DIGITAL Software Product Description ___________________________________________________________________ PRODUCT NAME: Reliable Transaction Router[TM] Version 3.1D SPD 51.04.06 for OpenVMS[R] Note: The Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D for OpenVMS (Al- pha and VAX) Software Product Descriptions are appended to the end of this SPD. DESCRIPTION Reliable Transaction Router (RTR) is fault tolerant transactional mes- saging middleware, used to implement large, distributed applications using client/server technology. This release of Reliable Transaction Router for OpenVMS enables enterprises to deploy distributed Reliable Transaction Router applications on OpenVMS Alpha and VAX systems. RTR Version 3.1D for OpenVMS Alpha and Reliable Transaction Router Ver- sion 3.1D for OpenVMS VAX are fully compatible and interoperable. RTR Version 3.1D for OpenVMS is interoperable with Reliable Transaction Router Version 3.1D for UNIX and with Reliable Transaction Router Ver- sion 3.1D for Windows[TM] 95 and Windows NT. RTR Version 3.1D for OpenVMS is interoperable with Reliable Transac- tion Router Version 2.2D ECO3 (or higher) for OpenVMS, subject to the restriction that within a given facility, all router and server nodes must be homogeneous with respect to Reliable Transaction Router soft- ware version (all Version 2.2D or all Version 3.1D). RTR provides an API for development of distributed applications us- ing languages such as C and C++, with optional all-or-nothing trans- action semantics as well as a message broadcasting capability. The API calls are also available from a command line interface. RTR for Open- VMS provides a reliable, transparent, dynamic message routing system December 1997 AE-Q3B3G-TE Reliable Transaction Router[TM] Version 3.1D SPD 51.04.06 for OpenVMS[R] that includes both a transactional and non-transactional message con- trol system. Reliable Transaction Router transaction management sup- ports two-phase commit of distributed transactions. In addition, Re- liable Transaction Router for OpenVMS implements RTR Version 2 API "wrap- per" routines that allow most existing RTR Version 2 based applica- tions to run without change. Reliable Transaction Router implements automatic software fault tol- erance and failure recovery on the OpenVMS operating system in multin- ode environments by adapting to many kinds of hardware (CPU), commu- nications, application software, and site failures. Automatic failover and recovery of service operates by exploiting redundant or alternate hardware and network links. If alternative hardware or network links are not available, RTR automatically continues service when the CPU or network link becomes available. Reliable Transaction Router applications are developed and deployed using a three-tier client/router/server software model. Client appli- cations call the Reliable Transaction Router "client" software tier, which passes messages to the "router" tier of the software. Messages and transactions are routed reliably and transparently, based on mes- sage content, to the appropriate process(es) in the "server" tier. Server applications typically execute transactions against a database and re- turn results back to clients. A single physical node may run one, two, or three tiers of the RTR client /router/server software model. Each of the three software tiers may consist of one or more nodes. The software model and its content-based routing present a "virtual", rather than physical, network to the ap- plication developer, providing a single view of a distributed client/server environment. This technique allows the application software to be in- dependent of physical hardware (CPU) location, network naming conven- tions, and communications protocol. This facilitates single-node de- velopment, and transparent scalability of applications to complex net- work configurations. 2 Reliable Transaction Router[TM] Version 3.1D SPD 51.04.06 for OpenVMS[R] Reliable Transaction Router software fault tolerant features such as router failover and shadow-server processing provide continuous com- puting services with completion of in-progress transactions despite single or multiple points of failure in the distributed client/server environment. Call-out servers implement user authentication control, and concurrent servers provide dynamic message load balancing for high performance. The high performance transactional messaging is imple- mented as a full-duplex conversation with remote server procedures us- ing real-time flow control techniques. These features generally re- quire no special user application programming logic. The system management interface allows the creation, deletion, and mod- ification of virtual networks (facilities) within a network, and per- mits control of distributed Reliable Transaction Router processes from a single system within the distributed environment. The Reliable Trans- action Router system management interface is used to bind the phys- ical hardware (CPU and communications) to a virtual network namespace and is transparent to the applications software. A monitoring util- ity can be invoked to report application performance information on the local node. Reliable Transaction Router is independent of forms/window management systems and databases. Multiple databases and other resource managers (e.g.; flat-file systems) can be updated within the same distributed transaction. Reliable Transaction Router V3.1D for OpenVMS is intended for distributed applications that require continuous computing services and transac- tion integrity (e.g., trading/money dealing systems, transportation systems, telecommunications systems, and so on). Reliable Transaction Router can also be used for applications that require reliable mes- saging and fault tolerant application control over LANs, WANs or the Internet. Reliable Transaction Router provides the enabling technol- ogy for applications requiring fully distributed client/server mod- els. License Types 3 Reliable Transaction Router[TM] Version 3.1D SPD 51.04.06 for OpenVMS[R] Reliable Transaction Router for OpenVMS has two license types. The Back End license, which provides full client/router/server functionality, is required for nodes configured as routers or servers, and can also be used for nodes configured as clients. The Front End license pro- vides client functionality only, plus a single-node development and testing environment for RTR applications. Back End Features o Provides transparent, content-based transaction routing for client/server applications. o Provides nontransaction based routing (broadcasts) for multiple sub- scription domains within a virtual network. o Allows user-defined partitioned data models (content-based rout- ing) for improved performance of user applications. o Acts as a layer between the application requesters and servers, thus decoupling the end-to-end relationship normally required by user application control. This provides the application developer with a "single" system view of the programming environment. o Ensures atomicity of transactions (all or nothing) by using a two- phase commit protocol for transactional message delivery among one or more application servers. o Offers at-most-once semantics for valid transactions. This includes specially flagged transaction replay to a surviving application server, or a later instantiation of that server on the same or a differ- ent machine on the virtual network. o DECdtm support is provided for use with resource managers supported by DECdtm. When the DECdtm option is invoked by the application pro- gram, the application programmer is not required to be aware of trans- action replays, since Reliable Transaction Router coordinates this directly through DECdtm and the participating resource managers. o Supports multiple (concurrent) servers as well as multithreaded re- questers and servers. 4 Reliable Transaction Router[TM] Version 3.1D SPD 51.04.06 for OpenVMS[R] o Provides disaster protection against site failure by mirroring trans- actions in shadow-server environments. Automatic resynchronization of shadow pairs after recovery is supported. o Maintains performance scaling over a wide range of configurations allowing easy horizontal expansion of both hardware systems and ap- plication software. o Enables automatic failover/failback of application servers on mul- tiple backend systems while remaining transparent to client appli- cations executing on remote system(s). Reliable Transaction Router for OpenVMS can maintain application operation in many instances of single or multiple failure modes in a widely distributed soft- ware/hardware configuration. o Includes system management utilities for online control of virtual networks from any workstation or terminal with the appropriate priv- ileges. Monitoring of statistics, software and hardware states, and clients and servers is provided on a local and remote node basis. o Uses TCP/IP and/or DECnet (DECnet Phase IV or DECnet-Plus) as the underlying transport(s) for the virtual network. o Includes an option to support RTR clients that use the ODBC inter- face. o May be used with the the AltaVista Group Tunnel, supporting secure Internet communication for any RTR connection (client to router, router to backend). o Supports anonymous clients, i.e. allows clients to be configured with wildcard node names. Front End Features o Provides the necessary environment to run Reliable Transaction Router client applications under OpenVMS as part of a Reliable Transac- tion Router virtual network. o Supports transactional and nontransactional (broadcast) messages. o Supports automatic failover to another router in the event of a com- munication link or router failure. 5 Reliable Transaction Router[TM] Version 3.1D SPD 51.04.06 for OpenVMS[R] o Supports Reliable Transaction Router system management operations. o Uses TCP/IP and/or DECnet (DECnet Phase IV or DECnet-Plus) as the underlying transport(s) for the virtual network. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS Any hardware that supports the underlying operating system. Refer to the configuration charts listed in the OpenVMS Operating System Soft- ware Product Description (SPD 25.01.xx) Hardware Support Tables for further information. Disk Space Requirements Disk space required for 50,000 blocks (25 MB) installation: Disk space required for 36,000 blocks (18 MB) use (permanent): These counts refer to the disk space required on the system disk. The sizes are approximate; actual sizes may vary depending on the user's system environment, configuration, and software options. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS o OpenVMS Alpha or OpenVMS VAX Operating System Version 6.1, 6.2, 7.0 or 7.1. OPTIONAL SOFTWARE o Optional software commonly used in developing and deploying Reli- able Transaction Router applications includes programming languages such as C, C++, and database software offered by third-party ven- dors such as Oracle Corporation. o DECnet for OpenVMS, or DECnet-Plus for OpenVMS. (For DECnet-Plus, Version 6.3 ECO5 or higher is required.) 6 Reliable Transaction Router[TM] Version 3.1D SPD 51.04.06 for OpenVMS[R] o Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS, or approved third-party TCP/IP network software. (For Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS, Ver- sion 4.0 or higher is required.) o Applications using the ODBC client interface require an ODBC server process at the RTR backend. A sample RTR ODBC server for Reliable Transaction Router V3.1D for OpenVMS for use with Oracle7 is avail- able from DIGITAL. Refer to the product's Software Product Description for more infor- mation on optional software products and hardware requirements and sup- port. GROWTH CONSIDERATIONS The minimum hardware/software requirements for any future version of this product may be different from the requirements for the current version. DISTRIBUTION MEDIA The software and documentation are available on the Digital CD-ROM Soft- ware Library for OpenVMS. The software and documentation for Alpha systems are also available on a separate CD-ROM supplied as part of the media and documentation kit QA-2AQAA-H8. The software and documentation for VAX systems are also available on a separate TK-50 supplied as part of the media and documentation kit QA-XNKAA-H5. 7 Reliable Transaction Router[TM] Version 3.1D SPD 51.04.06 for OpenVMS[R] ORDERING INFORMATION - ALPHA SYSTEMS Back End License: Software Licenses: QL-2AQA*-** Version 3 and Version 2 Media and Documentation kit: QA-2AQAA-H8. (This is a combined kit containing the media and documentation for both Ver- sion 3.1D and 2.2D for OpenVMS Alpha.) Hardcopy Documentation: QA-2AQAA-GZ (Includes Version 3 and Version 2 documentation.) Software Product Services: QT-2AQA*-** Front End License: Software Licenses: QL-2ARA*-** Version 3 and Version 2 Media and Documentation kit: QA-2AQAA-H8. (This is a combined kit containing the media and documentation for both Ver- sion 3.1D and 2.2D for OpenVMS Alpha.) Hardcopy Documentation: QA-2AQAA-GZ Software Product Services: QT-2ARA*-** * Denotes variant fields. For additional information on available li- censes, services, and media, refer to the appropriate price book. ORDERING INFORMATION - VAX SYSTEMS Back End License: Software Licenses: QL-XNKA*-** Version 3 and Version 2 Media and Documentation kit: QA-XNKAA-H5. (This is a combined kit containing the media and documentation for both Ver- sion 3.1B and 2.2D for OpenVMS VAX.) Software Documentation: QA-XNKAA-GZ (Includes Version 3 and Version 2 documentation.) Software Product Services: QT-XNKA*-** 8 Reliable Transaction Router[TM] Version 3.1D SPD 51.04.06 for OpenVMS[R] Front End License: Software Licenses: QL-XNLA*-** Version 3 and Version 2 Media and Documentation kit: QA-XNKAA-H5. (This is a combined kit containing the media and documentation for both Ver- sion 3.1B and 2.2D for OpenVMS VAX.) Software Documentation: QA-XNKAA-GZ Software Product Services: QT-XNKA*-** * Denotes variant fields. For additional information on available li- censes, services, and media, refer to the appropriate price book. SOFTWARE LICENSING This software is furnished only under a license. For more information about Digital's licensing terms and policies, contact your local Dig- ital office. License Management Facility Support for OpenVMS: This software supports the OpenVMS Operating System License Manage- ment Facility. Back End License: License units for this product are allocated on a CPU-capacity basis. Front End License: License units for this product are allocated on a CPU-capacity basis. SOFTWARE PRODUCT SERVICES A variety of service options are available from Digital. For more in- formation, contact your local Digital office. 9 Reliable Transaction Router[TM] Version 3.1D SPD 51.04.06 for OpenVMS[R] SOFTWARE WARRANTY Warranty for this software product is provided by Digital with the pur- chase of a license for the product as defined in the Software Warranty Addendum of this SPD. The above information is valid at time of release. Please contact your local Digital office for the most up-to-date information. © 1997 Digital Equipment Corporation. All rights reserved. [R] Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation. [R] UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Ltd. [TM] Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. [TM] The DIGITAL Logo, Alpha AXP, AXP, CI, DEC, DECADMIRE, DECnet, Digital, OpenVMS, Reliable Transaction Router, TK, ULTRIX, VAX, and VMScluster are trademarks of Digital Equipment Cor- poration. 10 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 51.04.04 for OpenVMS Alpha DIGITAL Software Product Description ___________________________________________________________________ PRODUCT NAME: Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 51.04.04 for OpenVMS Alpha DESCRIPTION Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D for OpenVMS Alpha can be li- censed for either full function operation or to work only as a client. It is a reliable, transparent message routing system that includes both a transactional and a nontransactional message control system. Reli- able Transaction Router implements automatic software fault tolerance and failure recovery on the OpenVMS Operating System by adapting to hardware (CPU), communications, and application software failures. Re- liable Transaction Router provides users with the ability to easily partition multiple application programs over DECnet local area net- works (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). Ease of development fea- tures include both a Requester (Client)/Server design environment, with optional all-or-nothing transaction semantics, as well as a message broadcasting capability. Reliable Transaction Router implements vir- tual, rather than physical networks, which provide the application de- veloper with a "single view" of a distributed client/server environ- ment. This technique allows the application software to be indepen- dent of physical hardware (CPU) location, network naming conventions, and communications protocol. Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D for OpenVMS Alpha is fully compatible and interoperable with Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D for OpenVMS VAX. Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D appli- cations developed on OpenVMS Alpha can be recompiled for execution on OpenVMS VAX. Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D applications can be deployed in networks and VMScluster systems containing a combina- tion of VAX and Alpha nodes. Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D 11 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 51.04.04 for OpenVMS Alpha for OpenVMS Alpha is also backward compatible with Reliable Transac- tion Router Version 2.x for OpenVMS Alpha (note: this does not apply to monitoring of remote nodes). Reliable Transaction Router is implemented by providing the program- mer with eight system services to develop distributed applications. This call interface conforms to the OpenVMS calling standard. The Reliable Transaction Router call interface functions are also made available at the Digital Command Language (DCL) level in both their synchronous and asynchronous forms. Reliable Transaction Router provides application software fault tol- erant features such as shadow-server processing, standby-server pro- cessing, and call-out servers to implement user authentication con- trol, as well as concurrent servers with dynamic message load balanc- ing for high performance. The high performance transactional messag- ing is implemented as a full-duplex, conversational remote procedure call (RPC) using real-time flow control techniques. These features gen- erally require no special user application programming logic. The System Management interface allows the dynamic creation, deletion, modification, and monitoring of multiple, independent virtual networks within a network. In addition, the monitoring utility can be invoked from any system, with suitable privileges, to gather and report dis- tributed application performance statistics. The Reliable Transaction Router System Management interface is used to bind the physical hard- ware (CPU and communications) to a virtual network namespace and is completely transparent to the application software. Several levels of physical and logical security can be controlled via the System Man- agement interface. Additional security is provided at runtime through the Reliable Transaction Router call interface. Reliable Transaction Router is both forms/window management systems and database independent. Application server features allow transaction- consistent access to Digital and non-Digital database products within the same networkwide distributed transaction. 12 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 51.04.04 for OpenVMS Alpha Reliable Transaction Router is primarily intended for production sys- tems in large distributed environments that require frontend forms in- dependence and backend server database independence (e.g., trading/money dealing systems, telecommunications systems, and so forth). Reliable Transaction Router can also be used in general distributed systems that require reliable messaging and fault tolerant application control over LANs and/or WANs. Reliable Transaction Router provides the enabling technology for applications requiring fully distributed client/server models rather than a distributed database model. Full Function Features o Provides transparent, content-based transaction routing for client/server applications in a distributed system. o Provides nontransaction based routing (broadcasts) for up to 32 sub- scription domains within a virtual network. Subscription is based on alphanumeric names within a flexible addressing scheme that in- cludes wildcarding. o Allows user-defined partitioned data models (content-based rout- ing) for improved performance of user applications in a LAN and/or WAN. o Acts as a layer between the application requesters and servers thus decoupling the end-to-end relationship normally required by user application control. This provides the application developer with a "single" system view of the programming environment over multi- ple hardware systems located on a LAN and/or WAN. o Ensures atomicity of transactions (all or nothing) by using a two- phase commit protocol to guarantee conversational message deliv- ery among one or more application servers. o Offers at-most-once semantics for valid transactions. This includes specially flagged transaction replay to a surviving application server, or a later instantiation of that server on the same or a differ- ent machine on the virtual network. In addition, DECdtm support is provided for use with resource managers supported by DECdtm. When 13 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 51.04.04 for OpenVMS Alpha the DECdtm option is invoked by the application program, the ap- plication programmer is not required to be aware of transaction re- plays, since Reliable Transaction Router coordinates this directly through DECdtm and the participating resource managers. o Provides disaster protection and recovery (e.g., site failure) au- tomatically by mirroring transactions in shadow-server environments. o Supports multiple (concurrent) servers as well as multithreaded re- questers and/or servers. o Maintains near-linear performance scaling over a wide range of con- figurations allowing easy horizontal expansion of both hardware sys- tems and application software. o Enables transparent and automatic failover/failback of application servers on multiple backend systems within a VMScluster while re- maining transparent to application requesters executing on remote frontend system(s). Reliable Transaction Router can maintain ap- plication operation in many instances of single or multiple fail- ure modes in a widely distributed software/hardware configuration. o Includes system management utilities for online monitoring and sys- tem control of virtual networks from any workstation or terminal with the appropriate privileges. This feature includes the moni- toring of statistics, software and hardware states, requesters/servers, and system manager control of distributed Reliable Transaction Router applications. o Provides a synchronous as well as asynchronous DCL interface to all Reliable Transaction Router system services. This feature is in- tended to facilitate application prototyping and debugging. o Uses DECnet as the underlying transport for the virtual network. o Supports the connection of a number of remote client products with the remote client handler feature. These remote client products im- plement a subset of the Reliable Transaction Router architecture. Connection to these types of clients is available using DECnet and /or TCP/IP. The remote client handler acts as a gateway between the remote client application and the application server on the vir- tual network. 14 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 51.04.04 for OpenVMS Alpha Client Features o Provides the necessary environment to run Reliable Transaction Router client applications under OpenVMS as part of an Reliable Transac- tion Router virtual network. o Supports full automatic failover to another router in the event of communications link failure. o Supports all OpenVMS calling methods (asynchronous and synchronous) and DCL interfaces. o Supports transactional and nontransactional (broadcast) messages. o Supports all Reliable Transaction Router system management oper- ations. o Uses DECnet as the underlying transport for the virtual network. o Supports the remote client handler for DECnet and TCP/IP connec- tions. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS Processors Supported Alpha: DEC 2000 Model 300, DEC 2000 Model 500, Digital 2100 Model A500MP, Digital 2100 Model A600MP, 15 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 51.04.04 for OpenVMS Alpha DEC 3000 Model 300, DEC 3000 Model 300L, DEC 3000 Model 300LX, DEC 3000 Model 400, DEC 3000 Model 400S, DEC 3000 Model 500, DEC 3000 Model 500S, DEC 3000 Model 500X, DEC 3000 Model 600, DEC 3000 Model 600S, DEC 3000 Model 700, DEC 3000 Model 800, DEC 3000 Model 800S DEC 3000 Model 900 DEC 4000 Model 600, DEC 4000 Model 700 Series DEC 7000 Model 600 Series DEC 10000 Model 600 Series AlphaStation 200, 250 AlphaServer 400, 1000, 2000, 2100, 8200, 8400 Disk Space Requirements Disk space required for 40,000 blocks installation: (20 MB) Disk space required for 24,000 blocks use (permanent): (12 MB) 16 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 51.04.04 for OpenVMS Alpha These counts refer to the disk space required on the system disk. The sizes are approximate; actual sizes may vary depending on the user's system environment, configuration, and software options. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS o OpenVMS Alpha Operating System Version 6.1 or higher. o DECnet/OSI for OpenVMS Alpha Version 6.1 (note that Reliable Trans- action Router support of DECnet/OSI is provided through use of syn- onyms, but does not include longname support). OPTIONAL SOFTWARE o This layered product is fully supported when installed on any valid and licensed VMScluster configuration. o The following Remote Client products are supported by this prod- uct: - Reliable Transaction Router Client Version 1.1 for DOS and Win- dows[TM] - Reliable Transaction Router for ULTRIX V1.0-1 o Nodes running Reliable Transaction Router V2.2D for OpenVMS Alpha can exchange messages and interoperate with nodes running Reliable Transaction Router V3.1 for Digital UNIX[R], which are configured within the same Reliable Transaction Router virtual network. Con- figuration guidelines and restrictions are provided with the Re- lease Notes for Reliable Transaction Router Version 3.1 for Dig- ital UNIX. o DECADMIRE for OpenVMS supports rapid application development of Re- liable Transaction Router applications. 17 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 51.04.04 for OpenVMS Alpha o Optional software commonly used in developing and deploying Reli- able Transaction Router applications includes programming languages such as C, and database software such as Rdb, DBMS, or other database software offered by third-party software vendors such as Oracle[R] Corporation. GROWTH CONSIDERATIONS The minimum hardware and software requirements for any future version of this product may be different from the requirements for the cur- rent version. DISTRIBUTION MEDIA This software and documentation are available on the Digital CD-ROM Software Library for OpenVMS Alpha. The software documentation is also available in hard-copy format. ORDERING INFORMATION Full Function: Software Licenses: QL-2AQA*-** Software Media: QA-03XAA-H8 Hardcopy Documentation: QA-2AQAA-GZ Software Product Services: QT-2AQA*-** Client: Software Licenses: QL-2ARA*-** Software Media: QA-03XAA-H8 Hardcopy Documentation: QA-2AQAA-GZ Software Product Services: QT-2ARA*-** * Denotes variant fields. For additional information on available li- censes, services, and media, refer to the appropriate price book. 18 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 51.04.04 for OpenVMS Alpha SOFTWARE LICENSING This software is furnished only under a license. For more information about Digital's licensing terms and policies, contact your local Dig- ital office. License Management Facility Support This layered product supports the OpenVMS License Management Facil- ity. Full Function: License units for this product are allocated on an Unlimited System Use basis. Client: License units for this product are allocated on an Unlimited System Use basis. For more information on the License Management Facility, refer to the OpenVMS Alpha Operating System Software Product Description (SPD 41.87.xx) or the OpenVMS Alpha Operating System documentation. SOFTWARE PRODUCT SERVICES A variety of service options are available from Digital. For more in- formation, contact your local Digital office. SOFTWARE WARRANTY Warranty for this software product is provided by Digital with the pur- chase of a license for the product as defined in the Software Warranty Addendum of this SPD. The above information is valid at time of release. Please contact your local Digital office for the most up-to-date information. 19 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 51.04.04 for OpenVMS Alpha [R] Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation. [R] UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Ltd. [TM] Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. [TM] The DIGITAL Logo, Alpha AXP, AXP, CI, DEC, DECADMIRE, DECnet, Digital, MicroVAX, OpenVMS, Reliable Transaction Router, TK, ULTRIX, VAX, VAXcluster, VAXft, VAXserver, VAXstation, and VMScluster are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. © 1996 Digital Equipment Corporation. All rights reserved. 20 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX DIGITAL Software Product Description ___________________________________________________________________ PRODUCT NAME: Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX DESCRIPTION Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D for OpenVMS VAX can be li- censed for either full function operation or to work only as a client. It is a reliable, transparent message routing system that includes both a transactional and a nontransactional message control system. Reli- able Transaction Router implements automatic software fault tolerance and failure recovery on the OpenVMS operating system by adapting to hardware (CPU), communications, and application software failures. Re- liable Transaction Router provides users with the ability to easily partition multiple application programs over DECnet local area net- works (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). Ease of development fea- tures include both a Requester (Client)/Server design environment, with optional all-or-nothing transaction semantics, as well as a message broadcasting capability. Reliable Transaction Router implements vir- tual, rather than physical networks, which provide the application de- veloper with a "single view" of a distributed client/server environ- ment. This technique allows the application software to be indepen- dent of physical hardware (CPU) location, network naming conventions, and communications protocol. Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D for OpenVMS VAX is fully com- patible and interoperable with Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D for OpenVMS Alpha. Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D applica- tions developed on OpenVMS VAX can be recompiled for execution on Open- VMS Alpha. Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D applications can be deployed in networks and VMScluster systems containing a combina- tion of Alpha and VAX nodes. Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D 21 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX for OpenVMS VAX is also backward compatible with previous Version 2.x releases of Reliable Transaction Router for OpenVMS VAX (note: this does not apply to monitoring of remote nodes). Reliable Transaction Router is implemented by providing the program- mer with eight system services to develop distributed applications. This call interface conforms to the OpenVMS calling standard. The Reliable Transaction Router call interface functions are also made available at the Digital Command Language (DCL) level in both their synchronous and asynchronous forms. Reliable Transaction Router provides application software fault tol- erant features such as shadow-server processing, standby-server pro- cessing, and call-out servers to implement user authentication con- trol, as well as concurrent servers with dynamic message load balanc- ing for high performance. The high performance transactional messag- ing is implemented as a full-duplex, conversational remote procedure call (RPC) using real-time flow control techniques. These features gen- erally require no special user application programming logic. The System Management interface allows the dynamic creation, deletion, modification, and monitoring of multiple, independent virtual networks within a network. In addition, the monitoring utility can be invoked from any system, with suitable privileges, to gather and report dis- tributed application performance statistics. The Reliable Transaction Router System Management interface is used to bind the physical hard- ware (CPU and communications) to a virtual network namespace and is completely transparent to the application software. Several levels of physical and logical security can be controlled via the System Man- agement interface. Additional security is provided at runtime through the Reliable Transaction Router call interface. Reliable Transaction Router is both forms/window management systems and database independent. Application server features allow transaction- consistent access to Digital and non-Digital database products within the same networkwide distributed transaction. 22 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX Reliable Transaction Router is primarily intended for production sys- tems in large distributed environments that require frontend forms in- dependence and backend server database independence (e.g., trading/money dealing systems, telecommunications systems, and so forth). Reliable Transaction Router can also be used in general distributed systems that require reliable messaging and fault tolerant application control over LANs and/or WANs. Reliable Transaction Router provides the enabling technology for applications requiring fully distributed client/server models rather than a distributed database model. Full Function Features o Provides transparent, content-based transaction routing for client/server applications in a distributed system. o Provides nontransaction based routing (broadcasts) for up to 32 sub- scription domains within a virtual network. Subscription is based on alphanumeric names within a flexible addressing scheme that in- cludes wildcarding. o Allows user-defined partitioned data models (content-based rout- ing) for improved performance of user applications in a LAN and/or WAN. o Acts as a layer between the application requesters and servers thus decoupling the end-to-end relationship normally required by user application control. This provides the application developer with a "single" system view of the programming environment over multi- ple hardware systems located on a LAN and/or WAN. o Ensures atomicity of transactions (all or nothing) by using a two- phase commit protocol to guarantee conversational message deliv- ery among one or more application servers. o Offers at-most-once semantics for valid transactions. This includes specially flagged transaction replay to a surviving application server, or a later instantiation of that server on the same or a differ- ent machine on the virtual network. In addition, DECdtm support is provided for use with resource managers supported by DECdtm. When 23 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX the DECdtm option is invoked by the application program, the ap- plication programmer is not required to be aware of transaction re- plays, since Reliable Transaction Router coordinates this directly through DECdtm and the participating resource managers. o Provides disaster protection and recovery (e.g., site failure) au- tomatically by mirroring transactions in shadow-server environments. o Supports multiple (concurrent) servers as well as multithreaded re- questers and/or servers. o Maintains near-linear performance scaling over a wide range of con- figurations allowing easy horizontal expansion of both hardware sys- tems and application software. o Enables transparent and automatic failover/failback of application servers on multiple backend systems within a VAXcluster while re- maining transparent to application requesters executing on remote frontend system(s). Reliable Transaction Router can maintain ap- plication operation in many instances of single or multiple fail- ure modes in a widely distributed software/hardware configuration. o Includes system management utilities for online monitoring and sys- tem control of virtual networks from any workstation or terminal with the appropriate privileges. This feature includes the moni- toring of statistics, software and hardware states, requesters/servers, and system manager control of distributed Reliable Transaction Router applications. o Provides a synchronous as well as asynchronous DCL interface to all Reliable Transaction Router system services. This feature is in- tended to facilitate application prototyping and debugging. o Uses DECnet as the underlying transport for the virtual network. o Supports the connection of a number of remote client products with the remote client handler feature. These remote client products im- plement a subset of the Reliable Transaction Router architecture. Connection to these types of clients is available using DECnet and /or TCP/IP. The remote client handler acts as a gateway between the remote client application and the application server on the vir- tual network. 24 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX Client Features o Provides the necessary environment to run Reliable Transaction Router client applications under OpenVMS as part of an Reliable Transac- tion Router virtual network. o Supports full automatic failover to another router in the event of a communications link failure. o Supports all OpenVMS calling methods (asynchronous and synchronous) and DCL interfaces. o Supports transactional and nontransactional (broadcast) messages. o Supports all Reliable Transaction Router system management oper- ations. o Uses DECnet as the underlying transport for the virtual network. o Supports the remote client handler for DECnet and TCP/IP connec- tions. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS Processors Supported VAXft: VAXft Model 110, VAXft Model 310, VAXft Model 410, VAXft Model 610, VAXft Model 612 VAX: VAX 4000 Model 100, VAX 4000 Model 200, VAX 4000 Model 300, VAX 4000 Model 400, VAX 4000 Model 500, VAX 4000 Model 600 25 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX VAX 6000 Model 200 Series, VAX 6000 Model 300 Series, VAX 6000 Model 400 Series, VAX 6000 Model 500 Series, VAX 6000 Model 600 Series VAX 7000 Model 600 Series VAX 8200, VAX 8250, VAX 8300, VAX 8350, VAX 8500, VAX 8530, VAX 8550, VAX 8600, VAX 8650, VAX 8700, VAX 8800, VAX 8810, VAX 8820, VAX 8830, VAX 8840, VAX 8974, VAX 8978 VAX 9000 Model 110, VAX 9000 Model 210, VAX 9000 Model 300 Series, VAX 9000 Model 400 Series VAX 10000 Model 600 Series VAX-11/730, VAX-11/750, VAX-11/780, VAX-11/785 MicroVAX: MicroVAX II, MicroVAX 2000, MicroVAX 3100 Model 10/10E, MicroVAX 3100 Model 20/20E, MicroVAX 3100 Model 30, MicroVAX 3100 Model 40, MicroVAX 3100 Model 80, MicroVAX 3100, Model 90, MicroVAX 3300, MicroVAX 3400, MicroVAX 3500, MicroVAX 3600, MicroVAX 3800, MicroVAX 3900 26 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX VAXstation: VAXstation II, VAXstation 2000, VAXstation 3100 Model 30, VAXstation 3100 Model 38, VAXstation 3100 Model 40, VAXstation 3100 Model 48, VAXstation 3100 Model 76, VAXstation 3200, VAXstation 3500, VAXstation 3520, VAXstation 3540 VAXstation 4000 Model 60, VAXstation 4000 Model 90, VAXstation 4000 VLC VAXserver: VAXserver 3100, VAXserver 3300, VAXserver 3400, VAXserver 3500, VAXserver 3600, VAXserver 3602, VAXserver 3800, VAXserver 3900 VAXserver 4000 Model 200, VAXserver 4000 Model 300, VAXserver 4000 Model 500 VAXserver 6000 Model 210, VAXserver 6000 Model 220, VAXserver 6000 Model 310, VAXserver 6000 Model 320, VAXserver 6000 Model 410, VAXserver 6000 Model 420, VAXserver 6000 Model 510, VAXserver 6000 Model 520, VAXserver 6000 Model 610, VAXserver 6000 Model 620, VAXserver 6000 Model 630 Processors Not Supported MicroVAX I, VAXstation I, VAX-11/725, VAX-11/782, VAXstation 8000 27 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX Processor Restrictions A TK50 Tape Drive is required for standalone MicroVAX 2000 and VAXs- tation 2000 systems. Disk Space Requirements Disk space required for 20,000 blocks installation: (10 MB) Disk space required for 12,000 blocks use (permanent): (6 MB) These counts refer to the disk space required on the system disk. The sizes are approximate; actual sizes may vary depending on the user's system environment, configuration, and software options. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS o OpenVMS VAX Operating System V5.5-2-V6.2 (OpenVMS VAX V6.1 required as the minimum version for use of the DECdtm option). o DECnet-VAX (version required by operating system) or DECnet/OSI for OpenVMS V6.1 or greater (note that Reliable Transaction Router sup- port of DECnet/OSI is provided through the use of synonyms, but does not include longname support). OPTIONAL SOFTWARE o This layered product is fully supported when installed on any valid and licensed VAXcluster or VMScluster configuration. o The following Remote Client products are supported by this prod- uct: - Reliable Transaction Router Client Version 1.1 for DOS and Win- dows[TM] 28 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX - Reliable Transaction Router for ULTRIX V1.0-1 o Nodes running Reliable Transaction Router V2.2D for OpenVMS VAX can exchange messages and interoperate with nodes running Reliable Trans- action Router V3.1 for Digital UNIX[R], which are configured within the same Reliable Transaction Router virtual network. Configura- tion guidelines and restrictions are provided with the Release Notes for Reliable Transaction Router Version 3.1 for Digital UNIX. o Optional software commonly used in developing and deploying Reli- able Transaction Router applications includes programming languages such as C, and database software such as Rdb, DBMS, or other database software offered by third-party software vendors such as Oracle[R] Corporation. o DECADMIRE for OpenVMS supports rapid application development of Re- liable Transaction Router applications. o For more information on OpenVMS classes and tailoring, refer to the OpenVMS VAX Operating System Software Product Description (SPD 25.01.xx). GROWTH CONSIDERATIONS The minimum hardware and software requirements for any future version of this product may be different from the requirements for the cur- rent version. DISTRIBUTION MEDIA 9-track TK50 Streaming Tape This product is also available as part of the OpenVMS consolidated soft- ware distribution on CD-ROM. The software documentation for this product is also available as part of the OpenVMS Online Documentation Library on CD-ROM. 29 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX ORDERING INFORMATION Full Function: Software Licenses: QL-XNKA*-** Software Media: QA-XNKAA-** Software Documentation: QA-XNKAA-GZ Software Product Services: QT-XNKA*-** Client: Software Licenses: QL-XNLA*-** Software Media: QA-XNKAA-** Software Documentation: QA-XNKAA-GZ Software Product Services: QT-XNKA*-** * Denotes variant fields. For additional information on available li- censes, services, and media, refer to the appropriate price book. SOFTWARE LICENSING This software is furnished only under a license. For more information about Digital's licensing terms and policies, contact your local Dig- ital office. License Management Facility Support This layered product supports the OpenVMS License Management Facil- ity. Full Function: License units for this product are allocated on an Unlimited System Use basis. Client: License units for this product are allocated on an Unlimited System Use basis. 30 Reliable Transaction Router Version 2.2D SPD 34.30.07 for OpenVMS VAX For more information on the License Management Facility, refer to the OpenVMS Operating System Software Product Description (SPD 25.01.xx) or the OpenVMS VAX operating system documentation. SOFTWARE PRODUCT SERVICES A variety of service options are available from Digital. For more in- formation, contact your local Digital office. SOFTWARE WARRANTY Warranty for this software product is provided by Digital with the pur- chase of a license for the product as defined in the Software Warranty Addendum of this SPD. The above information is valid at time of release. Please contact your local Digital office for the most up-to-date information. [R] Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation. [R] UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Ltd. [TM] Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. [TM] The DIGITAL Logo, Alpha AXP, AXP, CI, DEC, DECADMIRE, DECnet, Digital, MicroVAX, OpenVMS, Reliable Transaction Router, TK, ULTRIX, VAX, VAXcluster, VAXft, VAXserver, VAXstation, and VMScluster are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. © 1996 Digital Equipment Corporation. All rights reserved. 31