Technical data

Customizing the Operating System
5.5 Registering Images that Have System Version Dependencies
When you upgrade your system to a new version of the operating system, an
image might fail because the new version no longer matches the image’s version
requirements. However, an image might continue to be compatible with the new
operating system version, even if it fails the version check.
Note
In OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0, the major version number was not
changed; only the version numbers for the following components were
increased to reflect changes in these areas:
• FILES_VOLUMES
• MEMORY_MANAGEMENT
• SECURITY
As a result, many version-dependent images built in VMS VAX Version
5.x systems (that is, images that do not reference FILES_VOLUMES,
MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, or SECURITY) will run on OpenVMS
Version 6.0 without registering the images. However, version-dependent
images that do reference these components must be registered with the
image registry, as explained in this section.
In OpenVMS VAX Version 6.1, no version numbers were changed.
However, images built on VMS VAX Version 5.x systems needed
to be registered if they referenced FILES_VOLUMES, MEMORY_
MANAGEMENT, or SECURITY.
To continue running a compatible image, you can register the image using the
Image Registry facility. You do not need to register images that are linked as
part of the installation because they match the current operating system version.
However, linking an image during installation does not ensure that system
version dependencies do not exist. For information about changes in the current
operating system version that might require you to recompile an image or change
source code, see the release notes.
Caution
You must inspect and test an image carefully to avoid system crashes and
data corruption. Registering an image does not necessarily make it work;
registering only bypasses the version checks.
5.5.2 Using the Image Registry Facility
To register an image in the image registry, run the command procedure
SYS$UPDATE:REGISTER_PRIVILEGED_IMAGE.COM. Enter a command
in the following format:
$ @SYS$UPDATE:REGISTER_PRIVILEGED_IMAGE keyword filename
where:
keyword Specifies one or more of the keywords described in Table 5–3, separated by
commas.
5–24 Customizing the Operating System