Convert populated ODS-2 disk to ODS-5

[jjinva]

VMS 7.3-1: I have a requirement for an ODS-5 disk. Upgrade to Oracle Client 9i. I don't have any free disks at the moment.

What happens to the files that reside on a disk if I Use the Set Vol/Struc=5 command to convert to ODS-5?

Do I have to move all files off the disk before I execute the Command?

TIA,
Jim

[Steven Schweda · Accepted solution]

> What happens to the files [...]

Nothing, generally speaking.

> Do I have to move all files off [...]

No.

[labadie_1]

Use ld if you can dedicate some free blocks.

extract from
http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/journal/v6/disk_partitioning_with_lddriver.html

$ ld create lddisk:[vms]disk.dsk/size=10000
$ ld connect lddisk:[vms]disk.dsk lda1:
$ ld show lda1:
%LD-I-CONNECTED, Connected $7$LDA1: to $7$DRA6:[VMS]DISK.DSK;1

This creates a new disk on the system (LDA1:), which can do anything a normal disk can do:

$ initialize lda1: lddisk
$ mount/system lda1: lddisk
%MOUNT-I-MOUNTED, LDDISK mounted on _$7$LDA1: (LDDRVR)
$ dismount lda1:
$ ld disconnect lda1:


Install the latest version of LD

[Steven Schweda]

> Do I have to move all files off [...]

For INITIALIZE /STRUCTURE=5 you'd want to
save the data somewhere else, not for SET
VOLUME ...

[Hoff]

1: nothing.
2: no.

I'd tend to choose to make a BACKUP /IMAGE at this juncture, but that's because I had the disk off-line and could always use a good and complete checkpoint of the contents of the disk(s) in a production environment.

A (used) disk shelf is a cheap investment these days, and a good investment if you're so short on storage that you don't have a spare disk spindle around. If you have an open SCSI port or open PCI slot... (Used FC SAN PCI controllers have cratered in price, too.)

As for the question...

AskHL: Converting ODS-2 to ODS-5 volume structure:
http://64.223.189.234/node/321

Switching between ODS-2 and ODS-5 Volume Structures:
http://64.223.189.234/node/216

There are other ODS-5 articles at that site.

Stephen Hoffman
HoffmanLabs LLC

[Robert Gezelter]

jjinnva,

You can convert the volume with the files in place (otherwise, what would be the purpose of the SET VOLUME command being able to change things).

As Hoff has noted, it is a good opportunity to take a full backup of the disk BEFORE changing to ODS-5; precautions are never a bad idea.

The one warning I will raise is that many OpenVMS users are used to ignoring the case of filenames. I would recommend care in turning on the case sensitivity, as some programs and command procedures which worked correctly may blunder badly when they are executed from within a process that enables the case sensitivity.

I hope that the above is helpful.

- Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com

[Robert Atkinson]

Jim, you may already know this, but when working in a mixed ODS-2/ODS-5 environment, it's worth noting the 'SET PROCESS/PARSE_STYLE' command.

This will allow you to switch between traditional VMS and extended filename syntax.

Rob.

[jjinva]

Thanks everyone for the quick response. Lots of good info.

Jim

[Peter Zeiszler]

I had to do this on volumes. You have to mount it so that its private then just set vol/str=5
Then remount the device.

[Brad McCusker]

If you are running PATHWORKS or Advanced Server and serving the disk in question to PC clients, you'll need to run the PWCONVERT utility to change the name mangling that PATHOWORKS does on ODS2. If you don't, your clients are going to see some unexpected looking file names.

(Hoff might have this in the articles he pointed to - I didn't look at them)

[Brad McCusker]

If you are running PATHWORKS or Advanced Server and serving the disk in question to PC clients, you'll need to run the PWCONVERT utility to change the name mangling that PATHWORKS does on ODS2. If you don't, your clients are going to see some unexpected looking file names.

(Hoff might have this in the articles he pointed to - I didn't look at them)

Brad McCusker
Software Concepts International
www.sciinc.com