OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual

Document revision date: 19 July 1999

OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual

Contents

Index

Following is the bit definition:

Bit Definition

0 If 1, enable new naming.

Bit	Definition
0	If 1, enable new naming.

For more information about port allocation classes, see OpenVMS Cluster Systems.

DISABLE_UPCALLS (D)

DISABLE_UPCALLS is primarily a debugging aid. It allows the system manager to disable threads upcalls of specific types for the entire system. The value is a bit mask, with the bits corresponding to the upcall types. The upcall types are defined in the definition macro $TMCDEF.

This special parameter is used by Compaq and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless Compaq recommends that you do so.

DISK_QUORUM (D)

The DISK_QUORUM parameter is the name of an optional quorum disk in ASCII. ASCII spaces indicate that no quorum disk is being used.

DLCKEXTRASTK

(VAX only) DLCKEXTRASTK specifies the amount of extra interrupt stack (in bytes) to leave when doing a deadlock search.

This parameter is not used on Alpha systems.

This special parameter is used by Compaq and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless Compaq recommends that you do so.

DNVOSI1

DNVOSI1 is reserved to DECnet-Plus for OpenVMS. This special parameter is used by Compaq and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless Compaq recommends that you do so.

DORMANTWAIT (D)

DORMANTWAIT specifies, in seconds, the amount of time that can elapse without a significant event before the system treats a low-priority computable process as a DORMANT process for scheduling purposes. (A low-priority process is a non real-time process whose current priority is equal to or less than the value specified by the system parameter DEFPRI [default=4].) After SUSP (suspended) processes, DORMANT processes are the most likely candidates for memory reclamation by the swapper.

Increasing the value of DORMANTWAIT can increase the interval that a low priority process blocks a high priority process if that low priority process is holding a lock or resource that the higher priority process is waiting for.

DR_UNIT_BASE (G)

(Alpha only) DR_UNIT_BASE specifies the base value from which unit numbers for DR devices (DIGITAL StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Family logical RAID drives) are counted.

DR_UNIT_BASE provides a way for unique RAID device numbers to be generated. DR devices are numbered starting with the value of DR_UNIT_BASE and then counting from there. For example, setting DR_UNIT_BASE to 10 produces device names such as $1$DRA10, $1$DRA11, and so on.

Setting DR_UNIT_BASE to appropriate, nonoverlapping values on all cluster members that share the same (nonzero) allocation class ensures that no two RAID devices are given the same name.

DUMPBUG

DUMPBUG enables (1) or disables (0) the writing of error log buffers and memory contents to SYS$SYSTEM:SYSDUMP.DMP when a fatal bugcheck occurs. This parameter should be off (0) only when the executive is being debugged.

DUMPSTYLE (A,D)

DUMPSTYLE specifies the method of writing system dumps.

DUMPSTYLE is a 32-bit mask, with the following bits defined. Each bit can be set independently. The value of the system parameter is the sum of the values of the bits that have been set. Remaining or undefined values are reserved for Compaq use only.

Bit Mask Description

0 00000001 0 = Full dump (SYSGEN default). The entire contents of physical memory are written to the dump file.

1 = Selective dump. The contents of memory are written to the dump file selectively to maximize the usefulness of the dump file while conserving disk space.

1 00000002 0 = Minimal console output.

1 = Full console output (includes stack dump, register contents, and so on).

2 00000004 0 = Dump to system disk.

1 = Dump off system disk (DOSD) to an alternate disk. (Refer to the OpenVMS System Manager's Manual for details.)

3 (Alpha only) ¹ 00000008 0 = Do not compress.

1 = Compress. (See note below.)

4 - 14 Reserved for Compaq use only.

15 (VAX only) ² 00008000 0 = Disable use of bits 16 - 27.

1 = Enable use of bits 16 - 27.

16 - 27 (VAX only) ² 0FFF0000 Range of DOSD unit numbers.

28 - 31 Reserved for Compaq use only.

Bit	Mask	Description
0	00000001	0 =	Full dump (SYSGEN default). The entire contents of physical memory are written to the dump file.
		1 =	Selective dump. The contents of memory are written to the dump file selectively to maximize the usefulness of the dump file while conserving disk space.
1	00000002	0 =	Minimal console output.
		1 =	Full console output (includes stack dump, register contents, and so on).
2	00000004	0 =	Dump to system disk.
		1 =	Dump off system disk (DOSD) to an alternate disk. (Refer to the OpenVMS System Manager's Manual for details.)
3 (Alpha only) ¹	00000008	0 =	Do not compress.
		1 =	Compress. (See note below.)
4 - 14			Reserved for Compaq use only.
15 (VAX only) ²	00008000	0 =	Disable use of bits 16 - 27.
		1 =	Enable use of bits 16 - 27.
16 - 27 (VAX only) ²	0FFF0000		Range of DOSD unit numbers.
28 - 31			Reserved for Compaq use only.

¹VAX systems do not support dump compression.
²Specific to VAX 7000s.

If you plan to enable the Volume Shadowing minimerge feature on an Alpha system disk, be sure to specify DOSD to an alternate disk.

Note

On Alpha systems, you can save space on the system disk and, in the event of a crash, save time recording the system memory, by using the OpenVMS Alpha dump compression feature. Unless you override the default AUTOGEN calculations (by setting DUMPSTYLE in MODPARAMS.DAT), AUTOGEN uses the following algorithm:

On a system with less than 128 MB of memory, the system sets the DUMPSTYLE to 1 (a raw selective dump) and sizes the dump file appropriately.
On a system with 128 MB of memory or greater, the system sets the DUMPSTYLE to 9 (a compressed selective dump), and creates the dump file at two-thirds the value of the corresponding raw dump.

Examples:

The mask of 00000006 directs the system to send a full dump, with full console output, off the system disk (to the alternate disk).

For a VAX 7000, a mask of 00098006 directs the system to send a full dump with full console output to the DOSD whose unit number is 9.

On Alpha systems, the mask of 00000009 directs the system to compress a selective dump with minimal console output.

ERLBUFFERPAGES (A on Alpha)

ERLBUFFERPAGES specifies the amount of memory to allocate for each buffer requested by the ERRORLOGBUFFERS parameter.

On VAX systems, ERLBUFFERPAGES has a default value of 2 pages and a maximum value of 32 pages.

On Alpha systems, ERLBUFFERPAGES has a default value of 4 pagelets and a maximum value of 32 pagelets.

ERRORLOGBUFFERS

ERRORLOGBUFFERS specifies the number of buffers reserved for system error log entries. Each buffer is ERLBUFFERPAGES in length. If ERRORLOGBUFFERS is too low, messages might not be written to the error log file. If it is too high, unneeded physical pages can be consumed by the error log buffers.

If you increase ERRORLOGBUFFERS, you must also increase the size of the system dump file.

EXPECTED_VOTES (A)

EXPECTED_VOTES specifies the maximum number of votes that may be present in a cluster at any given time. Set it to a value that is equal to the sum of the vote parameters of all cluster members, plus any votes that are contributed by the quorum disk. This value is used to automatically derive the number of votes that must be present for the cluster to function (quorum).

EXTRACPU (D)

EXTRACPU sets the time, in units of 10 milliseconds, allotted to each of a process's exit handlers (for each access mode) after the process times out (that is, reaches its CPU time limit).

EXUSRSTK

EXUSRSTK specifies the amount of space provided by the image activator to recover from a stack overflow error.

This special parameter is used by Compaq and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless Compaq recommends that you do so.

FAST_PATH

(Alpha only) FAST_PATH enables (1) or disables (0) Fast Path I/O on a system. See the IO_PREFER_CPUS system parameter.

This special parameter is used by Compaq and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless Compaq recommends that you do so.

FREEGOAL (A,D,M)

FREEGOAL establishes the number of pages that you want to reestablish on the free-page list following a system memory shortage. Memory shortages occur when the system drops below the minimum number of pages required on the free-page list (FREELIM). The value of FREEGOAL must always be greater than or equal to the value of FREELIM.

FREELIM (A,M)

FREELIM sets the minimum number of pages that must be on the free-page list.

The system writes pages from the modified-page list, swaps out working sets, or reduces the size of the working sets to maintain the minimum count.

While the larger free-page list generally means less page I/O, it also means less space for the balance set, which tends to result in more swap I/O. You can monitor the size of the free-page list, the amount of page, and the amount of swap with the MONITOR IO command of the Monitor utility.

GALAXY

(Alpha Galaxy platforms only) The GALAXY parameter controls whether the specified instance participates in a Galaxy sharing set. Specify one of the following:

Value	Description
0	Never load. Do not participate in a Galaxy sharing set.
1	Always load. Participate in a Galaxy sharing set.

The default value is 0. GALAXY is not an AUTOGEN parameter.

GBLPAGES (A,D,F,G,M)

GBLPAGES sets the number of global page table entries allocated at bootstrap time. Each global section requires 1 global page table entry per section page, plus 2 entries, with the total rounded up to an even number.

Users with CMKRNL privilege can change this parameter on a running system. Increasing the value of this parameter allows the global page table to expand, on demand, up to the maximum size.

The default value is sufficient for the images normally installed as shared in the system startup command procedures. Once the system is running and all global sections are created, you can examine the actual requirements with the /GLOBAL qualifier of the Install utility (INSTALL) and reduce the value of GBLPAGES accordingly. However, do not set the value of this parameter too low, because the page table entries use little permanently resident memory. If you plan to install many user images as shared, or if user programs are likely to create many global sections, you must increase the value of this parameter.

GBLPAGFIL (A,D)

GBLPAGFIL defines the maximum number of systemwide pages allowed for global page-file sections (scratch global sections that can be used without being mapped to a file). These global page-file sections can be temporary, permanent, system, or group, and are allocated from the page file specified in the system process header at bootstrap time. When you allow pages for global page-file sections, you must increase the size of the page file accordingly. Users with CMKRNL privilege can change this parameter value on a running system.

Global page-file sections are created with the Create and Map Section system services ($CREATE_GPFILE, $CRMPSC, and $CRMPSC_GPFILE_64) without an explicit disk file. These sections are used for the RMS global buffers required for shared files. Users of shared files should note that global page-file sections cause both the global page table and the default system page file (PAGEFILE.SYS) to be used. If the value of GBLPAGFIL is too small, $CRMPSC issues an error message when you attempt to create global page-file sections.

You must have scratch global sections if you use RMS global buffers. Each file using global buffers requires, in the system page file, the file's bucket size multiplied by the number of global buffers for that file. If the file's bucket size varies, as with RMS indexed files, use the maximum bucket size. For shared sequential files, use the multiblock count of the first stream to perform the $CONNECT service in place of the file's bucket size.

The default value for this parameter is adequate for most systems. However, if your site uses RMS global buffering to a significant extent, you may need to raise the value of GBLPAGFIL. Use the /GLOBAL qualifier of the Install utility to examine the number of pages consumed by RMS global buffers. The global sections used by RMS for global buffers have the prefix RMS$ followed by 8 hexadecimal digits.

Global buffers are enabled with the DCL command SET FILE/GLOBAL_BUFFERS, which is described in the OpenVMS DCL Dictionary.

GBLSECTIONS (A,F,G,M)

GBLSECTIONS sets the number of global section descriptors allocated in the system header at bootstrap time. Each global section requires one descriptor. Each descriptor takes 32 bytes of permanently resident memory.

The default value is sufficient for the images normally installed as shared in the system startup command procedures. Once the system is running and all global sections are created, you can examine the actual requirements with the /GLOBAL qualifier of the Install utility and reduce the value of GBLSECTIONS accordingly. However, the value of this parameter should not be set too low. If you plan to install many user images as shared, or if user programs are likely to create many global sections, you must increase the value of this parameter.

If the value of GBLSECTIONS is too small, you receive a message from the Install utility at system startup time or whenever you install images manually. Note that too large a value for GBLSECTIONS wastes physical memory.

GH_EXEC_CODE (A,F)

(Alpha only) GH_EXEC_CODE specifies the size in pages of the execlet code granularity hint region.

GH_EXEC_DATA (A,F)

(Alpha only) GH_EXEC_DATA specifies the size in pages of the execlet data granularity hint region.

GH_RES_CODE (A,F)

(Alpha only) GH_RES_CODE specifies the size in pages of the resident image code granularity hint region.

GH_RES_DATA (A,F)

(Alpha only) GH_RES_DATA specifies the size in pages of the resident image data granularity hint region.

GH_RSRVPGCNT (F)

GH_RSRVPGCNT specifies the number of pages in the resident image granularity hint region that the Install utility can use after the system has finished booting.

If bit 2 of the LOAD_SYS_IMAGES parameter is set, the image LDR$WRAPUP releases all unused pages in the granularity hint region at the the end of system startup. The unused pages of the resident image granularity hint region are either reserved for future use, or given back to the free memory list.

GH_RSRVPGCNT specifies the number of pages that LDR$WRAPUP attempts to leave in the resident image granularity hint region. If the GH_RSRVPGCNT number of pages is larger than the unused pages in the granularity hint region, the region is not expanded to accommodate the number of pages requested.

GLX_INST_TMO

(Alpha Galaxy platforms only) GLX_INST_TMO is the time (in milliseconds) that an instance in a Galaxy sharing set can fail to increment its timeout value before the other sharing instances presume that the instance failed and remove it from the sharing set.

GROWLIM (A,D,M)

GROWLIM sets the number of pages that the system must have on the free-page list so that a process can add a page to its working set when it is above quota. GROWLIM has no effect if the process is below its working set quota. GROWLIM acts as a fast shutoff to the working set extent mechanism based on the system's free memory.

IEEE_ADDRESS

IEEE_ADDRESS is reserved for Compaq use only.

IEEE_ADDRESSH

IEEE_ADDRESSH is reserved for Compaq use only.

IJOBLIM (D)

IJOBLIM sets the maximum number of interactive jobs that can be on the system concurrently. You can control the maximum number of concurrent interactive users on the system with the DCL command SET LOGINS/INTERACTIVE.

IMGIOCNT

IMGIOCNT specifies the default number of pages of image I/O address space to be allocated for the image activator if not specified at program link time.

This special parameter is used by Compaq and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless Compaq recommends that you do so.

IMGREG_PAGES

(Alpha only) IMGREG_PAGES is the number of pages to reserve in P1 space for images to be installed with shareable address data. If IMGREG_PAGES is set to 0, no images are installed with shared address data. The default is 10,000 pages.

For more information, see the INSTALL section in the OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.

INTSTKPAGES (A,D,G,M)

(VAX only) INTSTKPAGES sets the size of the interrupt stack in pages. Each page on the interrupt stack requires a page of permanently resident memory.

Use the default value of 6 unless interrupt-stack-not-valid exceptions occur. These may be caused by either an unusually large number of devices or a driver that requires a large amount of stack space.

IO_PREFER_CPUS

(Alpha only) IO_PREFER_CPUS enables processors to be used as preferred CPUs for Fast Path I/O. IO_PREFER_CPUS is a 32-bit mask; if the value of a bit in the mask is 1, the processor with the corresponding CPU ID is available to be used as a preferred CPU.

The default value of IO_PREFER_CPUS, - 1, allows all available CPUs to become Preferred CPUs. The parameter is used only if Fast Path is enabled. See the FAST_PATH system parameter.

IOTA

IOTA specifies the amount of time (in 10-millisecond units) to charge to the current residence quantum for each voluntary wait. The correct value approximates the cost of a disk I/O neglecting wait time.

This special parameter is used by Compaq and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless Compaq recommends that you do so.

JBOBLIM

This parameter is no longer in use.

JOBCTLD

System managers do not usually alter JOBCTLD; this word of debug flags is used in rolling upgrades of OpenVMS. If bit 0 is set, the queue manager does not start. The default is 0.

This special parameter is used by Compaq and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless Compaq recommends that you do so.

KFILSTCNT

KFILSTCNT is no longer used on VAX systems.

KSTACKPAGES

(Alpha only) KSTACKPAGES controls the number of pages allocated for process kernel stacks.

LAMAPREGS (G)

(VAX only) LAMAPREGS sets the number of UNIBUS map registers allocated to an LPA11 driver when the driver is loaded, and limits the registers for the driver to that number. A value of 0 permits dynamic allocation of an unlimited number of registers.

LAN_FLAGS (D)

(Alpha only) LAN_FLAGS is a bit mask used to enable features in the local area networks port drivers and support code:

Bit	Description
Bit 0	The default of zero indicates that ATM devices run in SONET mode. If set to 1, this bit indicates ATM devices run in SDH mode.
Bit 1	If set, this bit enables a subset of the trace and debug messages in the LAN port drivers and support code.
Bit 2	If set, this bit enables all trace and debug messages in the LAN port drivers and support code.

LGI_BRK_DISUSER (D)

LGI_BRK_DISUSER turns on the DISUSER flag in the UAF record when an attempted break-in is detected, thus permanently locking out that account. The parameter is off (0) by default. You should set the parameter (1) only under extreme security watch conditions, because it results in severely restricted user service.

LGI_BRK_LIM (D)

LGI_BRK_LIM specifies the number of failures that can occur at login time before the system takes action against a possible break-in. The count of failures applies independently to login attempts by each user name, terminal, and node. Whenever login attempts from any of these sources reach the break-in limit specified by LGI_BRK_LIM, the system assumes it is under attack and initiates evasive action as specified by the LGI_HID_TIM parameter.

The minimum value is 1. The default value is usually adequate.

LGI_BRK_TERM (D)

LGI_BRK_TERM causes the terminal name to be part of the association string for the terminal mode of break-in detection. When off (0), association is done on user name only. LGI_BRK_TERM is set by default (1). It should be cleared if physical terminal names are created dynamically (that is, if LAT is installed) and effective break-in detection is desired.

LGI_BRK_TMO (D)

LGI_BRK_TMO specifies the number of seconds that a user, terminal, or node is permitted to attempt a login before the system assumes that a break-in attempt is occurring and takes evasive action. Note that LGI_BRK_LIM may be exceeded before the LGI_BRK_TMO timeout and vice versa. The evasive action is specified by the LGI_HID_TIM parameter.

LGI_CALLOUTS (D)

LGI_CALLOUTS specifies the number of installation security policy callout modules to be invoked at each login. LGI_CALLOUTS must be set to 0 unless callout modules are present.

LGI_HID_TIM (D)

LGI_HID_TIM specifies the number of seconds that evasive action persists following the detection of a possible break-in attempt. The system refuses to allow any logins during this period, even if a valid user name and password are specified.

LGI_PWD_TMO (D)

LGI_PWD_TMO specifies, in seconds, the period of time a user has to enter the correct system password (if used). LGI_PWD_TMO also establishes the timeout period for users to enter their personal account passwords at login time. Also, when using the SET PASSWORD command, LGI_PWD_TMO specifies the period of time the system waits for a user to type in a new password, an old password, and the password verification.

LGI_RETRY_LIM (D)

LGI_RETRY_LIM specifies the number of retry attempts allowed users attempting to log in. If this parameter is greater than 0, and a legitimate user fails to log in correctly because of typing errors, the user does not automatically lose the carrier. Instead (provided that LGI_RETRY_TMO has not elapsed), by pressing the Return key, the user is prompted to enter the user name and password again. Once the specified number of attempts has been made without success, the user loses the carrier. As long as neither LGI_BRK_LIM nor LGI_BRK_TMO has elapsed, the user can dial in again and reattempt login.

LGI_RETRY_TMO (D)

LGI_RETRY_TMO specifies the number of seconds allowed between login retry attempts after each login failure. (Users can initiate login retries by pressing the Return key.) This parameter is intended to be used with the LGI_RETRY_LIM parameter; it allows dialup users a reasonable amount of time and number of opportunities to attempt logins before they lose the carrier.

LNMPHASHTBL (A on VAX,G)

LNMPHASHTBL sets the size of the process logical name hash table. Logical names are hashed using a function of the name length and contents. The LNMPHASHTBL parameter determines the number of entries for process-private logical names. The recommended setting is the average number of process-private logical names. Note that the hashed values are rounded up to the nearest power of 2.

LNMSHASHTBL (A,F,G)

LNMSHASHTBL sets the size of the system logical name hash table. Logical names are hashed using a function of the name length and contents. The LNMSHASHTBL parameter determines the number of entries for shareable logical names. These names include all names from the system, group, and job logical name tables. The recommended setting allows one to four logical names per hash table entry. The default setting is usually adequate, unless your installation has a large number of groups, or many jobs are active simultaneously. In that case, an increase in the value of the next higher power of 2 might improve logical name translation performance. Note that the hashed values are rounded up to the nearest power of 2.

LOAD_PWD_POLICY

LOAD_PWD_POLICY controls whether the SET PASSWORD command attempts to use site-specific password policy routines, which are contained in the shareable image SYS$LIBRARY:VMS$PASSWORD_POLICY.EXE. The default is 0, which indicates not to use policy routines.

LOAD_SYS_IMAGES (A on Alpha)

This special parameter is used by Compaq and is subject to change. Do not change this parameter unless Compaq recommends that you do so.

LOAD_SYS_IMAGES controls the loading of system images described in the system image data file, VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES. This parameter is a bit mask.

On VAX systems, the following bit is defined:

Bit Description

0 (SGN$V_LOAD_SYS_IMAGES) Enables loading alternate execlets specified in VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES.DATA.

Bit	Description
0 (SGN$V_LOAD_SYS_IMAGES)	Enables loading alternate execlets specified in VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES.DATA.

On Alpha systems, the following bits are defined:

Bit Description

0 (SGN$V_LOAD_SYS_IMAGES) Enables loading alternate execlets specified in VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES.DATA.

1 (SGN$V_EXEC_SLICING) Enables executive slicing.

2 (SGN$V_RELEASE_PFNS) Enables releasing unused portions of the Alpha huge pages.

Bit	Description
0 (SGN$V_LOAD_SYS_IMAGES)	Enables loading alternate execlets specified in VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES.DATA.
1 (SGN$V_EXEC_SLICING)	Enables executive slicing.
2 (SGN$V_RELEASE_PFNS)	Enables releasing unused portions of the Alpha huge pages.

These bits are on by default. Using conversational bootstrap exec slicing can be disabled.

LOCKDIRWT (A)

LOCKDIRWT determines the portion of lock manager directory that this system handles. The default value is usually adequate.

LOCKIDTBL (A,F,M)

LOCKIDTBL sets the initial number of entries in the system Lock ID table and defines the amount by which the Lock ID table is extended whenever the system runs out of locks. One entry must exist for each lock in the system; each entry requires 4 bytes.

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