DECnet on VMS

This is a guide to basic administration and use of the DECnet subsystem of VMS.

Administration

Setting up DECnet phase IV on VMS is a fairly straightforward procedure.

Note: Before setting up any system I recommend you read up on DECnet Phase IV basics.

Note: This procedure requires DECnet to already be installed. On modern versions of VMS (From what version on? 6.x? 7.x?), DECnet is bundled with VMS, but this cannot be taken for granted. This also makes the assumption that DECnet phase V is enabled, something which most VMS installations after 7.x will default to.

Licensing

Make sure that your license is registered for DECnet. For an end-node (most cases) the license is DVNETEND. For a routing node, the license is DVNETRTG. (What the heck is "DVNETEXT"?)

To register and load the license. An example is shown below:

$ LICENSE REGISTER DVNETEND - 
  /ISSUER=OPENVMS_HOBBYIST - 
  /AUTHORIZATION=DECUS-USA-xxxxx-xxxxxxx - 
  /PRODUCER=DEC - 
  /UNITS=0 - 
  /TERMINATION_DATE=9-APR-2008  - 
  /ACTIVITY=CONSTANT=100 - 
  /CHECKSUM=x-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx
$ LICENSE LOAD DVNETEND

To check the license, run

$ LICENSE LIST DVNETEND/FULL

Configuring

To invoke the interactive DECnet configuration script, run (as SYSTEM or as a user with sufficient privileges):

$ SET DEF SYS$MANAGER
$ @NETCONFIG

The DCL script will guide you through setting up your system with DECnet.

Starting

To start DECnet, run

$ SET DEF SYS$MANAGER
$ @STARTNET

Stopping

To stop it, run

$ MCR NCP SET EXECUTOR STATE OFF