VMS Software / Documentation / VSI OpenVMS ECO Kit

VSI OpenVMS ECO Kit

Release Notes

Publication Date:

Operating Systems:: VSI OpenVMS Alpha V8.4-2L1
VSI OpenVMS Alpha V8.4-2L2

Kit Name:: VMS842L2A_RMS-V0500

1. Kit Name

VMS842L2A_RMS-V0500

2. Kit Description

2.1. Installation Rating

INSTALL_3: To be installed by customers experiencing the problems

This installation rating serves as a guide to which customers should apply this remedial kit.

Reference the Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Liability Statement.

2.2. Reboot Requirement

A reboot is required after installing this kit.

VMS Software, Inc. strongly recommends that a reboot be performed immediately after kit installation to avoid system instability.

If you are installing this kit in a VMScluster, any systems that share the same system disk with the installing system must also be rebooted in order to make use of the new images.

2.3. Version(s) of VSI OpenVMS to Which This Kit May Be Applied

VSI OpenVMS Alpha V8.4-2L1

VSI OpenVMS Alpha V8.4-2L2

The images and files in this kit apply to any of these VSI OpenVMS versions. Because patch kits are removed by PCSI during upgrades to newer OpenVMS versions, the kit will need to be reinstalled if an upgrade is done from an older listed version to any newer listed version.

3. Kits Superseded by This Kit

None.

4. Kit Dependencies

VMS842L1A_NOTARY-V0200 (if installing on V8.4-2L1), VMS842L2A_NOTARY-V0200 (if installing on V8.4-2L2)

All VSI OpenVMS patch kits now require the Notary V2.0 patch kit for their respective version of VSI OpenVMS. This is to ensure correct validation regardless of the manifest version in use.

The Notary V2.0 kit named above which matches the version of VSI OpenVMS being patched is required for this kit to install.

VMS842L1A_FILESYS (if installing on V8.4-2L1), VMS842L2A_FILESYS (if installing on V8.4-2L2)

This kit requires the FILESYS V1.0 kit for the target OpenVMS version as a prerequisite. You may install the FILESYS and RMS kits serially or jointly.

5. Problems Addressed in this Kit

5.1. Correct an Issue Where an RMS Status Code May Be Truncated

5.1.1. Problem Description

Under very heavy load, RMS may potentially truncate an error status code and return an incorrect status. The status will still be an error but will not necessarily match the expected specific errors that could be returned from the failing operation.

This issue has been present in RMS for decades. It is extremely infrequent and likely not noticed by most applications, which typically only check for an error status by the low status bit being clear, rather than checking specific error code returns.

The problem is corrected with this patch kit.

5.1.2. Images and/or Files Affected

[SYS$LDR]RMS.EXE
[SYS$LDR]RMS.STB

5.1.3. VSI Case Identifier

Jira BO-1324, FS-175
Bugzilla 2275

5.1.4. Release Version of VSI OpenVMS That Will Contain this Change

Next VSI OpenVMS Alpha release after V8.4-2L2

6. Problems Addressed from Previous Kits

This kit contains the superset of changes for RMS from the FILESYS V1.0 kit and the update described in Section 5.1, “Correct an Issue Where an RMS Status Code May Be Truncated” above. The previous changes for RMS are documented in the release notes for the FILESYS V1.0 kit.

7. Images or Files Replaced

If installing on V8.4-2L1:

     [SYS$LDR]RMS.EXE

          Image name:                    "RMS"
          Image file identification:     "X-51"
          Image build identification:    "XE4H-H4N-000139"
          Link identification:           "A13-04"
          Link Date/Time:                13-JAN-2024 08:01:06.66
          Image Checksum (MD5):          45B3E1B63410231D074E6AC0F143BC49


     [SYS$LDR]RMS.STB

          File creation date and time:   13-JAN-2024 08:01:08.52
          Checksum (MD5):                1AFB18A2597A4BD78592DE7BB09A293E

If installing on V8.4-2L2:

     [SYS$LDR]RMS.EXE

          Image name:                    "RMS"
          Image file identification:     "X-51"
          Image build identification:    "XE80-F4N-000139"
          Link identification:           "A13-04"
          Link Date/Time:                13-JAN-2024 11:54:27.54
          Image Checksum (MD5):          54F0CB33326E89407923B162EC071CF6


     [SYS$LDR]RMS.STB

          File creation date and time:   13-JAN-2024 11:54:29.24
          Checksum (MD5):                F2C09F84498BBF8206301B8CFB5B3BFF

Note

VMS Software, Inc. will only distribute kits in signed form. There is no need for most customers to compare file checksums for security or kit integrity reasons.

However, some sites may require such checking even when using signed kits. The image or file checksums are supplied (in MD5 format) to provide comparisons to the extracted final kit files. To find a file checksum, use:

$ CHECKSUM/ALGORITHM=MD5 filename
$ SHOW SYMBOL CHECKSUM$CHECKSUM

Note

Because a file or image may be replaced by multiple patch kits over time, a PCSI generation number is used to ensure that the latest version of the file or image is preserved on your system during PRODUCT INSTALL of a patch kit. Should a particular kit installation discover a newer version of a file or image in place on the system disk, the following message will be displayed:

%PCSI-I-RETAIN, file <filename> will not be replaced because file from kit has lower generation number

This is a normal occurrence depending on the order of kit installation. The correct version of the file or image will remain on the system after the current kit installation. The %PCSI-I-RETAIN message is informational only and does not indicate a problem.

8. Installation Instructions

8.1. Compressed File

This kit is provided for download within a ZIP archive container file.

The kit files may be extracted on any system with UNZIP and copied to your OpenVMS system, or extracted on your OpenVMS system directly.

Assuming you have created an UNZIP symbol to invoke the UNZIP image, you can invoke UNZIP to unpack the kit on OpenVMS using the command:

$ UNZIP VMS842L2A_RMS-V0500

This will extract the installable PCSI product kit file and its associated signed manifest (_VNC file), used for kit validation during PRODUCT commands.

VSI strongly recommends always using the manifest to validate the kit content during any PRODUCT commands. This will occur automatically if the files are both contained in the same directory.

UNZIP Tool Availability

Most customers likely have already installed a set of ZIP and UNZIP tools on their VSI OpenVMS systems. Should you need these tools, a set of the Info-ZIP freeware ZIP and UNZIP tools for VSI OpenVMS is available for download on the web at this address: https://vmssoftware.com/products/zip-tools/.

8.2. Installation Command

Install this kit with the POLYCENTER Software Installation Utility by logging into the SYSTEM account, and typing the following at the DCL prompt:

$ PRODUCT INSTALL VMS842L2A_RMS [/SOURCE=location_of_kit]

The kit location may be a tape drive, CD/DVD, or a disk directory that contains the kit. The /SOURCE qualifier is not needed if the PRODUCT INSTALL command is executed from the same directory as the kit location.

This kit requires the use of /RECOVERY_MODE and /SAVE_RECOVERY_DATA and will automatically set them; they do not need to be present on the command line.

The release notes for any kit may be extracted prior to kit installation using the PRODUCT EXTRACT RELEASE_NOTES command.

User-selectable options for installation behavior and scripting are available in this kit, refer to Appendix A, User-Selectable Control Options and Scripting Considerations for further details.

Additional help on installing PCSI kits can be found by typing HELP PRODUCT INSTALL at the system prompt.

9. Copyright

VMS SOFTWARE, INC. CONFIDENTIAL. This software is confidential proprietary software licensed by VMS Software, Inc., and is not authorized to be used, duplicated or disclosed to anyone without the prior written permission of VMS Software, Inc.

10. Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Liability

This patch is provided as is, without warranty of any kind. all express or implied conditions, representations and warranties, including any implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for particular purpose, or non-infringement, are hereby excluded to the extent permitted by applicable law. In no event will VMS Software, Inc. be liable for any lost revenue or profit, or for special, indirect, consequential, incidental or punitive damages, however caused and regardless of the theory of liability, with respect to any patch made available here or to the use of such patch.

11. Patch ID

AXPVMS-VMS842L2A_RMS-V0500--4

A. User-Selectable Control Options and Scripting Considerations

A.1. Controlling Kit Behavior for Introductory Questions

This kit provides user-selectable control options for kit dialogue interaction and automated scripting capability as described here in this appendix.

The general form of a VSI ECO patch kit, when using PRODUCT INSTALL, consists of three initial questions regarding these topics:

System disk backup: A reminder that VSI recommends backing up the system disk before installing patches, followed by a Do you want to continue? yes/no question, default is YES.
Reboot requirement: A summary of whether the kit being installed requires a system reboot, followed by a Do you want to continue? yes/no question, default YES.
Archival of updated files: A description of saving an "_OLD" copy of each image or file updated by the kit, followed by a Do you want to save "_OLD" copies of replaced files? yes/no question, default is NO.

Other questions may be asked later, depending on the target disk or system environment or other kit-specific requirements.

Note

An initial Do you want to continue? question may be asked directly by the PCSI utility during any PRODUCT command - this has nothing to do with the kit being used. To avoid that question, you must supply sufficient detail to uniquely identify the product you wish to use and specify /OPTIONS=NOCONFIRM on the PRODUCT command.

Control options are available to customize the dialogue for the initial three kit questions. The controls are logical names, which may be defined in the process logical name table with a value of YES or NO.

To modify the behavior of the VSI ECO patch kit regarding the initial questions, define one or more of the following logical names before issuing the PRODUCT INSTALL command.

To skip one or more of the questions, define the corresponding logical name shown here to YES:

SKIP$BACKUP	Skip system backup awareness question.
SKIP$REBOOT	Skip system reboot awareness question.
SKIP$ARCHIVE_OLD	Skip question about saving "_OLD" files. This will take the default, which is NO.
SKIP$INTRO	Skip all three of the above questions.

To specifically override the default for saving "_OLD" files, define this logical name to YES or NO:

VSIKIT$ARCHIVE_OLD

Sets an answer for saving "_OLD" files behavior. This will skip the archive "_OLD" files question regardless of the above SKIP$* logical names.

Two additional logical names may be defined as YES to modify the amount of explanatory text displayed for each question:
VSIKIT$VERBOSE Shows all explanatory text for questions.
VSIKIT$BRIEF Skips some general details in the explanations.
The default if neither name is defined is VERBOSE. If both names are defined to YES, VERBOSE overrides BRIEF. The BRIEF form is displayed for any questions that are skipped.

For example, to skip all three questions but save an archive "_OLD" copy of each replaced file:

$ DEFINE VSIKIT$ARCHIVE_OLD YES
$ DEFINE SKIP$INTRO YES
$ PRODUCT INSTALL <kitname>

A.2. Standard Behavior for YES/NO Questions Asked During Kit Installation

Any YES/NO questions asked during kit installation now follow these rules:

Ctrl/Y issued while a question is being asked will force the current PRODUCT operation to terminate. This is completely safe to do while the initial three questions are being asked during PRODUCT INSTALL as no changes have yet been made to the target disk.
Some questions may ignore Ctrl/Y and ask for a specific answer, if aborting the current operation may have side effects. PCSI may trap Ctrl/Y directly for some PRODUCT operations. Ctrl/Y may be disabled during some sensitive kit processing.
The default YES/NO answer is automatically chosen if a kit is installed from a batch job, unless explicitly overridden by a logical name which provides the particular value, such as VSIKIT$ARCHIVE_OLD.

A.3. Installing a Kit From a Batch Job

To install a kit from a batch job, you will need to fully qualify the kit name so PCSI will have enough information to select the kit without asking for confirmation. For example, to install this kit:

$ PRODUCT INSTALL VMS842L2A_RMS/VERSION=V5.0/OPTIONS=NOCONFIRM

If the kit is located in a directory other than the current default directory, you will also need to add the qualifier:

/SOURCE=<location_of_the_kit>

For a batch job, any YES/NO question will automatically select the default answer. Use the control logical names explained above to modify the behavior if necessary. For the system disk backup and reboot questions, the batch behavior is identical to the default. For the save "_OLD" files question, define the VSIKIT$ARCHIVE_OLD logical name to YES if you want to save copies of the files, since the batch default is NO.

A.4. Deprecated Logical Names From HPE Patch Kits

The three names listed below were used by older VSI OpenVMS patch kits for compatibility with HPE patch kit behavior. These old names continue to function, but VSI encourages you to modify any scripts you may have to use the new names shown instead:

Old Name	New Name
NO_ASK$BACKUP	SKIP$BACKUP
NO_ASK$REBOOT	SKIP$REBOOT
ARCHIVE_OLD	VSIKIT$ARCHIVE_OLD

VSIKIT$VERBOSE	Shows all explanatory text for questions.
VSIKIT$BRIEF	Skips some general details in the explanations.