COMPAQ Cover Letter for DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0 April 2001 Dear DECram Customer: Compaq Computer Corporation is pleased to provide the DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0 product to our customers. DECram for OpenVMS is software that allows a system manager to create psuedo disks (RAMdisks) that reside in the main memory of OpenVMS systems and improve I/O performance. The operating system can read from and write to the RAMdisk using standard OpenVMS disk I/O operations. This provides high speed access to read-only data such as libraries, fonts, databases, and command files. DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0 can be installed over a previ- ously installed copy of DECram for OpenVMS Version 2.3 on Alpha systems only. WARNING DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0 cannot be installed on a VAX system. If DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0 is removed for any reason, then DECram for OpenVMS Version 2.3 is removed as well. If you wish to continue to run DECram for OpenVMS Version 2.3 for any reason, then you must reinstall it. If this is an initial installation of the DECram product (using OpenVMS Version 7.2-1H1 or higher on an Alpha-based system and DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0) in a clustered environment and all nodes that will be using DECram have a common system disk, then only one installation of the DECram software on the cluster is required. However, for each node in the cluster that will be using the DECram product, a license key must be installed. If you are installing DECram in a cluster, be sure there is only one installation active at any given time. If this is an initial installation of the DECram product (using OpenVMS Version 7.2-1H1 or higher) in a clustered environment and there is no common system disk, then the DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0 software must be installed on each node of the cluster where you want to create a DECram disk. ___________________ + Compaq, VAX, VMS, and the Compaq logo Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. OpenVMS is a trademark of Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P. ++ PostScript is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. If this is an upgrade of a clustered environment from DECram for OpenVMS Version 2.3 to Version 3.0 then, without exception, the DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0 software must be installed on all nodes in the cluster where you want to create a DECram disk. ©2001 Compaq Computer Corporation DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0 is fully supported when installed on any valid and licensed standalone or clustered Alpha system. A minimum of DECram for OpenVMS Version 2.3 is required for any OpenVMS Cluster systems running any version of OpenVMS Alpha or VAX. Multiple DECram devices can be members of a Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS shadow set and can be served by mass storage control protocol (MSCP) or QIO served in an OpenVMS Cluster configu- ration. There are no special hardware requirements to install DECram for OpenVMS. With DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0, the limit on the DECram disk size has been extended to 4,294,967,296 blocks on OpenVMS Alpha systems running Version 7.2-1H1 or higher. Under DECram Version 2.3, the maximum disk size on an OpenVMS Alpha system is 67,108,864 blocks and on an OpenVMS VAX system, disk size is limited to 524,280 blocks. It is possible to create logi- cally contiguous devices geater than either of these limits by creating multiple DECram devices and binding them together. DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0 supports operation in an Adaptive Partitioned Multiprocessing (APMP) environment, also known as Compaq Galaxy Software Architecture on OpenVMS. DECram for OpenVMS Version 2.3 and DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0 are fully compatible and any combination of these two versions can be used in an OpenVMS Cluster. Documentation During the DECram for OpenVMS installation, the DECram for OpenVMS User's Manual and the DECram for OpenVMS Installation Guide are copied in PostScript (PS), Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and ASCII text (TXT) formats and are placed in the SYS$HELP directory. If you intend to use HTML format for viewing documentation through a browser, all HTML files associated with the Installation Guide (DECRAM_INSTAL_GUIDE) or User's Manual (DECRAM_USER_MANUAL) must be copied to the default directory from which you will view the documents. This ensures the availability and integrity of all associated files needed for properly viewing the documentation. The following are the file names for DECram for OpenVMS Version 2.3 that are copied to the SYS$HELP file: o DECRAM_INSTAL_GUIDE.PS o DECRAM_INSTAL_GUIDE.TXT o DECRAM_DRIVER_MANUAL.PS 2 o DECRAM_DRIVER_MANUAL.TXT The following are the file names for DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.0 that are copied to the SYS$HELP file: o DECRAM_INSTALL_GUIDE.HTML o DECRAM_INSTALL_GUIDE.PDF o DECRAM_INSTALL_GUIDE.PS o DECRAM_INSTALL_GUIDE.TXT o DECRAM_USERS_MANUAL.HTML o DECRAM_USERS_MANUAL.PDF o DECRAM_USERS_MANUAL.PS o DECRAM_USERS_MANUAL.TXT o DECRAM_USERS_MANUAL_001.HTML o DECRAM_USERS_MANUAL_002.HTML o DECRAM_USERS_MANUAL_003.HTML o DECRAM_USERS_MANUAL_CONTENTS.HTML o DECRAM_USERS_MANUAL_INDEX.HTML o DECRAM_INSTALL_GUIDE_001.HTML o DECRAM_INSTALL_GUIDE_CONTENTS.HTML o DECRAM_INSTALL_GUIDE_INDEX.HTML Installation Appendix A of the DECram for OpenVMS Installation Guide provides a sample installation of the software. Compaq recommends that you also review the release notes before you begin to proceed with the installation procedure. Please read the DECram for OpenVMS Installation Guide carefully before starting your installation. 3