[Info-vax] DECnet connection problem

[Johnny Billquist]

On 2011-10-05 17.09, Kenneth Fairfield wrote:
> On Tuesday, October 4, 2011 8:23:32 AM UTC-7, Dennis Grevenstein wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Maybe someone can help on a DECnet problem.
>> I have the following setup:
>> Alpha running 8.3
>> emulated VAX running 7.3
>> emulated VAX running 5.5
>> The problem is that 8.3 and 5.5 can't talk via DECnet.
>> 7.3 can talk to 5.5 and 8.3. Both emulated machines
>> run on the same physical box. all machines can connect
>> to each other using tcpip. When I SET HOST from 8.3
>> to 5.5 I just get a timeout. Everything is on the same
>> ethernet.
>
> OK, basics first:

Good questions. Just a few comments, as I don't the answers... :-)

> DECnet versions (Phase IV or V on each systems)?
> The VAX 5.5 will certainly be Phase IV.  I *expect*
> the VAX 7.3 will also be Phase IV but could be Phase V.

Right.

> On the Alpha, you're likely to have Phase V.  I seem to
> recall that in early Alpha releases, there was a saveset
> to install Phase IV instead of Phase V, but I have no
> idea about v8.3.

Phase IV and Phase V should be able to talk with each other, as long as 
you configured the phase V node to also be able to speak phase IV (they 
need a phase IV address).

However, you got a point in that if the 7.3 node and 8.3 node both are 
phase V, then that could be the reason. If the node running 7.3 have 
configured Phase IV compatibility, while the 8.3 node have not...

What we have been told works:

VMS 8.3 <-> VMS 7.3
VMS 7.3 <-> VMS 5.5
Ultrix 4.5 <-> VMS 5.5

That could point to just the VMS 8.3 node actually being the odd one out.

> For Phase V, you need to load the local database with
> the v5.5 system's DECnet nodename and address (wrong
> terminology, but I don't have a Phase V system at hand
> to give precise answers).

No, that is not really needed. Phase IV node names are local for each 
machine, and do not really have any relevance for functionality. It's 
just a nodename to node number mapping local for each machine. It has no 
other function.
It's just convenient to have a somewhat unified view of nodenames across 
the network.

> Finally, do you have any routers or switches between the
> systems?  Most modern routers *don't* bridge (or route)
> DECnet traffic. A simple switch ought to be OK.

I doubt that is it. Since the VMS 5.5 and VMS 7.3 are both running on 
the same physical machine, and connections to VMS 7.3 works, the packets 
are coming across.

	Johnny