Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!gatech!bloom-beacon!think!ames!sdcsvax!ucbvax!CLARKU.BITNET!DHASKIN
From: DHASKIN@CLARKU.BITNET (Denis W. Haskin, Manager, Technical Services)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: 8xxx system problems
Message-ID: <8707181607.AA12760@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Wed, 15-Jul-87 19:43:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8707181607.AA12760
Posted: Wed Jul 15 19:43:00 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 19-Jul-87 01:02:00 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Distribution: world
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 76

> Date:         Thu, 9 Jul 87 14:38 EDT
> From:         Mary Malmros 
> Subject:      8xxx system problems
>
> Paul Clayton listed a number of problems that he's experienced with his
> 8500 since Jan 1.  We got an 8500 shortly before that.  I haven't run up
> against any of the problems that he mentioned EXCEPT the crashes that are
> associated with doing things to/with the console.  Specifically, I have crashe
d
> my system while doing the following three things:

We've had an 8500 since August '86 (it was apparently one of the first
installed in the northeast) and upgraded it to an 8530 (thanks DEC) about
2 months ago.  Excluding the first 3 weeks after installation, problems
have been minimal; most console problems are more annoying than anything.

>   1.  Doing CONNECT CONSOLE -- system crashed about 5-10 minutes following
>       the command.

Yup.

>   2.  Scanning console log -- system crashed sometime within 15 minutes of
>       when I started looking at the log.

Has never happened to us.  I plan on SPRing the SHOW LOGFILE command (if
I ever find the time):
        - some kind of string search would be *great*,
        - they should suppress bells (^G) because most messages on the
          operators' console are accompanied by them and it can drive one
          nuts, and
        - they should supress escape sequences because if you do, say, a
          SHOW CLUSTER command while VMS thinks the console is a DEC_CRT
          terminal, the "line-drawing on" and "line-drawing off" escape codes
          are in reverse order (if you're scanning the log file backwards,
          which is probably 90% of the time) which means one is left in
          line-drawing mode and everything lowercase before that
          point in the log file is pretty much unreadable.

>   3.  Using the console as a terminal to do TYPE and EDT -- console got hung
>       up totally when it received several quick XOFF/XON combinations while
>       typing a file [...]

I assume you mean VMS TYPE and EDT after you've done a >>>SET TER PRO.  Local
operations are fine, but *most* operations using the Pro as a VAX terminal are
quite poor.  I avoid doing anything screen-based on it, as it really garbages
up the log file, and I have seen the XON/XOFF problem -- particularly manifests
itself if you press the 'Hold Screen' or ^S key; everything after that is
fairly useless.

> I would really like to hear from other people with bothersome consoles
> because I don't know a)what it is or b)what comprehensive steps I can
> take to avoid it, short of never touching the console at all. Someone told me
> once that it had something to do with the very small bus connecting the
> console to the CPU [...]

Sounds plausible.  We just avoid using the Pro for anything but real operator
console-type stuff and local operations (that is, manipulating the Pro's
disk).  I don't think there are any 'comprehensive steps' you can take,
besides mailing weekly SPRs to DEC (that works pretty well as a placebo
-- for you, not DEC).

We have had intermittent problems of late where the 8530 will not reboot;
it hangs just after VMB.EXE is loaded, but never displays the first VAX/VMS
banner (just before it introduces itself to the rest of the cluster).  Our
solution has so far been to power down *completely*, which seems to do the
trick ;-) .

Ciao -

% Denis W. Haskin                             Manager, Technical Services %
% ----------------------------------------------------------------------- %
% DHASKIN@CLARKU.BITNET   Office of Information Systems     (617)793-7193 %
% Clark University               950 Main Street      Worcester MA  01610 %
%                                                                         %
%                       "Revenge is best served cold."                    %
%                                -- Anonymous                             %