topic Re: About VMS7.3's FTP in Operating System - OpenVMS

About VMS7.3's FTP

林宗褘 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:11:25 GMT

Dearl All

I try ftp specially host! After success FTP,
Use follow command:
dir/brief/output=test.lst *.lot
but test.lst is empty!!

use follow command:
dir/brief/output=test.lst
or
dir/brief/output=test.lst *
It's successed!

My server is use OpenVMS 7.3
But VAX system run same command, so that successed.

Is it VMS 7.3 bug? or have any patch fix it?

Re: About VMS7.3's FTP

Steven Schweda — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:59:48 GMT

> I try ftp specially host!

???

> After success FTP,
> Use follow command:

Are these commands to the FTP client program
("FTP> dir/brief/output=test.lst *.lot"), or
DCL commands ("$ dir [...]")?

What is the FTP server system, VMS or some
other operating system?

FTP> quote SYST

> But VAX system run same command, so that
> successed.

Copy+paste actual commands and actual output.

FTP> debug

This will cause the FTP client to show you
its conversation with the FTP server.

Re: About VMS7.3's FTP

林宗褘 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:20:07 GMT

My server install VMS7.3, use FTP to another host(UNIX base)

use follow command:
FTP> dir/brief/output=test.lst *.lot

use vsFTPd 2.0.1

run
FTP>quota SYST
215 UNIX Type: L8

FTP>debug
Debugging on (debug=1)

I use follow command in VAX system:
FTP>dir/brief/output=test1.lst *.lot

check test1.lst, it is have content

same command, same remote host, same directory
but Alpha system and VAX system both output file content different

Re: About VMS7.3's FTP

Steven Schweda — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:31:29 GMT

> Copy+paste actual commands and actual output.

I don't see any.

> I use follow command in VAX system:

What was the debug output???

Note that the UNIX system will be case
sensitive, and your VMS FTP client program
(one of them?) may be changing the case of
that file specification ("*.lot")

Around here, for example:

alp $ tcpip show version

HP TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Alpha Version V5.4 - ECO 6
on a COMPAQ Professional Workstation XP1000 running OpenVMS V7.3-2

Connected to itself (where case is not
important):

FTP> debug
Debugging on (debug=1).

FTP> dire /brie *.a
---> PORT 10,0,0,9,248,172
200 PORT command successful.
---> NLST *.A

Note the case change. Quotation may help:

FTP> dire /brie "*.a"
---> PORT 10,0,0,9,248,243
200 PORT command successful.
---> NLST *.a

Re: About VMS7.3's FTP

林宗褘 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:03:39 GMT

Copy+paste actual commands and actual output.
Please see attach file

so file content,
VAX system is correct,
but Alpha system is corruption!

Re: About VMS7.3's FTP

Hoff — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:03:58 GMT

In general, if you have the most current ECO kit loaded for your version of TCP/IP Services, then you have the publicly available patches.

If the system has the current patches (and it does not), then you would have the most recent patches, and would want to either commence a support call and/or start looking at a workaround, and to begin implementing the workaround if your situation warrants it.

Since you're not current, HP will almost inevitably ask you to load the current ECO before commencing any work on an escalation.

Here's the current patch:

ftp://ftp.itrc.hp.com/openvms_patches/alpha/V7.3-2/DEC-AXPVMS-TCPIP-V0504-15ECO7-1.txt

I don't immediately have a way to dig the TCPIP54ECO07.RELEASE_NOTES file out of the kit for a look at what got fixed for you. I'll leave that to you to look at.

As for additional diagnostics (after loading the ECO, and only then if needed), try the same DIRECTORY ... *.lot command used previously within FTP -- but without the output qualifier -- and see what is displayed; this could easily be differences in the file encodings.

Also see if quoting the string "*.lot" works in either (any) of the suggested commands, as recent versions of OpenVMS have been adding case-sensitivity capabilities.

I would generally encourage use of the DCL-level command COPY /FTP and DIRECTORY /FTP. These commands are often easier to deal with and often far easier to embed in DCL procedures, which is almost certainly the goal here. Details:

http://64.223.189.234/node/136

For those readers here in ITRC that don't have Microsoft Office handy, I've converted the Microsoft Word document that was attached to the previous reply into a UTF-8 text file using iWork Pages, and have (re)attached it here. This UTF-8 text file is readable on OpenVMS.

In conclusion: ECO to current, then call HP. If you don't have a contract or your project schedule is tight, commence work on a workaround for this directory listing transfer. The workarounds can include alternate ftp tools. eg: hgftp, replacing the IP stack, potentially switching to the DIRECTORY /FTP command (if that works here), or otherwise capturing and processing the directory listing. And this assumes that this isn't a difference in wildcarding or casing.

Or call somebody in for a formal look.

Stephen Hoffman
HoffmanLabs LLC

Re: About VMS7.3's FTP

Steven Schweda — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:50:25 GMT

> Copy+paste actual commands and actual
> output.

I meant into this forum, not into Microsoft
Word.

> Please see attach file

I see it. I can't easily read it.

> [...] I've converted the Microsoft Word
> document [...]

Thanks.

> FTP> debug

> Note the case change. Quotation may help:

Please see previous advice. Again. Repeat
as needed.

Re: About VMS7.3's FTP

林宗褘 — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:37:36 GMT

I use alpha system FTP to windows base host.
do similar command.
ex:
---------------------------------------------
TH.LIN_MXIC08>ftp 192.168.8.1
220 OE220WEB Microsoft FTP Service (Version 5.0).
Connected to OE220WEB.
Name (OE220WEB:thlin): administrator
331 Password required for administrator.
Password:
230 User administrator logged in.
FTP> debug
Debugging on (debug=1).
FTP> dir *.dat
---> PORT 192,168,8,2,255,114
200 PORT command successful.
---> LIST *.dat
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls.
07-29-04 02:07PM 1118 06788.dat
05-06-04 04:39PM 24508 a.dat
05-03-07 05:29PM 24508 b.dat
10-30-03 01:53PM 630 brorder.dat
11-17-03 03:31PM 857616 fabbnk02.dat
01-01-08 09:56AM 1432198 mskallweb.dat
01-11-08 08:39AM 252476 sap_hr.dat
09-21-07 02:59PM 13273921 spc.dat

226 Transfer complete.
400 bytes received in 00:00:00.00 seconds (390.63 Kbytes/s)
FTP> dir/brief *.dat
---> PORT 192,168,8,2,255,115
200 PORT command successful.
---> NLST *.DAT
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list.

226 Transfer complete.
FTP> dir/brief/out=test.lst *.dat
---> PORT 192,168,8,2,255,118
200 PORT command successful.
---> NLST *.DAT
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list.
226 Transfer complete.
FTP> dir/brief/out=test1.lst *
---> PORT 192,168,8,2,255,119
200 PORT command successful.
---> NLST *
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list.
226 Transfer complete.
392 bytes received in 00:00:00.05 seconds (6.84 Kbytes/s)
FTP> bye
---> QUIT
221
TH.LIN_MXIC08>dir *.lst

Directory DISK803:[MIS.THLIN]

TEST.LST;1 0 2-APR-2008 09:26:21.42 [MIS,THLIN (RWED,RWED,RE,)
TEST1.LST;1 1 2-APR-2008 09:26:38.66 [MIS,THLIN (RWED,RWED,RE,)

Total of 2 files, 1 block.
---------------------------------------
But test.lst is empty!!
why?
keep point in * and . merge use, it isn't work!

Re: About VMS7.3's FTP

Steven Schweda — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:03:00 GMT

> FTP> dir/brief/out=test.lst *.dat
> ---> PORT 192,168,8,2,255,118
> 200 PORT command successful.
> ---> NLST *.DAT

So, you asked the FTP client for "*.dat", but
the FTP client asked the server for "*.DAT".
The UNIX FTP server is case sensitive, so
"*.dat" and "*.DAT" are different there.

Instead of:

FTP> dir/brief/out=test.lst *.dat

try:

FTP> dir/brief/out=test.lst "*.dat"

As I said (and showed), quotation may help.

Case sensitivity and even case preservation
are relatively new to VMS, so many programs
will need explicit quotation to preserve
case. (With a VMS FTP server, it would
probably make no difference, but this is a
UNIX FTP server.)

Re: About VMS7.3's FTP

林宗褘 — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:11:17 GMT

I try use
FTP>dir/brief/out=test.lst "*.dat"
It's success!!

Thank you!!

Re: About VMS7.3's FTP

Hoff — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:28:41 GMT

On Microsoft Windows, "THIS" and "this" are the same filename.

On OpenVMS, "THIS" and "this" are usually the same; traditionally these files were the same, but you can now select case sensitivity.

Unix is more subtle here, in that "THIS" and "this" are two entirely different filenames on most Unix file systems. (But not on all Unix systems.)

Adding confusion, it used to be that OpenVMS filename processing was forced into uppercase by DCL parsers, and back into lowercase by the C library. In more recent versions of OpenVMS and related, the tools are adding case-sensitivity and long filenames and related in a somewhat haphazard and obviously confusing fashion.

When in doubt with DCL syntax or with OpenVMS command syntax in general, quote anything that might be case-sensitive. Whether file specification or otherwise.

The question of trying the exact same commands without the /OUTPUT qualifier remains.

I suspect the reason the output file is empty is because the filenames don't match, and thus there are no matching files. So the entire sequence involving the output file containing the directory listing is probably not relevant; it's a more fundamental matter with the file specification and the specific names of the files in the remote directory, and the case-sensitivity of the Unix server, and the change to provide case preservation within OpenVMS tools. Drop that qualifier and you'd see the lack of files directly.