ndd unsupported

[Hakki Aydin Ucar]

my customer sides, pa-risc 11iv1 AND integrity 11i v2; ndd -h unsupported command reported for ip_respond_to_echo_broadcast .
But after tried to disable on both server this parameter ,it turned out it is working.
What exactly means unsupported OR supported with ndd ?

[Fabio Ettore]

Hi,

from man ndd:

ndd -h unsupported Display all the unsupported tunable parameters.
This set of parameters are not supported by HP and
modification of these tunable parameters are not
suggested nor recommended. Setting any unsupported
tunable parameters on your system may result in
adverse effects to your networking operations.


unsupported means changing those parameters is "not suggested nor recommended".

HTH.

Best regards,
Fabio

[Jupinder Bedi]

here is the answer in itrc forum

http://forums13.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?admit=109447627+1265370307927+28353475&threadId=994488

[Hakki Aydin Ucar]

>unsupported means changing those parameters is "not suggested nor recommended".

So it is very weird then, Why do they put the feature which is not supported ? and besides, why does it work if they are not supported ?
Confused ?

[Dennis Handly]

>Why do they put the feature which is not supported? and besides, why does it work if they are not supported?

Because it might be useful for some customers? Or it may be useful if HP Support is holding your hand for debugging/triage?
But it isn't supported because it hasn't been extensively tested or more importantly, generally useful.

Basically there is difference between "work" and "supported".

[Hakki Aydin Ucar]

>Dennis:

Yes, for example ip_respond_to_echo_broadcast is a good feature for me ,and I use it in one server to be invisible from incoming broadcast attacks. I hope its side effect is negligible .

[Fabio Ettore]

Hi,

unsupported ndd parameters are not fully tested with HP-UX or simply HP decided to state them unsupported for other reasons based on system functionalities.
But, as already mentioned, the most important point to be underlined here is that "unsupported" doesn't mean "not-working".

Best regards,
Fabio

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

It really means if you break something with this, HP does not have to provide unlimited support to fix the problem. The support agreements many shops have obligate HP to virtually unlimited spending to resolve the problem, even in excess of the amount of the support agreement.

HP is looking for a way out of ulimited support by making statements like this.

You can call the response center and get "support" for these commands.

SEP

[rick jones · Accepted solution]

In HPSpeak, "supported" and "works" are not synonymous. They have different meanings:

Supported, known to work -> warm fuzzies all around
Supported, not known to not work -> an HPite may be in trouble
Supported, known to not work -> an HPite is in trouble
Unsupported, known to work -> lucky today, unlucky tomorrow?
Unsupported, not known to not work -> there but for the grace of Turing
Unsupported, known to not work -> no, it was not deliberate ;-)