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 %