AMDS$UNKSTYLE on EIB0:

[Galen Tackett]

I've installed AMDS V7.3-2A on an AlphaServer 4100 running unpatched (unfortunately) VMS V7.3. Due to the way things are done here, it's not likely that we could upgrade to a current version in the near future. ECOs might be a little easier; I'm not sure.

I have two LAN cards, EIA0: and EIB0: SDA shows the same "Device name" for both: EI_82558. IP is running on both. DECnet has a port open on each but the only one it's got a circuit or channel for is EIB0 (EIA-1 in DECnet parlance.)

If I start up AMDS without defining AMDS$DEVICE it sees EIA0: first and uses it.

If I define AMDS$DEVICE as EIB0: I get the following error when I start AMDS:

%AMDS-W-UNKSTYLE, unknown LAN address style on line: EIB0:

So I did
SDA> SHOW LAN
and saw that AMDS is using EIA0: instead of EIB0:

For what it's worth:

EIA0: and EIB0: are model DE602-AA and show--
MOP ID: 204
HW version: 12298086
Driver version: 00000001.07030015
LAN version: 00000006.07030140

EIA0 default ("hardware") address:
00-05-8B-E3-77-E8

EIB0 default ("hardware") address:
00-05-8B-E3-77-E9

Why won't AMDS use EIB0?

[Ian Miller.]

DECnet IV or V?
If V then are you using a phaseiv style address on EIB?

[Galen Tackett]

Ian,

We're using Phase IV.

I should have thought to mention that. :-}

[Volker Halle]

Galen,

do you start AMDS before or after starting DECnet-IV ? I usually start AMDS in SYLOGICALS.COM - allows you to troubleshoot problems during STARTUP.

What is the current MAC address on EIA/EIB ?
Should be AA-00-04-00-xx-yy on EIB (the one with an active DECnet circuit).

Do you have LINEs defined for EIA-0 and EIA-1 ? Do EIA-0 and EIA-1 connect to the same LAN ?

Volker.

[Galen Tackett]

Volker,

Right now it's installed after DECnet starts, because I installed it on a live system and haven't rebooted yet. SYLOGICALS is where I'd do it from, too. (Though I have been known to use SYSMAN STARTUP to do almost all my startup stuff in the order I want.)

MAC addresses (should have remembered that, too):

EIA0: 00-05-8B-E3-77-E8 = default address (no DECnet running on it)

EIB0: AA-00-04-00-1A-38 (DECnet of course)

There are DECnet lines for each, EIA-0 and EIA-1, but only EIA-1 is turned on.

AND---
it turns out that EIA0: is not connected to a live network, more or less permanently. Its counters show a lot of packets sent but none received.

Anecdote:

This system is at a remote site about 45 minutes drive from here, so I can't examine it physically with ease.

The staff over there tend to be very busy, so if I ask things like: "Could you see if there's a cable plugged in there?" they often ask that I can come over myself.

When I get there, one of those busy people usually has to show me around anyway! :-)

Does "government contract" explain this or what? :-D

[Ian Miller.]

I see this error when starting AMDS on a DS20e running VMS V8.2, DECnet/Plus V8.2 ECO1

which has a DE600 and a FDDI card. I define AMDS$DEVICE to be "EIA".

[Ian Miller.]

call logged with HP :-)

[Ian Miller.]

I my case I changed
AMDS$DEVICE_NAME "EIA"
to
AMDS$DEVICE_NAME "EIA0"

and now it works :-)

[Ian Miller.]

other hints I have seen are the device name should not have the : and check syntax of entries in the AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT

[Galen Tackett]

Ian,

Thanks for all your input!

My definition of AMDS$DEVICE was and is EIB0 with no colon.

And my AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT, cloned from AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.TEMPLATE, contains one non-comment line:

*\1DECAMDS\R

which certainly looks correct. I tried an actual DECnet address in place of the "*" and got the same AMDS-W-UNKSTYLE.

:-(

Galen--
who is not as sad as my picture above would indicate. After all, it's Friday!

[Volker Halle]

Galen,

I can only confirm Ian's observation on V8.2:

%AMDS-W-UNKSTYLE, unknown LAN address style on line: EWA0:

after defining (in AMDS$LOGICALS.COM):

$ AMDS$DEF AMDS$DEVICE "EWA0:"

same with "EWA" and "EW" (error message shows EWA and EW accordingly).

Please check your AMDS$DEVICE logical in the running system. Your UNKSTYLE error message says: EIB0: - so I guess your logical is really defined as "EIB0:"

Could there be more than one AMDS$LOGICALS.COM on your system disk ?

Try changing the logical name in your AMDS$LOGICALS.COM and invoke @SYS$STARTUP:AMDS$STARTUP RESTART - the UNKNSTYLE error message MUST reflect the string used in AMDS$LOGICALS.COM.

Volker.

[Galen Tackett]

Ian and Volker,

The problem was indeed the colon on the end of EIB0: in the definition of AMDS$DEVICE.

I really thought I had already fixed that in AMDS$LOGICALS.COM, and even that I had checked it again. Somebody must have slipped it back in there when I wasn't looking ;-)

Many thanks for your help,

Galen

[Ian Miller. · Accepted solution]

Good news
The UNKNSTYLE error is not the most obvious error message I've seen :-)

[Galen Tackett]

Ian,


The UNKNSTYLE error is not the most obvious error message I've seen :-)


That may be the understatement of the year thus far, at least regarding AMDS!

Does anybody know what on earth is an "address style?" :-)

[Volker Halle]

Shame on all of us ;-)

AXPVMS (V8.2) $ help/mess UNKSTYLE

UNKSTYLE, unknown LAN address style on line: 'string'

Facility: AMDS, DECamds

Explanation: The DECamds security file parsing routine cannot determine the style used for the address.

User Action: Edit the AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file or the AMDS$CONSOLE_ACCESS.DAT to correct the address.


Even putting 'UNKSTYLE' into Google provides some matches, one of which (from Info-VAX back in 2002) is also pointing in about the right direction.

The help text above does not exactly match the scenario here and it looks like the error message has been 'borrowed' for the check for a correct string in AMDS$DEVICE

I would vote for: %AMDS-E-INVDEVNAM, invalid LAN device name in string: EIB0:

Volker.

[Galen Tackett]

Volker,

You said,

The help text above does not exactly match the scenario here and it looks like the error message has been 'borrowed' for the check for a correct string in AMDS$DEVICE

I would vote for: %AMDS-E-INVDEVNAM, invalid LAN device name in string: EIB0:


It was probably just a typo but maybe you mean IVDEVNAM instead of INVDEVNAM, since that would correspond with a message mnemonic that already exists?

Apart from that, I agree with your vote.

If my amendment is accepted and there are no dissenting votes, then the motion is carried unanimously.

(No, I'm certain that's not proper parliamentary procedure. But the USA has no parliament anyway. :-)

[Ian Miller.]

I guess thats "passed through on the nod" then :-)

[Jan van den Ende]

aye

Proost.

Have one on me.

jpe

[Lawrence Czlapinski]

OT: Galen, actually the USA parliament is called Congress.

[Galen Tackett]

Lawrence,

Sorry if I didn't make it clear but the bit about these good old United States having no parliament was meant to be a joke.

:-)

I don't know what they teach in Civics these days but way back when I was in High School we definitely learned that we have a Congress. Maybe the Founding Fathers found that the name Parliament wasn't very palatable to them.

No hard feelings towards our good friends in the UK. We owe a lot to you. :-)

[Galen Tackett]

Keeping the colon off of the equivalence string for AMDS$DEVICE was the key to fixing this.

My thanks to all who participated.

Galen