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HP OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual


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Appendix G
Valid Combinations of BACKUP Qualifiers

The following figures show the qualifiers that can be used in BACKUP save, restore, copy, compare and list operations. The figures also indicate valid combinations of BACKUP qualifiers.

  • Figure G-1 shows command qualifiers used in save operations.
  • Figure G-2 shows input file-selection qualifiers used in save operations.
  • Figure G-3 shows output save-set qualifiers used in save operations.
  • Figure G-4 shows command qualifiers used in restore operations.
  • Figure G-5 shows input save-set qualifiers used in restore operations.
  • Figure G-6 shows output file qualifiers used in restore operations.
  • Figure G-7 shows command qualifiers used in copy operations.
  • Figure G-8 shows input file-selection qualifiers used in copy operations.
  • Figure G-9 shows output file qualifiers used in copy operations.
  • Figure G-10 shows command qualifiers used in compare operations.
  • Figure G-11 shows input file-selection qualifiers used in compare operations.
  • Figure G-12 shows input save-set qualifiers used in compare operations.

Figure G-1 Command Qualifiers Used in Save Operations


Figure G-2 Input File-Selection Qualifiers Used in Save Operations


Figure G-3 Output Save-Set Qualifiers Used in Save Operations


Figure G-4 Command Qualifiers Used in Restore Operations


Figure G-5 Input Save-Set Qualifiers Used in Restore Operations


Figure G-6 Output File Qualifiers Used in Restore Operations


Figure G-7 Command Qualifiers Used in Copy Operations


Figure G-8 Input File-Selection Qualifiers Used in Copy Operations


Figure G-9 Output File Qualifiers Used in Copy Operations


Figure G-10 Command Qualifiers Used in Compare Operations


Figure G-11 Input File-Selection Qualifiers Used in Compare Operations


Figure G-12 Input Save-Set Qualifiers Used in Compare Operations



Appendix H
Supplemental MONITOR Information---Record Formats

The following sections describe the MONITOR record formats.

Note

Contact HP Customer Support to obtain the latest MONITOR record formats.

H.1 The MONITOR Recording File

Binary performance data is written into the MONITOR recording file when a MONITOR request indicates recording. A record is written to this file once per interval for each requested class. The record contains a predefined set of data for each of the requested performance classes.

The recording file is created when a MONITOR request is initiated, and is closed when the request terminates. The MONITOR recording file may be used as a source file to format and display the data on a terminal, to create a summary file, or to record a new recording file with different characteristics.

Note

The record formats described in this section are subject to change without notice at any future OpenVMS release.

The MONITOR recording file is an OpenVMS RMS sequential file with variable-length records. Each record in the file begins with a one-byte type field. The remaining fields are different in length and format for each record type. The following list contains three categories of record types:

  • Customer control record
  • HP control record
  • Class record

Customer control records may appear anywhere in the recording file. They are not generated by MONITOR and are ignored by MONITOR when it reads the file.

The first records in the MONITOR recording file, excluding customer control records, are HP control records. The beginning of the file has three types of HP control records: the file header record, the system information record, and the record RMS file name record. Node transition records are also control records, but can appear anywhere in the file.

Class records, which contain data on requested performance classes, follow the HP control records. The class record is generally written once per interval for each class being recorded. An exception to this rule occurs when several class records are required to contain data for a single class over a single interval. This can occur for the PROCESSES class when too many processes exist to be accommodated by the maximum record size.

Unique numbers are assigned to each MONITOR record type. Record type numbers 0--127 are reserved for class records; numbers 128--191 are reserved for HP control records; numbers 192--255 are reserved for customer control records.

MONITOR generates 29 record types. The following table lists the MONITOR record types and their numbers, with associated class types. (For an explanation of MONITOR class types, refer to Section H.4.1.)

Record Type Type Number Class Type
File Header 128  
System Information 129  
Node Transition 130  
RMS File Name 131  
PROCESSES Class 0 component
STATES Class 1 system
MODES Class 2 component
PAGE Class 3 system
IO Class 4 system
FCP Class 5 system
POOL Class 1 6 system
LOCK Class 7 system
DECNET Class 8 system
RESERVED 9 system
RESERVED 10 system
FILE_SYSTEM_CACHE Class 11 system
DISK Class 12 component
RESERVED 13 component
DLOCK Class 14 system
SCS Class 15 component
RESERVED 16 system
SYSTEM Class 17 system
RESERVED 18 system
CLUSTER Class 19 system
RMS Class 20 component
MSCP_SERVER Class 21 system
TRANSACTION Class 22 system
VECTOR Class 23 component
VBS Class 24 system
RESERVED 25 system
RLOCK 26 system
TIMER 27 system

1POOL class information is available only in pre-Version 6.0 MONITOR recording files.

H.2 Conventions

The following sections define the contents of each field within each record type. Record type and record size are given in decimal representation. References to system time indicate time values in system time format (64-bit format).

The field offset names listed are not defined within MONITOR. However, HP recommends that you define and use these offset names when you work with MONITOR output records.

The following example is the suggested naming convention for the field offset names:


MNR_CCC$X_DDDDD

CCC is a record type or class mnemonic.

X is a one-letter code indicating the size of the data item, as follows:

B for byte
W for word
L for longword
Q for quadword
O for octaword
T for ASCII string

DDDDD is the name describing the data item.

In the following tables that describe the record fields, the size of the data is shown in parentheses following the description of the field contents.

H.3 HP Control Records

The four types of HP control records are:

  • File header record
  • System information record
  • Node transition record
  • RMS file record

Each file has one header record, which contains information applicable to all classes of performance data contained in the file. It must be the first record (except for customer control records) in the file.

One system information record exists per node per file. The record contains information about the system being monitored and follows the header record in the file.

H.3.1 File Header Record

The file header record has a record type of 128 and a size of 259 bytes. Figure H-1 illustrates the format of the file header record.

Figure H-1 File Header Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the file header record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Type MNR_HDR$B_TYPE Record type identifier (1 byte).
Flags MNR_HDR$L_FLAGS Total of 32 flag bits; low-order bit = bit 0. All flags reserved to HP for future use (1 longword).
Beginning Time MNR_HDR$Q_BEGINNING System time of beginning of recording (1 quadword).
Ending Time MNR_HDR$Q_ENDING System time of end of recording (1 quadword).
Interval MNR_HDR$L_INTERVAL Interval in seconds between collections; this is the value specified by the user in the recording request. It is not necessarily equal to the exact interval value obtained by subtracting two consecutive time-stamps for a given class (1 longword).
Revision Level 0 Classes MNR_HDR$O_REV0CLSBITS A 128-bit string representing all classes; a bit set to 1 indicates the presence in this file of a class which is at revision level 0 and whose type number corresponds to the bit number. Low-order bit = bit 0 (1 octaword). This field is provided for compatibility with OpenVMS VAX Version 3.0 files.
Record Count MNR_HDR$L_RECCT Count of all records in the file (1 longword).
Structure Level Identification MNR_HDR$T_IDENT MONITOR Recording File Structure Level Identification (MON31050) (8 bytes).
Comment MNR_HDR$T_COMMENT Recording file description supplied by the user, including trailing blanks (60 bytes).
Comment Length MNR_HDR$W_COMLEN Actual length of recording file description string specified by the user (1 word).
Classes MNR_HDR$O_CLASSBITS A 128-bit string representing all classes; a bit set to 1 indicates the presence in this file of the class whose type number corresponds to the bit number. Low-order bit = bit 0 (1 octaword).
Revision Levels MNR_HDR$T_REVLEVELS A 128-byte string consisting of a one-byte binary revision level number for each class. A class has a revision level of 0 initially. For each MONITOR release, if the record definition has changed, the revision level will be increased (not necessarily by 1).

H.3.2 System Information Record

The system information record has a record type of 129 and a size of 47 bytes. Figure H-2 illustrates the format of the system information record.

Figure H-2 System Information Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the system information record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Type MNR_SYI$B_TYPE Type identifier (1 byte).
Flags MNR_SYI$W_FLAGS Total of 16 flag bits; low-order bit = bit 0. If bit 0 is set to 1, the node on which the data was collected is a member of a VAXcluster. All other flags reserved to HP for future use (1 word).
Time Booted MNR_SYI$Q_BOOTTIME System time at which system booted. MONITOR calculates this time by taking the number of seconds since system boot, converting this to a negative value, and adding it to the current system time (1 quadword).
Max Process Cnt MNR_SYI$W_MAXPRCCNT MAXPROCESSCNT system parameter value (1 word).
CPUs MNR_SYI$B_MPCPUS Number of CPUs (1 byte).
Node Name MNR_SYI$T_NODENAME Node name of node being monitored (counted ASCII string, 16 bytes).
Balance Set
Memory (Bal Set Mem)
MNR_SYI$L_BALSETMEM Number of process pages to which memory can be allocated (1 longword).
MPW High
Limit
MNR_SYI$L_MPWHILIM MPW_HILIMIT system parameter value (1 longword).
CPU Type MNR_SYI$L_CPUTYPE CPU type code. Use $PRDEF macro for code values (1 longword).
Index MNR_SYI$B_INDEX Identifies the position of this node in several internal MONITOR data structures (1 byte).
CPU Config MNR_SYI$L_CPUCONF Bit mask defining the location of each CPU in a multiprocessor (1 longword).
VPCPUs MNR_SYI$B_VPCPUS Number of vector-present processors in the current system (1 byte).
VP Config MNR_SYI$L_VPCONF Bit mask identifying the vector-present processors in the configuration (1 longword).

H.3.3 Node Transition Record

The node transition record has a record type of 130 and a size of 2 bytes. Figure H-3 illustrates the format of the node transition record.

Figure H-3 Node Transition Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the node transition record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Type MNR_NTR$B_TYPE Record type identifier---indicates node removal operation (1 byte).
Index MNR_NTR$B_INDEX Identifies the position of this node in several internal MONITOR data structures (1 byte).

H.3.4 RMS File Record

The RMS file record has a record type of 131 and a variable size that depends on the number of RMS files and length of the file name string. Figure H-4 illustrates the format of the RMS file record.

Figure H-4 RMS File Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the RMS file record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Type MNR_FIL$B_TYPE Record type identifier (1 byte).
Filename MNR_FIL$T_FILENAME A counted ASCII string that identifies the RMS file for MONITOR RMS requests (up to 256 bytes).

H.4 Class Records

The MONITOR recording file contains one class record for each requested class for every collection interval, except for the PROCESSES class. (See Section H.4.2.12 for more information about the PROCESSES class records.) For example, if a MONITOR user requested to record five classes (excluding PROCESSES) for a duration of 100 collection intervals, the file would contain 500 class records. Class records occur in order of increasing type number within an interval. The first class record for a given interval follows the last class record for the previous interval.

H.4.1 Class Type Formats

The two basic class types are system classes and component classes. A class record for a system class generally consists of counts for systemwide activities (such as page faults), whereas a class record for a component class normally contains a count for each element of a measured activity (such as I/O operations for each disk in the system).

Specifically, a class record for a system class consists of a class header followed by a data block. A class record for a component class has a class header followed by a class prefix and one data block per element.

Figure H-5 illustrates the format for class records.

Figure H-5 Class Record Format


H.4.1.1 Class Header

The class header is the first part of every class record. Its format is independent of class. The class header is 13 bytes long.

Figure H-6 illustrates the format of the class header.

Figure H-6 Class Header Format


The following table describes the fields in the class header:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Type MNR_CLS$B_TYPE Record type identifier (1 byte).
Flags MNR_CLS$B_FLAGS Total of 8 flag bits; low order bit = bit 0. If bit 0 is set to 1, the data for this interval continues in the next record. Can be set for the PROCESSES class only. All other flags reserved by HP for future use (1 byte).
Index MNR_CLS$B_INDEX Identifies the position of this node in several internal MONITOR data structures (1 byte).
Time MNR_CLS$Q_STAMP System time at which this class record was recorded. The time value is nondecreasing across all class records in the file.
Reserved MNR_CLS$W_RESERVED Reserved for HP use (1 word).

H.4.1.2 Class Prefix (Component Classes Only)

The class prefix always follows the class header for component class records. It contains data describing the number of elements (for example, processes for the PROCESSES class, disks for the DISK class) represented by the class records for the current collection interval. Unlike system class records, which have one data block per record, component classes have one data block per element.

One of the class prefix data items describes the number of elements (and therefore the number of data blocks) included in the class record. The other class prefix data item is used only for the PROCESSES class, and describes the number of processes included in the interval. The following discussion applies only to the PROCESSES class.

It is possible to monitor a number of processes so large that the required number of data blocks for one collection interval does not fit into a single maximum size record. In this case, the required number of PROCESSES class records is created to fully describe the processes.

All class headers in the set of PROCESSES class records for a given interval are identical, except for the setting of bit 0 in the MNR_CLS$W_FLAGS field. This bit is set to 1 for all records except the last, for which it is set to 0.

The class prefixes in the set of class records vary, as described in the table following the next figure. The contents of the MNR_CMP$L_ELTCT field depends on the number of data blocks contained in the record; the contents of the MNR_CMP$L_PCTINT field remain constant for each record in the set. All records in the set except the last contain as many data blocks as will fit into the maximum size record (32000 bytes). The last record in the set contains the remaining data blocks.

Figure H-7 illustrates the class prefix format.

Figure H-7 Class Prefix Format


The following table describes the fields in the class prefix. The class prefix is 8 bytes long.

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Elements in
Record
MNR_CMP$L_ELTCT Count of elements (data blocks) in this record (1 longword).
Processes in
Interval
MNR_CMP$L_PCTINT Count of processes (data blocks) for this interval (1 longword). This field is for the PROCESSES class only. For other component classes, this longword is reserved to HP for future use.

H.4.2 Class Data Blocks

The size and format of each data block and the number of blocks per record depend on the class. System classes have one data block per record. Component classes have one data block per element. The fields within each block are performance data items.

The following sections describe the data items within the data block for each class. Every data item falls into one of three categories. It is either a count, a level, or an informational item. A count is a numeric quantity that increases at each succeeding interval for the duration of a system boot. A level is a numeric quantity that may increase or decrease at each succeeding interval. An informational item represents data that, rather than being a unit of performance measurement (as are the first two types), is descriptive in nature.

In the tables that follow, item types are identified by the letters C (count), L (level), and I (informational). Item types are shown in parentheses, following the length of the field. Class records are listed alphabetically.

H.4.2.1 CLUSTER Class Record

The CLUSTER class record contains data describing clusterwide CPU, memory, and locking activity. The CLUSTER class record has a record type of 19 and a size of 65 bytes. Note that when the CLUSTER class is recorded, the DISK and MODES classes are also recorded, even if not explicitly requested.

Figure H-8 illustrates the format of the CLUSTER class record.

Figure H-8 CLUSTER Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the CLUSTER class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
CPU Busy MNR_CLU$L_CPU_BUSY Count of clock ticks (10-millisecond units) spent in all CPU modes since system was booted (longword,C)
Free List Size MNR_CLU$L_FRLIST Number of pages currently on the free list (longword,L)
Reserved MNR_CLU$L_RESERVED Reserved to HP
Total Locks MNR_CLU$L_TOTAL_LOCKS Total of all incoming, outgoing, and local ENQs, DEQs, and conversions (longword,C)
New ENQ Local MNR_CLU$L_ENQNEWLOC Count of new lock requests that originate and are performed on the system (local) (longword,C)
New ENQ Incoming MNR_CLU$L_ENQNEWIN Count of new lock requests that originate on other systems and are performed on this system (incoming) (longword,C)
New ENQ Outgoing MNR_CLU$L_ENQNEWOUT Count of new lock requests that originate on this system and are performed on other systems (outgoing) (longword,C)
ENQ Conversions Local MNR_CLU$L_ENQCVTLOC Count of lock conversion requests (local) (longword,C)
ENQ Conversions Incoming MNR_CLU$L_ENQCVTIN Count of lock conversion requests (incoming) (longword,C)
ENQ Conversions Outgoing MNR_CLU$L_ENQCVTOUT Count of lock conversion requests (outgoing) (longword,C)
DEQ Local MNR_CLU$L_DEQLOC Count of unlock requests (local) (longword,C)
DEQ Incoming MNR_CLU$L_DEQIN Count of unlock requests (incoming) (longword,C)
DEQ Outgoing MNR_CLU$L_DEQOUT Count of unlock requests (outgoing) (longword,C)

H.4.2.2 DECNET Class Record

The DECNET class record contains data describing the operation of the DECnet for OpenVMS subsystem. The DECNET class record has a record type of 8 and a size of 33 bytes.

Figure H-9 illustrates the format of the DECNET class record.

Figure H-9 DECNET Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the DECNET class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Arriving
Local Packets
MNR_NET$L_ARRLOCPK Count of arriving local packets (longword,C)
Departing
Local Packets
MNR_NET$L_DEPLOCPK Count of departing local packets (longword,C)
Arriving Transit
Packets
MNR_NET$L_ARRTRAPK Count of arriving transit packets (longword,C)
Transit Packets
Lost
MNR_NET$L_TRCNGLOS Count of packets lost because of transit congestion (longword,C)
Receiver Buffer
Failures
MNR_NET$L_RCVBUFFL Count of receiver buffer failures (longword,C)

H.4.2.3 DISK Class Record

The DISK class record contains data describing all disk devices in the system. The DISK class record has a record type of 12; its size depends on the number of disks being monitored. The size, in bytes, is calculated by adding the size of the class header, the class prefix, and the data blocks contained in the record. This is shown in the following formula:


13 + 8 + (37 * the value of MNR_CMP$L_ELTCT)

Figure H-10 illustrates the format of the DISK class record.

Figure H-10 DISK Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the DISK class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Allocation Class MNR_DSK$W_ALLOCLS Allocation class number (word,I)
Controller MNR_DSK$T_CTRLR Name of device controller (counted ASCII string) (4 bytes,I)
Unit Number MNR_DSK$W_UNITNO Unit number (word,I)
Flags MNR_DSK$B_FLAGS Total of 8 flag bits; if the low bit is set, the device is served by the MSCP server (byte,I)
Node Name MNR_DSK$T_NODENAME Name of cluster node where device resides (counted ASCII string) (8 bytes,I)
Volume Name MNR_DSK$T_VOLNAME Volume name of disk (ASCII) (12 bytes,I)
Operations MNR_DSK$L_OPCNT Count of I/O operations (longword,C)
Queue Length MNR_DSK$L_IOQUELN Sum of I/O request queue samples (longword,C)

H.4.2.4 DLOCK Class Record

The DLOCK class record contains data describing the operation of the Distributed Lock Management facility. The DLOCK class record has a record type of 14 and a size of 73 bytes.

Figure H-11 illustrates the format of the DLOCK class record.

Figure H-11 DLOCK Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the DLOCK class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
New Locks
---Local
MNR_DLO$L_ENQNEWLOC Count of new lock requests that originate and are performed on this system (local) (longword,C)
New Locks
---Incoming
MNR_DLO$L_ENQNEWIN Count of new lock requests originating on another system and performed on this system (incoming) (longword,C)
New Locks
---Outgoing
MNR_DLO$L_ENQNEWOUT Count of new lock requests originating on this system and performed on another system (outgoing) (longword,C)
Lock Conversions
---Local
MNR_DLO$L_ENQCVTLOC Count of lock conversion requests (local) (longword,C)
Lock Conversions
---Incoming
MNR_DLO$L_ENQCVTIN Count of lock conversion requests (incoming) (longword,C)
Lock Conversions
---Outgoing
MNR_DLO$L_ENQCVTOUT Count of lock conversion requests (outgoing) (longword,C)
Unlocks---Local MNR_DLO$L_DEQLOC Count of unlock requests (local) (longword,C)
Unlocks---Incoming MNR_DLO$L_DEQIN Count of unlock requests (incoming) (longword,C)
Unlocks---Outgoing MNR_DLO$L_DEQOUT Count of unlock requests (outgoing) (longword,C)
Blocking ASTs
---Local
MNR_DLO$L_BLKLOC Count of lock manager blocking ASTs (local) (longword,C)
Blocking ASTs
---Incoming
MNR_DLO$L_BLKIN Count of lock manager blocking ASTs (incoming) (longword,C)
Blocking ASTs
---Outgoing
MNR_DLO$L_BLKOUT Count of lock manager blocking ASTs (outgoing) (longword,C)
Directory Functions
---Incoming
MNR_DLO$L_DIRIN Count of directory functions (incoming) (longword,C)
Directory Functions
---Outgoing
MNR_DLO$L_DIROUT Count of directory functions (outgoing) (longword,C)
Deadlock
Message Rate
MNR_DLO$L_DLCKMSG Count of incoming and outgoing lock manager messages required for deadlock detection (longword,C)

H.4.2.5 FCP Class Record

The FCP class record contains data describing the operation of the file system ACPs. The FCP class record has a record type of 5 and a size of 61 bytes.

Figure H-12 illustrates the format of the FCP class record.

Figure H-12 FCP Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the FCP class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
FCP Calls MNR_FCP$L_FCPCALLS Count of QIO requests received by the file system (longword,C)
Disk Allocations MNR_FCP$L_ALLOC Count of QIO requests that caused allocation of disk space (longword,C)
New Files MNR_FCP$L_FCPCREATE Count of new files created (longword,C)
Read I/Os MNR_FCP$L_FCPREAD Count of read I/O operations from the disk by the file system (longword,C)
Write I/Os MNR_FCP$L_FCPWRITE Count of write I/O operations to disk by the file system (longword,C)
Volume Lock Waits MNR_FCP$L_VOLWAIT Number of times a wait state was entered by the XQP due to volume lock contention (longword,C)
CPU Time MNR_FCP$L_FCPCPU Count of clock ticks (10-millisecond units) of CPU time used by the file system (longword,C)
FCP Page Faults MNR_FCP$L_FCPFAULT Count of page faults for the file system (longword,C)
Window Turns MNR_FCP$L_FCPTURN Count of file-map window misses (longword,C)
Access MNR_FCP$L_ACCESS Count of file name lookup operations in file directories (longword,C)
Files Opened MNR_FCP$L_OPENS Count of files opened (longword,C)
Erase I/O
Operations
MNR_FCP$L_ERASE Count of erase I/O operations issued (longword,C)

H.4.2.6 FILE_SYSTEM_CACHE Class Record

The FILE_SYSTEM_CACHE class record contains data describing the operation of the caches for the file system ACPs and XQPs. The FILE_SYSTEM_CACHE class record has a record type of 11 and a size of 69 bytes.

Figure H-13 illustrates the format of the FILE_SYSTEM_CACHE class record.

Figure H-13 FILE_SYSTEM_CACHE Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the FILE_SYSTEM_CACHE class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Directory FCB
Cache Hits
MNR_FIL$L_DIRFCB_HIT Count of hits on directory FCB cache (longword,C)
Directory FCB
Cache Attempts
MNR_FIL$L_DIRFCB_TRIES Count of attempts on directory FCB cache (longword,C)
Directory Data
Cache Hits
MNR_FIL$L_DIRDATA_HIT Count of hits on directory data cache (longword,C)
Directory Data
Cache Attempts
MNR_FIL$L_DIRDATA_TRIES Count of attempts on directory data cache (longword,C)
File Header
Cache Hits
MNR_FIL$L_FILHDR_HIT Count of hits on file header cache (longword,C)
File Header
Cache Attempts
MNR_FIL$L_FILHDR_TRIES Count of attempts on file header cache (longword,C)
File ID
Cache Hits
MNR_FIL$L_FIDHIT Count of hits on file ID cache (longword,C)
File ID
Cache Attempts
MNR_FIL$L_FID_TRIES Count of attempts on file ID cache (longword,C)
Extent Cache
Hits
MNR_FIL$L_EXTHIT Count of hits on extent cache (longword,C)
Extent Cache
Attempts
MNR_FIL$L_EXT_TRIES Count of attempts on extent cache (longword,C)
Quota Cache
Hits
MNR_FIL$L_QUOHIT Count of hits on quota cache (longword,C)
Quota Cache
Attempts
MNR_FIL$L_QUO_TRIES Count of attempts on quota cache (longword,C)
Storage Bitmap
Cache Hits
MNR_FIL$L_STORAGMAP_HIT Count of hits on storage bitmap cache (longword,C)
Storage Bitmap
Cache Attempts
MNR_FIL$L_STORAGMAP_TRIES Count of attempts on storage bitmap cache (longword,C)

H.4.2.7 I/O Class Record

The I/O class record contains data describing the operation of the I/O subsystem. The I/O class record has a record type of 4 and a size of 69 bytes.

Figure H-14 illustrates the format of the I/O class record.

Figure H-14 I/O Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the I/O class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Direct I/Os MNR_IO$L_DIRIO Count of direct I/O operations (longword,C)
Buffered I/Os MNR_IO$L_BUFIO Count of buffered I/O operations (longword,C)
Mailbox Writes MNR_IO$L_MBWRITES Count of write-to-mailbox requests (longword,C)
Split Transfers MNR_IO$L_SPLTRANS Count of split transfers (longword,C)
Logical Name
Translations
MNR_IO$L_LOGNAM Count of logical name translations (longword,C)
Files Opened MNR_IO$L_OPENS Count of files opened (longword,C)
Page Faults MNR_IO$L_FAULTS Count of page faults for all working sets (longword,C)
Page Reads MNR_IO$L_PREADS Count of pages read from disk as a result of page faults (longword,C)
Page Read I/Os MNR_IO$L_PREADIO Count of read I/O operations from disk as a result of page faults (longword,C)
Page Writes MNR_IO$L_PWRITES Count of pages written to the page file (longword,C)
Page Write I/Os MNR_IO$L_PWRITIO Count of write I/O operations to the page file (longword,C)
Inswaps MNR_IO$L_ISWPCNT Count of working sets read into memory from the swap file (longword,C)
Free Page Count MNR_IO$L_FREECNT Number of pages currently on free-page list (longword,L)
Modified Page
Count
MNR_IO$L_MFYCNT Number of pages currently on modified-page list (longword,L)

H.4.2.8 LOCK Class Record

The LOCK class record contains data describing the operation of the lock management subsystem. The LOCK class record has a record type of 7 and a size of 53 bytes.

Figure H-15 illustrates the format of the LOCK class record.

Figure H-15 LOCK Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the LOCK class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
New ENQs MNR_LCK$L_ENQNEW Count of new ENQ (lock) requests (longword,C)
Converted ENQs MNR_LCK$L_ENQCVT Count of converted ENQ (lock) requests (longword,C)
DEQs MNR_LCK$L_DEQ Count of DEQ (unlock) requests (longword,C)
Blocking ASTs MNR_LCK$L_BLKAST Count of blocking ASTs queued (longword,C)
ENQ Waits MNR_LCK$L_ENQWAIT Count of times a lock could not be granted immediately and waited (longword,C)
ENQs Not Queued MNR_LCK$L_ENQNOTQD Count of times a lock could not be granted immediately and got an error status instead of waiting (longword,C)
Deadlock Searches MNR_LCK$L_DLCKSRCH Count of times that a deadlock search was performed (longword,C)
Deadlocks Found MNR_LCK$L_DLCKFND Count of times that a deadlock was found (longword,C)
Current Locks MNR_LCK$L_NUMLOCKS Number of locks currently in the system (longword,L)
Current Resources MNR_LCK$L_NUMRES Number of resources currently in the system (longword,L)

H.4.2.9 MODES Class Record

The MODES class record contains data describing time spent in each of the processor modes. The MODES class record has a record type of 2; its size depends on the number of active CPUs on the system being monitored. The size, in bytes, is calculated by adding the size of the class header, the class prefix, and the data blocks contained in the record. This is shown in the following formula, which assumes that all CPUs are active:


13 + 8 + (33 * MNR_SYI$B_MPCPUS)

Figure H-16 illustrates the format of the MODES class record.

Figure H-16 MODES Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the MODES class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
CPU ID MNR_MOD$B_CPUID CPU identification (byte,I)
Interrupt Stack MNR_MOD$L_INTER Count of clock ticks (10-millisecond units) spent on interrupt stack since system was booted (longword,C)
MP Synchronization MNR_MOD$L_MPSYNC Count of clock ticks spent synchronizing multiple CPUs since system boot
Kernel MNR_MOD$L_KERNEL Count of clock ticks spent in kernel mode, excluding interrupt stack time, since system boot (longword,C)
Executive MNR_MOD$L_EXEC Count of clock ticks spent in executive mode since system boot (longword,C)
Supervisor MNR_MOD$L_SUPER Count of clock ticks spent in supervisor mode since system boot (longword,C)
User MNR_MOD$L_USER Count of clock ticks spent in user mode, excluding compatibility mode time since system boot (longword,C)
Compatibility MNR_MOD$L_COMPAT Count of clock ticks boot spent in compatibility mode since system boot (longword,C)
Idle MNR_MOD$L_IDLE Count of clock ticks spent executing the NULL process since system boot (longword,C)

H.4.2.10 MSCP_SERVER Class Record

The MSCP_SERVER class record contains data describing activities of the MSCP server. The MSCP_SERVER class record has a record type of 21 and a size of 65 bytes.

Figure H-17 illustrates the format of the MSCP_SERVER class record.

Figure H-17 MSCP_SERVER Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the MSCP_SERVER class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Requests MNR_MSC$L_REQUEST Count of requests for I/O transfers by remote processors (longword,C)
Reads MNR_MSC$L_READ Count of requests for Read I/O transfers by remote processors (longword,C)
Writes MNR_MSC$L_WRITE Count of requests for Write I/O transfers by remote processors (longword,C)
Fragments MNR_MSC$L_FRAGMENT Count of extra fragments issued by the server (longword,C)
Splits MNR_MSC$L_SPLIT Count of fragmented requests issued by the server (longword,C)
Buffer Waits MNR_MSC$L_BUFWAIT Count of requests that had to wait for MSCP buffer memory (longword,C)
1 Block I/Os MNR_MSC$L_SIZE1 Count of I/O requests with a length of one block (longword,C)
2---3 Block I/Os MNR_MSC$L_SIZE2 Count of I/O requests with a length of 2 to 3 blocks (longword,C)
4---7 Block I/Os MNR_MSC$L_SIZE3 Count of I/O requests with a length of 4 to 7 blocks (longword,C)
8---15 Block I/Os MNR_MSC$L_SIZE4 Count of I/O requests with a length of 8 to 15 blocks (longword,C)
16---31 Block I/Os MNR_MSC$L_SIZE5 Count of I/O requests with a length of 16 to 31 blocks (longword,C)
32---63 Block I/Os MNR_MSC$L_SIZE6 Count of I/O requests with a length of 32 to 63 blocks (longword,C)
64+ Block I/Os MNR_MSC$L_SIZE7 Count of I/O requests with a length equal to or greater than 64 blocks (longword,C)

H.4.2.11 PAGE Class Record

The PAGE class record contains data describing the operation of the page management subsystem. The PAGE class record has a record type of 3 and a size of 65 bytes.

Figure H-18 illustrates the format of the PAGE class record.

Figure H-18 PAGE Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the PAGE class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Page Faults MNR_PAG$L_FAULTS Count of page faults for all working set (longword,C)
Reads MNR_PAG$L_PREADS Count of pages read from disk as a result of page faults (longword,C)
Read I/Os MNR_PAG$L_PREADIO Count of read I/Os as a result of operations from disk page faults (longword,C)
Writes MNR_PAG$L_PWRITES Count of pages written to the page file (longword,C)
Write I/Os MNR_PAG$L_PWRITIO Count of write I/O operations to the page file (longword,C)
Free-page
List Faults
MNR_PAG$L_FREFLTS Count of pages read from the free list as a result of page faults (longword,C)
Modified-page
List Faults
MNR_PAG$L_MFYFLTS Count of pages read from the modified list as a result of page faults (longword,C)
Demand-zero
Faults
MNR_PAG$L_DZROFLTS Count of zero-filled pages allocated as a result of faults (longword,C)
Global Valid
Faults
MNR_PAG$L_GVALID Count of page faults for which the reference page was found to be valid in the system global page tables (longword,C)
Write-in-Progress
Faults
MNR_PAG$L_WRTINPROG Count of pages read that were in the process of being written back to disk when faulted (longword,C)
System Faults MNR_PAG$L_SYSFAULTS Count of page faults for which the referenced page is in system space (longword,C)
Free-page Count MNR_PAG$L_FREECNT Number of pages currently on free-page list (longword,L)
Modified-page
Count
MNR_PAG$L_MFYCNT Number of pages currently on modified-page list (longword,L)

H.4.2.12 PROCESSES Class Record

The PROCESSES class record contains data describing all processes in the system. The PROCESSES class record has a record type of 0; its size depends on the number of processes being monitored. The size, in bytes, is calculated by adding the size of the class header, the class prefix, and the data blocks contained in the record. This is shown in the following formula:


13 + 8 + (67 * the value of MNR_CMP$L_ELTCT)

Figure H-19 illustrates the format of the PROCESSES class record.

Figure H-19 PROCESSES Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the PROCESSES class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Internal Process ID MNR_PRO$L_IPID Internal process identification (longword,I)
UIC MNR_PRO$L_UIC User identification code (Group is high-order word; Member is low-order word) (longword,I)
State MNR_PRO$W_STATE Current scheduling state code (word,I)
Priority MNR_PRO$B_PRI Current software priority (complement of 31) (byte,I)
Name MNR_PRO$T_LNAME Process name (counted ASCII string) (16 bytes,I)
Global Page Count MNR_PRO$L_GPGCNT Current global page count (longword,L)
Process Page Count MNR_PRO$L_PPGCNT Current process page count (longword,L)
Status Flags MNR_PRO$L_STS Software process status flags (PCB$V_RES bit clear implies swapped out) (longword,I)
Direct I/Os MNR_PRO$L_DIOCNT Direct I/O count (0 if swapped out) (longword,C)
Page Faults MNR_PRO$L_PAGEFLTS Page fault count (0 if swapped out) (longword,C)
CPU Time MNR_PRO$L_CPUTIM Accumulated CPU time, in 10 ms ticks (0 if swapped out) (longword,C)
Buffered I/Os MNR_PRO$L_BIOCNT Buffered I/O count (0 if swapped out) (longword,C)
Extended Process ID MNR_PRO$L_EPID Extended process identification (longword,I)
Event Flag Weight Mask MNR_PRO$L_EFWM Event flag wait mask (used for MWAITs) (longword, I)
RBS Transitions MNR_PRO$L_RBSTRAN Real balance slot transitions (longword, C)

H.4.2.13 RLOCK Class Record

The RLOCK class record contains data that is useful for monitoring the dynamic lock remastering statistics of a node. The RLOCK class record has a record type of 27 and a size of 41 bytes.

Figure H-20 illustrates the format of the RLOCK class record.

Figure H-20 RLOCK Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the RLOCK class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Lock Tree Outbound MNR_RLO$L_RM_UNLOAD Count of lock trees that are moved from this node.
Lock Tree-Higher Activity MNR_RLO$L_RM_MORE_ACT Count of trees that are moved due to higher locking activity on another node in the cluster.
Lock Tree-Higher LCKDIRWT MNR_RLO$L_RM_BETTER Count of trees that are moved to a node with a higher value of the system parameter LCKDIRWT.
Sole Interest MNR_RLO$L_RM_SINGLE Count of trees that are moved to another node because that node is the only one with locks remaining on the tree.
Remaster Msg Sent MNR_RLO$L_RM_MSG_SENT Count of remaster messages sent from this node.
Lock Tree Inbound MNR_RLO$L_RM_ACQUIRE Count of trees that are moved to this node.
Remaster Msg Received MNR_RLO$L_RM_MSG_RCV Count of remaster messages received on this node.

H.4.2.14 RMS Class Record

The RMS class record contains data describing Record Management Services for specified files. The RMS class record has a record type of 20. Use the following formula to calculate the record size (the formula calculates the size by adding the size of the class header, the class prefix, and the data blocks contained in the record):


13 + 8 + (273 * MNR_CMP$L_ELTCT)

Figure H-21 illustrates the format of the RMS class record.

Figure H-21 RMS Class Record Format




The following table describes the fields in the data block for the RMS class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
File Number (Num) MNR_RMS$B_FILNUM Sequential number of the file (byte,I)
File Organization MNR_RMS$L_ORG Organization of the file (longword,I)
Reserved MNR_RMS$L_RESERVED1 Reserved (longword)
Sequential GETs MNR_RMS$L_SEQGETS Count of sequential $GETs to the file (longword,C)
Key GETs MNR_RMS$L_KEYGETS Count of keyed $GETs to the file (longword,C)
RFA GETs MNR_RMS$L_RFAGETS Count of $GETs by record-file-address to the file (longword,C)
GET Bytes MNR_RMS$Q_GETBYTES Total number of bytes required for all $GETs issued (quadword,C)
Sequential PUTs MNR_RMS$L_SEQPUTS Count of sequential $PUTs to the file (longword,C)
Key PUTs MNR_RMS$L_KEYPUTS Count of keyed $PUTs to the file (longword,C)
PUT Bytes MNR_RMS$Q_PUTBYTES Total number of bytes required for all $PUTs issued (quadword,C)
UPDATEs MNR_RMS$L_UPDATES Count of $UPDATEs to the file (longword,C)
UPDATE Bytes MNR_RMS$Q_UPDATEBYTES Total number of bytes required for all $UPDATEs issued (quadword,C)
DELETEs MNR_RMS$L_DELETES Count of $DELETEs to the file (longword,C)
TRUNCATEs MNR_RMS$L_TRUNCATES Count of $TRUNCATEs to the file (longword,C)
TRUNCATE Blocks MNR_RMS$L_TRUNCBLKS Total blocks required for all $TRUNCATEs issued (longword,C)
Sequential FINDs MNR_RMS$L_SEQFINDS Count of sequential $FINDs to the file (longword,C)
Key FINDs MNR_RMS$L_KEYFINDS Count of keyed $FINDs to the file (longword,C)
RFA FINDs MNR_RMS$L_RFAFINDS Count of $FINDs by record-file-address to the file (longword,C)
READs MNR_RMS$L_READS Count of $READs to the file (longword,C)
READ Bytes MNR_RMS$Q_READBYTES Total bytes required for all $READs to the file (quadword,C)
CONNECTs MNR_RMS$L_CONNECTS Count of $CONNECTs to the file (longword,C)
DISCONNECTs MNR_RMS$L_DISCONNECTS Count of $DISCONNECTs to the file (longword,C)
EXTENDs MNR_RMS$L_EXTENDS Count of $EXTENDs to the file (longword,C)
EXTEND Blocks MNR_RMS$L_EXTBLOCKS Total blocks required for all EXTENDs to the file (longword,C)
FLUSHes MNR_RMS$L_FLUSHES Count of $FLUSHes to the file (longword,C)
REWINDs MNR_RMS$L_REWINDS Count of $REWINDs to the file (longword,C)
WRITES MNR_RMS$L_WRITES Count of $WRITES to the file (longword,C)
WRITE Bytes MNR_RMS$Q_WRITEBYTES Total bytes required for all $WRITEs issued (quadword,C)
File Lock ENQs MNR_RMS$L_FLCKENQS Count of file lock ENQs to the file (longword,C)
File Lock DEQs MNR_RMS$L_FLCKDEQS Count of file lock DEQs to the file (longword,C)
File Lock Conversions MNR_RMS$L_FLCKCNVS Count of file lock conversions for the file (longword,C)
Local Buffer ENQs MNR_RMS$L_LBLCKENQS Count of local buffer ENQs to the file (longword,C)
Local Buffer DEQs MNR_RMS$L_LBLCKDEQS Count of local buffer DEQs to the file (longword,C)
Local Buffer Conversions MNR_RMS$L_LBLCKCNVS Count of local buffer conversions for the file (longword,C)
Global Buffer ENQs MNR_RMS$L_GBLCKENQS Count of global buffer ENQs to the file (longword,C)
Global Buffer DEQs MNR_RMS$L_GBLCKDEQS Count of global buffer DEQs to the file (longword,C)
Global Buffer Conversions MNR_RMS$L_GBLCKCNVS Count of global buffer conversions for the file (longword,C)
Global Section ENQs MNR_RMS$L_GSLCKENQS Count of global section ENQs to the file (longword,C)
Global Section DEQs MNR_RMS$L_GSLCKDEQS Count of global section DEQs to the file (longword,C)
Global Section Conversions MNR_RMS$L_GSLCKCNVS Count of global section conversions for the file (longword,C)
Record Lock ENQs MNR_RMS$L_RLCKENQS Count of record lock ENQs to the file (longword,C)
Record Lock DEQs MNR_RMS$L_RLCKDEQS Count of record lock DEQs to the file (longword,C)
Record Lock Conversions MNR_RMS$L_RLCKCNVS Count of record lock conversions for the file (longword,C)
Append Lock ENQs MNR_RMS$L_APPLCKENQS Count of append lock ENQs to the file (longword,C)
Append Lock DEQs MNR_RMS$L_APPLCKDEQS Count of append lock DEQs to the file (longword,C)
Append Lock Conversions MNR_RMS$L_APPLCKCNVS Count of append lock conversions for the file (longword,C)
File Lock Blocking ASTs MNR_RMS$L_FLBLKASTS Count of file lock blocking ASTs for the file (longword,C)
Local Buffer Blocking ASTs MNR_RMS$L_LBLBLKASTS Count of local buffer blocking ASTs for the file (longword,C)
Global Buffer Blocking ASTs MNR_RMS$L_GBLBLKASTS Count of global buffer blocking ASTs for the file (longword,C)
Append Lock Blocking ASTs MNR_RMS$L_APPBLKASTS Count of apppend lock blocking ASTs for the file (longword,C)
Local Cache Hits MNR_RMS$L_LCACHEHITS Count of local cache hits for the file (longword,C)
Local Cache Attempts MNR_RMS$L_LCACHEATT Count of local cache attempts for the file (longword,C)
Global Cache Hits MNR_RMS$L_GCACHEHITS Count of global cache hits for the file (longword,C)
Global Cache Attempts MNR_RMS$L_GCACHEATT Count of global cache attempts for the file (longword,C)
Global Buffer Read I/Os MNR_RMS$L_GBRDIRIOS Count of global buffer read I/Os for the file (longword,C)
Global Buffer Write I/Os MNR_RMS$L_GBWDIRIOS Count of global buffer write I/Os for the file (longword,C)
Local Buffer Read I/Os MNR_RMS$L_LBRDIRIOS Count of local buffer read I/Os for the file (longword,C)
Local Buffer Write I/Os MNR_RMS$L_LBWDIRIOS Count of local buffer write I/Os for the file (longword,C)
Bucket Splits MNR_RMS$L_BKTSPLT Count of bucket splits for the file (longword,C)
Multibucket Splits MNR_RMS$L_MBKTSPLT Count of multibucket splits for the file (longword,C)
Opens MNR_RMS$L_OPENS Count of the times the file was opened (longword,C)
Closes MNR_RMS$L_CLOSES Count of the times the file was closed (longword,C)
Reserved MNR_RMS$L_RESERVED2 Reserved (longword)
Reserved MNR_RMS$L_RESERVED3 Reserved (longword)

H.4.2.15 SCS Class Record

The SCS class record contains data describing SCS (System Communications Services) activity for all SCS connections in the system, on a per-node basis. The SCS class record has a record type of 15; its size depends on the number of nodes being monitored. The size, in bytes, is calculated by adding the size of the class header, the class prefix, and the data blocks contained in the record. This is shown in the following formula:


13 + 8 + (56 * the value of MNR_CMP$L_ELTCT)

Figure H-22 illustrates the format of the SCS class record.

Figure H-22 SCS Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the SCS class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Node Name MNR_SCS$T_NODENAME Name of remote cluster node (counted ASCII string) (8 bytes,I)
Datagrams Sent MNR_SCS$L_DGSENT Count of datagrams sent to the remote node (longword,C)
Datagrams Received MNR_SCS$L_DGRCVD Count of datagrams received from the remote node (longword,C)
Datagrams Discarded MNR_SCS$L_DGDISCARD Count of datagrams discarded by the CI port driver (longword,C)
Sequenced Messages Sent MNR_SCS$L_MSGSENT Count of sequenced messages sent to the remode node (longword,C)
Seqenced Messages Received MNR_SCS$L_MSGRCVD Count of sequenced messages received from the remote node (longword,C)
Block Transfer
Send-data commands
MNR_SCS$L_SNDATS Count of block transfer send-data commands initiated on the local node, targeted for the remote node (longword,C)
Kilobytes Sent by
Send-data commands
MNR_SCS$L_KBYTSENT Count of kilobytes sent as a result of send-data commands (longword,C)
Block Transfer Request-
data commands
MNR_SCS$L_REQDATS Count of block transfer request-data commands initiated on the local node, targeted for the remote node (longword,C)
Kilobytes Received by
Request-data commands
MNR_SCS$L_KBYTREQD Count of kilobytes received as a result of request-data commands (longword,C)
Block Transfer
Kilobytes Mapped
MNR_SCS$L_KBYTMAPD Count of kilobytes mapped for block transfers (longword,C)
Connections Queued For
Send Credit
MNR_SCS$L_QCRCNT Count of times connections are queued for send credits (longword,C)
Connections Queued For
Buffer Descriptor
MNR_SCS$L_QBDTCNT Count of times connections are queued for buffer descriptors (longword,C)

H.4.2.16 STATES Class Record

The STATES class record contains data describing the number of processes in each of the scheduler states. The STATES class record has a record type of 1 and a size of 69 bytes.

Figure H-23 illustrates the format of the STATES class record.

Figure H-23 STATES Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the STATES class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Collided
Page Wait
MNR_STA$L_COLPG Number of processes in collided page wait (longword,L)
Misc
Resource Wait
MNR_STA$L_MWAIT Number of processes in miscellaneous resource wait (longword,L)
Common Event
Flag Wait
MNR_STA$L_CEF Number of processes in common event flag wait (longword,L)
Page Fault
Wait
MNR_STA$L_PFW Number of processes in page fault wait (longword,L)
Local Event Flag,
Inswapped
MNR_STA$L_LEF Number of processes in local event flag wait, inswapped (longword,L)
Local Event Flag,
Outswapped
MNR_STA$L_LEFO Number of processes in local event flag wait, outswapped (longword,L)
Hibernate,
Inswapped
MNR_STA$L_HIB Number of processes in hibernate wait, inswapped (longword,L)
Hibernate,
Outswapped
MNR_STA$L_HIBO Number of processes in hibernate wait, outswapped (longword,L)
Suspended,
Inswapped
MNR_STA$L_SUSP Number of processes in suspended wait, inswapped (longword,L)
Suspended,
Outswapped
MNR_STA$L_SUSPO Number of processes in suspended wait, outswapped (longword,L)
Free Page
Wait
MNR_STA$L_FPG Number of processes in free wait (longword,L)
Compute State,
Inswapped
MNR_STA$L_COM Number of processes in compute state, inswapped (longword,L)
Compute State,
Outswapped
MNR_STA$L_COMO Number of processes in compute state, outswapped (longword,L)
Current MNR_STA$L_CUR Number of current processes (longword,L)

H.4.2.17 SYSTEM Class Record

The SYSTEM class record contains data describing the overall operation of the three major system components (CPU, memory, I/O). The SYSTEM class record has a record type of 17 and a size of 49 bytes. Note that when the SYSTEM class is recorded, the PROCESSES, STATES, and MODES classes are also recorded, even if not explicitly requested.

Figure H-24 illustrates the format of the SYSTEM class record.

Figure H-24 SYSTEM Class Record Format


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the SYSTEM class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
CPU Busy MNR_SYS$L_BUSY Count of clock ticks (10-millisecond units) spent in all CPU modes since system was booted (longword,C)
Other States MNR_SYS$L_OTHSTAT Number of processes in states other than LEF, LEFO, HIB, HIBO, COM, COMO, PFW, and MWAIT (longword,L)
Process Count MNR_SYS$L_PROCS Number of processes in system (longword,L)
Page Faults MNR_SYS$L_FAULTS Count of page faults for all working sets (longword,C)
Read I/Os MNR_SYS$L_PREADIO Count of read I/Os resulting from disk page faults (longword,C)
Free Page Count MNR_SYS$L_FREECNT Number of pages currently on free-page list (longword,L)
Modified Page Count MNR_SYS$L_MFYCNT Number of pages currently on modified-page list (longword,L)
Direct I/Os MNR_SYS$L_DIRIO Count of direct I/O operations (longword,C)
Buffered I/Os MNR_SYS$L_BUFIO Count of buffered I/O operations (longword,C)

H.4.2.18 TIMER Class Record

The TIMER class record contains data that is useful to the OpenVMS executive when monitoring timer queue entries (TQEs). The TIMER class record has a record type of 26 and a size of 29 bytes.

Figure H-25 illustrates the format of the TIMER class record.

Figure H-25 TIMER Class Record Format


The following table describes the contents of each of the TIMER class record fields:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Total TQEs MNR_TMR$L_TQE_TOTAL Count of all TQEs processed per second.
SYSUB TQEs MNR_TMR$L_TQE_SYSUB Count of SYSUB TQEs processed per second.
Timer TQEs MNR_TMR$L_TQE_TIMER Count of timer requests made by users per second.
Wakeup TQEs MNR_TMR$L_TQE_WAKEUP Count of wakeup timer requests made by users per second.

H.4.2.19 TRANSACTION Class Record

The TRANSACTION class record contains data describing the operations of the DECdtm transaction manager. The TRANSACTION class has a record type of 22 and a size of 69 bytes. Figure H-26 illustrates the format of the TRANSACTION class record.

Figure H-26 TRANSACTION Class Record Format


The following table describes the contents of each of the TRANSACTION class record fields:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
Starts MNR_TRA$L_STARTS Count of transactions started. The number of times that calls on the local node to $START_TRANS have completed successfully (longword, C).
Prepares MNR_TRA$L_PREPARES Count of transactions that have been prepared (longword, C).
One Phase Commits MNR_TRA$L_ONE_PHASE Count of one-phase commit events initiated (longword, C).
Commits MNR_TRA$L_COMMITS Count of transactions committed. This is the combined total of one-phase and two-phase commits (longword, C).
Aborts MNR_TRA$L_ABORTS Count of transactions aborted. Combined total of planned and unplanned aborts (longword, C).
Ends MNR_TRA$L_ENDS Count of transactions ended. The number of times that calls on the local node to $END_TRANS have completed successfully (longword, C).
Branches MNR_TRA$L_BRANCHS Count of transaction branches started on the local node (longword, C).
Adds MNR_TRA$L_ADDS Count of transaction branches added on the local node (longword, C).
0-1 Transactions MNR_TRA$L_BUCKETS1 Count of transactions with a duration of less than 1 second (longword, C).
1-2 Transactions MNR_TRA$L_BUCKETS2 Count of transactions with a duration of 1 to 2 (1.99) seconds (longword, C).
2-3 Transactions MNR_TRA$L_BUCKETS3 Count of transactions with a duration of 2 to 3 seconds (longword, C).
3-4 Transactions MNR_TRA$L_BUCKETS4 Count of transactions with a duration of 3 to 4 seconds (longword, C).
4-5 Transactions MNR_TRA$L_BUCKETS5 Count of transactions with a duration of 4 to 5 seconds (longword, C).
5+ Transactions MNR_TRA$L_BUCKETS6 Count of transactions with a duration greater than 5 seconds (longword, C).

H.4.2.20 VBS Class Record (VAX Only)

On VAX systems, the VBS class record contains statistics on the operation of the virtual balance slot (VBS) mechanism. The VBS class record has a record type of 24 and a size of 21 bytes.

Figure H-27 illustrates the format of a VBS class record.

Figure H-27 VBS Class Record Format (VAX Only)


The following table describes the fields in the data block for the VBS class record:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
VBS Faults MNR_VBS$L_VRBS_TRAN Count of faults from virtual balance slots to real balance slots (longword, C)
VBS Clock Ticks MNR_VBS$L_VCPUTICKS Count of virtual balance slot clock ticks (10-millisecond units) (longword, C)

H.4.2.21 VECTOR Class Record

The VECTOR class record contains data describing the time during which vector consumers have been scheduled on a vector-present processor. Its record type number is 23. A VECTOR class record is of variable length and depends on the number of active processors in the system. Assuming all processors are active, MONITOR calculates the size of the record by adding the size of the class header, the class prefix, and the data blocks contained in the record. This is shown in the following formula:


13 + 8 + (5 * MNR_SYI$B_VPCPUS)

Figure H-28 illustrates the format of the VECTOR class record.

Figure H-28 VECTOR Class Record Format


The following table describes the contents of each of the VECTOR class record fields:

Field Symbolic Offset Contents
CPU ID MNR_VEC$B_CPUID Identification of the processor from which the data has been collected (byte, I)
Ticks MNR_VEC$L_TICKS Number of 10-millisecond clock ticks in which a vector consumer has been scheduled on this processor (longword, C)

To support the VECTOR class, MONITOR uses the items MNR_SYI$B_VPCPUS and MNR_SYI$L_VPCONF in the system information record. See the table in Section H.3.2 for details on these items.


Appendix I
SHOW CLUSTER Keypad Commands

SHOW CLUSTER provides a predefined keypad that you can use to enter selected commands. You can add, remove, or reposition windows, scroll their contents, or change the interval at which the display is updated. You can also customize the keypad by redefining the default functions of individual keys.

I.1 Using the Keypad

By default, the numeric keypad is defined as shown in Figure I-1.

Figure I-1 SHOW CLUSTER Default Keypad


Shading over a keypad command indicates that you must press the GOLD key and then the keypad key.

The following table describes each keypad command you can use with the Show Cluster utility. In this table, KPn refers to the keypad key labeled with the number n. For example, KP2 refers to the keypad key labeled with the number 2. All commands shown on the keypad are also discussed in the Command Section of Chapter 20.

Command Key or
Key Sequence
Description
ADD KP4 Modifies the current display by including the field or class that you specify after the ADD command.
DESELECT GOLD-Period Terminates a window selection.
GOLD PF1 When pressed before another keypad key, specifies the second key's alternate function (the bottom function on the keypad diagram).
HELP PF2 Displays information about using the editing keypad.
INIT PF4 Resets the display using the original default values for field names, class names, and field widths.
REFRESH PF3 Refreshes the screen display. Clears and redraws the screen, deleting any extraneous characters or messages that might have appeared on the screen but are not part of the SHOW CLUSTER display. (Performs the same function as Ctrl/W.)
REMOVE KP5 Modifies the current display by removing the field or class that you specify after the REMOVE command.
SAVE KP2 Allows you to save the current display to a startup initialization file or a command procedure that you can then use to restore the display at a later time.
SELECT Period Designates which window to scroll or move.
SET KP1 Changes any of several options including the number of columns in the display, the number of seconds between updates, the functions of the arrow keys, the auto positioning of windows, and the characteristics of a particular field.
SET AUTO_POS OFF KP6 Disables the automatic positioning of windows on the screen.
SET AUTO_POS ON GOLD-KP6 Enables the Show Cluster utility to automatically position windows on the screen. This is the default setting.
SET FUNCTION
EDIT
Hyphen Redefines the arrow keys to restore line-mode editing.
SET FUNCTION
MOVE
KP9 Redefines the arrow keys to move a selected window to a specified position on the display screen. For example, the UP, DOWN, RIGHT, and LEFT arrow keys are redefined as MOVE UP 1, MOVE DOWN 1, MOVE RIGHT 1, and MOVE LEFT 1, respectively.
SET FUNCTION
PAN
KP7 Redefines the arrow keys to rotate the display. For example, the UP, DOWN, RIGHT, and LEFT arrow keys are redefined as PAN UP 1, PAN DOWN 1, PAN RIGHT 1, and PAN LEFT 1, respectively.
SET FUNCTION
SCROLL
KP8 Resets the arrow keys to scroll the screen display. For example, if you press the SET FUNCTION SCROLL key, the UP, DOWN, RIGHT, and LEFT arrow keys are redefined as SCROLL UP 1, SCROLL DOWN 1, SCROLL RIGHT 1, and SCROLL LEFT 1, respectively.
WRITE KP3 Outputs the current display to either a file name that you specify, or to the default output file name SHOW_CLUSTER.LIS.

I.2 Redefining the Keypad Keys

Use the DEFINE/KEY command to change the definition of a key. See the DEFINE/KEY command in the Command Section of Chapter 20 for more information.

I.3 Redefining the Arrow Keys

By default, the SHOW CLUSTER arrow keys are set to the EDIT function. This means that you can perform command line editing at the command prompt that is similar to DCL line-mode editing. For example, the left arrow key moves the cursor to the left, or the up arrow key recalls the previous command. See the OpenVMS User's Manual for information about DCL line-mode editing.

The SET FUNCTION keys, shown in the second row of the keypad, redefine the arrow keys to perform a specified function. You can reset the arrow keys from EDIT to PAN, SCROLL, or MOVE with the SET FUNCTION command. For example, if you press the SET FUNCTION SCROLL key, the up, down, right, and left arrow keys are redefined as SCROLL UP 1, SCROLL DOWN 1, SCROLL RIGHT 1, and SCROLL LEFT 1, respectively. (See the Command Section of Chapter 20 for information about specific commands.)

Note

If you set the function to PAN, SCROLL, or MOVE, the arrow keys are no longer defined to perform DCL line-mode editing. Only one function can be enabled at a time. To restore line-mode editing once it has been changed to another function, enter the command SET FUNCTION EDIT.


Appendix J
System Parameters

This appendix describes OpenVMS system parameters.

Note

HP recommends that you use AUTOGEN to modify system parameters. In special cases, however, you can use a conversational boot to modify a parameter value temporarily. To change a parameter value permanently, you must edit MODPARAMS.DAT and run AUTOGEN. For instructions, see the HP OpenVMS System Manager's Manual.

J.1 How the Parameters Are Described

System parameters can be grouped into categories, as shown in Section J.1.1. Also, each parameter can have one or more attributes, listed in Section J.1.1. Each parameter also has a value.

The parameters in this appendix are listed alphabetically along with their attributes.

J.1.1 Parameter Categories and Attributes

The system parameters can be divided into the following categories (see also Table J-1):

Category Description
ACP Parameters associated with file system caches and Files-11 ancillary control processes (ACPs).
CLUSTER Parameters that affect OpenVMS Cluster operation.
JOB Job control parameters.
LGI Login security parameters.
PQL Parameters associated with process creation limits and quotas.
RMS Parameters associated with OpenVMS Record Management Services (RMS).
SCS Parameters that control System Communications Services (SCS) and port driver operation. The parameters that affect SCS operation have the prefix SCS. The parameters that affect the CI780/CI750 port driver have the prefix PA.
SPECIAL Special parameters used by HP. These parameters should only be changed if recommended by HP personnel, or if they are clearly stated to change in the installation guide or release notes of an HP-supplied layered product.
SYS Parameters that affect overall system operation.
TTY Parameters associated with terminal behavior.

The user can also define four parameters: USERD1, USERD2, USER3, and USER4. USERD1 and USERD2 are dynamic.

Attributes for Parameters

Parameters can have one or more of the following attributes:

Attribute Description
AUTOGEN AUTOGEN calculates and modifies values.
DYNAMIC Active values can be modified.
FEEDBACK FEEDBACK information available for AUTOGEN calculations.
GEN Affects the creation and initialization of data structures at bootstrap time.
MAJOR Most likely to require modification.
These attributes are noted in the detailed parameter descriptions in Section J.2.

Table J-1 lists system parameters according to category. Footnotes indicate dynamic and system-specific parameters.

Table J-1 System Parameters
ACP Parameters    
ACP_BASEPRIO 1 ACP_DATACHECK 1 ACP_DINDXCACHE 1
ACP_DIRCACHE 1 ACP_EXTCACHE 1 ACP_EXTLIMIT 1
ACP_FIDCACHE 1 ACP_HDRCACHE 1 ACP_MAPCACHE 1
ACP_MAXREAD 1 ACP_MULTIPLE 1 ACP_QUOCACHE 1
ACP_REBLDSYSD ACP_SHARE 1 ACP_SWAPFLGS 1
ACP_SYSACC 1 ACP_WINDOW 1 ACP_WORKSET 1
ACP_WRITEBACK 1 ACP_XQP_RES 1  
CLUSTER Parameters    
ALLOCLASS +CHECK_CLUSTER CLUSTER_CREDITS
CWCREPRC_ENABLE DISK_QUORUM 1 ++DR_UNIT_BASE
EXPECTED_VOTES LOCKDIRWT MPW_WRTCLUSTER
MSCP_BUFFER MSCP_CMD_TMO MSCP_CREDITS
MSCP_LOAD MSCP_SERVE_ALL NISCS_CONV_BOOT
NISCS_LOAD_PEA0 NISCS_MAX_PKTSZ NISCS_PORT_SERV
QDSKINTERVAL QDSKSVOTES RECNXINTERVAL 1
TAPE_ALLOCLASS TMSCP_LOAD TMSCP_SERVE_ALL
VAXCLUSTER VOTES  
JOB Parameters    
DEFPRI 1 DEFQUEPRI 1 IJOBLIM 1
MAXQUEPRI 1 NJOBLIM 1 RJOBLIM 1
LGI Parameters    
LGI_BRK_DISUSER 1 LGI_BRK_LIM 1 LGI_BRK_TERM 1
LGI_BRK_TMO 1 LGI_CALLOUTS 1 LGI_HID_TIM 1
LGI_PWD_TMO 1 LGI_RETRY_LIM 1 LGI_RETRY_TMO 1
MULTIPROCESSING Parameters  
++IO_PREFER_CPUS MULTIPROCESSING SMP_CPUS
SMP_LNGSPINWAIT SMP_SANITY_CNT SMP_SPINWAIT
PQL Parameters    
PQL_DASTLM 1 PQL_DBIOLM 1 PQL_DBYTLM 1
PQL_DCPULM 1 PQL_DDIOLM 1 PQL_DENQLM 1
PQL_DFILLM 1 PQL_DJTQUOTA PQL_DPGFLQUOTA 1
PQL_DPRCLM 1 PQL_DTQELM 1 PQL_DWSDEFAULT
PQL_DWSEXTENT 1 PQL_DWSQUOTA 1 PQL_MASTLM 1
PQL_MBIOLM 1 PQL_MBYTLM 1 PQL_MCPULM 1
PQL_MDIOLM 1 PQL_MENQLM 1 PQL_MFILLM 1
PQL_MJTQUOTA 1 PQL_MPGFLQUOTA 1 PQL_MPRCLM 1
PQL_MTQELM 1 PQL_MWSDEFAULT PQL_MWSEXTENT 1
PQL_MWSQUOTA 1    
RMS Parameters    
RMS_CONPOLICY RMS_DFMBC 1 RMS_DFMBFIDX 1
RMS_DFMBFREL 1 RMS_DFMBFSDK 1 RMS_DFMBFSMT 1
RMS_DFMBFSUR 1 RMS_DFNBC 1 RMS_EXTEND_SIZE 1
RMS_FILEPROT RMS_HEURISTIC RMS_PROLOGUE 1
++RMS_SEQFILE_WBH 1    
SCS Parameters    
PAMAXPORT 1 PANOPOLL 1 PANUMPOLL 1
PAPOLLINTERVAL 1 PAPOOLINTERVAL 1 PASANITY 1
PASTDGBUF PASTIMOUT 1 PRCPOLINTERVAL 1
SCSBUFFCNT SCSCONNCNT SCSFLOWCUSH 1
SCSMAXDG SCSMAXMSG SCSNODE
SCSRESPCNT SCSSYSTEMID SCSSYSTEMIDH
++SMCI_FLAGS 1 ++SMCI_PORTS TIMVCFAIL 1
UDABURSTRATE    
Special Parameters    
AFFINITY_SKIP AFFINITY_TIME BREAKPOINTS
CHANNELCNT +CLOCK_INTERVAL CONCEAL_DEVICES
CRD_CONTROL CTLIMGLIM CTLPAGES
DISABLE_UPCALLS 1 +DLCKEXTRASTK DNVOSI1
EXUSRSTK ++FAST_PATH ++FAST_PATH_PORTS
IMGIOCNT IOTA JOBCTLD
LOAD_SYS_IMAGES LOCKRETRY MAXCLASSPRI 1
++MC_SERVICES_P0-9 MINCLASSPRI 1 MPW_PRIO
NOAUTOCONFIG 1 NOCLUSTER NOPGFLSWP
PAGTBLPFC PE* ++PFN_COLOR_COUNT
++PHYSICAL_MEMORY +PHYSICALPAGES PIOPAGES 1
PIXSCAN 1 POOLCHECK 1 POOLPAGING
PRIORITY_OFFSET +PSEUDOLOA PU_OPTIONS
+QBUS_MULT_INTR RESALLOC RSRVPAGCNT
S0_PAGING SA_APP +SBIERRENABLE
++SCH_CTLFLAGS 1 +SCSI_NOAUTO 1 ++SCSICLUSTER_P[1-4]
SMP_CPUSH SMP_TICK_CNT SSINHIBIT
+SWPALLOCINC SWPFAIL SWPRATE
SWP_PRIO SYSPFC TBSKIPWSL
TIME_CONTROL 1 TTY_DEFPORT +VBN_CACHE_S
+VBSS_ENABLE +VBSS_ENABLE2 ++VCC_FLAGS
++VCC_MAXSIZE +VCC_MINSIZE +VCC_PTES
VMS WPRE_SIZE 1 WPTTE_SIZE 1
WRITABLESYS WRITESYSPARAMS 1 XQPCTL2
XQPCTLD1    
SYS Parameters    
++ARB_SUPPORT 1 AUTO_DLIGHT_SAV AWSMIN 1
AWSTIME 1 BALSETCNT BORROWLIM 1
BUGCHECKFATAL 1 BUGREBOOT 1 CLASS_PROT 1
CLISYMTBL 1 ++CRDENABLE ++DBGTK_SCRATCH
DCL_CTLFLAGS DEADLOCK_WAIT 1 DEFMBXBUFQUO 1
DEFMBXMXMSG 1 DELPRC_EXIT 1 ++DEVICE_NAMING
DORMANTWAIT 1 DUMPBUG DUMPSTYLE 1
ERLBUFFERPAGES ERRORLOGBUFFERS EXTRACPU 1
FREEGOAL 1 FREELIM ++GALAXY
GBLPAGES 1 GBLPAGFIL 1 GBLSECTIONS
++GH_EXEC_CODE ++GH_EXEC_DATA ++GH_RES_CODE
++GH_RES_DATA GH_RSRVPGCNT ++GLX_INST_TMO
GLX_SHM_REG GROWLIM 1 ++IMGREG_PAGES
+INTSTKPAGES 1 ++KSTACKPAGES +LAMAPREGS
++LAN_FLAGS 1 ++LCKMGR_CPUID ++LCKMGR_MODE
LNMPHASHTBL LNMSHASHTBL LOAD_PWD_POLICY
LOCKIDTBL LONGWAIT 1 ++MAXBOBMEM 1
MAXBUF 1 MAXPROCESSCNT MAXSYSGROUP 1
MINWSCNT MMG_CTLFLAGS 1 ++MPDEV_AFB_INTVL
++MPDEV_ENABLE ++MPDEV_LCRETRIES ++MPDEV_POLLER
++MPDEV_REMOTE MPW_HILIMIT MPW_IOLIMIT
MPW_LOLIMIT MPW_LOWAITLIMIT 1 MULTITHREAD
++MVSUPMSG_INTVL 1 ++MVSUPMSG_NUM 1 MVTIMEOUT 1
NET_CALLOUTS 1 NPAGEDYN ++NPAGERAD
NPAGEVIR ++NPAG_AGGRESSIVE 1 ++NPAG_BAP_MIN
++NPAG_BAP_MIN_PA ++NPAG_GENTLE 1 ++NPAG_INTERVAL 1
++NPAG_RING_SIZE PAGEDYN +PAGFILCNT
PFCDEFAULT 1 PFRATH 1 PFRATL 1
POWEROFF 1 PROCSECTCNT QUANTUM 1
++RAD_SUPPORT +REALTIME_SPTS 1 RESHASHTBL
++S2_SIZE SAVEDUMP SECURITY_POLICY
SETTIME SHADOWING SHADOW_MAX_COPY 1
SHADOW_MAX_UNIT SHADOW_MBR_TMO 1 ++SHADOW_REC_DLY 1
++SHADOW_SITE_ID 1 SHADOW_SYS_DISK SHADOW_SYS_TMO
SHADOW_SYS_UNIT SHADOW_SYS_WAIT +SPTREQ
STARTUP_P1-8 +SWPFILCNT SWPOUTPGCNT 1
SYSMWCNT SYSTEM_CHECK TAILORED
TAPE_MVTIMEOUT 1 TIMEPROMPTWAIT UAFALTERNATE
USERD1 1 USERD2 1 USER3
USER4 ++VCC_MAX_CACHE 1 ++VCC_MAX_IO_SIZE 1
++VCC_MAX_LOCKS ++VCC_READAHEAD 1 ++VCC_WRITEBEHIND
+VECTOR_MARGIN 1 +VECTOR_PROC VIRTUALPAGECNT
WBM_MSG_INT 1 WBM_MSG_LOWER 1 WBM_MSG_UPPER 1
WBM_OPCOM_LVL 1 WINDOW_SYSTEM 1 ++WLKSYSDSK
WSDEC 1 WSINC 1 WSMAX
+WS_OPA0 XFMAXRATE 1 ++ZERO_LIST_HI 1
TTY Parameters    
TTY_ALTALARM TTY_ALTYPAHD TTY_AUTOCHAR 1
TTY_BUF TTY_CLASSNAME TTY_DEFCHAR
TTY_DEFCHAR2 TTY_DIALTYPE TTY_DMASIZE 1
TTY_PARITY TTY_RSPEED TTY_SCANDELTA
TTY_SILOTIME TTY_SPEED TTY_TIMEOUT 1
TTY_TYPAHDSZ    

1Dynamic parameter
++Alpha specific
+VAX specific

J.1.2 Values for Parameters

Each parameter has associated default, minimum, and maximum values that define the scope of allowable values. To determine these values, invoke SYSGEN and enter a SHOW [parameter-name] command (with appropriate qualifiers). For example, to display the values for WSMAX, specify SHOW WSMAX; to display the values for the TTY parameters, specify SHOW/TTY. You can also display parameters grouped by attributes. To display DYNAMIC parameters, for example, specify SHOW/DYNAMIC.

Default values for system parameters allow booting on any supported OpenVMS configuration. SYSGEN displays default values under the heading default when you enter the SYSGEN command SHOW [parameter-name] for one of the parameter categories or attributes. Reset the default parameter values with the USE DEFAULT command.

However, to avoid starting all layered products on a system that is not tuned for them, possibly causing the system to become nonoperational, set the STARTUP_P1 system parameter to "MIN."

The computed, installed value referred to in this section is the value derived by the AUTOGEN command procedure. (See the HP OpenVMS System Manager's Manual.)

J.2 Parameter Descriptions

This section describes system parameters and provides guidelines to help you decide whether you should consider modifying the parameters. The following attributes are indicated for the parameters:

AUTOGEN---A
DYNAMIC---D
FEEDBACK---F
GEN---G
MAJOR---M

Note

In versions of the operating system before Version 4.0, a separate process, the ancillary control process (ACP), performed file operations such as file opens, closes, and window turns. Version 4.0 introduced the XQP (extended QIO procedure), which allows every process on the system to perform these operations. Consequently, many ACP parameters are applicable only when Files-11 On-Disk Structure Level 1 disks are mounted or when an ACP is specifically requested during a mount command. For compatibility reasons, the names of the parameters have not changed.

J.2.1 System Parameters

This section alphabetically lists and describes the system parameters in all categories.


Parameters

ACP_BASEPRIO (D)

ACP_BASEPRIO sets the base priority for all ACPs. The DCL command SET PROCESS/PRIORITY can be used to reset the base priorities of individual ACPs. ACP_BASEPRIO is not applicable for XQPs.

ACP_DATACHECK (D)

ACP_DATACHECK controls the consistency checks that are performed on internal file system metadata such as file headers.

ACP_DATACHECK is a bit mask. The following table shows the bits that are defined currently:

Bit Description
0 Set this bit to perform consistency checks on read operations.

When this bit is set, the IO$M_DATACHECK function modifier is automatically set on all subsequent IO$_READLBLK operations that read file system metadata (see the HP OpenVMS I/O User's Reference Manual).

1 Set this bit to perform consistency checks on write operations.

When this bit is set, the IO$M_DATACHECK function modifier is automatically set on all subsequent IO$_WRITELBLK operations that read file system metadata (see the HP OpenVMS I/O User's Reference Manual).

2 Set this bit to perform read-after-write consistency checks.

This is similar to setting bit 1, except that in this case the file system does the checks, not the lower level device or disk driver.

Note that read-after-write consistency checks are not allowed on deferred writes. Deferred writes are turned off if this bit is set.

3 Reserved for HP use only; must be zero.
4 Reserved for HP use only; must be zero.
5 and 6 These two bits control the checks that are performed on reads and writes of directory blocks. You can select one of four different levels:
To Check That... Select This Level... By Setting Bit 6 to... And Bit 5 to...
The block is a valid directory block (reads only) 0 0 0
The block is a valid directory block (reads and writes) 1 0 1
The block is a valid directory block and contains valid entries (reads and writes) 2 1 0
The block is a valid directory block and contains valid entries in correct alphanumeric order (reads and writes) 3 1 1

When you set the SYSTEM_CHECK system parameter to 1, you enable level 3 checking of directory blocks.

Write errors result in BUGCHECK and crash your system; read errors exit with error status SS$_BADDIRECTORY.

7 Reserved for HP use only; must be zero.

ACP_DINDXCACHE (A,D,F)

ACP_DINDXCACHE controls the size of the directory index cache and the number of buffers used on a cachewide basis. Also, ACP_DINDXCACHE builds a temporary index into the directory file, thereby reducing search time and directory header lookup operations.

ACP_DIRCACHE (A,D,F)

ACP_DIRCACHE sets the number of pages for caching directory blocks. Too small a value causes excessive XQP I/O operations, while too large a value causes excessive physical memory to be consumed by the directory data block cache.

ACP_EXTCACHE (D,F)

ACP_EXTCACHE sets the number of entries in the extent cache. Each entry points to one contiguous area of free space on disk. A specification of 0 means no cache. Too small a value causes excessive XQP I/O operations, while too large a value causes excessive physical memory to be consumed by the extent cache.

ACP_EXTLIMIT (D)

ACP_EXTLIMIT specifies the maximum amount of free space to which the extent cache can point, expressed in thousandths of the currently available free blocks on the disk. For example, if available free space on the disk is 20,000 blocks, a specification of 10 limits the extent cache to 200 blocks.

The computed, installed value is usually adequate. Users with four or more OpenVMS Cluster node systems might want to adjust this parameter.

ACP_FIDCACHE (D,F)

ACP_FIDCACHE sets the number of file identification slots cached. A specification of 1 means no cache. Too small a value causes excessive XQP I/O operations, while too large a value causes excessive physical memory to be consumed by the FID caches.

ACP_HDRCACHE (A,D,F)

ACP_HDRCACHE sets the number of pages for caching file header blocks. Too small a value causes excessive XQP I/O operations, while too large a value causes excessive physical memory to be consumed by the file header caches.

ACP_MAPCACHE (A,D,F)

ACP_MAPCACHE sets the number of pages for caching index file bitmap blocks. Too small a value causes excessive XQP I/O operations, while too large a value causes excessive physical memory to be consumed by the bitmap cache.

ACP_MAXREAD (D)

ACP_MAXREAD sets the maximum number of directory blocks read in one I/O operation.

ACP_MULTIPLE (A,D)

ACP_MULTIPLE enables (1) or disables (0) the default creation of a separate disk XQP cache for each volume mounted on a different device type. Prior to Version 4.0, a separate ACP process was created for each device type if this parameter was enabled. Because ACP operations are now handled by the per process XQP, such separate processes are no longer created. In general, having multiple caches is unnecessary. One large cache is more efficient than several small ones. ACP_MULTIPLE can be overridden on an individual-volume basis with the DCL command MOUNT.

ACP_QUOCACHE (A,D,F)

ACP_QUOCACHE sets the number of quota file entries cached. A specification of 0 means no cache. Too small a value causes excessive XQP I/O operations, while too large a value causes excessive physical memory to be consumed by the quota caches.

ACP_REBLDSYSD

ACP_REBLDSYSD specifies whether the system disk should be rebuilt if it was improperly dismounted with extent caching, file number caching, or disk quota caching enabled. The ACP_REBLDSYSD default value (1) ensures that the system disk is rebuilt. Setting the value to 0 means the disk is not rebuilt.

Depending on the amount of caching enabled on the volume before it was dismounted, the rebuild operation may consume a considerable amount of time. Setting the value of ACP_REBLDSYSD to 0 specifies that the disk should be returned to active service immediately. If you set ACP_REBLDSYSD to 0, you can enter the DCL command SET VOLUME/REBUILD at any time to rebuild the disk.

ACP_SHARE (D)

ACP_SHARE enables (0) or disables (1) the creation of a global section for the first ACP used, enabling succeeding ACPs to share its code. This parameter should be set to 0 when ACP_MULTIPLE is on.

ACP_SWAPFLGS (A,D)

ACP_SWAPFLGS enables or disables swap through the value of a 4-bit number for the following four classes of ACPs:
Bit Class of ACP
0 Disks mounted by MOUNT/SYSTEM
1 Disks mounted by MOUNT/GROUP
2 Private disks
3 Magnetic tape ACP

If the value of the bit is 1, the corresponding class of ACPs can be swapped. The value of decimal 15 (hexadecimal F---all bits on) enables swap for all classes of ACP. A value of decimal 14 disables swap for ACPs for volumes mounted with the /SYSTEM qualifier but leaves swap enabled for all other ACPs. Note that one has only disk ACPs present if they are specifically requested at mount time or if a Files-11 On-Disk Structure Level 1 disk is mounted. In general, only bit 3 is significant because usually no file ACPs exist.

ACP_SYSACC (A,D)

ACP_SYSACC sets the number of directory file control blocks (FCBs) that are cached for disks mounted with the /SYSTEM qualifier. Each directory FCB contains a 16-byte array containing the first letter of the last entry in each block of the directory (or group of blocks if the directory exceeds 16 blocks). Since entries in a directory are alphabetical, the cached FCB provides quick access to a required directory block. This parameter value should be roughly equivalent to the number of directories that are in use concurrently on each system volume. It might be overridden on a per-volume basis with the /ACCESSED qualifier to the DCL command MOUNT. The value should be kept low in systems with small physical memory and little file activity, because the FCBs require a significant amount of space in the nonpaged dynamic pool.

Too small a value causes excessive XQP I/O operations, while too large a value causes excessive physical memory to be consumed by the FCB caches.

ACP_WINDOW (D)

ACP_WINDOW sets the default number of window pointers to be allocated in a window for a default file access, for disks mounted with the /SYSTEM qualifier.

ACP_WORKSET (D)

ACP_WORKSET sets the default size of a working set for an ACP. A specification of 0 permits the ACP to calculate the size. This value should be nonzero only on small systems where memory is tight. Too small a value causes excessive ACP page, while too large a value causes excessive physical memory to be consumed by the ACP. Note that this parameter has no effect on the per-process XQP.

ACP_WRITEBACK (D)

ACP_WRITEBACK is a dynamic system parameter that controls whether deferred writes to file headers are enabled. The default value is 1, which enables deferred writes to file headers. To disable the feature, set ACP_WRITEBACK to 0.

This system parameter affects only applications like PATHWORKS that can request deferred writes to file headers. Note that the deferred write feature is not available on Files-11 ODS--1 volumes.

ACP_XQP_RES

ACP_XQP_RES controls whether the XQP is currently in memory. The default value (1) specifies that the XQP is permanently in memory. Change the default only on restricted memory systems with a small number of users and little or no file activity that requires XQP intervention. Such activity includes file opens, closes, directory lookups, and window turns.

AFFINITY_SKIP

AFFINITY_SKIP controls the breaking of implicit affinity. The value indicates the number of times a process is skipped before being moved.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

AFFINITY_TIME

AFFINITY_TIME controls the breaking of implicit affinity. The value indicates how long a process remains on the compute queue.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

ALLOCLASS

ALLOCLASS determines the device allocation class for the system. The device allocation class is used to derive a common lock resource name for multiple access paths to the same device.

ARB_SUPPORT (D)

(Alpha only) The Access Rights Block (ARB) compatibility option, the ARB_SUPPORT system parameter, is provided specifically to support products that have not yet been updated to use the new per-thread security Persona Security Block (PSB) data structure instead of the ARB. Changing the value of ARB_SUPPORT from 2 or 3 (the default) to any other value can affect the operation of these products.

Note

HP recommends that all Version 7.3-1 systems have the ARB_SUPPORT parameter set to 3 (the default). Do not change the ARB_SUPPORT parameter to any other value until all products dependent on the ARB and associated structures have been modified for the new environment.

The following table describes ARB_SUPPORT parameters:

ARB_SUPPORT Parameter Value Behavior
ISS$C_ARB_NONE 0 The obsolete kernel data cells are not maintained by the system. Fields are initialized to zero (or set to invalid pointers) at process creation.
ISS$C_ARB_CLEAR 1 The obsolete kernel data cells are cleared (or set to invalid pointers) when the code would have set up values for backward compatibility.
ISS$C_ARB_READ_ONLY 2 The obsolete cells are updated with corresponding security information stored in the current PSB when a $PERSONA_ASSUME is issued.
ISS$C_ARB_FULL 3 (default) Data is moved from the obsolete cells to the currently active PSB on any security-based operation.

AUTO_DLIGHT_SAV

AUTO_DLIGHT_SAV is set to either 1 or 0. The default is 0.

If AUTO_DLIGHT_SAV is set to 1, OpenVMS automatically makes the change to and from daylight saving time.

AWSMIN (D)

On VAX systems, AWSMIN establishes the lowest number of pages to which a working set limit can be decreased by automatic working set adjustment.

On Alpha systems, AWSMIN establishes the lowest number of pagelets to which a working set limit can be decreased by automatic working set adjustment.

AWSTIME (D)

AWSTIME specifies the minimum amount of processor time that must elapse for the system to collect a significant sample of a working set's page fault rate. The time is expressed in units of 10 milliseconds. The default value of 20, for example, is 200 milliseconds.

Some application configurations that have a large number of memory-intensive processes may benefit if the value is reduced. The value can be as low as 4.

AWSTIME expiration is checked only at quantum end. Reducing its value and not reducing QUANTUM effectively sets the value of AWSTIME equal to the value of QUANTUM.

BALSETCNT (A,G,M)

BALSETCNT sets the number of balance set slots in the system page table. Each memory-resident working set requires one balance set slot.

You can monitor the active system with the DCL command SHOW MEMORY or the MONITOR PROCESSES command of the Monitor utility to determine the actual maximum number of working sets in memory. If this number is significantly lower than the value of BALSETCNT, this parameter value may be lowered. If all balance set slots are being used, raise the value of BALSETCNT.

Never set BALSETCNT to a value higher than 2 less than MAXPROCESSCNT. If physical memory is a significant system constraint, consider lowering this value even further. However, if your system runs with a number of processes nearly equal to MAXPROCESSCNT, lowering BALSETCNT will force swapping to occur, which can affect system performance. Note that virtual balance slots (VBS) can affect the values of BALSETCNT and MAXPROCESSCNT.

BORROWLIM (A,D,M)

BORROWLIM defines the minimum number of pages required on the free-page list before the system permits process growth beyond the working set quota (WSQUOTA) for the process. This parameter should always be greater than FREELIM.

This parameter allows a process to grow beyond the value set by the working set quota (WSQUOTA) to the working set quota extent (WSEXTENT) on a system that has a substantial memory on the free-page list. This automatic working set adjustment also depends upon the values of parameters WSINC, PFRATH, and AWSTIME.

Working set growth attempts to alleviate heavy page faulting. To make use of this growth, you must also set the user's WSEXTENT authorization quota to a larger number than the WSQUOTA value.

BREAKPOINTS

If XDELTA is loaded, BREAKPOINTS enables additional built-in calls for XDELTA during the boot sequence. The breakpoints that are enabled may change from release to release of OpenVMS.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

BUGCHECKFATAL (D)

BUGCHECKFATAL enables or disables the conversion of nonfatal bugchecks into fatal bugchecks. The system must be rebooted on a fatal bugcheck. A nonfatal bugcheck places an entry only in the error log and deletes the corresponding process.

This parameter should normally be OFF (0); you should set it ON (1) only when the executive is being debugged.

Setting the SYSTEM_CHECK parameter to 1 has the effect of setting BUGCHECKFATAL to ON (1).

BUGREBOOT (D)

BUGREBOOT enables or disables automatic rebooting of the system if a fatal bugcheck occurs. This parameter should normally be on (1); set it off (0) only when the executive is being debugged.

CHANNELCNT

CHANNELCNT specifies the number of permanent I/O channels available to the system.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

CHECK_CLUSTER

(VAX only) CHECK_CLUSTER is the VAXCLUSTER parameter sanity check. When CHECK_CLUSTER is set to 1, SYSBOOT outputs a warning message and forces a conversational boot if it detects that the VAXCLUSTER parameter is set to 0.

CLASS_PROT (D)

CLASS_PROT performs the nondiscretionary classification checks. CLASS_PROT is also checked by XQP to determine if a classification block should be added to the header of any created files.

CLISYMTBL (D)

CLISYMTBL sets the size of the command interpreter symbol table, which controls the number of DCL symbols that can be created.

CLOCK_INTERVAL

(VAX only) CLOCK_INTERVAL sets the number of microseconds between the hardware interval timer clock interrupts. It has no effect on processors that have implemented only the subset interval clock registers.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

CLUSTER_CREDITS

CLUSTER_CREDITS specifies the number of per-connection buffers a node allocates to receiving VMS$VAXcluster communications.

If the SHOW CLUSTER command displays a high number of credit waits for the VMS$VAXcluster connection, you might consider increasing the value of CLUSTER_CREDITS on the other node. However, in large cluster configurations, setting this value unnecessarily high consumes a large quantity of nonpaged pool. Each receive buffer is at least SCSMAXMSG bytes in size but might be substantially larger depending on the underlying transport.

It is not required for all nodes in the cluster to have the same value for CLUSTER_CREDITS.

The default value is currently 32. Unless a system has very constrained memory available, HP recommends that these values not be increased.

CONCEAL_DEVICES

CONCEAL_DEVICES enables or disables the use of concealed devices. By default, this parameter is set to enable concealed devices (1).

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

CRD_CONTROL

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

On VAX systems, CRD_CONTROL serves the function of CRDENABLE in earlier releases. On Alpha systems, CRD_CONTROL can be used to expand the function defined by CRDENABLE.

CRD_CONTROL is a bit mask for corrected read data (CRD) soft error control flags. These flags control the use of CRDERROR routines.

On VAX systems, the following bits are defined:

Bit Description
0 Enables CRD processing for all systems.
1 Enables scrubbing (rewriting) of the memory location that induced the CRD.
2 Enables page replacement of the pages that exhibit repeated CRD errors.
3 Forces all memory pages to be included in the PFN database. On systems that contain more than 512 megabytes of memory, all memory is mapped by the PFN database by default. This bit allows the mapping to occur on systems with less than 512 megabytes of memory.

Default values are different for VAX and Alpha systems. On VAX systems, the default is 7, which enables CRD processing, scrubbing, and page replacement.

On Alpha systems, the following bits are defined:

Bit Description
0 Enables CRD processing for all systems.
1 Enables scrubbing (rewriting) of the memory location that induced the CRD.
2 Enables page replacement of the pages that exhibit repeated CRD errors.
3 Forces all memory pages to be included in the PFN database. On systems that contain more than 512 megabytes of memory, all memory is mapped by the PFN database by default. This bit allows the mapping to occur on systems with less than 512 megabytes of memory.
4 Enables extended CRD handling, if available.
5 Enables loading of driver and process for handling server management events. Platform-specific code usually sets this bit if the required hardware and firmware support are available.
6 Disables CRD throttling.
16-31 Reserved for platform-specific error-handling control.

On Alpha systems, the default setting is 22, which enables scrubbing, page replacement, and extended CRD handling.

CRDENABLE

(Alpha only) CRDENABLE enables or disables detection and logging of memory-corrected read data (ECC) errors. This parameter should normally be set to (1).

Beginning with OpenVMS Version 7.2, CRD_CONTROL can expand the function of CRDENABLE. (Refer to CRD_CONTROL.)

CTLIMGLIM

CTLIMGLIM specifies the size of the default image I/O segment; that is channel table and initial buffer pool for image-related file and RMS I/O.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

CTLPAGES (A)

CTLPAGES specifies the size of P1 pool. CTLPAGES is automatically changed only when the process logical name table, DCL symbols, or some layered products require an increase in the size of the P1 pool area.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

CWCREPRC_ENABLE

CWCREPRC_ENABLE controls whether an unprivileged user can create a process on another OpenVMS Cluster node. The default value of 1 allows an unprivileged user to create a detached process with the same UIC on another node. A value of 0 requires that a user have DETACH or CMKRNL privilege to create a process on another node.

DBGTK_SCRATCH

(Alpha only) DBGTK_SCRATCH specifies how many pages of memory are allocated for the remote debugger. This memory is allocated only if remote debugging is enabled with the 8000 boot flag. Normally, the default value is adequate, but if the remote debugger issues an error message, you should increase this value. See Writing OpenVMS Alpha Device Drivers in C (Margie Sherlock and Lenny S. Szubowicz, Digital Press, 1996).

DCL_CTLFLAGS

DCL_CTLFLAGS is a bitmask used to alter default behavior for certain commands on a systemwide basis. At present, only the low bit of the bitmask is defined. The low bit controls the default process-name assignment for a subprocess created using the SPAWN command or LIB$SPAWN routine.

Prior to OpenVMS Version 7.3-1, if no process name was supplied, the system constructed a name by appending _n to the username, where n was the next available non-duplicate integer for any process currently in the system. For example, the first spawned process from user SYSTEM would be called SYSTEM_1, the second, SYSTEM_2, and so on. The next available number was chosen, as soon as a gap was found.

A problem with this technique is that determining the next available number is very expensive in terms of performance, because the mechanism attempts to create the process by incrementing names until one is found that unique. When several subprocesses already exist, the cost of creating the subprocess iteratively becomes even more expensive. When many processes are in the same OpenVMS group, the cost multiplies because process names must be unique throughout the group.

Beginning in OpenVMS Version 7.3-1, the default constructed process name for subprocesses has changed. Instead of incrementally searching for the next unique number, a random number is chosen to append to the username. Therefore, the first processes that are spawned from user SYSTEM might be SYSTEM_154, SYSTEM_42, SYSTEM_87, and so on. This procedure results in a very high probability of finding a unique name on the first try, because it is unlikely that the same number is already in use. This greatly reduces the cost of process creation, and applications that rely on spawned subprocesses might see a dramatic performance improvement due to this change.

However, some applications might rely on the previous method of assigning subprocess names. The DCL_CTLFLAGS parameter is available to allow you to configure the system as necessary.

Bit 0 of DCL_CTLFLAGS selects the behavior for assigning default subprocess names:

  • If the bit is clear, the new behavior is used. If you do not specify a process name, the system assigns the username with a random number suffix. This is the default setting.
  • If the bit is set, the prior behavior is used. If you do not specify a process name, the system assigns the username with a random number suffix.

DEADLOCK_WAIT (D)

DEADLOCK_WAIT defines the number of seconds that a lock request must wait before the system initiates a deadlock search on behalf of that lock. Setting DEADLOCK_WAIT to 0 disables deadlock checking. Setting DEADLOCK_WAIT to a value greater than 0 but still less than the default setting provides faster detection of deadlocks but requires more CPU usage.

DEFMBXBUFQUO (D)

DEFMBXBUFQUO sets the default for the mailbox buffer quota size in bytes when this value is not specified in a Create Mailbox ($CREMBX) system service call.

DEFMBXMXMSG (D)

DEFMBXMXMSG sets the default for the mailbox maximum message size in bytes when this value is not specified in a Create Mailbox ($CREMBX) system service call.

DEFPRI (D)

DEFPRI sets the base default priority for processes.

DEFQUEPRI (D)

DEFQUEPRI establishes the scheduling priority for jobs entered in batch and output (printer, server, and terminal) queues when no explicit scheduling priority is specified by the submitter. The value of this parameter can range from 0 to 255; the default value is 100.

The value of DEFQUEPRI should be less than or equal to MAXQUEPRI.

Note

DEFQUEPRI refers to relative queue scheduling priority, not the execution priority of the job.

DELPRC_EXIT (D)

DELPRC_EXIT can be used to control $DELPRC system service options that call exit handlers prior to final cleanup and deletion of a process. The following table describes these options:
Option Description
0 Disable the exit handler functionality with $DELPRC.
4 Execute kernel mode exit handlers.
5 (default) Execute exec and more privileged mode exit handlers.
6 Execute supervisor and more privileged mode exit handlers.
7 Execute user and more privileged mode exit handlers.

DEVICE_NAMING

(Alpha only) DEVICE_NAMING is a bit mask indicating whether port allocation classes are used in forming SCSI device names.

Following is the bit definition:

Bit Definition
0 If 1, enable new naming.
1 Must be 0. This bit is reserved for use by HP.

For more information about port allocation classes, see OpenVMS Cluster Systems.

DISABLE_UPCALLS (D)

DISABLE_UPCALLS is primarily a debugging aid. It allows the system manager to disable threads upcalls of specific types for the entire system. The value is a bit mask, with the bits corresponding to the upcall types. The upcall types are defined in the definition macro $TMCDEF.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

DISK_QUORUM (D)

The DISK_QUORUM parameter is the name of an optional quorum disk in ASCII. ASCII spaces indicate that no quorum disk is being used.

DLCKEXTRASTK

(VAX only) DLCKEXTRASTK specifies the amount of extra interrupt stack (in bytes) to leave when doing a deadlock search.

This parameter is not used on Alpha systems.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

DNVOSI1

DNVOSI1 is reserved to DECnet-Plus for OpenVMS. This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

DORMANTWAIT (D)

DORMANTWAIT specifies, in seconds, the amount of time that can elapse without a significant event before the system treats a low-priority computable process as a DORMANT process for scheduling purposes. (A low-priority process is a non real-time process whose current priority is equal to or less than the value specified by the system parameter DEFPRI [default=4].) After SUSP (suspended) processes, DORMANT processes are the most likely candidates for memory reclamation by the swapper.

Increasing the value of DORMANTWAIT can increase the interval that a low priority process blocks a high priority process if that low priority process is holding a lock or resource that the higher priority process is waiting for.

DR_UNIT_BASE (G)

(Alpha only) DR_UNIT_BASE specifies the base value from which unit numbers for DR devices (DIGITAL StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Family logical RAID drives) are counted.

DR_UNIT_BASE provides a way for unique RAID device numbers to be generated. DR devices are numbered starting with the value of DR_UNIT_BASE and then counting from there. For example, setting DR_UNIT_BASE to 10 produces device names such as $1$DRA10, $1$DRA11, and so on.

Setting DR_UNIT_BASE to appropriate, nonoverlapping values on all cluster members that share the same (nonzero) allocation class ensures that no two RAID devices are given the same name.

DUMPBUG

DUMPBUG enables (1) or disables (0) the writing of error log buffers and memory contents to SYS$SYSTEM:SYSDUMP.DMP when a fatal bugcheck occurs. This parameter should be off (0) only when the executive is being debugged.

DUMPSTYLE (A,D)

DUMPSTYLE specifies the method of writing system dumps.

DUMPSTYLE is a 32-bit mask, with the following bits defined. Each bit can be set independently. The value of the system parameter is the sum of the values of the bits that have been set. Remaining or undefined values are reserved for HP use only.

Bit Mask Description
0 00000001 0 = Full dump (SYSGEN default). The entire contents of physical memory are written to the dump file.
    1 = Selective dump. The contents of memory are written to the dump file selectively to maximize the usefulness of the dump file while conserving disk space.
1 00000002 0 = Minimal console output.
    1 = Full console output (includes stack dump, register contents, and so on).
2 00000004 0 = Dump to system disk.
    1 = Dump off system disk (DOSD) to an alternate disk. (Refer to the HP OpenVMS System Manager's Manual for details.)
3 (Alpha only) 1 00000008 0 = Do not compress.
    1 = Compress. (See note below.)
4 (Alpha only) 2 00000010 0 = Dump shared memory.
    1 = Do not dump shared memory. (See note below.)
5 - 14     Reserved for HP use only.
15 (VAX only) 3 00008000 0 = Disable use of bits 16 - 27.
    1 = Enable use of bits 16 - 27.
16 - 27 (VAX only) 2 0FFF0000   Range of DOSD unit numbers.
28 - 31     Reserved for HP use only.

1VAX systems do not support dump compression.
2VAX systems do not support shared memory.
3Specific to VAX 7000s.

If you plan to enable the Volume Shadowing minimerge feature on an Alpha system disk, be sure to specify DOSD to an alternate disk.

Note

On Alpha systems, you can save space on the system disk and, in the event of a crash, save time recording the system memory, by using the OpenVMS Alpha dump compression feature. Unless you override the default AUTOGEN calculations (by setting DUMPSTYLE in MODPARAMS.DAT), AUTOGEN uses the following algorithm:
  • On a system with less than 128 MB of memory, the system sets the DUMPSTYLE to 1 (a raw selective dump) and sizes the dump file appropriately.
  • On a system with 128 MB of memory or greater, the system sets the DUMPSTYLE to 9 (a compressed selective dump), and creates the dump file at two-thirds the value of the corresponding raw dump.

Examples:

The mask of 00000006 directs the system to send a full dump, with full console output, off the system disk (to the alternate disk).

For a VAX 7000, a mask of 00098006 directs the system to send a full dump with full console output to the DOSD whose unit number is 9.

On Alpha systems, the mask of 00000009 directs the system to compress a selective dump with minimal console output.

ERLBUFFERPAGES (A on Alpha)

ERLBUFFERPAGES specifies the amount of memory to allocate for each buffer requested by the ERRORLOGBUFFERS parameter.

On VAX systems, ERLBUFFERPAGES has a default value of 2 pages and a maximum value of 32 pages.

On Alpha systems, ERLBUFFERPAGES has a default value of 4 pagelets and a maximum value of 32 pagelets.

ERRORLOGBUFFERS

ERRORLOGBUFFERS specifies the number of buffers reserved for system error log entries. Each buffer is ERLBUFFERPAGES in length. If ERRORLOGBUFFERS is too low, messages might not be written to the error log file. If it is too high, unneeded physical pages can be consumed by the error log buffers.

If you increase ERRORLOGBUFFERS, you must also increase the size of the system dump file.

EXPECTED_VOTES (A)

EXPECTED_VOTES specifies the maximum number of votes that may be present in a cluster at any given time. Set it to a value that is equal to the sum of the vote parameters of all cluster members, plus any votes that are contributed by the quorum disk. This value is used to automatically derive the number of votes that must be present for the cluster to function (quorum).

EXTRACPU (D)

EXTRACPU sets the time, in units of 10 milliseconds, allotted to each of a process's exit handlers (for each access mode) after the process times out (that is, reaches its CPU time limit).

EXUSRSTK

EXUSRSTK specifies the amount of space provided by the image activator to recover from a stack overflow error.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

FAST_PATH

(Alpha only) FAST_PATH is a static system parameter that enables (1) or disables (0) the Fast Path performance features for all Fast Path-capable ports.

Starting in OpenVMS Version 7.2, FAST_PATH is enabled by default. In Versions 7.0 and 7.1, FAST_PATH was disabled by default.

For additional information, see FAST_PATH_PORTS and IO_PREFER_CPUS.

FAST_PATH_PORTS

(Alpha only) FAST_PATH_PORTS is a static parameter that deactivates Fast Path for specific drivers.

FAST_PATH_PORTS is a 32-bit mask, with a bit assigned for each Fast Path port driver. The following table describes the bit values:

Bit Value Description
1 Indicates that Fast Path is disabled for ports serviced by the corresponding driver.
0 Indicates that Fast Path is not disabled for ports serviced by the corresponding driver.

Beginning in OpenVMS Version 7.3-1, values of specific bit positions are those described in the following table:

Bit Position Description
0 Controls Fast Path for PKQDRIVER (for parallel SCSI).
1 Controls Fast Path for FGEDRIVER (for Fibre Channel).
2 Controls Fast Path for PKADRIVER (for Ultra3 SCSI).
3 Controls Fast Path for PEDRIVER (for LAN).
4 Controls Fast Path for PKRDRIVER (for SMART Array 5300).

Currently, the default setting for FAST_PATH_PORTS is 0, which means that Fast Path is enabled for all drivers that appear in the table.

In addition, note the following:

  • CI drivers are not controlled by FAST_PATH_PORTS. Fast Path for CI is enabled and disabled exclusively by the FAST_PATH system parameter.
  • FAST_PATH_PORTS is relevant only if the FAST_PATH system parameter is enabled (equal to 1). Setting FAST_PATH to zero has the same effect as setting all the bits in FAST_PATH_PORTS to 1.

For additional information, see FAST_PATH and IO_PREFER_CPUS. For an explanation of how to set the bits, see the HP OpenVMS I/O User's Reference Manual.

FREEGOAL (A,D,M)

FREEGOAL establishes the number of pages that you want to reestablish on the free-page list following a system memory shortage. Memory shortages occur when the system drops below the minimum number of pages required on the free-page list (FREELIM). The value of FREEGOAL must always be greater than or equal to the value of FREELIM.

FREELIM (A,M)

FREELIM sets the minimum number of pages that must be on the free-page list.

The system writes pages from the modified-page list, swaps out working sets, or reduces the size of the working sets to maintain the minimum count.

While the larger free-page list generally means less page I/O, it also means less space for the balance set, which tends to result in more swap I/O. You can monitor the size of the free-page list, the amount of page, and the amount of swap with the MONITOR IO command of the Monitor utility.

GALAXY

(Alpha Galaxy platforms only) The GALAXY parameter controls whether the specified instance participates in a Galaxy sharing set. Specify one of the following:
Value Description
0 Never load. Do not participate in a Galaxy sharing set.
1 Always load. Participate in a Galaxy sharing set.

The default value is 0. GALAXY is not an AUTOGEN parameter.

GBLPAGES (A,D,F,G,M)

GBLPAGES sets the number of global page table entries allocated at bootstrap time. Each global section requires 1 global page table entry per section page, plus 2 entries, with the total rounded up to an even number.

Users with CMKRNL privilege can change this parameter on a running system. Increasing the value of this parameter allows the global page table to expand, on demand, up to the maximum size.

The default value is sufficient for the images normally installed as shared in the system startup command procedures. Once the system is running and all global sections are created, you can examine the actual requirements with the /GLOBAL qualifier of the Install utility (INSTALL) and reduce the value of GBLPAGES accordingly. However, do not set the value of this parameter too low, because the page table entries use little permanently resident memory. If you plan to install many user images as shared, or if user programs are likely to create many global sections, you must increase the value of this parameter.

GBLPAGFIL (A,D)

GBLPAGFIL defines the maximum number of systemwide pages allowed for global page-file sections (scratch global sections that can be used without being mapped to a file). These global page-file sections can be temporary, permanent, system, or group, and are allocated from the page file specified in the system process header at bootstrap time. When you allow pages for global page-file sections, you must increase the size of the page file accordingly. Users with CMKRNL privilege can change this parameter value on a running system.

Global page-file sections are created with the Create and Map Section system services ($CREATE_GPFILE, $CRMPSC, and $CRMPSC_GPFILE_64) without an explicit disk file. These sections are used for the RMS global buffers required for shared files. Users of shared files should note that global page-file sections cause both the global page table and the default system page file (PAGEFILE.SYS) to be used. If the value of GBLPAGFIL is too small, $CRMPSC issues an error message when you attempt to create global page-file sections.

You must have scratch global sections if you use RMS global buffers. Each file using global buffers requires, in the system page file, the file's bucket size multiplied by the number of global buffers for that file. If the file's bucket size varies, as with RMS indexed files, use the maximum bucket size. For shared sequential files, use the multiblock count of the first stream to perform the $CONNECT service in place of the file's bucket size.

The default value for this parameter is adequate for most systems. However, if your site uses RMS global buffering to a significant extent, you may need to raise the value of GBLPAGFIL. Use the /GLOBAL qualifier of the Install utility to examine the number of pages consumed by RMS global buffers. The global sections used by RMS for global buffers have the prefix RMS$ followed by 8 hexadecimal digits.

Global buffers are enabled with the DCL command SET FILE/GLOBAL_BUFFERS, which is described in the HP OpenVMS DCL Dictionary.

GBLSECTIONS (A,F,G,M)

GBLSECTIONS sets the number of global section descriptors allocated in the system header at bootstrap time. Each global section requires one descriptor. Each descriptor takes 32 bytes of permanently resident memory.

The default value is sufficient for the images normally installed as shared in the system startup command procedures. Once the system is running and all global sections are created, you can examine the actual requirements with the /GLOBAL qualifier of the Install utility and reduce the value of GBLSECTIONS accordingly. However, the value of this parameter should not be set too low. If you plan to install many user images as shared, or if user programs are likely to create many global sections, you must increase the value of this parameter.

If the value of GBLSECTIONS is too small, you receive a message from the Install utility at system startup time or whenever you install images manually. Note that too large a value for GBLSECTIONS wastes physical memory.

GH_EXEC_CODE (A,F)

(Alpha only) GH_EXEC_CODE specifies the size in pages of the execlet code granularity hint region.

GH_EXEC_DATA (A,F)

(Alpha only) GH_EXEC_DATA specifies the size in pages of the execlet data granularity hint region.

GH_RES_CODE (A,F)

(Alpha only) GH_RES_CODE specifies the size in pages of the resident image code granularity hint region.

GH_RES_DATA (A,F)

(Alpha only) GH_RES_DATA specifies the size in pages of the resident image data granularity hint region.

If bit 2 of the LOAD_SYS_IMAGES parameter is set, the image LDR$WRAPUP releases all unused pages in the granularity hint region at the the end of system startup. The unused pages of the resident image granularity hint region are either reserved for future use, or given back to the free memory list.

GH_RSRVPGCNT (F)

GH_RSRVPGCNT specifies the number of pages in the resident image code granularity hint region that the Install utility can use after the system has finished booting.

If bit 2 of the LOAD_SYS_IMAGES parameter is set, the image LDR$WRAPUP releases all unused pages in the granularity hint region at the the end of system startup. The unused pages of the resident image granularity hint region are either reserved for future use, or given back to the free memory list.

GH_RSRVPGCNT specifies the number of pages that LDR$WRAPUP attempts to leave in the resident image code granularity hint region. If the GH_RSRVPGCNT number of pages is larger than the unused pages in the granularity hint region, the region is not expanded to accommodate the number of pages requested.

GLX_INST_TMO

(Alpha Galaxy platforms only) GLX_INST_TMO is the time (in milliseconds) that an instance in a Galaxy sharing set can fail to increment its timeout value before the other sharing instances presume that the instance failed and remove it from the sharing set.

The default is 20,000 milliseconds (20 seconds).

GLX_SHM_REG

For Galaxy systems, GLX_SHM_REG is the number of shared memory region structures configured into the Galaxy Management Database (GMDB). If set to 0, the default number of shared memory regions are configured.

GROWLIM (A,D,M)

GROWLIM sets the number of pages that the system must have on the free-page list so that a process can add a page to its working set when it is above quota. GROWLIM has no effect if the process is below its working set quota. GROWLIM acts as a fast shutoff to the working set extent mechanism based on the system's free memory.

IEEE_ADDRESS

IEEE_ADDRESS is reserved for HP use only.

IEEE_ADDRESSH

IEEE_ADDRESSH is reserved for HP use only.

IJOBLIM (D)

IJOBLIM sets the maximum number of interactive jobs that can be on the system concurrently. You can control the maximum number of concurrent interactive users on the system with the DCL command SET LOGINS/INTERACTIVE.

IMGIOCNT

IMGIOCNT specifies the default number of pages of image I/O address space to be allocated for the image activator if not specified at program link time.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

IMGREG_PAGES

(Alpha only) IMGREG_PAGES is the number of pages to reserve in P1 space for images to be installed with shareable address data. If IMGREG_PAGES is set to 0, no images are installed with shared address data. The default is 10,000 pages.

For more information, see the INSTALL section in the HP OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.

INTSTKPAGES (A,D,G,M)

(VAX only) INTSTKPAGES sets the size of the interrupt stack in pages. Each page on the interrupt stack requires a page of permanently resident memory.

Use the default value of 6 unless interrupt-stack-not-valid exceptions occur. These may be caused by either an unusually large number of devices or a driver that requires a large amount of stack space.

IO_PREFER_CPUS

(Alpha only) IO_PREFER_CPUS is a dynamic system parameter that controls the set of CPUs that are available for use as Fast Path preferred CPUs.

IO_PREFER_CPUS is a CPU bit mask specifying the CPUs that are allowed to serve as preferred CPUs and that can thus be assigned a Fast Path port. CPUs whose bit is set in the IO_PREFER_CPUS bit mask are enabled for Fast Path port assignment. IO_PREFER_CPUS defaults to -1, which specifies that all CPUs are allowed to be assigned Fast Path ports.

You might want to disable the primary CPU from serving as a preferred CPU by clearing its bit in IO_PREFER_CPUS. This reserves the primary CPU for non-Fast-Path IO operations to use.

Changing the value of IO_PREFER_CPUS causes the FASTPATH_SERVER process to execute the automatic assignment algorithm that spreads Fast Path ports evenly among the new set of usable CPUs.

For additional information, see FAST_PATH and FAST_PATH_PORTS.

IOTA

IOTA specifies the amount of time (in 10-millisecond units) to charge to the current residence quantum for each voluntary wait. The correct value approximates the cost of a disk I/O neglecting wait time.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

JBOBLIM

This parameter is no longer in use.

JOBCTLD

System managers do not usually alter JOBCTLD; this word of debug flags is used in rolling upgrades of OpenVMS. If bit 0 is set, the queue manager does not start. The default is 0.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

KFILSTCNT

This parameter is no longer used on VAX systems and is not used on Alpha systems.

KSTACKPAGES

(Alpha only) KSTACKPAGES controls the number of pages allocated for process kernel stacks.

LAMAPREGS (G)

(VAX only) LAMAPREGS sets the number of UNIBUS map registers allocated to an LPA11 driver when the driver is loaded, and limits the registers for the driver to that number. A value of 0 permits dynamic allocation of an unlimited number of registers.

LAN_FLAGS (D)

(Alpha only) LAN_FLAGS is a bit mask used to enable features in the local area networks port drivers and support code. The default value for LAN_FLAGS is 0.

The bit definitions are as follows:

Bit Description
0 The default of zero indicates that ATM devices run in SONET mode. If set to 1, this bit indicates ATM devices run in SDH mode.
1 If set, this bit enables a subset of the ATM trace and debug messages in the LAN port drivers and support code.
2 If set, this bit enables all ATM trace and debug messages in the LAN port drivers and support code.
3 1 If set, this bit runs UNI 3.0 over all ATM adapters.
4 1 If set, this bit runs UNI 3.1 over all ATM adapters.
5 If set, disables auto-negotiation over all Gigabit Ethernet Adapters.
6 If set, enables the use of jumbo frames over all Gigabit Ethernet Adapters.

1Auto-sensing of the ATM UNI version is enabled if both bit 3 and bit 4 are off (0).

LCKMGR_CPUID

(Alpha only) LCKMGR_CPUID controls the CPU that the Dedicated CPU Lock Manager runs on. This is the CPU that the LCKMGR_SERVER process utilizes if you turn this feature on with the LCKMGR_MODE system parameter.

If the specified CPU ID is either the primary CPU or a nonexistent CPU, the LCKMGR_SERVER process utilizes the lowest nonprimary CPU. For more information, refer to the LCKMGR_MODE system parameter.

LCKMGR_MODE

(Alpha only) The LCKMGR_MODE parameter controls use of the Dedicated CPU Lock Manager. Setting LCKMGR_MODE to a number greater than zero (0) indicates the number of CPUs that must be active before the Dedicated CPU Lock Manager is turned on.

The Dedicated CPU Lock Manager performs all locking operations on a single dedicated CPU. This can improve system performance on large SMP systems with high MP_Synch associated with the lock manager.

If the number of active CPUs is greater than or equal to LCKMGR_MODE, a LCKMGR_SERVER process is created to service locking operations. This process runs at a real-time priority of 63 and is always current.

In addition, if the number of active CPUs should ever be reduced below the required threshold by either a STOP/CPU command or by a CPU reassignment in a Galaxy configuration, the Dedicated CPU Lock Manager automatically turns off within one second, and the LCKMGR_SERVER is placed in a hibernate state. If the number of active CPUs is increased, the LCKMGR_SERVER resumes servicing locking operations.

Specify one of the following:

  • Zero (0) indicates that the Dedicated CPU Lock Manager is off (the default).
  • A number greater than zero (0) indicates the number of CPUs that must be active before the Dedicated CPU Lock Manager will turn on.

For more information about use of the Dedicated CPU Lock Manager, see the OpenVMS Performance Management.

LGI_BRK_DISUSER (D)

LGI_BRK_DISUSER turns on the DISUSER flag in the UAF record when an attempted break-in is detected, thus permanently locking out that account. The parameter is off (0) by default. You should set the parameter (1) only under extreme security watch conditions, because it results in severely restricted user service.

LGI_BRK_LIM (D)

LGI_BRK_LIM specifies the number of failures that can occur at login time before the system takes action against a possible break-in. The count of failures applies independently to login attempts by each user name, terminal, and node. Whenever login attempts from any of these sources reach the break-in limit specified by LGI_BRK_LIM, the system assumes it is under attack and initiates evasive action as specified by the LGI_HID_TIM parameter.

The minimum value is 1. The default value is usually adequate.

LGI_BRK_TERM (D)

LGI_BRK_TERM causes the terminal name to be part of the association string for the terminal mode of break-in detection. When LGI_BRK_TERM is set to off (0), the processing considers the local or remote source of the attempt, allowing break-in detection to correlate failed access attempts across multiple terminal devices. When set to on (1), LGI_BRK_TERM assumes that only local hard-wired or dedicated terminals are in use and causes breakin detection processing to include the specific local terminal name when examining and correlating break-in attempts.

Ordinarily, LGI_BRK_TERM should be set to off (0) when physical terminal names are created dynamically, such as when network protocols like LAT and Telnet are in use.

LGI_BRK_TMO (D)

LGI_BRK_TMO specifies the length of the failure monitoring period. This time increment is added to the suspect's expiration time each time a login failure occurs. Once the expiration period passes, prior failures are discarded, and the suspect is given a clean slate.

LGI_CALLOUTS (D)

LGI_CALLOUTS specifies the number of installation security policy callout modules to be invoked at each login. LGI_CALLOUTS must be set to 0 unless callout modules are present.

LGI_HID_TIM (D)

LGI_HID_TIM specifies the number of seconds that evasive action persists following the detection of a possible break-in attempt. The system refuses to allow any logins during this period, even if a valid user name and password are specified.

LGI_PWD_TMO (D)

LGI_PWD_TMO specifies, in seconds, the period of time a user has to enter the correct system password (if used). LGI_PWD_TMO also establishes the timeout period for users to enter their personal account passwords at login time. Also, when using the SET PASSWORD command, LGI_PWD_TMO specifies the period of time the system waits for a user to type in a new password, an old password, and the password verification.

LGI_RETRY_LIM (D)

LGI_RETRY_LIM specifies the number of retry attempts allowed users attempting to log in. If this parameter is greater than 0, and a legitimate user fails to log in correctly because of typing errors, the user does not automatically lose the carrier. Instead (provided that LGI_RETRY_TMO has not elapsed), by pressing the Return key, the user is prompted to enter the user name and password again. Once the specified number of attempts has been made without success, the user loses the carrier. As long as neither LGI_BRK_LIM nor LGI_BRK_TMO has elapsed, the user can dial in again and reattempt login.

LGI_RETRY_TMO (D)

LGI_RETRY_TMO specifies the number of seconds allowed between login retry attempts after each login failure. (Users can initiate login retries by pressing the Return key.) This parameter is intended to be used with the LGI_RETRY_LIM parameter; it allows dialup users a reasonable amount of time and number of opportunities to attempt logins before they lose the carrier.

LNMPHASHTBL (A on VAX,G)

LNMPHASHTBL sets the size of the process logical name hash table. Logical names are hashed using a function of the name length and contents. The LNMPHASHTBL parameter determines the number of entries for process-private logical names. The recommended setting is the average number of process-private logical names. Note that the hashed values are rounded up to the nearest power of 2.

LNMSHASHTBL (A,F,G)

LNMSHASHTBL sets the size of the system logical name hash table. Logical names are hashed using a function of the name length and contents. The LNMSHASHTBL parameter determines the number of entries for shareable logical names. These names include all names from the system, group, and job logical name tables. The recommended setting allows one to four logical names per hash table entry. The default setting is usually adequate, unless your installation has a large number of groups, or many jobs are active simultaneously. In that case, an increase in the value of the next higher power of 2 might improve logical name translation performance. Note that the hashed values are rounded up to the nearest power of 2.

LOAD_PWD_POLICY

LOAD_PWD_POLICY controls whether the SET PASSWORD command attempts to use site-specific password policy routines, which are contained in the shareable image SYS$LIBRARY:VMS$PASSWORD_POLICY.EXE. The default is 0, which indicates not to use policy routines.

LOAD_SYS_IMAGES (A on Alpha)

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

LOAD_SYS_IMAGES controls the loading of system images described in the system image data file, VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES. This parameter is a bit mask.

On VAX systems, the following bit is defined:

Bit Description
0 (SGN$V_LOAD_SYS_IMAGES) Enables loading alternate execlets specified in VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES.DATA.

On Alpha systems, the following bits are defined:

Bit Description
0 (SGN$V_LOAD_SYS_IMAGES) Enables loading alternate execlets specified in VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES.DATA.
1 (SGN$V_EXEC_SLICING) Enables executive slicing.
2 (SGN$V_RELEASE_PFNS) Enables releasing unused portions of the Alpha huge pages.

These bits are on by default. Using conversational bootstrap exec slicing can be disabled.

LOCKDIRWT (A)

LOCKDIRWT determines the portion of lock manager directory that this system handles. The default value is usually adequate.

LOCKIDTBL (A,F,M)

LOCKIDTBL sets the initial number of entries in the system Lock ID table and defines the amount by which the Lock ID table is extended whenever the system runs out of locks. One entry must exist for each lock in the system; each entry requires 4 bytes.

For simple timesharing systems, the default value is adequate. If your application uses many locks, as in the case of heavy RMS file sharing or a database management application, you should increase this parameter. When you change the value of LOCKIDTBL, examine the value of RESHASHTBL and change it if necessary.

The OpenVMS Lock Management facility is described in the OpenVMS Programming Concepts Manual. You can monitor locks with the MONITOR LOCK command of the Monitor utility.

LOCKIDTBL_MAX

LOCKIDTBL_MAX is obsolete beginning with OpenVMS Version 7.1.

LOCKRETRY

LOCKRETRY establishes the number of attempts made to lock a multiprocessor data structure.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

LONGWAIT (A on Alpha,D,G,M)

LONGWAIT defines how much real time (in seconds) must elapse before the swapper considers a process to be temporarily idle. This parameter is applied to local event flag (LEF) and hibernate (HIB) waits to detect such conditions as an inactive terminal or ACP.

MAXBOBMEM (D)

(Alpha only) MAXBOBMEM defines the maximum amount of physical memory, measured in pagelets, that can be associated with a single buffer object created by a process in user mode. The default value of 0 means there is no system-imposed limit on the size of a buffer object.

Other MAXBOB* parameters are obsolete beginning in OpenVMS Version 7.3.

MAXBUF (D)

MAXBUF sets the maximum allowable size for any single buffered I/O packet. Buffered I/O packets are allocated from the permanently resident nonpaged dynamic pool. The terminal, mailbox, and printer device drivers are examples of device drivers that perform buffered I/O.

The number of bytes specified in the I/O request plus the size of a driver-dependent and function-dependent header area determine the required buffered I/O packet size. The size of the header area is a minimum of 16 bytes; there is no absolute upper limit. However, this header area is usually a few hundred bytes in size.

On OpenVMS VAX systems beginning with Version 7.1, the default value is 4112. The default value on OpenVMS Alpha systems continues to be 8192.

The maximum value of MAXBUF is 64000 bytes.

MAXCLASSPRI (D)

If class scheduling is enabled, MAXCLASSPRI sets the maximum range in the priority range of class-scheduled processes.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

MAXPROCESSCNT (A,F,G,M)

MAXPROCESSCNT sets the number of process entry slots allocated at bootstrap time. One slot is required for each concurrent process on the system. Each slot requires 6 bytes of permanently resident memory.

The default value is normally configured to allow you to create the desired number of processes. If the following message appears, you need to increase the value of MAXPROCESSCNT:


%SYSTEM-F-NOSLOT,  No PCB to create process

MAXQUEPRI (D)

MAXQUEPRI determines the highest scheduling priority that can be assigned to jobs entered in batch and output (printer, server, and terminal) queues without the submitter process having OPER or ALTPRI privilege. The value of this parameter can range from 0 to 255; the default is 100. The value of MAXQUEPRI should be greater than or equal to DEFQUEPRI.

Note

MAXQUEPRI refers to relative queue scheduling priority, not to the execution priority of the job.

MAXSYSGROUP (D)

MAXSYSGROUP sets the highest value that a group number can have and still be classified as a system UIC group number. Note that the specification is not in octal unless preceded by the %O radix indicator. This parameter is normally left at 8 (10 octal).

MC_SERVICES_P0 (D)

(Alpha only) MC_SERVICES_P0 controls whether other MEMORY CHANNEL nodes in the cluster continue to run if this node bugchecks or shuts down.

A value of 1 causes other nodes in the MEMORY CHANNEL cluster to crash with bugcheck code MC_FORCED_CRASH if this node bugchecks or shuts down.

The default value is 0. A setting of 1 is intended only for debugging purposes; the parameter should otherwise be left at its default value.

MC_SERVICES_P1 (D)

(Alpha only) This special parameter is reserved for HP use. Its value must be the same on all nodes connected by MEMORY CHANNEL.

MC_SERVICES_P2

(Alpha only) MC_SERVICES_P2 specifies whether to load the PMDRIVER (PMA0) MEMORY CHANNEL cluster port driver.

PMDRIVER is a driver that serves as the MEMORY CHANNEL cluster port driver. It works together with MCDRIVER (the MEMORY CHANNEL device driver and driver interface) to provide MEMORY CHANNEL clustering. If PMDRIVER is not loaded, cluster connections are not made over the MEMORY CHANNEL interconnect.

The default value is 1, which causes PMDRIVER to be loaded when you boot the system. When you run CLUSTER_CONFIG.COM and select the MEMORY CHANNEL option, PMDRIVER is loaded automatically when you reboot the system.

HP recommends that this value not be changed. This parameter value must be the same on all nodes connected by MEMORY CHANNEL.

MC_SERVICES_P3 (D)

(Alpha only) MC_SERVICES_P3 specifies the maximum number of tags supported. The maximum value is 2048, and the minimum value is 100.

The default value is 800. HP recommends that this value not be changed. This parameter value must be the same on all nodes connected by MEMORY CHANNEL.

MC_SERVICES_P4

(Alpha only) MC_SERVICES_P4 specifies the maximum number of regions supported. The maximum value is 4096, and the minimum value is 100.

The default value is 200. HP recommends that this value not be changed. This parameter value must be the same on all nodes connected by MEMORY CHANNEL.

MC_SERVICES_P5 (D)

(Alpha only) MC_SERVICES_P5 is reserved for HP use only and must remain at the default value of 8000000. This value must be the same on all nodes connected by MEMORY CHANNEL.

MC_SERVICES_P6

(Alpha only) MC_SERVICES_P6 specifies MEMORY CHANNEL message size, the body of an entry in a free queue, or a work queue. The maximum value is 65536, and the minimum value is 544.

The default value is 992. This value is suitable in all cases except for systems with highly constrained memory. For such systems, you can reduce the memory consumptions of MEMORY CHANNEL by slightly reducing the default value of 992. The value of MC_SERVICES_P6 must always be equal to or greater than the result of the following calculations:

  1. Select the larger of SCS_MAXMSG and SCS_MAXDG.
  2. Round that value up to the next quadword.

The value of MC_SERVICES_P6 must be the same on all nodes connected by MEMORY CHANNEL.

MC_SERVICES_P7 (D)

(Alpha only) MC_SERVICES_P7 specifies whether to suppress or display messages about MEMORY CHANNEL activities on this node. This parameter can be set to a value of 0, 1, or 2:
  • A value of 0 indicates nonverbose mode: no informational messages appear on the console or in the error log.
  • A value of 1 indicates verbose mode: informational messages from both MCDRIVER and PMDRIVER appear on the console and in the error log.
  • A value of 2 provides the same output as a value of 1, with the addition of PMDRIVER stalling and recovery messages.

The default value is 0. HP recommends that this value not be changed except while debugging MEMORY CHANNEL problems or adjusting the MC_SERVICES_P9 parameter.

MC_SERVICES_P8

(Alpha only) MC_SERVICES_P8 is reserved for HP use only and must remain at the default value of 0. The value must be the same on all nodes connected by MEMORY CHANNEL.

MC_SERVICES_P9

(Alpha only) MC_SERVICES_P9 specifies the number of initial entries in a single channel's free queue. The maximum value is 2048, and the minimum value is 10.

Note that MC_SERVICES_P9 is not a dynamic parameter; you must reboot the system after each change for that change to take effect.

The default value is 150. HP recommends that this value not be changed.

The value of MC_SERVICES_P9 must be the same on all nodes connected by MEMORY CHANNEL.

MINCLASSPRI (D)

If class scheduling is enabled, MINCLASSPRI sets the minimum range in the priority range of class-scheduled processes.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

MINWSCNT (A)

The value specified by MINWSCNT is added to the size of the process header to establish the minimum working set size.

On VAX systems, MINWSCNT sets the minimum number of fluid pages (pages not locked in the working set) required for the execution of a process. The value of MINWSCNT must provide sufficient space to execute any VAX instruction. Theoretically, the longest instruction requires 52 pages; however, all code can run with 20 fluid pages. An insufficient value may inhibit system performance or even put a process into an infinite loop on some instructions.

On Alpha systems, MINWSCNT sets the minimum number of pages required for the execution of a process. The default value is 20; the minimum value is 10.

MMG_CTLFLAGS (A,D)

MMG_CTLFLAGS is a bit mask used to enable and disable proactive memory reclamation mechanisms. Beginning with OpenVMS Version 7.2, you can control when memory is tested. This helps reduce the time between when you turn on the system and when you log in to an AlphaServer 4100 computer. Bit 2 in the parameter controls deferred memory testing.

The following bit mask values are defined:

Bit Description
0 Reclamation enabled by trimming from periodically executing, but otherwise idle processes. This occurs when the size of the free list drops below two times FREEGOAL.
1 Reclamation enabled by outswapping processes that have been idle for longer than LONGWAIT seconds. This occurs when the size of the free list drops below FREELIM.
2 Controls deferred memory testing:
  • If the bit is clear (the default), OpenVMS tests memory in the background and not necessarily before the bootstrap process has completed.
  • If the bit is set, all memory is tested by the end of EXEC_INIT in the system bootstrap process (that is, before IPL is lowered from 31).
3-7 Reserved for future use.

MPDEV_AFB_INTVL

(Alpha only) MPDEV_AFB_INTVL specifies the automatic failback interval in seconds. The automatic failback interval is the minimum number of seconds that must elapse before the system attempts another failback from an MSCP path to a direct path on the same device.

MPDEV_POLLER must be set to ON to enable automatic failback. You can disable automatic failback without disabling the poller by setting MPDEV_AFB_INTVL to 0. The default is 300 seconds.

MPDEV_D*

(Alpha only) MPDEV_D1 through MPDEV_D4 are reserved for use by the operating system.

MPDEV_ENABLE

(Alpha only) MPDEV_ENABLE enables the formation of multipath sets when set to ON (1). If MPDEV_ENABLE is set to OFF (0), the formation of additional multipath sets and the addition of new paths to existing multipath sets are disabled. However, existing multipath sets remain in effect. The default is ON.

MPDEV_REMOTE and MPDEV_AFB_INTVL have no effect when MPDEV_ENABLE is set to OFF.

MPDEV_LCRETRIES

(Alpha only) MPDEV_LCRETRIES controls the number of times the system retries the direct paths to the controller that the logical unit is online to, before moving on to direct paths to the other controller, or to an MSCP served path to the device. The valid range for retries is 1 through 256. The default is 1.

MPDEV_POLLER

(Alpha only) MPDEV_POLLER enables polling of the paths to multipath set members when set to ON (1). Polling allows early detection of errors on inactive paths. If a path becomes unavailable or returns to service, the system manager is notified with an OPCOM message. When set to OFF (0), multipath polling is disabled. The default is ON. Note that this parameter must be set to ON to use the automatic failback feature.

MPDEV_REMOTE

(Alpha only) MPDEV_REMOTE enables MSCP served paths to become members of a multipath set when set to ON (1). When set to OFF (0), only local paths to a SCSI or Fibre Channel device is used in the formation of additional multipath sets. However, setting this parameter to OFF does not have any effect on existing multipath sets that have remote paths.

To use multipath failover to a served path, MPDEV_REMOTE must be enabled on all systems that have direct access to shared SCSI/Fibre Channel devices. The first release to provide this feature is OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.3--1. Therefore, all nodes on which MPDEV_REMOTE is enabled must be running OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.3--1 (or later).

If MPDEV_ENABLE is set to OFF (0), the setting of MPDEV_REMOTE has no effect because the addition of all new paths to multipath sets is disabled. The default is ON.

MPW_HILIMIT (A,G)

MPW_HILIMIT sets an upper limit for the modified-page list. When the list accumulates the number of pages specified by this limit, writing of the list begins. The pages that are written are then transferred to the free-page list.

If MPW_HILIMIT is too low, excessive page faulting can occur from the page file. If it is too high, too many physical pages can be consumed by the modified-page list.

If you increase MPW_HILIMIT, you might also need to increase MPW_WAITLIMIT. Note that if MPW_WAITLIMIT is less than MPW_HILIMIT, a system deadlock occurs. The values for the two parameters are usually equal.

MPW_IOLIMIT (A on Alpha)

MPW_IOLIMIT specifies the number of outstanding I/Os to the modified-page writer.

MPW_LOLIMIT (A,G)

MPW_LOLIMIT sets a lower limit for the modified-page list. When writing of the list causes the number of pages on the list to drop to or below this limit, writing stops.

MPW_LOLIMIT ensures that a certain number of pages are available on the modified-page list for page faults. If the number is too small, the caching effectiveness of the modified-page list is reduced. If it is too high, less memory is available for processes, so that swap (and page) may increase.

MPW_LOWAITLIMIT (A,D)

MPW_LOWAITLIMIT specifies the threshold at which processes in the miscellaneous wait state MPWBUSY are allowed to resume. MPW_LOWAITLIMIT increases system performance for fast processors with large memories by reducing the amount of time processes spend in the MPWBUSY wait state.

MPW_PRIO

MPW_PRIO sets the priority of I/O transfers initiated by the modified page writer. The maximum value is 31, the minimum is 0, and the default is 4.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

MPW_THRESH (A on Alpha,D)

MPW_THRESH sets a lower bound of pages that must exist on the modified-page list before the swapper writes this list to acquire free pages. If this requirement is met, the swapper tries to write the modified-page list rather than taking pages away from or swapping out a process.

MPW_WAITLIMIT (A,D)

MPW_WAITLIMIT sets the number of pages on the modified-page list that causes a process to wait until the next time the modified-page writer writes the modified list. This parameter limits the rate at which any single process can produce modified pages. If this value is less than MPW_HILIMIT, a system deadlock occurs. The value for this parameter is normally equal to MPW_HILIMIT.

MPW_WRTCLUSTER (A,G)

MPW_WRTCLUSTER sets the number of pages to be written during one I/O operation from the modified-page list to the page file or a section file. The actual size of the cluster may be limited by the number of pages available for the I/O operation. This parameter can range in value from 16 to 120, in multiples of 8. Each page in the cluster requires 6 bytes of permanently resident memory.

If MPW_WRTCLUSTER is too small, it takes many I/O operations to empty the modified-page list. If MPW_WRTCLUSTER is too large for the speed of the disk that holds the page file, other I/O operations are held up for the modified-page list write.

On VAX systems, the MPW_WRTCLUSTER default value and maximum value is 120 512-byte pages; its minimum value is 16 512-byte pages.

On Alpha systems, the MPW_WRTCLUSTER default value is 64 8192-byte pages; its maximum value is 512 8192-byte pages; and its minimum value is 16 8192-byte pages.

MSCP_BUFFER (A,F)

This buffer area is the space used by the server to transfer data between client systems and local disks.

On VAX systems, MSCP_BUFFER specifies the number of pages to be allocated to the MSCP server's local buffer area.

On Alpha systems, MSCP_BUFFER specifies the number of pagelets to be allocated to the MSCP server's local buffer area.

MSCP_CMD_TMO (D)

MSCP_CMD_TMO is the time in seconds that the OpenVMS MSCP server uses to detect MSCP command timeouts. The MSCP Server must complete the command within a built-in time of approximately 40 seconds plus the value of the MSCP_CMD_TMO parameter.

The MSCP_CMD_TMO default value of 0 is normally adequate. A value of 0 provides the same behavior as in previous releases of OpenVMS (which did not have an MSCP_CMD_TMO system parameter). A nonzero setting increases the amount of time before an MSCP command times out.

If command timeout errors are being logged on client nodes, setting the parameter to a nonzero value on OpenVMS servers reduces the number of errors logged. Increasing the value of this parameter reduces the numb client MSCP command timeouts and increases the time it takes to detect faulty devices.

If you need to decrease the number of command timeout errors, HP recommends that you set an initial value of 60. If timeout errors continue to be logged, you can increase this value in increments of 20 seconds.

MSCP_CREDITS

MSCP_CREDITS specifies the number of outstanding I/O requests that can be active from one client system.

The default value is currently 32. Unless a system has very constrained memory available, HP recommends that these values not be increased.

MSCP_LOAD (A)

MSCP_LOAD controls the loading of the MSCP server during a system boot. Specify one of the following values:
Value Description
0 Do not load the MSCP server. This is the default value.
1 Load the MSCP server and serve disks as specified by the MSCP_SERVE_ALL parameter.

MSCP_SERVE_ALL

MSCP_SERVE_ALL is a bit mask that controls disk serving in an OpenVMS Cluster. A disk is served regardless of its allocation class unless bit 3 has a value of 1.

Starting with OpenVMS Version 7.2, the serving types are implemented as a bit mask. To specify the type of serving your system will perform, locate the type you want in the following table and specify its value. For some systems, you may want to specify two serving types, such as serving the system disk and serving locally attached disks. To specify such a combination, add the values of each type, and specify the sum.

In a mixed-version cluster that includes any systems running OpenVMS Version 7.1-x or earlier, serving all available disks is restricted to serving all disks except those whose allocation class does not match the system's node allocation class (pre-Version 7.2). To specify this type of serving, use the value 9 (which sets bit 0 and bit 3).

The following table describes the serving type controlled by each bit and its decimal value:

Bit and Value
When Set
Description
Bit 0 (1) Serve all available disks (locally attached and those connected to HS x and DSSI controllers). Disks with allocation classes that differ from the system's allocation class (set by the ALLOCLASS parameter) are also served if bit 3 is not set.
Bit 1 (2) Serve locally attached (non-HS x and DSSI) disks.
Bit 2 (4) Serve the system disk. This is the default setting. This setting is important when other nodes in the cluster rely on this system being able to serve its system disk. This setting prevents obscure contention problems that can occur when a system attempts to complete I/O to a remote system disk whose system has failed.
Bit 3 (8) Restrict the serving specified by bit 0. All disks except those with allocation classes that differ from the system's allocation class (set by the ALLOCLASS parameter) are served.

This is pre-Version 7.2 behavior. If your cluster includes systems running OpenVMS 7.1- x or earlier, and you want to serve all available disks, you must specify 9, the result of setting this bit and bit 0.

Although the serving types are now implemented as a bit mask, the values of 0, 1, and 2, specified by bit 0 and bit 1, retain their original meanings:

0 --- Do not serve any disks (the default for earlier versions of OpenVMS).
1 --- Serve all available disks.
2 --- Serve only locally attached (non-HSx and non-DSSI) disks.

If the MSCP_LOAD system parameter is 0, MSCP_SERVE_ALL is ignored.

MULTIPROCESSING

MULTIPROCESSING controls the loading of the system synchronization image.

Specify one of the following values:

Value Description
0 Load the uniprocessing synchronization image SYSTEM_SYNCHRONIZATION_UNI.EXE.
1 If the CPU type is capable of SMP and two or more CPUs are present on the system, load the full-checking multiprocessing synchronization image SYSTEM_SYNCHRONIZATION.EXE. Otherwise, load the uniprocessing synchronization image SYSTEM_SYNCHRONIZATION_UNI.EXE.
2 Always load the full-checking version SYSTEM_SYNCHRONIZATION.EXE, regardless of system configuration or CPU availability.
3 If the CPU type is capable of SMP and two or more CPUs are present on the system, load the optimized streamlined multiprocessing image:
  • On VAX systems, this image is SYSTEM_SYNCHRONIZATION_SPC.EXE.
  • On Alpha systems, this image is SYSTEM_SYNCHRONIZATION_MIN.EXE.

Otherwise, load the uniprocessing synchronization image SYSTEM_SYNCHRONIZATION_UNI.EXE. The default value is 3.

4 Always load the streamlined multiprocessing image SYSTEM_SYNCHRONIZATION_MIN.EXE, regardless of system configuration or CPU availability.

Setting the SYSTEM_CHECK parameter to 1 has the effect of setting MULTIPROCESSING to 2.

MULTITHREAD (A)

MULTITHREAD controls the availability of kernel threads functions. Specify one of the following values:
Value Description
0 Both Thread Manager upcalls and the creation of multiple kernel threads are disabled.
1 Thread Manager upcalls are enabled; the creation of multiple kernel threads is disabled.
2-256 (Alpha only) Both Thread Manager upcalls and the creation of multiple kernel threads are enabled. The number specified represents the maximum number of kernel threads that can be created for a single process.

The maximum value for MULTITHREAD is 256.

MVSUPMSG_INTVL (D)

(Alpha only) The system suppresses mount verification start and end messages for fibre channel disk devices if mount verification completes on the first attempt and if mount verification does not occur too often. MVSUPMSG_NUM and this parameter establish this limit.

The system issues a mount verification message after a sequence of MVSUPMSG_NUM mount verifications have gone unannounced on a specific fibre channel disk device within a span of MVSUPMSG_INTVL seconds.

If this parameter is zero, all mount verification messages are announced.

MVSUPMSG_NUM (D)

(Alpha only) The system suppresses mount verification start and end messages for fibre channel disk devices if mount verification completes on the first attempt and if mount verification does not occur too often. MVSUPMSG_INTVL and this parameter establish this limit.

The system issues a mount verification message after a sequence of MVSUPMSG_NUM mount verifications have gone unannounced on a specific fibre channel disk device within a span of MVSUPMSG_INTVL seconds.

If this parameter is zero, all mount verification messages are announced.

MVTIMEOUT (A on Alpha,D)

MVTIMEOUT is the time in seconds that a mount verification attempt continues on a given disk volume. If the mount verification does not recover the volume within that time, the I/O operations outstanding to the volume terminate abnormally.

NET_CALLOUTS (D)

NET_CALLOUTS is normally set to 0. A value of 255 indicates that no attempt is to be made to assign a new proxy connection to an active server, but that a new process must be started to invoke the installation security policy callout modules in LOGINOUT.EXE. Values 1 through 254 are reserved for future use.

NISCS_CONV_BOOT

NISCS_CONV_BOOT controls whether a conversational boot is permitted during a remote system boot. The default value of 0 specifies that conversational boots are not permitted.

NISCS_LAN_OVRHD

Beginning in OpenVMS Version 7.3, this parameter is obsolete.

NISCS_LOAD_PEA0

NISCS_LOAD_PEA0 controls whether the NI-SCS port driver PEDRIVER is loaded during system boot. The default of 0 specifies that the PEDRIVER is not loaded.

NISCS_MAX_PKTSZ (A on Alpha)

This parameter specifies an upper limit on the size, in bytes, of the user data area in the largest packet sent by NISCA on any local area network (LAN).

NISCS_MAX_PKTSZ allows the system manager to change the packet size used for cluster communications on network communication paths. PEDRIVER automatically allocates memory to support the largest packet size that is usable by any virtual circuit connected to the system up to the limit set by this parameter. Its default values are different for OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS VAX:

  • On Alpha, to optimize performance, the default value is the largest packet size currently supported by OpenVMS.
  • On VAX, to conserve memory, the default value is the Ethernet packet size.

PEDRIVER uses NISCS_MAX_PKTSZ to compute the maximum amount of data to transmit in any LAN packet:


LAN packet size <= LAN header (padded Ethernet format)
                   + NISCS_MAX_PKTSZ
                   + NISCS checksum (only if data checking
                                     is enabled)
                   + LAN CRC or FCS

The actual packet size automatically used by PEDRIVER might be smaller than the NISCS_MAX_PKTSZ limit for any of the following reasons:

  • On a per-LAN path basis, if PEdriver determines that the LAN path between two nodes, including the local and remote LAN adapters and intervening LAN equipment, can only convey a lesser size.
    In other words, only nodes with large-packet LAN adapters connected end-to-end by large-packet LAN equipment can use large packets. Nodes connected to large-packet LANs but having an end-to-end path that involves an Ethernet segment restrict packet size to that of an Ethernet packet (1498 bytes).
  • For performance reasons, PEDRIVER might further limit the upper bound on packet size so that the packets can be allocated from a lookaside list in the nonpaged pool.

The actual memory allocation includes the required data structure overhead used by PEDRIVER and the LAN drivers, in addition to the actual LAN packet size.

The following table shows the minimum NISCS_MAX_PKTSZ value required to use the maximum packet size supported by specified LAN types:

Type of LAN Minimum Value for NISCS_MAX_PKTSZ
Ethernet 1498
FDDI 4468
Gigabit Ethernet 7532
ATM 7606

NISCS_PORT_SERV (A)

NISCS_PORT_SERV provides flag bits for PEDRIVER port services. Setting bits 0 and 1 (decimal value 3) enables data checking. The remaining bits are reserved for future use.

Starting with OpenVMS Version 7.3-1, you can use the SCACP command SET VC/CHECKSUMMING to specify data checking on the VCs to certain nodes. You can do this on a running system. (Refer to the SCACP documentation in this manual for more information.)

Changing the setting of NISCS_PORT_SERV, on the other hand, requires a reboot. Furthermore, this parameter applies to all virtual circuits between the node on which it is set and other nodes in the cluster.

NJOBLIM (D)

NJOBLIM establishes the limit for network jobs. The maximum number of jobs is 1024. The minimum is 0, and the default is 16.

NOAUTOCONFIG (D)

NOAUTOCONFIG controls whether all devices are automatically configured when the system boots. The default value of 0 sets the system to automatically configure all devices. Set NOAUTOCONFIG to 1 (no automatic configuration) only for debugging purposes.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

NOCLUSTER

NOCLUSTER controls whether page read clustering is inhibited when the system boots. Set NOCLUSTER to 1 (inhibit page read clustering) only for debugging purposes.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

NOPGFLSWP

If enabled, NOPGFLSWP disables swapping into page files.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

NPAGECALC

NPAGECALC controls whether the system automatically calculates the initial size for nonpaged dynamic memory.

HP sets the default value of NPAGECALC to 1 only during the initial boot after an installation or upgrade. When the value of NPAGECALC is 1, the system calculates an initial value for the NPAGEVIR and NPAGEDYN system parameters. This calculated value is based on the amount of physical memory in the system.

NPAGECALC's calculations do not reduce the values of NPAGEVIR and NPAGEDYN from the values you see or set at the SYSBOOT prompt. However, NPAGECALC's calculation might increase these values.

AUTOGEN sets NPAGECALC to 0. NPAGECALC should always remain 0 after AUTOGEN has determined more refined values for the NPAGEDYN and NPAGEVIR system parameters.

NPAGEDYN (A,F,G,M)

NPAGEDYN sets the size of the nonpaged dynamic pool in bytes. This figure is rounded down to an integral number of pages. NPAGEDYN establishes the initial setting of the nonpaged pool size, but the pool size can be increased dynamically.

To set a value for this parameter, use AUTOGEN initially, and then monitor the amount of space actually used with the DCL command SHOW MEMORY/POOL/FULL.

For the benefit of OpenVMS VAX systems with limited physical memory, AUTOGEN logs a warning message in its report if NPAGEDYN exceeds 10 percent of physical memory or if NPAGEVIR exceeds 33 percent of physical memory.

AUTOGEN also limits its own calculated value for NPAGEDYN to 20 percent of physical memory and limits NPAGEVIR to 50 percent of physical memory. These calculated values are adequate for most workstations and systems with 16 or fewer megabytes of physical memory. If your system requires a larger value, you can override the AUTOGEN calculated values by setting higher values in MODPARAMS.DAT.

NPAGERAD (G)

(Alpha only) NPAGERAD specifies the total number of bytes of nonpaged pool that will be allocated for Resource Affinity Domains (RADs) other than the base RAD. For platforms that have no RADs, NPAGERAD is ignored. Notice that NPAGEDYN specifies the total amount of nonpaged pool for all RADs.

Also notice that the OpenVMS system might round the specified values higher to an even number of pages for each RAD, which prevents the base RAD from having too little nonpaged pool. For example, if the hardware is an AlphaServer GS160 with 4 RADs:


NPAGEDYN = 6291456 bytes
NPAGERAD = 2097152 bytes

In this case, the OpenVMS system allocates a total of approximately 6,291,456 bytes of nonpaged pool. Of this amount, the system divides 2,097,152 bytes among the RADs that are not the base RAD. The system then assigns the remaining 4,194,304 bytes to the base RAD.

Note

The system actually rounds up to an even number of pages on each RAD. In addition, the base RAD is never assigned a value less than the smaller of the value of NPAGEDYN and 4 megabytes.

On AlphaServer GS series processors on OpenVMS systems prior to Version 7.3-1, system managers frequently saw pool expansion that increasing NPAGEDYN did not reduce. This problem was caused by leaving NPAGERAD at its default value of 0.

Starting in OpenVMS Version 7.3-1, when NPAGERAD is 0 (the default), the system calculates a value to use for NPAGERAD with the following formula:


                  Base RAD memory
   NPAGEDYN * (1- --------------- )
                   Total memory

This calculation gives more pool to the non-base RADs than before and, therefore, reduces the expansion of non-base RADs.

NPAGEVIR (A, G)

NPAGEVIR defines the maximum size to which NPAGEDYN can be increased. If this value is too small, the system can hang. If NPAGEVIR is too large, the result is a penalty of 4 bytes per extra page on VAX and 8 bytes per extra page on Alpha.

For the benefit of OpenVMS VAX systems with limited physical memory, AUTOGEN logs a warning message in its report if NPAGEDYN exceeds 10 percent of physical memory or if NPAGEVIR exceeds 33 percent of physical memory.

AUTOGEN also limits its own calculated value for NPAGEDYN to 20 percent of physical memory, and limits NPAGEVIR to 50 percent of physical memory. These calculated values are adequate for most workstations and systems with 16 or fewer megabytes of physical memory. If your system requires a larger value, you can override the AUTOGEN calculated values by setting higher values in MODPARAMS.DAT.

NPAG_AGGRESSIVE (D)

(Alpha only) NPAG_AGGRESSIVE is the percentage of packets on a nonpaged pool lookaside list that remain after the list is trimmed during aggressive reclamation.

NPAG_BAP_MAX

(Alpha only) NPAG_BAP_MAX is the size in bytes of the bus addressable pool (BAP) that the system creates under normal circumstances.

See also NPAG_BAP_MIN.

NPAG_BAP_MAX_PA

(Alpha only) NPAG_BAP_MAX_PA is the highest physical address in megabytes that is allowed in bus addressable pool (BAP).

NPAG_BAP_MIN

(Alpha only) NPAG_BAP_MIN is the size in bytes of the bus addressable pool (BAP) that the system creates when memory resources are unusually constrained.

NPAG_BAP_MIN_PA

(Alpha only) NPAG_BAP_MIN_PA specifies the lowest physical address in megabytes that is allowed in bus addressable pool (BAP).

NPAG_GENTLE (D)

(Alpha only) NPAG_GENTLE is the percentage of packets on a nonpaged pool lookaside list remaining after the list is trimmed during gentle reclamation.

NPAG_INTERVAL (D)

(Alpha only) NPAG_INTERVAL is the number of seconds between passes of nonpaged pool gentle reclamation.

NPAG_RING_SIZE

(Alpha only) NPAG_RING_SIZE represents the number of entries in the ring buffer.

PAGEDYN (A,F,G,M)

PAGEDYN sets the size of the paged dynamic pool in bytes. The specified value is rounded down to an integral number of pages. Each page of paged dynamic pool adds 8 bytes of permanently resident memory to the system page table; the paged dynamic pool has no other direct memory requirements.

The paged dynamic pool is used to allocate storage for shared logical names, resident image headers, known file list entries, and RMS file-sharing structures. Substantial amounts of space for the pool can be overallocated with little effect on system performance.

The size of the paged pool can grow dynamically up to the maximum size that this parameter specifies.

PAGFILCNT (G)

On VAX systems, PAGFILCNT defines the maximum number of page files that can be installed. On Alpha systems, beginning in OpenVMS Version 7.3, this parameter is obsolete.

PAGTBLPFC

PAGTBLPFC specifies (in pages) the maximum number of page tables to read to satisfy a fault for a nonresident page table.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

PAMAXPORT (D)

PAMAXPORT specifies the maximum port number to be polled on each CI and DSSI. The CI and DSSI port drivers poll to discover newly initialized ports or the absence/failure of previously responding remote ports.

A system does not detect the existence of ports whose port numbers are higher than this parameter's value. Thus, set this parameter to a value that is equal to or greater than the highest port number being used on any CI or DSSI connected to the system.

You can decrease this parameter to reduce polling activity if the hardware configuration has fewer than 16 ports. For example, if the CI or DSSI with the largest configuration has a total of 5 ports assigned to port numbers 0 through 4, you could set PAMAXPORT to 4.

If CI or DSSI devices are not configured on your system, this parameter is ignored.

The default for this parameter is 15 (poll for all possible ports 0 through 15). HP recommends that you set this parameter to the same value on each cluster computer.

PANOPOLL (D)

Disables CI and DSSI polling for ports if set to 1. (The default is 0.) When PANOPOLL is set, a computer does not discover that another computer has shut down or powered down promptly and does not discover a new computer that has booted. This parameter is useful when you want to bring up a computer detached from the rest of the cluster for checkout purposes.

PANOPOLL is functionally equivalent to uncabling the system from the DSSI or star coupler. This parameter does not affect OpenVMS Cluster communications by LAN.

The default value of 0 is the normal setting and is required if you are booting from an HSC controller or if your system is joining an OpenVMS Cluster. This parameter is ignored if no CI or DSSI devices are configured on your system.

PANUMPOLL (D)

PANUMPOLL establishes the number of CI and DSSI ports to be polled each polling interval. The normal setting for PANUMPOLL is 16.

On systems with less powerful CPUs, the parameter may be useful in applications sensitive to the amount of contiguous time that the system spends at IPL 8. Reducing PANUMPOLL reduces the amount of time spent at IPL 8 during each polling interval, while increasing the number of polling intervals needed to discover new or failed ports.

If CI or DSSI devices are not configured on your system, this parameter is ignored.

PAPOLLINTERVAL (D)

Specifies, in seconds, the polling interval the CI port driver uses to poll for a newly booted computer, a broken port-to-port virtual circuit, or a failed remote computer.

This parameter trades polling overhead against quick response to virtual circuit failures. HP recommends that you use the default value for this parameter.

HP recommends that you set this parameter to the same value on each cluster computer.

PAPOOLINTERVAL (D)

Specifies, in seconds, the interval at which the port driver checks available nonpaged pool after a pool allocation failure.

This parameter trades faster response to pool allocation failures against increased polling overhead. HP recommends that you use the default value for this parameter.

If CI or DSSI devices are not configured on your system, this parameter is ignored.

PASANITY (D)

PASANITY controls whether the CI and DSSI port sanity timers are enabled to permit remote systems to detect a system that has been hung at IPL 8 or above for 100 seconds. It also controls whether virtual circuit checking gets enabled on the local system. The TIMVCFAIL parameter controls the time (1-99 seconds).

PASANITY is normally set to 1 and should be set to 0 only when you are debugging with XDELTA or planning to halt the CPU for periods of 100 seconds or more.

PASANITY is only semidynamic. A new value of PASANITY takes effect on the next CI or DSSI port reinitialization.

If CI or DSSI devices are not configured on your system, this parameter is ignored.

PASTDGBUF (A)

The number of datagram receive buffers to queue initially for the cluster port driver's configuration poller. The initial value is expanded during system operation, if needed.

Memory Channel devices ignore this parameter.

PASTIMOUT (D)

The basic interval at which the CI port driver wakes up to perform time-based bookkeeping operations. It is also the period after which a timeout is declared if no response to a start handshake datagram has been received.

If CI or DSSI devices are not configured on your system, this parameter is ignored.

The default value should always be adequate.

PE*

PE1, PE2, PE3, PE4, PE5, PE6 are reserved for HP use only. These parameters are for cluster algorithms and their usages can change from release to release. HP recommends using the default values for these special parameters.

PFCDEFAULT (A,D)

On VAX systems during execution of programs, PFCDEFAULT controls the number of image pages read from disk per I/O operation when a page fault occurs. The PFCDEFAULT maximum default value is 127 512-byte pages.

On Alpha systems during execution of programs, PFCDEFAULT controls the number of image pagelets read from disk per I/O operation when a page fault occurs. The PFCDEFAULT maximum default value is 2032 512-byte pagelets (127 8192-byte Alpha pages).

The read I/O operations can take place from an image file or from the page file. The actual size of the cluster can be less than PFCDEFAULT, depending on the size of image sections and the pattern of page references.

The value should not be greater than one-fourth the default size of the average working set to prevent a single page fault from displacing a major portion of a working set. Too large a value for PFCDEFAULT can hurt system performance. PFCDEFAULT can be overridden on an image-by-image basis with the CLUSTER option of the OpenVMS linker.

PFN_COLOR_COUNT

(Alpha only) PFN_COLOR_COUNT specifies the number of buckets (colors) into which all members of the zeroed page list and all unencumbered members of the free page list are sorted. OpenVMS Alpha systems might derive a preferred page color from a request to map a given virtual page and attempt to map that virtual page to a PFN of matching "color." This results in less variance in which cache blocks are used when accessing that page. This might or might not improve performance, depending on the application.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so. If you increase this parameter, you must also increase the ZERO_LIST_HI system parameter.

PFRATH (A on Alpha,D,M)

PFRATH specifies the page fault rate above which the limit of a working set is automatically increased. The unit of measure is the number of faults per 10 seconds of processor time. At a setting of 120, for example, the system automatically increases the limit of a working set if it is faulting more than 120 pages per 10 seconds. Decreasing the value of this parameter tends to increase the limits of the working sets, while increasing its value tends to decrease their limits.

On VAX systems, the default value is 120 page faults every 10 seconds.

On Alpha systems, the default value is 8 page faults every 10 seconds.

PFRATL (A,D,M)

PFRATL specifies the page fault rate below which the limit of a working set is automatically decreased. The unit of measure is the number of faults per 10 seconds of processor time. At a setting of 1, for example, the system automatically decreases the limit of a working set if it is faulting less than 1 page every 10 seconds.

Increasing the value of this parameter tends to decrease the limits of the working sets, while decreasing its value tends to increase their limits.

PHYSICAL_MEMORY (A)

(Alpha only) PHYSICAL_MEMORY specifies the amount of physical memory available for use. The default setting is --1, which equates to all memory in the system. Decreasing this parameter allows you to test smaller configurations of memory without having to remove memory boards.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

PHYSICALPAGES (A)

(VAX only) PHYSICALPAGES sets the maximum number of physical pages of memory to be used on the system. Decreasing this parameter allows you to test smaller configurations of memory without the need to remove memory boards.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

PIOPAGES (A,D)

PIOPAGES specifies the size of the process I/O segment, which holds data structures and buffer pool space for RMS to use when it handles I/O that involves process-permanent files. Once PIOPAGES is reset in SYSGEN, any new process receives the changed value.

Beginning with OpenVMS Version 7.2, the default value has been raised to 575. The setting has been raised to accommodate the increased demands for process-permanent memory that result from changes made to RMS file-naming parsing in Version 7.2.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

PIXSCAN (A,D)

PIXSCAN specifies the number of process index slots scanned each second for computable or computable-outswapped processes. These processes receive an automatic priority boost for 1 quantum, unless the priority of the currently executing process is greater than 15. The priority boost is done to avoid potential deadlocks on the system.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

POOLCHECK (D)

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

POOLCHECK is used to investigate frequent and inexplicable failures in a system. When POOLCHECK is enabled, pool-checking routines execute whenever pool is deallocated or allocated.

Two loadable forms of SYSTEM_PRIMITIVES.EXE are available at boot time. The default image, which contains no pool-checking code and no statistics maintenance, is loaded when POOLCHECK is set to zero. When POOLCHECK is set to a nonzero value, the monitoring version of SYSTEM_PRIMITIVES.EXE, which contains both pool-checking code and statistics maintenance, is loaded.

Setting the SYSTEM_CHECK parameter to 1 has the effect of setting POOLCHECK to %X616400FF. For further information about pool checking, refer to the OpenVMS VAX Device Support Manual (archived but available on the OpenVMS Documentation CD-ROM).

POOLCHECK is a DYNAMIC parameter. However, for a change in its value to have any effect, POOLCHECK must be non-0 at boot time (to load the monitoring version of SYSTEM_PRIMITIVES.EXE).

POOLPAGING

POOLPAGING enables (1) paging of pageable dynamic pool.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

POWEROFF (D)

POWEROFF enables or disables software requests to the console firmware to remove power from the system. This parameter should normally be turned ON (1) to allow software to make power-off requests. However, POWEROFF can be set to OFF (0) to disable software power-off requests.

If firmware or hardware support for the power-off request is not implemented, the shut-down procedure will leave the system halted but fully powered.

PQL_DASTLM (D,G)

PQL_DASTLM sets the default limit on the number of pending ASTs for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_DBIOLM (D,G)

PQL_DBIOLM sets the default buffered I/O count limit for the number of outstanding buffered I/O operations permitted to a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_DBYTLM (D,G)

PQL_DBYTLM sets the default buffered I/O byte count limit for the amount of buffered space available to a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_DCPULM (D,G)

PQL_DCPULM sets the default CPU time limit for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process). PQL_DCPULM specifies the time limit in increments of 10 milliseconds.

The default value of 0 imposes no limit on CPU time usage and is typically the correct value for this parameter.

PQL_DDIOLM (D,G)

PQL_DDIOLM sets the default direct I/O limit for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_DENQLM (D,G)

PQL_DENQLM sets the default enqueue limit for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_DFILLM (D,G)

PQL_DFILLM sets the default open file limit for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_DJTQUOTA (D)

PQL_DJTQUOTA sets the default job table byte count quota for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process). PQL_DJTQUOTA specifies the number of bytes of paged pool allocated to the job table. The default value is usually adequate, unless a large number of job logical names or temporary mailboxes are used.

PQL_DPGFLQUOTA (A on VAX,D,G)

PQL_DPGFLQUOTA sets the default page file quota for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process). HP recommends that this parameter not be smaller than the PQL_DWSEXTENT parameter.

PQL_DPRCLM (D,G)

PQL_DPRCLM sets the default subprocess limit for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_DTQELM (D,G)

PQL_DTQELM sets the default number of timer queue entries for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_DWSDEFAULT (A,G)

PQL_DWSDEFAULT sets the default working set size for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_DWSEXTENT (A,D,G)

PQL_DWSEXTENT sets the default working set extent for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_DWSQUOTA (A,D,G)

PQL_DWSQUOTA sets the default working set quota for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MASTLM (D,G)

PQL_MASTLM sets a default limit on the minimum number of pending ASTs for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MBIOLM (D,G)

PQL_MBIOLM sets the minimum buffered I/O limit for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MBYTLM (D,G)

PQL_MBYTLM sets the minimum buffered I/O byte limit for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MCPULM (D,G)

PQL_MCPULM sets the minimum CPU time limit in increments of 10 milliseconds for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MDIOLM (D,G)

PQL_MDIOLM sets the minimum direct I/O limit for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MENQLM (D,G)

PQL_MENQLM sets the default limit on the minimum number of locks that can be queued at one time by a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MFILLM (D,G)

PQL_MFILLM sets the minimum open file limit for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MJTQUOTA (D)

PQL_MJTQUOTA sets the minimum job table byte count quota for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MPGFLQUOTA (A on VAX,D,G)

On VAX systems, PQL_MPGFLQUOTA sets the minimum page file quota for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process). HP recommends that this parameter be no smaller than PQL_MWSEXTENT.

On Alpha systems, PQL_MPGFLQUOTA sets the minimum pagelet file quota for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MPRCLM (D,G)

PQL_MPRCLM sets the minimum subprocess limit for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MTQELM (D,G)

PQL_MTQELM sets the minimum number of timer queue entries for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

PQL_MWSDEFAULT (A,G)

PQL_MWSDEFAULT sets the minimum default working set size for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

This value overrides a smaller quantity that is set for a user in AUTHORIZE.

PQL_MWSEXTENT (A,D,G)

PQL_MWSEXTENT sets the minimum working set extent for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

This value overrides a smaller quantity set for a user in AUTHORIZE.

PQL_MWSQUOTA (A,D,G)

PQL_MWSQUOTA sets the minimum working set quota for a process created by the Create Process ($CREPRC) system service or the DCL command RUN (Process).

This value overrides a smaller quantity set for a user in AUTHORIZE.

PRCPOLINTERVAL (A on Alpha,D)

PRCPOLINTERVAL specifies, in seconds, the polling interval used to look for Systems Communications Services (SCS) applications, such as the connection manager and mass storage control protocol disks, on other nodes. All discovered nodes are polled during each interval.

This parameter trades polling overhead against quick recognition of new systems or servers as they appear.

PRIORITY_OFFSET

PRIORITY_OFFSET specifies the difference in priority required by the scheduler for one process to preempt the current process. A value of 2, for example, means that if the current process is executing at priority 1, a computable process at priority 2 or 3 is not allowed to preempt the current process. However, a priority 4 or higher process can preempt the current process. This mechanism affects only normal priority (0-15) processes. The default value is 0.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

PROCSECTCNT (A,G)

PROCSECTCNT sets the number of section descriptors that a process can contain. Each section descriptor increases the fixed portion of the process header by 32 bytes.

Set a value greater than the maximum number of image sections in any section to be run, as indicated by the linkage memory allocation map for the image.

PSEUDOLOA

(VAX only) PSEUDOLOA specifies (in pages) the size of the PDA0 system image. PSEUDOLOA is used to boot standalone BACKUP from magnetic tape.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

PU_OPTIONS

PU_OPTIONS is reserved for HP use only.

QBUS_MULT_INTR

(VAX only) QBUS_MULT_INTR enables (1) multilevel interrupt dispatching on systems that use the Q22-bus adapter. Refer to the OpenVMS VAX Device Support Manual for more information about the QBUS_MULT_INTR system parameter. (This manual has been archived but is available on the OpenVMS Documentation CD-ROM.)

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

QDSKINTERVAL

QDSKINTERVAL establishes, in seconds, the disk quorum polling interval. The default value is 3.

QDSKVOTES

QDSKVOTES specifies the number of votes contributed by a quorum disk in a cluster.

QUANTUM (A on Alpha,D,M)

QUANTUM defines the following:
  • Processor time: maximum amount of processor time a process can receive before control passes to another process of equal priority that is ready to compute
  • Balance set residency: minimum amount of service a compute-state process must receive before being swapped out to secondary storage

RAD_SUPPORT (G)

(Alpha only) RAD_SUPPORT enables RAD-aware code to be executed on systems that support Resource Affinity Domains (RADs); for example, AlphaServer GS160 systems. A RAD is a set of hardware components (CPUs, memory, and I/O) with common access characteristics.

Bits are defined in the RAD_SUPPORT parameter as follows:



RAD_SUPPORT (default is 79; bits 0-3 and 6 are set)
___________________________________________________

 3   2 2   2 2         1 1
 1   8 7   4 3         6 5         8 7         0
+-----+-----+-----------+-----------+-----------+
|00|00| skip|ss|gg|ww|pp|00|00|00|00|0p|df|cr|ae|
+-----+-----+-----------+-----------+-----------+

Bit 0 (e): Enable    - Enables RAD support

Bit 1 (a): Affinity  - Enables Soft RAD Affinity (SRA) scheduling
                       Also enables the interpretation of the skip
                       bits, 24-27.

Bit 2 (r): Replicate - Enables system-space code replication

Bit 3 (c): Copy      - Enables copy on soft fault

Bit 4 (f): Fault     - Enables special page fault allocation
                       Also enables the interpretation of the
                       allocation bits, 16-23.

Bit 5 (d): Debug     - Reserved to HP

Bit 6 (p): Pool      - Enables per-RAD non-paged pool

Bits 7-15:           - Reserved to HP

Bits 16-23:          - If bit 4 is set, bits 16-23 are interpreted
                       as follows:

Bits 16,17 (pp): Process = Pagefault on process (non global)
                           pages
Bits 18,19 (ww): Swapper = Swapper's allocation of pages for
                           processes
Bits 20,21 (gg): Global  = Pagefault on global pages
Bits 22,23 (ss): System  = Pagefault on system space pages

Encodings for pp, ww, gg, ss:
Current  (0) - allocate PFNs from the current CPU's RAD
Random   (1) - allocate PFNs using the "random" algorithm
Base     (2) - allocate PFNs from the operating system's "base" RAD
Home     (3) - allocate PFNs from the current process's home RAD

If bits 16-23 are 0, the defaults for pp, ww, gg, ss are interpreted
as follows:

    Process = home RAD
    Swapper = current RAD (also sets home RAD for process)
    Global  = random RAD
    System  = base RAD

Bits 24-27:   - If bit 1 is set, bits 24-27 are interpreted
                as a skip count value (power of 2). Example: If
                bits 24-27 contain a 3, the skip count is 8.
                If bits 24-27 contain a 5, the skip count is 32.
                If bits 24-27 are 0, the default of 16 is used
                as the skip count.

Bits 28-31:   - Reserved to HP

For more information about using OpenVMS RAD features, see the OpenVMS Alpha Galaxy and Partitioning Guide.

REALTIME_SPTS (D,G,M)

(VAX only) REALTIME_SPTS reserves a number of system page table entries for mapping connect-to-interrupt processes into system space. This value should normally remain at the default (0) in an environment that is not real-time. Where connect-to-interrupt processes do use the system, this value should represent the maximum number of pages that all concurrent connect-to-interrupt processes must map into system space. See the OpenVMS VAX Device Support Manual (archived but available on the OpenVMS Documentation CD-ROM).

RECNXINTERVAL (A on Alpha,D)

RECNXINTERVAL establishes the polling interval, in seconds, during which to attempt reconnection to a remote system.

RESALLOC

RESALLOC controls whether resource allocation checking is performed. The default value of 0 disables resource allocation checking.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

RESHASHTBL (A,F,M)

RESHASHTBL defines the number of entries in the lock management resource name hash table. Each entry requires 4 bytes. A typical tuning goal is to have the RESHASHTBL parameter about four times larger than the total number of resources in use on the system. Managers of systems with memory constraints or systems that are not critically dependent on locking speed could set the table to a smaller size.

RJOBLIM (D)

RJOBLIM defines the maximum number of remote terminals allowed in the system at any one time.

RMS_CONPOLICY (D)

RMS_CONPOLICY specifies the policy to be used for dealing with high-contention write-shared files. This dynamic parameter can be used to ensure fairness between lock conversions and new lock requests.

Possible values are the following:

Value Explanation
NEVER (Default) Never use the higher overhead option to improve fairness for any write-shared files accessed on the system; minimal overhead.
SOMETIMES Use this option for fairer bucket access (but higher overhead) to any write-shared files with global buffers enabled that are accessed on the system.
ALWAYS Use this option for fairer bucket access (but higher overhead) to all write-shared files accessed on the system.

You can set this system parameter with the DCL command SET RMS_DEFAULT/SYSTEM/CONTENTION_POLICY=value and display the parameter with the DCL command SHOW RMS_DEFAULT.

RMSD* (D)

RMSD1, RMSD2, RMSD3, RMSD4, RMSD5, RMSD6, and RMSD7 are special parameters reserved for HP use.

RMS_DFLRL (D)

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

RMS_DFMBC (A,D)

RMS_DFMBC specifies a default multiblock count only for record I/O operations, where count is the number of blocks to be allocated for each I/O buffer.

You can set this system parameter with the DCL command SET RMS_DEFAULT/SYSTEM and display the parameter with the SHOW RMS_DEFAULT command.

RMS_DFMBFIDX (A,D)

RMS_DFMBFIDX establishes the default RMS multibuffer count for indexed sequential disk operations. This value defines the number of I/O buffers that RMS allocates for each indexed file. For sequential access, a larger number that allows some of the index buckets to remain in memory can improve performance.

You can set this system parameter with the DCL command SET RMS_DEFAULT/SYSTEM and display the parameter with SHOW RMS_DEFAULT.

RMS_DFMBFREL (A,D)

RMS_DFMBFREL establishes the default RMS multibuffer count for relative disk operations. This value defines the number of I/O buffers that RMS allocates for each relative file.

You can set this system parameter with the DCL command SET RMS_DEFAULT/SYSTEM and display the parameter with SHOW RMS_DEFAULT.

RMS_DFMBFSDK (A,D)

RMS_DFMBFSDK establishes the default RMS multibuffer count for sequential disk operations. This value defines the number of I/O buffers that RMS allocates for sequential disk files.

The default value is usually adequate. However, if read-ahead or write-behind operations are used, a larger number improves performance.

You can set this system parameter with the DCL command SET RMS_DEFAULT/SYSTEM and display the parameter with SHOW RMS_DEFAULT.

RMS_DFMBFSMT (A,D)

RMS_DFMBFSMT establishes the default RMS multibuffer count for magnetic tape operations. This value defines the number of I/O buffers that RMS allocates for magnetic tape files.

You can set this system parameter with the DCL command SET RMS_DEFAULT/SYSTEM and display the parameter with SHOW RMS_DEFAULT.

RMS_DFMBFSUR (A,D)

RMS_DFMBFSUR establishes the default multibuffer count for unit record devices.

You can set this system parameter with the DCL command SET RMS_DEFAULT/SYSTEM and display the parameter with SHOW RMS_DEFAULT.

RMS_DFNBC (A,D)

RMS_DFNBC specifies a default block count for network access to remote, sequential, indexed sequential, and relative files.

The network block count value represents the number of blocks that RMS is prepared to allocate for the I/O buffers used to transmit and receive data. The buffer size used for remote file access, however, is the result of a negotiation between RMS and the remote file access listener (FAL). The buffer size chosen is the smaller of the two sizes presented.

Thus, RMS_DFNBC places an upper limit on the network buffer size that is used. It also places an upper limit on the largest record that can be transferred to or from a remote file. In other words, the largest record that can be transferred must be less than or equal to RMS_DFNBC multiplied by 512 bytes.

You can set this system parameter with the DCL command SET RMS_DEFAULT/SYSTEM and display the parameter with SHOW RMS_DEFAULT.

RMS_EXTEND_SIZE (D)

RMS_EXTEND_SIZE specifies the number of blocks by which files are extended as they are written. This number should be chosen to balance the amount of extra disk space wasted at the ends of each file against the performance improvement provided by making large extents infrequently.

When small disk quotas are used, specify a small number such as the disk cluster size to prevent the user's disk quota from being consumed. If the value of 0 is used, RMS allocates large extents and truncates the file back to its actual usage when it closes.

You can set this system parameter with the DCL command SET RMS_DEFAULT/SYSTEM and display the parameter with SHOW RMS_DEFAULT.

RMS_FILEPROT

RMS_FILEPROT determines the default file protection for system processes such as those that create the error log, operator log, and job controller. It also determines default file protection for processes created by the job controller (all interactive and batch processes).

Because a process always inherits its default file protection from its creator process, RMS_FILEPROT determines default file protection only for users who do not execute the DCL command SET PROTECTION/DEFAULT in their login command procedures or during interactive sessions.

The protection is expressed as a mask. (See the discussion of the $CRMPSC system service in the HP OpenVMS System Services Reference Manual for more information about specifying protection masks.) By default, the mask is 64000 (decimal) or FA00 (hexadecimal), which represents the following protection:


(S:RWED,O:RWED,G:RE,W:)

You can set this system parameter with the DCL command SET RMS_DEFAULT/SYSTEM and display the parameter with SHOW RMS_DEFAULT.

RMS_HEURISTIC (D)

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

RMS_PROLOGUE (D)

RMS_PROLOGUE specifies the default prologue RMS uses to create indexed files. The default value 0 specifies that RMS should determine the prologue based on characteristics of the file. A value of 2 specifies Prologue 2 or Prologue 1, and 3 specifies Prologue 3. The RMS prologues are described in the OpenVMS Record Management Services Reference Manual.

RMS_SEQFILE_WBH (D)

(Alpha only) RMS_SEQFILE_WBH can enable the RMS writebehind feature as a system default for any unshared sequential disk file if the file is opened for image I/O with write access specified. The possible settings are the following:
Setting Description
0 (default) Do not enable writebehind feature. Preserve prior behavior of using writebehind only if the user requests it by setting RAB$V_WBH in RAB$L_ROP.
1 Enable writebehind feature as system default, including the allocation of at least two local buffers.

RSRVPAGCNT

This parameter has been obsolete on Alpha systems since OpenVMS Version 7.2.

On VAX systems, RSRVPAGCNT sets the number of pages that are reserved and escrowed for the current process page file.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

S0_PAGING

S0_PAGING controls paging of system code:
  • Setting bit 0 disables paging of all Exec code and data.
  • Setting bit 1 disables paging of all RMS code and data.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

S2_SIZE

(Alpha only) S2_SIZE is the number of megabytes to reserve for S2 space. This value does not include the size required for Extended File Cache (XFC).

SA_APP

SA_APP is a special parameter reserved for HP use only.

SAVEDUMP

If the dump file is saved in the page file, SAVEDUMP specifies whether the page file is saved until the dump file is analyzed. The default value 0 specifies that the page file should not be retained. A value of 1 specifies that the dump written to the page file should be retained until either copied or released using the SDA utility.

SBIERRENABLE

(VAX only) This parameter enables (1) SBI error detection and logging.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

SCH_CTLFLAGS (D)

(Alpha only) The bits in this bitmask signify the following:
Bit Set or Clear Meaning
0 Clear Traditional scheduling algorithm
  Set New 1-CPU release scheduling algorithm
1 Set No process will be scheduled on the primary CPU.

Beginning in OpenVMS Version 7.3-1, the default value for SCH_CTLFLAGS is 1.

SCSBUFFCNT (A,F,G)

On VAX systems, SCSBUFFCNT is the number of buffer descriptors configured for all systems communication architecture (SCA). If an SCA device is not configured on your system, this parameter is ignored. Generally speaking, each data transfer needs a buffer descriptor and thus the number of buffer descriptors can be a limit on the number of possible simultaneous I/Os. Various performance monitors report when a system is out of buffer descriptors for a given workload which is an indication that a larger value for SCSBUFFCNT is worth considering. Note that AUTOGEN provides feedback for this parameter on VAX systems only.

On Alpha systems, the system communication services (SCS) buffers are allocated as needed, and SCSBUFFCNT is reserved for HP use only.

SCSCONNCNT

Beginning with OpenVMS Version 7.2, this parameter is obsolete. SCS connections are now allocated and expanded only as needed, up to a limit of 65,000.

SCSFLOWCUSH (D)

Specifies the lower limit for receive buffers at which point system communication services (SCS) starts to notify the remote SCS of new receive buffers. For each connection, SCS tracks the number of receive buffers available. SCS communicates this number to the SCS at the remote end of the connection. However, SCS does not need to do this for each new receive buffer added. Instead, SCS notifies the remote SCS of new receive buffers if the number of receive buffers falls as low as the SCSFLOWCUSH value.

The default value is adequate on most systems. If a systems communication architecture (SCA) port is not configured on your system, this parameter is ignored.

SCSI_NOAUTO (D)

(VAX only) This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

SCSI_NOAUTO prevents the loading of a disk or tape SCSI class driver for any given device ID in a configuration that includes a SCSI third-party device. The SCSI_NOAUTO system parameter stores a bit mask of 32 bits, where the low-order byte corresponds to the first SCSI bus (PKA0), the second byte corresponds to the second SCSI bus (PKB0), and so on, as follows:


For each SCSI bus, setting the low-order bit inhibits automatic configuration of the device with SCSI device ID 0; setting the second low-order bit inhibits automatic configuration of the device with SCSI device ID 1, and so forth. For instance, the value 00002000_16 prevents the device with SCSI ID 5 on the bus identified by SCSI port ID B from being configured. By default, all the bits in the mask are cleared, allowing all devices to be configured.

SCSICLUSTER_P[1-4]

(Alpha only) SCSICLUSTER_P[1-4] parameters allow non-HP peripherals (CPU-lookalikes) in SCSI clusters.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

SCSMAXDG (G)

This parameter is reserved for HP use only.

SCSMAXMSG (G)

This parameter is reserved for HP use only.

SCSNODE (A,G)

SCSNODE specifies the name of the computer. This parameter is not dynamic.

Specify SCSNODE as a string of up to six characters. Enclose the string in quotation marks.

Note

The maximum size of six characters is strictly enforced. SYSBOOT truncates the value of SCSNODE if the size of the system parameter is set to more than six characters.

If the computer is in an OpenVMS Cluster, specify a value that is unique within the cluster. Do not specify the null string.

If the computer is running DECnet for OpenVMS, the value must be the same as the DECnet node name.

SCSRESPCNT (A,F,G)

SCSRESPCNT is the total number of response descriptor table entries (RDTEs) configured for use by all system applications.

If SCA or DSA ports are not configured on your system, the system ignores SCSRESPCNT.

SCSSYSTEMID (G)

Specifies a number that identifies the computer. This parameter is not dynamic. SCSSYSTEMID is the low-order 32 bits of the 48-bit system identification number.

If the computer is in an OpenVMS Cluster, specify a value that is unique within the cluster. Do not use zero as the value.

If the computer is running DECnet for OpenVMS, calculate the value from the DECnet address using the following formula:


SCSSYSTEMID = ((DECnet area number) * 1024) + (DECnet node number)

Example: If the DECnet address is 2.211, calculate the value as follows:


SCSSYSTEMID = (2 * 1024) + 211 = 2259

SCSSYSTEMIDH (G)

Specifies the high-order 16 bits of the 48-bit system identification number. This parameter must be set to 0. It is reserved by HP for future use.

SECURITY_POLICY

SECURITY_POLICY allows a system to run in a C2 or B1 configuration and to subset out particular pieces of functionality---to exclude functionality that is outside the evaluated configuration or to preserve compatibility with previous versions of the operating system. See the HP OpenVMS Guide to System Security for further information about the C2 and B1 evaluated configurations.

The following bits are defined:

Bit Description
0 Allows DECwindows to display PostScript extensions.
1 Allows multiple user names to connect to DECW$SERVER.
2 Allows unevaluated DECwindows transports (such as TCP/IP).
3 Allows $SIGPRC and $PRCTERM to span job trees.
4 Allows security profile changes to protected objects on a local node when the object server is absent and cannot update the cluster database VMS$OBJECTS.DAT.
5 Allows creation of protected objects on a local node when the object server is absent and cannot update the cluster database VMS$OBJECTS.DAT.
6 Allows SPAWN or LIB$SPAWN commands in CAPTIVE accounts.
7 Reserved to HP.
8 Reserved to HP.
9 Disables password synchronizations among ACME agents on a systemwide pasis. This is functionally equivalent to the SYS$SINGLE_SIGNON logical name bit mask value 4 for LOGINOUT.
10 Allows privileged applications to successfully authenticate a user whose principal name maps to a SYSUAF record that is either expired or whose modal restrictions would otherwise prevent the account from being used.

A SYSUAF record that is disabled or password-expired (in the case of traditional OpenVMS authentication) cannot be bypassed in this manner.

An application with SECURITY privilege specifies the SYS$ACM ACME$M_NOAUTHORIZE function modifier to override authorization checks.

11 Allows any record in the SYSUAF file to be mapped using external authentication.
12 Allows intrusions on a clusterwide or local basis. (If the bit is cleared, intrusions are clusterwide.)

The default value of 7 preserves compatibility with existing DECwindows Motif behavior. A value of 0 disables all unevaluated configurations.

SETTIME

SETTIME enables (1) or disables (0) solicitation of the time of day each time the system is booted. This parameter should usually be off (0), so that the system sets the time of day at boot time to the value of the processor time-of-day register. You can reset the time after the system is up with the DCL command SET TIME (see the HP OpenVMS DCL Dictionary).

SHADOW_D1-D5

Special dynamic parameters reserved for HP use.

SHADOWING

SHADOWING loads the host-based volume shadowing driver. See HP Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS for more information about setting system parameters for volume shadowing.

Specify one of the following values:

Value Description
0 No shadowing is enabled; SHDRIVER is not loaded. This is the default value.
2 Host-based volume shadowing enabled; SHDRIVER is loaded. Host-based volume shadowing provides shadowing of all disks located on a standalone system or an OpenVMS Cluster system.

SHADOW_MAX_COPY (A,D)

The value of SHADOW_MAX_COPY controls how many parallel copy threads are allowed on a given node.

Carefully consider the needs of each shadowed node when you set this parameter. Too high a value for SHADOW_MAX_COPY can affect performance by allowing too many copy threads to operate in parallel. Too low a value unnecessarily restricts the number of threads your system can effectively handle.

See HP Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS for more information about setting system parameters for volume shadowing.

SHADOW_MAX_UNIT

SHADOW_MAX_UNIT specifies the maximum number of shadow sets that can exist on a system. The setting must be equal to or greater than the number of shadow sets you plan to have on a system. Dismounted shadow sets, unused shadow sets, and shadow sets with no write bitmaps allocated to them are included in the total.

Note

Review this default carefully. The setting must be equal to or greater than the number of shadow sets you plan to have on a system. If you attempt to mount more shadow sets than the number specified by SHADOW_MAX_UNIT, the MOUNT command will fail. Dismounted shadow sets, unused shadow sets, and shadow sets with no write bitmaps allocated to them are included in the count for SHADOW_MAX_UNIT.

On OpenVMS Alpha systems, the default value for this system parameter is 500, which consumes 24KB of main memory. On OpenVMS VAX systems, the default value is 100, which consumes 5KB of main memory.

If you do not plan to use Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS, you can change the setting to its minimum of 10 (which consumes 480 bytes of main memory). Setting the default to its minimum frees up 23.5KB of main memory on an OpenVMS Alpha system and 4.5KB of main memory on a VAX system. (The maximum value of this parameter is 10,000.)

This system parameter is not dynamic; that is, a reboot is required when you change the setting.

SHADOW_MBR_TMO (D)

SHADOW_MBR_TMO controls the amount of time the system tries to fail over physical members of a shadow set before removing them from the set. The SHADOW_MBR_TMO parameter replaces the temporary VMSD3 parameter used in prior releases.

The SHADOW_MBR_TMO parameter is valid for use only with Phase II of Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS. You cannot set this parameter for use with Phase I, which is obsolete.

Use the SHADOW_MBR_TMO parameter (a word) to specify the number of seconds, in decimal from 1 to 65,535, during which recovery of a repairable shadow set is attempted. If you do not specify a value or if you specify 0, the default delay of 120 seconds is used.

Because SHADOW_MBR_TMO is a dynamic parameter, you should use the SYSGEN command WRITE CURRENT to permanently change its value.

SHADOW_REC_DLY (D)

(Alpha only) On Version 7.3-1 and on future versions of OpenVMS, the number of seconds a system waits before it attempts to manage transient state operations on any virtual units that are mounted on this system. A shadow set enters a transient state when a merge or a copy operation is required on that virtual unit.

SHADOW_SITE_ID (D)

(Alpha only) This parameter allows a system manager to define a site value, which Volume Shadowing uses to determine the best device to perform reads, thereby improving performance.

The system manager can now define the site value to be used for all shadow sets mounted on a system. This parameter is an arbitrary numeric value coordinated by the system manager of disaster tolerant clusters. Reads from devices that have site values matching the shadow set's site value are preferred over reads from devices with different site values. For detailed information, see the description of the $SET DEVICE/SITE in the HP OpenVMS DCL Dictionary and HP Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS.

SHADOW_SYS_DISK

A SHADOW_SYS_DISK parameter value of 1 enables shadowing of the system disk. A value of 0 disables shadowing of the system disk. The default value is 0.

Also specify a system disk shadow set virtual unit number with the SHADOW_SYS_UNIT system parameter, unless the desired system disk unit number is DSA0.

To enable minimerge on a system disk, add the value 4096 to your existing SHADOW_SYS_DISK value. For example, if you have SHADOW_SYS_DISK set to a value of 1, change it to 4097 to enable minimerge. Also, be sure to set the DUMPSTYLE parameter to dump off system disk, as described in the HP OpenVMS System Manager's Manual.

SHADOW_SYS_TMO

The SHADOW_SYS_TMO parameter has the following two distinct uses:
  • At system boot time, when this is the first node in the cluster to boot and to create this specific shadow set. If the proposed shadow set is not currently mounted in the cluster, use this parameter to extend the time a booting system waits for all former members of the shadowed system disk to become available.
  • Once the system successfully mounts the virtual unit and begins normal operations. In this usage, the SHADOW_SYS_TMO parameter controls the time the operating system waits for errant members of a system disk. (Use the SHADOW_MBR_TMO parameter to control the time the operating system waits for the errant members of an application disk.)

This parameter applies only to members of the system disk shadow set. All nodes using a particular system disk shadow set should have their SHADOW_SYS_TMO parameter set to the same value once normal operations begin.

The default value is 120 seconds. Change this parameter to a higher value if you want the system to wait more than the 120-second default for all members to join the shadow set. You can set the parameter value to 120 through 65,535 seconds.

SHADOW_SYS_UNIT

Use this parameter for Phase II shadowing only. The SHADOW_SYS_ UNIT parameter is an integer value that contains the virtual unit number of the system disk. The default value is 0. The maximum value allowed is 9999. This parameter is effective only when the SHADOW_SYS_DISK parameter has a value of 1. This parameter should be set to the same value on all nodes booting off a particular system disk shadow set. See HP Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS for more information about setting system parameters for volume shadowing.

SHADOW_SYS_WAIT

The SHADOW_SYS_WAIT parameter extends the time a booting system waits for all current members of a mounted shadowed system disk to become available to this node. The shadow set must already be mounted by at least one other cluster node for this parameter to take effect.

The default value is 480 seconds. Change this parameter to a higher value if you want the system to wait more than the 480-second default for all members to join the shadow set. You can set the parameter value to 1 through 65,535 seconds.

SMCI_FLAGS (D)

(Alpha Galaxy platforms only) The SMCI_FLAGS parameter controls operational aspects of SYS$PBDRIVER, the Galaxy Shared Memory Cluster Interconnect (SMCI).

Bits in the bit mask are the following:

Bit Mask Description
0 0 0 = Do not create local communications channels (SYSGEN default). Local SCS communications are primarily used in test situations and are not needed for normal operations. Not creating local communications saves resources and overhead.
    1 = Create local communications channels.
1 2 0 = Load SYS$PBDRIVER if booting into both a Galaxy and a Cluster (SYSGEN Default).
    1 = Load SYS$PBDRIVER if booting into a Galaxy.
2 4 0 = Minimal console output (SYSGEN default).
    1 = Full console output; SYS$PBDRIVER displays console messages when it creates and tears down communications channels.

SMCI_PORTS

(Alpha Galaxy platforms only) The Shared Memory Cluster Interconnect (SMCI) system parameter SMCI_PORTS controls initial loading of SYS$PBDRIVER. This parameter is a bit mask; bits 0 through 25 each represent a controller letter. If bit 0 is set, which is the default setting, PBAx is loaded (where x represents the Galaxy Partition ID). If bit 1 is set, PBBx is loaded, and so on up to bit 25, which causes PBZx to be loaded. For OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.2, HP recommends leaving this parameter at the default value of 1.

Loading additional ports allows multiple paths between Galaxy instances. In the initial release of the Galaxy software, having multiple communications channels is not an advantage because SYS$PBDRIVER does not support fast path. A future release of OpenVMS will provide Fast Path support for SYS$PBDRIVER, when multiple CPUs improve throughput by providing multiple communications channels between instances.

SMP_CPUS

SMP_CPUS identifies which secondary processors, if available, are to be booted into the multiprocessing system at boot time. SMP_CPUS is a 32-bit mask; if the value of a bit in the mask is 1, the processor with the corresponding CPU ID is booted into the multiprocessing system (if it is available). For example, if you want to boot only the CPUs with CPU IDs 0 and 1, specify the value 3 (both bits are on).

The default value of SMP_CPUS, --1, boots all available CPUs into the multiprocessing system.

Note that although a bit in the mask corresponds to the primary processor's CPU ID, the primary processor is always booted. That is, if the mask is set to 0, the primary CPU still boots. Any available secondary processors are not booted into the multiprocessing system.

This parameter is ignored if the MULTIPROCESSING parameter is set to 0.

SMP_CPUSH

SMP_CPUSH is a special parameter reserved for HP use only. HP recommends that you use the default value.

SMP_LNGSPINWAIT

Certain shared resources in a multiprocessing system take longer to become available than allowed by the SMP_SPINWAIT parameter. SMP_LNGSPINWAIT establishes, in 10-microsecond intervals, the length of time a processor in a multiprocessing system waits for these resources. A timeout causes a CPUSPINWAIT bugcheck.

The default value is 3000000 (3 million 10-microsecond intervals or 30 seconds).

SMP_SANITY_CNT

SMP_SANITY_CNT establishes, in 10-millisecond intervals, the timeout period for each CPU in a symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) system. Each CPU in an SMP system monitors the sanity timer of one other CPU in the configuration to detect hardware or software failures. If allowed to go undetected, these failures could cause the cluster to hang. A timeout causes a CPUSANITY bugcheck.

The default value is 300 milliseconds (30 10-millisecond intervals).

SMP_SPINWAIT

SMP_SPINWAIT establishes, in 10-microsecond intervals, the amount of time a CPU in an SMP system normally waits for access to a shared resource. This process is called spinwaiting.

A timeout causes a CPUSPINWAIT bugcheck.

The default value is 100000 (100,000 10-microsecond intervals or 1 second).

SMP_TICK_CNT

SMP_TICK_CNT sets the frequency of sanity timer checks by each CPU in a multiprocessing system.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

SPTREQ (A)

(VAX only) SPTREQ sets the number of system page table (SPT) entries required for mapping the following components:
Executive image
RMS image
SYSMSG.EXE file
Multiport memory structures
Each MASSBUS adapter
Each UNIBUS adapter
Each DR32 adapter

The number of system page table entries required for all other purposes is automatically computed and added to the value of SPTREQ to yield the actual size of the system page table.

SSINHIBIT

SSINHIBIT controls whether system services are inhibited (1) (on a per-process basis). By default, system services are not inhibited (0).

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

STARTUP_P1--8

The following table describes possible values of STARTUP_P1 through _P8:
STARTUP Value Description
STARTUP_P1 Specifies the type of system boot the system-independent startup procedure is to perform when STARTUP_P1 has one of the following values:
  • " "-- A full boot is performed.
  • "MIN"-- A minimum boot that starts only what is absolutely necessary for the operating system to run.
STARTUP_P2 Controls the setting of verification during the execution of the system-independent startup procedure, STARTUP.COM, when STARTUP_P2 has one of the values described in the lists below.

STARTUP_P2 can be one of the values shown in the following list:

  • F[ALSE], N[O], 0, " "---Verification is not enabled; in other words, NOVERIFY is performed.
  • T[RUE], Y[ES], 1---Verification is enabled; in other words, a SET VERIFY is performed.

Alternatively, STARTUP_P2 can be a string containing one or more of the letters shown in the following list:

  • C---Display various checkpointing messages during startup.
  • D---Log (or Dump) the output from the startup to a file called SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSEXE]STARTUP.LOG.
  • P---DCL verification is enabled for each component file, but not for the startup driver. If both P and V are used, P is ignored.
  • V---Full DCL verification is enabled; same as TRUE.

Refer to the SYSMAN command STARTUP SET OPTIONS for more information about STARTUP_P2.

STARTUP_P3 Beginning in OpenVMS Version 7.2, if STARTUP_P3 is set to AGEN, the system executes AUTOGEN at the end of the startup sequence.
STARTUP_P4
through
STARTUP_P8
Reserved for future use.

SWP_PRIO

SWP_PRIO sets the priority of I/O transfers initiated by the swapper.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

SWPALLOCINC

(VAX only) SWPALLOCINC sets the size (in blocks) to use to back up swap file space allocation in the swap or page file. Space in the file is allocated in multiples of this unit (up to WSQUOTA) to guarantee swap space.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

SWPFAIL

SWPFAIL sets the number of consecutive swap failures allowed before the swap schedule algorithm is changed to ignore the swap quantum protection.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

SWPFILCNT

On VAX systems, SWPFILCNT defines the maximum number of swap files that can be installed. On Alpha systems, beginning in OpenVMS Version 7.3, this parameter is obsolete.

SWPOUTPGCNT (A on VAX,D)

This parameter allows the swapper an alternative mechanism before actually performing swaps.

On VAX systems, SWPOUTPGCNT defines the minimum number of pages to which the swapper should attempt to reduce a process before swapping it out. The pages taken from the process are placed into the free-page list.

On Alpha systems, SWPOUTPGCNT defines the minimum number of pagelets to which the swapper should attempt to reduce a process before swapping it out. The pagelets taken from the process are placed into the free-page list.

SWPRATE

SWPRATE sets the swapping rate (in 10-millisecond units). This parameter limits the amount of disk bandwidth consumed by swapping.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

SYSMWCNT (A,G,M)

SYSMWCNT sets the quota for the size of the system working set, which contains the pageable portions of the system, the paged dynamic pool, RMS, and the resident portion of the system message file.

While a high value takes space away from user working sets, a low value can seriously impair system performance. Appropriate values vary, depending on the level of system use. When the system is running at full load, check the rate of system faults with the MONITOR PAGE command of the Monitor utility. An average system page fault rate of between 0 and 3 page faults per second is desirable. If the system page fault rate is high, and especially if the system seems to be slow, you should increase the value of SYSMWCNT. However, do not set this parameter so high that system page faulting never occurs.

SYSPFC

SYSPFC sets the number of pages to be read from disk on each system paging operation.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

SYSTEM_CHECK

SYSTEM_CHECK investigates intermittent system failures by enabling a number of run-time consistency checks on system operation and recording some trace information.

Enabling SYSTEM_CHECK causes the system to behave as if the following system parameter values are set (although the values of the following parameters are not actually changed):

Parameter Value Description
BUGCHECKFATAL 1 Crash the system on nonfatal bugchecks.
POOLCHECK %X616400FF Enable all poolchecking, with an allocated pool pattern of %x61616161 ('aaaa') and deallocated pool pattern of x64646464 ('dddd').
MULTIPROCESSING 2 Enable full synchronization checking.

While SYSTEM_CHECK is enabled, the previous settings of the BUGCHECKFATAL and MULTIPROCESSING parameters are ignored. However, setting the parameter POOLCHECK to a nonzero value overrides the setting imposed by SYSTEM_CHECK.

Setting SYSTEM_CHECK creates certain image files that are capable of the additional system monitoring. These image files are located in SYS$LOADABLE_IMAGES and can be identified by the suffix _MON. For information about the type of data checking performed by SYSTEM_CHECK, see the description of the ACP_DATACHECK parameter. For information about the performance implications of enabling SYSTEM_CHECK, see OpenVMS Performance Management.

On VAX systems, SYSTEM_CHECK is a special parameter, which is subject to change at any time and should be modified only if recommended by HP.

TAILORED

TAILORED specifies whether or not the system is tailored during installation. HP recommends that you use the default value.

TAPE_ALLOCLASS

TAPE_ALLOCLASS determines the tape allocation class for the system. The tape allocation class creates a unique clusterwide device name for multiple access paths to the same tape.

The TAPE_ALLOCLASS parameter can also be used to generate a unique clusterwide name for tape devices with identical unit numbers.

TAPE_MVTIMEOUT (D)

TAPE_MVTIMEOUT is the time in seconds that a mount verification attempt continues on a given magnetic tape volume. If the mount verification does not recover the volume within that time, the I/O operations outstanding to the volume terminate abnormally.

TBSKIPWSL

TBSKIPWSL specifies the maximum number of working set list entries that may be skipped while scanning for a "good" entry to discard. Setting this parameter to 0 disables skipping.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

TIME_CONTROL (D)

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

TIME_CONTROL is an SMP bit mask parameter that controls debugging functions. The following bits are defined:

Bit Description
0 Obsolete.
1 (EXE$V_SANITY) Disables the SMP sanity timer support.
2 (EXE$V_NOSPINWAIT) Disables the functional behavior of the SMP spinwait support.

TIMEPROMPTWAIT

TIMEPROMPTWAIT defines the number of seconds that you want a processor to wait for the time and date to be entered when a system boot occurs, if the processor's time-of-year clock does not contain a valid time. (The time unit of micro-fortnights is approximated as seconds in the implementation.) If the time specified by TIMEPROMPTWAIT elapses, the system continues the boot operation, and the date and time are set to the last recorded time that the system booted.

Note

HP recommends that you set the correct system time before allowing the system to run, so that all functions using time-stamping (such as the operator log, the error log, accounting records, file creation dates, and file expiration dates) contain correct time values.

Depending on the value specified for the TIMEPROMPTWAIT parameter, the system acts in one of the following ways:

  • If TIMEPROMPTWAIT is 0, no prompt or wait occurs; the system boots immediately, using the time of the last boot as the system time.
  • If TIMEPROMPTWAIT is a positive number less than 32768, one prompt is issued and the value dictates how many seconds you can take to respond with a time. If you do not provide a time before TIMEPROMPTWAIT elapses, the system boots, using the time of the last boot as the system time.
  • If TIMEPROMPTWAIT is a number in the range of 32768 through 65535, the prompt for the time is issued at intervals starting with 2 and doubling until 256 seconds is reached. If no response is received, the prompts restart, with the 2-second interval. This prompting process repeats indefinitely, until you specify a time.

TIMVCFAIL (D)

TIMVCFAIL specifies the time required for an adapter or virtual circuit failure to be detected. HP recommends that the default value be used. HP also recommends that this value be lowered only in OpenVMS Cluster of three CPUs or less, that the same value be used on each computer in the cluster, and that dedicated LAN segments be used for cluster I/O.

TMSCP_LOAD (A)

TMSCP_LOAD allows the loading of the tape mass storage control protocol server software. The TMSCP_LOAD parameter also sets locally connected tapes served. Refer to OpenVMS Cluster Systems for information about setting the TMSCP_LOAD parameter.

Setting TMSCP_LOAD to 0 inhibits the loading of the tape server and the serving of local tapes. Setting TMSCP to 1 loads the tape server into memory at the time the system is booted and makes all directly connected tape drives available clusterwide. The following table describes the two states of the TMSCP_LOAD parameter:

State Function
0 Do not load the TMSCP tape server. Do not serve any local tape devices clusterwide. This is the default value.
1 Load the TMSCP tape server. Serve all local TMSCP tape devices clusterwide.

TMSCP_SERVE_ALL

TMSCP_SERVE_ALL is a bit mask that controls the serving of tapes. The settings take effect when the system boots. You cannot change the settings when the system is running.

Starting with OpenVMS Version 7.2, the serving types are implemented as a bit mask. To specify the type of serving your system will perform, locate the type you want in the following table and specify its value. For some systems, you may want to specify two serving types, such as serving all tapes except those whose allocation class does not match. To specify such a combination, add the values of each type, and specify the sum.

In a mixed-version cluster that includes any systems running OpenVMS Version 7.1-x or earlier, serving all available tapes is restricted to serving all tapes except those whose allocation class does not match the system's allocation class (pre-Version 7.2 meaning). To specify this type of serving, use the value 9, which sets bit 0 and bit 3. The following table describes the serving type controlled by each bit and its decimal value:

Bit Value When Set Description
Bit 0 1 Serve all available tapes (locally attached and those connected to HS x and DSSI controllers). Tapes with allocation classes that differ from the system's allocation class (set by the ALLOCLASS parameter) are also served if bit 3 is not set.
Bit 1 2 Serve locally attached (non-HS x and non-DSSI) tapes.
Bit 2 N/A Reserved.
Bit 3 8 Restrict the serving specified by bit 0. All tapes except those with allocation classes that differ from the system's allocation class (set by the ALLOCLASS parameter) are served.

This is pre-Version 7.2 behavior. If your cluster includes systems running OpenVMS Version 7.1- x or earlier, and you want to serve all available tapes, you must specify 9, the result of setting this bit and bit 0.

Although the serving types are now implemented as a bit mask, the values of 0, 1, and 2, specified by bit 0 and bit 1, retain their original meanings:

  • 0 --- Do not serve any tapes (the default for earlier versions of OpenVMS).
  • 1 --- Serve all available tapes.
  • 2 --- Serve only locally attached (non-HSx and non-DSSI) tapes.

If the TMSCP_LOAD system parameter is 0, TMSCP_SERVE_ALL is ignored.

TTY_ALTALARM

TTY_ALTALARM sets the size of the alternate type-ahead buffer alarm. This value indicates at what point an XOFF should be sent to terminals that use the alternate type-ahead buffers with the size specified by the TTY_ALTYPAHD parameter.

TTY_ALTYPAHD

TTY_ALTYPAHD sets the size of the alternate type-ahead buffer. Use this parameter to allow the block mode terminals and communications lines to operate more efficiently.

The default value is usually adequate. Do not exceed the maximum value of 32767 when setting this parameter.

TTY_AUTOCHAR (D)

TTY_AUTOCHAR sets the character the terminal driver echoes when the job controller has been notified.

TTY_BUF

TTY_BUF sets the default line width for terminals.

TTY_CLASSNAME

TTY_CLASSNAME provides the 2-character prefix for the terminal class driver name that is required when booting. Changing the prefix can be useful when debugging a new terminal driver.

TTY_DEFCHAR

TTY_DEFCHAR sets the default characteristics for terminals, using a code derived by summing the following hexadecimal values:
Characteristic Value (Hex) Function
PASSALL 1 Passall.
NOECHO 2 Noecho mode.
NOTYPEAHEAD 1 4 No type-ahead buffer.
ESCAPE 8 Escape sequence processing.
HOSTSYNC 10 Host can send XON and XOFF.
TTSYNC 20 Terminal can send XON and XOFF.
SCRIPT 40 Internal use only.
LOWER 80 Lowercase.
MECHTAB 100 Mechanical tabs.
WRAP 200 Wraparound at end of line.
CRFILL 1 400 Perform carriage return fill.
LFFILL 1 800 Perform line feed fill.
SCOPE 1000 Terminal is a scope.
REMOTE 2000 Internal use only.
EIGHTBIT 8000 Eight-bit terminal.
MBXDSABL 10000 Disable mailbox.
NOBRDCST 20000 Prohibit broadcast.
READSYNC 40000 XON and XOFF on reads.
MECHFORM 80000 Mechanical form feeds.
HALFDUP 100000 Set for half-duplex operation.
MODEM 200000 Set for modem signals.
PAGE FF000000 Page size. Default is 24.

1Do not set this characteristic as the default in TTY_DEFCHAR.

Where a condition is false, the value is 0.

The upper byte is the page length. The default characteristics are 24 lines per page, terminal synchronization, wraparound, lowercase, scope, and full-duplex.

TTY_DEFCHAR2

TTY_DEFCHAR2 sets a second longword of default terminal characteristics. The default characteristics are represented as a code that is derived by summing the following hexadecimal values:
Characteristic Value (Hex) Function
LOCALECHO 1 Enable local echo terminal logic; use with the TTY_DEFCHAR NOECHO characteristic.
AUTOBAUD 2 Enable autobaud detection.
HANGUP 4 Hang up on logout.
MODHANGUP 8 Allow modification of HANGUP without privileges.
BRDCSTMBX 10 Allow sending of broadcasts to mailboxes.
XON 20 (No effect in this parameter.)
DMA 40 (No effect in this parameter.)
ALTYPEAHD 80 Use the alternate type-ahead parameters.
SETSPEED 100 Clear to allow setting of speed without privileges.
DCL_MAILBX 200 Function reserved for HP use only.
DECCRT4 400 Terminal is DIGITAL CRT Level 4.
COMMSYNC 800 Enable flow control using modem signals.
EDITING 1000 Line editing allowed.
INSERT 2000 Sets default mode for insert.
FALLBACK 4000 Do not set this bit with SYSGEN. Refer to the OpenVMS Terminal Fallback Utility Manual 1 for information about setting the FALLBACK terminal characteristic using the Terminal Fallback utility.
DIALUP 8000 Terminal is a dialup line.
SECURE 10000 Guarantees that no process is connected to terminal after Break key is pressed.
DISCONNECT 20000 Allows terminal disconnect when a hangup occurs.
PASTHRU 40000 Terminal is in PASTHRU mode.
SYSPWD 80000 Log in with system password only.
SIXEL 100000 Sixel graphics.
DRCS 200000 Terminal supports loadable character fonts.
PRINTER 400000 Terminal has printer port.
APP_KEYPAD 800000 Notifies application programs of state to set keypad on exit.
ANSICRT 1000000 Terminal conforms to ANSI CRT programming standards.
REGIS 2000000 Terminal has REGIS CRT capabilities.
BLOCK 4000000 Block mode terminal.
AVO 8000000 Terminal has advanced video.
EDIT 10000000 Terminal has local edit capabilities.
DECCRT 20000000 Terminal is a DIGITAL CRT.
DECCRT2 40000000 Terminal is a DIGITAL CRT Level 2.
DECCRT3 80000000 Terminal is a DIGITAL CRT Level 3.

1This manual has been archived but is available on the OpenVMS Documentation CD-ROM.

The defaults are AUTOBAUD and EDITING.

TTY_DEFPORT

TTY_DEFPORT provides flag bits for port drivers. Bit 0 set to 1 indicates that the terminal controller does not provide automatic XON/XOFF flow control. This bit should not be set for HP controllers, but it is needed for some foreign controllers. Currently only the YCDRIVER (DMF32, DMZ32) uses this bit. The remaining bits are reserved for future use. This special parameter should be modified only if recommended by HP.

TTY_DIALTYPE

TTY_DIALTYPE provides flag bits for dialups. Bit 0 is 1 for United Kingdom dialups and 0 for all others. Bit 1 controls the modem protocol used. Bit 2 controls whether a modem line hangs up 30 seconds after seeing CARRIER if a channel is not assigned to the device. The remaining bits are reserved for future use. See the HP OpenVMS I/O User's Reference Manual for more information about flag bits.

TTY_DMASIZE (D)

TTY_DMASIZE specifies a number of characters in the output buffer. Below this number, character transfers are performed; above this number, DMA transfers occur if the controller is capable of DMA I/O.

TTY_PARITY

TTY_PARITY sets terminal default parity.

TTY_RSPEED

TTY_RSPEED defines the receive speed for terminals. If TTY_RSPEED is 0, TTY_SPEED controls both the transmit and the receive speed. Maximum value is 20. This parameter is only applicable for controllers that support split-speed operations, such as the DZ32 and the DMF32.

TTY_SCANDELTA

TTY_SCANDELTA sets the interval for polling terminals for dialup and hangup events. Shorter intervals use more processor time; longer intervals may result in missing a hangup event.

TTY_SILOTIME

TTY_SILOTIME defines the interval at which the DMF32 hardware polls the input silo for received characters. The DMF32 asynchronous terminal controller can delay the generation of a single input interrupt until multiple characters have accumulated in the input silo. TTY_SILOTIME specifies the number of milliseconds that the characters are allowed to accumulate prior to the generation of an input interrupt by the hardware.

TTY_SPEED

TTY_SPEED sets the systemwide default speed for terminals. Low byte is transmit speed, and high byte is receive speed. If high byte is set to 0, receive speed is identical to transmit speed. Maximum value is 20. Baud rates are defined by the $TTDEF macro.

TTY_TIMEOUT (D)

TTY_TIMEOUT sets the number of seconds before a process associated with a disconnected terminal is deleted. The default value (900 seconds) is usually adequate. Note that using values for TTY_TIMEOUT greater than one year (value %X01E13380) can cause overflow errors and result in a disconnected device timing out immediately.

TTY_TYPAHDSZ

TTY_TYPAHDSZ sets the size of the terminal type-ahead buffer. The default value is usually adequate. Do not exceed the maximum value of 32767 when setting this parameter.

UAFALTERNATE (G,M)

UAFALTERNATE enables or disables the assignment of SYSUAF as the logical name for SYSUAFALT, causing all references to the user authorization file (SYSUAF) to be translated to SYS$SYSTEM:SYSUAFALT. Use of the normal user authorization file (SYS$SYSTEM:SYSUAF) can be restored by deassigning the system logical name SYSUAF. This parameter should be set on (1) only when the system is being used by a restricted set of users. You must create a user authorization file named SYSUAFALT prior to setting UAFALTERNATE to 1.

UDABURSTRATE (G)

UDABURSTRATE is reserved for HP use only.

USERD1 (D)

USERD1 is reserved for definition at the user's site. The reserved longword is referenced by the symbol SGN$GL_USERD1.

On Alpha systems, this symbol is in the SYS$LOADABLE_IMAGES:SYS$BASE_IMAGE module.

On VAX systems, the symbol is in the SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.STB module.

USERD2 (D)

USERD2 is reserved for definition at the user's site. The reserved longword is referenced by the symbol SGN$GL_USERD2.

On Alpha systems, this symbol is in the SYS$LOADABLE_IMAGES:SYS$BASE_IMAGE module.

On VAX systems, the symbol is in the SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.STB module.

USER3

USER3 is a parameter that is reserved for definition at the user's site. The reserved longword is referenced by the symbol SGN$GL_USER3.

On Alpha systems, this symbol is in the SYS$LOADABLE_IMAGES:SYS$BASE_IMAGE module.

On VAX systems, the symbol is in the SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.STB module.

USER4

USER4 is a parameter that is reserved for definition at the user's site. The reserved longword is referenced by the symbol SGN$GL_USER4.

On Alpha systems, this symbol is in the SYS$LOADABLE_IMAGES:SYS$BASE_IMAGE module.

On VAX systems, the symbol is in the SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.STB module.

VAXCLUSTER (A)

VAXCLUSTER controls loading of the cluster code. Specify one of the following:
Value Description
0 Never form or join a cluster.
1 Base decision of whether to form (or join) a cluster or to operate standalone on the presence of cluster hardware.
2 Always form or join a cluster.

The default value is 1.

VBN_CACHE_S

(VAX only) This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

The static system parameter VBN_CACHE_S enables or disables file system data caching. By default its value is 1, which means that caching is enabled and the Virtual I/O Cache is loaded during system startup.

Setting the value to 0 disables file system data caching on the local node and throughout the OpenVMS Cluster. In an OpenVMS Cluster, none of the other nodes in the cluster can cache any file data until this node either leaves the cluster or reboots with VBN_CACHE_S set to 1.

VBSS_ENABLE (A)

(VAX only) This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

This parameter enables virtual balance slots (VBS) to be created. A virtual balance slot holds the mapping for a memory-resident process that does not currently own a real balance slot (RBS). The set of real balance slots is timeshared among all memory-resident processes. With VBS enabled, the quantity of memory-resident processes is limited by the system parameter MAXPROCESSCNT. With VBS disabled, the quantity of memory-resident processes is limited by the system parameter BALSETCNT.

When creating a new process, if the set of real balance slots is allocated, then a virtual balance slot is created and the owner of a real balance slot is selected and transitioned to the virtual balance slot. The new process is created in the real balance slot. Processes are transitioned (faulted) back to a real balance slot as they are scheduled to execute on a CPU.

Bit Result
0 Enables VBS. All other VBS enables are subordinate to this enable. The default is disabled.
1 Enables the creation of a map for process-based direct I/O, allowing the process with direct I/O (DIO) outstanding to be transitioned to a virtual balance slot. Without DIO maps, a process with DIO outstanding retains its real balance slot for the duration of the DIO. This reduces the pool of available real balance slots for timesharing, which may result in a higher rate of faulting into the limited set of real balance slots. The default is enabled.
2-7 Reserved to HP for future use.

VBSS_ENABLE2

(VAX only) This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

This cell is used for enabling and disabling VBS dynamic capabilities that are valid only when VBS is enabled. The following table indicates the result for each value:

Bit Result
0 Enables VBS to perform first-level data reduction when switching processes. The default is enabled.
1 Enables VBS to perform second-level data reduction when switching processes. The default is enabled.
2 Requests VBS to perform an optimization that detects empty private page table pages on the modified list and frees them directly to the free list versus writing them to the page file. The default setting is enabled.
3-7 Reserved to HP for future use.

VCC_FLAGS (A)

(Alpha only) The static system parameter VCC_FLAGS enables and disables file system data caching. If caching is enabled, VCC_FLAGS controls which file system data cache is loaded during system startup.
Value Description
0 Disables file system data caching on the local node and throughout the OpenVMS Cluster.

In an OpenVMS Cluster, if caching is disabled on any node, none of the other nodes can use the Extended File Cache or the Virtual I/O Cache. They can't cache any file data until that node either leaves the cluster or reboots with VCC_FLAGS set to a nonzero value.

1 Enables file system data caching and selects the Virtual I/O Cache. This is the default for VAX systems.
2 Enables file system data caching and selects the Extended File Cache. This is the default for Alpha systems.

VCC_MAXSIZE (A)

(Alpha only) The static system parameter VCC_MAXSIZE controls the size of the virtual I/O cache. VCC_MAXSIZE, which specifies the size in blocks, is 3,700,000 by default.

The virtual I/O cache cannot shrink or grow. Its size is fixed at system startup.

To adjust the XFC size, use the VCC_MAX_CACHE system parameter.

VCC_MAX_CACHE (D)

(Alpha only) The dynamic system parameter VCC_MAX_CACHE controls the maximum size of the Extended File Cache. It specifies the size in megabytes. By default, VCC_MAX_CACHE has a special value of --1 for people who do not want to tune their systems manually; this value means that at system startup, the maximum size of the Extended File Cache is set to 50 percent of the physical memory on the system.

The Extended File Cache can automatically shrink and grow, depending on your I/O workload and how much spare memory your system has. As your I/O workload increases, the cache automatically grows, but never to more than the maximum size. When your application needs memory, the cache automatically shrinks.

The value of VCC_MAX_CACHE at system startup sets an upper limit for the maximum size of the Extended File Cache. You cannot increase the maximum size of VCC_MAX_CACHE beyond its value at boot time. For example, if VCC_MAX_CACHE is 60 MB at system startup, you can then set VCC_MAX_CACHE to 40, which decreases the maximum size to 40 MB. If you then set VCC_MAX_CACHE to 80, the maximum size is only increased to 60 MB, the value set at system startup.

Note that VCC_MAX_CACHE is a semi-dynamic parameter. If you change its value, you must enter the DCL command SET CACHE/RESET for any changes to take effect immediately. Otherwise, it might take much more time for the changes to take effect.

If you are using the reserved memory registry to allocate memory permanently, you must set the VCC$MIN_CACHE_SIZE entry in the reserved memory registry to a value less than or equal to VCC_MAX_CACHE at system startup time.

Refer to the HP OpenVMS System Manager's Manual for instructions on setting permanent memory allocations for the cache.

VCC_MAX_IO_SIZE (D)

(Alpha only) The dynamic system parameter VCC_MAX_IO_SIZE controls the maximum size of I/O that can be cached by the Extended File Cache. It specifies the size in blocks. By default, the size is 127 blocks.

Changing the value of VCC_MAX_IO_SIZE affects reads and writes to volumes currently mounted on the local node, as well as reads and writes to volumes mounted in the future.

If VCC_MAX_IO_SIZE is 0, the Extended File Cache on the local node cannot cache any reads or writes. However, the system is not prevented from reserving memory for the Extended File Cache during startup if a VCC$MIN_CACHE_SIZE entry is in the reserved memory registry.

VCC_MAX_LOCKS

(Alpha only) VCC_MAX_LOCKS is a special parameter reserved for HP use only. Extended File Cache intends to use this parameter in future versions.

VCC_MINSIZE

(VAX only) VCC_MINSIZE sets the lower limit in pages of memory used by virtual I/O cache.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

VCC_PTES

(VAX only) The static system parameter VCC_PTES controls the maximum size of the virtual I/O cache. It specifies the potential size in pages.

The virtual I/O cache automatically shrinks and grows, depending on your I/O workload and how much spare memory your system has. As your I/O workload increases, the cache automatically grows, but never to more than the maximum size. When your applications need memory, the cache automatically shrinks.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

VCC_READAHEAD (D)

(Alpha only) The dynamic system parameter VCC_READAHEAD controls whether the Extended File Cache can use read-ahead caching. Read-ahead caching is a technique that improves the performance of applications that read data sequentially.

By default VCC_READAHEAD is 1, which means that the Extended File Cache can use read-ahead caching. The Extended File Cache detects when a file is being read sequentially in equal-sized I/Os, and fetches data ahead of the current read, so that the next read instruction can be satisfied from cache.

To stop the Extended File Cache from using read-ahead caching, set VCC_READAHEAD to 0.

Changing the value of VCC_READAHEAD affects volumes currently mounted on the local node, as well as volumes mounted in the future.

Readahead I/Os are totally asynchronous from user I/Os and only take place if sufficient system resources are available.

VCC_WRITEBEHIND

(Alpha only) VCC_WRITEBEHIND is reserved for HP use only. Extended File Cache intends to use this parameter in future versions.

VCC_WRITE_DELAY

(Alpha only) VCC_WRITE_DELAY is reserved for HP use only.

VECTOR_MARGIN (D)

(VAX only) VECTOR_MARGIN establishes the time interval when the system checks the status of all vector consumers. The VECTOR_MARGIN parameter accepts an integer value between 1 and FFFFFFFF16. This value represents a number of consecutive process quanta (as determined by the system parameter QUANTUM). If the process has not issued any vector instructions in the specified number of quanta, the system declares it a marginal vector consumer.

The default value of the VECTOR_MARGIN parameter is 200_10 .

VECTOR_PROC

(VAX only) VECTOR_PROC controls loading of vector processing support code. By default, in a VAX vector processing system, the system automatically loads the vector processing support code at boot time. You can override the default behavior by setting the static system parameter VECTOR_PROC to one of the following values:
Value Result
0 Do not load the vector processing support code, regardless of the system configuration.
1 Load the vector processing support code if at least one vector-present processor exists. This is the default value.
2 Load the vector processing support code if the system is vector-capable. This setting is most useful for a system in which processors have separate power supplies. With this setting, you can reconfigure a vector processor into the system without rebooting the operating system.
3 Always load the vector processing support code.

This parameter is not used on Alpha systems.

VIRTUALPAGECNT (A,G,M)

On VAX systems, VIRTUALPAGECNT sets the maximum number of virtual pages that can be mapped for any one process. A program is allowed to divide its virtual space between the P0 and P1 tables in any proportion.

If you use SYS$UPDATE:LIBDECOMP.COM to decompress libraries and the VIRTUALPAGECNT setting is low, make sure you set the PGFLQUOTA field in the user authorization file to at least twice the size of the library.

At installation time, AUTOGEN automatically sets an appropriate value for VIRTUALPAGECNT. The value depends on the particular configuration---the type and number of graphics adapters on the system, if any exist. You cannot set VIRTUALPAGECNT below the minimum value required for your graphics configuration.

Because the VIRTUALPAGECNT setting supports hardware address space rather than system memory, do not use the value of VIRTUALPAGECNT that AUTOGEN sets to gauge the size of your page file.

Starting with OpenVMS Version 7.0, VIRTUALPAGECNT has been an obsolete parameter on Alpha systems. Note, however, that the parameter remains in existence on Alpha systems for compatibility purposes and has a default and maximum value of %X7FFFFFFF. SYSBOOT and AUTOGEN enforce this default value.

VMS*

VMSD1, VMSD2, VMSD3, VMSD4, VMS5, VMS6, VMS7, and VMS8 are special parameters reserved for HP use. VMSD1 through VMSD4 are dynamic.

VOTES (A)

VOTES establishes the number of votes an OpenVMS Cluster member system contributes to a quorum.

WBM_MSG_INT (D)

WBM_MSG_INT is one of three system parameters that are available for managing the update traffic between a master write bitmap and its corresponding local write bitmaps in an OpenVMS Cluster system. The others are WBM_MSG_UPPER and WBM_MSG_LOWER. These parameters set the interval at which the frequency of sending messages is tested and also set an upper and lower threshold that determine whether the messages are grouped into one SCS message or are sent one by one.

In single-message mode, WBM_MSG_INT is the time interval in milliseconds between assessments of the most suitable write bitmap message mode. In single-message mode, the writes issued by each remote node are, by default, sent one by one in individual SCS messages to the node with the master write bitmap. If the writes sent by a remote node reach an upper threshhold of messages during a specified interval, single-message mode switches to buffered-message mode.

In buffered-message mode, WBM_MSG_INT is the maximum time a message waits before it is sent. In buffered-message mode, the messages are collected for a specified interval and then sent in one SCS message. During periods of increased message traffic, grouping multiple messages to send in one SCS message to the master write bitmap is generally more efficient than sending each message separately.

The minimum value of WBM_MSG_INT is 10 milliseconds. The maximum value is -1, which corresponds to the maximum positive value that a longword can represent. The default is 10 milliseconds.

WBM_MSG_LOWER (D)

WBM_MSG_LOWER is one of three system parameters that are available for managing the update traffic between a master write bitmap and its corresponding local write bitmaps in an OpenVMS Cluster system. The others are WBM_MSG_INT and WBM_MSG_UPPER. These parameters set the interval at which the frequency of sending messages is tested and also set an upper and lower threshold that determine whether the messages are grouped into one SCS message or are sent one by one.

WBM_MSG_LOWER is the lower threshold for the number of messages sent during the test interval that initiates single-message mode. In single-message mode, the writes issued by each remote node are, by default, sent one by one in individual SCS messages to the node with the master write bitmap. If the writes sent by a remote node reach an upper threshhold of messages during a specified interval, single-message mode switches to buffered-message mode.

The minimum value of WBM_MSG_LOwer is 0 messages per interval. The maximum value is -1, which corresponds to the maximum positive value that a longword can represent. The default is 10.

WBM_MSG_UPPER (D)

WBM_MSG_UPPER is one of three system parameters that are available for managing the update traffic between a master write bitmap and its corresponding local write bitmaps in an OpenVMS Cluster system. The others are WBM_MSG_INT and WBM_MSG_LOWER. These parameters set the interval at which the frequency of sending messages is tested and also set an upper and lower threshold that determine whether the messages are grouped into one SCS message or are sent one by one.

WBM_MSG_UPPER is the upper threshold for the number of messages sent during the test interval that initiates buffered-message mode. In buffered-message mode, the messages are collected for a specified interval and then sent in one SCS message.

The minimum value of WBM_MSG_UPPER is 0 messages per interval. The maximum value is -1, which corresponds to the maximum positive value that a longword can represent. The default is 100.

WBM_OPCOM_LVL (D)

WBM_OPCOM_LVL controls whether write bitmap system messages are sent to the operator console. Possible values are shown in the following table:
Value Description
0 Messages are turned off.
1 The default; messages are provided when write bitmaps are started, deleted, and renamed, and when the SCS message mode (buffered or single) changes.
2 All messages for a setting of 1 are provided plus many more.

WINDOW_SYSTEM (D)

WINDOW_SYSTEM specifies the windowing system to be used on a workstation. Specify one of the following values:
Value Description
1 Load the DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS workstation environment.
2 Load the UIS workstation environment.

WLKSYSDSK

(Alpha only) WLKSYSDSK is used by various bootstrap components to determine if the system disk should be treated as though it is write-locked. This parameter is used primarily to allow OpenVMS to boot from a CD.

WPRE_SIZE (D)

WPRE_SIZE represents the number of pages to be allocated to accommodate WatchPoint Recovery Entries (WPRE) on the Watchpoint Driver.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

WPTTE_SIZE (D)

WPTTE_SIZE is the number of entries that the WPDRIVER creates in the WatchPoint Trace Table.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

WRITABLESYS

WRITABLESYS controls whether system code is writable. This parameter is set (value of 1) for debugging purposes only.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

WRITESYSPARAMS (D)

On VAX systems, WRITESYSPARAMS indicates that parameters are modified during SYSBOOT and are written out to VAXVMSSYS.PAR by STARTUP.COM.

On Alpha systems, WRITESYSPARAMS indicates that parameters are modified during SYSBOOT and are written out to ALPHAVMSSYS.PAR by STARTUP.COM.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

WSDEC (A,D,M)

Increasing the value of this parameter tends to increase the speed with which working set limits are decreased when the need arises.

On VAX systems, WSDEC specifies the number of pages by which the limit of a working set is automatically decreased at each adjustment interval (which is quantum end). At a setting of 35, for example, the system decreases the limit of a working set by 35 pages each time a decrease is required.

On Alpha systems, WSDEC specifies the number of pagelets by which the limit of a working set is automatically decreased at each adjustment interval (which is quantum end). At a setting of 35, for example, the system decreases the limit of a working set by 35 pagelets each time a decrease is required.

WSINC (A on Alpha,D,M)

Decreasing the value of this parameter tends to reduce the speed with which working set limits are increased when the need arises. Normally, you should keep this parameter at a high value because a rapid increase in limit is often critical to performance.

On VAX systems, WSINC specifies the number of pages by which the limit of a working set is automatically increased at each adjustment interval (which is quantum end). At a setting of 150, for example, the system increases the limit of a working set by 150 pages each time an increase is required. On VAX systems, the default value is 150 512-byte pages.

On Alpha systems, WSINC specifies the number of pagelets by which the limit of a working set is automatically increased at each adjustment interval (which is quantum end). At a setting of 150, for example, the system increases the limit of a working set by 150 pagelets each time an increase is required. On Alpha systems, the default value is 2400 512-byte pagelets (150 8192-byte Alpha pages).

A value of 0 for WSINC disables the automatic adjustment of working set limits for all processes. Limits stay at their base values. You can disable the automatic adjustment of working set limits on a per-process basis by using the DCL command SET WORKING_SET.

WSMAX (A,G,M)

WSMAX sets the maximum number of pages on a systemwide basis for any working set. WSMAX is calculated as a quarter of the first 32 MB plus a sixteenth of the memory from 32 to 256 MB, plus a sixty-fourth of the memory (if any) above 256 MB.

This is intended to assist managers of systems that host large numbers of users whose working sets are not large. Systems whose user bases consist of a small number of users (or processes) that require large amounts of physical memory (for example, simulations) might need to set MIN_WSMAX to a value that satisfies the requirements of those processes.

WS_OPA0

(VAX only) WS_OPA0 enables OPA0 output to the QVSS screen for a workstation. A value of 1 enables output for OPA0 to the QVSS screen; a value of 0 causes output for OPA0 to be ignored.

XFMAXRATE (D)

XFMAXRATE limits the data transfer rate that can be set for DR32 devices. On some hardware configurations (especially those without interleaved memory), a high DR32 transfer rate could cause a machine check (CPU timeout). The HP OpenVMS I/O User's Reference Manual describes how to encode this parameter.

XQPCTL2

XQPCTL2 controls improved concurrency. The default value of XQPCTL2 is 1, which turns on improved concurrency. Setting XQPCTL2 to 0 turns off improved concurrency. This parameter affects local access to the extent and file ID caches.

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

XQPCTLD1

XQPCTLD1 controls multithreading, which can be used only by PATHWORKS servers. The default value of XQPCTLD1 is 8, which enables multithreading. Setting XQPCTLD1 to 0 disables multithreading,

This special parameter is used by HP and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless HP recommends that you do so.

ZERO_LIST_HI (A,D)

(Alpha only) ZERO_LIST_HI is the maximum number of pages zeroed and put on the zeroed page list. This list is used as a cache of pages containing all zeros, which improves the performance of allocating such pages.


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