HP OpenVMS Management Station Overview and Release Notes

This document, dated January 2005, provides an overview and release notes for HP OpenVMS Management Station Version 3.2-D.

Purpose and Core Functionality: OpenVMS Management Station is a Microsoft Windows-based management tool designed for system administrators to manage OpenVMS user accounts, printers, and storage. It provides a comprehensive graphical user interface, built on the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), to streamline administration tasks across multiple OpenVMS systems and clusters. Key capabilities include remote management and the ability to organize systems into "OpenVMS Management Domains" for unified control. Operations apply hierarchically to selected objects and their children within a domain.

Components: The software consists of two parts:

1. Client: Installed on a PC.
2. Server: Installed on the OpenVMS systems to be managed.

Management Areas:

• Storage Management: Monitor, examine/modify attributes, create/delete volumes, control configuration across reboots, and perform faster volume mounting.
• Printer Management: Monitor, examine/modify attributes, create/delete printers and queues, and manage print jobs.
• Account Management: Manage user authorization files (UAF), rights identifiers, network proxies, login directory trees, disk quotas, and OpenVMS Mail characteristics.

Supported Platforms (Version 3.2-D):

• Client: Windows 2000, Windows XP.
• Server: OpenVMS VAX and Alpha (Version 6.2, 7.3, 7.3-2), OpenVMS Alpha and I64 (Version 8.2). Requires specific HP TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS versions; DECnet is optional. The client uses TCP/IP for primary servers.

Key Release Notes, Problems, and Restrictions:

• Compatibility: Version 3.2-D is compatible with Management Domains created with Version 3.0 or later; older versions require recreation. Installing 3.2-D server updates existing databases (irreversibly).
• Storage Limitations: Manages only cluster-unique disks (not SCSI disks on VAX or privately mounted/foreign volumes). Bound volumes have limits on member counts (28 for shadow sets, 42 for non-shadowed disks).
• Operational Issues: "Stop" during storage retrieval can report errors. "Server Busy" indicates multiple clients. DMA attribute setting may not immediately enable DMA.
• Account/Printer Specifics: Does not update DECnet Phase IV NETPROXY.DAT for proxies. Renaming user accounts resets new mail counts. Manual UIC Group editing doesn't update related controls. TCPware print symbionts cannot be autostartable. Printer rename can fail for reconciled printers with DQS queues. Duplicate queue names can occur during creation. PWDMIX flag for mixed-case passwords (V7.3-2) is propagated but not directly supported in the UI.
• External Authentication: Supports external authentication (OpenVMS V7.1+), with warnings if the EXTAUTH flag is set but no corresponding external account exists.
• Installation on OpenVMS 7.3-2+: Automatically installed with the OS, but may cause PCSI database conflicts, which are resolved on uninstallation.
• Fixed Problems in 3.2-D: Adds support for the OMS server on HP OpenVMS I64 (Integrity Servers).