[HECnet] Intermittent Connection with PyDECnet?

[Paul Koning]

> On Mar 9, 2020, at 2:34 PM, Mark J. Blair <nf6x at nf6x.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> Dumb question time, because I struggle with VMS: Is there a DECnet equivalent to "ping" that I can use to verify that my emulations can talk to pydecnet? I gather that's what the mirror server is for, but I don't know how to invoke it on the VMS side.

"ncp loop node <name>".  That will do one ping (via an application layer connection); there are arguments to specify N messages or a length different from the default.

Then there is "ncp loop circuit <cname>".  For Ethernet, that uses the standard loop protocol (90-00), to whoever answers the "assistant multicast address" or to the specified neighbor if you give the address.  

You can also see what PyDECnet believes is out there via its http pages.  One item that might be useful is the MOP display ("internals" for maximal detail).  That gives the sysid listener's database, which records the DEC Sysid messages every node is supposed to send every 8-12 minutes.  There is a defined way to get that via NCP but I haven't found anyone who implements that (the "configurator" module).

	paul