Converting Your Customized Parameter Settings
for Use with AUTOGEN
HP recommends that you use the AUTOGEN command procedure to
tune your system. If you use the System Management utility (SYSMAN)
or the System Generation utility (SYSGEN) to modify system parameter values,
and you do not include these changes in the AUTOGEN parameter file
MODPARAMS.DAT, these changes will be overridden the next time you
run AUTOGEN.
If you used SYSMAN or SYSGEN to change parameter values in
the past, use the following procedure to convert your parameter
settings to work with AUTOGEN. This procedure explains how to add
your customized parameter settings to MODPARAMS.DAT so they will
be retained when you run AUTOGEN.
Before performing this task, you should understand AUTOGEN,
feedback, and the AUTOGEN parameter file MODPARAMS.DAT, as explained
in
Understanding the AUTOGEN Command Procedure.
Save the parameter
values that the system is now using as follows:
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMANSYSMAN> PARAMETERS USE ACTIVESYSMAN> PARAMETERS WRITE SYS$SYSTEM:nodename_PARAMS_CURRENT.PAR
Write a listing of the active parameter values to
an ASCII file named nodename_PARAMS.OLD as follows:
Edit AUTOGEN's parameter file SYS$SYSTEM:MODPARAMS.DAT
to define symbols to specify values for the following parameters:
Parameter values that are not calculated
by AUTOGEN, such as SCSNODE and SCSSYSTEMID. Refer to the AUTOGEN
description in the HP OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual for a table of the parameters calculated
by AUTOGEN.
Any parameter values that must be adjusted to suit
your system work load, for example, GBLPAGES and GBLSECTIONS.
To specify a value, define symbols using the format MIN_parameter,
MAX_parameter, or ADD_parameter rather than specifying an explicit
value. For example:
$ EDIT SYS$SYSTEM:MODPARAMS.DAT
SCSNODE = "MYNODE" ! Not calculated by AUTOGEN
SCSSYSTEMID = 10001 ! Not calculated by AUTOGEN
MIN_GBLPAGES = 10000 ! Needed for MCS, BLISS32, and ADA
MIN_GBLSECTIONS = 600 ! Needed for MCS, BLISS32, and ADA
To help you track the changes you make in MODPARAMS.DAT, add
comments to each line, preceded by an exclamation point (!). For
information about defining symbols in MODPARAMS.DAT, see
Controlling AUTOGEN's Parameter Settings with MODPARAMS.DAT.
Run AUTOGEN, but do not reboot.
Use one of the following commands, depending on your system:
If the system has run a typical work
load for more than 24 hours since last booting:
The SAVPARAMS phase collects feedback information about resource
use on the running system; this information is used by AUTOGEN.
This command creates a feedback report named SYS$SYSTEM:AGEN$PARAMS.REPORT,
which tells you about peak resource use.
If you want to use a previously collected feedback
file:
$ @SYS$UPDATE:AUTOGEN GETDATA SETPARAMS FEEDBACK
If you start from the GETDATA phase, AUTOGEN does not collect
current feedback.
If this is a new system (that is, it has no feedback)
or the system has had little activity since last boot (for example,
over the weekend) so there is no valid feedback file:
Use the CHECK_FEEDBACK parameter to let AUTOGEN determine
whether the feedback is valid.
Write a listing of the new parameter values to an
ASCII file as follows:
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMANSYSMAN> PARAMETERS USE CURRENTSYSMAN> PARAMETERS SHOW /ALL /OUTPUT=nodename_PARAMS.NEWSYSMAN> PARAMETERS SHOW /SPECIAL /OUTPUT=nodename_PARAMS_SPECIAL.NEWSYSMAN> EXIT$ APPEND nodename_PARAMS_SPECIAL.NEW nodename_PARAMS.NEW
Compare the old and new parameter values as follows:
Print the differences file you created in step 6
(named in the format nodename_PARAMS.DIF). Print the file on a 132-column line
printer to make the output easier to read.
Compare the numbers in the two columns following
each parameter name column. The left column shows the old value;
the right column shows the new value.
Old and New Parameter Values illustrates sample output.
Figure 1 Old and New Parameter Values
Make any adjustments in MODPARAMS.DAT using symbols
prefixed by MIN_, MAX_, or ADD_. For example, if AUTOGEN calculated
a smaller value for GBLPAGES, you might specify a minimum value for
this parameter as follows:
MIN_GBLPAGES = 10000
If you originally specified a parameter value in MODPARAMS.DAT
(in step 3) but the parameter has not been changed, verify the following
data:
The parameter name is spelled correctly
and completely (not abbreviated). In MODPARAMS.DAT, AUTOGEN sees
parameter names as symbol assignments. AUTOGEN cannot equate a symbol
to the corresponding system parameter unless it is spelled correctly.
Look in AGEN$FEEDBACK.REPORT for any error messages AUTOGEN might
have written.
The value is correct: count the digits and make
sure no commas are present.
The parameter occurs only once in MODPARAMS.DAT.
The parameter is not commented out.
For most parameters, if the new value is greater than the
old value, you can accept AUTOGEN's setting. If the new value is
less than the old value, HP recommends that you retain the old value
because the system may not have been using that resource when running
AUTOGEN.
For example, you might have used SYSMAN to increase GBLPAGES
to 10,000 to accommodate layered products, but have not specified
that change in MODPARAMS.DAT. AUTOGEN might calculate that the system
needs only 5000 global pages. When you reboot after running AUTOGEN,
not all of your layered products may be installed, and you might
receive the system message GPTFULL, "global page table full," indicating
that the system needs more GBLPAGES.
Repeat from step 3 until you are satisfied with
the new parameter values.
If necessary, make further changes in MODPARAMS.DAT, run AUTOGEN
again, and verify the changes as before. Usually after this second
pass of AUTOGEN, the parameter values will be stable and you can then
reboot.
Reboot. When you reboot, the system will use the
new parameter values. Using AUTOGEN to reboot or rebooting right
away is not necessary. However you must reboot before the system
uses the new parameter values.
If the system does not boot, perform a conversational boot
and use the backup parameter file you created in step 1:
SYSBOOT> USE SYS$SYSTEM:nodename_PARAMS_CURRENT.PARSYSBOOT> CONTINUE
When you enter the CONTINUE command, the system boots with
the parameter values you saved before running AUTOGEN.
After the system has booted, if you want to use the old parameter
values you can enter the following commands:
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMANSYSMAN> PARAMETERS USE SYS$SYSTEM:nodename_PARAMS_CURRENT.PARSYSMAN> PARAMETERS WRITE CURRENTSYSMAN> EXIT
Run AUTOGEN using feedback regularly to ensure that
the resources of your system match your system work load. For information
about running AUTOGEN using feedback, see
Modifying System Parameters with AUTOGEN.