Distributed NetBeans for OpenVMS Version 1.1-1

This document is the Installation Guide and Release Notes for Distributed NetBeans for OpenVMS Version 1.1-1, published in February 2006.

Overview: Distributed NetBeans allows developers to use the NetBeans IDE on their desktop for development targeting OpenVMS. It comprises two main components:

1. Distributed NetBeans Client for OpenVMS: A plug-in for the standard NetBeans IDE, installed on the user's desktop system.
2. IDE Server for OpenVMS: Runs on an OpenVMS (Alpha or I64) system, providing remote services to the client.

Communication between the client and server is encrypted using SSL.

Installation & Prerequisites:

• Client Prerequisites: Requires NetBeans 3.6 and Java Standard Edition v1.4.2-07 or higher on the desktop.

• Server Prerequisites:

  • Hardware: Minimum 500MHz Alpha or I64 processor, 256MB RAM, 2000 blocks free disk space (ODS-5 or ODS-2, with ODS-5 required for Java SDK use).
  • Software: OpenVMS Alpha v7.3-2+ or OpenVMS I64 v8.2+, compatible Java SDK (v1.4.2-4+ for Alpha, v1.4.2-1+ for I64), HP TCP/IP Services, and a remote file access provider (FTP Service, Samba, or Advanced Server).

• Installation Steps:

  • Users must register to download the kits.
  • The client is installed via the NetBeans Update Center wizard.
  • The IDE Server requires removing any previous versions before installing using PRODUCT INSTALL IDESERVER on the OpenVMS system.

Post-Installation Configuration:

• Server Startup/Shutdown: Requires adding specific command procedures (@SYS$STARTUP:IDE$STARTUP.COM, @SYS$STARTUP:IDE$SHUTDOWN.COM) to the OpenVMS system startup/shutdown files.
• Accounts & Quotas: The installation creates an IDE$SERVER account. Remote user accounts (IDE$USER) created by the client need increased quotas (e.g., WSEXTENT, JTQUOTA, PGFLQUO) and the system parameter CHANNELCNT set to 2000 or higher.
• Logical Names: Various logical names can be set to control the IDE Server, such as IDE$JDK_VERSION or IDE$JDK_HOME to force a specific Java SDK, IDE$ALLOW_EXTAUTH to ignore the ExtAuth flag for local authentication, and IDE$HOST_IPNAME to specify an Ethernet card for RMI.
• Security: The IDE Server uses JSSE (Java Secure Socket Extension) for secure connections, with default keystore and truststore configurations.

Key Operational Details & Release Notes:

• File Format: Files on SMB-based filesystems (Advanced Server or Samba) require STREAM_LF record format to prevent corruption when edited by NetBeans.
• Processes: The IDE$SERVER process authenticates users and creates detached IDE$USER_xxxxxx processes. Users may need to adjust their SYLOGIN.COM or LOGIN.COM to ensure these detached processes acquire necessary symbols and privileges.
• Ant: Apache Ant version 1.6.2, patched for OpenVMS, is included with the IDE Server.

Known Problems & Restrictions:

• Upgrading from earlier versions requires unmounting and remounting remote filesystems.
• Debugging Java programs with SDK 1.5 Beta 1 on OpenVMS Alpha is not functional.
• A significant limitation is that connections via routers using Network Address Translation (NAT) will likely time out, as Java RMI obtains the private IP address from the packet body, not the header. No workaround is provided.
• The client was tested on Windows only, though HP expects it to run on Linux/HP-UX.
• Terminating a process from the NetBeans Runtime tab may not always stop the corresponding remote process on the server.

Software Support: HP provides official support for Distributed NetBeans on OpenVMS Alpha and I64 through standard service agreements. Community support is also available via NetBeans user groups, OpenVMS newsgroups, and a dedicated HP engineering team email.