HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

DECnet-Plus for OpenVMS
Network Management

To manage entities, you issue directives (commands) using NCL. The commands enable you to manage local or remote network components by identifying entities throughout the network by their unique entity names. For instance, you can create, examine, and modify entities.

For definitive information about modules, entities, and supported attributes, characteristics, status, counters, and commands, refer to the DECnet-Plus Network Control Language Reference.

Note

DECnet Phase IV and Phase V differ in how network components are managed. Chapter 2 provides information on converting Network Control Program (NCP) commands to Network Control Language (NCL) commands. Appendix A provides a table of Phase IV components and parameters and their equivalent DECnet Phase V entities and attributes.

1.4 DECnet Phase V Configurations

DECnet Phase V networks can be organized as local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs) or a combination of the two. A LAN provides for communications within a limited geographical area, such as a building or a cluster of buildings. A WAN permits long-distance communication over media such as dedicated, leased and dialup lines, and microwave and satellite links. A WAN can include one or more LANs.

DECnet-Plus allows you to manage the following local and wide area links:

LAN connections using Carrier Sense, Multiple Access with Collision Detect (CSMA-CD) protocol. DECnet-Plus supports the Ethernet protocol and the IEEE 802.3 standard.
LAN connections using Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) protocols.
WAN connections using the High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC) Protocol.
WAN connections using the DIGITAL Data Communications Message Protocol (DDCMP).
WAN connections using X.25 (level 2) data link capability over the Link Access Protocol Balanced (LAPB) protocol.

For more detailed descriptions of DECnet-Plus network configurations, refer to the DECnet-Plus Planning Guide and the DECnet-Plus for OpenVMS Introduction and User's Guide.

Part II
Managing the Transition from DECnet Phase IV

Chapter 2
Transitioning from NCP to NCL

In a Phase IV network, you use the Network Control Program (NCP) to configure, control, monitor, and test the network. In a DECnet Phase V network, you use the Network Control Language (NCL) to perform the same tasks. For an introduction to NCL, refer to the DECnet-Plus Network Control Language Reference. This chapter describes ways to convert NCP commands to NCL commands for use on DECnet Phase V nodes.

2.1 Using decnet_migrate to Convert NCP Commands to NCL Commands

Command procedures that issue NCP commands to manage the local node do not work in the DECnet Phase V environment. Similarly, command procedures that issue NCP commands to a remote node do not work if the remote node has been upgraded to DECnet Phase V software. Do the following to revise any command procedures that issue NCP commands:

To use the procedure to issue the commands to Phase IV nodes, run the procedure from NCP:
$ run sys$system:ncp NCP>
To use the procedure to issue commands to DECnet Phase V systems, change the NCP commands to NCL commands.

DIGITAL supplies a tool, decnet_migrate, that converts NCP commands to NCL commands when possible. The tool converts individual NCP commands to NCL commands, and NCP commands within command procedures to NCL commands.

Three decnet_migrate convert commands convert NCP commands to NCL equivalents, where equivalents exist. The command conversion might not be complete because of the differences between NCP and NCL. You might have to edit the NCL command before you can use it. For example, this applies to Phase IV components that have new entity names for DECnet Phase V. In the output that convert generates, the parts of the commands that cannot be converted are set off in braces, for example, {{{string}}}.

Table 2-1 lists the NCP commands that the decnet_migrate convert commands can convert to NCL. Many NCP commands have NCL equivalents or near equivalents. See Appendix A for a list of NCP commands with their nearest NCL equivalents. For an alphabetical command reference for decnet_migrate, see Appendix D.

You may also use the Language-Sensitive Editor (LSE) to assist you when writing procedures that contain NCL commands (see Section 2.1.1.4).

**Table 2-1 NCP Commands That Are Converted to NCL**
Verb	Entity	Attribute or Argument
tell	node_name	command_to_convert

set or clear	executor	address
		area maximum cost
		area maximum hops
		broadcast routing timer
		buffer size
		delay factor
		delay weight
		inactivity timer
		incoming proxy
		incoming timer
		maximum address
		maximum area
		maximum buffers
		maximum cost
		maximum hops
		maximum links
		maximum pathsplits
		maximum visits
		node
		outgoing proxy
		outgoing timer
		retransmit factor
		segment buffer size
		state
		type
		all

show	executor	summary
		status
		characteristics
		counters

loop	executor	count
		length
		with

show	node node-name	summary
	known nodes	status
	active nodes	characteristics
	adjacent nodes	counters

trigger	node or via	physical address
		service password
		via
Verb	Entity	Attribute or Argument
load	node or via	from
		management file
		physical address
		secondary loader
		service password
		tertiary loader
		via

loop	node	count
		length
		with

set or clear	circuit	active base
	known circuits	active increment
		cost
		dead threshold
		dying base
		dying increment
		dying threshold
		hello timer
		inactive base
		inactive increment
		inactive threshold
		polling state
		router priority
		state
		all

show	circuit	summary
	known circuits	status
	active circuits	characteristics
		counters

loop	circuit	count
		length
		physical address
		with

set or clear	line	clock
	known lines	dead timer
		delay timer
		line speed
		receive buffers
		retransmit timer
		scheduling timer
		state
		stream timer
		all
Verb	Entity	Attribute or Argument
show	line	summary
	known lines	status
		characteristics
		counters

show	link	summary
	known links	status
		characteristics
		counters

set or clear	object	accept
	known objects	account
		alias incoming
		alias outgoing
		default user
		file
		number
		password
		proxy
		type
		user
		all

show	object	summary
	known objects	status
		characteristics
		counters

show	logging	summary
	known logging	status
		characteristics
		counters

2.1.1 Running decnet_migrate on Your System

Invoke decnet_migrate by entering the following command:

$ run sys$update:decnet_migrate

2.1.1.1 Converting an NCP Command to an NCL Command

The following example shows how to convert a single NCP command to its closest equivalent.

decnet_migrate> convert command "ncp-command"

To convert to NCL, replace ncp-command with the NCP command exactly as if it were entered at the NCP> prompt and enclose the command in quotation marks. After you execute the command, the output of the convert command appears on your terminal.

For more information about the convert command, see Appendix D.

2.1.1.2 Converting NCP Commands in a DCL Command File to NCL

The following example shows how to convert NCP commands contained within a DCL command procedure to their closest NCL command equivalent within the procedure.

decnet_migrate> convert dcl_file input_file [to output_file]

For more information about the convert dcl_file command, see Appendix D.

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