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Subject: OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Part 1/9
Summary: This posting contains answers to frequently asked questions about
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which it runs.
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Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.os.vms:389887 comp.sys.dec:98149 vmsnet.alpha:12766 vmsnet.misc:6465 comp.answers:54087

The OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)

ABSTRACT

This document contains answers to many common questions
on the OpenVMS operating system, and covers OpenVMS,
and OpenVMS running on Itanium, Alpha, and VAX
hardware.

Revision/Update Information OpenVMS V7.3-1

Revision/Update Information: Revision Date/June 2003

FAQ

________________________________________________________________

Contents

__________________________________________________________
PREFACE i

__________________________________________________________
OPENVMS FAQ iii

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1-1

__________________________________________________________
1.1 WHAT CORE OPENVMS URLS DO YOU NEED TO KNOW? 1-1

__________________________________________________________
1.2 WHAT ARE THE OPENVMS USENET NEWSGROUPS? 1-2
1.2.1 What is the scope of the comp.os.vms
newsgroup? 1-2
1.2.2 What newsgroups carry VMS-related
information? 1-2
1.2.3 What newsgroup archives are available? 1-3
1.2.4 What is the INFO-VAX mailing list? 1-3
1.2.4.1 How do I subscribe to or unsubscribe from
INFO-VAX?, 1-4

__________________________________________________________
1.3 WHAT IS [N]ETIQUETTE? 1-5

__________________________________________________________
1.4 WHAT OPENVMS USER GROUP(S) ARE AVAILABLE? 1-8

__________________________________________________________
1.5 OPENVMS SUPPORT, QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS? 1-9
1.5.1 Corporate contacts for OpenVMS Business
Issues? 1-9
1.5.2 OpenVMS Ambassadors? 1-10
1.5.3 Contact for OpenVMS Marketing Issues and
Questions? 1-10
1.5.4 Contact URLs for OpenVMS Technical
Issues? 1-10

iii

Contents

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 2 GENERAL INFORMATION 2-1

__________________________________________________________
2.1 WHAT IS OPENVMS? WHAT IS ITS HISTORY? 2-1

__________________________________________________________
2.2 WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VMS AND
OPENVMS? 2-2
2.2.1 How do I port from VMS to OpenVMS? 2-3

__________________________________________________________
2.3 WHICH IS BETTER, OPENVMS OR UNIX? 2-3

__________________________________________________________
2.4 IS HP CONTINUING FUNDING AND SUPPORT FOR
OPENVMS? 2-4

__________________________________________________________
2.5 WHAT OPENVMS CD-ROM DISTRIBUTION KITS ARE
AVAILABLE? 2-4

__________________________________________________________
2.6 IN WHAT LANGUAGE IS OPENVMS WRITTEN? 2-6

__________________________________________________________
2.7 OBTAINING AND TRANSFERING OPENVMS LICENSEES? 2-6
2.7.1 Questions asked by Hobbyist OpenVMS
licensees? 2-7
2.7.2 OpenVMS Educational and CSLG licenses? 2-8
2.7.3 How do I obtain or transfer an OpenVMS
license? 2-8

__________________________________________________________
2.8 DOES OPENVMS SUPPORT THE EURO CURRENCY
SYMBOL? 2-8

__________________________________________________________
2.9 WHY HASN'T OPENVMS BEEN PORTED TO INTEL (IA-32)
SYSTEMS? 2-9

__________________________________________________________
2.10 ARE THERE ANY NETWORK-ACCESSIBLE OPENVMS
SYSTEMS? 2-9

__________________________________________________________
2.11 WHAT VERSION OF OPENVMS DO I NEED? 2-10

iv

Contents

__________________________________________________________
2.12 HOW CAN I SUBMIT OPENVMS FREEWARE? 2-11

__________________________________________________________
2.13 PORTING APPLICATIONS TO OPENVMS? 2-12

__________________________________________________________
2.14 WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO OPENVMS SOFTWARE
DEVELOPERS? 2-13

__________________________________________________________
2.15 MEMORY MANAGEMENT, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, PROCESS
SCHEDULING, ETC? 2-14

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 3 DOCUMENTATION 3-1

__________________________________________________________
3.1 WHERE CAN I FIND ONLINE COPIES OF OPENVMS
MANUALS? 3-1

__________________________________________________________
3.2 WHAT ONLINE INFORMATION AND WEBSITES ARE
AVAILABLE? 3-1

__________________________________________________________
3.3 OPENVMS PRODUCT INFORMATION TELEPHONE
NUMBERS? 3-5

__________________________________________________________
3.4 HOW DO I EXTRACT THE CONTENTS OF A HELP TOPIC TO A
TEXT FILE? 3-6

__________________________________________________________
3.5 DOES OPENVMS MARKETING HAVE AN E-MAIL
ADDRESS? 3-6

__________________________________________________________
3.6 WHERE CAN I LEARN ABOUT OPENVMS EXECUTIVE
INTERNALS? 3-6

__________________________________________________________
3.7 WHERE CAN NEW USERS FIND TUTORIAL INFORMATION ABOUT
OPENVMS? 3-7
3.7.1 Tutorial Websites? 3-7
3.7.2 Books and Tutorials? 3-9

v

Contents

__________________________________________________________
3.8 WHAT OPENVMS MAILING LISTS ARE AVAILABLE? 3-10

__________________________________________________________
3.9 WHAT IS THIS ASK THE WIZARD WEBSITE I'VE HEARD
ABOUT? 3-12

__________________________________________________________
3.10 ACCESS TO THE OPENVMS NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR
DOCUMENTATION? 3-13

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 4 TIME AND TIMEKEEPING 4-1

__________________________________________________________
4.1 UTC VS GMT VS VS UT1/UT1/UT2 TDF? WHAT ARE THESE
ACRONYMS? 4-1

__________________________________________________________
4.2 A BRIEF HISTORY OF OPENVMS TIMEKEEPING,
PLEASE? 4-2
4.2.1 Details of the OpenVMS system
time-keeping? 4-4
4.2.1.1 VAX hardware time-keeping details..., 4-4
4.2.1.1.1 TOY clock, 4-4
4.2.1.1.2 EXE$GQ_SYSTIME, 4-4
4.2.1.1.3 EXE$GQ_TODCBASE, 4-4
4.2.1.1.4 EXE$GL_TODR, 4-4
4.2.1.2 Alpha hardware time-keeping details..., 4-5
4.2.1.2.1 Battery-Backed Watch (BB_WATCH) Chip, 4-6
4.2.1.2.2 EXE$GQ_SYSTIME, 4-6
4.2.1.2.3 EXE$GQ_SAVED_HWCLOCK, 4-6
4.2.1.3 Why does VAX need a SET TIME at least once a
year?, 4-7
4.2.2 How does OpenVMS VAX maintain system
time? 4-7

__________________________________________________________
4.3 KEEPING THE OPENVMS SYSTEM TIME SYNCHRONIZED? 4-8
4.3.1 Why does my OpenVMS system time drift? 4-10
4.3.2 How can I drift the OpenVMS system
time? 4-10
4.3.3 How can I configure TCP/IP Services NTP
as a time provider? 4-11

vi

Contents

__________________________________________________________
4.4 MANAGING TIMEZONES, TIMEKEEPING, UTC, AND DAYLIGHT
SAVINGS? 4-13
4.4.1 How to troubleshoot TDF problems on
OpenVMS? 4-16
4.4.2 Customizing your TDF (Timezone)
Setting? 4-17

__________________________________________________________
4.5 WHY DOES THE SET TIME COMMAND FAIL? HELP MANAGING
DTSS? 4-18

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 5 SYSTEM MANAGEMENT INFORMATION 5-1

__________________________________________________________
5.1 WHAT IS AN INSTALLED IMAGE? 5-1

__________________________________________________________
5.2 ARE THERE ANY KNOWN VIRUSES FOR OPENVMS? 5-2

__________________________________________________________
5.3 HOW DO I MOUNT AN ISO-9660 CD ON OPENVMS? 5-3

__________________________________________________________
5.4 HOW DO I EXTRACT THE CONTENTS OF A PCSI KIT? 5-4

__________________________________________________________
5.5 I'VE FORGOTTEN THE SYSTEM PASSWORD - WHAT CAN I
DO? 5-5

__________________________________________________________
5.6 HOW DO I CHANGE THE NODE NAME OF AN OPENVMS
SYSTEM? 5-8

__________________________________________________________
5.7 WHY DOESN'T OPENVMS SEE THE NEW MEMORY I JUST
ADDED? 5-10

__________________________________________________________
5.8 HOW DO I CHANGE THE TEXT IN A USER'S UIC
IDENTIFIER? 5-10

vii

Contents

__________________________________________________________
5.9 WHAT ARE THE OPENVMS VERSION UPGRADE PATHS? 5-12
5.9.1 OpenVMS Alpha Upgrade (or Update) Paths 5-12
5.9.2 OpenVMS VAX Release Upgrade Paths 5-14
5.9.3 OpenVMS Cluster Rolling Upgrade Paths 5-15
5.9.4 OpenVMS Product Version and Support
Information 5-15
5.9.5 OpenVMS Alpha Terminology 5-16

__________________________________________________________
5.10 WHY DO I HAVE A NEGATIVE NUMBER IN THE PAGEFILE
RESERVABLE PAGES? 5-17

__________________________________________________________
5.11 DO I HAVE TO UPDATE LAYERED PRODUCTS WHEN UPDATING
OPENVMS? 5-18

__________________________________________________________
5.12 HOW DO I CHANGE THE VOLUME LABEL OF A DISK? 5-19

__________________________________________________________
5.13 HOW CAN I SET UP A SHARED DIRECTORY? 5-20

__________________________________________________________
5.14 WHY DO I GET EXTRA BLANK PAGES ON MY HP
PRINTER? 5-21

__________________________________________________________
5.15 DRIVERS AND CONFIGURATION OF NEW GRAPHICS
CONTROLLERS? 5-21
5.15.1 The ELSA GLoria Synergy 5-22
5.15.2 PowerStorm 300, PowerStorm 350 5-23
5.15.3 PowerStorm 3D30, PowerStorm 4D20 5-23
5.15.4 Radeon 7500 5-23

__________________________________________________________
5.16 HOW CAN I ACQUIRE OPENVMS PATCHES, FIXES, AND
ECOS? 5-24

__________________________________________________________
5.17 HOW DO I MOVE THE QUEUE MANAGER DATABASE? 5-25

__________________________________________________________
5.18 HOW DO I DELETE AN UNDELETABLE/UNSTOPPABLE (RWAST)
PROCESS? 5-26

viii

Contents

__________________________________________________________
5.19 HOW DO I RESET THE ERROR COUNT(S)? 5-27

__________________________________________________________
5.20 HOW DO I FIND OUT IF THE TAPE DRIVE SUPPORTS
COMPRESSION? 5-29

__________________________________________________________
5.21 CAN I COPY SYSUAF TO ANOTHER VERSION? TO VAX? TO
ALPHA? 5-29

__________________________________________________________
5.22 HOW DO I DELETE (TIMEOUT) IDLE PROCESSES? 5-32

__________________________________________________________
5.23 DO I NEED A PAK FOR THE DECEVENT (HP ANALYZE)
TOOL? 5-32

__________________________________________________________
5.24 INITIALIZE ACCVIO AND ANSI TAPE LABEL
SUPPORT? 5-33

__________________________________________________________
5.25 HOW DO I RECOVER FROM INSVIRMEM ERRORS? 5-33

__________________________________________________________
5.26 HOW CAN I PREVENT A SERIAL TERMINAL LINE FROM
INITIATING A LOGIN? 5-34

__________________________________________________________
5.27 HOW DOES PCSI USE THE IMAGE BUILD_IDENT
FIELD? 5-34

__________________________________________________________
5.28 HOW CAN I TELL WHAT SOFTWARE (AND VERSION) IS
INSTALLED? 5-36

__________________________________________________________
5.29 WHAT FILE CHECKSUM TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE FOR
OPENVMS? 5-37

__________________________________________________________
5.30 WHAT (AND WHERE) IS THE OPENVMS MANAGEMENT
STATION? 5-37

__________________________________________________________
5.31 HOW TO DETERMINE CURRENT DISK FRAGMENTATION
LEVEL? 5-37

ix

Contents

__________________________________________________________
5.32 SYSBOOT-I-FILENOTLOC, UNABLE TO LOCATE
SYS$CPU_ROUTINES? 5-38

__________________________________________________________
5.33 HOW CAN I CUSTOMIZE THE DCPS DEVICE CONTROL FOR A
NEW PRINTER? 5-38

__________________________________________________________
5.34 WHY DO $GETDEV MOUNTCNT AND SHOW DEVICE MOUNT COUNTS
DIFFER? 5-40

__________________________________________________________
5.35 WHAT SOFTWARE IS NEEDED FOR POSTSCRIPT
PRINTERS? 5-40

__________________________________________________________
5.36 HOW DO I REMOVE A PCSI-INSTALLED PATCH (ECO)
KIT? 5-40

__________________________________________________________
5.37 SYSINIT-E, ERROR MOUNTING SYSTEM DEVICE,
STATUS=0072832C 5-41

__________________________________________________________
5.38 RESOLVING LICENSE PAK PROBLEMS? 5-41

__________________________________________________________
5.39 CHANGING THE OPENVMS VERSION NUMBER? 5-43

__________________________________________________________
5.40 HOW TO PREVENT USERS FROM CHOOSING OBVIOUS
PASSWORDS? 5-43

__________________________________________________________
5.41 PLEASE HELP ME WITH THE OPENVMS BACKUP
UTILITY? 5-45
5.41.1 Why isn't BACKUP/SINCE=BACKUP working? 5-45
5.41.1.1 Why has OpenVMS gone through the agony of
this change?, 5-46
5.41.1.2 Can you get the old BACKUP behaviour
back?, 5-46
5.41.2 What can I do to improve BACKUP
performance? 5-46
5.41.3 Why is BACKUP not working as expected? 5-47
5.41.4 How do I fix a corrupt BACKUP saveset? 5-48

x

Contents

5.41.5 How do I write a BACKUP saveset to a
remote tape? 5-50
5.41.6 How to perform a security disk erasure? 5-51
5.41.7 How to enable telnet virtual terminals? 5-51

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 6 INFORMATION ON MAIL 6-1

__________________________________________________________
6.1 MAIL KEEPS SAYING I HAVE NEW MESSAGES, BUT I DON'T.
WHAT DO I DO? 6-1

__________________________________________________________
6.2 HOW DO I SEND OR READ ATTACHMENTS IN VMS
MAIL? 6-1

__________________________________________________________
6.3 HOW CAN I BLOCK SMTP MAIL RELAY SPAM? 6-3

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 7 INFORMATION ON UTILITIES 7-1

__________________________________________________________
7.1 HOW DO I PLAY AN AUDIO CD ON MY WORKSTATION? 7-1

__________________________________________________________
7.2 HOW DO I ACCESS A MICROSOFT WINDOWS FLOPPY DISK FROM
OPENVMS? 7-2

__________________________________________________________
7.3 HOW DO I PLAY SOUND FILES ON AN ALPHASTATION?
DECSOUND DOESN'T WORK. 7-2

__________________________________________________________
7.4 WHY IS DECMIGRATE NOT WORKING WITH FORTRAN? 7-3

__________________________________________________________
7.5 HOW DO I READ IBM EBCDIC TAPES ON OPENVMS? 7-3

__________________________________________________________
7.6 HOW CAN I PATCH AN OPENVMS ALPHA IMAGE? 7-4

xi

Contents

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 8 DCL DETAILS 8-1

__________________________________________________________
8.1 HOW DO I RUN A PROGRAM WITH ARGUMENTS? 8-1

__________________________________________________________
8.2 HOW CAN I CLEAR THE SCREEN IN DCL? 8-2

__________________________________________________________
8.3 USING REPLY/LOG FROM DCL? DISABLING CONSOLE
OPCOMS? 8-2

__________________________________________________________
8.4 HOW DO I GENERATE A RANDOM NUMBER IN DCL? 8-3

__________________________________________________________
8.5 WHAT DOES THE MCR COMMAND DO? 8-4

__________________________________________________________
8.6 HOW DO I CHANGE THE OPENVMS SYSTEM PROMPT? 8-5

__________________________________________________________
8.7 CAN I DO DECNET TASK-TO-TASK COMMUNICATION WITH
DCL? 8-6

__________________________________________________________
8.8 HOW CAN I GET THE WIDTH SETTING OF A
TERMINAL? 8-6

__________________________________________________________
8.9 HOW CAN I SUBSTITUTE SYMBOLS IN A PIPE? 8-7

__________________________________________________________
8.10 USE OF RUN/DETACH, LOGINOUT, AND LOGICAL
NAMES? 8-7

__________________________________________________________
8.11 HOW TO USE ESCAPE AND CONTROL CHARACTERS IN
DCL? 8-8

xii

Contents

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 9 FILES 9-1

__________________________________________________________
9.1 HOW CAN I UNDELETE A FILE? 9-1

__________________________________________________________
9.2 WHY DOES SHOW QUOTA GIVE A DIFFERENT ANSWER THAN
DIR/SIZE? 9-1

__________________________________________________________
9.3 HOW DO I MAKE SURE THAT MY DATA IS SAFELY WRITTEN TO
DISK? 9-2

__________________________________________________________
9.4 WHAT ARE THE LIMITS ON FILE SPECIFICATIONS AND
DIRECTORIES? 9-3

__________________________________________________________
9.5 WHAT IS THE LARGEST DISK VOLUME SIZE OPENVMS CAN
ACCESS? 9-4

__________________________________________________________
9.6 WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM FILE SIZE, AND THE RMS RECORD
SIZE LIMIT? 9-6

__________________________________________________________
9.7 HOW DO I WRITE CD-RECORDABLE OR DVD MEDIA ON
OPENVMS? 9-7
9.7.1 CD and DVD notation, terminology? 9-9

__________________________________________________________
9.8 WHAT I/O TRANSFER SIZE LIMITS EXIST IN
OPENVMS? 9-11

__________________________________________________________
9.9 CAN I USE ODBC TO CONNECT TO OPENVMS DATABASE
FILES? 9-11

__________________________________________________________
9.10 IF MY DISKS ARE SHOWN AS VIOC COMPATIBLE, AM I USING
XFC? 9-12

xiii

Contents

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 10 OPENVMS PROGRAMMING INFORMATION 10-1

__________________________________________________________
10.1 MODULAR PROGRAMMING, FACILITY PREFIXES AND SYMBOL
NAMING? 10-1

__________________________________________________________
10.2 CAN I HAVE A SOURCE CODE EXAMPLE OF
CALLING...? 10-2

__________________________________________________________
10.3 HOW DO I GET THE ARGUMENTS FROM THE COMMAND
LINE? 10-4

__________________________________________________________
10.4 HOW DO I GET A FORMATTED ERROR MESSAGE IN A
VARIABLE? 10-4

__________________________________________________________
10.5 HOW DO I LINK AGAINST SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.STB ON AN ALPHA
SYSTEM? 10-5

__________________________________________________________
10.6 HOW DO I DO A SET DEFAULT FROM INSIDE A
PROGRAM? 10-5

__________________________________________________________
10.7 HOW DO I TURN MY FORTRAN COMMON INTO A SHAREABLE
IMAGE ON ALPHA? 10-5

__________________________________________________________
10.8 HOW DO I CONVERT BETWEEN IEEE AND VAX FLOATING
DATA? 10-6

__________________________________________________________
10.9 HOW DO I GET THE ARGUMENT COUNT IN A FORTRAN
ROUTINE? 10-6

__________________________________________________________
10.10 HOW DO I GET A UNIQUE SYSTEM ID FOR LICENSING
PURPOSES? 10-7

__________________________________________________________
10.11 WHAT IS AN EXECUTABLE, SHAREABLE, SYSTEM OR UWSS
IMAGE? 10-8

xiv

Contents

__________________________________________________________
10.12 HOW DO I DO A FILE COPY FROM A PROGRAM? 10-9

__________________________________________________________
10.13 WHAT IS A DESCRIPTOR? 10-9

__________________________________________________________
10.14 HOW MANY BYTES ARE IN A DISK BLOCK? 10-11

__________________________________________________________
10.15 HOW MANY BYTES ARE IN A MEMORY PAGE? 10-13

__________________________________________________________
10.16 HOW DO I CREATE A PROCESS UNDER ANOTHER
USERNAME? 10-13

__________________________________________________________
10.17 WHY DO LIB$SPAWN, LIB$SET_SYMBOL FAIL IN DETACHED
PROCESSES? 10-14

__________________________________________________________
10.18 WHERE CAN I OBTAIN BLISS, AND THE LIBRARIES AND
SUPPORTING FILES? 10-15

__________________________________________________________
10.19 HOW CAN I OPEN A FILE FOR SHARED ACCESS? 10-17

__________________________________________________________
10.20 HOW CAN I HAVE COMMON SOURCES FOR MESSAGES,
CONSTANTS? 10-17

__________________________________________________________
10.21 HOW DO I ACTIVATE THE OPENVMS DEBUGGER FROM AN
APPLICATION? 10-17

__________________________________________________________
10.22 DEALING WITH ENDIAN-NESS? 10-18

__________________________________________________________
10.23 HOW TO RESOLVE LINK-I-DATMISCH ERRORS? 10-19

__________________________________________________________
10.24 COMPAQ C AND OTHER OPENVMS C PROGRAMMING
CONSIDERATIONS? 10-19
10.24.1 Other common C issues 10-22
10.24.2 Other common C++ issues 10-24

xv

Contents

__________________________________________________________
10.25 STATUS OF PROGRAMMING TOOLS ON OPENVMS VAX? 10-26

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 11 DECWINDOWS 11-1

__________________________________________________________
11.1 HOW DO I LET SOMEONE ELSE DISPLAY SOMETHING ON MY
WORKSTATION? 11-1

__________________________________________________________
11.2 HOW DO I CREATE A DISPLAY ON ANOTHER
WORKSTATION? 11-3

__________________________________________________________
11.3 HOW CAN I GET THE INFORMATION FROM SHOW DISPLAY INTO
A SYMBOL? 11-3

__________________________________________________________
11.4 HOW DO I GET A LOG OF A DECTERM SESSION? 11-4

__________________________________________________________
11.5 WHY DOES THE DELETE KEY DELETE FORWARD INSTEAD OF
BACKWARD? 11-4

__________________________________________________________
11.6 WHY IS DECWINDOWS MOTIF NOT STARTING? 11-5

__________________________________________________________
11.7 HOW DO I SET THE TITLE ON A DECTERM WINDOW? 11-8

__________________________________________________________
11.8 HOW DO I CUSTOMIZE DECWINDOWS, INCLUDING THE LOGIN
SCREEN? 11-8

__________________________________________________________
11.9 WHY DOESN'T XTAPPADDINPUT() WORK ON OPENVMS? 11-10

__________________________________________________________
11.10 WHY DO THE KEYBOARD ARROW KEYS MOVE THE DECWINDOWS
CURSOR? 11-11

__________________________________________________________
11.11 WHY DOES HALF MY DECWINDOWS DISPLAY BLANK? 11-11

__________________________________________________________
11.12 %DECW-W-NODEVICE, NO GRAPHICS DEVICE FOUND ON THIS
SYSTEM? 11-12

xvi

Contents

__________________________________________________________
11.13 HOW CAN I RESET THE WARNING BELL VOLUME? 11-14

__________________________________________________________
11.14 HOW CAN I ALTER THE DECWINDOWS CDE BACKDROP? 11-15

__________________________________________________________
11.15 HOW CAN I ENABLE THE DECWINDOWS TCP/IP
TRANSPORT 11-15

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 12 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 12-1

__________________________________________________________
12.1 WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION ON ESCAPE AND CONTROL
SEQUENCES? 12-1

__________________________________________________________
12.2 DOES DECPRINT (DCPS) WORK WITH THE LRA0 PARALLEL
PORT? 12-3

__________________________________________________________
12.3 HOW DO I CHECK FOR FREE SPACE ON A (BACKUP)
TAPE? 12-3

__________________________________________________________
12.4 SO WHAT HAPPENED TO SYS$CMSUPER? 12-4

__________________________________________________________
12.5 CORRECTLY USING LICENSE PAKS AND LMF? 12-5

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 13 FINDING AND USING SOFTWARE 13-1

__________________________________________________________
13.1 WHERE CAN I FIND FREEWARE/SHAREWARE/SOFTWARE FOR
OPENVMS? 13-1

xvii

Contents

__________________________________________________________
13.2 WHERE CAN I FIND UNIX TOOLS FOR OPENVMS? 13-14
13.2.1 POSIX-compliant versions of POSIX
routines and utilities 13-14
13.2.2 C system and library routines 13-14
13.2.3 X Windows utilities and routines 13-14
13.2.4 TCP/IP Tools and Utilities for OpenVMS? 13-15
13.2.5 The vi text editor 13-15
13.2.6 Various GNU tools 13-16
13.2.6.1 GCC compiler, 13-16
13.2.7 Console Management Options 13-17

__________________________________________________________
13.3 WHERE CAN I GET THE MOZILLA WEB BROWSER? 13-17

__________________________________________________________
13.4 WHERE CAN I GET JAVA FOR OPENVMS? 13-18

__________________________________________________________
13.5 OBTAINING USER INPUT IN DCL CGI SCRIPT? 13-19

__________________________________________________________
13.6 HOW CAN A BATCH JOB GET ITS OWN BATCH ENTRY
NUMBER? 13-19

__________________________________________________________
13.7 HOW DO I CONVERT TO NEW CMS LIBRARIES? 13-20

__________________________________________________________
13.8 WHERE CAN I GET NEW CERTIFICATES FOR NETSCAPE
NAVIGATOR? 13-21

__________________________________________________________
13.9 WHY DOESN'T DCL SYMBOL SUBSTITUTION WORK? 13-22

__________________________________________________________
13.10 WHERE CAN I GET PERL FOR OPENVMS? 13-23

__________________________________________________________
13.11 OBTAINING THE DECMIGRATE (VEST AND TIE)
TRANSLATOR? 13-24

__________________________________________________________
13.12 WHERE CAN I GET ZIP, UNZIP, SELF-EXTRACTING ZIP,
ETC? 13-25

xviii

Contents

__________________________________________________________
13.13 ARE VAX HARDWARE EMULATORS AVAILABLE? 13-26

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 14 HARDWARE INFORMATION 14-1

__________________________________________________________
14.1 WHAT ARE THE OPENVMS DIFFERENCES AMONG VAX, ALPHA,
AND IA-64? 14-1

__________________________________________________________
14.2 SEEKING PERFORMANCE INFORMATION FOR ALPHA (AND VAX)
SYSTEMS? 14-2

__________________________________________________________
14.3 CONSOLE COMMANDS, SERIAL LINES, AND CONTROLS? 14-3
14.3.1 What commands are available in the Alpha
SRM console? 14-3
14.3.2 What does SRM mean? What is PALcode? 14-4
14.3.3 Alpha COM ports and VAX console serial
line information? 14-4
14.3.3.1 Which terminal device name is assigned to the
COM ports?, 14-4
14.3.3.2 Which serial port is the console on the
MicroVAX 3100?, 14-4
14.3.3.3 How can I set up an alternate console on a
VAXstation?, 14-5
14.3.3.4 Please explain the back panel of the MicroVAX
II, 14-5
14.3.4 What are Alpha console environment
variables? 14-6
14.3.5 What are the boot control flag values? 14-7
14.3.5.1 What are the Alpha APB boot flag
values?, 14-7
14.3.5.2 What are the VAX VMB boot flag values?, 14-8
14.3.6 How do I boot an AlphaStation without
monitor or keyboard? 14-11
14.3.7 Downloading and using SRM console
Firmware? 14-11
14.3.7.1 Where can I get updated console firmware for
Alpha systems?, 14-11
14.3.7.2 How do I reload SRM firmware on a half-flash
Alpha system?, 14-12

xix

Contents

14.3.7.3 How do I switch between AlphaBIOS/ARC and SRM
consoles?, 14-13

__________________________________________________________
14.4 WHAT PLATFORMS WILL OPENVMS OPERATE ON? 14-16
14.4.1 on the Alpha Multia? 14-16
14.4.2 on AlphaPC 164LX? AlphaPC 164SX? 14-18
14.4.2.1 on the NoName AXPpci33 system?, 14-18
14.4.3 on the Alpha XL series? 14-19
14.4.4 OpenVMS on the Personal Workstation -a
and -au series? 14-19
14.4.4.1 OpenVMS on the Whitebox Windows-Only series
Alpha?, 14-20
14.4.4.2 OpenVMS and Personal Workstation ATA (IDE)
bootstrap?, 14-21
14.4.5 On the Intel Itanium IA-64 platform? 14-21
14.4.5.1 Where can I get Intel Itanium
information?, 14-22

__________________________________________________________
14.5 WHAT IS THE LEAST EXPENSIVE SYSTEM THAT WILL RUN
OPENVMS? 14-22

__________________________________________________________
14.6 WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ON ALPHA
SYSTEMS? 14-23

__________________________________________________________
14.7 DESCRIBE ALPHA INSTRUCTION EMULATION AND INSTRUCTION
SUBSETS? 14-24

__________________________________________________________
14.8 WHAT IS THE ACCURACY OF THE ALPHA TIME OF YEAR
(BB_WATCH) CLOCK? 14-26

__________________________________________________________
14.9 SO HOW DO I OPEN UP THE DEC 3000 CHASSIS? 14-26

__________________________________________________________
14.10 WHAT IS BYTE SWIZZLING? 14-26

__________________________________________________________
14.11 WHAT IS THE LAYOUT OF THE VAX FLOATING POINT
FORMAT? 14-28

xx

Contents

__________________________________________________________
14.12 WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFO ABOUT VAX SYSTEMS? 14-29

__________________________________________________________
14.13 WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION ON NETBSD FOR VAX
SYSTEMS? 14-29

__________________________________________________________
14.14 WHAT SYSTEM DISK SIZE LIMIT ON THE MICROVAX AND
VAXSTATION 3100? 14-29

__________________________________________________________
14.15 WHAT IS THE ACCURACY OF VAX THE TIME OF YEAR (TOY)
CLOCK? 14-30

__________________________________________________________
14.16 WHAT ARE THE VAX PROCESSOR (CPU) CODES? 14-31

__________________________________________________________
14.17 WHERE CAN I GET SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE SUPPORT
INFORMATION? 14-32

__________________________________________________________
14.18 WHERE CAN I GET HARDWARE SELF-MAINTENANCE SUPPORT
ASSISTANCE? 14-33

__________________________________________________________
14.19 WHY DOES MY SYSTEM HALT WHEN I POWER-CYCLE THE
CONSOLE TERMINAL? 14-33

__________________________________________________________
14.20 CAN I REUSE OLD KEYBOARDS, MICE AND MONITORS WITH A
PC? 14-34

__________________________________________________________
14.21 WHICH VIDEO MONITOR WORKS WITH WHICH GRAPHICS
CONTROLLER? 14-36

__________________________________________________________
14.22 WHERE CAN I GET INFORMATION ON STORAGE
HARDWARE? 14-37

__________________________________________________________
14.23 WHY DOES MY LK401 KEYBOARD UNEXPECTEDLY
AUTOREPEAT? 14-37

xxi

Contents

__________________________________________________________
14.24 PROBLEM - MY LK411 SENDS THE WRONG KEYCODES OR SOME
KEYS ARE DEAD 14-38

__________________________________________________________
14.25 WHICH DE500 VARIANT WORKS WITH WHICH OPENVMS
VERSION? 14-38

__________________________________________________________
14.26 THIRD-PARTY DISK/TAPE/CONTROLLERS/SCSI/WIDGETS ON
OPENVMS? 14-40
14.26.1 Lists of third-party widgets on
OpenVMS? 14-42
14.26.2 Are the 2X-KZPCA-AA and SN-KZPCA-AA LVD
Ultra2 SCSI? 14-43
14.26.3 Resolving DRVERR fatal device error? 14-43

__________________________________________________________
14.27 HOW DO I CONVERT? DISK BLOCKS? KB, MB, GB,
TB? 14-43

__________________________________________________________
14.28 LOOKING FOR CONNECTOR WIRING PINOUTS? 14-45

__________________________________________________________
14.29 WHAT CONNECTORS AND WIRING ADAPTERS ARE
AVAILABLE? 14-47

__________________________________________________________
14.30 WHAT IS FLOW CONTROL AND HOW DOES IT WORK? 14-48

________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 15 INFORMATION ON NETWORKS AND CLUSTERS 15-1

__________________________________________________________
15.1 HOW TO CONNECT OPENVMS TO A MODEM? 15-1

__________________________________________________________
15.2 OPENVMS AND IP NETWORKING? 15-1
15.2.1 How to connect OpenVMS to the Internet? 15-1
15.2.2 Connecting to an IP Printer? 15-1
15.2.3 How do I connect a PostScript printer via
TCP/IP? 15-2
15.2.4 How do I set a default IP route or
gateway on OpenVMS? 15-3

xxii

Contents

15.2.5 How can I set up reverse telnet (like
reverse LAT)? 15-4
15.2.6 Why can't I use PPP and RAS to connect to
OpenVMS Alpha? 15-4

__________________________________________________________
15.3 OPENVMS AND DECNET NETWORKING? 15-4
15.3.1 Can DECnet-Plus operate over IP? 15-5
15.3.2 What does "failure on back translate
address request" mean? 15-5
15.3.3 Performing SET HOST/MOP in DECnet-Plus? 15-6

__________________________________________________________
15.4 HOW TO DETERMINE THE NETWORK HARDWARE
ADDRESS? 15-6
15.4.1 How do I reset the LAN (DECnet-Plus NCL)
error counters? 15-9
15.4.2 How do I install DECnet Phase IV on VMS
7.1? 15-9

__________________________________________________________
15.5 HOW CAN I SEND (RADIO) PAGES FROM MY OPENVMS
SYSTEM? 15-10

__________________________________________________________
15.6 OPENVMS, CLUSTERS, VOLUME SHADOWING? 15-11
15.6.1 OpenVMS Cluster Communications Protocol
Details? 15-11
15.6.1.1 OpenVMS Cluster (SCS) over DECnet? Over
IP?, 15-11
15.6.1.2 Configuring Cluster SCS for path load
balancing?, 15-12
15.6.1.2.1 Cluster Terminology?, 15-12
15.6.1.2.2 Cluster Communications Control?, 15-14
15.6.1.2.3 Cluster Communications Control Tools and
Utilities?, 15-15
15.6.2 Cluster System Parameter Settings? 15-15
15.6.2.1 What is the correct value for EXPECTED_VOTES
in a VMScluster?, 15-16
15.6.2.2 Explain disk (or tape) allocation class
settings?, 15-18
15.6.2.2.1 How to configure allocation classes and
Multi-Path SCSI?, 15-18
15.6.3 Tell me about SET HOST/DUP and SET
HOST/HSC 15-20

xxiii

Contents

15.6.4 How do I rename a DSSI disk (or tape?) 15-21
15.6.5 Where can I get Fibre Channel Storage
(SAN) information? 15-22
15.6.6 How can I split up an OpenVMS Cluster? 15-22
15.6.7 Details on Volume Shadowing? 15-24
15.6.7.1 Does volume shadowing require a non-zero
allocation classes?, 15-24
15.6.7.2 Volume Shadowing MiniCopy vs
MiniMerge?, 15-25
15.6.7.2.1 MiniCopy?, 15-26
15.6.7.2.2 MiniMerge?, 15-26

________________________________________________________________
INDEX

________________________________________________________________
TABLES

1-1 Core Websites 1-1

2-1 OpenVMS Media Kits 2-5

2-2 OpenVMS ECO Kits 2-5

2-3 OpenVMS Source Listings CD-ROM Kits 2-6

2-4 OpenVMS Alpha Version Rule-Of-Thumb 2-11

3-1 OpenVMS Websites 3-2

3-2 Telephone Numbers 3-5

3-3 OpenVMS Tutorial Websites 3-7

3-4 DP Books 3-9

3-5 OpenVMS Mailing Lists 3-10

11-1 X Windows Display Commands 11-1

xxiv

________________________________________________________________

Preface

i

________________________________________________________________

OpenVMS FAQ

This is the OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
posting for the comp.os.vms and comp.sys.dec usenet
newsgroups.

The OpenVMS FAQ is archived in (at least) the following
locations:

o http://www.openvms.compaq.com/

o ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.os.vms/

o comp.answers and news.answers newsgroups

o http://www.faqs.org/

o http://www.google.com/

o http://www.kjsl.com/vmsfaq

o http://eisner.decus.org/vms/faq.htm

Other internet FAQs are generally available in these
locations:

o comp.answers and news.answers newsgroups

o ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/...

o http://www.faqs.org/

o http://www.google.com/

Suggestions and Updates Welcome!

Please send suggestions for changes or for
additions to the FAQ to the FAQ Editor.

Please! No Support Questions!

Please do not send technical questions to the
FAQ Editor. The FAQ editor is not in a position
to answer general questions, nor to provide
support. Rather, please post your questions to
the appropriate newsgroup, or please contact
your support organization. Please also consider

iii

OpenVMS FAQ

reading Section 1.3 before posting to the
newsgroups.

Your understanding in this is greatly
appreciated.

__________________________________________________________
Contributors

Many people have contributed to this FAQ document,
directly and indirectly. In many cases, part or all
of an answer included in the FAQ has been adapted from
one or more postings from the comp.os.vms or other
newsgroup-though individual citations and specific
quotations are generally not included in this FAQ.
(The FAQ editor wishes to thank to all of those folks
who post answers to the newsgroups, and that have
contributed to the contents of this FAQ.)

The following is an incomplete list of the folks that
have contributed directly or indirectly to the contents
of the OpenVMS FAQ. Additions, corrections, and updates
to this list of contributors and to the contents of
the FAQ itself are welcome, and all omissions and
misspellings are unintentional. Thanks to each of the
contributors here, and to all of the folks that have
participated in the FAQ and in the newsgroups.

Paul Anderson, Jason Armistead, Zoltan Arpadffy, John
AtoZ, Bailey, Jeremy Begg, Colin Blake, Ken Blaylock,
Bol, Craig Berry, Mark Berryman, Jim Becker, Verell
Boaen, Bol, Richard Brodie, Robert Alan Byer, Jeff
Campbell, Antonio Carlini, Ken Chaney, Cristy, John
Croll, David J. Dachtera, Robert Deininger, Dale
Dellutri, Leo Demers, Sue Denham, Thomas Dickey,
Eric Dittman, Jim Dunham, Eric, Glenn Everhart, Ken
Fairfield, Yaacov Fenster, Gunther Froehlin, Harry
Garonzik, Derek Garson, John Gillings, Clair Grant,
Hunter Goatley, Ruth Goldenberg, Vance Haemmerle, Ki
Suk Hahn, SHarris, Fletcher Hearns, Phillip Helbig,
Hein van den Heuvel, Stephen Hoffman, Sue Holt, Horn,
Jaf, Leif Jansson, Kevin Jenkins, Henry Juengst, inazu_
k, Geoff Kingsmill, Fred Kleinsorge, Felix Kreisel,
Veli Korkko, Ruslan R. Laishev, Norm Lastovica, p_lee,
Jerry Leichter, Richard Levitte, Steve Lionel, Kerry

iv

OpenVMS FAQ

Main, John E. Malmberg, David Mathog, Dale Miller,
Dick Munroe, Patrick Moreau, Morrison, otis, Keith
Parris, Plass, pvhp, David Rabahy, Stan Rabinowitz,
Mike Raspuzzi, Steve Reece, Aaron Sakovich, Brian
Schenkenberger, Atlant Schmidt, Wayne Sewell, Steven
Shamlian, Sue Skonetski, Scott Snadow, Scott Squires,
stfp, Dave Sweeney, Mike Thompson, Arne Vajh�j, Martin
Vorl�nder, Peter Weaver, William Webb, Williams, Paul
Winalski, Uwe Zinser.

Again, any omission from this list is entirely
unintentional, please notify the FAQ editor of any
omissions, corrections, or updates needed within
this list. And thanks to each of these individuals
for their assistance and for their contributions, and
particularly for sharing their OpenVMS expertise.

__________________________________________________________
The Fine Print

All trademarks, all registered trademarks, and all
servicemarks used or referenced here are the properties
of their respective owner(s) or holders.

The redistribution, reposting and/or the web-serving of
complete and unaltered copies of this FAQ document is
permitted. Other uses only with prior permission.

While the information contained here is believed
correct, the use of any and all information acquired
from this document is entirely at the risk of the
user(s).

Though the editor of this FAQ is an employee of
Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), this posting and
the information contained within are not official
statements of HP.

v

_______________________________________________________

1 Introduction

__________________________________________________________
1.1 What core OpenVMS URLs do you need to know?

If you have no other OpenVMS URLs bookmarked, you
will want to be familiar with the URLs listed in
Table 1-1:

________________________________________________________________
Table 1-1 Core Websites

_______________________________________________________
URL_______Contents_____________________________________

Core OpenVMS Information

http://www.hp.com/products/openvms/

OpenVMS Future Release Contents, Schedules

http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/roadmap/openvms_
roadmaps.htm

OpenVMS and Core Layered Product
Documentation

http://www.openvms.compaq.com/doc/
http://www.openvms.compaq.com:8000/
http://www.openvms.compaq.com/commercial/

Core OpenVMS Support Search Engine URLs, FTP
Patch Area

http://askq.compaq.com/
http://ftp.support.compaq.com.au/pub/ecoinfo/ecoinfo/
ftp://ftp.support.compaq.com/public/vms/vax/...
ftp://ftp.support.compaq.com/public/vms/axp/...

The OpenVMS Freeware

1-1

Introduction

________________________________________________________________
Table 1-1 (Cont.) Core Websites

_______________________________________________________
URL_______Contents_____________________________________

http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/

The OpenVMS Hobbyist

_________http://www.openvmshobbyist.org/________________________

__________________________________________________________
1.2 What are the OpenVMS Usenet Newsgroups?

There are a huge number of newsgroups available, some
of which discuss topics of interest to folks using
OpenVMS operating system. Key among these are the
comp.os.vms newsgroup and the vmsnet.* heirarchy of
newsgroups.

_____________________________
1.2.1 What is the scope of the comp.os.vms newsgroup?

The comp.os.vms newsgroup is the primary newsgroup
for discussion of the HP OpenVMS operating system and
the computer systems on which it runs. Questions about
layered products which run on OpenVMS are also welcome,
though many of them (in particular, language compilers
and database systems) have more specific newsgroups. If
a question has some relationship to OpenVMS, it belongs
in comp.os.vms.

_____________________________
1.2.2 What newsgroups carry VMS-related information?

The vmsnet.* hierarchy is operated by the Encompass
users group (formerly known as DECUS), and contains
various newsgroups of interest, including vmsnet.misc
and vmsnet.alpha.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Besuchen Sie bitte den newsgroup
de.comp.os.vms.

1-2

Introduction

The comp.sys.dec newsgroup carries general discussions
about various HP computer systems, and specifically
systems that were acquired by HP as part of the
acquisition of Compaq, systems which had previously
been acquired by Compaq as part of the acquisition of
Digital Equipment Corporation (DIGITAL).

Also of interest are resources and conferencing systems
including Encompasserve (formerly known as DECUServe),
Ken Farmer's OpenVMS.Org forums, and the Compaq Working
Group folks:

o telnet://eisner.decus.org/

o http://www.openvms.org/

o http://www.compaqworkinggroup.org/

_____________________________
1.2.3 What newsgroup archives are available?

Extensive archives of INFO-VAX mailings and
comp.os.vms postings are archived and available
at ftp://crvax.sri.com/info-vax/. Google also
has extensive newsgroup archives available at
http://www.google.com/.

_____________________________
1.2.4 What is the INFO-VAX mailing list?

INFO-VAX is a mailing list which is bidirectionally
gatewayed to the comp.os.vms newsgroup. This means
that postings to comp.os.vms get automatically sent to
INFO-VAX subscribers and messages sent to the INFO-VAX
list are automatically posted to comp.os.vms. INFO-VAX
can be a useful way to participate in the newsgroup
if you can't access the newsgroup directly through
a newsreader. Note that INFO-VAX is a closed mailing
list, which means that only subscribers may post to it.
Please see Section 1.2.4.1 for information on how to
subscribe, and how you can subscribe such that you can
post from multiple addresses but still receive no more
than one copy of the mailings.

1-3

Introduction

Please remember that propogation delays can and do
vary, meaning that mailings and postings may be delayed
or even lost. It is quite possible that postings
may not be delivered for several days, and that some
postings will appear out of the expected order.

For details on the available archives, please see
Section 1.2.3.

_____________________________
1.2.4.1 How do I subscribe to or unsubscribe from INFO-VAX?

The address for subscription requests is Info-VAX-
Request[at]Mvb.Saic.Com. Subscription requests are
handled automatically by a mail server. This mail
server ignores the subject line and processes each
line of the message as a command.

The syntax for subscribing and unsubscribing, as well
as setting various parameters on your subscription, is:

SUBSCRIBE INFO-VAX (ADD is a valid synonym)
UNSUBSCRIBE INFO-VAX (REMOVE, SIGNOFF, and SIGN-OFF are valid synonyms)
SET INFO-VAX DIGEST (to receive in Digest format)
SET INFO-VAX NODIGEST (to receive each message individually)
SET INFO-VAX NOMAIL (to establish an email address for posting,
though not receiving, mail.)
SET INFO-VAX MAIL (to establish an email address for both posting
and receiving mail.)

The mail server is not case-sensitive; case is
irrelevant. Attempts to fetch copies of the mailing
list are rejected for reasons of confidentiality.
Any message not understood by the mailserver will be
returned entirely unprocessed.

The INFO-VAX moderator can be contacted directly at the
email address Mark.Berryman[at]Mvb.Saic.Com.

If you are on Bitnet, send a mail message containing
the text SUBSCRIBE INFO-VAX to LISTSERVE[at][nearest-
Listserv-system). To unsubscribe, send a message
containing the text SIGNOFF INFO-VAX to the same
Listserv system.

1-4

Introduction

If you are on the Internet in the UK, send a message
containing the word SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE to info-
vax-request[at]ncdlab.ulcc.ac.uk.

__________________________________________________________
1.3 What is [n]etiquette?

Before posting or emailing a question, please use
the available local resources, such as the OpenVMS
manuals, the HELP, and the resources and information
in and referenced by this FAQ. Please use these first.
Also please specifically read the release notes and
(if appropriate) the cover letter for the product you
are using. (The release notes are generally placed in
SYS$HELP:.) Quite often, these simple steps will allow
you to quickly find the answer to your own question-and
more quickly than waiting for a response to question
posted to a newsgroup, too. These steps will save
you time, and will also help ensure you have a good
reputation with the folks that might be included to
answer one of your future questions, a question not
covered in these resources. Put another way, if you do
not want your questions to be ignored in the future-
and please remember that the folks in the newsgroups
do not have to answer your questions-you won't want
to "annoy the natives" by asking a question that has
already been answered far more times more than you
might have realized, or a question whose answer is
readily available had you made a small effort.

When posting, please consider the following
suggestions:

o There is no particularly reliable way to recall,
erase, delete, or otherwise hide a message once it
is emailed or once posted. Once your message has
reached an external email server or multiple news
servers, the entire text is effectively a permanent
fixture of the network. And using the available
search engines, a fixture that is easy to locate and
to correlate.

For details on some of the many available archives,
please see Section 1.2.3.

1-5

Introduction

o Include a valid e-mail address in the text of your
posting or in a "signature" appended to the end.
Reply-to addresses in headers often get garbled.
Anonymous addresses can also simply be ignored, as
fake addresses are regularly used by folks that are
"trolling" and by folks that are spamming. (Though
to avoid spam-harvesting of your email address,
consider adding characters or a field into the
address-but remember to include details around which
characters or fields should be removed or altered if
you decide to be particularly clever here.)

o If you are submitting a question, please be as
specific as you can. Include relevant information
such as processor type, product versions (OpenVMS
and layered products that apply), error message(s),
DCL command(s) used, and a short, reproducible
example of problems. Say what you've tried so
far, so that effort isn't duplicated. Keep in mind
that there's not yet a telepathy protocol for the
Internet. (The more detailed your description, the
better that people can help you with your question.)

o If responding to a posting, include in your reply
only as much of the original posting as is necessary
to establish context. As a guideline, consider that
if you've included more text than you've added,
you've possibly included too much. Never include
signatures and other irrelevant material.

o Please be polite. If the question isn't worded
the way you think is correct or doesn't include
the information you want, try to imagine what
the problem might be if viewed from the poster's
perspective. Requests for additional detailed
information are often better sent through mail
rather than posted to the newsgroup.

o If you have a problem with HP (or any other
vendor's) product, please use the appropriate
support channel. Do not assume that newsgroup
postings will get read, will be responded to by the
appropriate developers, or will be later followed up
upon.

1-6

Introduction

o If you are posting from a web browser, news reader
or if you are posting via email sent to INFO-VAX,
please turn off MIME, vcard, attachments, and other
mechanisms that assume anyone reading the post
has the corresponding capability-use the text-only
option of your web browser, news reader, or mailer.
Usenet is traditionally a text-only medium, and
many comp.os.vms participants will use tools that
have this support disabled, or that do not have this
support. If the message uses MIME or attachments or
such, the text of your message will be buried in a
large pile of gibberish, and some tools will send
multiple copies of the text within a single posting.

o If you find that the postings of a particular user
are uninteresting, annoying, or off-topic, most
newsreaders include a filter or killfile mechanism,
and many mail clients have similar filtering
capabilities. Please do not "flame"-to email or to
post vitriol - any individual that might annoy you,
please enable and filter all of that users postings.
Posting of vitriol and flames will eventually come
back to haunt you. Similarly, readers that decide
that your postings are not worthy of reading will
similarly tend to filter or to killfile all of your
postings. Please play nice, in other words.

Before posting your question to the comp.os.vms
newsgroup or sending your message to the INFO-VAX list,
also please take the time to review available etiquette
information, such as that included in the following
documents:

o ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/usenet/primer/part1

o ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/usenet/faq/part1

o ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/usenet/emily-
postnews/part1

o ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/usenet/writing-
style/part1

o ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/usenet/posting-
rules/part1

1-7

Introduction

This information will document the etiquette of
newsgroups, as well as providing you with the knowledge
the vast amount of newsgroup-related information that
is readily available to you, and where to find it...

Note

Please do not post security holes or system
crashers

Rather, please report these problems directly to
HP. Why? So that HP has a chance to resolve and
distribute a fix before other customer sites can
be affected.

Most folks in the newsgroups are honest and
deserve to know about potential security
problems, but a few folks can and will make
nefarious use of this same information. Other
sites will hopefully return the courtesy,
and will not post information that will
potentially compromise your site and your
computer environment.

__________________________________________________________
1.4 What OpenVMS user group(s) are available?

Encompass, the Enterprise Computing Association,
is a user group comprised of information technology
professionals that are interested in the Enterprise-
oriented products, services, and technologies of
Compaq and of the former DIGITAL. Encompass offers
newsletters, the Encompass website, and offers various
gatherings and related services, including symposia
events and local users group meetings.

Encompass is a descendent of the organization known as
DECUS, the Digital Equipment Computer Users Society.

For more information on Encompass, please visit the
Encompass web site:

o http://www.encompassus.org/

1-8

Introduction

The organization comprised of customers of Hewlett-
Packard Company (HP) that is probably most analogous to
the Encompass organization is Interex:

o http://www.interex.org/

Like Encompass, Interex offers various services
and events of interest to folks that presently work
with and/or that wish to learn about HP products and
offerings. Please see the Interex website for details.

__________________________________________________________
1.5 OpenVMS Support, Questions and Comments?

The following section includes contacts for OpenVMS
Feedback, and information on how to obtain technical
support information.

_____________________________
1.5.1 Corporate contacts for OpenVMS Business Issues?

The following folks are the HP corporate contacts for
OpenVMS business issues, listed in descending order
from Carleton (Carly) Fiorina to the Vice President of
the OpenVMS Engineering organization:

o Carly Fiorina

o Peter Blackmore

o Scott Stallard

o Richard Marcello

o Mark Gorham

These folks will quite obviously respond best to
cogently-worded OpenVMS corporate-level business
issues. These folks are NOT appropriate contacts
for any OpenVMS technical support issues nor for any
OpenVMS technical support requests, nor for any other
non-corporate-related, non-business-related issues.

1-9

Introduction

_____________________________
1.5.2 OpenVMS Ambassadors?

The OpenVMS Ambassadors are senior HP engineers with
advanced technical knowledge and advanced training in
OpenVMS, with detailed knowledge of current and future
OpenVMS releases and product plans, and with contacts
directly with the HP and ISV hardware and software
engineering organizations developing OpenVMS and
OpenVMS hardware platforms, as well as layered products
and tools. Further, Ambassadors are experienced with
integrating HP OpenVMS and application-specific
products and ISV applications to solve specific
business requirements.

OpenVMS Ambassadors are based throughout the world.

Your HP sales representative or HP reseller will be
able connect you with your local OpenVMS Ambassador.

_____________________________
1.5.3 Contact for OpenVMS Marketing Issues and Questions?

Please see Section 3.5.

_____________________________
1.5.4 Contact URLs for OpenVMS Technical Issues?

For technical issues and technical support, please
contact your software support organization, or your
local HP Customer Support Center or HP Reseller. In
North America, you can call 1-800-OK-COMPAQ.

Please remember to review and to bookmark the following
support URLs:

o http://www.openvms.compaq.com/support/

o http://askq.compaq.com/

o http://www.openvms.compaq.com/wizard/

o ftp://ftp.support.compaq.com/public/vms/vax/...

o ftp://ftp.support.compaq.com/public/vms/axp/...

1-10

_______________________________________________________

2 General Information

__________________________________________________________
2.1 What is OpenVMS? What is its history?

OpenVMS, originally called VMS (Virtual Memory System),
was first conceived in 1976 as a new operating system
for the then-new, 32-bit, virtual memory line of
computers, eventually named VAX (Virtual Address
eXtension).

The first VAX model, the 11/780, was code-named "Star",
hence the code name for the VMS operating system,
"Starlet", a name that remains to this day the name
for the system library files (STARLET.OLB, etc.).

VMS version X0.5 was the first released to customers,
in support of the hardware beta test of the VAX-11/780,
in 1977. VAX/VMS Version V1.0 shipped in 1978, along
with the first revenue-ship 11/780s.

OpenVMS was designed entirely within HP and
specifically within the former Digital Equipment
Corporation (DIGITAL). Two of the principal designers
were Dave Cutler and Dick Hustvedt, though with a wide
variety of other contributors. OpenVMS was conceived
as a 32-bit, virtual memory successor to the RSX-
11M operating system for the PDP-11. Many of the
original designers and programmers of OpenVMS had
worked previously on RSX-11M, and many concepts from
RSX-11M were carried over to OpenVMS.

OpenVMS VAX is a 32-bit, multitasking, multiprocessing
virtual memory operating system. Current
implementations run on VAX systems from HP and other
vendors.

OpenVMS Alpha is a 64-bit multitasking, multiprocessing
virtual memory operating system. Current
implementations run on Alpha systems from HP, and other
vendors.

2-1

General Information

Work to port OpenVMS to systems based on the Intel
IA-64 architecture and specifically to the Itanium
Processor Family is presently underway.

For more details on OpenVMS and its features, please
read the OpenVMS Software Product Description at:

o http://www.compaq.com/info/spd/
OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx and/or SPD
41.87.xx.

Additional information on the general features of
various OpenVMS releases, release dates, as well as the
development project code names of specific releases, is
available at:

o http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/os/openvms-
release-history.html

Additional historical information-as well as pictures
and a variety of other trivia-is available in the VAX
20th anniversary book:

o http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/20th/vmsbook.pdf

For information on the FreeVMS project, and on hobbyist
and educational versions of OpenVMS, please see:

o http://www.free-vms.org/

o http://www.openvmshobbyist.org/

o http://www.openvmsedu.com/

Also please see the related software licensing topics
Section 2.7.3, Section 2.7.1, and Section 2.14.

__________________________________________________________
2.2 What is the difference between VMS and OpenVMS?

VMS and OpenVMS are two names for the same operating
system. Originally, the operating system was called
VAX-11/VMS; it changed to VAX/VMS at around VAX/VMS
V2.0. When the VMS operating system was ported to the
Alpha platform, it was renamed OpenVMS, for both VAX
and Alpha (and for the Itanium Processor Family), in
part to signify the high degree of support for industry

2-2

---------------------------- #include <rtfaq.h> -----------------------------
For additional, please see the OpenVMS FAQ -- www.hp.com/go/openvms/faq
--------------------------- pure personal opinion ---------------------------
Hoff (Stephen) Hoffman OpenVMS Engineering hoff[at]hp.com