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HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

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HP OpenVMS Version 8.2 New Features and Documentation Overview


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3.6 Host-Based Adapter (HBA) Support

The following sections describe the HBA support in OpenVMS Version 8.2:

  • Fibre Channel Host-Based Adapter
  • Ultra SCSI Host-Based Adapter

3.6.1 Fibre Channel HBA Support on OpenVMS I64 and OpenVMS Alpha Systems

OpenVMS I64 Version 8.2 supports only the dual-port 2GB/1GB Fibre Channel Universal PCI-X HBA (A6826A) for external connection to Fibre Channel storage. This HBA is supported by a new driver, the PGQDRIVER, which has been implemented as a port driver to the existing DKDRIVER. The PCI-X 1-port FCA2404 2GB adapter (AB232A or KGPSA-EA, aka LP9802 for AlphaServers) supported on the OpenVMS I64 V8.1 Evaluation Release for Integrity servers is no longer supported on OpenVMS V8.2 or later. For external Fibre Channel storage, customers should plan accordingly to replace AB232A or KGPSA-EA FC adapters with the A6826A adapter.

OpenVMS Alpha Version 8.2 supports the new Fibre Channel HBA, the LP10000. The LP10000 is supported on the AlphaServer DS and ES server families. The LP10000 is available in a single-channel or dual-channel version.

The LP10000 is supported on earlier versions of OpenVMS Alpha (Version 7.3-1, and Version 7.3-2) by means of patch kits and by firmware console V6.6.

The version-specific patch kits with a root name of FIBRE_SCSI will be available at the following website:


http://h71000.www7.hp.com/serv_support.html

Under Service tools, select either Patches for OpenVMS or FTP site for OpenVMS patches.

For more detailed information about these HBAs, refer to the hardware documentation for your HP Integrity server or for your adapter.

3.6.2 Ultra SCSI HBA Support on OpenVMS I64 Systems

OpenVMS I64 V8.2 supports the following Ultra SCSI HBAs on HP Integrity server systems:

  • Ultra-160 SCSI dual channel (A6829A)---on HP rx4640 Integrity servers
  • Ultra-320 SCSI dual channel (A7173A)---embedded in HP Integrity rx2600 server and HP Integrity rx1600 server

External SCSI storage requires the addition of an Ultra-160 dual-port SCSI adapter (A6829A), which can be housed in DS2100, MSA30, or 4200/4300 series shelves.

Note

OpenVMS does not support shared SCSI storage using these adapters in an OpenVMS Cluster system consisting of either OpenVMS I64 systems only, or a mix of OpenVMS I64 systems and OpenVMS Alpha systems.

These adapters are also supported by HP on the following operating systems from HP: HP-UX, Linux, and the Microsoft XP 64-bit operating system.

For more detailed information, refer to the hardware documentation that accompanies your HP Integrity server.

3.7 System Analysis Tools Enhancements

The System Analysis Tools have been enhanced with new commands and new features for use with both Alpha and I64 systems. The new commands and features make it easier to analyze an OpenVMS system.

For more detailed information, refer to the HP OpenVMS System Analysis Tools Manual.

3.7.1 New and Enhanced SDA Commands

The following commands have been enhanced or are new for I64 use:

  • EVALUATE
  • EXAMINE
  • FLT
  • FORMAT
  • READ
  • SET CPU
  • SET OUTPUT
  • SHOW
    • CALL_FRAME
    • CBB
    • CEB
    • CPU
    • CRASH
    • DEVICE
    • EXCEPTION_FRAME
    • EXECUTIVE
    • GLOBAL_SECTION_TABLE
    • GST
    • IMAGE
    • KFE
    • PAGE_TABLE
    • PARAMETER
    • PROCESS
    • STACK
    • SWIS
    • TQEIDX
    • UNWIND
  • VALIDATE TQEIDX
  • WAIT

3.7.2 System Service Logging

System Service Logging records information about system service activity within a process. It is intended for use when troubleshooting a system.

Logging is turned on with the SET PROCESS/SSLOG=(STATE=ON) command. Logging is stopped with the SET PROCESS/SSLOG=(STATE=UNLOAD) or (STATE=OFF) command. Logged information is displayed with the ANALYZE/SSLOG command. SSLOG.DAT is the default file where logged information is captured.

For additional information, see the HP OpenVMS System Analysis Tools Manual.

3.8 System Parameters

The system parameters in the following sections are new in Version 8.2. The last section lists the system parameters that have been changed in Version 8.2. For more detailed information, refer to the HP OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.

3.8.1 New System Parameters

The following parameters are new in OpenVMS Version 8.2:

  • ERLBUFFERPAG_S2
    ERLBUFFERPAG_S2 specifies the amount of S2 space memory to allocate for each S2 space error log buffer requested by the ERRORLOGBUFF_S2 parameter.
  • ERRORLOGBUFF_S2
    ERRORLOGBUFF_S2 specifies the number of S2 space error log buffers reserved for system error log entries. Each buffer is ERLBUFFERPAG_S2 in length. If ERRORLOGBUFF_S2 is too low, messages might not be written to the error log file. If it is too high, the buffers can consume unnecessary physical pages.
  • SCSI_ERROR_POLL
    The purpose of SCSI_ERROR_POLL is to cause OpenVMS to send a SCSI Test Unit Ready command every hour to each SCSI disk, in an attempt to force latched errors to become unlatched and to be reported immediately. SCSI_ERROR_POLL has a default value of 1. However, it can be set to 0 by the user in order to stop the error polling activity.
  • SHADOW_ENABLE
    Special parameter reserved for HP use.
  • SHADOW_HBMM_RTC (Alpha and I64 only)
    SHADOW_HBMM_RTC controls the interval the system waits between the checking of reset thresholds for shadow sets that have Host-Based Minimerge (HBMM) bitmaps. If the reset threshold is exceeded, the bitmap is zeroed.
  • SHADOW_PSM_DLY
    When a copy or merge operation is needed on a shadow set that is mounted on many systems, the Shadowing facility attempts to perform the operation on a system that has a local connection to all the shadow set members. Shadowing implements the copy or merge operation by adding a time delay based on the number of shadow set members that are MSCP-served to the system. No delay is added for local members; therefore, a system with all locally accessible shadow set members usually performs the copy or merge before a system on which one or more members is served---and is therefore delayed---does.
    SHADOW_PSM_DLY allows the system manager to adjust the delay that Shadowing adds. By default, the delay is 30 seconds for each MSCP-served shadow set member. The valid range for the specified delay is 0 through 65,535 seconds.
    When a shadow set is mounted on a system, the value of SHADOW_PSM_DLY is used as the default shadow set member recovery delay for that shadow set. To modify SHADOW_PSM_DLY for an existing shadow set, refer to the SET SHADOW/RECOVERY_OPTIONS=DELAY_PER_SERVED_MEMBER=n command.

  • SHADOW_REC_DLY (Alpha and I64 only)
    The value of SHADOW_REC_DLY is added to the value of the RECNXINTERVAL parameter to determine the length of time a system waits before it attempts to manage recovery operations on shadow sets that are mounted on the system, using the priority of the shadow sets.
  • SHADOW_SITE_ID (Alpha and I64 only)
    SHADOW_SITE_ID allows a system manager to define a site value, which Volume Shadowing uses to determine the best device to perform reads, thereby improving performance. The system manager can now define the site value to be used for all shadow sets mounted on a system.
  • SYSSER_LOGGING (Alpha and I64 only)
    A value of 1 for SYSSER_LOGGING enables logging of system service requests for a process. The default is 1. This parameter is dynamic.
  • TTY_DEFCHAR3 (Alpha and I64 only)
    TTY_DEFCHAR3 allows a user to set a bit so that the OpenVMS terminal driver remaps Ctrl/H to Delete. HP recommends that you not set this bit as a systemwide default.
    Characteristic Value (Hex) Function
    TT3$M_BS 10 When this bit is set, the OpenVMS terminal console remaps CTRL/H to Delete.
  • VHPT_SIZE (I64 only)
    VHPT_SIZE is the number of kilobytes to allocate for the Virtual Hash Page Table (VHPT) on each CPU in the system:
    • 0 indicates that no VHPT is allocated.
    • 1 indicates that OpenVMS chooses a default size that is appropriate for your system configuration.

3.8.2 Changed System Parameters

Definitions of the following system parameters have been changed in OpenVMS Version 8.2:

  • BALSETCNT
  • CHANNELCNT
  • CRD_CONTROL
  • DEVICE_NAMING
  • ERLBUFFERPAGES
  • ERRORLOGBUFFERS
  • FAST_PATH_PORTS
  • GALAXY
  • GLX_SHM_REG
  • LAN_FLAGS
  • LCKMGR_MODE
  • MMG_CTLFLAGS
  • MULTITHREAD
  • NISCS_MAX_PKTSZ
  • PQL_MASTLM
  • PQL_MENQLM
  • SECURITY_POLICY
  • SHADOW_MBR_TMO
  • VCC_FLAGS

In addition to the parameters in this list, many parameters that were formerly designated as Alpha only are now Alpha and I64.

For more detailed information, refer to the HP OpenVMS Version 8.2 Release Notes and HP OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.

3.9 Additional Time Zones Added to Database

In OpenVMS Version 8.2, 540 time zones are provided based on the time-zone public database, named tzdata2003e, placed in ftp://elsie.nci.nih.gov/pub/ . Existing time zones are updated, and there are 204 new time zones added to the database. For a list of the new time-zone names, see HP OpenVMS System Manager's Manual.

3.10 Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS New Features

Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS introduces the following new features in this release:

  • Host-Based Minimerge (HBMM)
    HBMM is designed to improve shadow set merge operations. HBMM uses a bitmap to track the blocks that changed. HBMM compares and reconciles only those sections of the shadow set where changes occurred since the bitmap was reset.
    An HBMM policy keyword, RESET_THRESHOLD, is used to specify the number of blocks that can be changed before the bitmap is cleared. A new system parameter, SHADOW_HBMM_RTC, is used to specify how frequently the bitmap is checked to determine if the number of changed blocks exceeds the RESET_THRESHOLD setting. If it does, the bitmap is cleared. HBMM operations can be significantly faster than full merges, depending on the value of RESET_THRESHOLD.
  • Prioritizing merge and copy operations
    You can now control the order in which merge and copy operations occur on the remaining systems in a cluster after a system failure. The new /PRIORITY=n qualifier to the SET SHADOW command can be used to assign different priorities to all mounted shadow sets. Assigning higher priorities to the most important volumes ensures that they are merged or copied before less important volumes, which are assigned a lower priority.
    You can dynamically increase or decrease the SHADOW_MAX_COPY setting as circumstances change in the cluster. Without having to dismount the shadow sets, you can use the new EVALUATE_RESOURCES qualifier to the SET SHADOW command to cause a system to adjust its workload to a new SHADOW_MAX_COPY value or to new priorities specified with the SET SHADOW/PRIORITY=n DSAn command.
    A new system parameter, SHADOW_REC_DLY, enables you to predict the order that each system attempts to manage copy or merge operations after a system failure. You can assign the shortest delays to the systems that are best able to perform recovery operations.
  • Licensing Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS
    You can purchase capacity licenses, per CPU, for OpenVMS I64 systems. OpenVMS Alpha Version 8.2 continues to provide capacity and per-disk licenses.
    For OpenVMS I64 computers, a volume shadowing license is available either as a separate product or as part of the collection of OpenVMS products known as the Enterprise Operating Environment. For more information about the Enterprise Operating Environment, refer to the HP Operating Environments for OpenVMS Industry Standard 64 Version 8.2 for Integrity Servers Software Product Description (SPD 82.34.xx).
    For more information about volume shadowing licensing, refer to the HP Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS Software Product Description (SPD 27.29.xx). For more information about the License Management Facility, refer to the OpenVMS operating system SPD or the HP OpenVMS License Management Utility Manual.

For more information about the HBMM new feature, refer to Chapter 6.


Chapter 4
Programming Features

This chapter describes new features relating to application and system programming in this version of the HP OpenVMS operating system.

4.1 Analyze Utility Enhancements (I64 Only)

The Analyze utility has been enhanced on OpenVMS I64 systems to analyze Executable and Linkable Format (ELF) object and image files. Additional information describing these enhancements has been added to the HP OpenVMS DCL Dictionary for the ANALYZE/IMAGE and ANALYZE/OBJECT commands.

Using record formats and landmark values in the file, the ANALYZE utility on OpenVMS I64 can determine the architecture type and whether the file is an object or image file. Although ANALYZE accepts the /OBJECT and /IMAGE qualifiers, these qualifiers do not restrict the analysis to the specified file type.

For more information about the enhancements to the Analyze utility, see the HP OpenVMS DCL Dictionary.

4.2 OpenVMS Calling Standard Changes for OpenVMS I64

The OpenVMS Calling Standard has been adapted for use on systems using Intel Itanium processors and running OpenVMS I64.

The OpenVMS Calling Standard on the Intel Itanium processor family is designed to follow the Itanium software conventions as much as possible while avoiding user-visible differences from the OpenVMS VAX and Alpha conventions. Changes to the Itanium convention were made only where necessary to maintain compatibility with the historical OpenVMS design. The goal was to minimize the cost and difficulty of porting applications and OpenVMS itself to the Itanium architecture.

Refer to the HP OpenVMS Calling Standard for more information.

4.3 Checksum Utility

The Checksum utility calculates file, image, or object checksums for an OpenVMS file. The CHECKSUM command invokes the utility, which can now be run on I64, Alpha, or VAX platforms. The result, or checksum, is available in the DCL symbol CHECKSUM$CHECKSUM.

For information about this utility, see the CHECKSUM command in the HP OpenVMS DCL Dictionary.

4.3.1 CHECKSUM/OBJECT Enhanced for I64 Objects

CHECKSUM/OBJECT for I64 objects (ELF objects) provides new information into the calculation for a checksum:

  • EIDC (entity identification consistency check) information
  • FPMODE (whole programming floating-point mode) information

If the EIDC or FPMODE fields are present in an object file, then the I64 object checksum calculated by an earlier version of the Checksum utility is different than the one calculated by Checksum on OpenVMS Version 8.2.

The difference can be seen in the checksum of the ".note" section.

The previous version did not calculate any checksum for this section while the new version calculates the checksum if the information is present. Use the /SHOW=SECTIONS qualifier to view this behavior.

CHECKSUM/IMAGE is not affected; an image does not have EIDC or FPMODE information in the ".note" section.

The file checksums (CHECKSUM without /IMAGE or /OBJECT) are also not affected. File checksums use the whole file or the record structured data to calculate the checksum.

4.4 C Run-Time Library Enhancements

The following sections describe the C Run-Time Library (RTL) enhancements included in OpenVMS Version 8.2. These enhancements provide improved UNIX portability, standards compliance, and the flexibility of additional user-controlled feature selections. New C RTL functions are also included. For more details, refer to the HP C Run-Time Library Reference Manual for OpenVMS Systems.

4.4.1 File-Locking Functions

The following X/Open file-locking functions have been added. They allow a user to lock and unlock files and provide access synchronization across threaded programs:


flockfile
ftrylockfile
funlockfile
clearerr_unlocked
getc_unlocked
getchar_unlocked
feof_unlocked
ferror_unlocked
fgetc_unlocked
fputc_unlocked
putc_unlocked
putchar_unlocked

4.4.2 Standard-Compliant stat Structure

An X/Open standard-compliant definition of the stat structure and associated definitions are added. To use these new definitions, applications must compile with a new feature macro defined:

_USE_STD_STAT

The following new macros have also been added to support the standard-compliant stat structure:

S_INO_NUM(ino)
S_INO_SEQ(ino)
S_INO_RVN(ino)
S_INO_RVN_RVN(ino)
S_INO_RVN_NMX(ino)

4.4.3 File-System Statistics Support

The following X/Open functions that return file system information have been added in support of UNIX portability:


statvfs
fstatvfs

4.4.4 fcntl File Status Flags

The F_SETFL and F_GETFL command options are added to the fcntl function to set and get file status flags.

4.4.5 UNIX Style Pipe Support

For added UNIX portability, the C RTL pipe implementation now uses stream I/O as well as record I/O, under control of a new feature logical, DECC$STREAM_PIPE.

The legacy behavior, record I/O, is the default behavior.

To enable stream I/O pipe support, define the DECC$STREAM_PIPE feature logical name to ENABLE:


$ DEFINE DECC$STREAM_PIPE ENABLE

4.4.6 DECC$POPEN_NO_CRLF_REC_ATTR

A pipe opened with the popen function has its record attributes set to CR/LF carriage control (fab$b_rat |= FAB$M_CR). UNIX systems do not insert CR/LF for pipes.

A new feature logical has been added to provide UNIX compatible behavior. To override the default legacy behavior and thereby prevent CR/LF carriage control from being added to the pipe records, define DECC$POPEN_NO_CRLF_REC_ATTR to ENABLE:


$ DEFINE DECC$POPEN_NO_CRLF_REC_ATTR ENABLE

Be aware that enabling this feature might result in undesired behavior from other functions, such as gets , that rely on the carriage-return character.

4.4.7 glob and globfree 64-Bit Support

64-bit support is added for the glob and globfree functions. As a result, the following additional function entry points are now available for use with 32-bit and 64-bit pointer sizes, respectively:


_glob32          _glob64
_globfree32      _globfree64

4.4.8 socketpair

The socketpair TCP/IP socket routine has been added.

This routine is used for creating a pair of connected sockets and requires the underlying TCP/IP product to have the TCPIP$SOCKETPAIR function available.

4.5 DCE RPC Now Supports IEEE Floating-Point Type

DCE RPC for OpenVMS now supports both G_FLOAT and IEEE floating-point types on OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS I64 platforms. The default floating-point type on the Alpha platform remains G_FLOAT. The default floating-point type on I64 platform is IEEE_FLOAT.

DCE RPC Application developers need to use the rpc_set_local_float_drep call in their applications when using the non-default floating-point type

Note

DCE RPC on OpenVMS VAX platforms supports only G_FLOAT type.

4.6 OpenVMS Debugger

The following sections describe new features of the OpenVMS Debugger on OpenVMS I64 systems.

4.6.1 Intel® Itanium® Hardware Support

OpenVMS I64 Debugger supports the following hardware registers:

  • General registers R0 through R127
  • Floating registers F0 through F127
  • Branch registers B0 through B7
  • Predicate registers P0 through P63. You can examine all predicate register values using the symbol named PR.
  • Application registers: AR16 (RSC), AR17 (BSP), AR18 (BSPSTORE), AR19 (RNAT), AR25 (CSD), AR26 (SSD), AR32 (CCV), AR36 (UNAT), AR64 (PFS), AR65 (LC), AR66 (EC)
  • A program counter named PC, synthesized from the hardware IP register and the ri field of the PSR register
  • Miscellaneous registers: CFM (current frame marker), UM (user mask), PSP (previous stack pointer), and IIPA (previously executed bundle address)
  • Output register names OUT0 through OUT7. These names are provided for convenience to make it easy to identify the registers that are used to pass integer arguments from the current routine to a called routine. For more information, refer to the HP OpenVMS Calling Standard.


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