tcpip proxy limit too low, dynamic database expansion

[Edwin R. van der Kaaij]

Hello all,

HP TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Alpha Version V5.4 - ECO 2 on a AlphaServer ES40 running OpenVMS V7.3-2.

I try to add many proxy entries,database full.
add proxy cvi/remote=bladiebla/host=nn.nn.nn.nn

I want to expand my dynamic database. But how?

Can someone explain the following helptext to me? It is very cunfusing to me.
--------------------------------------------
SET COMMUNICATION /PROXIES /PROXIES=n
Optional. Default: Number of communication proxies plus 10, with a minimum of 20.
Specifies the maximum size of the proxy cache. If you plan to adentries to the proxy database after you start the TCP/IP Service, software, set /PROXIES to a value higher than the default.
You cannot change this value if the TCP/IP Services software is running.
-------------------------------------------

Thanks in advance!

Greetings from Utrecht, Ed van der Kaaij

[Joseph Huber_1]

If the limit defined by the SET COMM/PROXIES=n is reached, newly added proxies are not activated, visible by the missing "D" in the "Type" column of "SHOW PROXY".
You have to stop and restart TCPIP services to activate them (from the database on disk).

And if You plan to add more proxies, then set the /proxies= value to a number higher than the number of presently defined ones.

[Jan van den Ende]

Ed,

in short, you need to:
$ SET COMMUNICATION /PROXIES /PROXIES=n
with n = (not too many) more than the number you expect you might need.

Only effective after the next TCPIP restart!!

btw, in a cluster, the TCPIP AD PROXY activates the new proxy ONLY on the node where the command is issued!!
( This regrettably universally favoured networking *IX stuff has only been half-heartedly ported to VMS. One of the things it lacks is good cluster awareness/cluster support!).
After adding a proxy, on all other nodes issue:
$ TCPIP SET TCPIP/SIGNAL
That loads the permanent database into memory, but only on a local node.
Compare with DECnet proxies: mutations to that are actuated clusterwide.

Ed, leuk je hier ook tegen te komen!

Proost.

Have one on me.

jpe

[Edwin R. van der Kaaij]

On a test system I get:

TCPIP> set communication/proxies=40
%TCPIP-E-INETERROR, internet interface error
-TCPIP-E-INVQUAL, invalid qualifier value for /PROXIES
-SYSTEM-F-DUPLNAM, duplicate name

Not really getting this to work.

Any additional ideas?

Tia Ed.

[Jan van den Ende]

Ed,

from the manual:

"You cannot change this value if the TCP/IP Services software is running."

... and so it seems that you have to take that literally!

I have no system available that I can test that on (can not really close down IP without generating the better kind of panics!).
If you have tried, will you report back whether or not this helped?

Proost.

Have one on me.

jpe

[Kris Clippeleyr]

Ed & Jan,

I've tried to reproduce the error your getting (INETERROR), but no luck.
(I can't even find the error in TCPIP.MSGHLP$DATA.)
On all our VMS 7.3-2 systems with TCP/IP v5.4 (either ECO 1 or 2), I can do a TCPIP SET COMMUNICATION/PROXIES=.
So I think something else is the matter with your test system.

Kris (aka Qkcl)

[Joseph Huber_1 · Accepted solution]

Indeed, I tried it on one node shutting down TCPIP:
You can't "set commun/proxies" if shutdown.

What works:
set config commun/proxies=n
Afterwards @sys$startup:tcpip$startup,
and the max proxy value is activated.

So in fact TCPIP help set communication /proxies is confusing, it should only document SET CONFIG COMMUNICATION /PROXIES .

[Joseph Huber_1]

Interesting, I get the error on VMS7.3-1/TCPIP 5.3 when TCPIP is running.
maybe the different behavior depends on which services active or not (NFS maybe ?).

[Jan van den Ende]

Kris,

version, I guess.

TCPIP V5.3 here.

Proost.

Have one on me.

jpe

[Edwin R. van der Kaaij]

Well, well!

Mr. Joseph Huber gave the most workable
tip(s) Thanks.

On the $ prompt I typed:
$ tcpip set config commun/proxies=60
That was accepted by the test systems
in my cluster of 2 nodes.

I rebooted node 1, waited for it to come
back up and rebooted node 2. The database
can now handle 60 entries.

Stopping and starting TCP/IP would have
been sufficient, but I felt like rebooting.

That the help text remains fuzzy is a fact.

Thanks for all the help!

Greetz, Ed.

[Edwin R. van der Kaaij]

Enough :o)