[HECnet] Decnet on RSX-11

Sat Jun 8 16:56:48 PDT 2019

I guess this also takes a few seconds of explanations. :-)

So, in RSX there are a lot of tasks that are sometimes built in a couple 
of different variants, to be used depending on what hardware support 
exist on the system.

Such tasks then exists with several "suffixes". For example, under 
[3,54] you can see both PIP.TSK, PIPRES.TSK and PIPFSL.TSK.
So the "suffixes" are RES and FSL.

RES is the task built against a shared, resident library. Such tasks are 
beneficial to use if you expect several copies to run at the same time, 
since they share parts of their memory space, which only needs one copy 
on physical memory then. However, it can have some drawback that the 
virtual memory space available for the task is reduced, since memory 
blocks have to be rounded to the page size of the PDP-11.

FSL is the task build against a shared, resident, supervisor mode 
library. In additional to the benefits of the RES version, this variant 
takes much less virtual address space, since the resident library is not 
in the user virtual address space at all. However, not all hardware 
supports supervisor mode.

And, as you can see, in your case, there is an NNCFSL.TSK, which is what 
you want here.

   Johnny

On 2019-06-09 01:21, Kurt Hamm wrote:
> Hmmm, I don't see that task in the [5,54] directory.
> 
> This is what I have:
> NTINIT.TSK;1        19.     C  25-JAN-1999 15:47
> NTL.TSK;1           231.    C  25-JAN-1999 15:47
> NCPFSL.TSK;1        265.    C  25-JAN-1999 15:47
> NMDRV.TSK;1         4.      C  06-JUN-2019 18:24
> NMDRV.STB;1         1.         06-JUN-2019 18:24
> NMVACP.TSK;1        210.    C  25-JAN-1999 15:47
> NMVACP.STB;1        7.         25-JAN-1999 15:47
> NDA.TSK;1           296.    C  25-JAN-1999 15:48
> NETACP.TSK;1        25.     C  06-JUN-2019 18:25
> NETACP.STB;1        9.         06-JUN-2019 18:25
> NICE.TSK;1          16.     C  25-JAN-1999 15:45
> NTD.TSK;1           50.     C  25-JAN-1999 15:45
> NTDEMO.TSK;1        18.     C  25-JAN-1999 15:45
> NVPFSL.TSK;1        19.     C  25-JAN-1999 15:45
> NNCFSL.TSK;1        82.     C  25-JAN-1999 15:46
> NNDRV.TSK;1         3.      C  25-JAN-1999 15:46
> NNDRV.STB;1         1.      C  25-JAN-1999 15:46
> NNS.TSK;1           99.     C  25-JAN-1999 15:46
> NNS.DAT;11          19.        25-JAN-1999 15:46
> NNS.TMP;151         10.        09-JUN-2019 00:03
> NFTFSL.TSK;1        132.    C  06-JUN-2019 18:26
> NCT.TSK;1           8.      C  06-JUN-2019 18:29
> NCT.STB;1           3.         06-JUN-2019 18:29
> NCT1.TSK;1          14.     C  06-JUN-2019 18:29
> NCT1.STB;1          3.         06-JUN-2019 18:29
> NCTCTL.TSK;1        27.     C  06-JUN-2019 18:29
> NCT.DAT;10          4.         25-JAN-1999 15:45
> 
> On Sat, Jun 8, 2019 at 6:42 PM Johnny Billquist <bqt at softjar.se 
> <mailto:bqt at softjar.se>> wrote:
> 
>     Ok, a quick rundown on some of the more esoteric details about lines
>     and
>     circuits might be useful here.
> 
>     First of all, Kurt, you might want to redo the NETGEN and not set the
>     system up for DECnet routing. It takes a lot of resources, and if you
>     don't really want it, you are much better off with a system not even
>     generated for it.
> 
>     The question about remote nodes are just for an initial population of
>     your local nodename database. All you need there is really to define
>     MIM
>     (1.13). You can then copy the whole nodename database from MIM over to
>     your machine that way instead. Let me know if you want some details on
>     that step.
> 
> 
>     On 2019-06-08 22:25, Mark Matlock wrote:
>      > Kurt,
>      >     If you want two circuits like UNA-0 and IP-0-0 I think you
>     have to
>      > be a routing node (but not an area router).
> 
>     Not really, but maybe. If you define multiple circuits, and are an
>     end-node, only one circuit will be active. But others can exist, and
>     the
>     system will fall back to some other circuit if the active one goes
>     down.
>     So it can be used as a back connection.
> 
>     However, even as an end-node, you can have several *lines* on and
>     active
>     at the same time. And this is a trick to use if you want
>     DECnet-over-IP,
>     but want to be an endnode. You need ethernet for TCP/IP to work, but
>     you
>     do not want DECnet to use the ethernet circuit.
> 
>     But you configure one IP line as well, and that is the one DECnet will
>     be using. Meanwhile, TCP/IP is using the ethernet line.
> 
>     It might sound a little confusing, but think about it for a second, and
>     I hope it becomes clear. Otherwise, just ask, and I'll try to
>     explain it
>     better.
> 
>      > Also, you should define all the nodes you want to talk to with
>     NCP in
>      > one of the startup files or do it with CFE but I prefer startup
>     so it’s
>      > simple to change.
> 
>     I would actually say that you wouldn't. Of course, there is nothing
>     wrong in doing this, but if you want the full HECnet nodename database,
>     it contains 700 nodes. That will take a while to type in.
> 
>     However, you can copy the nodename database from another DECnet node,
>     and then use this.
> 
>     But you need at least the nodename of someone where you will be copying
>     from to start with, which is why I suggested adding MIM at the start.
> 
>     After that, there is [5,54]NNC which is the nodename collector task.
>     Run
>     it, collect names from another node, and build a new database with
>     this.
>     Then stop and restart the node name server, and you have all the nodes
>     defined.
> 
>     (The node name server is managed by the command SCP.
>     So, SCP STOP followed by SCP START will do it.)
> 
>         Johnny
> 
>     -- 
>     Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
>                                         ||  on a psychedelic trip
>     email: bqt at softjar.se <mailto:bqt at softjar.se>             || 
>     Reading murder books
>     pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
> 

-- 
Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
                                   ||  on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt at softjar.se             ||  Reading murder books
pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol