[comp.os.vms] SHOW NETWORK... and who knows what else...

xrjjm%dirbe.span@JPL-VLSI.ARPA (04/20/87)

Comment:   Begin User Supplied Mail Headers.
*Site:     NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, Maryland, USA.
*Position: 76 Deg. 52' 28.5" West, 38 Deg. 59' 59.8" North.
*From:     John J. McMahon, Systems Programmer, STX - ST Systems Corporation.
*Project:  COBE Science Data Room (CSDR), Code 401.1
*Reply-To: (Arpa-Internet)       XRJJM%CSDR.SPAN@JPL-VLSI.ARPA
*Reply-To: (Bitnet)              ZMJJM@SCFVM
*Reply-To: (Span/Physnet/Hepnet) 6173::XRJJM = CSDR::XRJJM (Node 6.29)
*Reply-To: (TEXnet)              UTADNX::UTSPAN::CSDR::XRJJM

Well, here are a few responses to John's Question...


> I have been trying to find a way to get more information about the
> configuration of a DECnet than SHOW NETWORK.
  Have you looked at the Network Control Program Manual ?  You can run
  NCP and issue a SHOW KNOWN NODES command, which will list all the nodes
  that have been entered into the database.

> It seems that if DECnet is a
> multi-area net, then SHOW NETWORK will only list the nodes in the area that
> the local node is a part of.  Is there a place to get more info?
  The amount of information in SHOW NETWORK is directly proportional to the
  "Importance" of the node.  If you are an End-Node, SHOW NETWORK displays
  nothing.  Phase IV routers show the local area.  Area routers will show
  the local area and a list of available areas.  NCP (Network Control Program)
  will allow you to query other nodes for information.

  e.g.  If you are on node VAX1, and you want to do a SHOW KNOWN NODES on VAX2,
  get into NCP and issue the command TELL VAX2 SHOW KNOWN NODES.  Neat, eh ?

> While speaking of SHOW NETWORK, the SHOW NETWORK on our system lists nodes
> with empty node names.  What does this mean?
  When a node comes on line, it identifys itself with a number.  So if Node
  6.29 comes on line, it doesn't transmit it's name (Let's say it's name
  is TZONE) only a number.  Your computer has to have an entry in the NCP
  database for each node on your network so the names are there.

  e.g.
  a) Node TZONE (Circuit 6.29) comes on line and says "Hello" to everyone.
  b) Your computer logs this info.
  c) You issue a SHOW NETWORK
     - SHOW NETWORK lists all the nodes available,
       it gets to 6.29, looks up the name in your database and either prints
       TZONE (If defined) or blank. 

  For info on this, do a HELP DEFINE (or SET) in NCP.

-----
I have 2 additional questions to add.
-----

1) I recently switched several of the machines that I "run" from Phase IV 
   Routers to Non-Routers.  This was at the request of our network management.
   As a result, we have lost some of the niceties of being a router on those
   nodes.  SHOW NETWORK doesn't function, and that is the only tool our
   general users could use.  Anyone have an idea how to have a SHOW NETWORK
   like function on a non-router ???

2) The Bitnet user's convention/party is coming up in a little over a month...
   anyone out there planning on attending ?

Regards,
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
John J. McMahon (Fast-Eddie)                     
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this letter are my own, 
            and are not meant to represent the views of my employers.

LEICHTER-JERRY@YALE.ARPA (04/21/87)

	...

    1) I recently switched several of the machines that I "run" from Phase IV 
       Routers to Non-Routers.  This was at the request of our network manage-
       ment. As a result, we have lost some of the niceties of being a router
       on those nodes.  SHOW NETWORK doesn't function, and that is the only
       tool our general users could use.  Anyone have an idea how to have a
       SHOW NETWORK like function on a non-router ???

	...

Non-routers simply do not have this information - they have to ask a router
for help in obtaining any dynamic network information, as is needed for SHOW
NET.  There are two things you can do:

Let users do NCP SHOW KNOWN NODES.  NCP isn't a protect program and there is
no problem in letting anyone run it - they can't change anything or read any
secret information that way.  The big drawback here is that it will only give
"static" information - you can't find out if a node is up this way.

Write a remote "SHOW NET" server.  This is really quite easy to do, but many
people are unaware of how to do it.  Here's a file that will do the trick:

$!
$!	Remote SHOW NET server.
$!
$ on error then goto cleanup
$ open/write LINK SYS$NET			!LINK is the network link
$ assign/user LINK SYS$OUTPUT			!Send all output there
$ assign/user LINK SYS$ERROR			!I mean ALL
$ show net					!Any output-only command here
$cleanup:
$ close/error:noerror LINK			!Avoid hangs at remote system
$noerror:

Place this file in the default DECnet account as, say REMSHONET.COM.  To use
it, type a command of the following form:

	$ type NODE::"TASK=REMSHONET"

where NODE is the router.  Of course, you can set this up in a symbol - be
sure to preserve the quotes!  For example:

	$ NETS*TAT == "NODE::""TASK=REMSHONET"""

If some of your users have proxies on NODE, they will need to specify null
access to get to the DECNET account (by placing "" just after NODE.)  So
perhaps a better definition is:

	$ NETS*TAT == "NODE""""::""TASK=REMSHONET"""

Some systems are run with the TASK object disabled.  It's still possible to
define specific remote services, like REMSHONET, using NCP.  Check the
documentation for details - I don't remember them off-hand, and this note
is getting too long anyway.
							-- Jerry
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