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This manual presents an overview of high-level programming using open network computing remote procedure calls (ONC RPCs). This manual also describes the RPC programming interface and how to use the RPCGEN protocol compiler to create applications.

Revision/Update Information: This manual supersedes Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS ONC RPC Programming, Version 5.0.

Software Version: Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Version 5.3

Operating Systems: OpenVMS Alpha Versions 7.2-2, 7.3 OpenVMS VAX Versions 7.2, 7.3

Compaq Computer Corporation Houston, Texas

© 2002 Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P.

Compaq, the Compaq logo, Alpha, OpenVMS, Tru64, VAX, VMS, and the Digital logo are trademarks of Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

All other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

Confidential computer software. Valid license from Compaq required for possession, use, or copying. Consistent with FAR 12.211 and 12.212, Commercial Computer Software, Computer Software Documentation, and Technical Data for Commercial Items are licensed to the U.S. Government under vendor's standard commercial license.

Compaq shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. The information in this document is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind and is subject to change without notice. The warranties for Compaq products are set forth in the express limited warranty statements accompanying such products. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty.

ZK6528

This document is available on CD-ROM.

Contents

Index

The Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS product is the Compaq implementation of the TCP/IP networking protocol suite and internet services for OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS VAX systems.

TCP/IP Services provides a comprehensive suite of functions and applications that support industry-standard protocols for heterogeneous network communications and resource sharing.

This Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS ONC RPC Programming manual presents an overview of high-level programming using open network computing remote procedure calls (ONC RPCs). This manual also describes the RPC programming interface and how to use the RPCGEN protocol compiler to create applications.

See the Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Installation and Configuration manual for information about installing, configuring, and starting this product.

Intended Audience

This manual assumes a knowledge of network theory and is for experienced programmers who want to write network applications using ONC RPC without needing to know about the underlying network.

Document Structure

This manual contains eight chapters:

Chapter 1	Provides an overview of high-level programming through remote procedure calls (RPC), and discusses the RPC model and versions, external data representation, and RPC independence from network transport protocol. This chapter is for anyone interested in ONC RPC.
Chapter 2	Describes how to write RPC client and server applications with the RPCGEN protocol compiler. It also provides some information on RPCGEN, client and server programming, debugging applications, the C preprocessor, and RPC language syntax. This chapter also describes how to create routines for external data representation (XDR). This chapter is for programmers who want to use RPCGEN to write RPC-based network applications.
Chapter 3	Describes the RPC programming interface layers, XDR serialization defaults, raw RPC, and miscellaneous RPC features. This chapter is for programmers who need to understand RPC mechanisms to write customized network applications.
Chapter 4	Contains information about the XDR library. This chapter is for programmers who want to implement RPC and XDR on new systems.
Chapter 5	Contains descriptions of each of the RPC subroutine calls commonly used by client programs.
Chapter 6	Contains descriptions of each of the RPC subroutine calls used by both client and server programs to access the Portmapper service.
Chapter 7	Contains descriptions of each of the RPC subroutine calls commonly used by client programs.
Chapter 8	Contains descriptions of each of the XDR subroutine calls.

Related Documents

Table 1 lists the documents available with this version of TCP/IP Services.

Table 1 TCP/IP Services Documentation

Manual	Contents
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Concepts and Planning	This manual provides conceptual information about TCP/IP networking on OpenVMS systems, including general planning issues to consider before configuring your system to use the TCP/IP Services software. This manual also describes the manuals in the TCP/IP Services documentation set and provides a glossary of terms and acronyms for the TCP/IP Services software product.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Release Notes	The release notes provide version-specific information that supersedes the information in the documentation set. The features, restrictions, and corrections in this version of the software are described in the release notes. Always read the release notes before installing the software.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Installation and Configuration	This manual explains how to install and configure the TCP/IP Services product.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS User's Guide	This manual describes how to use the applications available with TCP/IP Services such as remote file operations, email, TELNET, TN3270, and network printing. This manual explains how to use these services to communicate with systems on private internets or on the worldwide Internet.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Management	This manual describes how to configure and manage the TCP/IP Services product. Use this manual with the Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Management Command Reference manual.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Management Command Reference	This manual describes the TCP/IP Services management commands. Use this manual with the Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Management manual.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Management Command Quick Reference Card	This reference card lists the TCP/IP management commands by component and describes the purpose of each command.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS UNIX Command Reference Card	This reference card contains information about commonly performed network management tasks and their corresponding TCP/IP management and Compaq Tru64 UNIX command formats.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS ONC RPC Programming	This manual presents an overview of high-level programming using open network computing remote procedure calls (ONC RPCs). This manual also describes the RPC programming interface and how to use the RPCGEN protocol compiler to create applications.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Sockets API and System Services Programming	This manual describes how to use the Sockets API and OpenVMS system services to develop network applications.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS SNMP Programming and Reference	This manual describes the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and the SNMP application programming interface (eSNMP). It describes the subagents provided with TCP/IP Services, utilities provided for managing subagents, and how to build your own subagents.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Tuning and Troubleshooting	This manual provides information about how to isolate the causes of network problems and how to tune the TCP/IP Services software for the best performance.
Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Guide to IPv6	This manual describes the IPv6 environment, the roles of systems in this environment, the types and function of the different IPv6 addresses, and how to configure TCP/IP Services to access the 6bone network.

For additional information about Compaq OpenVMS products and services, access the Compaq website at the following location:

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

For a comprehensive overview of the TCP/IP protocol suite, you might find the book Internetworking with TCP/IP: Principles, Protocols, and Architecture, by Douglas Comer, useful.

Reader's Comments

Compaq welcomes your comments on this manual. Please send comments to either of the following addresses:

Internet	openvmsdoc@compaq.com
Mail	Compaq Computer Corporation OSSG Documentation Group, ZKO3-4/U08 110 Spit Brook Rd. Nashua, NH 03062-2698

How to Order Additional Documentation

Visit the following World Wide Web address for information about how to order additional documentation:

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

Click Documentation under Quick Links on the left side of the page.

If you need help deciding which documentation best meets your needs, call 800-282-6672.

Conventions

The name TCP/IP Services means both:

• Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Alpha
• Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS VAX

The name UNIX refers to the Compaq Tru64 UNIX operating system.

The following conventions are used in this manual. In addition, please note that all IP addresses are fictitious.

Ctrl/ x	A sequence such as Ctrl/ x indicates that you must hold down the key labeled Ctrl while you press another key or a pointing device button.
PF1 x	A sequence such as PF1 x indicates that you must first press and release the key labeled PF1 and then press and release another key or a pointing device button.
[Return]	In examples, a key name enclosed in a box indicates that you press a key on the keyboard. (In text, a key name is not enclosed in a box.) In the HTML version of this document, this convention appears as brackets, rather than a box.
...	A horizontal ellipsis in examples indicates one of the following possibilities: Additional optional arguments in a statement have been omitted. The preceding item or items can be repeated one or more times. Additional parameters, values, or other information can be entered.
. . .	A vertical ellipsis indicates the omission of items from a code example or command format; the items are omitted because they are not important to the topic being discussed.
( )	In command format descriptions, parentheses indicate that you must enclose choices in parentheses if you specify more than one.
[ ]	In command format descriptions, brackets indicate optional choices. You can choose one or more items or no items. Do not type the brackets on the command line. However, you must include the brackets in the syntax for OpenVMS directory specifications and for a substring specification in an assignment statement.
|	In command format descriptions, vertical bars separate choices within brackets or braces. Within brackets, the choices are optional; within braces, at least one choice is required. Do not type the vertical bars on the command line.
{ }	In command format descriptions, braces indicate required choices; you must choose at least one of the items listed. Do not type the braces on the command line.
bold text	This typeface represents the introduction of a new term. It also represents the name of an argument, an attribute, or a reason.
italic text	Italic text indicates important information, complete titles of manuals, or variables. Variables include information that varies in system output (Internal error number), in command lines (/PRODUCER= name), and in command parameters in text (where dd represents the predefined code for the device type).
UPPERCASE TEXT	Uppercase text indicates a command, the name of a routine, the name of a file, or the abbreviation for a system privilege.
Monospace text	Monospace type indicates code examples and interactive screen displays. In the C programming language, monospace type in text identifies the following elements: keywords, the names of independently compiled external functions and files, syntax summaries, and references to variables or identifiers introduced in an example.
-	A hyphen at the end of a command format description, command line, or code line indicates that the command or statement continues on the following line.
numbers	All numbers in text are assumed to be decimal unless otherwise noted. Nondecimal radixes---binary, octal, or hexadecimal---are explicitly indicated.

High-level programming through open network computing remote procedure calls (ONC RPC) provides logical client-to-server communication for network application development---without the need to program most of the interface to the underlying network. With RPC, the client makes a remote procedure call that sends requests to the server, which calls a dispatch routine, performs the requested service, and sends back a reply before the call returns to the client.

RPC does not require the client to be knowledgeable about the underlying network. For example, a program can simply call a local C routine that returns the number of users on a remote system much like making a system call. You can make remote procedure calls between different processes on the same system.

1.2 The RPC Model

The remote procedure call model is similar to that of the local model, which works as follows:

1. The caller places arguments to a procedure in a specific location (such as an argument variable).
2. The caller temporarily transfers control to the procedure.
3. When the caller gains control again, it obtains the results of the procedure from the specified location.
4. The caller then continues program execution.

As Figure 1-1 shows, the remote procedure call is similar to the local model, in that one thread of control logically winds through two processes---that of the client (caller) and that of the server:

1. The client process sends a call message to the server process and blocks (that is, waits) for a reply message. The call message contains the parameters of the procedure and the reply message contains the procedure results.
2. When the client receives the reply message, it gets the results of the procedure.
3. The client process then continues executing.

On the server side, a process is dormant---awaiting the arrival of a call message. When one arrives, the server process computes a reply that it then sends back to the requesting client. After this, the server process becomes dormant again.

Figure 1-1 shows a synchronous RPC call, in which only one of the two processes is active at a given time. The remote procedure call hides the details of the network transport. However, the RPC protocol does not restrict the concurrency model. For example, RPC calls may be asynchronous so the client can do another task while waiting for the reply from the server. Another possibility is that the server could create a task to process a certain type of request automatically, freeing it to service other requests. Although RPC provides a way to avoid programming the underlying network transport, it still allows this where necessary.

Figure 1-1 Basic Network Communication with Remote Procedure Call

1.3 RPC Procedure Versions

Typically, a service provides a protocol description so you can write client applications that call the service. The RPC Administrator at Sun Microsystems, Inc. has a list of programs that have been registered with Sun (that is, have received port numbers from them), but you can write your own local RPC programs. Knowing the program and procedure numbers is useful only if the program is running on a system to which you have access.

1.4 Using Portmapper to Determine the Destination Port Number of RPC Packets

The TCP/IP Services software starts the Portmapper network service when it receives the first network request for the Portmapper port. Interaction between RPC programs and the Portmapper occurs as follows:

1. After the system manager starts the Portmapper, it listens for UDP and TCP requests on port 111 of the host system.
2. When an RPC server program activates on a system, it registers itself with its local Portmapper. The Portmapper software keeps a table of all registered services.
3. To access the services available on a system, RPC client programs send RPC call messages to a system's Portmapper specifying the program and version number with which they wish to communicate.
4. The Portmapper program examines its local cache of registered RPC servers. If the server is registered, then the Portmapper uses an RPC reply message to return the port number that the RPC client program should use to communicate with the RPC server.
5. The RPC client program then uses the provided port number in all subsequent RPC calls.

Refer to the Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Management manual for more information about the Portmapper service.

1.4.1 Portmapper Notes for TCP/IP Services

The Portmapper service on TCP/IP Services differs from Portmapper software on other hosts in the following ways:

• When an RPC server that is registered with the Portmapper exits, the Portmapper purges any registrations for that server program.
• An RPC process can only register or unregister its own Portmapper entries. Any attempt to remove a registration for another RPC server will fail.
• The Portmapper includes its own mappings (on the UDP and TCP port 111). These mappings are available using the pmap_getmaps routine.
• All data structures used for the RPC pmap_xxxx routines are identical to other RPC implementations with the exception of the two additional structures pmap_vms and pmaplist_vms . These structures include the field pm_pid which is the OpenVMS process ID.

You can display current RPC registration information known to the Portmapper program. On UNIX systems use the rpcinfo command. On OpenVMS systems use the SHOW PORTMAPPER management command. The rpcinfo or SHOW PORTMAPPER commands can also find the RPC services registered on a specific host and report their port numbers and the transports for which the services are registered. For more information, see the Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Management Command Reference manual.

1.5 RPC Independence from Transport Protocol

The RPC protocol is concerned only with the specification and interpretation of messages; it is independent of transport protocols because it needs no information on how a message is passed among processes.

Also, RPC does not implement any kind of reliability; the application itself must be aware of the transport protocol type underlying RPC. With a reliable transport, such as TCP/IP, the application need not do much else. However, an application must use its own retransmission and timeout policy if it is running on top of an unreliable transport, such as UDP/IP.

Because of transport independence, the RPC protocol does not actively interpret anything about remote procedures or their execution. Instead, the application infers required information from the underlying protocol (where such information should be specified explicitly). For example, if RPC is running on top of an unreliable transport (such as UDP/IP) and the application retransmits RPC messages after short timeouts, and if the application receives no reply, then it can infer only that a certain procedure was executed zero or more times. If it receives a reply, then the application infers that the procedure was executed at least once.

With a reliable transport, such as TCP/IP, the application can infer from a reply message that the procedure was executed exactly once, but if it receives no reply message, it cannot assume the remote procedure was not executed.

ONC RPC is currently supported on both UDP/IP and TCP/IP transports. The selection of the transport depends on the application requirements. The UDP transport, which is connectionless, is a good choice if the application has the following characteristics:

• The procedures are idempotent; that is, the same procedure can be executed more than once without any side effects. For example, reading a block of data is idempotent; creating a file is not.
• The size of both the arguments and results is smaller than the UDP packet size of 8K bytes.
• The server is required to handle as many as several hundred clients. The UDP server can do so because it does not retain any information about the client state. By contrast, the TCP server holds state information for each open client connection and this limits its available resources.

TCP (connection-oriented) is a good transport choice if the application has any of the following characteristics:

• The application needs a reliable underlying transport.
• The procedures are non-idempotent.
• The size of either the arguments or the results exceeds 8K bytes.