HP OpenVMS Version 8.3 for Alpha and Integrity Servers

HP OpenVMS Version 8.3 for Alpha and Integrity Servers SPD 82.35.11
scheduling algorithm when running a nonuniform mem-
ory access (NUMA) platform.
SMP support is an integral part of OpenVMS and is
provided to the user transparently. Because an SMP
system is a single system entity, it is configured into
a network and OpenVMS Cluster configurations as a
single node.
The maximum number of supported CPUs in an SMP
configuration is 32.
Networking Facilities
OpenVMS provides device drivers for all HP local area
network (LAN) adapters listed in the LAN Options sec-
tion of Appendix A of this SPD. Application programmers
can use the QIO system service to communicate with
other systems connected via the LAN using either
Ethernet or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engi-
neers (IEEE) 802.3 packet format. Simultaneous use
of HP Ethernet and the IEEE 802.3 protocols are sup-
ported on any HP LAN adapter.
OpenVMS Alpha supports Ethernet, FDDI, Token Ring,
and ATM for local area networks (LANs). OpenVMS for
Integrity servers supports Ethernet only.
OpenVMS Alpha supports the standards defined by the
ATM Forum’s LANE Version 1.0 specifications for LAN
emulation over an ATM network. By implementing an
emulated LAN over an ATM network, you enable a
group of ATM stations to act like a traditional LAN.
LAN emulated over an ATM network allows you to run
your existing applications basically unchanged, while
the computers on which your applications are running
are connected to the ATM network.
OpenVMS supports the following networking products:
• HP TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS, the industry-
standard set of protocols for interoperating between
different operating systems
• HP DECnet-Plus, the Digital Network Architecture,
Phase V
• DECnet, the DIGITAL Network Architecture, Phase
IV
These networking products are described in this SPD
under Associated Products.
Terminal Server Products
HP terminal server products provide terminal server ac-
cess to OpenVMS. When used in an OpenVMS Clus-
ter environment, terminal servers distribute users across
the available Alpha and Integrity server systems at login
time.
OpenVMS can also establish a connection to other
devices (such as printers) attached to such terminal
servers.
Universal Serial Bus Support
OpenVMS supports the Universal Serial Bus (USB)
technology on the AlphaServer ES47, ES80, and
GS1280 systems, and the rx1600, rx2600, and rx4640
Integrity Server systems. Support for the USB inter-
connect enables OpenVMS systems to connect to mul-
tiple supported USB devices using a single USB ca-
ble. OpenVMS supports the fully qualified USB devices
listed in the appropriate AlphaServer platform configu-
ration and options web site:
http://h18002.www1.hp.com/alphaserver/
Reliability
OpenVMS handles hardware errors as transparently as
possible while maintaining data integrity and providing
sufficient information to diagnose errors. The system
limits the effects of an error by first determining if the
error is fatal. If the error occurs in system context, the
current OpenVMS system shuts down. If the error is not
fatal, the system recovers actions pertinent to the error
and continues the current operation.
In all cases, information relevant to the error is written
to the error log file for later analysis. Hardware errors
include the following categories:
• Processor errors. These include processor soft
errors, processor hard errors, processor machine
checks, and adapter errors.
• Memory errors. These can be unrecoverable (hard)
errors or recoverable (soft) errors. The system ex-
amines memory at startup time and does not use any
bad pages. During system operation, the system cor-
rects all single-bit memory errors for those systems
with error correction code (ECC) memory.
• Correctible memory errors. A primary cause of
these correctible memory errors is alpha particle radi-
ation. On some processors, when correctible mem-
ory errors occur, the memory controller corrects only
the data returned to the CPU or I/O controller. The
actual data in memory is left with the error intact.
Subsequent read operations cause correction cycles
to occur and, in most cases, an interrupt to report
the error. On many of these processors, OpenVMS
monitors the occurrence of correctible memory errors
and, in almost all cases, is able to remove the error
condition by rewriting the data in memory. Rewrit-
ing the data causes the data to be corrected in that
memory location.
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