AA-J517F-TC DECnet-RSX V4.5 Supplemental Information and Release Notes Oct89

This document, "DECnet-RSX Supplemental Information and Release Notes," published in October 1989, provides essential updates, enhancements, and corrections for DECnet-RSX software versions, specifically for RSX-11M V4.5, RSX-11S V4.5, RSX-11M-PLUS V4.3, and Micro/RSX V4.3.

Key highlights include:

1. New Node Name Service (NNS): This is the primary enhancement, significantly expanding the node name database capacity from approximately 4,000 to 64,000 node name and address pairs. NNS replaces the older CETAB.MAC for permanent node definitions and consists of:

   • Node Name Collector (NNC): A utility for creating or reorganizing the permanent node name database (NNS.DAT) from various sources like CETAB.MAC files, terminal input, or other DECnet nodes.
   • Server Control Program (SCP): Used to start and stop the Node Name Server.
   • Node Name Server (NNS): Manages node name and address information for other DECnet components.

2. Increased LAT Terminal Support: The maximum number of interactive Local Area Transport (LAT) terminals is increased to 128 for DECnet-Micro/RSX and DECnet-11M-PLUS I/D systems, with application terminals supporting up to 31.

3. NCT and CTERM Improvements: Corrections and enhancements to the Network Control Terminal (NCT) utility, including improved handling of multi-segment CTERM WRITE messages for displaying large data buffers, leading to faster writes and proper screen display. This requires manual network pool allocation via new CFE commands.

4. Utility Enhancements:

   • CFE (Communication Executive): Introduces new commands for managing receive and large buffers (DEFINE SYSTEM MINIMUM RECEIVE BUFFERS, SET SYSTEM MAXIMUM LARGE BUFFERS) and enhances LIST NODE with wildcard support.
   • NCP (Network Control Program): Now supports longer usernames and passwords (up to 39 characters) and allows the underscore character (_) as a valid node name delimiter for passwords.
   • NFT/FAL/NFARS (File Transfer Utilities): Adds multiblock support for faster file transfers and includes DAP (Data Access Protocol) trace support for problem isolation.

5. Extensive Documentation Corrections: The document lists numerous specific corrections and clarifications for various existing DECnet-RSX manuals.

6. Operational Notes: Provides guidance on reporting and isolating software problems, details on NETGEN (network generation) procedures, device-specific notes (e.g., powerfail recovery), system tuning, cross-system file transfer considerations (compatibility with VMS, RSTS, RT-11, IAS, TOPS-20), and network loading hints for systems with limited memory (512KB).

In essence, this manual is a critical update for network managers and system administrators, detailing crucial improvements to network management, file transfer capabilities, and general system stability for DECnet-RSX environments.