[HECnet] Why does MIM not list 23.1023 as a known node?

[Paul Koning]

> On Apr 11, 2019, at 8:17 PM, Johnny Billquist <bqt at softjar.se> wrote:
> 
> On 2019-04-12 02:02, Paul Koning wrote:
>>> On Apr 11, 2019, at 7:45 PM, Johnny Billquist <bqt at softjar.se> wrote:
>>> 
>>> On 2019-04-12 01:28, Supratim Sanyal wrote:
>>>> Johnny - if I remember right, I have seen nodes with no names show up at http://mim.update.uu.se/hecnet without names in brackets, for my nodes when I haven’t told you to add them yet, or others too. no?
>>> 
>>> "Known nodes" is a tricky thing. It might also be different for different OSes.
>> It might be but it should not be.  The DECnet architecture specifies precisely what the term means.
>> Start with "active nodes": that means every node known to be reachable.
>> Given that, "known nodes" is defined as the union of active nodes and named nodes.  So a nameless node is known if it is shown as reachable by routing data (or by having an active adjacency), but not otherwise.
> 
> Well, that is obviously not what RSX shows...
> And I doubt any system do. Because a node can never have any ideas what nodes are reachable in other areas. Which is exactly the thing about 23.1023.
> 
> But I guess you could claim that 23.1023 is not *known* to be reachable.

Correct, you don't know the topology of other areas.  

Here's what the DECnet spec (netman40, the Phase IV network management spec) says.

     Node group identifications are as follows:

          ACTIVE NODES      For a  nonrouting  node,  all  nodes  that  the
                            executor  sees  on  the  other end of a logical
                            link, or as adjacent, or as designated  router.
                            For  an  intra-area  routing  node,  all of the
                            above  plus  all  nodes   that   the   executor
                            perceives as reachable within its area.  For an
                            inter-area router, all of the  above  plus  all
                            nodes  the executor sees as adjacent inter-area
                            routers.

          ADJACENT NODES    All nodes that the executor  perceives  Routing
                            can  reach  and  that  are  physically adjacent
                            (i.e.  separated from the executor by a  single
                            circuit).   Each  occurrence  of  a  node  on a
                            different  circuit  appears   as   a   separate
                            adjacent  node.   In other words, the adjacency
                            of a node is qualified by the circuit on  which
                            it is adjacent.

          KNOWN NODES       As defined for ACTIVE  NODES,  plus  all  nodes
                            that have a name, including names that map to a
                            Network Management as Seen by the User
                            circuit (i.e., loop nodes).

          LOOP NODES        All nodes that are associated  with  a  circuit
                            for loop testing purposes.

          SIGNIFICANT NODES All nodes  that  have  significant  information
                            associated with them for display purposes.

    paul