[HECnet] DECnet performance problems (on TOPS-10)

[G ran hling]

Sorry for not being "expertly experienced on tops-10" (I know others who are... ;-)
On PDP:s (RSX11-Mplus) and VAX/VMS, C-TERM (eg. SET HOST) is usually sort of "sluggy".
LAT (eg SET TERM/LAT) is a protocol developed to cope with terminals character by character communication at first hand!

I don't know if LAT is available to your 10-system, though, but if it is, use that for terminal traffic as far as possible.

Besides, what version of VMS, on what hardware? I've heard birds singing of problems combining modern VMS-DECnet with older implementations in other machines...

All best,
G  ran

On 2011-08-31 02:20, gerry77 at mail.com wrote:
Dear All,

I'm in need of some suggestions to improve DECnet performance of a TOPS-10
monitor running on KLH10. I'd like a lot to hear from you even if you do not
know or run that specific system or configuration.

When used locally at the CTY (Console terminal), the system response is very
fast and smooth, so I'd tend to exclude emulator problems and such. Instead,
when used from a remotely connected terminal (e.g. from VMS via SET HOST),
it appears very sluggish: single character echo is very poor and output from
the system fits and starts all the time. Output from programs is very fast
for some hundreds lines, then stops briefly, then again appears almost
instantly, and so on, like in bursts.

Anyway, while the overall bulk data performance can be considered absolutely
acceptable, the char-by-char responsiveness, e.g. typing interactive
commands at the monitor prompt, is horrible: I type "D", "I", "R", and
nothing happens, then I type "E" and "DIRE" suddenly appears...

The TOPS-10 system has plenty of free core (both virtual and physical), free
disk space, and free CPU, so it shouldn't be an OS issue in itself.

Probably the most likely cause of this problem lies in some DECnet parameter
that needs some tweaking, but I do not know which one... Have you ever had
any experience with some ancient Digital OS having poor DECnet performance
as described? And how did you solve that, or at least improve it?

Here are some (maybe) interesting bits:

Request # 1; Show Executor Node Characteristics Completed

Executor Node = 1.1010 (DIECI)

    Identification = DECnet-10 Version 4.0
    Management Version = 4.0.0
    Loop Count = 1
    Loop Length = 127
    Loop With = Mixed
    Incoming Timer = 30
    Outgoing Timer = 60
    NSP Version = 4.0.0
    Maximum Links = 65535
    Delay Factor = 48
    Delay Weight = 10
    Inactivity Timer = 120
    Retransmit Factor = 10
    Routing Version = 2.0.0
    Type = Nonrouting IV
    Routing Timer = 600
    Broadcast Routing Timer = 40
    Maximum Address = 1023
    Maximum Circuits = 20
    Maximum Cost = 100
    Maximum Hops = 16
    Maximum Visits = 20
    Maximum Broadcast Nonrouters = 64
    Maximum Broadcast Routers = 32
    Maximum Buffers = 80
    Buffer Size = 576
    Segment Buffer Size = 576

Request # 5; Show Line Characteristics Completed

Line = ETH-0

    Receive Buffers = 6
    Controller = Normal
    Protocol = Ethernet
    Hardware Address = AA 00 04 00 F2 07
    Receive buffer size = 576

Request # 7; Show Circuit Characteristics Completed

Circuit = ETH-0

    Cost = 1
    Maximum Routers = 16
    Router Priority = 5
    Hello Timer = 90
    Type = Ethernet

I'll be grateful for any suggestion! :)
G.