HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
DTC/TIO Enhancements in MPE/iX 5.0
by Marie Perry
Grenoble Networks Division-Cupertino
Introduction
The Datacommunications and Terminal Controller (DTC) family of terminal
servers provides LAN-based, asynchronous connections to HP 3000, HP 9000
and non-HP systems. It also provides X.25 communication and Telnet
access to HP 3000 systems. The DTC family of products allows terminals,
PCs in terminal emulation mode, serial printers, and other asynchronous
devices to communicate with LAN-based hosts in HP-only or multivender
networking environments.
Enhancements to MPE/iX Release 5.0 include the following:
In MPE/iX 5.0 General Release version C.50.00:
* Routable Avesta Flow Control Protocol (AFCP)
* Host-based MPE/iX Support of DTC 16RX Access to HP 3000
In MPE/iX 5.0 Limited Release version X.50.20 (which C.50.00 also
includes):
* Terminal I/O (TIO) performance enhancements
* DTC 16MX and DTC 16iX support
* Configuration of the DTC as a Simple Network Management Protocol
(SNMP) agent
* Automatic system Cross-validation within NMMGR application
* FLASH EEPROM support
* Hardware Handshaking for modem ports
* Configuration of port for HP PowerTrust UPS for HP 3000 systems
* Support of 4649 Terminal I/O devices
* Support of 1000 Device Classes
With these DTC/TIO enhancements to
MPE/iX Release 5.0, system administrators, capacity planners, developers
and other end users will find:
-- Their systems can support additional users.
-- Their systems have higher throughput than ever before.
-- They save time and confusion when configuring their DTCs.
-- They can take advantage of new hardware and hardware-related
features.
-- They can save money on support costs.
Routable Avesta Flow Control Protocol (AFCP)
The purpose of Routable AFCP is to provide TIO connections between DTC
ports and an HP 3000 system across a routed Internet Protocol (IP)
network with complete transparency for applications. AFCP packets are
encapsulated in User Datagram Protocol(UDP)/IP packets before being sent
on the IP network and then de-encapsulated once they have crossed the
network. To minimize the impact of this solution on the MPE/iX system, a
DTC, on the same LAN as the system, is used to implement the new
mechanism. This DTC is called a "Front-End" DTC and basically acts
similar to a router.
The Front-End DTC can be a DTC 72MX, DTC 16MX, Telnet Express Box (TEB)
or new DTC 16RX (see next section). The Telnet Access Card (TAC) is not
needed in the Routable AFCP configuration. The DTC48, DTC16, DTC 16iX,
and DTC 16TN are NOT supported as Front-End DTCs. Since the Front-End
DTC acts like a router which does not handle connections, it is not
limited by the number of connections, rather it is limited by the number
of packets it can route and by other traffic that it may handle (i.e.,
local terminals, HP 3000 series 900 Telnet Access, or X.25
The DTC 72MX, DTC 16MX, DTC 16RX, DTC16 and DTC48 with a memory extension
(date code > 3110) are supported as Remote DTCs. The DTC 16iX, DTC 16TN
and DTC48 without a memory extension do NOT support Routable AFCP in any
way.
Whether it is a Remote DTC or a Front-End DTC, the DTC software that is
downloaded from the management platform must be Release 14.2 or later.
For the MPE/iX host-based management platform, the 14.2 download files
are included in General Release 5.0 (C.50.00).
Routable AFCP supports the same applications and block modes as local DTC
access to MPE/iX systems. The Front-End DTC supports up to 300
connections and handles two-way traffic: inbound connections (i.e.,
logon access) from a remote DTC to an MPE/iX system, and outbound
connections (i.e., printer access) from an MPE/iX system to a remote DTC.
Nailed devices are supported for both inbound and outbound connections.
![[FFN42]](../../pic3k/M013992/FFN42.gif)
For inbound connections, the calling DTC will use a Domain Name Server
(DNS) to resolve the name of the remote MPE/iX system. On the Front-End
DTC, two new processes are set up:
1. Switch AFCP packets from an AFCP/IP/Ethernet stack to an
AFCP/IEEE802.3 stack.
2. Map a Network Services (NS) host name to a Local Area Network
(LAN) address.
For outbound connections, the IP address of the remote DTC must also be
associated with its name in the DNS. On the MPE/iX system, the logical
device (LDEV) must be configured in NMMGR as associated to the target DTC
name, board number and port number as if this DTC was local. From the
MPE/iX system point of view, the configuration for local AFCP connections
and routed AFCP connections looks the same. Therefore, it is not
necessary for you to understand the network between the MPE/iX system and
the configured asynchronous port to do this NMMGR configuration.
Although it is no longer needed for Routable AFCP, customers who are
already using TAC cards can still utilize these new features. There is
NO change in configuration of remote DTCs for the TAC user. However, if
the same host name is used in DNS for the RAFCP and TAC paths, the RAFCP
path will always be selected by the remote DTC.
Host-based MPE/iX Support of DTC 16RX Access to HP 3000
The DTC 16RX is a new member of the DTC family. In addition to offering
the same level of functionality as the DTC 16MX, the DTC 16RX offers a
routable management protocol. With MPE/iX Release 5.0 (C.50.00), access
to HP 3000 systems from the DTC 16RX is available for MPE/iX host-based
environments; even though it cannot be managed/downloaded by the HP 3000
system. At hardware release, PC-based DTC management configurations in
Node Management services configuration ManaGeR (NMMGR) was supported.
With 5.0, new functionality has been added to support host-based DTC
management configurations.
Management of the DTC 16RX itself can only be done by the new HP-UX
software product named "DTC 16RX Manager". It uses Trivial File Transfer
Protocol (TFTP) for its configuration and management. Unlike all
previous DTCs, the DTC code in the DTC 16RX is stored in a FLASH EEPROM
and is not downloaded. The information passed from the DTC 16RX Manager
is configuration data only. This allows the DTC 16RX to support low
speed links between the system it accesses and its management platform.
TIO Performance Enhancements
The new MPE/iX 5.0 TIO driver meets the following performance goals:
* Increased throughput in block, field and character modes
* Reduced CPU overhead from the TIO subsystem of up to 30%
* Preserve end user and application transparency
As a result of this performance, MPE/iX 5.0 users, developers, system
administrators, and capacity planners may find that the system can
support higher throughput than before.
DTC 16MX and DTC 16iX
The DTC 16MX and DTC 16iX have a different physical layout from the
previous DTC 16 and will be supported as a "box replacement" for the DTC
16 hardware. These DTCs can support up to 16 ports that can be either
direct connect or modem ports. The DTC 16MX provides device access in a
multivender environment and the DTC 16iX provides device access in HP
3000-only environments. The DTC 16MX and DTC 16iX support TIO
connections only and therefore do NOT support the Telnet Access Card,
X.25 or PAD connections.
Configuration of the DTC as an SNMP Agent
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent functionality has been
implemented in the DTC to allow it to respond to SNMP management requests
from a management station and provide object information to the SNMP
manager. MPE/iX Release 5.0 has been enhanced to allow the configuration
of the DTC as an SNMP Agent. New screens have been added to the NMMGR
application to allow the configuration of the SNMP authorization filters,
Management Information Base (MIB) objects, and trap destinations.
NOTE If SNMP functionality is desired when the DTC is being managed by
host-based MPE/iX, NMMGR configuration of the DTC as an SNMP agent
is necessary. If PC-based DTC management is used, this
configuration is done through the OpenView DTC Manager product
(D2355A) on the PC.
Automatic system Cross-validation within NMMGR
Cross-validation between the NMMGR-configured logical devices (LDEVs) and
the configured system I/O devices (previously performed by running the
SYSGEN utility after exiting the NMMGR program) is now done automatically
for you. System Manager (SM) capabilities are needed to utilize this new
feature. If you are using the file named NMCONFIG.PUB.SYS and the DTS
subsystem configuration is correct, NMMGR executes the cross-validation
with the configured system I/O devices by internally calling the SYSGEN
utility. You actually see the SYSGEN commands being displayed on the
screen as they automatically execute. Once the cross-validation is
complete, NMMGR displays the message, Cross validation with SYSGEN
complete. The display remains on the screen until you press RETURN.
(Manual cross-validation by running SYSGEN outside NMMGR is still
supported.)
\ \ \ Important Details \ Please Read NMMGR has no way to verify that
the SYSGEN utility is
conflict-free, so you should pay
close attention to the SYSGEN
dialog that appears on the screen.
You must check all displayed
SYSGEN messages to ensure there
are no configuration conflicts
between NMMGR devices and system
devices. If there are any warning
or error messages regarding NMMGR
LDEVs, you must correct these
conflicts before rebooting the
system. Since you are still
within the NMMGR program at this
point, prior screens can be
directly accessed to correct the
configuration conflicts before
re-validation.
Support of FLASH EEPROM
Flash Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)
reprogramming is now available with host-based MPE/iX DTC management as
well as PC-based and HP-UX-based DTC management. Flash EEPROM
reprogramming is used to replace a current DTC's ROM code that resides on
the LAN board.
NOTE ROM code residing on other boards cannot be reprogrammed using this
method.
The new ROM code file will be distributed via the current MPE/iX Patch
mechanism that will include instructions for installing the patched ROM
code file. TERMDSM has been enhanced to provide the Flash EEPROM
reprogramming functionality.
It is possible for ROM code reprogramming to leave the DTC in an unusable
state if an error or interruption occurs during a critical phase.
TERMDSM was specially designed to minimize the risk involved in this
process.
\ \ \ Important Details \ Please Read Do NOT Power OFF the DTC until
Flash EEPROM Reprogramming is
Complete! The DTC aborts the
Flash EEPROM reprogramming process
if FATAL errors occur leaving the
DTC in an UNUSABLE state.
Recovery from this FATAL situation
requires the LAN Board to be
replaced in the DTC. (Fatal error
examples: the DTC is powered off
during reprogramming, the DTC
detects a Flash EEPROM memory
programming or erasing error,
catastrophic errors occur during
the critical reprogramming phase
normally causing the DTC box to
upload, and so on.)
The Flash EEPROM feature is only available with: the DTC 72MX (HP Part
Number, J2070A), the DTC 16iX (J2062A), and the DTC 16MX (J2063A). The
feature is NOT supported on the older DTC 48 (2345A) or DTC 16 (2340A)
and also is NOT supported on the DTC 16RX (J2064A) because it cannot be
managed by an MPE/iX system.
Hardware Handshaking for Modem Ports
In addition to being supported for direct connect ports, hardware
handshaking is now supported for modem ports. Hardware handshaking is
used primarily for flow control on DTC connections to some printers and
other devices that are driven by hardware handshaking signals rather than
by software XON/XOFF protocols. It is a bi-directional protocol that
uses external modem signals to allow a device to stop the flow of data
from the DTC when the input buffer is full.
The hardware handshaking feature is only available with:
* DTC 72MX
* DTC 16iX
* DTC 16MX
* DTC 16RX
The feature is NOT supported on the DTC 48 or the DTC 16.
Configuration of Port for HP PowerTrust UPS for HP 3000 Systems
On some systems, a new port was added to allow the HP 3000 to connect to
external HP PowerTrust UPS (Uninterruptable Power System) hardware units
for a new method of system power failure protection. This new port was
added to the console card in the CPU. The NMMGR program was enhanced to
allow this port configuration. It is also possible to configure a DTC
port to allow it to connect to the HP PowerTrust UPS hardware.
Support of 4649 Terminal I/O devices
Terminals, pseudo terminals, serial printers and other asynchronous
devices are considered terminal I/O devices. With MPE/iX Release 5.0,
the number of supported terminal I/O devices is increased to 4649 (from
1700 devices prior to 5.0). The NMMGR program has been enhanced to allow
the 4649 terminal I/O devices to be configured. The number of LDEVs that
can be actively logged on will vary with the application environment (for
more details, refer to the article, "System Limits Improved", in Chapter
3 of this Communicator).
Support of 1000 Device Classes
Device classes provide a means of accessing devices by a name up to
eight-characters long. With MPE/iX Release 5.0, the number of supported
device classes is increased to 1000 (from 450 prior to 5.0).
Product Documentation
The following list of product manuals were updated to include information
for the new features describe previously in this article:
* Configuring Systems for Terminal, Printer, and Other Serial
Devices (32022-61000)
* Asynchronous Serial Communications: Programmer's Reference Manual
(32022-61001)
* Troubleshooting Terminal, Printer, and Serial Device Connections
(32022-61002)
* Customizing Terminal and Printer Type Files with Workstation
Configurator (5959-2870)