topic Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A in Operating System - OpenVMS

%LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Thomas Sonnentag — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:18:50 GMT

Hello,

we are experiencing a problem with a self written command langauge interface after upgrading our Alpha from 7.3-2 to 8.2A.
The error message is quit simple:

%LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL, error activating command interpreter

We have everything compiled, linked, and installed again but it doesn't help.

The user normally get the CLI in SYSUAF changed to our (called mibs.exe). I did some testing by using spawn:

CVSR1> spawn/cli=mibs
%DCL-S-SPAWNED, process DEP10872_1516 spawned
%DCL-S-ATTACHED, terminal now attached to process DEP10872_1516
Error activating command interpreter SYS$SYSTEM:MIBS
Normal successful completion
%DCL-S-RETURNED, control returned to process DEP10872_8
CVSR1>

Of course mibs.exe is installed with the right protections...

Any ideas ?
Thomas

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Volker Halle — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:20:49 GMT

Thomas,

welcome to the OpenVMS ITRC forum ;-)

As far as I'm aware, the interface for writing CLIs is not documented and not supported. I also couldn't immediately find any examples on the net.

I certainly know someone, who may have more information about this. You could send me mail (look at my profile in ITRC) or give me a call - I still have the same mobile phone number as in the 'Digital' days.

Volker.

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Joseph Huber_1 — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:46:46 GMT

Until the expert on MIBS gets in, a simple question:
did You rebuild the CLI on the 8.2 system.
It was a major system version step, and I can imagine the CLI is linked /SYSEXE , is it ?

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Joseph Huber_1 — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:50:10 GMT

Until the expert on MIBS gets in, a simple question:
did You rebuild the CLI on the 8.2 system ?

It was a major system version step, and I can imagine the CLI is linked /SYSEXE , is it ?

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Thomas Sonnentag — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:54:48 GMT

Yes, we linked with /sysexe on VMS 8.3...

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Hoff — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:31:06 GMT

Writing a command line interpreter (CLI) has never been documented, AFAIK.

Something in the CLI interface has changed, at least as far as your MIBS CLI is concerned. Undocumented APIs have always had the risk of instability, and clearly something in sys$cli or in the resulting control region or related context has changed here.

Assuming a full rebuild of the code has been performed and no errors are reported and the code is installation matches that of DCL, dig up the OpenVMS source listings, fire up xdelta or the system code debugger or such, and have at.

And as for using the listings, the first pass would be a search for any MIBS code and for the OpenVMS code that can emit the CLIFAIL status, and work backwards.

Or (if you're not inclined to go for a "swim" in supervisor mode, and in the source listings) call in somebody familiar with working within privileged-mode code on OpenVMS Alpha, and have them take a look at the MIBS code on OpenVMS Alpha V8.2. There are folks here that are.

And no, I don't know what might have changed here within sys$cli and friends, nor within the P1 control region space. It could be as simple as a change to a data structure layout. (Or not. A simple structure size change would usually be picked up by a recompile or reassemble; by a full rebuild.)

Stephen Hoffman
HoffmanLabs LLC

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Volker Halle — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:43:53 GMT

Thomas,

the only reference to %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL I could find is from a TCPIP troubleshooting article in Ask Compaq:

- the CLI image must be protected WO:RE

What's also questionable in the error message output from your SPAWN test is the secondary status of SS$_NORMAL !

Looks like CLIFAIL is signalled from LOGINOUT, if the call to map the CLI into P1 space (LIB$P1_MERGE) fails. The correct failure status (other than SS$_NORMAL) would be helpful.

Volker.

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Hein van den Heuvel — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:36:53 GMT

I would also re-compile (Macro? c?) and then re-link.

The CLI may well pick up a structure layout from LIB.MLB or some such.

Hein.

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Thomas Sonnentag — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 07:37:30 GMT

Of course we recompiled the MACRO32 and C-Source. I will have a closer look at the very beginning of the code, maybe something goes immediately wrong.

I was told that writing CLI's was documented with VAX/VMS 3.x.
This piece of code is used since than and also ported to Alpha VMS without any problems.

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Wim Van den Wyngaert — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 09:04:30 GMT

Did you check accouting, audit and operator log for abnormal messages/alarms ?

Did you install the image correctly (would expect "must be installed" but don't have 8.x to test). I got messages in audit when I deinstalled the image in 7.3.

Wim

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Heinz Bredthauer — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:16:48 GMT

Yes, I checked all logs. Also actived Image Accounting.
It seems that loginout (?) tries to activate the cli and fails immediatley.

As far what i have seen this morning the sys$library:mibstables.exe are activated before running mibs.exe. Maybe something is wrong with mibstables.exe

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Thomas Sonnentag — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:41:12 GMT

The CLI containing this piece of code

sup$start::
.jsb32_entry
$exit_s r0
.end sup$start

works different on 7.3 and 8.2 sytems.

VMS 7.3 (just missing the testtabels of course)
CVSR2> spawn/cli=test
%DCL-S-SPAWNED, process DEP10872_56033 spawned
%DCL-S-ATTACHED, terminal now attached to process DEP10872_56033
Error activating command interpreter tables TESTTABLES
File not found
%DCL-S-RETURNED, control returned to process DEP10872_9
CVSR2>

VMS 8.2
CVSR1> spawn/cli=test
%DCL-S-SPAWNED, process DEP10872_11880 spawned
%DCL-S-ATTACHED, terminal now attached to process DEP10872_11880
Error activating command interpreter SYS$SYSTEM:TEST
Normal successful completion
%DCL-S-RETURNED, control returned to process DEP10872_12
CVSR1>

Any ideas ?

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Volker Halle — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:48:13 GMT

Heinz,

if you test with SPAWN/CLI=xxx/TABLES=yyy, it looks like LOGINOUT first tries to access (i.e. try to map into P1 space) the CLI image and then the CLI tables image. I've tested this by varying the parameters and pointing to non-existing files.

If accessing the CLI tables file fails, then there should be a CLITBLFAIL error message.

Volker.

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Volker Halle — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:00:24 GMT

Thomas,

how about adding a MOVL #SS$_NORMAL, R0 before the $EXIT ? In the code example given, you're returning whatever was in R0 at the time this routine is being entered !

Volker.

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Thomas Sonnentag — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:07:11 GMT

Volker,

you are right, it happens by removing the code around...
But it has no impact on the main idea of the code and the different behaviour on VMS 7.3 and 8.2 !

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Thomas Sonnentag — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:07:43 GMT

Volker,

you are right, it happens by removing the code around...
But it has no impact on the main idea of the code and the different behaviour on VMS 7.3 and 8.3 !

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Volker Halle — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:43:51 GMT

Thomas,

I can reproduce this on OpenVMS Alpha V8.3, but NOT on V8.2 !

CHAALP $ spawn/cli=mibs
Error activating command interpreter SYS$SYSTEM:MIBS
Normal successful completion
%DCL-S-SPAWNED, process SYSTEM_27241 spawned
%DCL-S-ATTACHED, terminal now attached to process SYSTEM_27241
%DCL-S-RETURNED, control returned to process SYSTEM

Volker.

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Volker Halle — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:28:25 GMT

Thomas,

the code in this 'CLI' does not even get executed, so it's irrelevant to the problem.

The problem happens somewhere inside LOGINOUT.EXE when trying to activate the CLI, before even mapping the CLI tables.

The fact that SS$_NORMAL is supplied as the secondary status value is indicative that some additional check might have been added in V8.3, that now fails. Prior versions would only return the status from LIB$P1_MERGE as the CLIFAIL error.

Volker.

Re: %LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL after upgrade vom 7.3-2 --> 8.3A

Thomas Sonnentag — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:39:15 GMT

Thank you all for your help and ideas !

The LOGIN-F-CLIFAIL problem has been solved. For more information, please contact OpenVMS Engineering.

Thomas