[Info-vax] Changing SMTP server presented hostname in UCX

[Simon Clubley]

On 2014-09-08, Stephen Hoffman <seaohveh at hoffmanlabs.invalid> wrote:
> On 2014-09-08 12:38:51 +0000, Simon Clubley said:
>
>> [A nice simple good old fashioned VMS technical question which doesn't
>> involve microkernels, modular filesystems, or enhanced shells. :-)]
>> 
>> TCP/IP services V5.6, ECO 5, Alpha V8.3
>> 
>> Problem: the hostname presented by SMTP needs to change from it's
>> original FQDN (registered in the Alpha's local hosts database)...
>> 
>> Question: Does anyone see a problem with changing TCPIP$INET_HOST in this way ?
>> 
>> I'm reluctant to start doing major TCPIP configuration changes....
>> 
>> The worry is that something breaks due to the historial source of the...
>
> Sure; layer a few more hacks and maybe an undocumented change or two 
> onto that configuration, you'll probably be just fine.   What's the 
> worst that can happen here, after all?   At worst, you'll have to 
> re-run that dreaded host reconfiguration process and re-set the 
> context, and that'll usually clean it all up.
>
> BTW, if you're hacking TCPIP$INET_HOST, you might also want to hack 
> UCX$INET_HOST.  Not all software looks at that newfangled logical name 
> yet.
>
> I usually prefer to skip that sequence, and reset the host name via 
> TCPIP$CONFIG or (for the more general host name change) via 
><http://labs.hoffmanlabs.com/node/589>.
>

You know Hoff, believe it or not, I did _try_ the official procedure
first. :-(

There was nothing in the core components section to change the
actual hostname (but I successfully changed the domain there).

After that, I then found the official CLI way of doing this, only
to discover that it doesn't matter which name you give to /local="name"
as the command always uses the primary reference for the host.

It was also at this point I discovered the official CLI tool could
not be used to re-enter the value inserted into that field by the
official UCX V4.x to V5 conversion process. This made me nervous about
what else I was willing to try changing using that tool.

Only after doing _all_ that, did I try defining the logical name directly.

There's clearly something in the core components section I had missed
so please can you point me to the correct option in TCPIP$CONFIG to
directly change the hostname (not the domain) in the configuration
databases ? Thanks. (Of everything I've done with VMS, I've never
had to actually change the TCP/IP hostname of an existing production
VMS machine.)

BTW, thanks for the UCX$* reference; I overlooked that one.

>
> Probably best to ring up HP support and get the official answer, though.
>

I was under heavy pressure to get the system moved to the new connection
this morning and didn't expect these issues. Given the current response
times from HP there was no point in logging a call.

You know, right now, Unix has a hell of a lot going for it in the
ability to yank in configuration files into the editor, make a few
changes as required and then write the configuration files out again.

It sure as hell beats using a crappy half thought out tool to change
a binary database.

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Microsoft: Bringing you 1980s technology to a 21st century world