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Compaq ACMS for OpenVMS
Managing Applications


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Table 15-30 shows the TASK_WAIT_ST relation. An index is provided for this relation. It is defined with column STR_ID, duplicates are allowed, and the type is sorted.

Table 15-30 Columns for Table EPC$1_253_TASK_WAIT_ST
Column Name Data Type Domain
STR_ID INTEGER STR_ID_DOMAIN
SEGMENT_NUMBER SMALLINT SEGMENT_NUMBER_DOMAIN
STR_SEGMENT VARCHAR(0)  

Table 15-31 shows the TRANSACTION relation.

Table 15-31 Columns for Table EPC$1_253_TRANSACTION
Column Name Data Type Domain
COLLECTION_RECORD_ID SMALLINT COLLECTION_RECORD_ID_DOMAIN
IMAGE_RECORD_ID INTEGER IMAGE_RECORD_ID_DOMAIN
CONTEXT_NUMBER INTEGER CONTEXT_NUMBER_DOMAIN
TIMESTAMP_START DATE VMS  
TIMESTAMP_END DATE VMS  
APPL_SPEC_START VARCHAR(39)  
APPL_SPEC_START_STR_ID INTEGER STR_ID_DOMAIN
TASK_NAME_START VARCHAR(31)  
TASK_NAME_START_STR_ID INTEGER STR_ID_DOMAIN
APL_USERNAME_START VARCHAR(12)  
APL_USERNAME_START_STR_ID INTEGER STR_ID_DOMAIN
SUB_USERNAME_START VARCHAR(12)  
SUB_USERNAME_START_STR_ID INTEGER STR_ID_DOMAIN
STEP_NAME_START VARCHAR(31)  
STEP_NAME_START_STR_ID INTEGER STR_ID_DOMAIN
EXCH_STEP_NAME_START VARCHAR(31)  
EXCH_STEP_NAME_START_STR_ID INTEGER STR_ID_DOMAIN
TXN_ID_START VARCHAR(36)  
TXN_ID_START_STR_ID INTEGER STR_ID_DOMAIN
CROSS_FAC_14_START INTEGER  
TXN_STATUS_END VARCHAR(31)  
TXN_STATUS_END_STR_ID INTEGER STR_ID_DOMAIN
CROSS_FAC_14_END INTEGER  

Table 15-32 shows the TRANSACTION_ST relation. An index is provided for this relation. It is defined with column STR_ID, duplicates are allowed, and the type is sorted.

Table 15-32 Columns for Table EPC$1_253_TRANSACTION_ST
Column Name Data Type Domain
STR_ID INTEGER STR_ID_DOMAIN
SEGMENT_NUMBER SMALLINT SEGMENT_NUMBER_DOMAIN
STR_SEGMENT VARCHAR(0)  


Chapter 16
Managing ACMS Licensing

Concurrent-use licensing increases the number of licensing options available for ACMS run-time and remote-access systems. You can choose the more cost-effective licensing method for your ACMS system: concurrent-use or unlimited-use.

Concurrent-use licensing allows you to control access to ACMS run-time and remote-access systems, based on a predetermined number of users that can access ACMS at any one time. Concurrent-use licenses apply to both single node systems and to clusters.

For more information about licenses and kit options, see Compaq ACMS Version 4.3 for OpenVMS Installation Guide.

16.1 Overview of ACMS Kits and Licensing Options

This section provides an overview of the ACMS kits and the functions provided by each kit, describes concurrent-use and unlimited-use licenses, and lists the license types that are available for each kit.

16.1.1 ACMS Kits

ACMS kits determine what functions ACMS users are able to perform. The three types of ACMS kits are:

  • ACMS Development Kit
    This kit provides all the features of ACMS. You can define, build, and debug multiple-step tasks, task groups, menus, and applications, as well as use the ACMS task queuing facilities. You can use DECforms or TDMS as standard presentation services, or use the Request Interface (RI) and Systems Interface (SI) to access other presentation services. You are provided with samples of ACMS applications using standard presentation services and the Request Interface.
    The development kit also includes the features provided by the run-time and remote-access kits.

  • ACMS Run-Time Kit
    This kit allows you to use existing applications or programs under the control of ACMS. It also allows you to define menus, applications, task groups, and single-step tasks that use DCL servers, if CDD is present when this kit is installed. It allows ACMS users to sign in and select tasks that are implemented on the local node as well as remote nodes. The run-time kit allows you to use the ACMS Queued Task Initiator (QTI) to submit tasks to run on the local node as well as remote nodes.
    The run-time kit also includes the features provided by the remote-access kit.
  • ACMS Remote-Access Kit
    This kit is suitable for installation on a network node that does not have any ACMS applications running on it, but requires access to ACMS applications running on another network node. The remote-access kit allows users to sign in to ACMS and select tasks on remote nodes, and handles the terminal I/O associated with those tasks. The remote-access kit allows you to use the ACMS Queued Task Initiator (QTI) to submit tasks to run on remote nodes.

16.1.2 ACMS License Types

ACMS offers two types of licenses:

  • Unlimited-use license
    This type of license is also referred to as a capacity license. Unlimited-use licenses set no limit on the number of users who can access ACMS at any one time.
  • Concurrent-use license
    Concurrent-use licenses limit the number of users who can access ACMS at any one time. For example, a concurrent-use license for four users gives a maximum of four users access to ACMS simultaneously.

Unlimited-use licenses are available for all ACMS kits. Concurrent-use licenses are available only for the ACMS run-time and remote-access kits; there is no concurrent-use license available for the ACMS development kit.

Table 16-1 summarizes all of the ACMS kits and available licenses.

Table 16-1 ACMS Licenses
ACMS Kit Unlimited-Use Concurrent-Use
Development ACMS Not available
Run-time ACMS-RT ACMS-RT-USER
Remote-access ACMS-REM ACMS-REM-USER

Concurrent-use licenses are expressed in terms of units. 100 license units are required for each concurrent user; for example, a concurrent-use license of 500 units allows five users to access ACMS concurrently. Each group of 100 units is referred to as a set of license units. For more information on license units, see Compaq ACMS Version 4.3 for OpenVMS Software Product Description (25.50.xx).

Concurrent-use licenses of the same kit type, for instance, either the run-time kit or remote-access kit, are cumulative. If you have more than one concurrent-use license, add together the number of units on each license to determine the total number of users that can access ACMS.

Only one license type is in effect on an ACMS system at any one time. If you have more than one ACMS license loaded, ACMS chooses, at startup, the license with the least restrictive functionality.

The following list shows all license types, from least to most restrictive functionality:

  • ACMS (least restrictive)
  • ACMS--RT
  • ACMS--RT--USER
  • ACMS--REM
  • ACMS--REM--USER (most restrictive)

For more information on license management, refer to Compaq ACMS Version 4.3 for OpenVMS Installation Guide and the License Management Facility (LMF) documentation in the OpenVMS documentation set.

16.2 License Unit Allocation

License units are allocated to a user. The term user refers to an ACMS task submitter, which includes:

  • Interactive users signed in to the ACMS Command Process (CP)
  • Interactive users accessing ACMS using the ACMS Request Interface (RI) agent
  • Interactive users accessing ACMS from ALL--IN--1
  • PC users accessing ACMS using Compaq TP Desktop Connector (formerly ACMS Desktop)
  • Task submitters signed in to ACMS by the ACMS Queued Task Initiator (QTI)
  • Task submitters signed in to ACMS by a user-written agent
  • Task submitters signed in to ACMS by a detached task

The following rules apply to the allocation of license units at run time.

  • ACMS allocates a set of license units to a user on each node on which the user is active.
    For example, when a user signs in to ACMS on Node A, a set of license units is allocated to the user on Node A. If a user signs in to Node A and selects a task on Node B, a set of license units is allocated on both Node A (for the sign-in) and Node B (for the task selection).
    If a user signs in to ACMS on Node A and Node B, a set of license units is allocated on each node.
  • A set of license units is allocated each time the user signs in.
    For example, if a user signs in twice on Node A, two sets of license units are allocated on Node A.
  • Once a user is signed in to a node, the user can select ACMS tasks on that node without using additional license units.
    For example, if a user on Node A selects a task in an application running on Node A, only one set of license units is allocated; no additional license units are required if the user selects an additional task in that application or a different application on Node A.
    Likewise, if the user on Node A selects tasks on Node B, license units are allocated only for the first task selected on Node B; no additional license units are allocated if the user selects additional tasks on Node B.
  • License units allocated to a user remain allocated to that user until the user signs out of ACMS. At that time, all license units held by the user are released, including the license units allocated on the local node and any license units allocated to that user on remote nodes.
    For example, if a user on Node A signs in and selects tasks in applications on Nodes B and C, license units on Nodes A, B, and C are released when the user signs out from Node A.
  • License units on a remote node allocated to a user who has selected a task in an application on that remote node are released, if the application is shut down, and the user has not selected tasks in another application on the remote node.
    As a corollary to this rule, once a user on Node A selects a task in an application on Node B, that user continues to hold license units on Node B, even if the user selects no more tasks on Node B. In this situation, license units remain allocated to the user on Node B until the user signs out from Node A, the application on Node B runs down, or until the connection between Nodes A and B is broken.
  • During initialization, ACMS temporarily allocates a license unit and then releases it.
    ACMS requires a valid loaded license to start the ACMS run-time system and the Application Definition Utility (ADU). With concurrent-use licenses, ACMS checks for the presence of a valid license by temporarily allocating a license unit. Once the set of license units is successfully allocated, the license units are immediately released and use of the system is granted.

The following sections describe rules for license unit allocation in special cases:

  • In an OpenVMS Cluster network
  • With the QTI
  • With detached tasks

16.2.1 License Unit Allocation in OpenVMS Clusters

License units of a concurrent-use license for an OpenVMS Cluster are shared among all nodes in the cluster that have the license loaded. The rules for license unit allocation are the same whether a node is in a cluster or not. The only difference is that nodes of a cluster share the same pool of license units.

When a user is signed in on Node A of a cluster, a set of license units is allocated, even if the user is already signed in on Node B or C of the cluster. Therefore, it is possible for a user to hold a set of license units from the common license unit pool on every node of the cluster, if that user is signed in on every node.

For example, a cluster with a 50-user concurrent-use license has three nodes. A user on Node A is allocated one set of license units on Node A. If that user also selects tasks in applications on Node B and Node C, the user is allocated a set of license units on each of those nodes. The user's total license unit allocation corresponds to three user sign-ins. All license units are allocated out of the shared pool of license units corresponding to 50 users, leaving a total number of license units corresponding to 47 users.

16.2.2 Concurrent-Use Licenses with the QTI

The QTI is an ACMS System Interface (SI) agent program. As with all agent programs, the QTI uses the ACMS$SIGN_IN service to sign a submitter in before invoking a task on behalf of that submitter, thus allocating a set of license units.

When the QTI dequeues a queued task element, it checks the user name associated with the element. The first time the QTI dequeues an element with that user name, it signs the submitter in to ACMS but does not sign the submitter out of ACMS when that task ends. Instead, the QTI leaves the submitter signed in for at least the time specified in QTI_SUB_TIMEOUT. If another queued element with the same user name is dequeued prior to the time-out period, a submitter is already signed in for the user. This avoids the overhead of signing in and signing out the submitter.

If you have concurrent-use licenses for your ACMS system, a set of license units is allocated by the QTI for each submitter that the QTI signs in. The license units remain allocated until the QTI signs a submitter out.

Use the ACMSGEN parameter QTI_SUB_TIMEOUT to indicate how long a signed-in submitter can remain idle before the QTI signs the submitter out of ACMS.

16.2.3 Concurrent-Use Licenses with Detached Tasks

For every detached task started, the ACMS$SIGN_IN service signs in a task submitter. If you have concurrent-use licenses, a set of license units is allocated for each detached task that is started. These license units remain allocated until the task submitter signs out and the detached task stops.

See Compaq ACMS for OpenVMS Writing Applications for more information about concurrent-use licenses with detached tasks.

16.3 Managing Systems with Concurrent-Use Licenses

ACMS provides three operator commands that allow you to determine the identities and number of users accessing a system:

  • ACMS/SHOW APPLICATION/CONNECTIONS
    The ACMS/SHOW APPLICATION/CONNECTIONS command displays all the local and remote users who are connected to local applications.
    A user is connected to an application when that user selects a task in the application for the first time. The connection remains until the user signs out of ACMS or the application is shut down.
  • ACMS/SHOW SYSTEM
    The ACMS/SHOW SYSTEM command displays information about both local and remote users.
  • ACMS/SHOW USER
    This command displays the local and remote users accessing the ACMS system, and lists the local applications that users are connected to. It also displays the total number of users on the system. The total number of local and remote users corresponds to the total number of license units allocated.

Note

The scope of ACMS operator commands is limited to one node. Therefore, in OpenVms Cluster environments, you must execute the operator commands on each node of the cluster to obtain a total view of how license units are allocated in the cluster.

16.3.1 Releasing License Units

When a user is unable to sign in to an ACMS system, or unable to select a task on a remote node because the license units for the node have been exhausted, you may want to release license units to allow other higher-priority users access to the ACMS system.

There are two operator commands that allow you to release license units:

  • ACMS/CANCEL USER
  • ACMS/STOP APPLICATION

Before executing either of these commands, use the ACMS/SHOW USER command to identify local and remote users accessing the system.

To release license units, issue the ACMS/CANCEL USER command on the local node to cancel a local user. This forces the local user to sign out of the ACMS system. To cancel a remote user, use the ACMS/CANCEL USER command on the remote node on which the user was originally signed in. This releases all the allocated license units. This command requires OPER privileges.

In an extreme case, you can release license units allocated to a remote user on an ACMS system by shutting down all applications used by the remote user. The ACMS/STOP APPLICATION command shuts down an application. Stopping an application affects all users connected to that application.


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