=:The OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)C

The OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)



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5.7 Why doesn't OpenVMS see the new memory I just added?

AWhen adding memory to an OpenVMS system, one should check for an existingAdefinition of the PHYSICALPAGES (OpenVMS VAX) or PHYSICAL_MEMORY D(OpenVMS Alpha) parameter in the SYS$SYSTEM:MODPARAMS.DAT parameter Fdatabase, use a text editor to reset the value in the file to the new Bcorrect value as required, and then perform the following command:

 

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.$ @SYS$UPDATE:AUTOGEN GETDATA REBOOT FEEDBACK 




CThis AUTOGEN command will reset various system parameters based on Drecent system usage (FEEDBACK), and it will reset the value for the BPHYSICALPAGES parameter to the new value. It will also reboot the OpenVMS system.

CPHYSICALPAGES and PHYSICAL_MEMORY can also be used to deliberately Flower the amount of memory available for use by OpenVMS. This ability Ccan be useful in a few specific circumstances, such as testing the Fbehaviour of an application in a system environment with a particular *(lower) amount of system memory available.

FPHYSICALPAGES and PHYSICAL_MEMORY can be set to -1 (on OpenVMS Alpha) Hor (better and simpler) the entry can be removed from the MODPARAMS.DAT ;file, to indicate that all available memory should be used.p

5.8 How do I change the text in a user's UIC identifier?



HThe text translations of the numeric User Identification Code (UIC) are Fbased on identifiers present in the OpenVMS rightslist. Documentation Con this area is included in the _Guide to OpenVMS System Security_ manual.

FTo 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.

FTo alter the text of a user or group identifier, use commands such as:

 

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$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:AUTHORIZE +UAF> rename/ident oldgroupid newgroupid *UAF> rename/ident olduserid  newuserid 




CIf you should find yourself missing an identifier for a particular Auser, you can add one for the user's UIC using a command such as:

 

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3UAF> add/ident/value=uic=[group,user] newuserid 




GThe UIC user identifier text is assigned when the username is created, Cand is the text of the username. The UIC group group identifier is Fassigned when the first username is created in the UIC group, and the Gtext is based on the account name specified for the first user created Hin the group. The value of this identifier is [groupnumber, 177777]. To ;add a missing group identifier, use an asterisk as follows:

 

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1UAF> add/ident/value=uic=[group,*] newgroupid 




HYou may find cases where an identifier is missing from time to time, as Hthere are cases where the creation of a UIC group name identifier might Hconflict with an existing username, or a user identifier might conflict Cwith an existing group identifier. When these conflicts arise, the DAUTHORIZE utility will not create the conflicting group and/or user (identifier when the username is created.

FYou can can add and remove user-specified identifiers, but you should ?avoid changing the numeric values associated with any existing Hidentifiers. You should also avoid reusing UICs or identifiers when you Dadd new users, as any existing identifiers that might be present on Fobjects in the system from the old user will grant the same access to 9the new user. Please see the security manual for details.g

5.9 What are the OpenVMS version upgrade paths?

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5.9.0.0.0.1 OpenVMS Alpha Upgrade (or Update) Paths


 

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$From V1.0, one can upgrade to V1.5. 1From V1.5, or V1.5-1H1, one can upgrade to V6.1. $From V6.1, one can upgrade to V6.2. -From V6.1, or V6.2, one can upgrade to V7.0. CFrom V6.1, V6.2, V6.2-1H(1,2,3), or V7.0, one can upgrade to V7.1. >From V6.2, one can update to V6.2-1H1, V6.2-1H2, or V6.2-1H3. BFrom 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 CFrom V7.1, one can update to V7.1-1H(1,2), ... to V7.2-1H1, to 7.3 0From V7.2-2, and V7.3, one can update to V7.3-1 




9Some typical OpenVMS Alpha upgrade (or update) paths are:

 

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@V1.0 -> V1.5 -> V6.1 -> (V6.2, V7.0, V7.1, V7.2, V7.3) 9V1.5-1H1 -> 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 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 V7.2 -> V7.2-1H1 V7.2 -> V7.3 -> V7.3-1 V7.2-2 -> V7.3 V7.2-2 -> V7.3-1 




CNote that OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 does not include support for hardware Aand/or configurations first supported in OpenVMS Alpha V6.2-1H1, <V6.2-1H2, or V6.2-1H3; one must upgrade to OpenVMS VAX V7.1.

HOne cannot update directly to a V6.2-1Hx Limited Hardware Release (LHR) >from any release prior to the baseline V6.2 release. The same Gprohibition holds for performing updates directly to V7.1-1Hx from any Hrelease prior to V7.1---this is not supported, and does not produce the Hexpected results. The LHR kits can, however, be directly booted and can Cbe directly installed, without regard to any operating system that $might be present on the target disk.

EOpenVMS Alpha updates for LHRs (through V7.1-1Hx) require the use of >VMSINSTAL for the update. These LHR releases use PCSI for the Dinstallation, but not for the update. Non-LHR releases use PCSI for installs and upgrades.

AOpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later use PCSI for LHRs and for OpenVMS Fupgrades and for all OpenVMS ECO kit installations. VMSINSTAL OpenVMS BECO kits are not used on OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and later. Prior to 6V7.1-2, VMSINSTAL-based ECO kits are used for OpenVMS.M

5.9.0.0.0.2 OpenVMS VAX Release Upgrade Paths


 

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=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. 7From V5.5, V5.5-1, or V5.5-2, one can upgrade to V6.0. 9From 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. 3From 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:

 

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?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) 4V6.1 -> V6.1 with VAXBACK ECO -> (V7.2, V7.3) V6.2 -> V7.2 V6.2 -> V7.3 




HNote that OpenVMS VAX V6.0 does not include support for hardware and/or Hconfigurations first added in OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2H4, one must upgrade to OpenVMS VAX V6.1.

GNote that OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2HW is a pre-release version of V5.5-2. Any 9system running it should be upgraded to V5.5-2, or later.

GIf you attempt a direct upgrade from OpenVMS VAX V6.1 to V7.2 or later Fwithout having first applied the VAXBACK ECO kit to your V6.1 system, "you will receive an error message:

 

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5%BACKUP-E-INVRECTYP, invalid record type in save set 




Eand 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 7application of an ECO for an upgrade to V7.2 and later.U

5.9.0.0.0.3 OpenVMS Cluster Rolling Upgrade Paths


HRolling Upgrades require multiple system disks. Rolling upgrades permit Ethe OpenVMS Cluster to remain available while individual systems are (being upgraded to a new OpenVMS release.

HOpenVMS Cluster rolling upgrades for both OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha Hmay (will) have different, or additional upgrade requirements, and have Grequirements around which versions of OpenVMS can coexist in a OpenVMS !Cluster than what is listed here.

CSee the OpenVMS Upgrade and Installation Manual for the particular Grelease, and the OpenVMS Software Product Descriptions for OpenVMS and for OpenVMS Cluster software:



<for further details on the rolling upgrade, and for support Ainformation. The documentation for older releases of OpenVMS VAX Aincludes various platform-specific manuals, manuals that include Binstructions that are specific to installing and upgrading on the platform.Z

5.9.0.0.0.4 OpenVMS Product Version and Support Information


BFor information on Prior Version Support (PVS) and Mature Product DSupport (including information on support end dates for OpenVMS and &various layered products), please see:



GFor information on supported versions of layered products, and minimum 'required layered product versions, see:



=For information on the release history of OpenVMS, including @information on the code names of various releases and the major features:



FAdditional release history information, as well as a variety of other 6trivia, is available in the VAX 20th anniversary book:

H
5.9.0.0.0.5 OpenVMS Alpha Terminology


FThe following terms apply to OpenVMS Alpha upgrades and installations.

k For minimum OpenVMS versions for various platforms, see Section 2.11.|

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



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

FTo understand how the pagefile reservation process works, think about Ehow a traditional bank operates when accepting customer deposits and Hmaking loans. It's the same idea with the pagefile space. There is less Emoney in the bank vault than the total deposits, because much of the Bmoney has been loaned out to other customers of the bank. And the Ebehaviour parallels that of the pagefile down to the problems that a G"run on the bank" can cause for banking customers. (Though there is no 0deposit insurance available for pagefile users.)

FIf all of the running applications try to use the reserved space, the Dsystem manager will need to enlarge the pagefile or add one or more additional pagefules.

ETo determine if the pagefile is excessively overcommitted, watch for C"double overcommitment"---when the reservable space approaches the Cnegatation of the available total space---and watch that the total Damount of free space available in the pagefile remains adequate. If Beither of these situations arises, additional pagefile storage is required.

GAdditional pagefile information: Additional pagefiles can typically be Ecreated and connected on a running OpenVMS system. New processes and Anew applications will tend to use the new pagefile, and existing Capplications can be restarted to migrate out of the more congested Dpagefiles. Pagefiles are generally named PAGEFILE.SYS, and multiple Gpagefiles are generally configured on separate disk spindles to spread Ethe paging I/O load across the available disk storage. When multiple Epagefiles are present on recent OpenVMS versions, each pagefile file Dshould be configured to be approximately the same total size as the other pagefiles.

HFor additional information on pagefile operations and related commands, Dsee the system management and performance management manuals in the OpenVMS documentation set.

FWith OpenVMS V7.3 and later, the displays have been changed and these &negative values are no longer visible.x

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



EThe Software Public Rollout Reports for OpenVMS list the current and Dfuture availability of HP software products shipping on the OpenVMS HSoftware Products Library kits (CDROM consolidations) for OpenVMS Alpha Dand/or OpenVMS VAX. Specifically, the required minimum versions for product support are listed.

CComprehensive Public Rollout Information, listing previous product Hversions as well as currently shipping versions, has been compiled into Fa separate set of reports. The product information is grouped to show Operating System support.

HYou may or may not be able to use older versions of local applications, Hthird-party products, and various HP OpenVMS layered products with more Drecent versions of OpenVMS. User-mode code is expected to be upward Fcompatible. Code executing in a privileged processor mode---typically Deither executive or kernel mode---may or may not be compatible with more recent OpenVMS versions.

0These reports are updated regularly. Please see:

h

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



EDismount the disk, and mount it privately. If the disk is mounted by Emore than one node in an OpenVMS Cluster, dismount it from all other Cnodes. 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.

EOn OpenVMS V6.0 and later, issue the following PCSI command to reset Ethe label information stored within the PCSI database to reflect the new disk volume label:

 

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+$ PRODUCT REGISTER VOLUME old-label device 




ELocate any references in the system startup (typically including the Bdisk MOUNT commands) and any DISK$label references in application /files, and change the references appropriately.

GIf this is a system disk (for the host or for a satellite), also check Hthe DECnet MOP or LANCP boot database, as well as any references to the $disk created by CLUSTER_CONFIG*.COM.

Remount the disk appropriately.a

5.13 How can I set up a shared directory?



HTo set up a shared directory---where all files created in the directory Hare accessable to the members of specified group of users---you can use /an access control list (ACL) and an identifier.

DThe following also shows how to set up a resource identifier, which Afurther allows the disk resources to be charged to the specified Fidentifier rather than each individual user. (If you don't want this, Hthen 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:

 

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2ADD/IDENTIFER/ATTRIBUTES=RESOURCE groupidentifier 




?Grant the identifier to each user in the group using AUTHORIZE:

 

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*GRANT/IDENTIFIER groupidentifier username 




AIf disk quotas are in use, add an entry via SYSMAN for each disk:

 

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EDISKQUOTA ADD groupidentifier/PERMQUOTA=pq/OVERDRAFT=od/DEVICE=ddcu: 




GSet the shared directory to have an ACL similar to the following using Fthe SET SECURITY (V6.0 and later) or SET ACL (versions prior to V6.0) command:

 

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'(DEFAULT_PROTECTION,S:RWED,O:RWED,G,W) N(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 Eprotections similarly. (The OPTIONS=DEFAULT, DEFAULT_PROTECTION, and #CREATOR ACEs apply to directories.)

BThe default protection mask is used to establish the default file Bprotection mask, this mask does not prevent the users holding the Bspecified groupidentifier from accessing the file(s), as they can Daccess the file via the explicit identifier granting access that is present in the ACL.

FFor further information, see the OpenVMS Guide to System Security DManual, specifically the sections on ACLs and identifiers, and resource identifiers.m

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



HFor information on configuring telnet print symbiont, on device control Hlibraries such as SYSDEVCTL.TLB, and for ways of dealing with the extra Bblank pages that can arise on various HP printers, please see the EOpenVMS Ask The Wizard area, starting particularly with topic (1020):



WFor additional information, please see Section 3.9.

CThere are a variety of discussions of this and of related printing "topics in the Ask The Wizard area.

;Also see Section 5.33.z

5.15 Configure ELSA GLoria Synergy or PowerStorm 300/350 graphics?

@
5.15.0.0.0.1 The ELSA GLoria Synergy


COn OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2, V7.2, and V7.2-1, acquire the appropriate 9GRAPHICS PCSI kit, and all prerequisite OpenVMS ECO kits:



(The ELSA GLoria Synergy is the PBXGK-BB.

?On OpenVMS Alpha V7.2-1, the files necessary for this graphics <controller are located in the distribution CD-ROM directory:

 

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DISK$ALPHA0721:[ELSA.KIT] 




.Also check for any available (later) ECO kits.

GAn earlier kit (ALP4D20T01_071) (for V7.1, V7.1-1H1, and V7.1-1H2) was Gonce available, but has been superceded and is not recommended. Use of HV7.1-2 or later (and use of one the above GRAPHICS kits as required) is typically the best approach.

BOpenVMS V7.2-1H1 and later should directly support the controller.

GAdditional information is available in topics (3419) and (5448) in the Ask The Wizard area:



WFor additional information, please see Section 3.9.P

5.15.0.0.0.2 PowerStorm 300, PowerStorm 350


DThe PowerStorm 300 is the PBXGD-AC, while the PowerStorm 350 is the PBXGD-AE.

>For support of the PowerStorm 300 and PowerStorm 350 graphics Bcontrollers, acquire and install the following available ECO kits:

For OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2:



For OpenVMS Alpha V7.2-1:

S
5.15.0.0.0.3 PowerStorm 3D30, PowerStorm 4D20


EPowerStorm 3D30, PowerStorm 4D20 information is available in Ask The Wizard topics including (2041):



WFor additional information, please see Section 3.9.

CSupport for the ELSA GLoria Synergy and the PowerStorm 300 and 350 Gcontrollers is expected to be integrated in the OpenVMS Alpha V7.3 and later releases.p

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



FYou can acquire and download kits containing OpenVMS fixes (ECOs) for >various releases, as well as related support information, via:



CThe http://ftp.digital.com.au/pub/ecoinfo/ URL can be particularly @useful, as it includes a search engine capable of returning the Amandatory ECO kits for each release. Also see the information on Brequired ECOs available from the support database, accessable via Dhttp://askq.compaq.com/. Specifically, search for articles with the Fwords "incorporated" and "need to install" in the title.

3You can subscribe to an email notification list at:



5A quarterly distribution is also available on CD-ROM:



>For a list of OpenVMS ECO kits recently released, you can use:



@You can also sign up for ECO kit email notifications (Digest or .individual notifications) directly from HP at:



CExamples and ECO kit installation instructions are included in the >cover letter. For available ECO kits, cover letters and other "associated documentation, look in:



GDo NOT attempt to install a VMSINSTAL-based OpenVMS ECO kit on OpenVMS HAlpha V7.1-2 and later. While VMSINSTAL itself remains available, it is Fnot 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 5.29 for information on ECO kit checksums.




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