will record at 1X.

9–10
 Files

9.7.2 Use of RRD42 and other older (embossed-media) CD drives?

The RRD42 series SCSI CD-ROM drive is sufficiently old that it can have
problems processing CD-R and CD-RW media. Other very old CD drives
can have equivalent media compatibility problems when attempting to
read (much) newer CD media and newer CD media technologies. These
older CD drives are generally intended for use with the so-called embossed
media, rather than with non-embossed recorded (recordable) media now
in common circulation.
Please consider using a slightly-less-ancient CD-ROM or CD-R or CD-RW
drive when working with non-embossed recorded CD media.
To paraphrase one knowledgable—though deliberately nameless—storage
engineer, ‘‘The RRD42 drive is just past the drooling idiot stage’’.

9.7.3 Creating Bootable OpenVMS I64 CD or DVD Media? SYS$SETBOOT?

If you are creating a bootable CD or DVD media for use with OpenVMS
I64, you will want to specify the SYS$SETBOOT block size of 2048, and
you will also want a disk cluster factor that is a multiple of four via
INITIALIZE/CLUSTER=4 (or 8, or...), or you will want to ensure that
SYS$EFI.SYS and SYS$DIAGNOSTICS.SYS are aligned to a multiple of
four blocks; to a 2048 byte boundary. This alignment and this blocking is
only necessary for OpenVMS I64, and only when creating optical media
OpenVMS I64 for bootstraps.
The default 512-byte block setting used by SYS$SETBOOT is the correct
and expected value for traditional disk bootstraps on OpenVMS I64
systems.
Once the boot files are loaded, OpenVMS I64 operates with 512-
byte blocks; as is the case with ATAPI disks on OpenVMS Alpha,
all application code will only see 512-byte blocks on optical media on
OpenVMS I64.
OpenVMS I64 V8.2 and later are expected to have a version of
SYS$SETBOOT that will flag a misaligned SYS$EFI.SYS and (if present)
a misaligned SYS$DIAGNOSTICS.SYS file.
For information on SYS$SETBOOT and the SET BOOTBLOCK command,
please see Section 14.3.9 and see the OpenVMS documentation. The
purpose and intent of the SYS$SETBOOT.EXE image and the SET
BOOTBLOCK command is analogous to the WRITEBOOT.EXE image on
existing OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha systems.

9–11
 Files

For information on CD and DVD optical media drives on OpenVMS,

please see Section 14.29. For additional related information on creating
bootable OpenVMS media, please see Ask The Wizard topic (9820).

9.8 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 Section 9.4, Section 9.5.

9.9 Can I use ODBC to connect to OpenVMS database files?

Yes, you can use various available third-party packages that permit
remote ODBC clients to access RMS files and various commercial
databases via the network.
For RMS, consider acquiring one of the packages available from EasySoft,
Attunity Connect (formerly known as ISG Navigator), Oracle (DB
Integrator), SolutionsIQ, OpenLink Software (OpenLink Universal Data
Access), and Synergex.
The unixODBC package available at http://www.unixodbc.org has
variously been found to operate on OpenVMS, as well.
For specific commercial databases (other than RMS, of course), contact
the database vendor directly for assistance.
9–12
 Files

9.10 If my disks are shown as VIOC Compatible, am I using XFC?

Yes, you are using XFC caching.
Disks that are using XFC caching use communication and coordination
protocols that are compatible with the older VIOC caching
implementation. With the initial implementation of XFC on OpenVMS,
you can use the command SHOW MEMORY/CACHE to see no disks
reported in full XFC mode; all disks shown will be listed in ‘‘VIOC
Compatable Mode’’.
If you have the OpenVMS system parameter VCC_FLAGS set to 2 and
are using OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-1 or later, or are using OpenVMS Alpha
V7.3 with the VMS73_XFC V2.0 ECO kit or later or with the UPDATE
kits, you are using XFC.
Another confusion: the XFC product version is and remains V1.0 in
all released configurations, please do not confuse the internal XFC
product version (displayed by various commands) with the version
number associated with the various ECO kit(s). XFC V1.0 does not
permit volumes to enter full XFC caching, as displayed by the ‘‘Vols in
Full XFC mode’’ portion of the DCL command SHOW MEMORY/CACHE
output.

9.11 RMS Sequential Files and Platform Portability?

When working with mixed platforms, you will want to become familiar
with the various RMS sequential record formats, including Variable with
Fixed Control (VFC), stream, stream LF, and stream CR, among other
record formats.
Switching formats uses CONVERT/FDL or SET FILE/ATTRIBUTES.
The former converts files, the latter resets attributes. Text editors tend
to select attributes when creating new files that may or may not meet
requirements. If the default attributes do not match your requirements,
create a stub file, SET FILE/ATTR, then edit the existing file. (Most
editors will preserve attributes on an existing file.)
When working with Windows, stream is usually the best choice for
sequential file operations. Stream LF is most commonly used with UNIX
and C applications. Windows and UNIX tend not to be able to directly
read files of "unexpected" sequential RMS record formats.

9–13
 Files

VFC is a common OpenVMS format, encoding the record length into

the record. It is this extra data that can cause corruption-like problems
when viewed without RMS; either directly via $qio or via the file system
API on other operating system platforms. You will want to look at the
low-level record formats, and at the RMS and the Files and Applications
documentation in the OpenVMS manuals.
If transfering through other platforms, use of a current version of Zip
(with the "-Vv" or "-V" option) and unzip, or use of a BACKUP saveset
will contain and maintain the RMS file and record attributes. (For
BACKUP and its own attributes requirements, see the restoration tool.)

9.12 How to read locked files?

Files can be locked by applications, and various approaches including
CONVERT/SHARE and DUMP/ALLOCATED can be used, as can the
following command sequence:
$ open/read/share=write x lockedfile.txt
$ type x
If you can rebuild the application from source, details related to file
sharing are in Section 10.17.

9–14
10 OpenVMS Programming Information

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
10.1 Modular Programming, Facility Prefixes and Symbol Naming?
Please first review the OpenVMS Programming Concepts Manual and the
Guide to Modular Programming manuals. Both are available within the
OpenVMS documentation set, and provide details of the expected norms
for OpenVMS programs.
• Learn about the facility prefix, and use a the appropriate prefix
uniformly throughout all external symbols, all logical names, and
all files located in shared directories. The prefix and the use of the
dollar sign ($) and the underscore (_) help avoid collisions with other
products. Use of the dollar sign is reserved to registered products.
• Please consider use of tools such as the Freeware SDL package, and
the GNM package. These permit you to generate include files and
message documentation akin to that of OpenVMS, providing users of
your product with a familiar environment.
• For product installations, consider use of the PCSI installation utility,
and provide a product-specific configuration DCL command procedure
(usually SYS$MANAGER:prefix$CONFIG.COM) if configuration is
required.
• The product startup file is usually named
SYS$STARTUP:prefix$STARTUP.COM, and the shutdown file (if
needed) is usually SYS$STARTUP:prefix$SHUTDOWN.COM.

OpenVMS provides a registry for facility prefixes and for MESSAGE

message compiler codes. To request a prefix and a message facility code
for a product you distributinng to other customer sites, send your request
in a mail message addressed to product[-at-sign-]hylndr.sqp.zko.dec.com,
requesting the submission form and details of the registration process.
Note
Please do not request facility prefixes for products that
local to your business, your site, or your system. Facility
prefixes and message codes and the facility registration

10–1
 OpenVMS Programming Information

process are intended solely for HP products and Partner

Products (and yes, even OpenVMS Freeware packages)
that will be distributed across multiple OpenVMS customer
sites.
For a list of common coding bugs, please see the remainder of this section
of the FAQ and specifically Section 10.22, please also see the Ask The
Wizard topic (1661), and for information on debugging an OpenVMS
application, please see topic (7552).
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.

10.2 Can I have a source code example of calling...?

Please use the available SEARCH command on OpenVMS, and please
remember to search the available resources, including the support
databases and the newsgroup archives. Please also realize that most
OpenVMS system services use similar calling sequences, meaning that an
example of calling sys$getjpi can be used as an example for sys$getsyi and
sys$getdvi. Students: please do not expect folks to write your homework
for you. As for search resources:
• SEARCH SYS$EXAMPLES:*.* target
• SEARCH TCPIP$EXAMPLES:*.* target
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
• http://www.google.com/

OpenVMS programming documentation, including the numerous example

programs found in recent versions of the OpenVMS Programming
Concepts manual, is available:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/doc/

As for details of argument passing, 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. For further
details on using descriptors and particularly for using descriptors from C,
please see Section 10.13.

10–2
OpenVMS Programming Information

There is extensive information available on how to call OpenVMS system

services and OpenVMS Run-Time Library routines, including examples in
numerous languages. Among the best available 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, you can also locate answers, source code examples and
related discussions in the James Search Assistant (formerly NLSA
(Natural Language Search Assistant), itself formerly known as Ask
Compaq (AskQ)) database:
• http://www2.itrc.hp.com/service/james/CPQhome.do

In this area, you will find the source code of programming examples
for calls to many of the OpenVMS system services (and from various
programming languages), including calls to core services sys$getjpi[w],
sys$getsyi[w] and sys$qio[w], as well as source code examples for calls to
many other system services and run-time library routines, and examples
of one of the more difficult calling interfaces found on OpenVMS systems,
that of the smg$create_menu routine.
Arne Vajhøj has put together a collection of OpenVMS example programs.
It can be found at:
• ftp://ftp.hhs.dk/pub/vms/

Additional information and examples for OpenVMS are available via:

• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference. and via:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/

10–3
 OpenVMS Programming Information

10.3 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 Section 8.2.

10.4 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.

10.5 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. This links against the base image: SYS$BASE_IMAGE.EXE
Also see Section 10.11, particularly for pointers to the details on shareable
images and shareable image creation, and see Section 10.22 for details of
inner-mode floating point requirements, of data alignment, requirements
for use of /NOSYSLIB, and other related inner-mode programming details,
and see Section 10.11 for image-related information.

10–4
 OpenVMS Programming Information

10.6 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!

10.7 How do I turn my Fortran COMMON into a shareable image on Alpha?

You need to add SYMBOL_VECTOR=(<common-name>=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 HP 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.

10.8 How do I convert between IEEE and VAX floating data?

In OpenVMS V6.1 and later, the routine CVT$CONVERT_FLOAT
is documented in the LIB$ Run-Time Library Reference Manual,
and can perform floating point 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, etc.
10–5
 OpenVMS Programming Information

HP Fortran (all OpenVMS platforms) has a feature which will perform

automatic conversion of unformatted data during input or output. See the
HP Fortran documentation for information on "non-native data in I/O"
and the CONVERT= OPEN statement keyword.
There are floating-point conversion source code packages available for
various platforms.
For further floating-point related information, see:
• http://www.hhs.dk/anonymous/pub/vms/collection/ieee.zip

10.9 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.

10.10 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 VAX and Alpha
systems do not have a unique hardware-set ‘‘system ID’’ that can be used
for this purpose. HP OpenVMS products do not use hardware IDs in the
licensing methods, as many users consider a hardware-based licensing
scheme to be negative attribute when considering software purchases.
HP OpenVMS uses a software-based system called the License
Management Facility (LMF). This provides for software keys (Product
Authorization Keys or PAKS) which support capacity and user-based
license checking. HP offers an LMF PAK Generator to DSPP (formerly
CSA) members—see Section 2.8.3 for general details on the DSPP
offerings, and on the DSPP-provided Freeware PAKGEN PAK that is
available for those that are interested in details. (Sorry, no; you can’t use
the Freeware PAKGEN PAK to generate any PAK you might want. Folks
at HP also thought of that one, too.)
For information on licensing, please see Section 12.4.
10–6
 OpenVMS Programming Information

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.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.

10.11 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.

10–7
 OpenVMS Programming Information

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 URL:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.

10.12 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).

10.13 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,
with the use of the angle brackets normally expected by the C include
statements deliberately altered in deference to HTML:

10–8
OpenVMS Programming Information

#include {descrip.h}
#include {lib$routines.h}
#include {stsdef.h}
int RetStat;
char TxtBuf[TXTSIZ]
struct dsc$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

10–9
 OpenVMS Programming Information

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.
Fortran defaults to passing integers by reference and characters by
descriptor. The following sites discuss mixing Fortran and C source code
in the same application:
• http://www.hhs.dk/anonymous/pub/vms/misc/FORTRAN_C_
CALL.COM
• ftp://ftp.hhs.dk/pub/vms/misc/FORTRAN_C_CALL.COM

10.14 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:
• personna services around a sys$creprc call. See above.
• 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.)

10–10
 OpenVMS Programming Information

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

10.15 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.
Also note that the lib$spawn and the C system call will fail in a CAPTIVE
login environment. The lib$spawn call can be gotten to work in this
environment with the specification of the TRUSTED flag.

10–11
 OpenVMS Programming Information

10.16 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.REQ module:
!
! This is the OpenVMS VAX version of ARCH_DEFS.REQ, and
! contains the architectural definitions for conditionally
! compiling OpenVMS Bliss sources for use on VAX systems.
! (If you should encounter compilation errors here, please
! seriously consider upgrading your Bliss compiler.)
!
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* (Obsolete, old name)
(%BLISS(BLISS32E) OR %BLISS(BLISS64E))%; ! = 0 if compiled /VAX /Inn
MACRO ALPHA = ! = 1 if compiled BLISS/E* (New arch name)
(%BLISS(BLISS32E) OR %BLISS(BLISS64E))%; ! = 0 if compiled /VAX /Inn
MACRO IA64 = ! = 1 if compiled BLISS/I* (New arch name)
(%BLISS(BLISS32I) OR %BLISS(BLISS64I))%; ! = 0 if compiled /VAX or /Ann
10–12
 OpenVMS Programming Information

MACRO ADDRESSBITS =
%BPADDR%; ! = 32 or 64 based on compiler used
Some Bliss code may require the definition files for the OpenVMS older
LIBRTL routine lib$tparse, or the newer lib$table_parse call:
$ BLISS /LIBRARY=SYS$COMMON:[SYSLIB]TPAMAC.L32 -
SYS$LIBRARY:TPAMAC.REQ

10.17 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.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.
Depending on the environment, you may need to use C calls such as fsync
and fflush, and—in specific cases—the setvbuf(_IONBF) call.
For related materials around commands that can potentially be used to
override file locking—to view the file contents as currently written to
disk—see Section 9.12.

10.18 How can I have common sources for messages, constants?

Use the GNM tools on the OpenVMS Freeware to have common sources
for MSG (message) files and SDML (Document) documentation files. Use
the DOCUMENT command to convert the SDML documentation into the
necessary formats (Text, Postscript, HTML, etc). Use the MESSAGE/SDL
tool (latent in OpenVMS) to create an SDL file based on the messages.
Then use the SDL tool (available on the OpenVMS Freeware) to convert
the SDL file into language-specific definitions. (There is also a converter
around to convert SDL into SDML, if you want to get pictures of the data
structures for your documentation.)

10–13
 OpenVMS Programming Information

10.19 How do I activate the OpenVMS Debugger from an application?

#include {lib$routines.h}
#include {ssdef.h}
#include {string.h}
main()
{
char ascic_debug_commands[128];
char *dbgcmd = "*show calls;go;exit";
strcpy( ascic_debug_commands, dbgcmd );
ascic_debug_commands[0] = (char) strlen( dbgcmd ) - 1;
lib$signal(SS$_DEBUG,1,ascic_debug_commands);
return 1;
}
Also see Section 10.28 for another related discussion of the OpenVMS
Debugger, and of a technique that uses the SS$_DEBUG signal.

10.20 Dealing with Endian-ness?

OpenVMS VAX, OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64 (as well as all
Microsoft Windows implementations) all support and all use the little-
endian byte ordering. Certain Alpha microprocessors and certain Intel
Itanium processors can be configured to operate in big-endian and
potentially in bi-endian mode. HP-UX typically operates big-endian.

With little-endian byte order, the least significant byte is always the first
byte; the byte at the lowest address. With big-endian byte ordering, the
byte storage order in memory is dependent on the size of the data (byte,
word, longword) that is being referenced.
Endian-ness is a problem has been solved many times before. Some of
the typical solutions include htonl/htons and ntohl/ntohs in the standard
C library and the TCP/IP Services XDR (eXternal Data Representation)
libraries. One of the more recently introduced network formats, and one
that is seeing extensive press and marketing coverage, is XML.

10–14
 OpenVMS Programming Information

10.21 How to resolve LINK-I-DATMISCH errors?

The message LINK-I-DATMISCH is informational, and indicates that the
version of the specified shareable image found in the system shareable
image directory does not match the version of the shareable image that
was originally loaded into IMAGELIB.OLB, one of the OpenVMS libraries
typically searched by the LINKER.
From a privileged username, you can usually completely repair this via
the following DCL command:
$ LIB/REPLACE/SHARE SYS$LIBRARY:IMAGELIB.OLB SYS$SHARE:LIBRTL.EXE
This command assumes that the shareable image that was found in the
SYS$SHARE: area is valid and upward-compatiable, and that the image
has simply replaced an older version without also updating IMAGELIB.

10.22 HP 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 HP C compiler for OpenVMS
VAX systems. HP C is the ANSI 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. HP C is an ANSI C compiler, and
can also compile most VAX C code when /STANDARD=VAXC is specified.
Versions of this compiler between V3.2 and V6.5 (exclusive) were known
as DEC C, DIGITAL C, and 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.
The system manager can choose the system default C compiler when HP
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 HP C on the
same OpenVMS VAX system.
Various HP 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 HP C RTL kit, a kit that is included with the HP
C compiler. OpenVMS VAX versions V6.1 and later do not require a
seperate RTL kit, but HP C RTL ECO kits are available to resolve
problems found with the C RTL on various OpenVMS releases.

10–15
 OpenVMS Programming Information

With HP 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 HP C include:
• Failure to specify the prefixing qualifier (on certain and usually
older versions of C) 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:
/PREFIX=ALL_ENTRIES
• Some VAX C programs erroneously write to the string literals. By
default, HP C does not allow the constants to change.
/ASSUME=WRITABLE_STRING_LITERALS
• Enables sharing (‘‘shr’’) of globals and of extern variables. HP C sets
externs as non-shareable (‘‘noshr’’), VAX C as ‘‘shr’’.
/SHARE_GLOBALS
• VAX C assumes common block model for external linkages.
/EXTERN_MODE=COMMON_BLOCK

10–16
 OpenVMS Programming Information

• 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.
/[NO]MEMBER_ALIGNMENT
• Enable all manner of useful compiler diagnostics:
/WARN=ENABLE=(LEVEL4,QUESTCODE)/STANDARD=PORT/ACCEPT=NOVAXC_KEYWORDS
You can disable extraneous diagnostics with the following:
#ifdef __DECC
#pragma message save
#pragma message disable /* insert message tag here */
#endif

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$creprc
quota itemlist—and with data structures that are using data that was
organized by a system using byte or other non-member alignment.
Versions of HP C such as V6.0 include the capability to extract the
contents of the standard header libraries into directories such as
SYS$SYSROOT:[DECC$LIB...], and provide various logical names that
can be defined to control library searches. With HP C versions such
as V6.0, the default operations of the compiler match the expectations
of most OpenVMS programmers, without requiring any definitions of
site-specific library-related logical names. (And logical names left from
older DEC C versions can sometimes cause the compiler troubles locating
header files.)
HP C V5.6 and later include a backport library, a mechanism by which
HP C running on older OpenVMS releases can gain access to newer RTL
routines added to the RTL in later OpenVMS releases—the language
RTLs ship with OpenVMS itself, and not with the compilers.
Example C code is available in SYS$EXAMPLES:, in DECW$EXAMPLES
(when the DECwindows examples are installed), in TCPIP$SERVICES
(or on older releases, UCX$EXAMPLES) when HP TCP/IP Services is
installed), on the Freeware CD-ROMs, and at web sites such as
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

10–17
 OpenVMS Programming Information

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.

10.22.1 Other common C issues

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, 101 for 2001, etc., and
the yearly incrementation of this field is expected to continue.
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. (The
most common solution is to ensure that time_t is an unsigned.)
If C does not correctly handle the display of the local system time, then
check the UTC configuration on OpenVMS—the most common symptom
of this is a skew of one hour (or whatever the local daylight saving time
change might be). This skew can be caused by incorrect handling of the
"is_dst" setting in the application program, or by an incorrect OpenVMS
UTC configuration on the local system. (See section Section 4.4.)
Floating point is prohibited in OpenVMS Alpha inner-mode (privileged)
code, and in any process or other execution context that does not have
floating point enabled. C programmers developing and working with
OpenVMS Alpha high-IPL kernel-mode code such as device drivers will
want to become familiar with the floating point processing available in
the environment, and with the C compiler qualifier /INSTRUCTION_
SET=[NO]FLOATING_POINT. Device drivers and other similar kernel-
mode C code must be compiled with /INSTRUCTION_SET=FLOATING_
POINT and /EXTERN_MODEL=STRICT_REFDEF.
Additionally, the SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$LIB_C.TLB/LIBRARY parameter
will be needed to be appended to the module specification or declared
via the C compiler’s include library logical name mechanism when the C
compiler is resolving kernel-mode data structures and definitions. This
library contains OpenVMS kernel-mode and other system declaractions,
and particularly a mixture of undocumented definitions and declarations,
and particularly definitions and declarations that are subject to change
(and that can accordingly lead to requirements for the recompilation of
application code).
10–18
 OpenVMS Programming Information

In addition to the user-mode C Run-Time Library (RTL) mentioned in

the OpenVMS C RTL documentation and referenced over in Section 3.9,
there is a second and parallel kernel-mode RTL accessable to device
drivers and other kernel code on OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64.
The most common time this second C library is noticed is when C code is
(erroneously) linked with /SYSEXE/SYSLIB, and duplicate symbol errors
typically then arise. As code running in supervisor-, executive- or kernel-
mode context cannot call out a user-mode RTL or other user-mode library,
you will want to respecify the command as LINK /SYSEXE/NOSYSLIB.
This will eliminate the duplicate symbol errors, since only the kernel-
mode library will be referenced, and it will also avoid calling out into the
user-mode libraries.
When sharing variables with other languages, here is some example HP
C code...
...
#pragma extern_model save
#pragma extern_model strict_refdef
extern int VMS$GL_FLAVOR;
#pragma extern_model restore
...
and here is some associated example Bliss code...
...
EXTERNAL
VMS$GL_FLAVOR,
....

10.22.2 Other common C++ issues

HP C++ (a separate compiler from HP C) provides both symbol mangling
and symbol decoration. Some of the details of working with longer symbol
names and the resulting symbol name mangling in mixed language
environments are listed in the shareable image cookbook, and in the
C++ documentation. Symbol name decoration permits the overloading of
functions (by adding characters to the external symbol for the function to
indicate the function return type and the argument data types involved),
and mixed-language external references can and often do need to disable
this decoration via the extern "C" declaration mechanism:
extern "C"
{
extern int ExternSymbol(void *);
extern int OtherExternSymbol(void *);
}

10–19
OpenVMS Programming Information

Also see Section 14.7 for information on /ARCHITECTURE and

/OPTIMIZE=TUNE.
See Section 10.15 for information on the C system and the lib$spawn call
in CAPTIVE environments.
Constructs such as the order of incrementation or decrementation
and the order of argument processing within an argument list are all
implementation-defined. This means that C coding constructs such as:
i = i++;
a[i] = i++;
foo( i, i++, --i);
are undefined and can have (adverse) implications when porting the
C code to another C compiler or to another platform. In general, any
combination of ++, –, =, +=, -=, *=, etc operators that will cause the
same value to be modified multiple times (between what the ANSI/ISO C
standard calls "sequence points") produce undefined and implementation-
specific results.
Within C, the following are the "sequence points": the ";" at the end of a C
statment, the | | , &&, ?:, and comma operators, and a call to a function.
Note specifically that = is NOT a sequence point, and that the individual
arguments contained within a function argument list can be processed
from right to left, from left to right, or at any random whim.
HP C for OpenVMS VAX (formerly DEC C) and VAX C do differ in the
related processing.
So you are looking for OpenVMS-specific definitions (include files)?
UCBDEF.H, PCBDEF.H and other OpenVMS-specific definitions—these
are considered part of OpenVMS and not part of the C compiler kit—are
available on all recent OpenVMS Alpha releases.
To reference the version-dependent symbol library sys$share:sys$lib_c.tlb,
use a command similar to the following for compilation:
$ CC sourcea+SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$LIB_C/LIB
You can also define DECC$TEXT_LIBRARY to reference the library.
You will want to review the Programming Concepts manual, and
specifically take a quick look at Chapter 21.

10–20
 OpenVMS Programming Information

And some general background: the STARLET definitions (and thus the
sys$starlet_c.tlb library) contain the symbols and the definitions that
are independent of the OpenVMS version. The LIB definitions (and thus
sys$lib_c) contain symbols and definitions that can be dependent on the
OpenVMS version. You won’t need to rebuild your code after an OpenVMS
upgrade if you have included definitions from STARLET. The same cannot
be said for some of the definitions in LIB—you might need to rebuild your
code. (The UCB structure can and has changed from release to release,
for instance.)
Recent versions of C automatically search sys$starlet_c.tlb. Explicit
specification of sys$lib_c.tlb is required.
Also see the Ask The Wizard website topics (2486), (3803), and (1661):
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.
See Section 9.5 for information on the C off_t limitations, resolved
in OpenVMS V7.3-1 and later and in ECO kits available for specific
OpenVMS releases. The use of a longword for off_t restricts applications
using native C I/O to file sizes of two gigabytes or less, or these
applications must use native RMS or XQP calls for specific operations.

10.23 Status of Programming Tools on OpenVMS VAX?

DECthreads V7.3 and the HP C compiler (also known as Compaq C
and DEC C) V6.4 are presently expected to be the last updates and
the last releases of these development packages for use on OpenVMS
VAX. The run-time support for both DECthreads (CMA$RTL) and for C
(DECC$CRTL) will continue to be maintained, and will continue to be
available on OpenVMS VAX. The VAX C V3.2 compiler is the final VAX
C compiler release for OpenVMS VAX, and the VAX C Run-Time Library
(VAXCRTL) will also continue to be available.
New development and new features and product enhancements continue
for the OpenVMS Alpha and the OpenVMS IA-64 DECthreads and C
compilers.

10–21
 OpenVMS Programming Information

10.24 Choosing a Version Number for Application Code?

One of the common rules-of-thumb used for choosing a displayed version
number string for a new version of a layered product or an application,
its implications, and its expected effects on client applications and users,
follows:
• No functional and no application-visible changes, bugfixes only—
the edit number is incremented. These tend to be very small, very
isolated, or ECO-level changes. These can also be distributions for
specific hardware configurations or platforms, as is the case with an
OpenVMS Limited Hardware Release (LHR). Application rebuilds are
not expected, and there is an assumption that general user-provided
application-related regression testing will not be required.
• Minimal functional and very few user-visible changes—the
maintenance number is incremented. These tend to be very small
or even ECO-level changes, though somewhat larger than an edit-
level change. Application rebuilds are not expected, and there is an
assumption that user-provided application-related regression testing
will not be required.
• Various small and upward-compatible functional changes—the minor
version number is incremented. The changes are user-visible, and
are intended to be user-visible. Application rebuilds are not expected.
Some application programmers may choose to perform regression
tests.
• Large and/or potentially incompatible changes—the major version
number is incremented. Some applications might need to be rebuilt.
Various application programmers will choose to perform regression
tests of their respective applications.

For additional version-numbering materials and for information on

assigning module generation numbers, please see the OpenVMS
(POLYCENTER) Software Product Installation Utility—variously refered
to by acronyms including PCSI and SPIA—reference manual available
within the OpenVMS documentation set.
Of course, all of this is obviously subject to interpretation, particularly
around the distinction between large and small changes and such. The
scale of the application is also a factor, as larger and more complex
applications will tend toward smaller increments and will tend to see
the maintenance number incremented, while new releases of smaller
applications will tend to see the minor version incremented somewhat
more frequently.
10–22
 OpenVMS Programming Information

The goal of all this is to provide a guide to relative scale of changes and
the associated effort involved in an upgrade for the user and/or for the
application programmer.

10.25 Selecting a Process Dump Directory?

You can customize the device and directory for the process dump by
defining the logical names SYS$PROCDMP and SYS$PROTECTED_
PROCDMP. The former is for non-privileged dumps, while the latter is
the location where privileged image dumps are written, and preferably an
area protected against untrusted access. For example:
$ define SYS$PROCDMP SYS$ERRORLOG:
$ define /exec SYS$PROTECTED_PROCDMP SYS$ERRORLOG:
The abouve presumes that the SYS$ERRORLOG logical name points to a
valid location.
There is presently no means to change the name of the generated dump
file from IMAGENAME.DMP to something else. Accordingly, you will
want to use different target directories for this purpose, particularly if
there is more than one application or process potentially writing process
dumps.

10.26 Access to Itanium Assembler?

If you are interested in accessing the native Intel Itanium assembler
within the OpenVMS I64 GNV environment—and since the iasi64
assembler is a Unix program and GNV is a Unix environment for
OpenVMS I64—you can simply copy iasi64.ext into your gnu:[bin]
directory in place of ‘‘as.’’, and of ‘‘AS.EXE’’.
Alternately and probably also better, you can write an ‘‘as.’’ script to
invoke the iasi64.exe image from its particular prefered location on the
local system.
A typical ‘‘as.’’ script looks like this:
path/iasi64.exe $1 $2 $3 $4 $5

10–23
 OpenVMS Programming Information

10.27 Kernel-mode coding restrictions?

Floating point is prohibited in OpenVMS Alpha inner-mode (privileged)
code, and within any process or other execution context that does not have
floating point enabled and available.
Programmers developing and working with OpenVMS Alpha high-IPL
kernel-mode code, such as device drivers, will further want to become
familiar with the floating-point processing and the instruction set
emulation available in the particular target environment (if any). When
working with C, inner-mode programmers will want to become familiar
with the C compiler qualifier /INSTRUCTION_SET=[NO]FLOATING_
POINT.
Device drivers and other similar kernel-mode C code must be compiled
with /INSTRUCTION_SET=FLOATING_POINT and /EXTERN_
MODEL=STRICT_REFDEF.
Additionally, inner-mode code cannot call out to the user-mode language
run-time libraries nor to any of the OpenVMS system run-time libraries.
In particular, this prohibition prevents pages of inner-mode-protected
memory from being allocated and interspersed within the user-mode heap
or other such user-mode data structures.
The prohibtion on user libraries also generally means that such code must
be linked with LINK /NOSYSLIB, and quite probably also with /SYSEXE.
The former causes the linker to avoid searching the system shareable
image libraries (via IMAGELIB.OLB), while the latter brings in symbols
typically only known to or otherwise accessable from the OpenVMS
executuve.
To include kernel-mode C programming definitions, macros and system
constants within a C compilation, include SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$LIB_
C.TLB/LIBRARY on the C compilation. (Constructs defined within the
system macro library LIB.MLB or within its C equivalent SYS$LIB_
C.TLB tend to be version-dependent, or undocumented, or both.) As an
example of the compilation, the following is a typical C device driver
compilation command:
$ CC /STANDARD=RELAXED_ANSI89/INSTRUCTION=NOFLOATING_POINT/EXTERN=STRICT -
’DEBUG_CC_DQ_OPT’ ’ARCH_CC_OPT’ ’CHECK_CC_OPT’ ’SHOW_CC_OPT’ -
/LIS=LIS$:xxDRIVER/MACHINE_CODE/OBJ=OBJ$:xxDRIVER -
SRC$:xxDRIVER.C+SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$LIB_C.TLB/LIBRARY
Additionally, code running in executive mode in an AST or in kernel mode
cannot call RMS services, or routines which directly or indirectly call
RMS.

10–24
 OpenVMS Programming Information

For related kernel-mode programming materials and driver

documentation, please see the Writing OpenVMS Alpha Device Driversin
C book, ISBN 1-55558-133-1.

10.28 Decoding an Access Violation (ACCVIO) Error?

To decode the virtual addresses returned by an access violation or by
another similar OpenVMS display, you need to have created and retained
a listings file—preferably one with machine code generation enabled—and
a full link map.
Starting with the virtual address reported by the error, use the link
map to find the module that contributed the code that contains the
virtual address range. Calculate the offset from the base of the range, by
subtracting the base of the range from teh failing virtual address. Then
use the compiler listings for the particular component that contributed
the code to locate the offset of the failing instruction.
If the map and listings information was not maintained, working
backwards is far more difficult—you are left to use the binary instruction
data around the failure to locate the associated source code, and this
process is far more involved. This usually involves matching up blocks
of decoded instructions around the failing code, or the direct analog
involving matching up ranges of decoded instructions. Keep the maps and
listing files around, in other words.
Rather easier than an approach based on virtual address arithmetic and
far easier than working backwards from the instruction stream is to use
integrated debugging—this inclusion is arguably an essential component
of any non-trivial application—and to use the OpenVMS Debugger.
The OpenVMS Debugger in particular can be used to examine the source
code, to examine the stack, and can even be programmed to wait patiently
for the incidence of a particular value or failure or condition, and this is
far easier than working backwards from the instruction stream is to use
integrated debugging—this inclusion is arguably an essential component
of any non-trivial application—and to use the OpenVMS Debugger.
The debugger can also be activated from within a signal handler, and
commands to generate a traceback can be generated directly, or through
the invocation of a procedure containing a series of debugger commands.
Details on the debugger are in the OpenVMS Debugger Manual, and
also see the discussion of dyanmically activating the Debugger in
Section 10.19.

10–25
 OpenVMS Programming Information

10.29 Generating an AUTODIN-II CRC32?

The following code can be used to generate an AUTODIN-II 32-bit
Cyclic Redundency Check (CRC32) value from an input string descriptor,
similar to that used by the HP C compiler for its /NAMES=SHORTENED
mechanism, and by various other applications requiring a CRC32.
The routine uses the OpenVMS library routine lib$crc_table to generate
a sixteen longword array of data from the specified encoded polynomial
coefficient (AUTODIN-II, in this case), and then lib$crc to generate the
CRC32 value from the array and the input data.
static int CreateCRC32( struct dsc$descriptor *InputDataDesc )
{
uint32 AUTODIN2;
uint32 Seed = ~0UL;
uint32 Coefficient = 0x0EDB88320UL;
uint32 CRCArray[16];
lib$establish( lib$sig_to_ret );
lib$crc_table( (void *) &Coefficient, (void *) CRCArray );
AUTODIN2 = lib$crc( (void *) CRCArray, (void *) &Seed, InputDataDesc );
AUTODIN2 ^= Seed;
return AUTODIN2;
}

10.30 Enabling built-in tracing?

$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN
SYSMAN> SYS_LOAD ADD TR$DEBUG TR$DEBUG/LOAD_STEP=INIT/LOG
SYSMAN> Exit
$ @SYS$UPDATE:VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES.COM
To stop it from loading early in boot
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN
SYSMAN> SYS_LOAD REMOVE TR$DEBUG TR$DEBUG/LOG
SYSMAN> Exit
$ @SYS$UPDATE:VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES.COM
The first occurance of the name TR$DEBUG within the command is
considered the ‘‘product’’ and the second is considered the ‘‘image’’ that
should exist within SYS$LOADABLE_IMAGES.
When TR$DEBUG loads in the init phase, it will automatically turn on
tracing.
Also see the SDA TR extension.

10–26
 OpenVMS Programming Information

For details of using these tracing mechanisms, see the tr_print macros in
lib.mlb (Macro32), in sys$lib_c.tlb (C) and lib.req (Bliss) libraries.

10.31 Accessing a web server from DCL?

Programmatic access to the world-wide web is available from within DCL
command procedures using available software packages including cURL,
FETCH_HTTP, and Lynx, and there is the universal web client telnet.
Using these packages, you can access a web server and can (within limits)
process HTML from within a DCL command procedure.
For information and locations for these and of other packages, see
Section 13.1.
DCL can also be used as a CGI script implementation language from
within Apache and most (all?) other OpenVMS web servers. As a rule,
perl and python and such will be more flexible and will have dedicated
processing libraries available for common web and http-related tasks, but
DCL can deal easily with many of the more typical tasks required of a
CGI script. There are examples of DCL CGI scripts available, and most
(all?) OpenVMS web server packages will include specific examples within
the particular package or the package documentation.

10–27
11 DECwindows

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
11.1 How do I let someone else display something on my workstation?
On a workstation, you will want to use the ‘‘Customize’’ menu of the
session manager utility and select ‘‘Security’’. When the pop-up box
appears, you can select the host node, username, and tranport that will
allow you to launch an application that targets the workstation display.
If this does not provide you with access to the display, You need a checklist
of sorts:
• Make sure that you’ve specified the X-windows ‘‘display’’ correctly
on the remote host. For a DECnet transport, the specification
uses two colons, while the TCP/IP transport typically uses one.
The X Windows server and the X Windows screen follow the host
specification, delimited by a period. For example:

Table 11–1 X Windows Display Commands

Shell Command
csh
# setenv DISPLAY vms.domain:0.0
sh and ksh
# $ DISPLAY=vms.domain:0.0 ; export DISPLAY
DCL
$ SET DISPLAY/CREATE/NODE=vms.domain -
/TRANSPORT=TCPIP/SERVER=server/SCREEN=screen

• If you have verified the command is correct and things are still not
working, ensure the Security settings on the OpenVMS host side will
allow the incoming connection: Pull down the ‘‘Options’’ menu in the
Session Manager, and select ‘‘Security...’’. If you do not find your host

11–1
 DECwindows

and username and transport listed among the authorized users, you
will need to add an entry.
• There are various transports available, including LOCAL,
DECNET, LAT, and TCPIP. You must Select the transport
appropriate to the incoming connection.
• If the transport is ‘‘DECnet’’, do NOT add the double colon (::) to
the node name.
• If the transport is ‘‘TCPIP’’, ‘‘Username’’ must be an asterisk
(*). Why? Because unlike DECnet, the TCP/IP protocol does
not provide the remote username information in the incoming
connection.
• If the connection is ‘‘TCPIP’’, it is best to use a full domain name
(e.g. Node.Subd.Domain). However, you may have to use the IP
address itself, if your host does not have a way to resolve the
address via DNS. If you have the luxury of fixed addresses (eg:
you are not using DHCP), then it can be helpful to add two entries
for each TCP/IP host, one that specifies the host name and one
that specifies the host address.
• There are various TCP/IP packages for OpenVMS, and you must
use syntax appropriate to the transport installed.
• If a TCP/IP connection is still not working, ensure that the
transport you want has been activated for use with DECwindows.
See Section 11.14 for details of configuring TCP/IP as a transport.
• There is a log file created in SYS$MANAGER: which can tell you
which transports are loaded, and also tell you what connect attempts
were rejected, including showing what the presented credentials
were. This file is SYS$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.

11.2 How do I create a display on another workstation?

To create a display from an OpenVMS host to a remote X Windows
display, use one of the following DCL commands:
$ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=net_transport /NODE=remote_node
$ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=LAT /NODE=remote_node
$ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=DECnet /NODE=remote_node
$ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=TCPIP /NODE=remote_node

11–2
 DECwindows

Note that LAT is typically used only for the VXT series X Windows
terminals, but it can also be used from OpenVMS to OpenVMS systems
on various OpenVMS releases, such as on OpenVMS Alpha V6.1 and
later. For details on configuring the TCP/IP transport, see Section 11.14.
If you are interested in X Windows terminals and have an older
VAXstation system around, please see the EWS package on Freeware
V5.0.

11.3 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.
An example of calling the underlying (and also undocumented) sys$qio
programming interface for the WSDRIVER (WSAn:) is available at:
http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
Look in the Freeware V4.0 directory /srh_examples/DECUS_UNDOC_CLINIC/.

11.4 How do I get a log of a DECterm session?

If you are working from a DECwindows DECterm terminal emulator, 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 of the characters and escape sequences are
captured, but if you display the resulting log file on a DECterm, then you
will see exactly what was originally displayed.
You can also use the ‘‘Print Screen’’ screen capture available in the
DECwindows session manager menus, if you simply wish to snapshot a
particular portion of the X Windows display.
If you are using the Freeware VTstar terminal emulator package, you will
find a similar logging mechanism is available in the menus.

11–3
 DECwindows

11.5 Why is DECwindows Motif not starting?

First check to see if there is a graphics device, usually a G* device. (eg:
On a DEC 2000 model 300, use the command SHOW DEVICE GQ) If you
do not find a graphics device:
• OpenVMS has failed to find the appropriate IRQ information for
an EISA graphics card (on the DEC 2000 series) such as the HP
(Compaq) QVision, and did not autoconfigure it. Run the correct ECU
(for Tru64 UNIX and OpenVMS) and reboot. This is necessary only
on EISA-based systems.
• You have an EISA-based system (such as the DEC 2000 model 300)
and do not have a HP (Compaq) QVision video card. This EISA
graphics card should have Compaq printed on it, and identifies itself
as a CPQ3011 or a CPQ3111. If it is not one of these two EISA
devices, then OpenVMS does not support it. (There are no other
supported EISA graphics controllers, and EISA graphics are normally
used with DECwindows only on the DEC 2000 series systems.)
• You have a PCI-based system, and do not have a supported graphics
controller—examples of supported controllers include the following:
• Radeon 7500
• PowerStorm 3D30, PowerStorm 4D20
• 3DLabs Oxygen VX1
See Section 5.16 for further information on some of these graphics
controllers.
• You have booted the system minimally, or have otherwise disabled the
device autoconfiguration process.

If there is a G* graphics device present:

• 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.
• The system parameter WINDOW_SYSTEM is not set to 1. While this
was a common way for system managers to disable the DECwindows
server startup, it is not particularly reliable as DECwindows can now
‘‘correct’’ this setting.

11–4
 DECwindows

If you really do not want an OpenVMS system with workstation

hardware to bootstrap and configure itself as a workstation, add the
following definition to SYLOGICALS.COM:
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXEC DECW$IGNORE_WORKSTATION TRUE
• You may not have a valid DECwindows Motif license loaded. To check
for the two most common types of Motif product authorization keys
(PAKs), use the following DCL commands:
$ LICENSE LIST DW-MOTIF/FULL
$ LICENSE LIST NET-APP-SUP*/FULL
and examine the information displayed. Make sure that one of these
licenses is present, valid and active.
For information on registering software license product authorization
keys (PAKs) when you cannot log into the system directly, please see
Section 5.6.2.
• Check that the DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM is correct for
the graphics controller in use. For instance:
The following is from the 9FX Vision 330 Owners Guide, EK-
V330G-OG pg 2-9. Place the following in DECW$PRIVATE_
SERVER_SETUP.COM, creatibng .COM from .TEMPLATE if
necessary. Locate the DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM
file in SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSMGR] or in SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR] as
appropriate; the former file is used for this system within a cluster
configuration, and the latter is used for all systems that do not also
have a local copy of this file in SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSMGR].
$ DECW$XSIZE_IN_PIXELS == xvalue
$ DECW$YSIZE_IN_PIXELS == yvalue
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM DECW$SERVER_REFRESH_RATE rate_in_Hz
Also see Section 11.11. Details of the PowerStorm 3D30 and 4D20
settings are available in the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard area.

11.6 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 esc is the ANSI escape code, value decimal 27,
and ‘‘text label’’ is what you want to display:

11–5
 DECwindows

To set the DECterm title, send the escape character, then the characters
‘‘]21;’’, then the text label string, and then an escape character followed by
a backslash character.
To set the icon label, send the escape character, then the characters ‘‘]2L;’’,
then the icon label string, and then an escape character followed by a
backslash character.
To set both the DECterm title and icon to the full device name, you can
use the following DCL commands:
$ esc[0,7] = 27
$ fulldevnam = F$Edit(F$GetDVI("TT","FULLDEVNAM"),"UPCASE,COLLAPSE")
$ write sys$output esc+ "]21;" + fulldevnam + esc + "\"
$ write sys$output esc+ "]2L;" + fulldevnam + esc + "\"
You can also change the title and the icon using the Options-Window...
menu.
Also see Section 12.1 and Section 8.13.

11.7 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, Compaq, or
HP logo), various keymaps (also see Section 11.7.2 and Section 11.7.1),
the FileView defaults, session manager defaults, the DECwindows
login processing, DECwindows log file processing, and various other
DECwindows attributes, see the example file:
$ SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.TEMPLATE
This example template file is typically copied over to the filename
SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]DECW$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$UTILS: area.
When using DECwindows V1.2-4 and later on OpenVMS Alpha,
the default desktop is the Common Desktop Environment (CDE).
You can select your preferred desktop (CDE or DECwindows Motif)
when logging in, or you can change the default to the DECwindows
Motif desktop using the DCL symbol decw$start_new_desktop in
the DECwindows private application setup command procedure. See

11–6
 DECwindows

SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.TEMPLATE for further

details, and how to create DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.COM.
Note that with DECwindows CDE, the root window is no longer visible
by default. The root window is hidden behind the ‘‘backdrop’’ window of
the current CDE workspace. To make the root window visible, use the
CDE style manager selection ‘‘backdrop none’’, and use information such
as that in the OpenVMS FAQ to set the root window.
To add a new backdrop to the DECwindows CDE environment,
the backdrop must first be in or be converted into X11 pixmap
format. (This conversion is often possible using tools such as
xv.) Then (if necessary) create the default backdrop directory
SYS$COMMON:[CDE$DEFAULTS.USER.BACKDROPS]. Place the X11
pixmap file containing the desired image into the backdrops directory,
ensure that it has a filename extension of .PM. (The xv default filename
extension for the X11 pixmap file is .XPM, while CDE expects only to
see files with .PM.) Now invoke the CDE style manager and select a new
backdrop. You will find your image will be placed at the end of the list of
backdrops available.
If you require a message be included on the initial display—where the
start session display and the logo appears—you can use either of the
following approaches:
• The simplest approach requires OpenVMS V7.3-2 or later, and the
corresponding DECwindows V1.3-1 kit or later. You will want to
create a file named SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]DECW$GREET.TXT,
and this will be displayed in a popup—with an OK button—when the
login box is displayed. This is intended specifically for applications
requiring such a display.
• The second approach involves copying the file XRESOURCES.DAT
from
SYS$SYSDEVICE:[VMS$COMMON.CDE$DEFAULTS.SYSTEM.CONFIG.C]
into the directory
SYS$SYSDEVICE:[VMS$COMMON.CDE$DEFAULTS.USER.CONFIG.C]
and editing the copy. Specifically, look for the following:
Dtlogin*greeting.labelString:

11–7
 DECwindows

The line is normally commented out, and by default contains the

string:
Welcome to %localhost%
You can change this text to something akin to the following:
Dtlogin*greeting.labelString: Welcome to Heck \n\
This is a Trusted System owned by the Rulers of the planet Zark\n\
\n\
We Come In Peace\n\
\n
If you want Privacy, you’ve come to the wrong place\n\
\n
The lines of text will be centered for you.
In most DECwindows versions, you will be able to onbtain only
about eight (8) lines of text. Changes have been implemented in
DECwindows V1.3 and later that permit up to about twenty-five (25)
lines of text.

The login logo is stored as an XPM bitmap image in the text file
SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSCOMMON.CDE$DEFAULTS.SYSTEM.APPCONFIG.ICONS.C]DECDTLOGO
and it can be changed. Copy the file to SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSCOMMON.CDE$DEFAULTS.USER.A
as DECwindows upgrades can replace the system version of this file.
On DECwindows V1.3-1 and later (and possibly on V1.3), both
DECwindows CDE and DECwindows Motif displays use this logo file.
On older releases, only the DECwindows CDE displays used this logo
file, while the logo used for the Motif login display was hard-coded into
the package and the only available override is the DECW$LOGINLOGO
command procedure mechanism within the customized, site-specific
DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.COM file.
Look at the contents of the DECDTLOGO.PM file and at other *.XPM
files and tools for additional details.

11.7.1 How do I customize DECwindows keymapping?

Various keymaps can be implemented on OpenVMS and other X
Windows systems, allowing the implementation of a Dvorak-style or
other alternate keymappings. For details, see the available X Windows
documentation (this is the documentation associated with X Windows
itself, and not the product documentation for the OpenVMS operating
system nor for the DECwindows X Windows implementation) and see
the DECwindows *.DECW$KEYMAP (text-format) files found in the
DECwindows DECW$KEYMAP: directory.
11–8
 DECwindows

For other keymapping information, see Section 11.7.2.

11.7.2 Why does the DELETE key delete forward instead of backward?
Some operating systems use Ctrl/H as Delete ; as the character back-delete
key. Most OpenVMS applications, VT-series terminals (check the terminal
settings, many can have this configured within the terminal set-up
menus), and DECterm terminals all use Delete as the character back-delete,
and use Ctrl/H as a request to move to the beginning of the command line.
The Integrity EFI console does use Ctrl/H as Delete ; as the character back-
delete key.
Also see the SET TERMINAL/BACKSPACE command available on
OpenVMS V8.2 and later.
This behaviour involves the Motif virtual key bindings. When a Motif
application starts, 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 OpenVMS 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

11–9
 DECwindows

To merge:
$ xrdb :== $decw$utils:xrdb.exe
$ xrdb -nocpp -merge decw$xdefaults.dat
Also note that the DECW$UTILS:DECW$DEFINE_UTILS.COM
procedure can be used to establish the xrdb and other symbols.
Also see the DECxterm directory of Freeware V5.0 for details on
connecting to OpenVMS from various UNIX platforms.
For other keymapping information, see Section 11.7.1.

11.8 Why doesn’t XtAppAddInput( ) work on OpenVMS?

Yes, 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:

11–10
 DECwindows

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 );
...

11.9 Why do the keyboard arrow keys move the DECwindows cursor?
Congratulations, you have just stumbled into ‘‘dead rodent’’ mode. This
DECwindows environment—where the keyboard arrow keys move the
mouse cursor and where the [SELECT], [PREV], and [NEXT] keys
emulate the three mouse buttons—allows rudimentary system operations
when the mouse is among the casualties.
To enter or exit ‘‘dead rodent’’ mode, enter the following: CTRL/SHIFT/F3

11.10 Why does half my DECwindows display blank?

This is likely a result of receiving an OPCOM or other console message on
a system that shares the system console with the DECwindows graphics
workstation display.
You can toggle off the console display window using CTRL/F2 and you can
enable a serial console per Section 14.3.6 or Section 14.3.3.3.
Also see the console message window application available with
recent DECwindows versions—DECwindows versions V1.2-3 and
later will enable this window by default. For details on this console
message window, see the DECW$CONSOLE_SELECTION option in
SYS$STARTUP:DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.TEMPLATE.
On older releases, you can disable output using the following:
$ SET TERMINAL/PERMANENT/NOBROADCAST OPA0:
$ DEFINE/USER SYS$COMMAND OPA0:
$ REPLY/DISABLE

11–11
 DECwindows

Also see Section 14.3.3.2, Section 14.17, and Also see Section 8.4,

11.11 %DECW-W-NODEVICE, No graphics device found on this system?

To resolve the following error:
%DECW-W-NODEVICE, No graphics device found on this system
-DECW-I-NODECW, DECwindows graphics drivers will not be loaded
• Ensure that the system parameter WINDOW_SYSTEM is set to 1. If
it is not set to a value of 1, issue the commands:
$ run sys$system:sysgen
USE CURRENT
SET WINDOW_SYSTEM 1
WRITE ACTIVE
WRITE CURRENT
EXIT
Then reboot the system.
• On OpenVMS Alpha, ensure the SYSMAN IO PREFIX LIST is set
correctly, and specifically ensure the DECW$ prefix is included in the
existing list. If it is not, you will need to add it:
$ run sys$system:sysman
IO SHOW PREFIX
IO SET PREFIX=(DECW$,*) * = list returned by the show command
IO AUTO/LOG
EXIT
• Ensure that the image SYS$SHARE:DECW$ICBM.EXE is installed in
memory. If it is not installed, then install it:
$ INSTALL LIST/FULL SYS$SHARE:DECW$ICBM
$ INSTALL REPLACE SYS$SHARE:DECW$ICBM
$ EDIT SYS$MANAGER:SYCONFIG.COM
$! The following line was added to install
$! support for the Mach64 Graphics Card
$!
$ INSTALL REPLACE SYS$SHARE:DECW$ICBM
$ ^Z
Then reboot the system.
The ICBM mechanism is not used on and not needed by more recent
DECwindows versions.

11–12
 DECwindows

• If the system still complains ‘‘%DECW-W-NODEVICE, No graphics

device found on this system’’, then:
• Boot the system as normal
• Login as SYSTEM.
• Create the file SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]DECW$USER_
AUTOCONFIG.DAT. Protection must permit world read access.
• Add the following string on the very first line:
CLEAR_PFLAG = ISA_4BYTE
• Save the file
• Set the file protections
$ SET PROTECTION=W:RE SYS$MANAGER:DECW$USER_AUTOCONFIG.DAT
• Reboot the system

Also see Section 11.5.

11.12 How can I reset the warning bell volume?

With DECwindows CDE drivers and ECOs starting with ECOs for the
DECwindows keyboard driver SYS$IKBDRIVER.EXE in OpenVMS Alpha
V7.1-2 and V7.2-1 and with the SYS$IKBDRIVER.EXE included in
OpenVMS V7.2-1H1 and later, the DECwindows CDE controls will now
correctly manage the setting of the warning bell volume.
Unfortunately, the equivalent controls in the older DECwindows Motif
interface are not compatible and can no longer manage the warning bell
volume.
If you need to manage the volume with DECwindows Motif, consider
using the following approach:
$ @decw$utils:decw$define_utils
$ xset b 1 100 100
The numerics are the volume, pitch, and duration, respectively.
Why? When OpenVMS first started supporting the PC-style keyboards,
the X Windows Server and the keyboard driver interface did not support
the pitch and duration, and neither did DECwindows Motif. The
DECwindows keyboard driver was accordingly changed to use the volume
from the keyclick setting (keyclick is not available in a PC-style keyboard)
and the bell volume setting to control the pitch and duration.

11–13
 DECwindows

DECwindows CDE does provide sliders for setting pitch and duration, so
the keyboard driver and X Windows Server were modified to provide all
of the information, and now the DECwindows CDE sliders work. This
change is unfortunately incompatible with the old scheme used on the
pre-CDE desktops, and the volume controls are now incompatible with
the current keyboard drivers. Hence the use of xset.

11.13 How can I alter the DECwindows CDE backdrop?

To select a separate backdrop to be displayed on each screen using
DECwindows CDE:
• Click on the Application Manager. This is the drawer icon on the CDE
toolbar.
• Click on Desktop Tools
• Click on Set Default Screen and select the required screen
• Click on the Style Manager. This is the one containing the mouse and
ttt on the CDE toolbar
• Now change the background.

11.14 How can I enable the DECwindows TCP/IP Transport

To configure the TCP/IP transport for DECwindows, first ensure that a
TCP/IP package is installed and configured. Then set the DCL symbol
DECW$SERVER_TRANSPORTS in SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_
SERVER_SETUP.COM to the appropriate local value, based
on the comments in that file. If you do not have a copy of
SYS$STARTUP:DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM, the use the
following COPY command to create this file based on the provided
template file:
$ COPY SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.TEMPLATE -
$_ SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM

11.15 Can I use DECwindows 1.2-* on OpenVMS V7.3-2 or later?

The short answer is no.
OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-2 only supports DECwindows Motif V1.3 and later.
If you require DECwindows V1.2-6 or earlier, then you are limited to
operations on OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-1 and earlier releases.

11–14
 DECwindows

The central technical reason involves depdendencies among the parts of

the X11 subsystem that are delivered with the base OpenVMS operating
system including the X Windows display server and the transport images,
and the parts of the DECwindows product that are delivered within
the DECwindows installation kits including the client libraries and the
DECwindows applications.
DECwindows V1.3 and later made substantial changes to the transport
layer, and these required corresponding changes to both the associated
client and server code. OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-2 includes the server and
transport with the V1.3 modifications. These changes were in support of
the upgrade of Xlib from X11R5 to X11R6.6, and transport-level changes
associated with support of the Kerberos and LBX features.
If you attempt to load DECwindows V1.2-6 images onto an OpenVMS
Alpha V7.3-2 or later system, the DECwindows libraries will not function
with with system images and will particularly not function with the
transport layer.

11.16 How to add Fonts into DECwindows?

The following assumes DECwindows V1.3-1 and OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-2
and later unless stated otherwise, and can permit fonts of various formats
to be added into the DECwindows environment.
The recommended location for user font files is to place them in the
directories which are reserved for this purpose, typically located below the
SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW] directory.
SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_100DPI]
SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_75DPI]
The above are recommended for PCF files of 100 Dots Per Inch (DPI) and
of 75 DPI resolution, respectively.
SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_COMMON]
The above is recommended for other PCF files, such as terminal
(character cell) fonts, and fonts used by specific applications.
SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_CURSOR16]
SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_CURSOR32]
The above are recommended for cursors.
SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_SPEEDO]

11–15
 DECwindows

SPEEDO is recommended for SPD files.

SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_TRUETYPE]
USER_TRUETYPE is recommended for TrueType (TTF) fonts. Fonts
placed in this directory should be in the ‘‘Windows / Linux’’ format.
The directory will contain the font files themselves, and a data file that
describes each font in the directory. This file is named DECW$FONT_
DIRECTORY.DAT or DECW$FONT_DIRECTORY_extension.DAT,
where ‘‘extension’’ is replaced by the type of font (100DPI, SPEEDO,
TRUETYPE, TYPE1, etc.)
Make sure that the file protection on the font files is set to allow world
access to the fonts.
For example: to add TrueType fonts to DECwindows, place the font files
in SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_TRUETYPE]
A directory listing might look like this:
Directory SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_TRUETYPE]

ARKOI8N.TTF;1 46KB/48KB 5-MAR-1995 04:00:00.00

backstage.ttf;1 55KB/56KB 19-JUL-2004 09:42:20.92
IDAutomationHC39M_Free.ttf;1 27KB/32KB 29-JUL-2003 11:25:48.00
...
texsi.ttf;1 133KB/136KB 25-MAY-2003 15:31:11.00
texw.ttf;1 150KB/152KB 25-MAY-2003 15:32:33.00
Total of 37 files, 3.09MB/3.23MB
The case of the filename is not important.
TrueType fonts should be in Stream_LF file format.
To generate the appropriate DECW$FONT_DIRECTORY.DAT file for
most font formats, issue the command:
$ FONTCOMPILER /DIRECTORY
The above may or may not operate with TrueType files, and you will likely
have to generate the DECW$FONT_DIRECTORY_TRUETYPE.DAT file
manually. A sample file follows:

11–16
 DECwindows

37
BACKSTAGE.ttf -Grfonts-Backstage-bold-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
IDAutomationHC39M_Free.ttf -IDAutomation-HC39M-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-m-0-misc-Barcode39
SUSESerif-Bold.ttf -Suse-Suse-bold-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
SUSESerif-Roman.ttf -Suse-Suse-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
SUSESans-Bold.ttf -Suse-Suse-bold-r-normal-sans-0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
SUSESans-BoldOblique.ttf -Suse-Suse-bold-o-normal-sans-0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
SUSESans-Oblique.ttf -Suse-Suse-medium-o-normal-sans-0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
SUSESans-Roman.ttf -Suse-Suse-medium-r-normal-sans-0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
SUSESansMono-Bold.ttf -Suse-Suse Mono-bold-r-normal-sans-0-0-0-0-m-0-iso8859-1
...
MCTIMEBI.TTF -UOregon-MAC C Times-bold-i-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-macedonian-0
MCTIMEI.TTF -UOregon-MAC C Times-medium-i-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-macedonian-0
The first line of this data file is the number of font file entries which
follow. Each entry consists of the font file name, and a font description.
There are fourteen fields in the description, separated by hyphens (dashes,
‘‘-’’). Fields may contain embedded spaces. The fields are
• Foundry: the name of the company or person which produced the font.
• Family: the name of the Typeface (what most people will call the
‘‘font’’).
• Weight: How ‘‘heavy’’ the type appears. Normal fonts are ‘‘medium’’
or ‘‘regular’’, variations include ‘‘bold’’, ‘‘demi’’, ‘‘light’’, etc.
• Slant: ‘‘r’’ for regular, ‘‘i’’ for italic, or ‘‘o’’ for oblique.
• Width: ‘‘normal’’, ‘‘wide’’, ‘‘narrow’’, ‘‘condensed’’, etc.
• Style: normally left empty, it can also identify variations on a basic
family such as ‘‘sans’’ (sans serifs; without the serif, the ending and
usually pointed portion of the stroke). Fonts of different styles can be
grouped in the same family.
• Sizes: the next four fields identify the size and scale of individual
characters for fonts that have fixed point sizes. For fonts which scale
(such as TrueType), the four fields are all zero.
• Spacing: ‘‘p’’ for proportional, ‘‘m’’ for monospaced, or ‘‘c’’ for character
cell.
Note: although DECwindows can identify different spacings within a
family, the author has found that mixing monospaced and proportional
fonts in the same family may cause some proportional font options to
not appear in a font selection menu within Notepad (only). (A fix for
this is expected in DECwindows V1.5 and later.)
• The next field is always zero for TrueType fonts.

11–17
DECwindows

• Character Set: the last two fields identify the name and version
number of the character set represented within the font. For many
applications, these fields are informational only.

The next step is to update the list of fonts known to DECwindows, using
the xset utility.
$ mc decw$utils:xset fp rehash
It is also possible to reset the font list to the default:
$ mc decw$utils:xset fp default
This is useful if you need to recover from errors.
The Notepad utility, normally available through the ‘‘Applications’’ menu
in Session Manager, is a convenient way to see if the font is available.
Start the application, select ‘‘Options’’, then select ‘‘Font...’’. In the
‘‘Family (Foundry)’’ window, you will see the list of fonts available. User-
added TrueType fonts will normally be at the end of this list. Select the
desired font family, then select the Size (dpi) (which will always be 0(0) for
TrueType fonts), and the various font options (Weight, Slant, Width, etc.)
should appear in the next window. You should then be able to select the
desired font and click OK or Apply to use it, or Cancel to exit without changing
the font.
If you don’t see all of the fonts you added, check to see that the number
at the beginning of the DECW$FONT_DIRECTORY*.DAT file is correct,
that the files are set to world (or appropriate) access, and that TrueType
fonts are in Stream_LF format.
Some applications require entering a full font name, which will look like
the font description entry.
Please keep in mind that not all applications can use every font which
may be available on your system. For example, DECterm is designed to
use families of fonts specifically designed for character cell applications.
Other fonts (specifically TrueType) may work erratically, and may result
in an unusable display. It is best to use only monospaced fonts specifically
intended for DECterm with DECterm.
The SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_TRUETYPE] doesn’t exist
on OpenVMS VAX V7.3 with DECwindows V1.2-6, but the procedure
above does appear to work if the directory is created and the instructions
above are followed.

11–18
12 Miscellaneous Information

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
12.1 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 chapter on the terminal
driver. The chapter also 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$SYSTEM:SMGTERMS.TXT. (This file can be
queried under program control using SMG$GET_TERM_DATA, and you
don’t need to use all of SMG to use this call.)
The following refers to the function keys on the LK-series keyboards
found on the VT-series terminals such as the VT220 and VT510, and
the LK-series keyboards found on the OpenVMS workstations, and the
keyboards found on compatible terminals. (Though note that the keyboard
itself does not generate the sequence, the terminal or terminal emulator
generates the sequence in response to user input.) In the following, {CSI}
is decimal code 155 and can be replaced by the sequence "{ESC}[" (without
the quotes) particularly for seven-bit operations, SS3 is decimal code 143
and can be replaced by "{ESC}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 {CSI}
and {SS3}.

12–1
 Miscellaneous Information

PF1={SS3}P PF2={SS3}Q PF3={SS3}R PF4={SS3}S

KP0={SS3}p KP1={SS3}q KP2={SS3}r KP3={SS3}s KP4={SS3}t KP5={SS3}u
KP6={SS3}v KP7={SS3}w KP8={SS3}x KP9={SS3}y KPCOMMA={SS3}l KPMINUS={SS3}m
KPPERIOD={SS3}n ENTER={SS3}M DNARROW={CSI}B UPARROW={CSI}A LFARROW={CSI}D
RTARROW={CSI}C FIND={CSI}1~ INSERT={CSI}2~ REMOVE={CSI}3~ SELECT={CSI}4~
PREV={CSI}5~ NEXT={CSI}6~ F6={CSI}17~ F7={CSI}18~ F8={CSI}19~ F9={CSI}20~
F10={CSI}21~ F11={CSI}23~ F12={CSI}24~ F13={CSI}25~ F14={CSI}26~
HELP={CSI}28~ DO={CSI}29~ F17={CSI}31~ F18={CSI}32~ F19={CSI}33~ F20={CSI}34~
An example of working with escape sequences (in DCL) follows:
$ esc5m = "*[5m"
$ esc5m[0,8] = 27
$ esc0m = "*[0m"
$ esc0m[0,8] = 27
$ write sys$output esc5m + "blinking text" + esc0m
Documentation on an ANSI terminal relatively similar to the VT525
series is available at:
• ftp://ftp.boundless.com/pub/text/adds/docs/260_prog/
• ftp://ftp.boundless.com/pub/text/adds/docs/260_user/

Also see the various documentation and manuals available at:

• http://www.vt100.net/

Information on the ReGIS graphics character set is available at:

• http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal/dec_regis_news.txt

Also:
• http://www.boundless.com/Text_Terminals/VT/

Also see Section 11.6, Section 8.13.

12.2 Does DECprint (DCPS) work with the LRA0 parallel port?
No.
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.

12–2
 Miscellaneous Information

12.3 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.
BACKUP using with the default settings results in approximately 15%
overhead, in terms of saveset size. (eg: Assuming a 500 KB input, the
total size would be 575 KB.)
Assuming no compression:
4 GB media / 575 KB saveset = 7294 savesets
Assuming 1:2 compression:
8 GB media / 575 KB saveset = 14588 savesets
Note
There are no inter-record gaps on DAT tapes. When
determining media capacity, you have to consider these
gaps with nine-track magtape media and other formats
with gaps. This is not the case with DAT (DDS), as
the format has no recording gaps. However, the block
structure underneath the variable length record recording
is based on a block size of circa 124 KB. Further, writing
doubles filemarks and such can cause a loss of up to the
underlying block size. Thus even though there are no
inter-record gaps on DAT, larger savesets are still usually
best.

12–3
 Miscellaneous Information

The compression algorithms used on various devices are generally not

documented—further, there is no way to calculate the effective data
compression ratio, the tape mark overhead, and similar given just the
data to be stored on tape—short of actually trying it, of course.
A typical compression ratio found with "everyday" data is somewhere
around 1:1.8 to 1:2.
Note
OpenVMS often uses the term COMPACTION for
compression control, as in the qualifier /MEDIA_
FORMAT=COMPACTION.

12.4 Correctly using license PAKs and LMF?

If you have multiple LMF$LICENSE.LDB databases in your OpenVMS
Cluster, then each and every PAK must be installed in each and every
license database present in an OpenVMS Cluster. Even if you use
/EXCLUDE or /INCLUDE, you need to have a consistent set of PAKs
registered across all licensing databases present in the OpenVMS Cluster.
If your software license permits it, you can use the following two
commands to transfer license PAKs:
$ LICENSE COPY...
$ LICENSE ISSUE/PROCEDURE/OUTPUT=file product,...
To display the particular license(s) required (such as when you receive a
NOLICENSE error), use the following DCL sequence:
$ SET PROCESS/PRIVILEGE=ALL
$ REPLY/ENABLE
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE LMF$DISPLAY_OPCOM_MESSAGE
This logical name will cause all license failures to generate OPCOM
messages, and this will hopefully show which license(s) you need— there
may well also be additional license failures displayed, as various products
can check for and can be enabled by multiple license PAKs. You will want
to deassign this logical name when done.
Some of the more common license PAKs:

12–4
 Miscellaneous Information

DECnet Phase IV: DVNETRTG, DVNETEND, DVNETEXT, or NET-APP-SUP*

DECnet-Plus: DVNETRTG, DVNETEND, DVNETEXT, or NET-APP-SUP*
TCP/IP Services: UCX, or NET-APP-SUP*
OpenVMS Alpha: OPENVMS-ALPHA and OPENVMS-ALPHA-USER
OpenVMS VAX: VAX-VMS
OpenVMS Galaxy: OPENVMS-GALAXY
Cluster (Alpha): VMSCLUSTER, NET-APP-SUP*
Cluster (VAX): VAXCLUSTER, NET-APP-SUP*
Various NET-APP-SUP (NAS) license packages are available, each with
differing collections of products authorized. See the various NAS Software
Product Description (SPD) documents for specific details.
• http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx, and SPD
82.35.xx.

To determine which license PAK is failing (via a license check failure

OPCOM message), use the command:
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE LMF$DISPLAY_OPCOM_MESSAGE TRUE
Realize that defining this logical name will cause license checks that are
otherwise hidden (unimplemented, latent, or part of a check for any of a
series of licenses) to become visible. In other words, expect to see zero or
more spurious license check calls when you define this, in addition to the
check for the particular license.
For information on PAKGEN and on generating license PAKs, please see
Section 10.10. For information on obtaining commercial and hobbyist
licenses, and for additional adminstrative information on LMF, please see
Section 2.8.4 and Section 2.8.1.

12–5
13 Finding and Using Software

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
For information on programming on OpenVMS, see Chapter 10.

13.1 Where can I find freeware/shareware/software for OpenVMS?

• Details on many commercial OpenVMS products are available in the

catalog located at:
• http://www.hp.com/go/dspp_catalog
• The OpenVMS Freeware is is distributed with OpenVMS, and is also
available for download at various sites, including the following:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
• ftp://ftp.montagar.com/
• ftp://mvb.saic.com/freewarev40/
and at various other sites. The website also includes various
updates and new packages that become available after the CD-ROM
distributions are created.
Submissions to the OpenVMS Freeware can be made via:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
To acquire the OpenVMS Freeware CD-ROM distribution, you
can order an OpenVMS distribution from HP (the Freeware is
included)(see the OpenVMS SPD for part numbers), or you can
specifically order a Freeware distribution from HP under part
number:
• QA-6KZAA-H8
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 and GZIP (please see Section 13.11, MMK (make), PINE,
PERL, TAR, UUENCODE and UUDECODE. Many other tools are
available on the Freeware.

13–1
Finding and Using Software

• The UUENCODE and UUDECODE tools and various other tools

are also available as part of TCP/IP Services package. (Use
the DCL command procedure SYS$STARTUP:TCPIP$DEFINE_
COMMANDS.COM available on V5.0 and later to set up the necessary
DCL foreign command symbols used for these and for various other
tools provided by TCP/IP Services.)
• OpenVMS software (formerly at Western Kentucky University (WKU)
is now available via Madgoat and via Process Software archives:
• http://www.process.com/openvms/index.html
• http://www.madgoat.com/
• The FILESERV packages are also available via anonymous FTP
from:
• ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/
• ftp.process.com, under [.WKU.VMS.FILESERV].
• ftp.vms.stacken.kth.se, under [.MIRRORS.WKU.VMS.FILESERV].
• ftp.ctrl-c.liu.se, under [.WKU.VMS.FILESERV].
• ftp.riken.go.jp
• ftp.vsm.com.au, under kits and kits/decwindows.
• ftp.vsm.com.au, via the WWW instead of FTP.
The packages are also available via e-mail from
[email protected]. Send the commands HELP and DIR
ALL in the body of a mail message to this email address for further
information on retrieving the files.
• Arne Vajhøj operates an OpenVMS website, with software and other
pointers, at:
• http://www.levitte.org/~ava/
• Jouk maintains a summary of various public-domain and open-source
software ports, and specifically ports of packages for use on OpenVMS,
at:
• http://nchrem.tnw.tudelft.nl/openvms/
• The Kermit file transfer package is available at:
• http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/
• ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/

13–2
Finding and Using Software

• 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. (This package is also
available on various of the Freeware distributions.)
• A good source of software for OpenVMS systems and for various other
platforms is the Encompass (formerly known as DECUS) library.
Online catalogs are available as well as some software via
• ftp://ftp.decus.org
• gopher://gopher.decus.org/
• http://www.decus.org/
• DECUS SIG Tape collections are available on Mark Berryman’s
system,
• ftp://mvb.saic.com/freeware/
• David Jones’s DECthreads-based HTTP_SERVER World-Wide Web
server for OpenVMS, often known as the OSU webserver:
• http://kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu/www/doc/serverinfo.html
• Secure Shell (SSH) support for OpenVMS is available. Use of SSH V2
with current updates is recommended, as the security of older SSH
releases have been compromised. Server for OpenVMS:
• Secure Shell (SSH) Server for OpenVMS:
• http://kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu/~JONESD/ssh/DOC/
Secure Shell (SSH) FISH Client for OpenVMS:
• http://www.free.lp.se/fish/
SSH V2 support is included with TCP/IP Services V5.4 and later,
and support is likely also available within available third-party IP
stacks.
For information on the SSH key file configuration, see topic 151.22
and following in the VMS notes conference on the Deathrow
Cluster (deathrow.vistech.net and openvms-rocks.com). You can
telnet into the host, and an announced anonymous login is/was
available; username DEMO, password USER.
Information on OpenSSL (SSLeay) for OpenVMS:
• http://www.free.lp.se/openssl/

13–3
Finding and Using Software

• http://www.free.lp.se/fish/
Information on OpenSSL (SSLeay) and OSU Web server
interoperation:
• http://www.ourservers.net/openvms_ports/
OpenSSL is included with OpenVMS V7.3-1 and later.
• DECwindows Motif V1.2-3 includes NCSA Mosaic 2.4 built for TCP/IP
Services (UCX). V1.2-4 includes Spyglass Enhanced Mosaic, which
supports many of the Netscape enhancements. Versions of the
Netscape Navigator and particularly the Mozilla Web Browser are also
available for OpenVMS. The Compaq Secure Web Browser (CSWB) kit
is a packaged version of the Mozilla.org Mozilla Web Browser.
• A port of the NCSA Mosaic web browser that supports TCP/IP
Services, Multinet and SOCKETSHR/NETLIB is available from:
• ftp://wvnvms.wvnet.edu/mosaic/
Versions of the Mosaic web browser are also available on the
Freeware.
• Lynx (a character-cell World-Wide-Web web browser) is available from

• ftp://ftp2.cc.ukans.edu/pub/lynx
Versions of Lynx, a character-cell web browser, are also available on
the OpenVMS Freeware.
• The Netscape Navigator and Mozilla web browsers are available at:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/ebusiness/Technology.html
• http://www.mozilla.org/
• PGP (Phil Zimmerman’s ‘‘Pretty Good Privacy’’) is available from
various distribution sites, including those listed in the PGP FAQ.
Information on PGP and on OpenVMS downloads of PGP is available.
Relevant URLs include:
• http://www.ipgpp.org/
• http://web.mit.edu/network/pgp.html
• http://www.pgpi.com/
• http://www.yrl.co.uk/~phil/pds/pds.html
• http://www.nai.com/
• GNU Privacy Guard (GPG, GnuPG) is available.

13–4
Finding and Using Software

Search the comp.os.vms newsgroup archives for information regarding

GnuPG; the source code, binaries for various platforms, and
documentation are all available at:
• http://www.gnupg.org/
The OpenVMS source code and OpenVMS Alpha images can be found
at:
• http://saf.bio.caltech.edu/pub/SOFTWARE/openvms/
• ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/mathog/
As of this writing, the port only runs on OpenVMS Alpha, but
an investigation of an OpenVMS VAX port is reportedly under
consideration.
• An archive of the CENA DECwindows, X Windows, and VMS software
packages can be found at the following sites:
• http://decwarch.free.fr/
• ftp://ftp2.cnam.fr/decwindows/
• ftp://ftp.ctrl-c.liu.se/decwindows/
• ftp://ftp.vms.stacken.kth.se/mirrors/decwindows/
• http://www.multimania.com/pmoreau/decw/
Other FTP mirror sites for the DECwindows archive include:
• axp.psl.ku.dk (Multinet)
• ftp2.cnam.fr (MadGoat)
ftp.x.org (in /contrib/vms) is effectively not a mirror, but it does have
various OpenVMS packages from the DECwindows archive.
A list of the http mirror sites for the DECwindows archive is available
at:
• http://axp616.gsi.de:8080/wwwar/cena/decwindows/cena.html
Various of these packages are also available on the Freeware.
• 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.).
• http://www.imagemagick.org/
Versions of ImageMagick are also included on the Freeware.

13–5
Finding and Using Software

• XV is a image viewing and editing tool and is available from:

• ftp://ftp.cis.upenn.edu/pub/xv
• http://www.sanface.com/
• ftp://www-pi.physics.uiowa.edu/~dyson/xv/
• Many software packages are available for displaying various bitmap
files (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, etc) on OpenVMS. Xloadimage, Xli, Xv,
ImageMagick are the most common tools used under OpenVMS.
Various web browsers such as Mozilla (qv) can also display various
file formats on OpenVMS. You can find some of these tools at the
DECwindows Archive:
• http://www.multimania.com/pmoreau/decw/index.html
• http://www.multimania.com/pmoreau/decw/images.html
• GHOSTSCRIPT (gs) and GHOSTVIEW (gv) are available from the
Freeware V5.0 and Freeware V6.0 distributions:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
Versions are also available on the Freeware.
Also see:
• http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/gnu/
• XPDF, a DECwindows viewer for PDF (Adobe Acrobat) files, is
available from:
• http://www.foolabs.com/xpdf/
Software and installation kits for XPDF are also available on the
Freeware.
Beware: the XPDF tool included on OpenVMS Freeware V4.0 is
dated, and has been found to have various bugs. Use the Freeware
V5.0 version of the XPDF kit, or (better) later.
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/

13–6
Finding and Using Software

• 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
Various MPEG players and related tools are available on the
Freeware.
• An Archie clone is available at INFO.CS.PUB.RO. Telnet to that
machine, and login as VMSARCI. It contains now listings for over 30
ftp servers with over 14 gigabytes of OpenVMS software.
The most useful commands are LIST, which generates a list of
scanned ftp servers, and FIND string, 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.
The maintainer of the site ([email protected]) requests that anyone
submit notifications of FTP servers with OpenvMS software that are
not listed on the site.
• The Levitte (extended :-) Family (and OpenVMS) website:
• http://www.levitte.org/
• http://www.levitte.org/~ava/
• Robert Alan Byer’s OpenVMS Hobbyist Systems, including OpenVMS
public domain software and various ports:
• http://www.ourservers.net/
• CalTech Software Archives:
• http://saf.bio.caltech.edu/pub/software/openvms/aaa_contents.txt
• DJE Systems Website (David J. Dachtera)
• http://www.djesys.com/freeware/vms/
• Web Servers:
Apache Web server (HP Secure Web Server (SWS, formerly CSWS)):
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/ebusiness/Technology.html
• http://www.er6.eng.ohio-state.edu/~jonesd/apache/1_3_9/
The SOAP Toolkit is available at the OpenVMS website.
OSU Web server

13–7
Finding and Using Software

• http://www.er6.eng.ohio-state.edu/www/doc/serverinfo.html
• http://www.kjsl.com/archives/
• email list: [email protected]
WASD Web server
• http://wasd.vsm.com.au/wasd/
Purveyor Web server:
• email list: [email protected], no subject, one line
message: SUBSCRIBE PURVEYOR
FastCGI software is available from:
• http://www.DigitalSynergyInc.com/
• CD-R (CD-Recordable) media tools are available, please see
Section 9.7.
• Grace (WYSIWYG 2D plotting tool)
• http://plasma-gate.weizmann.ac.il/Grace/
• The POV-Ray ("Persistance of Vision" Raytracer) ray-tracing graphics
package is available on the OpenVMS Freeware.
• Majordomo mailing list handler:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/ebusiness/Technology.html
• 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/
A MIME tool is available in OpenVMS V7.2 and later.
Also see the mmencode base64 encode and decode available at:
• http://nucwww.chem.sunysb.edu/htbin/software_list.cgi
• Menufinder (menu-driven system management environment):
• http://www.itre.com/mf/download.html
• SYSLOGCLIENT (a client for processing SYSLOG requests) has been
provided for download by Mark Hemker at:
• http://home.insightbb.com/~hemker/vms.html
• tcgmsg, pvm, mpi, linda:
• ftp://v36.chemie.uni-konstanz.de/tcgmsg_vms/tcgmsg_vms.zip

13–8
Finding and Using Software

• OpenVMS software that can control a Tripp-Lite Uninterruptable

Power Supply (UPS) is available from:
• http://saf.bio.caltech.edu/pub/software/openvms/tcontrol.zip
UPShot web-based software for controlling a UPS is available from:
• http://www.tmesis.com/apc/beta.htmlx
OpenVMS software for controlling Liebert UPS devices are available
from the Liebert website:
• http://www.liebert.com/apc/beta.htmlx
• Examples of using the OpenVMS Foreign MAIL interface are
available at:
• http://www.hhs.dk/anonymous/pub/vms/collection/foreignmail.zip
• http://www.hhs.dk/anonymous/pub/vms/nbl/nbl.zip
• For tools to manage or to search your OpenVMS MAIL file, see:
• http://vms.process.com/scripts/fileserv/fileserv.com?MLSEARCH
• AscToHTM attempts to convert any plain text file to HTML, while
AscToTab restricts itself to files that are plain text tables. (Versions
are also availabe on the OpenVMS Freeware).
• http://www.jafsoft.com/asctohtm/index.html
• http://www.jafsoft.com/asctotab/index.html
• Information on the SAMBA package, a package that provides SMB-
based Microsoft Windows PC disk and print services for OpenVMS, is
available at:
• http://ifn03.ifn.ing.tu-bs.de/ifn/sonst/samba-vms.html
• http://www.samba.org/
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
To subscribe to the SAMBA-VMS mailing list e-mail
[email protected] with no subject line and the following single
line of text:
subscribe samba-vms Your Full Name
Also see:
• http://lists.samba.org/
• The Perl language is available for OpenVMS, see Section 13.9 for
details.

13–9
Finding and Using Software

• XML is available for OpenVMS.

Source code of an XML Parser is available from Oracle.
Also see:
• http://www.python.org/sigs/xml-sig/
An XML parser is available as part of OpenVMS V7.3 and later.
• Python kit, and resource, and documentation sites include:
• http://www.pi-net.dyndns.org/anonymous/kits/
• http://vmspython.dyndns.org/
• http://www.python.org/
• GTK+ (The GIMP GUI Tookit) for OpenVMS:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/ebusiness/Technology.html
• The OpenVMS Porting Library now available, and is intended to
permit easier porting of C and C++ applications from UNIX systems
to OpenVMS:
• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/ebusiness/Technology.html
GTK is also available.
• Mlucas (specialized FFT):
• ftp://hogranch.com/pub/mayer/README.html
• Tools to monitor the terminals and the activity of other OpenVMS
users (in addition to existing auditing capabilities in OpenVMS) are
available. Peek and Spy (Networking Dynamics) and Contrl (Raxco)
are two of the commercial packages, while the freeware Supervisor
package is available on OpenVMS VAX.
• http://www.networkingdynamics.com/
• http://www.raxco.com/
• Python for OpenVMS:
• http://www.python.org/
Also see the OpenVMS Freeware.
• Various packages for OpenVMS:
• http://richj.home.mindspring.com/richware/index.html
• http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/links/cool_vax_vms.html

13–10
Finding and Using Software

• TSM (Terminal Server Manager) is available via:

• Look at Freeware V5.0 at http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
• Beware: The TSM saveset shipped on the Freeware V5.0 disk
media is known to be corrupted. Download a new copy of the
saveset from the Freeware V5.0 FTP server or from the Freeware
V5.0 website.
• TCL for OpenVMS:
• ftp://sapodilla.rsmas.miami.edu/pub/VMS-tcl/
• make, gmake, mmk and other build tools are available on the
Freeware.
• An OpenVMS port of the ht://Dig web search engine is available at:
• ftp://ftp.pdv-systeme.de/vms/
• A mySQL database client is available at:
• http://mysql.holywar.net/Downloads/MySQL-3.22/mysql-3.22.25-
clients-vms.zip
• http://mysql.holywar.net/Downloads/MySQL-3.22/mysql-3.22.25-
clients-vms.readme
For additional information related to the mySQL port, please search
the comp.os.vms newsgroup archives. A MySQL port is also available
on the OpenVMS Freeware.
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
• If you need to change the file modification date and are looking for a
utility such as the UNIX touch tool, look at DFU on the OpenVMS
Freeware (DFU SET or simular), or use an existing DCL commands
such as:
$ SET FILE/PROTECT=(current_protection_mask) [...]*.*
• A table listing translations between UNIX shell and OpenVMS DCL
commands was posted to comp.os.vms by Christopher Smith some
time ago. This page should be available from the google newsgroup
archives.
For information on and the status of the OpenOffice port for
OpenVMS, please see:
• http://www.oooovms.dyndns.org

13–11
 Finding and Using Software

• The UNIX touch tool is available via various means:

$ RENAME filename.ext;version *
• http://nucwww.chem.sunysb.edu/helplib/@hvmsapps/TOUCH
MadGoat FILE tool (see the MadGoat archives)
• use /REVISION_DATE or /CREATION_DATE
• The DFU tool (see the OpenVMS Freeware)
• The pair:
$ set file ’p1’ /acl=(ident=[system],access=none)
$ set file ’p1’ /acl=(ident=[system],access=none) /delete
$ SET FILE/VERSION=0
• The following touch hack:
$! Command procedure SETDATE.COM
$!
$! Changes the DATES for an input file to a
$! file named OUTFILE.
$!
$assign/nolog ’p1’ outfile
$convert/fdl=sys$input ’p1’ outfile:
date
creation 01-apr-2010
expiration 01-Apr-2012
revision 01-Apr-2011
backup
...
• The following RMS system service sequence:
• sys$open( ), with the XABRDT XAB structure chained.
• set the desired values within the XABRDT XAB.
• sys$close( )

Various OpenVMS tools and utilities are available at:

• http://wwwvms.mppmu.mpg.de/vmssig/src/

OpenVMS ports of the xmcd and MPlayer tools have also been reported as
available.

13–12
 Finding and Using Software

13.2 Where can I find UNIX tools for OpenVMS?

There are OpenVMS DCL and UNIX shell command comparison tables
posted at:
• http://wwwvms.mppmu.mpg.de/vmsdoc/UNIX_VMS_CMD_
XREF.HTML
• http://www.mcsr.olemiss.edu/unixhelp/VMStoUNIX.html

The GNV package (Section 13.2.6) and the various C library calls
available in current/recent libraries are the replacement for the POSIX
package.

13.2.1 C system and library routines

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 TCPIP$EXAMPLES (or prior to V5.0,
UCX$EXAMPLES:) areas.
The HP C Run-Time Library documentation is now part of the OpenVMS
Operating System Documentation, and separate from the HP C compiler
documentation.
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/doc/

Additionally, there have been large-scale increases to the capabilities and

features available within recent HP C compilers. If you have not taken
the opportunity to skim the current C compiler documentation, you may
well be surprised with the sheer volume of new C capabilities discussed
there.

13.2.2 X Windows utilities and routines

Various X Windows utilities are available for DECwindows. DECwindows
is an implementation of the X Windows environment and libraries,
and provides various libraries, and provides various desktop interfaces,
including COE, Motif, and XUI.

13–13
 Finding and Using Software

xwd, xev, mosaic web browser, xrdb, bmtoa and atobm, xpr, ico, etc. are
available. Look 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 are also available. Examples include
the older DWAUTH (X Windows SYSUAF authorize-like tool) 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, Castle Wolfenstein (Wolf3D), etc. are all on the
various OpenVMS Freeware distributions. (Also see the GNV package
(Section 13.2.6) for related materials, APIs, and tools.)

13.2.3 TCP/IP Tools and Utilities for OpenVMS?

TCP/IP Services (formerly known as UCX) contains tools such as ping,
uuencode, smtp, snmp, rcp, nfs, tnfs, etc.
OpenVMS V6.2 and later includes DCL-integrated support for various IP
tools, with commands such as SET HOST/TELNET, and COPY/FTP. This
interface requires the installation of an IP stack, and TCP/IP Services
(UCX) V3.3 and later as well as any then-current or now-current third-
party IP stack can be used. Once the IP stack is installed and configured,
the DCL command qualifiers such as /FTP, /RCP, /RLOGIN, /TELNET,
and /TN3270 are available on various DCL commands including
DIRECTORY.
Various C programming examples in TCPIP$EXAMPLES and (on releases
prior to V5.0) in UCX$EXAMPLES:.

13.2.4 The vi text editor

vile, vim and elvis are all clones of the vi text editor, and all operate on
OpenVMS.
Versions of vile are available on the Freeware and at:
• http://www.clark.net/pub/dickey/vile/vile.html

vim: vi improved
• http://www.polarfox.com/vim/

13–14
 Finding and Using Software

13.2.5 The Emacs Text Editor

OpenVMS ports of versions of the Emacs text editor can be found on
various OpenVMS Freeware distributions (eg: OpenVMS Freeware V7.0
has a port of Emacs 21.2), and at various web sites including:
• http://www.glug.org/people/ttn/software/emacs-for-vms/

‘‘Emacs isn’t a text editor, it’s a way of life.’’

For comparisions of OpenVMS text editors and UNIX, see the following:
• http://www.unh.edu/cis/docs/vms-to-unix/Emacs/cheat-sheet.html

13.2.6 GNV: Various GNU tools

Information on the GNU on VMS (GNV; ‘‘GNU’s Not VMS’’) Project, which
aims to port and provide GNU software (bash, flex, bison, tar, grep, gcc
emulation, etc) to OpenVMS, is available at:
• http://gnv.sourceforge.net/

Software info:
• http://vms.gnu.ai.mit.edu/software/

Software archive:
• ftp://vms.gnu.ai.mit.edu/gnu-vms/software/

Various GNU tools are also available on the Freeware.

13.2.6.1 GCC compiler

Yes, gcc is available for OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64.
• gcc compilation compatibility for OpenVMS Alpha and I64 is available
as a component of the GNV package. This causes the HP C compiler
to emulate the interface and compilation behaviours of gcc.
http://h71000.www7.hp.com/opensource/opensource.html#gnv
• GNV Home Page
http://gnv.sourceforge.net/
• GCC Home Page - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)
http://gcc.gnu.org/

13–15
 Finding and Using Software

• GNU/FSF
ftp://ftp.tmk.com/vms-freeware/gcc-for-alpha/
• Help GCC - SUNY NCSB
http://nucwww.chem.sunysb.edu/helplib/@hvmsapps/GCC
• Redhat’s gcc Archive
ftp://ftp.mirror.ac.uk/sites/sources.redhat.com/ftp/gcc/releases
• Malmberg’s Ftp Service - gcc281_u
ftp://ftp.qsl.net/pub/wb8tyw/gcc281_u/
• updated header-files for GNU C 2.8
ftp://ftp.qsl.net/pub/wb8tyw/gcc281_u/

In addition to gcc, the HP C compiler and other development tools are

part of the OpenVMS Hobbyist licensing program for non-commercial
users, and these and other tools are available to commercial developers
via the HP DSPP partner program. (See Section 2.15 for information on
DSPP.)

13.3 What is the status of PL/I on OpenVMS?

Kednos now owns and supports the former DIGITAL PL/I compiler and
run-time support on OpenVMS, and is the contact for product status,
support and associated plans.
As of this writing, (older) versions of the PL/I run-time library and
associated supporting images remain available on OpenVMS VAX and
on OpenVMS Alpha, including the DECmigrate VEST translated images
run-time support on OpenVMS Alpha, though neither the PL/I shareable
image nor the DECmigrate (AEST) translated image support for the
PL/I run-time are available (from HP) on nor present on OpenVMS I64
systems. Newer versions of the PL/I run-time library may be (are?)
available from Kednos for various OpenVMS platforms; please contact
Kednos for product details and availability.
• http://www.kednos.com

13–16
 Finding and Using Software

13.4 Where can I get the Mozilla Web Browser?

Mozilla.org is an open source organization providing HTML-related tools;
software that is the basis for various utilities including the Mozilla web
browser and the Secure Web Browser (SWB) package.
OpenVMS Engineering is continuously porting Mozilla.org’s web browser
to OpenVMS, and OpenVMS ports of the current Mozilla baselevels and
releases are available. The OpenVMS Mozilla port includes the web
browser, the mail client, the Composer HTML editor, an IRC chat client, a
netnews (NNTP) reader, and various other tools.
The Mozilla web browser download and the development and release
schedules for this and for other Mozilla-related tools are available at:
• http://www.mozilla.org/

The available Secure Web Browser (SWB) kit is a packaged version of the
Mozilla Web Browser, and typically the SWB version number matches the
underlying Mozilla version.
A hardware configuration appropriate for Mozilla generally involves an
OpenVMS Alpha system with an EV56 Alpha microprocessor, or an EV6
or more recent processor, and with 256 megabytes of system memory. The
performance of Mozilla on EV5-based and earlier Alpha microprocessor
systems is generally viewed as inadequate, this due to the extensive
use of an Alpha instruction subset that is first available with the EV56
microprocessor generation.
Mozilla is not available for OpenVMS VAX.
Various versions of the Netscape Navigator web browser are based on the
Mozilla code-base.

13.5 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

13–17
 Finding and Using Software

VAX would entail changes to the HP C compiler for OpenVMS VAX—

and specifically to the VAX VCG code generator that is used by HP 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.
If you are having problems with Display Postscript, you need to upgrade
your Java kit—1.2.2-3 and later remove the requirement for Display
Postcript extensions, and Java 1.2.2-3 is required with DECwindows
V1.2-6 and later.
For additional information on Java for Alpha systems, please see the
OpenVMS documentation (V7.2 and later), and the following site:
• http://www.compaq.com/java/alpha/index.html

HP Secure Web Server (SWS, formerly CSWS) includes CSWS_JAVA,

which provides the following Apache Tomcat technologies: JavaServer
Pages 1.1, Java Servlet 2.2, and MOD_JK. Also available is CSWS_PHP,
a PHP implementation. (SWS is based on the Apache web server. See
SOFT1.)

13.6 Obtaining user input in DCL CGI script?

If you choose to use the GET method, then the form data is available in
the DCL symbol QUERY_STRING, in URL-encoded format.
If you use the POST method, then you need to read the form data from
stdin. For a DCL CGI script running under the Netscape FastTrack web
server, you can read the data using the following READ command:
$ READ SYS$COMMAND postdata
to read the information in.
The following describes the use of DCL command procedures as CGI
scripts with the OSU web server:
• http://www.levitte.org/~ava/cgiscripts_other.htmlx

13–18
 Finding and Using Software

DCL CGI is also discussed in the Writing Real Programs in DCL book,
and in the Ask The Wizard website.

13.7 How can a batch job get its own batch entry number?
To have a batch procedure retrieve its own batch entry number, use the
following:
$ Entry = F$GETQUI("DISPLAY_ENTRY", -
"entry_number","display_entry","this_job")
Remember that the entry numbers issued by the OpenVMS Job Controller
are always opaque longword values. Do not assume you know the format
of the entry number, nor the range of entry numbers you might see, nor
the algorithm that is used to assign enty numbers. You should simply
assume opaque longword.

13.8 How do I convert to new CMS or DTM libraries?

A change was made to the format of the CMS database for CMS libraries
starting with V3.5-03—to ensure that earlier versions of CMS are unable
to access the database once the ‘‘conversion’’ to V3.5-05 and later is made,
you must issue the following two commands when upgrading from V3.5-03
and prior. (The only differences between CMS version V3.5-03 and CMS
version V3.5-05 involve changes to ensure that no earlier version of CMS
can access the ‘‘converted’’ database, and corrupt it.)
To perform the ‘‘conversion’’, issue the following commands for each CMS
library present:
$ RENAME disk:[directory]00CMS.* 01CMS.*
$ COPY NLA0: disk:[directory]00CMS.CMS
The new file 00CMS.CMS must have the same security settings as the
01CMS.CMS file, and is created solely to ensure continued compatibility
with tools that expect to find a 00CMS.CMS file (eg: various versions of
the Language-Sensitive text editor LSEDIT).
If you choose to install and use the longer variant names support that is
available with CMS V4.1 or later, you cannot mix earlier CMS versions
within a cluster. If you attempt to mix older and newer versions, you
will typically see the following BADLIB and BADTYPSTR error sequence
when accessing the CMS library from the older CMS versions:
%CMS-F-BADLIB, there is something wrong with your library
-CMS-F-BADTYPSTR, header block type is 145; it should be 17
Please see the CMS V4.1 release notes for additional details on this.
13–19
 Finding and Using Software

To perform the equivalent ‘‘conversion’’ for DEC Test Manager (DTM) V3.5
and prior versions to V3.6 and later versions, issue the following DCL
commands for each DTM library present:
$ RENAME disk:[directory]00DTM.* 01DTM.*
$ COPY NLA0: disk:[directory]00DTM.DTM
Like CMS, this change is intended to prevent older versions of DTM from
accessing newer libraries, and corrupting the contents. Like CMS, once
the libraries are renamed, they cannot and should not be renamed back to
the older names; like CMS, the changes are not downward-compatible.
To convert version 1 (ancient) DTM and CMS libraries forward, please see
the DTM CONVERT and the CMS CONVERT commands.

13.9 Where can I get Perl for OpenVMS?

OpenVMS support is included in the standard distribution of Perl, the
popular scripting language created by Larry Wall. In addition to nearly
all of the functionality available under Unix, OpenVMS-specific Perl
modules provide interfaces to many native features, as well as access
to Oracle, Ingres, and Sybase databases via the Perl DBI available on
OpenVMS.
A website useful for getting started with Perl on OpenVMS—where you
will find such things as download links, instructions, auxiliary tools, and
sample scripts—is available at:
• http://www.sidhe.org/vmsperl

If you have a C compiler, the best way to obtain Perl is to download and
build it yourself. The latest production quality source kit is available
from:
• http://www.perl.com/CPAN/src/stable.tar.gz

You will need GUNZIP and VMSTAR (both available from the OpenVMS
Freeware CD, or from other sites) to unpack the archive; once you’ve done
that, read the instructions in the README.vms file.
Binary distributions for most Alpha and VAX environments are available
on the OpenVMS Freeware CD-ROM and from various websites, including
the following:
• http://www.sidhe.org/vmsperl/prebuilt.html
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/

13–20
 Finding and Using Software

During active Perl development cycles, test kits are sometimes found at:
from:
• ftp://ftp.sidhe.org/

Watch the mailing list (see below) for details on experimental releases.
Charles Lane maintains pages on how to write CGI scripts in Perl for the
OSU HTTP server, as well as more general tips, tricks, and patches for
building and running Perl on OpenVMS:
• http://www.crinoid.com/crinoid.htmlx

There are OpenVMS-specific Perl modules that implement interfaces to a

subset of the VMS System Services. With these modules, you can get (and
often set) device, job, queue, user, system, and performance information.
The lock manager, RMS indexed files, screen management utilities, and
Intracluster Communication Services are also accessible via Perl. The
relevant modules are all available from:
• http://www.perl.com/CPAN/modules/by-module/VMS

To subscribe to the OpenVMS Perl mailing list (a discussion forum for

both user support and new development), send an email message to
[email protected]
The mailing list archives may be searched at:
• http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/vmsperl

13.10 Obtaining the DECmigrate (AEST or VEST, and TIE) translator?

The DECmigrate image translation family provides tools that translate
OpenVMS VAX images for use on OpenVMS Alpha, and OpenVMS Alpha
images for use on OpenVMS I64, Details are available at:
• http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/products/omsva/omsva.html

VEST is the name sometimes given to the DECmigrate translation tool for
VAX images, AEST is the name given to the Alpha translation tools, and
TIE names the DECmigrate run-time environment within OpenVMS. (If
you’ve ever noticed images with filenames ending with _TV and wondered
what this meant, these images are part of TIE.) And yes, you can use
AEST to re-translate images that were translated using VEST; you can
perform a second translation of a VAX image.

13–21
 Finding and Using Software

Please see Section 13.12 for related information. Please see the website
for the most current details on availability and plans and status of
translations for OpenVMS I64 platforms.

13.11 Where can I get Zip, Unzip, self-extracting zip, etc?

Many packages are provided in ZIP, GZIP, or BZIP2 format, which
requires you to acquire the associated unzip tool to unpack it. You can get
ZIP and UNZIP and related and similar tools from the following areas:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/ . Look in the [000TOOLS...]
and [*ZIP*...] directories.
• ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/unzip.alpha_exe
• ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/unzip.vax_exe
• http://zinser.no-ip.info/www/vms/sw/zip.htmlx
• http://www.djesys.com/zip.html
• http://www.djesys.com/unzip.html
• The master Info-Zip web site is at http://www.info-zip.org/ . OpenVMS
ports of current versions of zip and unzip are typically available at
this web site, as is a mailing list.

Freeware V4.0 [000TOOLS...]*ZIP*.EXE

The Freeware V4.0 [000TOOLS...] pre-built versions of ZIP
will erroneously return BILF errors on OpenVMS V7.2 and
later. This is not the only error lurking within these pre-
built versions, just the most obvious. Accordingly, please
use one of the far more current versions that are now
readily available, whether on the most recent Freeware
distribution, or from one of the sites listed above.
Do not use the Freeware V4.0 [000TOOLS...]*ZIP*.EXE
images.
Directions for creating and using the sfx self-extracting zip file
compression mechanism are available in the unzip kit that is available at:
• Look in a recent unzip* directory at
http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
• With the UNZIP542 directory from Freeware V5.0, look for the file
UNZIPSFX.TXT.

13–22
 Finding and Using Software

If you want to build the zip images for yourself (eg: for an older OpenVMS
version), pull over the entire contents of a recent unzip and unzip
directory, or Info-Zip directory, or visit one of the web sites. With most
OpenVMS ports of the tools, find and invoke LINK.COM. No compilers
are needed, as objects are provided with most distributions.
HP OpenVMS Engineering uses a tool known as FTSV for creating self-
extracting compressed files using the OpenVMS DCX compression tools,
as seen with various OpenVMS ECO (patch) kits. (sfx typically provides
better compression than does DCX.) FTSV and FTSO are available on
Freeware V7.0, for OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha. Due to changes
in the image headers, no version of FTSV is presently available for
OpenVMS I64.

13.12 Are VAX Hardware Emulators Available?

Software-based emulators of the VAX architecture and for specific VAX
hardware platforms are available from various sources:
• Software Resources International (SRI) CHARON-VAX
http://www.softresint.com/
• Tim Stark’s TS10
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ts10/
• Bob Supnik’s Trailing Edge
http://simh.trailing-edge.com/

VAX emulators that operate on PC systems and/or on OpenVMS Alpha

systems are available. For information on an alternative to using a
VAX emulator— on the available DECmigrate VAX executable image
translator—please see Section 13.10.

13–23
14 Hardware Information

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
14.1 What are the OpenVMS differences among VAX, Alpha, and IA-64?
In terms of software, very few. As of OpenVMS V6.1, the OpenVMS VAX
and OpenVMS Alpha platforms achieved ‘‘feature parity’’. Subsequent
work has seen significant enhancements and new features added on
OpenVMS Alpha. OpenVMS I64 started with ‘‘feature parity’’ with
OpenVMS Alpha at the V8.2 release, and OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS
I64 are based on and built from the same source pool. (There do exist low-
level platform-specific differences, and platform-specific code is present
within the shared source code pool, obviously.) 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.
• The preferred floating point format on the Alpha and on the IA-64
architectures is IEEE.
• Data alignment is extremely important for best performance on
OpenVMS Alpha and on OpenVMS I64. 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.
• HP C is the only C compiler HP offers on OpenVMS Alpha and on
OpenVMS I64, and is a direct descendant of Compaq C and DEC
C on OpenVMS Alpha. HP C is highly compatible with DEC C on
OpenVMS VAX, but does differ somewhat in its syntax and support

14–1
 Hardware Information

when compared with the older VAX C compiler most OpenVMS

VAX programmers are traditionally familiar with. Read up on the
/EXTERN_MODEL and /STANDARD qualifiers to avoid the most
common problems, and see the documentation in the DEC C for
OpenVMS VAX manuals around migrating from VAX C to DEC C. (In
addition to HP C, there have been open-source ports such as Gnu C
available for OpenVMS.)
• The page size on Alpha and IA-64 systems is variable, but is at least
8 kilobytes. 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 $GETSYI using the
SYI$_PAGE_SIZE itemcode.

There are also a number of manuals which discuss migration to OpenVMS

Alpha and to OpenVMS I64 available in the OpenVMS documentation,
both in the main documentation and (depending on the age of the manuals
involved) in the archived documentation section.
As mentioned earlier, more recent OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64
releases have added features and support that are not available on
OpenVMS VAX. Salient additions include the following:
• 64-bit addressing in OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 and later, and on
OpenVMS I64.
• Multi-host SCSI support (SCSI TCQ) in V6.2 and later
• PCI support (platform-dependent)
• OpenVMS Galaxy (vPars) support in OpenVMS Alpha V7.2 and later

Please see Section 14.4.5 for Intel Itanium terminology.

14.2 Seeking performance information for Alpha (and VAX) systems?

HP makes a wide range of performance documents available through its
FTP and WWW Internet servers (see Section 3.2).
The following contain information on Integrity, Alpha and VAX products,
with the VAX information largely accessable via archive-related links at
the Alpha-related product web pages:
• http://www.hp.com/go/server/
• http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/vax/index.html

14–2
 Hardware Information

The following sites are reachable via the AlphaServer information pages,
and contain information on various retired VAX and Alpha products:
• http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/archive/index.html
• http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/performance/perf_tps.html

Also see CPU2000:

• http://www.spec.org/osg/cpu2000/
• http://www.spec.org/osg/cpu2000/results/cpu2000.html

14.3 Console Commands, Serial Lines, and Controls?

This section contains information on VAX and Alpha consoles, and details
related to console commands, serial lines, and configuration settings.

14.3.1 What commands are available in the Alpha SRM console?

In addition to the normal BOOT commands and such (see Section 14.3.5.2
for some details) and the normal contents of the console HELP text,
operations such as I/O redirection and floppy disk access are possible at
the SRM console prompt:
1 Format a FAT floppy, and insert it into the AlphaStation floppy drive.
2 Perform the following at AlphaStation SRM Console :
>>> show * > env.dat
>>> show conf > conf.dat
>>> cat env.dat > fat:env.dat/dva0
>>> cat conf.dat > fat:conf.dat/dva0
3 You may use the SRM ‘‘ls’’ command to display the contents of the
floppy.
>>> ls fat:env.dat/dva0
>>> ls fat:conf.dat/dva0
4 You can now transfer the FAT-format floppy to another system.

14–3
 Hardware Information

14.3.2 What does SRM mean? What is PALcode?

The abbreviation SRM is derived from the Alpha System Reference
Manual, the specification of the Alpha architecture and the associated
firmware.
PALcode is a name assigned to a particular set of functions provided
by the SRM firmware. PALcode is used to provide low-level functions
required by higher-level operating system or application software,
functions which may not be directly available in Alpha hardware.
PALcode is implemented using available Alpha instructions and using
the Alpha processor, though PALcode operates in a mode which simplifies
programming. PALcode is also permitted access to processor-specific
and otherwise internal features of a particular Alpha microprocessor
implementation; microprocessor-specific features which are not easily
accessable to operating system or application code.

14.3.3 Alpha COM ports and VAX console serial line information?
This section contains information on the Alpha COM communication
ports, and related settings, as well as on the VAX console bulkhead and
VAX console serial line connection.

14.3.3.1 Which terminal device name is assigned to the COM ports?

COM2 is normally TTA0:. COM1 is normally TTB0: if the Alpha
workstation is booted with the SRM console environment variable set
to graphics, and is OPA0: if the console is set to serial.
On the DEC 2000 series (sometimes incorrectly known by the name of
the system as sold for Microsoft Windows NT Alpha; as the DECpc 150
AXP series) on older OpenVMS Alpha releases, COM1 through COM4
are known as OPA0: through OPA3:. On all current OpenVMS releases,
these ports are serviced by the terminal driver and not by the console
OPDRIVER driver.
Often the easiest way to determine the OpenVMS terminal name assigned
to the port is to connect a terminal, log in interactively, and look at the
output of SHOW TERMINAL. (Device names can vary by OpenVMS
version, as well as by the SRM console environment variable selection.)
For serial console hardware and related information, and for pin-outs and
related information, please see Section 14.3 and Section 14.26.

14–4
 Hardware Information

14.3.3.2 Which serial port is the console on the MicroVAX 3100?

Just to keep life interesting, the MicroVAX 3100 has some ‘‘interesting’’
console ports behaviours based on the setting of the BREAK enable
switch. When the console is not enabled to respond to BREAK, MMJ-
1 is the console port. MMJ-3 will (confusingly) output the results of the
selftest in parallel with MMJ-1. When the console is enabled to respond to
BREAK, MMJ-3 becomes the console port, and MMJ-1 will (confusingly)
output the results of selftest in parallel with MMJ-3.

14.3.3.3 How can I set up an alternate console on a VAXstation?

Most VAXstation series systems and a few Alpha series systems have
a switch – most often labeled S3, largely for historical reasons—that
enables one of the serial lines as the system console device; as OPA0:.
This disables console output to the graphics display. (For a related
behaviour, please see Section 11.10.)
All VAXstation 3100 series systems provide a S3 slide switch, though the
oldest may be missing the cut-out through the enclosure that provides
access to the switch. The slide switch is located near the diagnostic LED
display. (The slide switch is accessable with the cover removed.)
Various members of the DEC 3000 series Alpha systems also have a
similarly-labled S3 switch for selection of the alternate console.
The particular port that becomes the console can vary. The printer MMJ
connection is used on all VAXstation 3100 series. On VAXstation II, the
console DB9 is used, rather than the graphics display. On most (all?)
AlphaStation series systems, typically the COM1 serial port becomes the
console.
Also see Section 14.3.6, Section 11.10, and Section 14.17. Beware the two
different DB9 pin-outs; see Section 14.27 for related details.
For information on registering software license product authorization keys
(PAKs), please see Section 5.6.2.

14–5
 Hardware Information

14.3.3.4 Please explain the back panel of the MicroVAX II

The MicroVAX-series console bulkhead interface was used with the
KA630, as well as with the KA650 and KA655 processors.
There are three controls on the console bulkhead of these systems:
Triangle-in-circle-paddle: halt enable.
dot-in-circle: halt ( break ) is enabled,
and auto-boot is disabled.
dot-not-in-circle: halt ( break ) 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.
There are several different bulkheads involved, including one for the
BA23 and BA123 enclosures, and one for the S-box (BA2xx) series
enclosure. The console bulkheads typically used either the MMJ serial
line connection, or the MicroVAX DB9 (not the PC DB9 pin-out), please
see the descriptions of these in section Section 14.26. For available
adapters, see Section 14.27.
Also present on the console bulkhead is a self-test indicator: a single-
digit LED display. 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.

14.3.4 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

14–6
 Hardware Information

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 (vPars) 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. These variables
allow both vPars (virtual partitions) and lPars and lPars (logical partition)
support; vPars is a generic name for soft partitioning constructs such
as OpenVMS Galaxy, while lPars is a generic name applied to hard
partitioning constructs.
The contents of a core set of SRM console environment variables are
accessible from OpenVMS Alpha using the f$getenv lexical and the
sys$getenv system service. (These calls are first documented in V7.2,
but have been present in OpenVMS Alpha for many releases.) Access
to arbitary SRM console environment variables is rather more involved,
and not directly available to application software operating outside of
kernel-mode.

14.3.5 What are the boot control flag values?

Integrity, VAX and Alpha primary bootstraps support flag values; a
mechanism which permits the system manager to perform specific
customizations or site-specific debugging of the OpenVMS system
bootstrap. While very similar, there are differences among the boot
flag implementations for the various architectures.

14.3.5.1 What are the I64 IPB boot flag values?

The OpenVMS I64 primary bootstrap flags are processed within the
IA-64 primary bootstrap image IPB.EXE; within the SYS$EFI.SYS
structures. The primary bootstrap boot flags are largely parallel to
those of OpenVMS Alpha (see Section 14.3.5.2, though the console and the
console mechanisms used to specify the boot command, the boot flags, and
boot command options do differ markedly.

14–7
 Hardware Information

You can specify the boot flags via an EFI environment variable VMS_
FLAGS , or via the boot alias boot options mechanism, or by appending
the requested boot flags onto the specification of VMS_LOADER.EFI.
To set the bootstrap flags environment variable at the EFI shell prompt,
use:
Shell> SET VMS_FLAGS "0,1"
When you register an EFI boot alias (please see Section 14.4.5 for Intel
Itanium terminology), you will be asked if you want to enter boot options,
and what type. To add boot flags to a boot alias, select Unicode as the
boot options type, and enter an SRM-like options string, such as the
conversational bootstrap selected by the following example:
-flages 0,1
For related information on managing EFI boot aliases from OpenVMS
I64, please see Section 14.3.10.
When using VMS_LOADER.EFI to request boot flags, you will want to
specify the invocation as follows:
fsn:\efi\vms\vms_loader -flags 0,1
The above shows a conversational bootstrap request.
Typical boot flags are listed in Table 14–1.

Table 14–1 I64 Conversational Bootstrap Flags

Bit Example Mnemonic Description

0 0,1 CONV Conversational bootstrap
1 0,2 DEBUG Load SYSTEM_
DEBUG.EXE (XDELTA)
2 0,4 INIBPT Stop at initial system
breakpoints
16 0,10000 DBG_INIT Enable verbose
bootstrap messages
17 0,20000 USER_MSGS Enable additional
bootstrap messages
17 0,200000 ? Request for a bootstrap
from USB keydisk

14–8
 Hardware Information

For a conversational bootstrap of the OpenVMS I64 root SYS4 associated

with the fs2: EFI file system device with full bootstrap messaging
enabled, specify:
fs2:\efi\vms\vms_loader -flags 4,30001

14.3.5.2 What are the Alpha APB boot flag values?

The flags listed in Table 14–2 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

Table 14–2 Alpha Conversational Bootstrap Flags

Bit Mnemonic Description

0 CONV Conversational bootstrap
1 DEBUG Load SYSTEM_DEBUG.EXE (XDELTA)
2 INIBPT Stop at initial system breakpoints if bit 1
set (EXEC_INIT)
3 DIAG Diagnostic bootstrap (loads diagboot.exe)
4 BOOBPT Stop at bootstrap breakpoints (APB and
Sysboot)
5 NOHEADER Secondary bootstrap does not have an
image header
6 NOTEST Inhibit memory test
7 SOLICIT Prompt for secondary bootstrap file
8 HALT Halt before transfer to secondary
bootstrap
9 SHADOW Boot from shadow set
10 ISL LAD/LAST bootstrap
11 PALCHECK Disable PAL rev check halt
12 DEBUG_BOOT Transfer to intermediate primary bootstrap
13 CRDFAIL Mark CRD pages bad
14 ALIGN_FAULTS Report unaligned data traps in bootstrap

14–9
 Hardware Information

Table 14–2 (Cont.) Alpha Conversational Bootstrap Flags

Bit Mnemonic Description

15 REM_DEBUG Allow remote high-level language

debugger
16 DBG_INIT Enable verbose boot messages in EXEC_
INIT
17 USER_MSGS Enable subset of verbose boot messages
(user messages)
18 RSM Boot is controlled by RSM
19 FOREIGN Boot involves a foreign disk

If you want to set the boot flags ‘‘permanently’’, use the SET BOOT_
FLAGS command, e.g.:
>>> SET BOOT_OSFLAGS 0,1

14.3.5.3 What are the VAX VMB boot flag values?

The flags described in Table 14–3 are passed (via register R5) to the
OpenVMS VAX primary bootstrap image VMB.EXE. These flags control
the particular behaviour of the bootstrap.

Table 14–3 VAX Conversational Bootstrap Flags

Bit Mnemonic Description

0 CONV Conversational boot. At various points in
the system boot procedure, the bootstrap
code solicits parameter and other input
from the console terminal. If DIAG is set,
then the diagnostic supervisor should
enter its menu mode and prompt user for
the devices to test.
1 DEBUG Debug. If this flag is set, OpenVMS VAX
maps the code for the XDELTA debugger
into the system page tables of the running
system.

14–10
 Hardware Information

Table 14–3 (Cont.) VAX Conversational Bootstrap Flags

Bit Mnemonic Description

2 INIBPT Initial breakpoint. If RPB$V_DEBUG

is set, OpenVMS VAX executes a BPT
instruction immediately after enabling
mapping.
3 BBLOCK Secondary boot from the boot block.
Secondary bootstrap is a single 512-byte
block, whose LBN is specified in R4.
4 DIAG Diagnostic boot. Secondary bootstrap
is the Diagnostic Supervisor image; the
image [SYSMAINT]DIAGBOOT.EXE.
5 BOOBPT Bootstrap breakpoint. Stops the primary
and secondary bootstraps with an
XDELTA breakpoint instruction prior to
the memory test.
6 HEADER Image header. Takes the transfer address
of the secondary bootstrap image from
that file’s image header. If the RPB$V_
HEADER bit is not set, the image is
assumed to have no image header, and
control is transfered to the first byte of the
secondary boot file.
7 NOTEST Memory test inhibit. Sets a bit in the PFN
bit map for each page of memory present.
Does not test the memory.
8 SOLICT File name. VMB prompts for the name of
a secondary bootstrap file.
9 HALT Halt before transfer. Executes a HALT
instruction before transferring control to
the secondary bootstrap.
10 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).

14–11
 Hardware Information

Table 14–3 (Cont.) VAX Conversational Bootstrap Flags

Bit Mnemonic Description

11 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 RPB$V_DIAG bit
is also enabled, then the Diagnostic
Supervisor enters its AUTOTEST mode.
12 USEMPM Specifies that multi-port memory should
be used in addition to local memory,
as though both were one single pool of
pages.
13 MEMTEST Specifies that a more extensive algorithm
be used when testing main memory for
hardware uncorrectable (RDS) errors.
14 FINDMEM Requests the use of MA780 multiport
memory if the main MS780 memory
is insufficient for booting. This is a
remnant of the support for the VAX-
11/782 series system and its Asymmetric
Multiprocessing (ASMP) environment.
Support for the VAX-11/782 and for ASMP
was withdrawn with the V5.0 release; with
the advent of Symmetric Multiprocessing
(SMP) support.

The exact syntax is console-specific, recent VAX consoles tend to use the
following:
>>> BOOT/R5:flags

14.3.6 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 SRM console command SET
CONSOLE SERIAL followed by the console INIT command. Once
this SRM command sequence has been invoked and the CONSOLE
environment variable is set to SERIAL, the Alpha system will use the
serial terminal. (Set the environment variable to GRAPHICS to select the
console display output via the graphics display.)

14–12
 Hardware Information

The DEC 3000 series has a jumper on the motherboard for this purpose.
Various older Alpha workstations generally will not (automatically)
bootstrap without a keyboard connected, due to the self-test failure that
arises when the (missing) keyboard test fails.
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).
AlphaServer 4100 and derivative series platforms, and AlphaServer GS80,
GS160, and GS320 series system consoles are capable of 57600 baud. See
the COM2_BAUD console environment variable, and ensure that you
have current SRM firmware version loaded.
The AlphaStation and AlphaServer series use a PC-compatible DB9 serial
connector for the COM1 and COM2 serial lines (and for the OPA0: console
line, if that was configured via SRM), please see Section 14.26 for details
and pin-out.
For information on registering software license product authorization keys
(PAKs), please see Section 5.6.2.
For a related behaviour of DECwindows, please see Section 11.10. For
information on the VAXstation alternate console mechanisms, please see
Section 14.3.3.3.

14.3.7 Downloading and using SRM console Firmware?

This section discusses downloading and using Alpha console firmware,
sometimes called PALcode.

14.3.7.1 Where can I get updated console firmware for Alpha systems?
Firmware updates for HP Alpha systems are available from:
• ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/index.html
• ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/
• ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/readme.html

The latest and greatest firmware—if updated firmware has been released
after the most recent firmware CD was distributed—is located at:
wideftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/interim/

14–13
 Hardware Information

For information on creating Alpha bootable floppies containing the

firmware, and for related tools, please see the following areas:
wideftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/utilities/mkboot.txt
wideftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/utilities/mkbootarc.txt
wideftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/utilities/mkntboot.txt

The SROM firmware loader expects an ODS-2 formatted floppy, see

mkboot. As for which image to use, the ROM image uses a header and
the file extension .ROM, and the SROM bootable floppy cannot use the
.ROM file.
To check the firmware loaded on recent OpenVMS Alpha systems, use the
command:
$ write sys$output f$getsyi("console_version")
$ write sys$output f$getsyi("palcode_version")
SDA> CLUE CONFIG
Also see Section 14.3.7.2. For information on HP Integrity EFI firmware
upgrades and for a sequence useful in generating CD-R or CD-RW media
containing a firmware disk image, please see Section 14.3.11.

14.3.7.2 How do I reload SRM firmware on a half-flash Alpha system?

Some of the AlphaStation series systems are ‘‘half-flash’’ boxes, meaning
only one set of firmware (SRM or AlphaBIOS) can be loaded in flash at
a time. Getting back to the SRM firmware when AlphaBIOS (or ARC) is
loaded can be a little interesting...
That said, this usually involves shuffling some files, and then getting into
the AlphaBIOS firmware update sequence, and then entering ‘‘update
srm’’ at the apu-> prompt.
To shuffle the files, copy the target SRM firmware file (as200_v7_0.exe
is current) to a blank, initialized, FAT-format floppy under the filename
A:\FWUPDATE.EXE
From the AlphaBIOS Setup screen, select the Upgrade AlphaBIOS option.
Once the firmware update utility gets going, enter:
Apu-> update srm
Answer "y" to the "Are you ready...?"
Apu-> quit
You’ve reloaded the flash. Now power-cycle the box to finish the process.

14–14
 Hardware Information

Also see Section 14.3.7.1.

14.3.7.3 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.
A typical sequence used for switching over from the AlphaBIOS graphics
console to the SRM console follows:
1 Press F2 to get to the AlphaBIOS setup menu.
2 Pick the ‘‘CMOS Setup...’’ item.
3 Press F6 to get to the ‘‘Advanced CMOS Setup’’ menu.
4 Change the ‘‘Console Selection’’ to ‘‘OpenVMS Console (SRM)’’.
5 Press F10 , F10 , then Enter to save your changes.
6 Power-cycle the system.

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

14–15
Hardware Information

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 Microsoft Windows NT or other
operating system(s) to write a ‘‘harmless’’ signature to any disk used
by OpenVMS Alpha or OpenVMS VAX, as this will clobber a key part
of the disk; this will overwrite the OpenVMS bootblock. (On OpenVMS
Alpha and OpenVMS VAX, you can generally recover from this so-called
‘‘harmless’’ action by using the WRITEBOOT.EXE tool.
Using OpenVMS I64 and the EFI console, the bootblock structures
are expected to be compatible with those of Microsoft Windows and
other Integrity operating systems; please see the discussion of the
SET BOOTBLOCK command and the SYS$SETBOOT.EXE image in
Section 9.7.3, in Section 14.3.9, and in the OpenVMS documentation for
related details.)
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 console and want to select AlphaBIOS/ARC, use
the command:
>>> set os_type NT
and power-cycle the system.
For information on acquiring firmware, see Section 14.3.7.1. For
information on OpenVMS license PAKs (for hobbyist use) see
Section 2.8.1. For information on the Multia, see Section 14.4.1.

14–16
 Hardware Information

Information on enabling and using the failsafe firmware loader for

various systems—this tool is available only on some of the various Alpha
platforms—is available in the hardware documentation for the system.
This tool is used/needed when the firmware has been corrupted, and
cannot load new firmware.
The full list of AlphaBIOS key sequences—these sequences are needed
when using an LK-series keyboard with AlphaBIOS, as AlphaBIOS
expects a PC-style keyboard:
F1 Ctrl/A
F2 Ctrl/B
F3 Ctrl/C
F4 Ctrl/D
F5 Ctrl/E
F6 Ctrl/F
F7 Ctrl/P
F8 Ctrl/R
F9 Ctrl/T
F10 Ctrl/U
Insert Ctrl/V
Delete Ctrl/W
Backspace Ctrl/H
Escape Ctrl/[
Return Ctrl/M
LineFeed Ctrl/J
(Plus) + upselect (some systems)
(Minus) - downselect (some systems)
TAB down arrow
SHIFT+TAB up arrow

14.3.8 Console Management Options

Options to collect multiple consoles into a single server are available, with
both hardware options and software packages that can provide advanced
features and capabilities.
Some of the available console management options for OpenVMS:
• Heroix: http://www.robomon.com/
• KI Products: http://www.ki.com/products/clim/
• Global Maintech: http://www.globalmt.com/
• TECsys: http://www.tditx.com/
• CA: http://www.cai.com/products/commandit.htm

14–17
 Hardware Information

Computer Associates is the owner of what was once known as the

VAXcluster Console System (VCS) console management package, and
has integrated this capability into the CA management product suite.

14.3.9 Why do my EFI Boot Aliases Fail?

OpenVMS I64 boot aliases contain signature information referencing the
specific volume, meaning that the entries are specific to the disk volume
and not the disk device. This also means that certain operations, such
as the SET BOOTBLOCK command or the RUN SYS$SETBOOT.EXE
operation that can rewrite these volume signatures (signature or GUID
values) can render existing boot aliases unusable.
If your boot aliases do not function as expected, first try removing and
re-adding them; this will resynchronize the boot aliases with the volume
contents. If you are using the SET BOOTBLOCK command or the RUN
SYS$SETBOOT.EXE operation to rewrite the disk bootblock, you can
request that the current signatures (if any) be preserved, and this will
typically maintain the validity of your EFI console boot aliases.

14.3.10 Can OpenVMS access the EFI console Boot Aliases?

For access to the EFI console environment from OpenVMS I64, see the
BOOT_OPTIONS.COM command procedure, and the EFI SET, SHOW
and BCFG mechanisms. Details on these are in the System Manager’s
and particularly in the System Manager’s Utilities manual.
For related information on boot aliases, please see Section 14.3.5.1.

14.3.11 Downloading and using EFI Console Firmware?

HP Integrity EFI system firmware can be downloaded in the form of a
bootable image master, unzipped and then burned onto CD or DVD media
(please see Section 9.7 for details of recording optical media directly on
OpenVMS), and the system can then generally be booted off the created
media to perform the EFI firmware upgrade.
The HP Integrity Server website is accesssable via the following URL,
and the available services and support information there has links to
the available platform-specific firmware images and upgrade-related
materials:
• http://www.hp.com/go/integrity/

14–18
Hardware Information

To use the following sequence, you will need a writable or rewritable

CD drive and software, and a blank CD-R or CD-RW disk. If you use
CD writer software for another platform, you will want to use the block,
binary, ISO or raw mode operations appropriate for the particular chosen
recording package. The following directions assume use of OpenVMS and
native CD-R capabilities, please see Section 9.7 for associated details.
1 First, you must acquire the Integrity server firmware from the above
URL. Select the platform, and navigate to the supporting information
and specifically to the Download Drivers and Software link
2 Select Cross operating system (BIOS, Firmware, etc.)
3 Locate the appropriate ISO-format firmware file. There are several
firmware file formats available and there are also various off-line
diagnostic images, choose the ISO-format firmware file.
4 Read the directions for the firmware file, then download the ISO-
format firmware (zip-compressed) file. A binary-mode FTP transfer
should be used.
5 Unzip the file into the corresponding .ISO data file. Somewhat
confusingly, the .ISO extension can indicate either a block-oriented
raw image of a disk, or a disk with the ISO-9660 volume structure. In
this case, the former is intended and this file contains a a block copy
or disk image of the firmware disk for the platform, and may or may
not be an ISO-9660 volume structure. The unzip tool is available on
the OpenVMS Freeware and elsewhere; please see Section 13.11 for
details and locations.
6 Use CDRECORD or other available recording tool (please see
Section 9.7 for related details) to burn a CD-R or CD-RW disk,
specifying the ISO file as the source for the burn operation.
7 Shut the Integrity Server system down to the EFI console level.
8 Unload the recorded CD media from the CD-R drive, label it, and load
it into the Integrity console drive. This assuming the disk was not
generated directly on an Integrity CD-R/RW-capable drive, of course.
9 Using the EFI shell, display the current firmware version using the
command
info fw
10 Exit the EFI shell and select the boot options maintenance menu;
create a boot alias for the removable media drive for the CD; for the
newly-created firmware disk.

14–19
 Hardware Information

11 Boot it. Follow the directions displayed by the firmware loader and
related documentation, heeding the release notes that were reviewed
earlier.
12 Perform a cold restart of the Integrity server.

For information on Alpha SRM console firmware upgrades, please see

Section 14.3.7.

14.4 What platforms will OpenVMS operate on?

For the list of boxes that are officially and formally supported by
OpenVMS Engineering, please see the OpenVMS Software Product
Description (SPD).
• http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx, and SPD
82.35.xx.

Sometimes a particular and officially unsupported Alpha box or Alpha

motherboard will sufficiently resemble a supported box that the platform
can effectively mimic and can bootstrap OpenVMS. Alternatively,
somebody (usually one or more engineers within the OpenVMS
Engineering group) will have put together a bootstrap kit – such as
the kit for the Alpha Multia—which permits OpenVMS to bootstrap on
the platform.
Contrary to the assumptions of some folks, there are platform-level
differences even within the VAX and within the Alpha platforms—
hardware-level differences that can require moderate to extensive new
coding within OpenVMS. Within a platform series, and particularly within
Alpha platforms (and those few VAX systems) that support Dynamic
System Recognition (DSR), OpenVMS can usually bootstrap.
DSR is a mechanism by which OpenVMS can gather platform-specific
information, and DSR is the reason why newer Alpha systems can be
more easily and more commonly supported on older OpenVMS Alpha
releases. DSR is implemented with OpenVMS Alpha code, with SRM
console code, and with platform non-volatile memory.
OpenVMS users with experience on older OpenVMS VAX releases and
VAX hardware will recall that then-new VAX systems either required
an OpenVMS VAX upgrade, or that earlier releases would mis-identified
then-newer VAX systems—such as the case of the VAX 7000 model 800
being (mis)identified as a VAX 7000 model 600 when bootstrapped on
OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2. (This (mis)identification was the outcome of
14–20
 Hardware Information

a deliberate engineering effort to permit the VAX 7000 model 800 to

bootstrap on V5.5-2; the system manager could configure the VAX 7000
model 800 to (mis)identify itself as a model 600, to permit the system
to bootstrap on V5.5-2.) OpenVMS VAX and VAX platforms lack DSR
support.
OpenVMS I64 (please see Section 14.4.5 for Intel Itanium terminology)
supports a platform-level feature similar to the OpenVMS Alpha DSR
mechanism, based on the ACPI interface and the byte-code interpreter
implemented within OpenVMS, within the EFI console, and particularly
within non-volatile memory located on (byte-code interpreter compliant)
PCI I/O hardware. ACPI tables provide the information that was formerly
retrieved from DSR and from the SRM, and the byte-code interpreter
can (theoretically) permit at least limited operations with (compliant)
PCI hardware, whether or not OpenVMS has a driver for the particular
hardware.
The byte code interpreter may or may not permit operations with any
particular PCI hardware, and may or may not have sufficient performance
for local requirements, and PCI hardware may or may not include the
necessary ROM-based drivers in the PCI hardware non-volatile storage.
(The intent of this Intel platform-level effort is to move the host software
drivers out onto the specific PCI hardware, and to permit the same byte
code to operate regardless of the particular host platform.) At least the
initial releases of OpenVMS I64 will not have support for the byte code
interpreter nor for arbitrary PCI or system hardware, but will have
support for ACPI-based system identification and system configuration.

14.4.1 on the Alpha Multia?

Yes, there are a set of unsupported images that permit specific OpenVMS
Alpha versions to bootstrap on the Multia UDB system. These images
and the associated instructions are available at the OpenVMS Freeware
website:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/

Look in the Freeware V5.0 /multia/ directory.

Instructions are included IN the kits. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS.
PLEASE!

14–21
Hardware Information

Some of the restrictions involved when running OpenVMS on the Multia

system include (but may well not be limited to) the following:
• The PCMCIA support was completely removed, because the Intel
chip on the Multia was not compatable with the Cirrus chip on the
Alphabook.
This means, of course, that you will not see and cannot use any
PCMCIA cards on a Multia.
The Multia uses shared interrupts, and as a result, a special ZLXp-E
series graphics device driver—one that does not use interrupts—is
needed. This driver is provided in the kit.
• The serial lines don’t work.
• If you have a Multia with a PCI slot, you can’t use any PCI card that
requires interrupts.
• The SRM console on this system is very old and very fragile. (This
SRM console was designed only and strictly for diagnostic use, and
was not particularly tested or used with OpenVMS.)
• If things don’t work for you, don’t expect to see any OpenVMS
updates, nor SRM console updates, nor any support.
• Do not expect to see any new versions of OpenVMS on the Multia nor
on any other unsupported systems. If such new versions do appear
and do work, please consider it as a pleasant surprise.

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://www.djesys.com/vms/hobbyist/multia.html
• http://www.djesys.com/vms/hobbyist/mltianot.html
• http://www.djesys.com/vms/hobbyist/support.html
• http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/alpha/multiafaq.html
• http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/computers/udb.html

14–22
 Hardware Information

14.4.2 on AlphaPC 164LX? AlphaPC 164SX?

OpenVMS Alpha is not supported on the AlphaPC 164LX and 164SX
series, though there are folks that have gotten certain of the LX series
to load SRM and bootstrap OpenVMS. (The Aspen Durango II variant,
specifically.)
One problem has been generally reported: ATA (IDE) bootstraps will fail;
SCSI storage and a SCSI CD-ROM device is required.
Also see Section 14.4.2.1.

14.4.2.1 on the NoName AXPpci33 system?

Information on bootstrapping OpenVMS (using the Multia files described
in Section 14.4.1) on the (unsupported) NoName AXPpci33 module is
available at:
• http://www.jyu.fi/~kujala/vms-in-axppci33.txt

Tips for using the Multia files with the AXPpci33:

• You have to use the Multia kit and follow the directions in ALPHA8,
but do *not* load the Multia SRM firmware into the AXPpci33.
Rather, download and use the latest firmware for the AXPpci33 from
the HP Alpha firmware website instead.
• 64 MB memory is generally necessary.
• you cannot use any PCI cards, and if you plan on networking, you
need to find an ISA Ethernet card supported by OpenVMS.
• When the AXPpci33 board bootstraps, it will dump some stuff like a
crash dump, but it will continue and—so far—this hasn’t caused any
particular hassles.
• The system shutdown and reboot procedures do not work properly.
• The serial console is reported to not work, though the serial ports
apparently do work. The status of the parallel port is unknown.
• Rumour has it that you have one of the AXPpci33 motherboards with
the PS/2 mouse and keyboard connectors and a VGA card (one that
will work under DECwindows) and you can run DECwindows on the
system.

14–23
 Hardware Information

14.4.3 on the Alpha XL series?

No.
OpenVMS Engineering does not formally support the Alpha XL series, nor
will OpenVMS (informally) bootstrap on the Alpha XL series.
OpenVMS can not, will not, and does not bootstrap on the Alpha XL
series. The Alpha XL series was targeted for use (only) with the Microsoft
Windows NT operating system.
The Alpha XL platform does not resemble other supported platforms.

14.4.4 OpenVMS on the Personal Workstation -a and -au series?

Though OpenVMS is not supported on the Personal Workstation -a series
platforms, OpenVMS might or might not bootstrap on the platform.
If you wish to attempt this, you must ensure that all graphics and all
I/O controllers in the system are supported by OpenVMS. You must also
ensure that you have the most current firmware loaded.
Here are some salient differences within the various Personal Workstation
series:
• The -a series was designed and was tested for Windows NT use. Only.
It is not supported for use with OpenVMS.
• The -au series was designed and tested for Windows, OpenVMS, and
Tru64 UNIX compatibility, and is considered a supported system.
• There are at two different and distinct variants of the family, and
usually refered to by their internal hardware project names.
• The Miata MX5. The Miata MX5 variant has no USB ports and no
on-board SCSI. The on-board Intel SIO chipset is not supported by
OpenVMS, and thus OpenVMS cannot bootstrap ATAPI CD-ROM
devices.
That said, the Miata MX5 -a series typically came with DEC
branded Adaptec 2940UW SCSI controllers, Matrox Millennium
graphics cards, no L3 cache module, and an Toshiba IDE CD-Rom.
Some came with very high end Powerstorm graphics card if the
system was destined to do CAD or movie rendering.
Graphics and other I/O can and does vary by package.
The Miata MX5 is not supported by OpenVMS.

14–24
 Hardware Information

• The Miata GL. The Miata GL variant has USB ports and on-board
SCSI and bootstraps using the on-board Cypress IDE chipset and
an ATAPI CD-ROM are supported by OpenVMS. The Miata GL -a
variant is need not be configured with an add-on SCSI controller,
given both the ability to bootstrap from ATAPI CD-ROM and the
on-board SCSI.
Graphics and other I/O can and does vary by package.
Various of the Miata GL systems are supported by OpenVMS.

For obvious reasons, most folks will prefer and will select a Miata GL
system, given the choice between the Miata MX5 and the Miata GL
series. And as for your next question, you cannot necessarily nor easily
distinguish the Miata MX5 from the Miata GL based solely on the model
number.
See Section 14.4.4.2 for related details.

14.4.4.1 OpenVMS on the Whitebox Windows-Only series Alpha?

Though OpenVMS is not supported on the ‘‘Whitebox’’ series of Alpha
platforms, OpenVMS might or might not bootstrap on the platform. These
systems were specifically configured, targeted and supported only for use
with the Microsoft Windows NT operating system.
On some of the ‘‘Whitebox’’ systems, the following sequence of console
commands can potentially be used to convert the system over to
unsupported use by and for OpenVMS Hobbyist users. (But please note
that if you wish to attempt this, you must ensure that all graphics and
all I/O controllers in the system are supported by OpenVMS, and you
must ensure that you have the most current SRM firmware loaded. (For
information on locating and downloading the most current Alpha SRM
firmware, please see Section 14.3.7.1.) And you must realize that the
resulting Whitebox configuration will be entirely unsupported and may or
may not be stable and useful.)
set os_type vms
cat nvram ! too see what is in this, if anything
edit nvram
10 set srm_boot on
20 e
init

14–25
 Hardware Information

If your nvram has other contents, you will need to change the line
numbers (10 and 20) to reflect the contents of your configuration. To
obtain documentation on the commands of the console editor, enter the ?
command within the editor.
The above sequence was reportedly tested on the DIGITAL Server 3300
series, a relative of the AlphaServer 800 series. The DIGITAL Server
3300 is not supported by OpenVMS, though the AlphaServer 800 series
is a supported platform. The sequence may or may not work on other
platforms, and may or may not work on the DIGITAL Server 3300
platform.
Also see Section 5.33.

14.4.4.2 OpenVMS and Personal Workstation ATA (IDE) bootstrap?

OpenVMS will boot and is supported on specific Personal Workstation -au
series platforms, though OpenVMS will require a SCSI CD-ROM if the
Intel Saturn I/O (SIO) IDE chip is present in the configuration— only the
Cypress IDE controller chip is supported by OpenVMS for IDE bootstraps.
(Configurations with the Intel SIO are not generally considered to be
supported systems.)
If you have an -au series system, you can determine which IDE chip you
have using the SRM console command:
SHOW CONFIGURATION
If you see ‘‘Cypress PCI Peripheral Controller’’, you can bootstrap
OpenVMS from IDE storage. If you see ‘‘Intel SIO 82378’’, you will
need to use and bootstrap from SCSI. (A procedure to load DQDRIVER
on the Intel SIO—once the system has bootstrapped from a SCSI device—
is expected to be included as part of the contents of the DQDRIVER
directory on Freeware V5.0 and later.)
Many of the -a series systems will include the Intel SIO, and thus cannot
bootstrap from IDE.
See Section 14.4.4 for related details.

14–26
 Hardware Information

14.4.5 On the Intel Itanium IA-64 platform?

OpenVMS has been ported to the Intel IA-64 architecture; to HP Integrity
systems based on the Intel Itanium Processor Family.
The first release of OpenVMS I64 was V8.0, with the first general or first
production release of OpenVMS I64 known as V8.2. Yes, there was a V8.1
release, too.
Some Intel and HP terminology: Itanium Processor Family is the name
of the current implementation; of the current Intel microprocessor family
implementing the IA-64 architecture. IA-64 is the name of the Intel
architecture implementing the VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) design
known as EPIC (Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing).
I64 is the name of a family of HP computer systems that use Intel
Itanium processors and that are supported by ‘‘HP OpenVMS for Integrity
Servers’’ (and itself more commonly known as ‘‘OpenVMS I64’’); by one of
the HP operating systems that runs on HP Integrity hardware.
The Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) is the name of the console
environment for Itanium systems, and the Baseboard Management
Console (BMC) and the optional Management Processor (MP) are the
most typical hardware interfaces into the system console.

14.4.5.1 Where can I get Intel Itanium information?

Intel Itanium Processor Family and IA-64 Architecture, Hardware,
Software, and related docoumentation materials are available at:
• ftp://download.intel.com/design/IA-64/manuals/
• ftp://download.intel.com/design/IA-64/Downloads/
• ftp://download.intel.com/design/IA-64/Downloads/archSysSoftware.pdf
• ftp://download.intel.com/design/IA-64/Downloads/24870101.pdf

Information on the classic Intel Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)

(for IA-64) and of the multi-platform Unified EFI (UEFI) console project
documentation are available at the following URLs:
• Intel
http://developer.intel.com
• UEFI
http://www.uefi.org

14–27
 Hardware Information

Please see Section 14.4.5 for Intel Itanium terminology.

14.5 What is the least expensive system that will run OpenVMS?
The cheapest systems that are or have been recently offered by HP
that will run OpenVMS Alpha are the AlphaServer DS10 server, the
AlphaStation XP900 workstation, the AlphaStation VS10 workstation,
and the AlphaStation XP1000 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
series models available which are quite suitable. For more experienced
OpenVMS system managers, the (unsupported) Multia can bootstrap
OpenVMS—see Section 14.4.1 for details.
Used Itanium-based systems that a hobbyist could likely use to bootstrap
OpenVMS I64 have been seen selling on auction websites for under
US$1000. New Integrity rx2620 series systems (officially supported by
OpenVMS I64) have been offered as part of a week-long DSPP porting and
training package for US$2000. See Section 2.8.3 for details on the DSPP
program. Also see the HP Renew used- and/or refurbished-equipment
program for any hardware that might be available.
Free and commercial VAX software-based hardware emulators are
available for various platforms. See Section 13.12 for details on those.

Hobbyist-related hardware platform selection information—various

options and considerations around VAX, Alpha and Integrity
systems, and an introduction to hardware emulation—is available at:
http://www.hoffmanlabs.org/ )
Depending on the OpenVMS version and configuration, the OpenVMS
Software Product Description (SPD) is available at:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/doc/

When purchasing a system, ensure that the system itself is supported,

that the system disk drive is supported or closely compatible, that the
optical (CD or DVD) drive is supported or is closely compatable and
that (in the case of SCSI devices) it also specifically supports 512-byte
block transfers; no equivalent requirement exists for IDE devices.
Also particularly ensure that the video controller is supported. Use of
supported HP hardware will generally reduce the level of integration
effort involved.
14–28
 Hardware Information

A CD-ROM, CD-R or DVD drive is required for OpenVMS Alpha

installations, and a DVD-ROM or recordable or rewritable DVD DVD
drive is required for OpenVMS I64 installations.
CD-ROM drive compatibility information is available at:
• http://sites.inka.de/pcde/dec-cdrom-list.txt

14.6 Where can I get more information on Alpha systems?

HP operates an AlphaServer information center at:
• http://www.hp.com/go/server

Alpha Technical information and documentation is available at:

• ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/products/alphaCPUdocs/
• http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/software/alpha-tools/
• ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/systems/
• http://ftp.digital.com/pub/
Digital/info/semiconductor/literature/dsc-library.html
• Alpha Systems Update:
http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/fb_acu.html

Software Product Description (SPD) information, including platform

support documentation:
• http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx, and SPD
82.35.xx.

Information on Multia hardware is available at:

• http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/alpha/multiafaq.html

Information on DEC 3000 series hardware is available at:

• http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~prescott/linux/alpha/dec3000-sysinfo.html
• http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~prescott/linux/alpha/dec3000-docs.html
• http://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/misc/dec-docs/index.html

14–29
 Hardware Information

The NetBSD folks maintain useful Alpha hardware information at:

• http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/alpha/models.html

14.7 Describe Alpha instruction emulation and instruction subsets?

The Alpha architecture is upward- and downward-compatible, and newer
instructions are emulated on older platforms, for those cases where the
compiler is explicitly requested to generate the newer Alpha instructions.
In particular, OpenVMS Alpha V7.1 and later include the instruction
emulation capabilities necessary for the execution of newer Alpha
instructions on older Alpha microprocessors. (Instruction emulation
capabilities are available for user-mode application code, and are not
available to device drivers or other similar kernel-mode code.)
Alpha instructions are available in groups (or subsets). Obviously, there is
the base instruction set that is available on all Alpha microprocessors.
Then, the following are the current instruction extension groups
(or subsets) that are available on some of various recent Alpha
microprocessors:
• byte/word extension (BWX):
LDBU, LDWU, SEXTB, SEXTW, STB, and STW.
• floating-point and square root extension (FIX):
FTOIS, FTOIT, ITOFF, ITOFS, ITOFT, SQRTF, SQRTG, SQRTS, and
SQRTT.
• count extension (CIX):
CTLZ, CTPOP, and CTTZ.
• multi-media extension (MVI):
MAXSB8, MAXSW4, MAXUB8, MAXUW4, MINSB8, MINSW4,
MINUB8, MINUW4, PERR, PKLB, PKWB, UNPKBL, and UNPKBW.

The typical instruction subset that provides the biggest win—and of

course, your mileage may vary—is typically the instruction set that is
provided by the EV56 and later; specifically, the byte-word instruction
subset. To select this subset, use the following:
/ARCHITECTURE=EV56/OPTIMIZE=TUNE=GENERIC

14–30
 Hardware Information

The /ARCHITECTURE controls the maximum instruction subset that the

compiler will generally use, while the /OPTIMIZE=TUNE controls both
the instruction-level scheduling and also the instructions generated inside
loops—any code resulting from /OPTIMIZE=TUNE that is specific to an
instruction subset will be generated only inside loops and will also be
‘‘protected’’ by an AMASK-based test that permits the execution of the
proper code for the particular current Alpha microprocessor.
Typically /OPTIMIZE=TUNE=GENERIC is the appropriate choice
for tuning, and the /ARCHITECTURE selects the minimum target
architecture for general use throughout the generated code.
generated for later architectures and instruction subsets will run on
older Alpha systems due to the emulation, but if /ARCHITECTURE is a
significant benefit, then the emulation might be a performance penalty.
Please see the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard area for the source code of a
(non-privileged) tool that looks at the instruction subsets available on
the particular Alpha microprocessor that the tool is run on. This tool
demonstrates the use of the Alpha AMASK and IMPLVER instructions.
Please see Section 10.22 and Section 14.9 for additional details and
related considerations.

14.8 So how do I open up the DEC 3000 chassis?

After removing those two little screws, tilt the back end of the top shell
upwards—then you can remove the lid.

14.9 What is byte swizzling?

‘‘Swizzling’’ is the term used to describe the operation needed to do partial
longword (i.e. byte or word) accesses to I/O space on those systems that
don’t support it directly. It involved shifting the offset into an address
space by 5 (or 7 for one older system), and ORing this into the base
address. It then required the size of the operation to be ORed into the low
order bits.
That is, because the EV4 and EV5 CPUs did not bring bits 0 and 1 off
the chip, to do programmed I/O for bytes/words, the information on the
size/offset of the transfer was encoded into the address data. The data
itself then had to be shifted into the correct ‘‘byte lane’’ ; into the required
offset position within a longword transfer;

14–31
Hardware Information

The EV56 microprocessor supports byte/word instruction references in

memory space, however only specific EV56 systems can support byte/word
accesses into I/O space; device drivers may or may not be able to utilize
to byte/word instructions to access device registers. Further, even on an
EV56 system with hardware support for byte/word accesses into I/O space,
the relevant OpenVMS routines typically do not support byte/word access
into I/O space.
Systems based on the EV6 microprocessor (with the salient exception
of the AlphaServer GS60 and AlphaServer GS140 series, for reasons of
platform compatability) support a flat, byte addressable I/O space.
If a device driver uses CRAM or IOC$WRITE_IO/IOC$READ_IO, then
OpenVMS will correctly process the swizzling requirements without
requiring changes the driver; OpenVMS will transparently swizzle and
unswizzle the I/O space references, if needed for the particular target
platform. (Access and use of these routines may or may not be feasible
within the requirements for a particular device driver, with the decision
typically based on the target performance requirements and the expected
frequency of device references and thus the expected frequency of calls to
these or other similar routines.)
To use byte/word operations on MEMORY, you need to tell the compiler
to use the EV56 or EV6 architecture (/ARCHITECTURE=EV56). Memory
operations did not swizzle, but the compiler would do long/quad access,
and extract/insert bytes as needed. Using /ARCHITECTURE=EV56
allows smaller, more efficient byte/word access logic to memory.
If the application is directly referencing I/O space access across a range of
Alpha systems such as is done with the X Windows device drivers, then
the driver will need to know how to do swizzling for old platforms, and
byte access for new platforms. Device drivers for new graphics controllers
can specifically target and specifically require platforms based on EV6
and later Alpha microprocessors because of this requirement, for instance.
Please see Section 10.22 and Section 14.7 for additional details and
related considerations.

14–32
 Hardware Information

14.10 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 the following range: 0.5 less than or
equal to f and less than 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.
FP Exponent Exponent Mantissa (Fraction) bits,
Type Bits Bias including hidden bit
==========================================================
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)

14.11 Where can I find more info about VAX systems?

• HP provides limited VAX platform information via links at the

AlphaServer website, itself available via:
http://www.hp.com/go/server/
• Jim Agnew maintains a MicroVAX/VAXstation FAQ at:
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~agnew/MVAX/MVAX_FAQ.HTML

14–33
 Hardware Information

• The VAXstation 3100 Owner’s Guide:

http://www.whiteice.com/~williamwebb/intro/DOC-i.html
• VAXstation 3520 and VAXstation 3540 (Firefox) Manual:
http://starfish.osfn.org/rcs/VAX/vs3540sg.pdf
• VAX Console information:
http://www.mcmanis.com/chuck/computers/vaxen/panels.htm
• 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
• Various VAX historical information (also see Section 2.1) can be found
at:
http://telnet.hu/hamster/vax/e_index.html

14.12 Where can I find information on NetBSD for VAX systems?

Gunnar Helliesen maintains a NetBSD VAX FAQ at
• http://vaxine.bitcon.no/

14.13 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.

14–34
 Hardware Information

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:
• VAXstation 3100 series, all members. No PROM upgrade is available.
• MicroVAX 3100 models 10 and 20. No PROM upgrade is available.
• 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 (or was once) available.

Also see
• http://www.whiteice.com/~williamwebb/intro/DOC-i.html

Also see Section 9.5.

14.14 What are the VAX processor (CPU) codes?

CPU: Platform:
----- ---------
KA41-A : MicroVAX 3100 Model 10 and 20
KA41-B : VAXserver 3100 Model 10 and 20
KA41-C : InfoServer
KA41-D : MicroVAX 3100 Model 10e and 20e
KA41-E : VAXserver 3100 Model 10e and 20e
KA42-A : VAXstation 3100 Model 30 and 40
KA42-B : VAXstation 3100 Model 38 and 48
KA43-A : VAXstation 3100 Model 76
KA45 : MicroVAX 3100 Model 30 and 40
KA46 : VAXstation 4000 Model 60
KA47 : MicroVAX 3100 Model 80
KA48 : VAXstation 4000 VLC
KA49-A : VAXstation 4000 Model 90/90A
KA49-B : VAXstation 4000 Model 95
KA49-C : VAXstation 4000 Model 96
KA50 : MicroVAX 3100 Model 90
KA51 : MicroVAX 3100 Model 95
KA52 : VAX 4000 Model 100
KA53 : VAX 4000 Model 105
KA54 : VAX 4000 Model 106
KA55 : MicroVAX 3100 Model 85
KA56 : MicroVAX 3100 Model 96
KA57 : VAX 4000 Model 108
KA58 : MicroVAX 3100 Model 88

14–35
 Hardware Information

KA59 : MicroVAX 3100 Model 98

KA85 : VAX 8500
KA86 : VAX 8600
KA88 : VAX 8800
KA600 : VAX 4000-50 (aka VAXbrick)
KA610 : MicroVAX I, VAXstation I (aka KD32)
KA620 : rtVAX (VAXeln)
KA62A : VAX 6000-200
KA62B : VAX 6000-300
KA630 : MicroVAX II, VAXstation II
KA640 : MicroVAX 3300, MicroVAX 3400
KA650 : VAXstation 3200, MicroVAX 3500, MicroVAX 3600, MicroVAX III
KA64A : VAX 6000-400
KA655 : MicroVAX 3800, MicroVAX 3900, MicroVAX III+
KA65A : VAX 6000-500
KA660 : VAX 4000-200, VAX 4 upgrade
KA66A : VAX 6000-600
KA670 : VAX 4000-300
KA675 : VAX 4000-400
KA680 : VAX 4000-500
KA681 : VAX 4000-500A
KA690 : VAX 4000-600
KA691 : VAX 4000-605A
KA692 : VAX 4000-700A
KA693 : VAX 4000-605A
KA694 : VAX 4000-705A
KA730 : VAX-11/730
KA750 : VAX-11/750
KA780 : VAX-11/780, VAX-11/782
KA785 : VAX-11/785
KA7AA : VAX 7000-600
KA7AB : VAX 7000-700
KA7AC : VAX 7000-800
KA800 : VAXrta
KA820 : VAX 8200, VAX 8300
KA825 : VAX 8250, VAX 8350
KA865 : VAX 8650
For console commands associated with certain MicroVAX 3100 series
and VAX 4000 model 10x series motherboard personality settings, see
Section 14.32.

14.15 Where can I get software and hardware support information?

Please contact the HP Customer Support Center. Services and
information, manuals, guides, downloads, and various other information
is available via the support link at:
• http://www.hp.com/products/openvms/

14–36
 Hardware Information

Various hardware and system documentation is available at:

• http://www.hp.com/go/services/

TSM (Terminal Server Manager), DEChub, DECserver, etc. information:

• http://www.compaq.com/support/digital_networks_archive/

The owner and maintainer of current DECserver and related hardware is

DIGITAL Network Products Group (DNPG):
• http://www.dnpg.com/

14.16 Where can I get hardware self-maintenance support assistance?

The HP Parts Directory and the HP Parts Reference Guide (arguably
the most direct descendents of the HP Assisted Services program, of the
Compaq Assisted Services program, and of the now-ancient DECmailer
program) are available to customers that wish to maintain their own
system(s) (self-maintenance), but that wish some level of assistance in
acquiring specific parts, hardware diagnostics and hardware manuals for
the system(s), and that wish to have access to spares and module-level
repairs for customer-performed hardware module swaps:
• http://www.hp.com/go/parts/
• http://www.hp.com/buy/parts/

The HP Parts Reference Guide replaces the CAS-Catalog and DAS-

Catalog parts catalogs and related resources.
Details of the available self-maintenance programs and services can
vary by geography and by the particular services channel(s), and current
program specifics are available via the above URLs.

14.17 Why does my system halt when I power-cycle 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.

14–37
 Hardware Information

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.
Also see Section 5.6.

14.18 Can I reuse old keyboards, mice and monitors with a PC?
Older HP keyboards (those with the DIGITAL logo and the RJ modular
jacks), older HP mice (those with the DIGITAL logo and with the 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 not (easily) interchangable nor (easily) compatible
with typical PC peripheral device controllers. The LK201 and LK401
keyboards, the VSXXX series mice, the VR260 and VR290 monitors, etc.,
are incompatible with most PC systems and with most KVM switches.
Newer HP (and Compaq) keyboards (those with with PC-style DIN plugs,
and the HP, Compaq or DIGITAL logo), newer HP mice (with PC-pin DIN
plugs, and the HP, Compaq or DIGITAL logo), and newer video monitors
(multi-synch, usually with a VGA or SVGA connection, or later) are often
interchangeable with "industry standard" PC systems, and can often be
used with most PC peripheral device controllers. LK461, LK463, LK46W,
LK471, PC7XS-CA, VRC16, VRC21, TFT-series LCD flat-panel displays,
etc., are typically reasonably compatible with most PC systems, and will
usually perform as expected within the limits of the hardware. (For
details of CRT and LCD display compatibility, please see Section 14.19.)
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 a more recent Alpha system, it will probably work with a
PC peripheral controller or with a PC-compatible KVM switch. If the

14–38
 Hardware Information

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 [four-digit-number], it probably won’t work on a
PC system or with a PC-compatible KVM.
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.
Software Integrators sells a video adapter card called Gemini P1 which
will drive many of the older HP (DIGITAL-logo) fixed-frequency monitors
on a PC system:
• http://www.si87.com/

The DIGITAL (classic 2-5-2-style) part number 29-32549-01 converts the

output from the RGB cable (3 BNC, synch-on-green) that comes with
the VAXstation 3100 and VAXstation 4000 series to a female SVGA D
connector. You may be able to find third-party converters or adapters (3
BNCs with synch-on-green signaling to 5 BNCs with VGA/SVGA, or to
15-pin VGA/SVGA.
This adapter will allow PC multisync monitors with the needed frequency
specifications to be used with the VAXstation series synch-on-green video
connection. It may well also work with a VAXstation 2000 series systems,
but specifics and performance of that combination are not immediately
known at this writing.
The protocol definition for the old DIGITAL keyboard and mouse
interfaces is buried at the back of the QDSS section in the old VAXstation
II manual, specifically, in the back of the VCB02 Video Subsystem
Technical Manual (EK-104AA-TM). The keyboard wiring and protocol
is in appendix B, and occupies circa 44 pages. The mouse is in appendix
C, circa 12 pages.
Also see Section 14.19.

14.19 Which video monitor works with which graphics controller?

To determine the answer to the ‘‘will this video monitor or this LCD
panel 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 display and on the graphics controller, in other
words), and then determine if there are any matching settings available.

14–39
Hardware Information

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 signaling common on many PCs, or other
connections such as the DB15 video connector or USB connector used on
various systems. (BNC signaling is comparatively old, but prevalent with
many older hobbyist AlphaStation or VAXstation configurations.)
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://www.mirage-mmc.com/faq/
• http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Foothills/4467/fixedsync.html
• http://saturn.tlug.org/sunstuff/ffmonitor.html
• http://hawks.ha.md.us/hardware/monitor.html

LCD-based and plasma-based flat-panel displays are generally compatible

with all recent OpenVMS Alpha systems and supported graphics
controllers. For best results, you should generally set the graphics
controller to match the native LCD or plasma display resolution and
(for LCD displays) also set the controller refresh rate to 60Hz. Check your
graphics controller and your display documentation for any device-specific
requirements and/or configuration recommendations.
Some of the older graphics controllers around do not necessarily generate
stable signals at 60 Hz, if the controller can even generate that refresh
rate; you may end up upgrading to a less-old controller. (At least some
of the PowerStorm 3D30 and PowerStorm 4D20 series controllers, for
instance, are not necessarily the best choice for 60 Hz operations with
an LCD, based on empirical testing with an AlphaStation XP1000,
PowerStorm 3D30, and a TFT2025 series LCD. Degraded or mismatched
signals produce degraded displays, obviously. The newest graphics
controllers compatible with your particular system are generally better
choices here for use with LCD; the Radeon 7500 series is a good choice for
most EV6-class AlphaStation systems, for instance.
Also see Section 14.18.

14–40
 Hardware Information

14.20 Where can I get information on storage hardware?

Information on various HP (Compaq, DIGITAL) OpenVMS and other disk
storage hardware and controllers, and related technical information on
SCSI, device jumpers, etc., is available at:
• http://theref.aquascape.com/

Note
the aquascape website appears to have become
unavailable, and the FAQ maintainer is unaware of a
new or replacement server. You may or may not have some
success looking for this or of any other now-unavailable
sites using the world-wide web archives at:
• http://www.archive.org/

14.21 Why does my LK401 keyboard unexpectedly autorepeat?

There are several modes of failure:
• 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.
• Pressing certain keys is always broken. Typical symptoms 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.
(Ensure you have current ECO kits applied; there is a patch available
to fix this problem.)
• A key that was working spontaneously stops working correctly. This
may be either of the two previous cases, or it may be bad console
firmware. Ensure that you have the most recent firmware installed
on your Alpha system. In particular, an old version of the DEC 3000
SRM firmware is known to have a bug that can cause this keyboard
misbehaviour.

14–41
 Hardware Information

14.22 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.
If you are working from another operating system platform, please see the
DECxterm tool and related information on OpenVMS Freeware V5.0.

14.23 Which DE500 variant works with which OpenVMS version?

Ensure you have a version of the Alpha SRM console with support for the
DE500 series device. Apply ALL mandatory ECO kits for the OpenVMS
version in use, and also apply the CLUSIO, ALPBOOT, and ALPLAN kits,
and apply any available ALPCPU ECO kit for the platform.
• DE500-XA
auto-detection, no auto-negotiation,
OpenVMS V6.2-1H1 and ALPBOOT ECO, also V7.0 and later and
ECO.
Device hardware id 02000011 and 02000012.
Component part number 54-24187-01
• DE500-AA
auto-detection, auto-negotiation,
OpenVMS V6.2 and ALPBOOT and ALPLAN ECOs, or V7.1 and later
and ECO.
Device hardware id 02000020 and 20000022.
Component part number 54-24502-01
• DE500-BA
auto-detection, auto-negotiation,
OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 and CLUSIO, ALPBOOT, ALPLAN and ALPCPU
ECOs, or V7.1-1H1 or later and ECO.
Device hardware id 02000030 (check connector, vs DE500-FA) (other
values on old Alpha SRM firmware)
Component part number 54-24602-01
• DE500-FA (100 megabit fibre optic Ethernet)
OpenVMS V7.1-1H1 and later
Device hardware id 02000030 (check connector, vs DE500-BA) (other
values possible on old Alpha SRM firmware)

14–42
 Hardware Information

Component part number 54-24899-01

To check the DE500 device hardware id from OpenVMS, use the following
command:
$ ANALYZE/SYSTEM
SDA> SHOW LAN/DEVICE=EWc:
The ‘‘hardware version’’ will be displayed.
To set the DE500 speed and duplex settings via the associated Alpha SRM
console environment variable, see Table 14–4.

Table 14–4 DE500 Speed and Duplex Settings

EWx0_MODE setting Meaning

Twisted-Pair 10 Mbit/sec, nofull_duplex
Full Duplex, Twisted-Pair 10 Mbit/sec, full_duplex
AUI 10 Mbit/sec, nofull_duplex
BNC 10 Mbit/sec, nofull_duplex
Fast 100 Mbit/sec, nofull_duplex
FastFD (Full Duplex) 100 Mbit/sec, full_duplex
Auto-Negotiate Negotiation with remote device

To override the console setting and use LANCP:

$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:LANCP
LANCP> SET DEVICE EWA0/SPEED=10
LANCP> DEFINE DEVICE EWA0/SPEED=10
LANCP> SET DEVICE EWA0/SPEED=100/full_duplex
LANCP> DEFINE DEVICE EWA0/SPEED=100/full_duplex
Fast Ethernet (100Base, 100 megabit) controllers such as the DE500
series have a pair of connections available—while traditional Ethernet
(10Base, 10 megabit) is inherently a half-duplex protocol, Fast Ethernet
can be configured to use one or both of the available connections,
depending on the controller. Fast Ethernet can thus be half- or full-
duplex depending on the configuration and the capabilities of the
network controller and the Ethernet network plant. Some Fast Ethernet
controllers can also operate at traditional Ethernet speeds, these
controllers are thus often refered to as 10/100 Ethernet controllers.

14–43
 Hardware Information

14.24 How do I set the speed and duplex on OpenVMS I64?

OpenVMS I64 on Integrity servers does not provide a console-level
environment variable akin to the SRM console variables used to manage
the network speed and duplex settings on OpenVMS Alpha and Alpha
systems. On OpenVMS I64 on Integrity servers, LANCP is used to
manage the speed and the duplex setting of the network controllers.
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:LANCP
LANCP> SET DEVICE EWA0/SPEED=10
LANCP> DEFINE DEVICE EWA0/SPEED=10
LANCP> SET DEVICE EWA0/SPEED=100/full_duplex
LANCP> DEFINE DEVICE EWA0/SPEED=100/full_duplex
The EFI-level network bootstrap operations for a network-based upgrade
or a network-based installation of OpenVMS I64 require the use of
autonegotiation and a switch capable of supporting it.
See Section 14.23 for a related discussion.

14.25 Third-party or Unsupported disk/tape/controllers/SCSI/widgets?

A wide variety of third-party and formally-unsupported widgets—SCSI
and ATA/ATAPI (IDE) disks and tapes, graphics controllers, etc—are
obviously widely available, and are used on various platforms.
If you purchase third-party or unsupported or generic SCSI, ATA/ATAPI
(IDE) storage devices, you and your device vendor will be responsible for
the testing and the support of the devices. In general, you can expect that
HP will address non-standards-compliance problems within OpenVMS
(changes that will also not prevent operations with other supported
devices, of course), but you and/or the device vendor and/or the device
manufacturer are responsible for finding and fixing problems in the
particular third-party device and or controller involved.
In particular, realize that neither SCSI nor ATA/ATAPI (IDE) is a
particularly standard interface, these interfaces tend to be a collection
of optionally-implemented and standardized interface features. You
should not and can not simply assume that all SCSI nor ATA/ATAPI
(IDE) storage devices are interchangeable. If you want to try to use a
generic SCSI device, use V6.2 or later, or (better) V7.1-2 or later. If you
wish to try to use ATA/ATAPI (IDE), use OpenVMS V7.1-2 or later.
On older OpenVMS releases, see the disk capacity limits (Section 9.5).

14–44
 Hardware Information

With SCSI disks on releases prior to V6.2, ensure that you have the
ARRE and ARWE settings configured correctly (disabled). (If not, you will
see DRVERR fatal drive errors and error log entries.)
Some SCSI disks set the medium type byte as part of the SCSI size
field—this is a SET CAPACITY extension to SCSI specs. This problem
also applies to VAX V7.1 and later.
Disks with SCSI disk sizes past 8.58 GB and/or with the SET CAPACITY
extension require ALPSCSI07 ECO or the OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 or
later release. (See Section 9.5 for further details.)
Based on the displays of the (undocumented) SYS$ETC:SCSI_INFO tool;
this tool is present in OpenVMS V6.2 and later:
Issuing 6-byte MODE SENSE QIOW to get current values for page 01h
Page Code ................. 01h
Page Name ................. Read-Write Error Recovery
Saveable .................. Yes
Size ...................... 10
Hex Data .................. E6 08 50 00 00 00 08 00
00 00
The E6 shown indicates that the AWRE and ARRE bits are set, and this
is incompatible with OpenVMS versions prior to V6.2. Further along in
the same SCSI_INFO display, if you also see:
Issuing 6-byte MODE SENSE QIOW to get changeable values for page 81h
Page Code ................. 01h
Page Name ................. Read-Write Error Recovery
Saveable .................. Yes
Size ...................... 10
Hex Data .................. C0 08 50 00 00 00 08 00
00 00
The C0 value means that the AWRE and ARRE values can be changed on
this particular SCSI device. (This is not always the case.) If the bits are
set, you can use RZDISK from the OpenVMS Freeware, and can reset the
E6 flag byte to hexadecimal 26 (or whatever the remaining mask when
you remove bits C0) on page one.
Each SCSI and ATA/ATAPI (IDE) host contains non-trivial SCSI and IDE
driver software, and each device contains equally non-trivial firmware—
taken together with the mechanical and electronic components, this
software and firmware will determine whether or not a particular device
will function as expected.

14–45
 Hardware Information

Also note that various devices—such as various SCSI CD-R devices —

can implement and can require vendor-specific protocol extensions, and
these extensions can require modifications to OpenVMS or the addition of
various utilities. In various of these cases, these devices perform functions
that will require them to use SCSI or ATA/ATAPI (IDE) commands that
are (hopefully) architecturally-compatible SCSI or ATA/ATAPI (IDE)
command extensions. (Also see Section 7.1 and Section 9.7.)
Some SCSI tapes lack odd-byte transfer support, making operations with
OpenVMS problematic at best, as OpenVMS expects odd-byte support.
Examples of such include LTO-1 devices such as the HP Ultrium 230
series tape, and the DLT VS80 series tapes. Due to the lack of odd-byte
transfer support, LTO-1 devices are not supported by OpenVMS. LTO
devices in the LTO-2 and later series do reportedly presently all have
odd-byte transfer support, and operations are reportedly rather easier. Do
check for formal support, of course.
In order for OpenVMS to officially support a particular device, integration
and testing work is mandated. There can be no certainty that any
particular device will operate as expected in any particular configuration
without first performing this (non-trivial) work.
It is quite possible to find two devices—both entirely compliant with
applicable standards or interface documents—that will not interoperate.
The same general statement holds for OpenVMS bootstrapping on an
unsupported VAX or Alpha platform. It might or might not work.
In particular, please see the OpenVMS Software Product Description
(SPD) for the list of platforms supported by OpenVMS. OpenVMS is not
supported on the Personal Workstation -a series, on the Digital Server
series platforms, on the AlphaServer 2100 series 5/375 CPU, on the
Multia, on the AlphaServer DS20L, and on a variety of other platforms.
(You might or might not see success booting OpenVMS on any of these
platforms.)

14.25.1 Lists of third-party widgets on OpenVMS?

Various folks have successfully used common third-party disk disk devices
with OpenVMS, such as the ATA (IDE) and SCSI variants of the Iomega
Zip250 removable disk device.
Common SCSI CD-R/CD-RW devices such as the Plextor PlexWriter
12/10/32S SCSI series and the HP DVD200i series (recording CD-R) have
also been successfully utilized with various AlphaStation and VAXstation
systems, and with tools such as CDRECORD. (A Plextor PlexWriter burn

14–46
 Hardware Information

of 614400000 bytes (300000 sectors) requires just over six minutes at 12x,
using an AlphaStation XP1000 666 MHz EV67 system UltraSCSI host.)
(See Section 9.7 for detailed discussions of recording optical media on
OpenVMS, and the available tools.)
If you choose to attempt to use third-party devices, ensure that you have
the most current OpenVMS version and the most current ECO kit(s)
applied. In the specific case of the ATA (IDE) Iomega Zip250 drive, ensure
that you have the most current revision of SYS$DQDRIVER installed.

14.25.2 Are the 2X-KZPCA-AA and SN-KZPCA-AA LVD Ultra2 SCSI?

Yes. Both of these controllers are Ultra2 low-voltage differential (LVD)
SCSI controllers.
14.25.3 Resolving DRVERR fatal device error?
If this is on an OpenVMS version prior to V6.2, please see the AWRE and
ARRE information included in section Section 14.25.

14.26 Looking for connector wiring pin-outs?

The DECconnect DEC-423 Modified Modular Jack (MMJ) appears similar
to a telphone or network modular jac, though with the key offset to one
side. The DECconnect MMJ connector pin-out is listed in Table 14–5,
with an end-on view of the connector pins and the connector key shown
below.

Table 14–5 DEC MMJ Pin-out

Pin Description
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 |
+------------+ ++
+____+

14–47
 Hardware Information

The BC16E-nn (where the ‘‘-nn’’ indicates the cable length) cabling and
keying ‘‘flips over’’ or ‘‘crosses-over’’ the signal wires, and this allows all
DECconnect MMJ connections to be wired identically; the ends of the
BC16E are symmetrical and fully interchangeable, and allows either
end of the cable to be connected either to the terminal or to the host.
Specifically, the BC16E-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
DECconnect parts and connections are available from HP, and MMJ
crimping dies for use in typical telco-style crimping tools, and MMJ
connectors, are available from Blackbox and from other communications
equipment vendors.
The PC-compatible DB9 connector pin-out found on Alpha and Integrity
COM serial ports—and on most PC systems is listed in Table 14–6.

Table 14–6 PC DB9 Pin-out

Pin Description
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 pin-out predates the PC-style DB9
pin-out (adapters discussed in Section 14.27), and uses a then-common
(and older) standard pin-out, and uses the EIA-232 series standard
signals shown in Table 14–7.

14–48
 Hardware Information

Table 14–7 MicroVAX DB9 Pin-out

Pin Description
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.

When pin 8 is shorted to pin 9, this is a BCC08 (or variant) cable, most
commonly used as a console cable on the MicroVAX 2000 and VAXstation
2000 series. (Other systems may or may not tolerate connecting pin 8 to
pin 9.)
The BN24H looks like this:
MMJ RJ45
1---------8
2---------2
3---------1
4---------3
5---------6
6---------7
The BN24J looks like this:
MMJ RJ45
1---------7
2---------6
3---------3
4---------1
5---------2
6---------8
Also see:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/
• http://www.airborn.com.au/rs232.html
• http://www.stanq.com/cable.html
14–49
 Hardware Information

• For adapters and connectors, see Section 14.27.

14.27 What connectors and wiring adapters are available?

The H8571-B and H8575-B convert the (non-2000-series) MicroVAX
DB9 to the DECconnect DEC-423 Modified Modular Jack (MMJ) pin-
out; to the MMJ DECconnect wiring system. The MicroVAX 2000 and
VAXstation 2000 requires a BCC08 cable (which has the 8-9 short, see
Section 14.26) and the H8571-C or the H8571-D DB25-to-MMJ adapter
for use with DECconnect. (For a discussion of the console bulkhead on
the MicroVAX II series and on other closely-related series systems, please
see Section 14.3.3.4.)
Somewhat less ancient HP (HP, Compaq or DIGITAL logo) systems will
use either the DECconnect MMJ wiring directly or—on most (all?) recent
system designs—the PC-compatible DB9 9-pin pin-out; the PC-style COM
serial port interface and connection.
There are two DB9 9-pin pin-outs, that of the H8571-B and similar for the
MicroVAX and other and older systems, and that of the H8571-J for the
PC-style COM port, AlphaStation, Integrity, and other newer systems. The
older MicroVAX DB9 and the PC-style DB9 pin-outs are not compatible.

Table 14–8 DECconnect MMJ Connectors and Adapters

Part Converts BC16E MMJ male to fit into

H8571-A EIA232 DB25 25-pin female (common). Functionally similar to the
H8575-A, though the H8575-A has better ESD shielding.
H8571-B Older MicroVAX (other than the MicroVAX 2000) DB9 EIA232
serial port. Functionally similar to the H8575-B, though the
H8575-B has better ESD shielding. Note: Cannot be used on a
PC, Alpha nor Integrity DB9 9-pin connector.
H8571-C 25 pin DSUB Female to MMJ, Unfiltered
H8571-D EIA232 25 pin male (modem-wired)
H8571-E 25 pin DSUB Female to MMJ, Filtered
H8571-J PC, Alpha, Integrity 9 pin (DB9) male (PC-style COM serial
port) Note: Cannot be used on the older MicroVAX DB9 9-pin
connector
H8572-0 BC16E MMJ double-female (MMJ extender)

14–50
 Hardware Information

Table 14–8 (Cont.) DECconnect MMJ Connectors and Adapters

Part Converts BC16E MMJ male to fit into

H8575-A EIA232 DB25 25-pin female (common). Functionally similar to the

H8571-A, though the H8575-A has better ESD shielding.
H8575-B Older MicroVAX (other than the MicroVAX 2000) DB9 EIA232
serial port. Functionally similar to the H8571-B, though the
H8575-B has better ESD shielding. Note: Cannot be used on a
PC, Alpha nor Integrity DB9 9-pin connector
H8575-D 25 Pin to MMJ with better ESD Protection
H8575-D 25 Pin to MMJ with better and ESD Protection
H8575-E 25 Pin Integrity rx2600 Management Processor (MP) port to MMJ,
with ESD Protection
H8577-AA 6 pin Female MMJ to 8 pin MJ
BC16E-** MMJ cable with connectors, available in various lengths

Numerous additional adapters and cables are available from the (now
out of print) OPEN DECconnect Building Wiring Components and
Applications Catalog, as well as descriptions of the above-listed parts.
The DECconnect wiring system has insufficient signaling for modems, and
particularly lacks support for modem control signals.
The H8571-A and H8575-A are MMJ to DB25 (female) and other
connector wiring diagrams and adapter-, cable- and pin-out-related
discussions are available at:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/

Jameco has offered 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.
The LK463 USB keyboard is also a potential option, for those wishing
to connect an OpenVMS keyboard to USB systems or (via the provided
adapter) to PS/2 systems. The LK463 provides the classic OpenVMS
keyboard and keyboard layout on USB-based system configurations,
including operations with the USB connection on specific Alpha systems
(and specifically on those with supported USB connections) and on
Integrity servers.
For information on the Alpha console COM port(s) or on the VAX console
port, please see Section 14.3.

14–51
 Hardware Information

14.28 What is flow control and how does it work?

XON/XOFF is one kind of flow control.
In ASCII, XON is the CTRL/Q character, and XOFF is the CTRL/S .
XON/XOFF flow control is typically associated with asynchronous serial
line communications. XON/XOFF is an in-band flow control, meaning
that the flow control is mixed in with the data.
CTS/RTS is another type of flow control, and is sometimes called
hardware flow control. Out-of-band means that seperate lines/pins from
the data lines (pins) are used to carry the CTS/RTS signals.
Both kinds of flow control are triggered when a threshold is reached in
the incoming buffer. The flow control is suppose to reach the transmitter
in time to have it stop transmitting before the receiver buffer is full and
data is lost. Later, after a sufficient amount of the receiver’s buffer is
freed up, the resume flow control signal is sent to get the transmitter
going again.
DECnet Phase IV on OpenVMS VAX supports the use of asynchronous
serial communications as a network line; of asynch DECnet. The
communication devices (eg. modems, and drivers) must not be configured
for XON/XOFF flow control. The incidence of these (unexpected) in-band
characters will corrupt data packets. Further, the serial line device
drivers might normally remove the XON and XOFF characters from the
stream for terminal applications, but DECnet configures the driver to pass
all characters through and requires that all characters be permitted. (The
communication devices must pass through not only the XON and XOFF
characters, they must pass all characters including the 8-bit characters.
If data compression is happening, it must reproduce the source stream
exactly. No addition or elimination of null characters, and full data
transparency.
An Ethernet network is rather different than an asynchronous serial
line. Ethernet specifies the control of data flow on a shared segment
using CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access, with Collision Detect)
An Ethernet station that is ready to transmit listens for a clear channel
(Carrier Sense). When the channel is clear, the station begins to transmit
by asserting a carrier and encoding the packet appropriately. The station
concurrently listens to its own signal, to permit the station to detect
if another station began to transmit at the same time—this is called
collision detection. (The collision corrupts the signal in a way that can
reliably be detected.) Upon detecting the collision, both stations will stop

14–52
 Hardware Information

transmitting, and will back off and try again a little later. (You can see a
log of this activity in the DECnet NCP network counters.)
DECnet provides its own flow control, above and beyond the flow control
of the physical layer (if any). The end nodes handshake at the beginning
to establish a transmit window size—and a transmitter will only send
that much data before stopping and waiting for an acknowledgement.
The acknowledgement is only sent when the receiver has confirmed the
packet is valid. (A well-configured DECnet generally avoids triggering
any underlying (out-of-band) flow control mechanism.)

14.29 CD and DVD device requirements?

Read access to DVD-ROM, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD-ROM, and
CD-R/RW devices on ATAPI (IDE) connections is generally handled
transparently by SYS$DQDRIVER, and SYS$DQDRIVER will
transparently de-block the media-native 2048 byte disk blocks with the
512-byte blocks expected by OpenVMS and by native OpenVMS software.
Read access to DVD-ROM, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD-ROM,
and CD-R/RW devices on SCSI is handled by DKDRIVER, though
SYS$DKDRIVER will not transparently de-block the native 2048-byte
disk blocks into the 512-byte blocks expected by OpenVMS. The drive
or external software is expected to provide this de-blocking, thus either
a 512-byte block capable drive (such as all RRD-series SCSI CD-ROM
drives) is required, or host software is required for a 2048-byte block
drive. Third-party SCSI drives with UNIX references in their support
documentation or with explicit 512-byte selectors or swiches will generally
(but not always, of course) operate with OpenVMS.
At least some of the Plextor PlexWriter SCSI drives can be successfully
accessed (for read and write) from OpenVMS, as can at least one Pioneer
SCSI DVD drive (for CD media). The Pioneer SCSI DVD drive switches to
2048 byte blocks for DVD media, and a block-size conversion tool (written
by Glenn Everhart) or other similar tool can be applied.
OpenVMS also has supported HP DVD drives for the ATAPI (IDE) bus.
For some related information (and details on a commercial DVDwrite
package), please see:
• http://home.tiscali.de/dvd4openvms/supported_hardware.html

No device driver currently presently permits direct block-oriented

recording on DVD-RAM nor DVD+RW media, nor other recordable or
rewritable media.

14–53
 Hardware Information

Recording (writing) of CD and DVD optical media requires a recording

or media mastering application or tool, and both commercial and non-
commercial options are available. See Section 9.7 for related details on
CDRECORD (both non-DVD and DVD versions are available, and at least
one commercial version is available), and also see DVDwrite (commercial)
or DVDRECORD (open source).
For information on the GKDRIVER (SYS$GKDRIVER) generic SCSI
device driver and of the the IO$_DIAGNOSE $qio[w] interfaces (of
SYS$DKDRIVER, SYS$DNDRIVER and SYS$DQDRIVER) that are
utilized by most CD and DVD recording tools to send commands
to SCSI, USB or ATAPI devices (most USB and ATA devices—or
more correctly, most ATAPI devices—can use SCSI-like command
packets), please see the SYS$EXAMPLES:GKTEST.C example, and see
DECW$EXAMPLES:DECW$CDPLAYER.C example and please see the
various associated sections of the OpenVMS I/O User’s Reference Manual.
For information on creating bootable optical media on OpenVMS, please
see Section 9.7.3.

14.30 Office-Friendly (Quieter) Integrity rx2620 series?

The part number for the so-called Office-Friendly or Office Environment
Integrity rx2620 series is AD244A.
The AD244A option is incompatible with and eliminates the redundant
cooling and power supply capabilities of, but greatly reduces the sound
output from, the Integrity rx2620 rack-mount computer-room variant.
(Server rack-mount configurations are rated for sound output in the range
of 70dB, per the HP QuickSpecs. Suitable for the intended installation
into a computer room of course, but likely rather loud for an office
environment installation.)
If you wish to retrofit this option into an existing Integrity rx2620 series,
you must also order the HA113A1 (#53E) installation service; the option
reportedly can not be installed by an end-user. Also reportedly, the
option can be factory-ordered on custom configurations. If configuring
for or converting an existing rack-mount configuration for the office
environment, also consider acquiring the available pedestal-mounting
option for the series.

14–54
 Hardware Information

14.31 KVM switches for AlphaServer and Integrity Servers?

Various folks have reported success with the Raritan series KVM (and
specifically APKME the), and with the HP-branded KVM switches.
If you choose a KVM for use with Alpha or Integrity servers, do ensure it
provides either Unix compatibility, X Windows compatibility, or specifies
the Alpha or Integrity system. (This all usually means that the switch
supports keyboards that use the so-called scanset three key-down and
key-up sequences—key-down and key-up are key to the way X Windows
and thus DECwindows works.)
Also see the discussion in Section 14.18 for related information, and
particularly for older pinouts—for those keyboard and mouse devices that
pre-date the PS/2 DIN connections, the PC VGA/SVGA video connection,
and such. Almost all VAX systems pre-date these pinouts, and peripherals
intended for the older Alpha systems also pre-date these pinouts.

14.32 Changing processor (CPU) identification codes?

There are various common motherboards used in a series of VAX systems,
and these have a selectable id value. The enclosure and options differ, but
the system boards are—save for the setting of the response—the same
within certain pairings.

Table 14–9 Shared/paired VAX Boards

Part
MicroVAX 3100 series VAX 4000 series Number
Model 90/KA50 Model 100/KA52 54-21797-
01
Model 95/KA51 Model 105/KA53 54-21797-
02
Model 96/KA54 Model 106/KA56 54-21797-
03
Model 98/KA57 Model 108/KA59 54-24695-
01

To change the system identification within the pairings, use a console

command specifying the target CPU identification. For instance, the
following command will set a 54-21797-01 series processor module to the
KA50 response:

14–55
Hardware Information

>>> T 9D 50
confirm (y/n)? y
These commands solely alter the identification returned within the
specified pairings. These commands do not alter the system performance,
and the commands can not and do not allow, for instance, a 54-21797-01
motherboard to become a 54-24695-01 motherboard.
See Section 14.14 for a more complete list of KA-series codes for various
VAX processors.

14–56
15 Information on Networks and Clusters

If you are searching for something here,

please consider using the text-format FAQ.
The following sections contain information on OpenVMS Networking
with IP and DECnet, and on clustering and volume shadowing, on Fibre
Channel, and on related products and configurations.

15.1 How to connect OpenVMS to a Modem?

Please see the Ask The Wizard area topics starting with (81), (1839),
(2177), (3605), etc.
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.

15.2 OpenVMS and IP Networking?

The following sections contain information on OpenVMS and IP
networking, as well as IP printing topics.

15.2.1 How to connect OpenVMS to the Internet?

Some tutorial information and tips for connecting OpenVMS systems to
the Internet are available at:
• http://www.tmesis.com/internet/

15–1
 Information on Networks and Clusters

15.2.2 Connecting to an IP Printer?

To connect a printer via the IP telnet or lpr/lpd protocols, you will need
to install and configure an IP stack on OpenVMS, and configure the
appropriate print queue.
With current OpenVMS IP implementations, the choice of telnet or lpr/lpd
really amounts to determining which of these works better with the
particular printer involved.
To support network printing, the printer must include an internal or
external NIC or JetDirect; an adapter connecting the network and the
printer.
While it is normally possible to use a host-connected printer—when the
host supports an LPD or telnet daemon, and OpenVMS and most other
operating systems have the ability to serve locally-attached printers
to other hosts on the network—it is generally far easier and far more
effective to use a printer that is directly attached to the network. If your
present printer does not have a NIC or a JetDirect, acquire an internal
(if available) or external NIC or JetDirect. Or replace the printer. And
obviously, most any operating system that can serve its local printers
usually also provides a client that can access remote network-connected
printers.
Please see the Ask The Wizard (ATW) area topics—starting with topic
(1020)—for additional information on IP-based network printing.
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.
Please see Section 15.2.3 for information on Postscript printing.

15.2.3 How do I connect a PostScript printer via TCP/IP?

Using TCP/IP Services (UCX) as the TCP/IP stack, it is possible to
configure queues using the UCX$TELNETSYM (TCP/IP Services prior
to V5.0) or TCPIP$TELNETSYM (with V5.0 and later) 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 :

15–2
 Information on Networks and Clusters

$ INITIALIZE/QUEUE/ON="123.456.789.101:9100" -
/PROCESSOR=UCX$TELNETSYM -
my_ip_queue
$ INITIALIZE/QUEUE/ON="123.456.789.101:9100" -
/PROCESSOR=TCPIP$TELNETSYM -
my_ip_queue
The port number of 9100 is typical of HP JetDirect cards but may be
different for other manufacturers cards.
As a better alternative, DCPS Version 1.4 and later support IP queues
using either HP TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS software or Process
Software Multinet for OpenVMS. The usage of this type of interface
is documented in the DCPS documentation or release notes, and the
DCPS$STARTUP.TEMPLATE startup template file.
For general and additional (non-Postscript) IP printing information,
please see topic (1020) and other topics referenced in that topic elsewhere
within the Ask The Wizard area.
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference. Also see:
• http://www.wotsit.org/

Please see Section 15.2.2 for pointers to an introduction to IP printing.

15.2.4 How do I set a default IP route or gateway on OpenVMS?

If you have TCP/IP Services, then use the command for TCP/IP Services
V5.0 and later:
$ TCPIP
SET ROUTE/GATE=x.x.x.x/DEFAULT/PERMANENT
And for earlier TCP/IP Services versions, use the command:
$ UCX
SET ROUTE/GATE=x.x.x.x/DEFAULT/PERMANENT

15–3
 Information on Networks and Clusters

15.2.5 How can I set up reverse telnet (like reverse LAT)?

Though it may seem obvious, Telnet and LAT are quite different—with
differing capabilities and design goals.
Please see the documentation around the TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS
TELNET command CREATE_SESSION. This command is the equivilent
of the operations performed in LTLOAD.COM or LAT$SYSTARTUP.COM.
There is no TELNET equivilent to the sys$qio[w] control interface for
LTDRIVER (as documented in the I/O User’s Reference Manual) available,
though standard sys$qio[w] calls referencing the created TN device would
likely operate as expected.

15.2.6 Why can’t I use PPP and RAS to connect to OpenVMS Alpha?
OpenVMS Alpha IP 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.
Future versions of OpenVMS and TCP/IP Services may add this, and
future versions of Microsoft Windows may permit operations with
authentication disabled.

15.3 OpenVMS and DECnet Networking?

The following sections contain information on OpenVMS and DECnet
networking.

15.3.1 Can DECnet-Plus operate over IP?

Yes. To configure DECnet-Plus to operate over IP transport and over
IP backbone networks, install and configure DECnet-Plus, and install
and configure the PWIP mechanism available within the currently-
installed IP stack. Within TCP/IP Services, this is a PWIPDRIVER
configuration option within the UCX$CONFIG (versions prior to V5.0) or
TCPIP$CONFIG (with V5.0 and later) configuration tool.

15–4
 Information on Networks and Clusters

15.3.2 What does "failure on back translate address request" mean?

The error message:
BCKTRNSFAIL, failure on the back translate address request
indicates that the destination node is running DECnet-Plus, and that its
naming service (DECnet-Plus DECdns, LOCAL node database, etc) cannot
locate a name to associate with the source node’s address. In other words,
the destination node cannot determine the node name for the node that is
the source of the incoming connection.
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 namespace on the source node, 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:
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM: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:
• DECdns: DECnet-Plus distributed name services.
• LocalFile: a local file containing names and addresses.
• DNS/BIND: the TCP/IP distributed name services mechanism.
• The TCP/IP Services (UCX) local host file.

Of these, searching DNS/BIND and LocalFile, respectively, is often the

most appropriate configuration.

15.3.3 Performing SET HOST/MOP in DECnet-Plus?

First, issue the NCL command SHOW MOP CIRCUIT *
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:NCL
SHOW MOP CIRCUIT *

15–5
 Information on Networks and Clusters

Assume that you have a circuit known as FDDI-0 displayed. Here is an

example of the SET HOST/MOP command syntax utilized for this circuit:
$ SET HOST/MOP/ADDRESS=08-00-2B-2C-5A-23/CIRCUIT=FDDI-0
Also see Section 15.6.3.

15.3.4 How to flush the DECnet-Plus session cache?

$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:NCL
FLUSH SESSION CONTROL NAMING CACHE ENTRY "*"

15.4 How to determine the network hardware address?

Most Alpha and most 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 ETHERNET
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.)

15–6
Information on Networks and Clusters

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.
$! DECnet Phase IV
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:NCP
SHOW KNOWN LINE CHARACTERISTICS
$! DECnet-Plus
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:NCL
SHOW CSMA-CD STATION * ALL STATUS
$! TCP/IP versions prior to V5.0
$ UCX
SHOW INTERFACE/FULL
$! TCP/IP versions V5.0 and later
$ TCPIP
SHOW INTERFACE/FULL
A program can be created to display the hardware address, reading
the necessary information from the network device drivers. A complete
example C program for reading the Ethernet or IEEE 802.3 network
controller hardware address (via sys$qio calls to the OpenVMS network
device driver(s)) is available at the following URL:
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/

To use the DECnet Phase IV configurator tool to watch for MOP SYSID
activity on the local area network:
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:NCP
SET MODULE CONFIGURATOR KNOWN CIRCUIT SURVEILLANCE ENABLED

15–7
 Information on Networks and Clusters

Let the DECnet Phase IV configurator run for at least 20 minutes, and
preferably longer. Then issue the following commands:
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:NCP
SHOW MODULE CONFIGURATOR KNOWN CIRCUIT STATUS TO filename.txt
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.

15.4.1 How do I reset the LAN (DECnet-Plus NCL) error counters?

On recent OpenVMS releases:
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:LANCP
SET DEVICE/DEVICE_SPECIFIC=FUNCTION="CCOU" devname

15.4.2 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
HP 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.

15–8
 Information on Networks and Clusters

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:
$$$ DEFINE/SYSTEM PCSI$SPECIFIC DKA0:[SYS0.]
$$$ 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.
Subsequent OpenVMS upgrade and installation procedures can and do
offer both DECnet Phase IV and DECnet-Plus installations.

15.5 How can I send (radio) pages from my OpenVMS system?

There are third-party products available to send messages to radio
paging devices (pagers), communicating via various protocols such as
TAP (Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol); paging packages.
RamPage (Ergonomic Solutions) is one of the available packages that
can generate and transmit messages to radio pagers. Target Alert
(Target Systems; formerly the DECalert product) is another. Networking
Dynamics Corp has a product called Pager Plus. The System Watchdog
package can also send pages. The Process Software package PMDF can
route specific email addresses to a paging service, as well.
Many commercial paging services provide email contact addresses for
their paging customers—you can simply send or forward email directly to
the email address assigned to the pager.
Some people implement the sending of pages to radio pagers by sending
commands to a modem to take the "phone" off the "hook", and then the
paging sequence, followed by a delay, and then the same number that a
human would dial to send a numeric page. (This is not entirely reliable,
as the modem lacks "call progress detection", and the program could
simply send the dial sequence when not really connected to the paging
company’s telephone-based dial-up receiver.)

15–9
 Information on Networks and Clusters

See Section 13.1 for information on the available catalog of products.

15.6 OpenVMS, Clusters, Volume Shadowing?

The following sections contain information on OpenVMS and Clusters,
Volume Shadowing, and Cluster-related system parameters.

15.6.1 OpenVMS Cluster Communications Protocol Details?

The following sections contain information on the OpenVMS System
Communications Services (SCS) Protocol. Cluster terminology is available
in Section 15.6.1.2.1.

15.6.1.1 OpenVMS Cluster (SCS) over DECnet? Over IP?

The OpenVMS Cluster environment operates over various network
protocols, but the core of clustering uses the System Communications
Services (SCS) protocols, and SCS-specific network datagrams. Direct
(full) connectivity is assumed.
An OpenVMS Cluster does not operate over DECnet, nor over IP.
No SCS protocol routers are available.
Many folks have suggested operating SCS over DECnet or IP over the
years, but SCS is too far down in the layers, and any such project would
entail a major or complete rewrite of SCS and of the DECnet or IP drivers.
Further, the current DECnet and IP implementations have large tracts
of code that operate at the application level, while SCS must operate
in the rather more primitive contexts of the system and particularly
the bootstrap—to get SCS to operate over a DECnet or IP connection
would require relocating major portions of the DECnet or IP stack into
the kernel. (And it is not clear that the result would even meet the
bandwidth and latency expectations.)
The usual approach for multi-site OpenVMS Cluster configurations
involves FDDI, Memory Channel (MC2), or a point-to-point remote bridge,
brouter, or switch. The connection must be transparent, and it must
operate at 10 megabits per second or better (Ethernet speed), with latency
characteristics similar to that of Ethernet or better. Various sites use
FDDI, MC2, ATM, or point-to-point T3 link.

15–10
 Information on Networks and Clusters

15.6.1.2 Configuring Cluster SCS for path load balancing?

This section discusses OpenVMS Cluster communications, cluster
terminology, related utilities, and command and control interfaces.

15.6.1.2.1 Cluster Terminology?

SCS: Systems Communication Services. The protocol used to
communicate between VMSCluster systems and between OpenVMS
systems and SCS-based storage controllers. (SCSI-based storage
controllers do not use SCS.)
PORT: A communications device, such as DSSI, CI, Ethernet or FDDI.
Each CI or DSSI bus is a different local port, named PAA0, PAB0, PAC0
etc. All Ethernet and FDDI busses make up a single PEA0 port.
VIRTUAL CIRCUIT: A reliable communications path established between
a pair of ports. Each port in a VMScluster establishes a virtual circuit
with every other port in that cluster.
All systems and storage controllers establish "Virtual Circuits" to enable
communications between all available pairs of ports.
SYSAP: A "system application" that communicates using SCS. Each
SYSAP communicates with a particular remote SYSAP. Example SYSAPs
include:
VMS$DISK_CL_DRIVER connects to MSCP$DISK
The disk class driver is on every VMSCluster system. MSCP$DISK is
on all disk controllers and all VMSCluster systems that have SYSGEN
parameter MSCP_LOAD set to 1
VMS$TAPE_CL_DRIVER connects to MSCP$TAPE
The tape class driver is on every VMSCluster system. MSCP$TAPE is
on all tape controllers and all VMSCluster systems that have SYSGEN
parameter TMSCP_LOAD set to 1
VMS$VAXCLUSTER connects to VMS$VAXCLUSTER
This SYSAP contains the connection manager, which manages cluster
connectivity, runs the cluster state transition algorithm, and implements
the cluster quorum algorithm. This SYSAP also handles lock traffic, and
various other cluster communications functions.
SCS$DIR_LOOKUP connects to SCS$DIRECTORY
This SYSAP is used to find SYSAPs on remote systems

15–11
 Information on Networks and Clusters

MSCP and TMSCP

The Mass Storage Control Protocol and the Tape MSCP servers are
SYSAPs that provide access to disk and tape storage, typically operating
over SCS protocols. MSCP and TMSCP SYSAPs exist within OpenVMS
(for OpenVMS hosts serving disks and tapes), within CI- and DSSI-
based storage controllers, and within host-based MSCP- or TMSCP
storage controllers. MSCP and TMSCP can be used to serve MSCP and
TMSCP storage devices, and can also be used to serve SCSI and other
non-MSCP/non-TMSCP storage devices.
SCS CONNECTION: A SYSAP on one node establishes an SCS connection
to its counterpart on another node. This connection will be on ONE AND
ONLY ONE of the available virtual circuits.

15.6.1.2.2 Cluster Communications Control?

When there are multiple virtual circuits between two OpenVMS systems
it is possible for the VMS$VAXCLUSTER to VMS$VAXCLUSTER
connection to use any one of these circuits. All lock traffic between
the two systems will then travel on the selected virtual circuit.
Each port has a ‘‘LOAD CLASS’’ associated with it. This load class helps
to determine which virtual circuit a connection will use. If one port has
a higher load class than all others then this port will be used. If two or
more ports have equally high load classes then the connection will use
the first of these that it finds. Prior to enhancements found in V7.3-1 and
later, the load class is static and normally all CI and DSSI ports have a
load class of 14(hex), while the Ethernet and FDDI ports will have a load
class of A(hex). With V7.3-1 and later, the load class values are dynamic.
For instance, if you have multiple DSSI busses and an FDDI, the
VMS$VAXCLUSTER connection will chose the DSSI bus as this path has
the system disk, and thus will always be the first DSSI bus discovered
when the OpenVMS system boots.
To force all lock traffic off the DSSI and on to the FDDI, for instance, an
adjustment to the load class value is required, or the DSSI SCS port must
be disabled.
In addition to the load class mechanisms, you can also use the ‘‘preferred
path’’ mechanisms of MSCP and TMSCP services. This allows you to
control the SCS connections used for serving remote disk and tape
storage. The preferred path mechanism is most commonly used to
explicitly spread cluster I/O activity over hosts and/or storage controllers
serving disk or tape storage in parallel. This can be particularly useful

15–12
 Information on Networks and Clusters

if your hosts or storage controllers individually lack the necessary I/O

bandwidth for the current I/O load, and must thus aggregate bandwidth
to serve the cluster I/O load.
For related tools, see various utilities including LAVC$STOP_BUS
and LAVC$START_BUS, and see DCL commands including SET
PREFERRED_PATH.

15.6.1.2.3 Cluster Communications Control Tools and Utilities?

In most OpenVMS versions, you can use the tools:
• SYS$EXAMPLES:LAVC$STOP_BUS
• SYS$EXAMPLES:LAVC$START_BUS

These tools permit you to disable or enable all SCS traffic on the on the
specified paths.
You can also use a preferred path mechanism that tells the local MSCP
disk class driver (DUDRIVER) which path to a disk should be used.
Generally, this is used with dual-pathed disks, forcing I/O traffic through
one of the controllers instead of the other. This can be used to implement
a crude form of I/O load balancing at the disk I/O level.
Prior to V7.2, the preferred path feature uses the tool:
• SYS$EXAMPLES:PREFER.MAR

In OpenVMS V7.2 and later, you can use the following DCL command:
$ SET PREFERRED_PATH
The preferred path mechanism does not disable nor affect SCS operations
on the non-preferred path.
With OpenVMS V7.3 and later, please see the SCACP utility for control
over cluster communications, SCS virtual circuit control, port selection,
and related.

15.6.2 Cluster System Parameter Settings?

The following sections contain details of configuring cluster-related system
parameters.

15–13
 Information on Networks and Clusters

15.6.2.1 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. The quorum mechanism is expressly intended to prevent your
data from becoming severely corrupted.
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 that 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; user data is at risk of severe
corruptions during the earliest and most vulnerable portion of the system
bootstrap, before the connections have been established.
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.
Note
The quorum disk must be on a non-host-based shadowed
disk, though it can be protected with controller-based
RAID. Because host-based volume shadowing depends
on the lock manager and the lock manager depends on
the connection manager and the connection manager
depends on quorum, it is not technically feasible (nor

15–14
Information on Networks and Clusters

even particularly reliable) to permit host-based volume

shadowing to protect the quorum disk.
If you choose to use a quoum disk, a QUORUM.DAT file will be
automatically created when OpenVMS first boots and when a quorum
disk is specified – well, the QUORUM.DAT file will be created when
OpenVMS is booted without also needing the votes from the quorum disk.
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 documentation for the AMDS and Availability Manager tools. Also of
potential interest is the OpenVMS system console documentation for the
processor-specific console commands used to trigger the IPC (Interrrupt
Priority Level %x0C; IPL C) handler. (IPC is not available on OpenVMS
I64 V8.2.) AMDS, Availability Manager, and the IPC handler can each
be used to clear a quorum hang. Use of AMDS and Availability Manager
is generally recommended over IPC, particularly because IPC can cause
CLUEXIT bugchecks if the system should remain halted beyond the
cluster sanity timer limits, and because some Alpha consoles and most
(all?) Integrity consoles do not permit a restart after a halt.
The quorum scheme is a set of ‘‘blade guards’’ deliberately implemented
by OpenVMS Engineering to provide data integrity—remove these blade
guards at your peril. OpenVMS Engineering did not implement the
quorum mechanism to make a system manager’s life more difficult— the
quorum mechanism was specifically implemented to keep your data from
getting scrambled.

15–15
 Information on Networks and Clusters

15.6.2.1.1 Why no shadowing for a Quorum Disk?

Stated simply, Host-Based Volume Shadowing uses the Distributed Lock
Manager (DLM) to coordinate changes to membership of a shadowset
(e.g. removing a member). The DLM depends in turn on the Connection
Manager enforcing the Quorum Scheme and deciding which node(s) (and
quorum disk) are participating in the cluster, and telling the DLM when
it needs to do things like a lock database rebuild operation. So you can’t
introduce a dependency of the Connection Manager on Shadowing to try
to pick proper shadowset member(s) to use as the Quorum Disk when
Shadowing itself is using the DLM and thus indirectly depending on
the Connection Manager to keep the cluster membership straight—it’s a
circular dependency.
So in practice, folks simply depend on controller-based mirroring (or
controller-based RAID) to protect the Quorum Disk against disk failures
(and dual-redundant controllers to protect against most cases of controller
and interconnect failures). Since this disk unit appears to be a single disk
up at the VMS level, there’s no chance of ambiguity.

15.6.2.2 Explain disk (or tape) allocation class settings?

The allocation class mechanism provides the system manager with a
way to configure and resolve served and direct paths to storage devices
within a cluster. Any served device that provides multiple paths should
be configured using a non-zero allocation class, either at the MSCP (or
TMSCP) storage controllers, at the port (for port allocation classes), or
at the OpenVMS MSCP (or TMSCP) server. All controllers or servers
providing a path to the same device should have the same allocation class
(at the port, controller, or server level).
Each disk (or tape) unit number used within a non-zero disk (or tape)
allocation class must be unique, regardless of the particular device prefix.
For the purposes of multi-path device path determination, any disk (or
tape) device with the same unit number and the same disk (or tape)
allocation class configuration is assumed to be the same device.
If you are reconfiguring disk device allocation classes, you will want to
avoid the use of allocation class one ($1$) until/unless you have Fibre
Channel storage configured. (Fibre Channel storage specifically requires
the use of allocation class $1$. eg: $1$DGA0:.)

15–16
 Information on Networks and Clusters

15.6.2.2.1 How to configure allocation classes and Multi-Path SCSI?

The HSZ allocation class is applied to devices, starting with OpenVMS
V7.2. It is considered a port allocation class (PAC), and all device names
with a PAC have their controller letter forced to "A". (You might infer
from the the text in the "Guidelines for OpenVMS Cluster Configurations"
that this is something you have to do, though OpenVMS will thoughtfully
handle this renaming for you.)
You can force the device names back to DKB by setting the HSZ allocation
class to zero, and setting the PKB PAC to -1. This will use the host
allocation class, and will leave the controller letter alone (that is, the DK
controller letter will be the same as the SCSI port (PK) controller). Note
that this won’t work if the HSZ is configured in multibus failover mode.
In this case, OpenVMS requires that you use an allocation class for the
HSZ.
When your configuration gets even moderately complex, you must pay
careful attention to how you assign the three kinds of allocation class:
node, port and HSZ/HSJ, as otherwise you could wind up with device
naming conflicts that can be painful to resolve.
The display-able path information is for SCSI multi-path, and permits the
multi-path software to distinguish between different paths to the same
device. If you have two paths to $1$DKA100, for example by having two
KZPBA controllers and two SCSI buses to the HSZ, you would have two
UCBs in a multi-path set. The path information is used by the multi-path
software to distinguish between these two UCBs.
The displayable path information describes the path; in this case, the
SCSI port. If port is PKB, that’s the path name you get. The device
name is no longer completely tied to the port name; the device name now
depends on the various allocation class settings of the controller, SCSI
port or node.
The reason the device name’s controller letter is forced to "A" when you
use PACs is because a shared SCSI bus may be configured via different
ports on the various nodes connected to the bus. The port may be PKB on
one node, and PKC on the other. Rather obviously, you will want to have
the shared devices use the same device names on all nodes. To establish
this, you will assign the same PAC on each node, and OpenVMS will force
the controller letter to be the same on each node. Simply choosing "A"
was easier and more deterministic than negotiating the controller letter
between the nodes, and also parallels the solution used for this situation
when DSSI or SDI/STI storage was used.

15–17
 Information on Networks and Clusters

To enable port allocation classes, see the SYSBOOT command SET/BOOT,

and see the DEVICE_NAMING system parameter.
This information is also described in the Cluster Systems and Guidelines
for OpenVMS Cluster Configurations manuals.

15.6.3 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.

15–18
 Information on Networks and Clusters

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.)
Also see Section 15.3.3, and for the SCS name of the OpenVMS host see
Section 5.7.

15.6.4 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 <DSSI-NODE-NAME>
...
PARAMS> STAT CONF
<The software version is normally near the top of the display.>
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).

15–19
 Information on Networks and Clusters

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. For details on
the SCS name of the OpenVMS host, see Section 5.7. For details of SET
HOST/DUP, see Section 15.6.3.

15.6.5 Where can I get Fibre Channel Storage (SAN) information?

• http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/fibre/index.html

15.6.6 Which files must be shared in an OpenVMS Cluster?

The following files are expected to be common across all nodes in a cluster
environment, and though SYSUAF is very often common, it can also be
carefully coordinated—with matching UIC values and matching binary
identifier values across all copies. (The most common use of multiple
SYSUAF files is to allow different quotas on different nodes. In any
event, the binary UIC values and the binary identifier values must be
coordinated across all SYSUAF files, and must match the RIGHTSLIST
file.) In addition to the list of files (and directories, in some cases) shown
in Table 15–1, please review the VMScluster documentation, and the
System Management documentation.

Table 15–1 Cluster Common Shared Files

Filename Default Specification

SYSUAF SYS$SYSTEM:.DAT
SYSUAFALT SYS$SYSTEM:.DAT
SYSALF SYS$SYSTEM:.DAT
RIGHTSLIST SYS$SYSTEM:.DAT
NETPROXY SYS$SYSTEM:.DAT

15–20
 Information on Networks and Clusters

Table 15–1 (Cont.) Cluster Common Shared Files

Filename Default Specification

NET$PROXY SYS$SYSTEM:.DAT
NETOBJECT SYS$SYSTEM:.DAT
NETNODE_REMOTE SYS$SYSTEM:.DAT
QMAN$MASTER SYS$SYSTEM:; this is a set of related
files
LMF$LICENSE SYS$SYSTEM:.LDB
VMSMAIL_PROFILE SYS$SYSTEM:.DATA
VMS$OBJECTS SYS$SYSTEM:.DAT
VMS$AUDIT_SERVER SYS$MANAGER:.DAT
VMS$PASSWORD_HISTORY SYS$SYSTEM:.DATA
NETNODE_UPDATE SYS$MANAGER:.COM
VMS$PASSWORD_POLICY SYS$LIBRARY:.EXE
LAN$NODE_DATABASE SYS$SYSTEM:.DAT
VMS$CLASS_SCHEDULE SYS$SYSTEM:.DATA
SYS$REGISTRY SYS$SYSTEM:; this is a set of related
files

In addition to the documentation, also see the current version of the file
SYS$STARTUP:SYLOGICALS.TEMPLATE. Specifically, please see the
most recent version of this file available, starting on or after OpenVMS
V7.2.
A failure to have common or (in the case of multiple SYSUAF files)
synchronized files can cause problems with batch operations, with
the SUBMIT/USER command, with the general operations with the
cluster alias, and with various SYSMAN and related operations. Object
protections and defaults will not necessarily be consistent, as well. This
can also lead to system security problems, including unintended access
denials and unintended object accesses, should the files and particularly
should the binary identifier values become skewed.

15–21
 Information on Networks and Clusters

15.6.7 How can I split up an OpenVMS Cluster?

Review the VMScluster documentation, and the System Management
documentation. The following are the key points, but are likely not the
only things you will need to change.
OpenVMS Cluster support is directly integrated into the operating
system, and there is no way to remove it. You can, however, remote
site-specific tailoring that was added for a particular cluster configuration.
First: Create restorable image BACKUPs of each of the current system
disks. If something gets messed up, you want a way to recover, right?
Create standalone BACKUP kits for the OpenVMS VAX systems, and
create or acquire bootable BACKUP kits for the OpenVMS Alpha systems.
Use CLUSTER_CONFIG or CLUSTER_CONFIG_LAN to remove the
various system roots and to shut off boot services and VMScluster
settings.
Create as many architecture-specific copies of the system disks as
required. Realize that the new systems will all likely be booting through
root SYS0—if you have any system-specific files in any other roots, save
them.
Relocate the copies of the VMScluster common files onto each of the new
system disks.
Reset the console parameters and boot flags on each system for use on a
standalone node.
Reset the VAXCLUSTER and NISCS_LOAD_PEA0 parameters to 0 in
SYSGEN and in MODPARAMS.DAT.
Clobber the VMScluster group ID and password using SYSMAN.
Reboot the systems seperately, and run AUTOGEN on each.
Shut off MOP services via NCP or LANCP on the boot server nodes.
Permanent seperation also requires the duplication of shared files. For a
list of the files commonly shared, please see Section 15.6.6.
Also see the topics on ‘‘cluster divorce’’ in the Ask The Wizard area.
• http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/ (retired; use ITRC forums)

15–22
 Information on Networks and Clusters

For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The Wizard (ATW) area
and for a pointer to the available ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see
Section 3.8. ATW has been superceded (for new questions) by the ITRC
discussion forums; the area remains available for reference.
Information on changing node names is included in Section 5.7.

15.6.8 Details on Volume Shadowing?

This section contains information on host-based volume shadowing; on the
disk mirroring capabilities available within OpenVMS.

15.6.8.1 Does volume shadowing require a non-zero allocation classes?

Yes, use of host-based Volume Shadowing requires that the disk(s)
involved be configured in a non-zero allocation class.
Edit SYS$SYSTEM:MODPARAMS.DAT to include a declaration of an
non-zero allocation class, such as setting the host allocation class to the
value 7:
ALLOCLASS = 7
Then AUTOGEN the system, and reboot.
You should now be able to form the shadow set via a command such as
the following:
$ MOUNT dsa1007: /SHADOW=($7$dkb300:,$7$dkb500:) volumelabel
When operating in an OpenVMS Cluster, this sequence will typically
change the disk names from the SCSNODE prefix (scsnode$dkann) to
the allocation-class prefix ($7$dkannn). This may provide you with the
opportunity to move to a device-independent scheme using logical name
constructs such as the DISK$volumelabel logical names in your startup
and application environments; an opportunity to weed out physical device
references.
Allocation class one is used by Fibre Channel devices; it can be best to use
another non-zero allocation class even if Fibre Channel is not currently
configured and not currently planned.

15–23
Index

1858 AMD64 • 2–11, 2–12

17-Nov-1858 • 4–1 Terminology • 2–3
2000 ANSI C • 10–15
Year • 5–33 AP • 10–6
Apache • 13–7
A APB.EXE • 14–9
Archie • 13–7
Access Control List Entry • 5–11 Archival Media
ACCVIO • 5–33 DVDarchive/restore • 9–9
ACE • 5–11 Archive.Org • 14–41
ACPI • 14–21 ARCH_DEFS.REQ • 10–12
Acrobat • 13–6 Argent Software • 2–9
ACS • 5–53 Argument Pointer • 10–6
ACTS • 4–7 ARRE • 14–45, 14–47
AD244A • 14–54 ARWE • 14–45, 14–47
Adobe
ASAP
Acrobat • 13–6
See DSPP
PDF • 13–6
Ask The Wizard • 3–10, 5–23, 5–25, 5–32,
Advanced Server • 5–3
8–7, 9–3, 10–2, 10–3, 10–7, 10–8, 10–13,
AEST • 13–16, 13–21
10–18, 10–21, 15–1, 15–2, 15–3, 15–23
Agnew, Jim • 14–33
Allocation Class See ITRC
Fibre Channel • 15–23 ASMP • 14–12
Non-Zero • 15–23 Asymmetric Multiprocessing
Volume Shadowing • 15–23 See ASMP
ALLOCLASS system parameter • 15–23 ATA • 7–1, 9–4, 14–23, 14–26, 14–44, 14–45,
Alpha • 2–12 14–46, 14–47, 14–53, 14–54
Terminology • 2–3 ATAPI • 14–53, 14–54
AlphaPC 164LX • 14–23 Athlon • 2–12
AlphaPC 164SX • 14–23 ATW • 3–10, 5–23, 5–25, 5–32, 8–7, 9–3, 10–2,
AlphaServer ES47 10–3, 10–7, 10–8, 10–13, 10–18, 10–21,
Time • 4–22 15–1, 15–2, 15–3, 15–23
AlphaServer ES80 See ITRC
Time • 4–22 AUTOGEN • 5–12
AlphaServer GS1280 Automatic foreign command • 8–3
Time • 4–22 Automatic Foreign Command • 8–3
AlphaStation XP1000 • 14–40 AUTO_ACTION • 5–57
AMASK • 14–31 AVI • 7–2
Ambassador • 1–6
AMD • 2–12

Index–1
 Index

Boot Aliases • 14–18

B Bootblock • 14–16
Bootstrap
Backdoor • 5–8 Alpha • 14–9
Backdrop • 11–7 I64 • 14–7
Backdrops • 11–7 VAX • 14–10
BACKUP • 5–17, 9–14 BOOT_OPTIONS.COM • 14–18
BACKUP/IGNORE=INTERLOCK • 5–48 Browser • 13–4
Bad Block Handling • 9–2 Byers, Robert Alan • 13–7
BADLIB • 13–19 Byte lane • 14–31
BADTYPSTR • 13–19 bzip2 • 13–22
bash • 13–15
Batch • 13–19 C
BB_WATCH • 4–4
BC16E • 14–48, 14–51 C • 10–15, 10–21
BCC08 • 14–50 Compaq C Compiler • 10–15, 10–21
BCKTRNSFAIL • 15–5 DEC C Compiler • 10–15, 10–21
Berryman, Mark • 1–4, 13–3 Device Drivers • 10–18
Bi-Endian • 10–14 HP C Compiler • 10–15, 10–21
Big-Endian • 10–14 VAX C Compiler • 10–15
BIND • 15–5 C2 • 5–45
bison • 13–15 CA • 5–3, 14–17
Blackbox • 14–48 Caesar
Bliss Julius • 4–1
Architecture Flags • 10–12 CalTech • 13–7
BLISS32E • 10–12 Campus Software License Grant
BLISS32I • 10–12 See CSLG
BLISS32V • 10–12 Carrier Sense Multiple Access, with Collision
BLISS64E • 10–12 Detect • 14–52
BLISS64I • 10–12 Castle Wolfenstein • 13–14
Compiler • 10–12 CD
Rebuilding System Libraries • 10–12 embossed media • 9–11
Block Recording • 9–7, 14–47
Disk • 2–21 CD-Audio • 7–1
BMC • 14–27 CD Player • 7–1
BN24H • 14–49 CD-R • 9–7, 13–8, 14–46, 14–47
BN24J • 14–49 CD-R/RW • 9–6, 9–9
BNC • 14–39 CDRECORD • 9–6, 9–7, 14–47, 14–54
BNU Bookreader • 3–1 CDRECORD-ProDVD • 9–7
Bookreader CDRTOOLS • 9–6, 9–7, 14–54
BNU • 3–1 CD-RW • 9–7, 13–8, 14–47
MGBOOK • 3–1 CDWRITE • 9–7
Boot Alias • 14–8, 14–18

Index–2
 Index

CGI • 10–27, 13–18 COPY/RECORDABLE_MEDIA • 9–6, 9–7

CHARON-VAX • 3–9, 13–23 CPAN • 13–21
CHECKSUM • 5–38 CRAM • 14–32
CHECKSUM/ALGORITHM=MD5 • 5–38 CRASH • 5–57
Clam • 5–3 CRC32 • 10–26
cli$get_value • 10–4 $creprc • 10–8
Clock CSA
TODR • 4–4, 4–6 See DSPP
TOY • 4–4, 4–6 CSLG • 2–10
Clockmeister, Ulysses T. CSMA/CD • 14–52
See Time CSWB • 13–4
CLUEXIT • 15–15 See SWB
Cluster cURL • 10–27
Disk • 2–21 Cyclic Redundency Check • 10–26
Cluster Load Balancing • 15–12
Cluster Terminology • 15–11 D
CMA$RTL.EXE • 10–21
CMS • 13–19 4D20 • 14–40
00CMS • 13–19 3D30 • 14–40
01CMS • 13–19 Dachtera, David J. • 13–7
Columbia University • 13–2 Data Remanence • 5–51
COM1 • 14–4, 14–13 Datatrieve • 3–4
COM2 • 14–4, 14–13 DATMISCH • 10–15
COMMON • 10–5 Daylight Saving Time • 4–13, 4–20, 4–24,
Compaq • 5–33 10–18
Compaq Secure Web Browser US Changes 1-Mar-2007 • 4–17
See SWB DAYLIGHT_SAVINGS.COM • 4–13, 4–14
Composer DB9 • 14–48, 14–50, 14–51
Mozilla • 13–17 DCE DTS • 4–8, 4–14
Compression • 5–56 DCL • 3–3, 3–6
Computer Associates • 5–3, 14–17 Automatic foreign command • 8–3
Connection Manager • 15–16 Foreign command • 8–3
console • 14–5, 14–12 Lexical functions • 8–2
Console • 14–4 PIPE • 8–8
VAXstation 3100 • 9–4 Symbols • 8–1
Console Backdoor • 5–8 DCL$PATH • 8–3
CONSOLE environment variable • 14–12 DCPS • 12–2
CONTINUE • 5–57 DCX • 13–23
Contrl • 13–10 DDB • 10–8
Conversational bootstrap • 5–6, 14–8, 14–9, DEASSIGN • 8–3
14–12 Deathrow Cluster • 2–14
COPY • 10–8 Debugger
Signalling SS$_DEBUG • 10–14

Index–3
 Index

DEC-423 • 14–47 DEVICE_NAMING system parameter • 15–18

DECalert • 15–9 DFU • 5–55, 9–1, 9–3, 13–11
DECC$CRTL.EXE • 10–21 DIAGBOOT.EXE • 14–11
DECconnect • 14–47 DIAGNOSE • 5–33
DECdns • 15–5 Dictionary attack
DECdocument • vi Password • 5–44
DECDTLOGO • 11–8 DIGITAL Network Products Group • 14–37
DECdtss • 4–7 Digital Synergy • 13–8
DECevent • 5–33 Digital Versatile Disk • 9–10
DECmigrate • 13–16, 13–21, 13–23 Discounts
DECnet • 14–53, 15–6 See DSPP
Asynchronous • 14–52 Disk
DECNET_REGISTER • 15–5 Block • 2–21
MOP • 15–5 Cluster • 2–21
DECprint • 12–2 Data Remanence • 5–51
DECsound • 7–2 Erasure • 5–51
DEC Test Manager • 13–20 Sector • 2–21
DECthreads • 10–21 Security • 5–51
DECUS • 1–5 Disk Mirroring • 9–2
See User Group See Volume Shadowing
Hobbyist Licenses • 2–8 Disks
DECUServe • 1–2 ATA • 7–1, 9–4, 14–23, 14–26, 14–44,
DECUS SIG Tape collections • 13–3 14–45, 14–46, 14–47
DECUS Software Library • 13–3 Bad Block Handling • 9–2
DECW$CDPLAYER • 7–1 CD-R • 14–46
DECW$CDPLAYER.C • 14–54 CD-R/RW • 9–6, 9–9
DECW$EXAMPLES:DECW$CDPLAYER.C • CD-Recordable • 9–7
14–54 DVD+R/RW • 9–6, 9–9
DECW$KEYMAP Logical Name • 11–8 dvd200i • 14–47
DECwindows Transport • 11–14 DVD-R/RW • 9–6, 9–9
DECwindows V1.2-6 • 11–14 DVD-Recordable • 9–7
DECwindows V1.3 • 11–14 FAT Format • 7–2
DEFINE • 8–3 Floppy • 7–2
DELETE IDE • 7–1, 9–4, 14–23, 14–26, 14–44,
Undelete • 9–1 14–45, 14–46, 14–47
Descriptor • 10–9 Jumpers • 14–41
Deutsch • 1–2 MSCP • 9–2
Developer Programs PC Format • 7–2
See DSPP PlexWriter • 14–47, 14–53
Device Driver • 10–7 SCSI • 9–2, 9–12, 14–2, 14–23, 14–26,
Device Drivers 14–28, 14–34, 14–41, 14–44, 14–45,
C • 10–18 14–46, 14–47
Floating Point • 10–18 SCSI-2 • 9–5
Volume Set • 9–6
Zip • 14–46, 14–47

Index–4
 Index

Disk Shadowing • 9–2 DVD+RW • 9–7, 13–8, 14–53

Distributed Lock Manager • 15–16 dvd200i • 14–47
Distribution Kits • 2–7 DVDarchive/restore • 9–9
DJE Systems • 13–7 DVD-R • 9–7, 13–8
DKDRIVER • 14–53, 14–54 DVD-R/RW • 9–6, 9–9
DLM • 15–16 DVD-RAM • 14–53
DLT VS80 • 14–46 DVDRTOOLS • 9–6, 9–7, 14–54
DNDRIVER • 14–54 DVD-RW • 9–7, 13–8
DNPG • 14–37 DVDwrite • 9–6, 9–7, 9–8, 14–54
DNS • 15–5 Dvorak • 11–8
DOCUMENT • 10–13 Dynamic System Recognition • 14–20
See DECdocument
DoD • 5–51 E
DOD_ERAPAT • 5–51
Download Kits • 2–7 EB • 2–21
DQDRIVER • 7–1, 9–4, 14–26, 14–47, 14–53, EBCDIC • 7–3
14–54 e-Business Infrastructure Package • 2–7
Driver ECO
Device • 10–7 kits • 5–26
DRVERR • 14–45, 14–47 Editor • 13–15
DSPP • 2–10, 2–14, 2–18, 14–28 Editors • 3–3
DSR • 14–20 Edit Version • 10–22
DSSI • 5–51 EFI • 5–7, 5–57, 14–8, 14–16, 14–18, 14–27
DST • 4–13, 4–14, 4–20, 4–24, 10–18 EFI Boot Alias • 14–8, 14–18
US Changes 1-Mar-2007 • 4–17 EIA-232 • 14–48
DTM • 13–19, 13–20 ELSA GLoria Synergy • 5–24
00DTM • 13–20 ELV • 5–33
01DTM • 13–20 elvis • 13–14
DTSS • 4–7, 4–8, 4–14 EM64T • 2–11, 2–12
DTSS$CLERK • 4–20 Terminology • 2–3
Too Few Servers Detected • 4–21 emacs • 3–3, 13–15
DTSS$CLERK • 4–20 embossed media • 9–11
DTSS$INSTALL_TIMEZONE_RULE.COM • Encompass
4–19
See User Group
DTSS$NTP_PROVIDER.C • 4–8
Hobbyist Licenses • 2–8
DTSS$SET_TIMEZONE.EXE • 4–14
Encompasserve • 1–2, 2–14
DTSS$UTC_STARTUP.COM • 4–19
Encompass Software Library • 13–3
Dump
Encryption • 5–56
Process • 10–23
Endian-ness • 10–14
DVD • 14–47
Energy Policy Act of 2005 • 4–17
Recording • 9–7
Engineering Software • 7–2
DVD+R • 9–7, 9–9, 13–8
Ensoniq • 7–2
DVD+R/RW • 9–6
Enterex
Hobbyist Licenses • 2–8

Index–5
 Index

Enterprise Operating Environment Facility Prefix • 10–1

See EOE FAQ Sections (Old)
EOE • 2–5 DCL$PATH Logical Name • 8–3
EPIC • 14–27 DCL1 • 8–3
$erapat • 5–51 DCL10 • 8–8
Erasure • 5–51 DCL11 • 8–9
Ergonomic Solutions • 15–9 DCL12 • 8–9
Error analysis • 5–33 DCL3 • 8–4
Error Log Viewer DCL4 • 8–4
DCL5 • 8–5
See ELV
DCL6 • 8–6
ES47
DCL7 • 8–6
Time • 4–22
DCL8 • 8–7
ES80
DCL9 • 8–7
Time • 4–22
DECw$IGNORE_WORKSTATION Logical
ETAPE • 7–3
Name • 11–5
Ethernet • 14–52
DECw1 • 11–1
Event Flags • 11–10
DECw10 • 11–6
EWS • 11–3
DECw11 • 11–10
Exabyte • 2–21
DECw12 • 11–11
Examples • 10–3
DECw13 • 11–11
EXE$GL_TICKLENGTH • 4–11
DECw14 • 11–12
EXE$GL_TIMEADJUST • 4–11
DECw15 • 11–13
EXE$GL_TODR • 4–3
DECw16 • 11–14
EXE$GQ_SAVED_HWCLOCK • 4–5
DECw17 • 11–14
EXE$GQ_SYSTIME • 4–3, 4–5
DECw2 • 11–2
EXE$GQ_TDF • 4–14
DECw3 • 11–3
EXE$GQ_TODCBASE • 4–3
DECw4 • 11–3
EXE$SETTIME • 4–3
DECw5 • 11–9
Executable Image • 10–7
DECw6 • 11–4
Executive mode code • 10–24
DECw9 • 11–5
EXPECTED_VOTES system parameter • 15–14
DECwindows • 11–1
Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing Doc1 • 3–1
See EPIC Doc10 • 3–5
Extensible Firmware Interface Doc11 • 3–5
See EFI Doc13 • 3–8
Doc14 • 3–10
F Doc2 • 3–1
Doc4 • 3–4
f$getenv • 14–7 Doc5 • 3–4
f$parse • 8–2 File1 • 9–1
f$trnlnm • 8–3 File2 • 9–1
f$unique • 5–55 File3 • 9–2
File4 • 9–3
File5 • 9–4

Index–6
 Index

FAQ Sections (Old) (cont’d) FAQ Sections (Old) (cont’d)

File6 • 9–6 Mgmt40 • 5–34
File7 • 9–6, 9–9 Mgmt41 • 5–35
File8 • 9–12 Mgmt42 • 15–17
File9 • 9–12 Mgmt43 • 5–37
Intro1 • 1–2 Mgmt44 • 15–20
Intro2 • 1–2 Mgmt45 • 15–22
Intro3 • 1–3 Mgmt46 • 5–38
Intro4 • 1–3 Mgmt47 • 15–11, 15–12, 15–13
Intro5 • 1–4 Mgmt48 • 5–38
Intro6 • 1–5 Mgmt49 • 5–38
Intro7 • 1–3 Mgmt5 • 5–6, 5–9
Intro8 • 1–6 Mgmt50 • 5–39
Mgmt1 • 5–1 Mgmt51 • 5–39
Mgmt10 • 15–14 Mgmt52 • 5–40
Mgmt11 • 5–12 Mgmt53 • 5–41
Mgmt12 • 5–50 Mgmt54 • 15–23
Mgmt13 • 15–18 Mgmt56 • 5–41
Mgmt14 • 15–8 Mgmt57 • 5–41
Mgmt15 • 5–12 Mgmt58 • 15–5
Mgmt16 • 5–13 Mgmt59 • 5–42
Mgmt17 • 5–20 Mgmt6 • 15–2
Mgmt18 • 5–21 Mgmt60 • 5–43
Mgmt19 • 5–22 Mgmt61 • 15–16
Mgmt2 • 5–2 Mgmt62 • 5–44
Mgmt20 • 5–49 Mgmt63 • 5–52
Mgmt21 • 5–22 Mgmt64 • 5–47
Mgmt23 • 5–23 Mgmt9 • 5–10
Mgmt24 • 5–24 Misc12 • 12–2
Mgmt25 • 5–26 Misc13 • 12–3
Mgmt26 • 15–19 Misc15 • 15–9
Mgmt27 • 5–27 Misc17 • 15–8
Mgmt28 • 15–3 Misc19 • 15–10
Mgmt3 • 5–4 Misc2 • 12–1
Mgmt30 • 5–28 Misc20 • 12–4
Mgmt31 • 5–28 Misc4 • 14–50
Mgmt32 • 5–30 Misc6 • 15–5
Mgmt33 • 5–31 Misc7 • 15–6
Mgmt34 • 5–32 Misc9 • 15–4
Mgmt35 • 5–45 Prog1 • 10–2
Mgmt36 • 15–4 Prog10 • 10–6
Mgmt37 • 5–33 Prog11 • 10–7
Mgmt38 • 5–33 Prog12 • 10–8
Mgmt39 • 5–34 Prog13 • 10–8
Mgmt4 • 5–5 Prog14 • 2–19

Index–7
 Index

FAQ Sections (Old) (cont’d) FAQ Sections (Old) (cont’d)

Prog15 • 2–20 Util6 • 7–3
Prog16 • 10–10 VAX8 • 4–2
Prog17 • 10–11 VMS1 • 2–1
Prog18 • 10–12 VMS10 • 2–10
Prog19 • 10–13 VMS11 • 2–11
Prog2 • 10–4 VMS12 • 2–14
Prog20 • 10–13 VMS13 • 2–15
Prog21 • 10–14 VMS14 • 2–16
Prog22 • 10–14 VMS15 • 2–16
Prog23 • 10–15 VMS16 • 2–18
Prog3 • 10–4 VMS17 • 2–18
Prog4 • 10–4 VMS2 • 2–2
Prog5 • 10–5 VMS3 • 2–4
Prog7 • 10–5 VMS4 • 2–4
Prog8 • 10–5 VMS5 • 2–4
Prog9 • 10–6 VMS7 • 2–5
Soft1 • 13–1 VMS8 • 2–7
Soft10 • 8–8 VMS9 • 2–8, 2–10
Soft12 • 13–20 Farmer, Ken • 1–2
Soft13 • 13–21 FAT Disks • 7–2
Soft14 • 13–22 FETCH_HTTP • 10–27
Soft2 • 13–13 FFT • 13–10
Soft3 • 13–17 fgrep • 13–14
Soft4 • 13–17 $filescan • 9–3
Soft5 • 10–15 FILE tool • 13–12
Soft6 • 13–18 File Versions • 5–54
Soft7 • 13–19 Firefox
Soft8 • 13–19 Service Guide • 14–34
Time1 • 4–1 Firmware • 14–18
Time10 • 4–20, 4–22 FISH • 13–3
Time11 • 4–2 Flat-panel display • 14–40
Time12 • 4–24 flex • 13–15
Time13 • 4–16 Flight simulator • 13–14
Time2 • 4–6 Floating point • 10–24
Time3 • 4–10 Floating Point • 10–5
Time4 • 4–13 Device Drivers • 10–18
Time5 • 4–19 Floppy • 7–2
Time6 • 4–7 FLORIAN • 9–1
Time7 • 4–11 $flush • 9–2
Time8 • 4–11 FOE • 2–5
Time9 • 4–6 Fonts • 11–15
Util1 • 7–1 Foreign command • 8–3
Util2 • 7–2
Util3 • 7–2
Util5 • 7–3

Index–8
 Index

Foreign Command • 8–3 gzip • 13–22

Fortran • 10–6
Foundation Operating Environment H
See FOE
FreeVMS • 2–2 H8571-A • 14–51
Freeware • 9–3, 10–3, 10–13 H8571-B • 14–50, 14–51
SETCLOCK • 4–11 H8571-C • 14–50, 14–51
FSF • 13–15 H8571-D • 14–50, 14–51
ftso • 13–23 H8571-E • 14–51
ftsv • 13–23 H8571-J • 14–51
H8572-0 • 14–51
G H8575-A • 14–51
H8575-B • 14–51
gawk • 13–14 H8575-D • 14–51
GB • 2–21 H8575-E • 14–51
gcc • 13–15 H8577-AA • 14–51
gcc emulation • 13–15 half-flash • 14–15
$getdvi • 10–2 Hard Partitions • 14–7
$getjpi • 10–2 Hardware
$getqui • 5–45 Serial Number • 10–6
$getsyi • 10–2, 14–2 Harmless signature • 14–16
Gigabyte • 2–21 $hash_password • 5–45
GKDRIVER • 14–54 HBMM • 5–53
GKTEST.C • 14–54 HBVS • 15–16
Global Maintech • 14–17 Helliesen, Gunnar • 14–34
gmake • 13–11 Hemker, Mark • 13–8
GMT • 4–24 Heroix • 14–17
GNM • 10–13 Heuser-Hofmann, Eberhard, Dr. • 9–8
GNU • 13–15 Hobbyist • 2–9
GnuPG • 13–4 Hour
GNU Privacy Guard • 13–4 Off By One • 4–20, 4–24, 10–18
GNV • 13–15 HP OpenVMS for Integrity Servers
Google • 1–3 See OpenVMS I64
gopher • 13–14 HP Renew • 14–28
GPG • 13–4 HP-UX • 10–14
Grace • 13–8 HSG80 • 5–53
GrayMatter Software • 2–9 ht://Dig • 13–11
grep • 13–14, 13–15 html • 13–14
GS1280 HTML • 10–13
Time • 4–22 httpd • 13–14
GTK • 13–10 HTTP_SERVER • 13–3
GUID • 14–18

Index–9
 Index

Intel • 2–12, 2–13

I Interex
See User Group
I64 • 2–12, 14–21, 14–27 Interrrupt Priority Level %x0C Handler
Terminology • 2–3, 14–27 See IPC • 15–15
IA-32 • 2–11, 2–13 Inv Cmd • 5–7
Terminology • 2–3 INVRECTYP • 5–17
IA-64 IO$_DIAGNOSE • 7–1, 14–54
Terminology • 2–3 IOC$READ_IO • 14–32
IA-64 Architecture • 2–12, 14–21, 14–27 IOC$WRITE_IO • 14–32
IARGCOUNT • 10–6 Iomega • 14–46, 14–47
iasi64 • 10–23 IPB.EXE • 14–7
IDE • 7–1, 9–4, 14–23, 14–26, 14–44, 14–45, IPC • 15–15
14–46, 14–47, 14–53 IRC Client
Identifier • 5–1 Mozilla • 13–17
Subsystem • 10–7 IRIG • 4–8
Image ISO-9660 • 9–8, 14–19
Executable • 10–7 Joliet extension • 9–8
Loadable • 10–7 Rock Ridge extension • 9–8
Protected • 10–7 ISO-9660:1999 • 9–8
Shareable • 10–7 ISVN
System • 10–7 See DSPP
UWSS • 10–7 Itanium • 2–12, 2–13, 14–21, 14–27
IMAGELIB.OLB • 10–15, 10–24 Terminology • 2–3
ImageMagick • 13–5 Itanium Processor Family
IMAGENAME.DMP • 10–23 See Itanium
IMPLVER • 14–31 ITRC • 1–1, 3–11, 5–26
InfoServer • 9–9 FTP ECO site • 1–1, 5–26
Scribe • 9–8 Support Forums • 5–26
INFO-VAX • 1–3
Info-Zip • 3–9, 13–22
INITIALIZE • 5–33 J
INITIALIZE/ERASE • 5–51
Install • 5–19 J2EE • 13–17
INSTALL • 10–7 Jameco • 14–51
INSTALL utility • 5–1 James • 1–1
Instruction sets • 10–24 Java • 13–17
Integrity • 2–11, 2–13, 5–57, 14–27, 14–28 JBC$COMMAND • 5–27
Terminology • 2–3 JCL • 7–3
Integrity rx2600 • 14–51 JDK • 2–6, 13–17
Integrity rx2620 JetDirect • 15–2
Office-Friendly • 14–54 Joliet ISO-9660 extension • 9–8
Quieter • 14–54 Jones, David • 13–3

Index–10
 Index

Jouk • 13–2 lib$get_foreign • 10–4

Julian Day • 4–1 lib$get_symbol. • 8–2
Jumpers • 14–41 lib$set_logical • 10–5
lib$set_symbol • 8–2
K lib$sfree1_dd • 10–9
lib$sget1_dd • 10–9
KA630 • 14–6 LIB$SIGNAL • 10–14
KA650 • 14–6 lib$spawn • 10–8
KA655 • 14–6 lib$table_parse • 10–13
Kb • 2–22 lib$tparse • 10–13
KB • 2–21, 2–22 lib$trim_filespec • 9–3
Kednos • 2–9, 13–16 LIB.L32 • 10–12
Kerberos • 5–45, 11–15 LIB.L64 • 10–12
Kermit • 13–2 LIB.MLB • 10–24
Kernel mode code • 10–24 LIB.R64 • 10–12
Keyboard LIB.REQ • 10–12
Dvorak • 11–8 License • 2–10, 5–10, 10–6, 11–5, 12–4
Key Mapping • 11–8 License Unit Requirements Table • 2–8, 5–43
ki • 14–17 Licensing • 10–6
Kilobit • 2–22 Licensing Programs
Kilobyte • 2–21, 2–22 Campus Software License Grant • 2–10
KI Products • 14–17 Developers • 2–10, 2–18
Kits • 2–7 DSPP • 2–10, 2–18
KVM switch • 14–38, 14–39, 14–55 Educational • 2–10
Hobbyist • 2–9
Liebert • 13–9
L Limited Hardware Release • 10–22
See LHR
LAN$NODE_DATABASE • 15–21
linda • 13–8
LANCP • 14–43, 14–44
LINK
LAVC$START_BUS • 15–13
/NOSYSLIB • 10–24
LAVC$STOP_BUS • 15–13
/SYSEXE • 10–24
LBX • 11–15
Linker
LCD • 14–40
COMMON • 10–5
LCD flat-panel display • 14–38
PSECT_ATTR • 10–5
Levitte • 13–7
SYMBOL_VECTOR • 10–5
Lexical functions • 8–2
SYS$BASE_IMAGE • 10–4
LHR • 5–20, 10–22
SYS.STB • 10–4
lib$crc • 10–26
/SYSEXE • 10–4
lib$crc_table • 10–26
LINKER • 10–15
lib$find_image_symbol • 10–7
Linux shell • 3–3, 3–6
lib$free_ef • 11–10
LISP$DAYLIGHT_SAVING_TIME_P Logical
lib$get_ef • 11–10
Name • 4–18

Index–11
 Index

LISP$TIME_ZONE Logical Name • 4–18 Logical Partitioning • 14–7

Little-Endian • 10–14 LOGINOUT • 5–8
LJK • 2–9 lPars • 14–7
LK201 • 14–38 lpd • 15–2
LK401 • 14–38 lpr • 15–2
LK461 • 14–38 LRA0: • 12–2
LK463 • 14–38, 14–51 LTO-1 • 14–46
LK46W • 14–38 LURT • 2–8, 5–43
LK471 • 14–38 LVD • 14–47
LMF • 2–9, 2–10, 5–10, 10–6, 11–5, 12–4 164LX • 14–23
LMF$DISPLAY_OPCOM_MESSAGE Logical Lynx • 10–27, 13–4
Name • 12–4
LMF$LICENSE • 15–21
LNM$GROUP • 8–2
M
LNM$JOB • 8–2 MA780 • 14–12
LNM$PROCESS • 8–2 MadGoat • 5–33, 7–2, 13–2, 13–12
LNM$SYSTEM • 8–2 MAIL$TIMEZONE Logical Name • 4–18
Loadable Image • 10–7 MAIL10 • 6–2
LOAD_PWD_POLICY system parameter • 5–44 MAIL7 • 6–1
LocalFile • 15–5 MAIL9 • 6–1
Locked Files • 9–14 Mail Count • 6–1
Logical Name Maintenance Version • 10–22
DCL$PATH • 8–3 Majordomo • 13–8
DECW$IGNORE_WORKSTATION • 11–5 Major Version • 10–22
DECW$KEYMAP • 11–8 make • 13–11
LISP$DAYLIGHT_SAVING_TIME_P • 4–18 Malmberg’s Ftp Service • 13–15
LISP$TIME_ZONE • 4–18 Management Processor
LMF$DISPLAY_OPCOM_MESSAGE • 12–4 DECconnect MMJ Adapter • 14–51
MAIL$TIMEZONE • 4–18 Mature Product Support • 5–18
NOTES$TIMEZONE • 4–18 MAXBUF
SYS$DISK • 10–5 system parameter • 9–12
SYS$LOGIN • 8–9 MAXPROCESSCNT system parameter • 5–9
SYS$LOGIN_DEVICE • 8–9 Mb • 2–22
SYS$SCRATCH • 8–9 MB • 2–21, 2–22
SYS$TIMEZONE_DAYLIGHT_SAVING • MBM • 4–22
4–18 MCOE • 2–5
SYS$TIMEZONE_DIFFERENTIAL • 4–18 MD5 • 5–3, 5–38
SYS$TIMEZONE_NAME • 4–17, 4–18 Megabit • 2–22
TZ • 4–17 Megabyte • 2–21
UCX$NFS_TIME_DIFFERENTIAL • 4–18 Megabytes • 2–22
UCX$TDF • 4–18 Menufinder • 13–8
Logical Names MESSAGE Compiler • 10–13
Compared to DCL Symbols • 8–2 MGBOOK Bookreader • 3–1

Index–12
 Index

MGPCX • 7–2 Multiprocessing

microfortnight • 2–22 See ASMP and SMP
MIME • 13–8 mx • 13–14
Minicopy • 5–52 mxrn • 13–14
Minimerge • 5–52 MySQL • 13–11
Mini-Merge • 5–53
Minor Version • 10–22
Mirroring • 9–2
N
See Volume Shadowing NAM$C_MAXRSS • 9–3
MISC4 • 14–48, 14–50 NAML$C_MAXRSS • 9–3
Mission Critical Operating Environment NCL • 15–6
See MCOE NCSA • 13–4
Mlucas • 13–10 NCSC • 5–51
MMJ • 14–47, 14–48, 14–50 NCSC C2 • 5–45
mmk • 13–11 NCSC Class C2 • 5–8
MMOV • 7–2 NET$DISABLE_DTSS • 4–21
Modified Modular Jack • 14–47 NET$PROXY • 15–21
See MMJ NET1 • 15–1
MODPARAMS.DAT • 15–22, 15–23 NET2 • 15–1
Montagar • 13–1 NetBeans • 2–6
MOP • 15–5 NetBSD • 14–30
Mosaic • 13–4 Netnews Client
Mozilla • 6–2, 13–4, 13–17 Mozilla • 13–17
Also see SWB NETNODE_REMOTE • 15–21
Composer • 13–17 NETNODE_UPDATE • 15–21
IRC Client • 13–17 NETOBJECT • 15–21
Netnews Client • 13–17 NETPROXY • 15–21
MP • 14–27 Netscape Navigator • 6–2, 13–17
DECconnect MMJ Adapter • 14–51 Networking Dynamics • 5–33, 13–10, 15–9
MPEG • 7–2 New Mail Count • 6–1
mpi • 13–8 NIC • 15–2
MS780 • 14–12 NISCS_LOAD_PEA0 system parameter •
MSCP • 15–12 15–22
MSCP$DISK • 15–11 NIST • 4–7
MSCP$TAPE • 15–11 NOCLI • 8–4
MSCP_LOAD system parameter • 15–11 NODECW • 11–12
MTAACP • 5–33 NODEVICE • 11–12
MTEXCH • 7–3 NOLICENSE • 5–8
MUA4224 • 5–28 NONEWMAIL • 6–1
Multia • 14–21 NOTES$TIMEZONE Logical Name • 4–18
Multimedia Services • 7–2 NOTSAVESET • 5–49
Multinet • 15–3 NOTSET • 4–20
17-Nov-1858 • 4–1

Index–13
 Index

nPars • 4–22 Pagelet

NTP • 4–8, 4–25 defined • 2–21
Pager Plus • 15–9
O Page Size • 14–2
PAGE_SIZE • 2–21
ODBC • 9–12 Paging • 15–9
ODS-2 • 9–3, 9–8 PAK • 2–9, 2–10, 5–10, 10–6, 11–5, 12–4
ODS-5 • 9–3, 9–8 PAKGEN • 2–10, 10–6, 12–4
Office-Friendly PALcode • 14–4, 14–13
rx2620 • 14–54 PA-RISC • 2–12
Ohio State University • 13–3 $parse • 9–3
OPA0: • 5–8, 5–57, 14–4, 14–5, 14–12 Parse Style • 9–3
OpenECS • 2–14 Partitioning
OpenNTP • 4–25 Hard • 14–7
OpenVMS.Org • 1–2 Logical • 14–7
OpenVMS Alpha Soft • 14–7
Terminology • 2–3 Virtual • 14–7
OpenVMS Alpha Upgrades • 5–13 Partner Programs
OpenVMS AXP See DSPP
Terminology • 2–3 Password
OpenVMS Galaxy • 14–2 Dictionary attack • 5–44
OPENVMS-HOBBYIST • 2–9 Purdy Polynomial • 5–44
OpenVMS I64 • 2–1, 14–27 Patch • 7–3
Terminology • 2–3, 14–27 Patches
OpenVMS I64 Upgrades • 5–15 See ECO kits
OpenVMS Upgrade PATHWORKS • 5–3
PB • 2–21
See Update, Upgrade and Install
PBXGB-AA PowerStorm 3D30 • 5–25
OpenVMS VAX
PBXGB-CA PowerStorm 4D20 • 5–25
Terminology • 2–3
PBXGD-AE PowerStorm 350 • 5–25
OpenVMS VAX Upgrades • 5–16
PBXGK-BB PowerStorm 3D10T • 5–24
Opteron • 2–12
PC7XS-CA • 14–38
OSU • 13–3
PCDISK • 7–2
OSU HTTPD Web Server • 13–14
PC Disks • 7–2
Outbuildings
PCF • 11–15
See Time PCSI • 5–37, 10–22
Overwrite • 5–51
PCSI Install
See Install
P PCSI Upgrade
See Upgrade
Page
PCX • 7–2
Memory • 2–21
PDF • 3–1, 13–6
Size • 2–21
Peek • 13–10

Index–14
 Index

Pentium • 2–13 ProGIS • 7–2

Perl • 2–6, 13–9, 13–20 Programming Examples
Petabyte • 2–21 See Examples
PGP • 13–4 Protected Image • 10–7
PHYSICALPAGES system parameter • 5–12 Protected Subsystems • 5–1
PHYSICAL_MEMORY system parameter • PSECT_ATTR • 10–5
5–12 Purdy Polynomial
PINE • 13–8 Password • 5–44
pin-out • 14–50 PURGE • 5–54
Pioneer • 14–53 $putmsg • 10–4
PIPE • 8–8 pvm • 13–8
PL/I • 13–16 PVS • 5–18
Plextor • 14–46, 14–47, 14–53 PWIP • 15–4
pm • 11–7 Python • 13–10
PMDF • 15–9
PMU • 4–22
POLYCENTER Software Product Install Utility Q
See PCSI $qio • 10–8, 11–10
Port • 15–11 QMAN$JOURNAL • 5–27
Postscript • 10–13 QMAN$MASTER • 15–21
POV-Ray • 13–8 QuickSpecs • 3–4
PowerStorm 300 • 5–25 QUORUM • 15–15
PowerStorm 350 • 5–25 Quorum Disk
PowerStorm 3D10T • 5–24 Shadowing • 15–16
PowerStorm 3D30 • 5–25, 14–40
PowerStorm 4D20 • 5–25, 14–40
PPP • 15–4 R
Preatorian Cluster • 2–15
Pretty Good Privacy • 13–4 Radeon 7500 • 5–26, 14–40
Printing RamPage • 15–9
DCPS • 12–2 RAS • 15–4
lpr • 15–2 Raxco • 2–9, 13–10
Parallel Port • 12–2 Refurbished Equipment
telnet • 15–2 See HP Renew
Prior Version Support • 5–18 RGB
Privileged-mode code • 10–24 synch-on-green • 14–38, 14–55
Process Dump • 10–23 RIGHTSLIST • 15–21
Process Software • 2–9, 13–2, 15–3, 15–9 Rlogin • 5–52
Product Authorization Key • 2–10, 5–10, 10–6, RMS • 9–12, 10–24
11–5, 12–4 RMS Journaling • 9–2
Product Registration • 10–1 RMS Sequential Record Format • 9–13
PRODUCT SHOW PRODUCT • 5–37 RMS_SEQFILE_WBH system parameter • 5–47
ProDVD • 9–7 Roadmap • 2–12

Index–15
 Index

robomon • 14–17 Secure Shell • 13–3

Rock Ridge ISO-9660 extension • 9–8 Secure Web Browser
Rocksoft • 5–3 See SWB
Royal Greenwich Observatory Security • 5–8, 5–51
See Time Dictionary attack • 5–44
RRD42 • 9–11 NCSC C2 • 5–45
RS-232 • 14–48 Password • 5–44
rx2600 • 14–51 Security MUP • 5–3
rx2620 • 14–28 Self-extracting zip • 13–22
Office-Friendly • 14–54 Sequential Record Format • 9–13
Quieter • 14–54 Serial Number • 10–6
RZDISK • 14–45 SETBOOT • 9–11, 14–16, 14–18
RZTOOLS • 5–51 SET BOOTBLOCK • 9–11, 14–16, 14–18
SETCLOCK • 4–11
SET DEVICE/RESET=ERROR_COUNT • 5–28
S SET FILE/CACHING_ATTRIBUTES=NO_
CACHING • 9–7
S3 Switch • 14–5
SET PREFERRED_PATH • 15–13
SAIC • 1–4, 13–1, 13–3
SET PREFERRED_PATH command • 15–13
Saiga Systems • 5–33
SET PROCESS/PARSE_STYLE • 9–3
Samba • 5–3
$SETTIM • 4–20
SAMBA • 13–9
SET TIME • 4–4, 4–6, 4–7, 4–10, 4–20, 4–22
SAO • 4–1
SET TIME/CLUSTER • 4–10
SCACP • 15–13
SETTIME system parameter • 4–3, 4–4, 4–23
Scaliger
$set_system_event • 4–11
Julius Caesar • 4–1
SFX • 13–22
Scaliger, Joseph • 4–1
Shadowing • 9–2
Scribe
Quorum Disk • 15–16
InfoServer • 9–8
Shareable image • 5–1
SCS • 15–10, 15–11
Shareable Image • 10–7
SCSI • 9–12, 14–2, 14–23, 14–26, 14–28,
shell • 3–3, 3–6
14–34, 14–41, 14–44, 14–45, 14–46,
SHOW MEMORY/CACHE command • 9–13
14–47, 14–53, 14–54
Signature • 14–18
SCSI-2 • 9–5
SIG Tape collections
SCSI_INFO • 14–45
DECUS • 13–3
SCSNODE system parameter • 5–10, 5–11,
SIMH • 13–23
15–23
SMB • 13–9
SCSSYSTEMID system parameter • 5–11
smg$create_menu • 10–3
SDA TR • 10–26
SMG$GET_TERM_DATA • 12–1
SDL • 10–13
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory • 4–1
SDML • 10–13
SMP • 14–12
See DECdocument • vi
SMTP • 13–14
Search Engine • 13–11
$sndjbc • 10–8
Sector
Disk • 2–21

Index–16
 Index

SNTP • 4–25 Storage (cont’d)

SOAP • 2–6, 13–7 IDE • 7–1, 9–4, 14–23, 14–26, 14–44,
SOC • 3–4 14–45, 14–46, 14–47
Soft Partitions • 14–7 PC Format • 7–2
Software Resources International • 2–9, 3–9, Remaining on Tape • 12–3
13–23 SCSI • 9–12, 14–2, 14–23, 14–26, 14–28,
Sophos • 5–3 14–34, 14–41, 14–44, 14–45, 14–46,
SPIA • 10–22 14–47
SPIU SCSI-2 • 9–5
See PCSI Volume Set • 9–6
Spy • 13–10 Stream • 9–13
Spyglass • 13–4 StreamLF • 9–13
SQP • 2–7 Subsystem Identifier • 10–7
SRI SUNY NCSB • 13–15
Software Resources International • 2–9, 3–9, Supervisor • 13–10
13–23 Supnik, Bob • 13–23
SRI International • 1–3 Support
SRM • 4–22, 5–57, 14–12, 14–13 Prior Version Support • 5–18
Acronym • 14–4 SVGA • 14–38, 14–55
System Reference Manual • 14–4 SWB • 13–17
SS$_DEBUG • 10–14 Swizzling • 14–31
SS$_NOCLI • 8–4 164SX • 14–23
SSH • 13–3 SYI$_PAGE_SIZE • 2–21, 14–2
FISH • 13–3 SYLOGICALS.COM • 4–21, 8–5, 11–5
SSL • 2–6 SYLOGICALS.TEMPLATE • 4–21, 5–32, 5–52,
SSLeay • 13–3 6–1, 8–5, 15–21
SSLeay • 13–3 Symbols
Stark, Tim • 13–23 Compared to Logical Names • 8–1
STARLET.L32 • 10–12 DCL • 8–1
STARLET.L64 • 10–12 Symbol Substitution
STARLET.R64 • 10–12 PIPE • 8–8
STARLET.REQ • 10–12 SYMBOL_VECTOR • 10–5
Storage Symmetric Multiprocessing
ATA • 7–1, 9–4, 14–23, 14–26, 14–44, See SMP
14–45, 14–46, 14–47 synch-on-green • 14–39
CD-R • 14–46 Synch-on-green • 14–38, 14–55
CD-R/RW • 9–6, 9–9 sys$acm • 5–45
CD-Recordable • 9–7 SYS$BASE_IMAGE • 10–4
Disk Settings • 14–41 SYS$BASE_IMAGE.EXE • 4–14
DVD+R/RW • 9–6, 9–9 sys$creprc • 10–8
DVD-R/RW • 9–6, 9–9 SYS$DIAGNOSTICS.SYS • 9–11
DVD-Recordable • 9–7 SYS$DISK Logical Name • 10–5
FAT Format • 7–2 SYS$DKDRIVER • 14–53, 14–54
Floppy • 7–2
Free Space • 12–3

Index–17
 Index

SYS$DNDRIVER • 14–54 SYS.STB • 10–4

SYS$DQDRIVER • 7–1, 9–4, 14–26, 14–47, SYSALF • 15–21
14–53, 14–54 SYSAP • 15–11
SYS$EFI.SYS • 9–11, 14–7 SYSBOOT • 5–6, 5–9, 15–18
sys$erapat • 5–51 SYSGEN • 5–9
SYS$EXAMPLES:DAYLIGHT_SAVINGS.COM • SYSLOG • 13–8
4–13, 4–14 System Disk
SYS$EXAMPLES:GKTEST.C • 14–54 VAXstation 3100 • 9–4
sys$filescan • 9–3 System Image • 10–7
sys$flush • 9–2 System parameters
sys$getdvi • 10–2 ALLOCLASS • 15–23
sys$getenv • 14–7 DEVICE_NAMING • 15–18
sys$getjpi • 10–2 EXPECTED_VOTES • 15–14
sys$getsyi • 2–21, 10–2 LOAD_PWD_POLICY • 5–44
SYS$GKDRIVER • 14–54 MAXBUF • 9–12
SYS$LIB_C.TLB • 10–18, 10–24 MAXPROCESSCNT • 5–9
SYS$LOGIN Logical Name • 8–9 MSCP_LOAD • 15–11
SYS$LOGIN_DEVICE Logical Name • 8–9 NISCS_LOAD_PEA0 • 15–22
sys$parse • 9–3 PHYSICALPAGES • 5–12
SYS$PIPE • 8–8 PHYSICAL_MEMORY • 5–12
SYS$PROCDMP • 10–23 RMS_SEQFILE_WBH • 5–47
SYS$PROTECTED_PROCDMP • 10–23 SCSNODE • 5–10, 5–11, 15–23
sys$putmsg • 10–4 SCSSYSTEMID • 5–11
sys$qio • 10–8, 11–10 SETTIME • 4–3, 4–4, 4–23
SYS$REGISTRY • 15–21 TIMEPROMPTWAIT • 4–3, 4–4
SYS$SCRATCH Logical Name • 8–9 TMSCP_LOAD • 15–11
SYS$SETBOOT.EXE • 9–11, 14–16, 14–18 UAFALTERNATE • 5–8
sys$setddir • 10–5 VAXCLUSTER • 15–22
SYS$SETTIM • 4–20 VOTES • 15–14
sys$set_system_event • 4–15 WINDOW_SYSTEM • 5–7, 11–4, 11–12
sys$sndjbc • 10–8 WRITESYSPARAMS • 5–7
SYS$STARTUP:DTSS$STARTUP.COM • 4–20 Systems and Options Catalog • 3–4
SYS$TIMEZONE.DAT • 4–14, 4–19 System Service • 10–7
SYS$TIMEZONE_DAYLIGHT_SAVING Logical SYSUAF • 5–44, 15–21
Name • 4–18 Bypass • 5–8
SYS$TIMEZONE_DIFFERENTIAL Logical Corrupt • 5–8
Name • 4–18 SYSUAFALT • 15–21
SYS$TIMEZONE_NAME Logical Name • 4–17, SYSUAFALT.DAT • 5–8
4–18
SYS$TIMEZONE_RULE • 4–15
SYS$TIMEZONE_SRC.DAT • 4–19
T
sys$trnlnm • 8–3 TAP • 15–9
SYS$WSDRIVER • 11–3 TAPECOPY • 7–3

Index–18
 Index

Tapes Time (cont’d)

Compaction • 12–4 Julian Calendar • 4–1
Compression • 12–4 Julian Date • 4–1
Conversion • 7–3 Julian Day • 4–1
EBCDIC • 7–3 NIST • 4–7
Free Space • 12–3 NOTSET • 4–20
tar • 13–14, 13–15 NTP • 4–8
Target Systems • 15–9 Off By One Hour • 4–20, 4–24, 10–18
TB • 2–21 Prime Meridian • 4–24
tcgmsg • 13–8 SETCLOCK • 4–11
TCL • 13–11 SET TIME Command • 4–20
TCOPY • 7–3 TDF • 4–13
TCPIP$CONFIGURATION.DAT • 5–11 TIMENOTSET • 4–20
TCQ • 14–2 Time service enabled • 4–20
TDF • 4–13 Timezone Rules • 4–17
TECsys • 14–17 TODR • 4–4, 4–6
telnet • 15–2 TOY • 4–4, 4–6
Telnet • 5–52 UT0 • 4–24
Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol • 15–9 UT1 • 4–24
Terabyte • 2–21 UT2 • 4–24
Terminal emulator UTC • 4–13, 4–20, 4–24, 10–18
VTstar • 11–3 TIMENOTSET • 4–20
Terminal Server Manager • 13–11 TIMEPROMPTWAUT system parameter • 4–3,
Test-Drive • 2–14 4–4
Test Manager • 13–20 Timezones
Text • 10–13 SYS$TIMEZONE_NAME • 4–17
Text editor • 13–15 TZ • 4–17
Text editors • 3–3 zic compiler • 4–15, 4–16
TFT2025 • 14–40 TMSCP • 15–11, 15–12
TIE • 13–21 TMSCP_LOAD system parameter • 15–11
Time TODR • 4–4, 4–6
ACTS • 4–7 Tomcat • 2–6
AlphaServer ES47 • 4–22 Too Few Servers Detected • 4–21
AlphaServer ES80 • 4–22 Touch • 13–11
AlphaServer GS1280 • 4–22 Touch Technologies • vi
Clock Drift • 4–10, 4–11 TOY Clock • 4–4, 4–6
Dial-up • 4–7 TPAMAC.REQ • 10–13
DST • 4–20, 4–24, 10–18 TR$DEBUG • 10–26
DTSS • 4–8, 4–14 Trailing Edge • 13–23
Error modifying time • 4–20 Tripp-Lite • 13–9
GMT • 4–24 TrueType • 11–16
Greenwich • 4–24 tr_print • 10–27
IPL • 4–10 TS10 • 13–23
IRIG • 4–8
Julian • 4–1

Index–19
 Index

TSM • 13–11 user-written system services • 5–1

TT2$M_DISCONNECT • 5–52 UT0 • 4–24
TTF • 11–16 UT1 • 4–24
TTY_DEFCHAR2 • 5–52 UT2 • 4–24
TV • 13–21 UTC • 4–13, 4–24
TZ Logical Name • 4–17 UTC$CONFIGURE_TDF.COM • 4–13
UTC$TIMEZONE_SETUP.COM • 4–13
U UTC$TIME_SETUP.COM • 4–13, 4–14, 4–16,
4–18, 4–19
15 U.S.C 260a(a) • 4–17 uudecode • 13–2
U.S. Design • 9–9 uuencode • 13–2, 13–14
UAFALTERNATE • 5–8 UWSS • 5–1, 10–7
UAFALTERNATE system parameter • 5–8
UCB • 10–8 V
UCX$CONFIGURATION.DAT • 5–11
UCX$NFS_TIME_DIFFERENTIAL Logical Vajhøj, Arne • 13–2
Name • 4–18 VAKSAT • 7–2
UCX$TDF Logical Name • 4–18 VAX
UDDI • 2–6 Terminology • 2–3
UEFI • 14–27 VAX/VMS
Ultrium 230 • 14–46 Terminology • 2–3
undelete • 9–1 VAX-11/782 • 14–12
Unified EFI VAXBACK • 5–17
See UEFI VAXcluster Console System • 14–18
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface VAXCLUSTER system parameter • 15–22
See UEFI VAXCRTL.EXE • 10–21
Uniform Time Act of 1966 • 4–17 VAX Emulator • 13–23, 14–28
unixODBC • 9–12 VAXstation 3100
UNIX shell • 3–3, 3–6 Console • 9–4
unzip • 14–19 Owner’s Guide • 14–34
Update • 5–19 System Disk Capacity • 9–4
Upgrade • 5–19 VAXstation 3520
UPS • 13–9 Service Guide • 14–34
UPShot • 13–9 VAXstation 3540
USB • 14–51, 14–54 Service Guide • 14–34
USB Keydisk • 14–8 VCC_FLAGS • 9–13
Used Equipment VCS • 14–18
Veracity • 5–3
See HP Renew
Version Numbering • 10–22
User Group
Edit • 10–22
DECUS • 1–5
Maintenance • 10–22
Encompass • 1–5
Major • 10–22
Interex • 1–5
Minor • 10–22

Index–20
 Index

Versions • 5–54 VOTES system parameter • 15–14

Very Long Instruction Word vPars • 4–22, 14–2, 14–7
See VLIW VR260 • 14–38
VEST • 13–16, 13–21 VR290 • 14–38
VFC • 9–13 VRC16 • 14–38
VGA • 14–38, 14–55 VRC21 • 14–38
vi • 13–14 VSXXX • 14–38
vile • 13–14 VTstar terminal emulator • 11–3
vim • 13–14 VXT • 11–2
VIOC • 9–13
VIOC Compatable Mode • 9–13 W
Virtual Circuit • 15–11
Virtual Partitioning • 14–7 w32time • 4–25
Virtual Terminal • 5–52 Web Archives • 14–41
VLIW • 14–27 Web Browser
VMB • 14–10 See SWB
VMove • 7–2 CSWB • 13–4
VMS$AUDIT_SERVER • 15–21 Lynx • 13–4
VMS$CLASS_SCHEDULE • 15–21 Mosaic • 13–4
VMS$DISK_CL_DRIVER • 15–11 Mozilla • 13–4, 13–17
VMS$OBJECTS • 15–21 Netscape • 13–4
VMS$PASSWORD_HISTORY • 15–21 Netscape Navigator • 13–17
VMS$PASSWORD_POLICY • 15–21 Web server
VMS$TAPE_CL_DRIVER • 15–11 Apache • 13–7
VMS$VAXCLUSTER • 15–11 OSU • 13–7
VMS73_XFC • 9–13 Purveyor • 13–8
VMSINSTAL • 5–37 WASD • 13–8
VMSINSTAL Update Webserver • 13–3
See Update Web Server • 13–14
VMSLICENSE • 5–9 Western Kentucky University • 13–2
VMSMAIL_PROFILE • 15–21 WINDOW_SYSTEM
vmstar • 13–14 system parameter • 11–4, 11–12
VMS_FLAGS • 14–8 WINDOW_SYSTEM system parameter • 5–7
VMS_LOADER.EFI • 5–7, 14–8 Wiring • 14–50
_VMS_V6_SOURCE • 4–14 WIZARD.ZIP • 3–11
Vols in Full XFC mode • 9–13 WKU • 13–2
Volume Set • 9–6 Wolf3D • 13–14
Volume Shadowing • 15–23 WRITEBOOT • 9–11
Allocation Class • 15–23 WRITEBOOT.EXE • 14–16
Full Copy • 5–53 Write History Logging • 5–52
Full Merge • 5–54 WRITESYSPARAMS system parameter • 5–7
Minicopy • 5–52 WSDRIVER • 11–3
Minimerge • 5–52 WWW • 13–4

Index–21
 Index

www.archive.org • 14–41 X Windows Terminal • 11–2

X Y
X11 • 11–15 Y2K • 5–33
X11R5 • 11–15 yacc • 13–14
X11R6.6 • 11–15 Yamhill • 2–12
XDR • 10–14 Year 2000 • 5–33
XFC • 9–13
XLNperformance • 5–33
XLNsystems • 5–33
Z
XML • 2–6, 10–14, 13–10 ZAP • 7–3
XOFF • 14–52 zic compiler • 4–15, 4–16
XON • 14–52 Zimmerman, Phil • 13–4
XOR • 5–38 zip • 5–56, 9–14, 13–22
XP1000 • 14–40 Zip • 14–46, 14–47
XPDF • 3–1, 13–6
Also see Info-Zip
xpm • 11–7
Self-extracting • 13–22
XtAppAddInput • 11–10
ZMODEM • 13–3
xv • 11–7
X Windows • 11–1

Index–22