[comp.sys.apollo] Task Broker

rand@HWCAE.CFSAT.HONEYWELL.COM (Douglas K. Rand) (11/24/90)

We have been trying out Task Broker from HP/Apollo. It looks great,
but we can't get it to run. There seems to be a problem with Internet
host names.

Task Broker won't run if your fully qualified Internet host name is
longer than 15 characters. (From the second field of /etc/hosts.)
Well, I work for Honeywell, Commercial Flight Systems, Air Transport
Division. So that makes us:
	<host>.cfsat.honeywell.com
and that is a lot longer than 15 characters. We can't change the names
back to the short un-qualified host names (as suggested by HP/Apollo)
cause that will break our mailers, and a lot else too.

Is anybody else out there running Task Broker? Do you have this
problem? 

HP/Apollo says that there will not be a patch for this. It *should*
(should they say!) be fixed in the next release. But, there is no date
set for the next release.

Help! 
Did HP/Apollo just decide that nobody should have host names longer
than 15 characters? (How did they test it at Apollo?
<host>.apollo.hp.com leaves them a 1 character host.) Or is there some
Internet rule on this? Can it be so difficult to fix?

PS:	HP Task Broker Version 1.01   6/26/90 19:03:42 
	Domain/OS kernel(7), revision 10.3, August 22, 1990  3:32:49 pm

--
Douglas Keenan Rand                Honeywell -- Air Transport Systems Division
Phone: +1 602 869 2814               US Snail: P.O. Box 21111 Phoenix AZ 85036
Internet: @cim-vax.honeywell.com:rand@hwcae.cfsat.honeywell.com
UUCP: ...!uunet!hpfce!apciphx!hwcae!rand

pcc@apollo.HP.COM (Peter Craine) (11/27/90)

In article <9011240218.AA20834@hwcae.cfsat.honeywell.com>,
rand@HWCAE.CFSAT.HONEYWELL.COM (Douglas K. Rand) writes:
|> 
|> Task Broker won't run if your fully qualified Internet host name is
|> longer than 15 characters. (From the second field of /etc/hosts.)
|> Well, I work for Honeywell, Commercial Flight Systems, Air Transport
|> Division. So that makes us:
|> 	<host>.cfsat.honeywell.com
|> and that is a lot longer than 15 characters. We can't change the names
|> back to the short un-qualified host names (as suggested by HP/Apollo)
|> cause that will break our mailers, and a lot else too.

Yes, version 1.01 of Task Broker has a limitation that the primary hostname
cannot exceed 15 characters.

|> 
|> HP/Apollo says that there will not be a patch for this. It *should*
|> (should they say!) be fixed in the next release. But, there is no date
|> set for the next release.

I spoke to the Task Broker developers when I reported this bug.  They
said that it will be in the next release.  I have no idea when this
will be.

|> 
|> Help! 
|> Did HP/Apollo just decide that nobody should have host names longer
|> than 15 characters? (How did they test it at Apollo?

Okay.  Here we go.  Let's talk a little about how the computer side to
Hewlett-Packard is set up.  There are a great many "divisions" within HP
producing products.  ASY (Apollo Systems Division) is only one division.
There are many more.  Many customers mistakenly believe that all products
that run on Apollo's come from ASY.  As it turns out, MOST of the products
that run on Apollo's no longer come out of ASY at all.  Many of the R&D
folks really work for divisions that aren't even located in Chelmsford.

Task Broker was originally written for HP-UX.  It was ported to Domain/OS
by folks in some other division located in Fort Collins (I don't even
remember which division).  The 15 character limitation is really the
HP-UX limitation.  Nobody thought of passing that limitation because
we don't use hostnames that large here.

|> <host>.apollo.hp.com leaves them a 1 character host.) Or is there some

Our real internet hostnames are <host>.ch.apollo.hp.com (don't bother
trying to reach it; our gateway doesn't route requests).  However,
our hostnames are just <host> (//host in the DDS world).  We have our
network set up so that we don't have to use an internet qualified hostname.


|> Internet rule on this? Can it be so difficult to fix?
|> 


Having not looked at the code, I don't know how difficult it is.  I suspect
that the fix is trivial.  If you submit a bug report (not an APR - APR's are
for ASY only, and aren't REALLY APR's anyway) you can have it escalated to
try to pursuade the appropriate division to put out a patch.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Peter Craine                +  "Home is where you wear your hat."
    Hewlett-Packard             +
    Chelmsford Response Center  +  *I* don't want my opinions.  Why would HP?