HP OpenVMS Version 8.3 Upgrade and Installation Manual > Appendix G Preparing to Use OpenVMS Management Station

Preparing Your OpenVMS System

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You must prepare your OpenVMS system to run the server software so that your system can properly interact with the PC running the client software. The procedures include the following:

  • Set up in a mixed-architecture cluster environment (if applicable).

  • Start the server on other nodes.

  • Update the printer and storage database.

  • Edit the system files.

  • Allow OpenVMS Management Station to control the printer and storage environment.

  • Keep your printer environment up to date.

  • Check if running third-party TCP/IP stacks.

  • Determine and report problems.

Setting Up in a Mixed-Architecture Cluster Environment

The OpenVMS Management Station server creates several configuration files:

  • TNT$UADB.DAT

  • TNT$ACS.DAT

  • TNT$JOURNAL.TNT$TRANSACTION_JOURNAL

  • TNT$MONITOR.DAT

  • TNT$MONITOR.TNT$MONITOR_JOURNAL

  • TNT$EMERGENCY_MOUNT.COM

In a common-environment cluster with one common system disk, you use a common copy of each of these files located in the SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE] directory on the common system disk, or on a disk that is mounted by all cluster nodes. No further action is required.

However, to prepare a common user environment for an OpenVMS Cluster system that includes more than one common system disk, you must coordinate the files on those disks.

The following rules apply:

  • Disks holding common resources must be mounted early in the system startup procedure, such as in the SYLOGICALS.COM procedure.

  • You must ensure that the disks are mounted with each cluster reboot.

Follow these steps to coordinate files:

  1. Decide where to locate the files. In a cluster with multiple system disks, system management is much easier if the common system files are located on a single disk that is not a system disk.

  2. Copy the following files from SYS$COMMON:[SYSEXE] to a directory on a disk other than the system disk: TNT$UADB.DAT, TNT$ACS.DAT, TNT$MONITOR.DAT, TNT$MONITOR.TNT$MONITOR_JOURNAL, TNT$EMERGENCY_MOUNT.COM, and TNT$JOURNAL.TNT$TRANSACTION_JOURNAL.

  3. Edit the file SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]SYLOGICALS.COM on each system disk and define logical names that specify the location of the cluster common files.

    Example

    To place the files on $1$DJA15, define logical names as follows:

       $ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXEC TNT$ACS -
    _$ $1$DJA15:[VMS$COMMON.SYSEXE]TNT$ACS.DAT

    TNT$EMERGENCY_MOUNT.COM is created in SYS$SYSTEM or in the directory pointed to by the TNT$ACS logical, if the logical exists.

       $ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXEC TNT$UADB -
    _$ $1$DJA15:[VMS$COMMON.SYSEXE]TNT$UADB.DAT

    $ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXEC TNT$JOURNAL -
    _$ $1$DJA15:[VMS$COMMON.SYSEXE]TNT$JOURNAL.TNT$TRANSACTION_JOURNAL

    $ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXEC TNT$MONITOR -
    _$ $1$DJA15:[VMS$COMMON.SYSEXE]TNT$MONITOR.DAT

    $ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXEC TNT$MONITORJOURNAL -
    _$ $1$DJA15:[VMS$COMMON.SYSEXE]TNT$MONITOR.TNT$MONITOR_JOURNAL
  4. To ensure that the system disks are mounted correctly with each reboot, follow these steps:

    1. Copy the SYS$EXAMPLES:CLU_MOUNT_DISK.COM file to the [VMS$COMMON.SYSMGR] directory, and edit the file for your configuration.

    2. Edit SYLOGICALS.COM and include commands to mount, with the appropriate volume label, the system disk containing the shared files.

      Example

      If the system disk is $1$DJA16, include the following command:

         $  @SYS$SYSDEVICE:[VMS$COMMON.SYSMGR]CLU_MOUNT_DISK.COM -
      _$ $1$DJA16: volume-label

Starting the Server on Other Nodes

If you plan to run OpenVMS Management Station on more than one node in an OpenVMS Cluster without rebooting, you need to start the software on those nodes.

Use SYSMAN to start the server as follows:

   $ @SYS$STARTUP:TNT$STARTUP.COM

Or you can log in to each node that shares the SYS$COMMON: directory and enter the following command:

   $ @SYS$STARTUP:TNT$STARTUP.COM

If you are performing an upgrade or a reinstallation and OpenVMS Management Station is already running on the node, add the RESTART parameter to the startup command, as follows:

   $ @SYS$STARTUP:TNT$STARTUP.COM RESTART

Error Log Information

OpenVMS Management Station writes error log information to the file TNT$SERVER_ERROR.LOG. This error log is created in the SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSEXE] directory. If you start the OpenVMS Management Station server on multiple nodes in a cluster, which is recommended, multiple server error logs are generated.

Updating the Printer and Storage Database

When you install OpenVMS Management Station, the installation starts the OpenVMS Management Station server on the installation node. If this installation is an upgrade, the server converts the existing OpenVMS Management Station database to the latest V3.* format. If this is a new installation, the server creates an initial version of the database file TNT$ACS.DAT and starts the update functions automatically.

To complete the database, start the OpenVMS Management Station server on each node in your cluster. The instances of the server communicate with each other to determine device, queue, and volume information, and the server must be running on each node for this communication to take place.

Editing the System Files

To start the OpenVMS Management Station server from your system startup files, insert one of the following commands into your system startup procedures (probably SYS$MANAGER:SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM) after both the Queue Manager and network are started but immediately before the ENABLE AUTOSTART/QUEUES command.

NOTE: Remove any other invocations of TNT$STARTUP you might have added in previous releases of the OpenVMS Management Station.

OpenVMS Management Station cannot start until the network has started. If you start your network using a batch process, OpenVMS Management Station might start before the batch process completes and the network is started.

CommandParameter 1Parameter 2Description

@TNT$STARTUP

blank

n/a

Starts the server. Does not start printer queues or mount volumes.

@TNT$STARTUP

RESTART

n/a

Shuts down a running server, then starts the server. Does not start printer queues or mount volumes.

@TNT$STARTUP

BOOT

blank

Starts the server. Starts any printer queues that are not yet started and are managed by OpenVMS Management Station. Does not mount volumes managed by OpenVMS Management Station.

@TNT$STARTUP

BOOT

ALL

Starts the server. Starts any printer queues that are not yet started and are managed by OpenVMS Management Station. Mounts any volumes that are not yet mounted and are managed by OpenVMS Management Station.

@TNT$STARTUP

BOOT

PRINTERS

Starts the server. Starts any printer queues that are not yet started and are managed by OpenVMS Management Station. Does not mount volumes managed by OpenVMS Management Station.

@TNT$STARTUP

BOOT

STORAGE

Starts the server. Mounts any volumes that are not yet mounted and are managed by OpenVMS Management Station. Does not start any printer queues.

Note that the effect of TNT$STARTUP BOOT, with no second parameter, has not changed from earlier releases. This command starts any printer queues that are not yet started and are managed by OpenVMS Management Station, but it does not mount any volumes.

Add the following command line to the system shutdown file, SYS$MANAGER:SYSHUTDWN.COM:

   $ @SYS$STARTUP:TNT$SHUTDOWN.COM

Controlling the Printer and Storage Environment

It is not necessary to remove your existing queue startup and volume mount DCL procedures immediately. The OpenVMS Management Station server recognizes that you started a queue or mounted a volume with your command procedures and assumes that you want it that way.

As you become familiar with the server's management ability, you can remove or comment out the DCL commands and procedures that perform these tasks and allow OpenVMS Management Station to control your printer and storage environment.

In addition, the OpenVMS Management Station server periodically (every 24 hours) generates a DCL command procedure that includes the commands to mount all of the volumes managed by OpenVMS Management Station. If you are familiar with DCL, you can look at this command procedure to see what actions OpenVMS Management Station performs for you. In the event of an unforeseen system problem or a corrupt server database (SYS$SYSTEM:TNT$ACS.DAT), you can use this command procedure to mount the volumes.

The name of the generated file is TNT$EMERGENCY_MOUNT.COM. TNT$EMERGENCY_MOUNT.COM is created in SYS$SYSTEM or in the directory pointed to by the TNT$ACS logical, if that logical name exists.

The OpenVMS Management Station server limits TNT$EMERGENCY_MOUNT.COM to seven versions.

Keeping Your Printer Environment Up to Date

The OpenVMS Management Station server installation creates a file named SYS$STARTUP:TNT$UTILITY.COM. This command procedure scans the OpenVMS system and updates the database of known printers, queues, and related devices.

When Is the Database Updated?

The database is updated:

  • As part of the OpenVMS Management Station installation.

  • When you specifically start TNT$UTILITY.COM.

  • At periodic intervals as a server background thread. Two logical names control how often this server thread runs:

    Logical NameDescription

    TNT$PRINTER_RECON_INTERVAL

    How often the thread should run, in minutes, from when the server was last started on this node. If you do not define this logical, the default value is 1440 minutes (24 hours).

    TNT$PRINTER_RECON_INTERVAL_MIN

    The minimum number of minutes that must elapse before the thread should run again, starting from when the database was last updated. If you do not define this logical, the default value is 60 minutes (1 hour).

You can think of these logicals as meaning “run the thread this often (TNT$PRINTER_RECON_INTERVAL), but make sure this much time has elapsed since the database was last updated (TNT$PRINTER_RECON_INTERVAL_MIN).”

Because you can run TNT$UTILITY.COM yourself, and because the OpenVMS Management Station server also updates the database, the TNT$PRINTER_RECON_INTERVAL_MIN logical prevents the database from being updated more frequently than is actually needed.

If you want to change the defaults for one of these logicals, define the logical on all nodes on which the OpenVMS Management Station server is running.

Do You Need to Run TNT$UTILITY.COM Manually?

If you use OpenVMS Management Station to make all of the changes to your printer configuration, the configuration files are immediately modified to reflect the changes and you probably do not need to specifically run the TNT$UTILITY.COM procedure.

However, if you or someone else uses DCL to make a change—for example, if you use the DELETE /QUEUE command to delete a queue—the configuration files are not synchronized. In this case, the OpenVMS Management Station client advises you to run the TNT$UTILITY.COM procedure to resynchronize the database.

Run the following procedure on one node in the cluster to make the database match your system:

   $ @SYS$STARTUP:TNT$UTILITY.COM UPDATE PRINTERS

For example, if you or someone else uses DCL to delete a queue, you need to delete that queue from the database. The TNT$UTILITY.COM procedure assumes that your system is set up and running the way that you want it to, so you should fix any problems before you run TNT$UTILITY.COM.

What Are the Requirements for Running TNT$UTILITY.COM?

You need the SYSNAM privilege to run TNT$UTILITY.COM.

The TNT$UTILITY.COM procedure connects to the OpenVMS Management Station server on the current OpenVMS system to determine device and queue information. Therefore, the OpenVMS Management Station server must be running on the node where you run TNT$UTILITY.COM.

The OpenVMS Management Station server then connects to the other OpenVMS Management Station servers in the OpenVMS Cluster to determine device and queue information. It is generally a good idea to keep the OpenVMS Management Station server running on the other nodes in an OpenVMS Cluster to keep the database up to the minute.

However, if the OpenVMS Management Server is not able to connect to the OpenVMS Management Station server on a given node, it uses the known information about that OpenVMS node from the database. That is, in the absence of a valid connection to that OpenVMS node, the information in the database is assumed to be correct.

Keeping Your Storage Environment Up to Date

The TNT$UTILITY.COM utility accepts parameters (UPDATE STORAGE) to update the storage database. However, the storage database is updated dynamically every time you use the OpenVMS Management Station client to perform a storage management operation. Therefore, you do not need to run TNT$UTILITY.COM to update the storage database.

Enabling Disk Quotas

Before installing OpenVMS Management Station, you might have disabled disk quotas on the SYSTEM disk. If so, reenable the quotas and then rebuild to update quota information by entering the following commands:

   $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:DISKQUOTA
DISKQUOTA>ENABLE
DISKQUOTA>REBUILD
DISKQUOTA>EXIT

Caching Storage Configuration Data

OpenVMS Management Station uses two logical names to determine how often to refresh cached (in-memory) storage configuration data.

  • TNT$PURGE_CYCLE_LATENCY—Determines how often (in seconds) to wait after purging stale device reports before purging again. This value affects how frequently the clusterwide data (maintained by a master server) is updated in memory.

       min = 180
    default = 1800 (30 minutes)
    max = 18000 (5 hours)
  • TNT$LOCAL_SURVEY_LATENCY—Determines the delay (in seconds) from one node-specific device survey to the next. This value is independent of clusterwide surveys requested by the master server when performing a purge.

       min = 6
    default = 60 (1 minute)
    max = 600 (10 minutes)

For both logical names, smaller values result in the OpenVMS Management Station server consuming more CPU cycles in periodic purges or surveys.

If you do not accept the defaults, you might find that larger OpenVMS Cluster systems perform better with values on the high end of the allowed range.

If you do not define these logicals, the OpenVMS Management Station server uses the default values. If you do define these logical names, the values are used only if they are within the accepted range.

Running Third-Party TCP/IP Stacks

TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Version is the only supported TCP/IP stack. Additional stacks have not been tested. However, TCP/IP stacks that are 100 percent compliant with the QIO interface for TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS should also work. (Contact your TCP/IP vendor for additional information and support issues.)

For the best chance of success, check the following:

  • Make sure that the QIO service (for example, UCXQIO) is enabled.

  • For TCPware (from Process Software Corporation), also make sure that the TCPware UCX$IPC_SHR.EXE is an installed image.

  • Also for TCPware, make sure you are running a version of TCPware that correctly implements a DEC C-compatible socket interface.

Determining and Reporting Problems

If you encounter a problem while using OpenVMS Management Station, please report it to HP. Depending on the nature of the problem and the type of support contract you have, you can take one of the following actions:

  • If your software contract or warranty agreement entitles you to telephone support, call HP.

  • If the problem is related to OpenVMS Management Station documentation, use the Internet address listed in the preface of this manual to send us your comments.

Removing the OpenVMS Management Station Server

When you execute the OpenVMS installation or upgrade procedure, the OpenVMS Management Station server software is automatically installed on your OpenVMS system disk. If this server software is later reinstalled using another kit (for example, a kit downloaded from the Web or a patch kit), you have the option to remove OpenVMS Management Station. If you use the PCSI utility to remove OpenVMS Management Station from the OpenVMS system, the following files are not removed:

  • TNT$ACS.DAT

  • TNT$JOURNAL.TNT$TRANSACTION_JOURNAL

  • TNT$SERVER_ERROR.LOG

  • TNT$UADB.DAT

  • TNT$EMERGENCY_MOUNT.COM

Do not delete these files unless you have already removed OpenVMS Management Station.