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Conference netcad::hub_mgnt

Title:DEChub/HUBwatch/PROBEwatch CONFERENCE
Notice:Firmware -2, Doc -3, Power -4, HW kits -5, firm load -6&7
Moderator:NETCAD::COLELLADT
Created:Wed Nov 13 1991
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:4455
Total number of notes:16761

488.0. "DS90TL server name changes to LOWER case" by GIDDAY::MORETTI (Not drowning...waving) Thu Nov 11 1993 00:23

    Well, this is a beauty for ya....
    
    Customer has just upgraded DECagent s/w from V1.0 to V1.1 so he could
    configure more than one DS90TL in the HUB.
    
    This worked fine for a while but after the 4th HUB he got a call saying
    the print queues have stopped that go to the new DS90TLs.
    
    Checks many things and suddenly realises that the server names have
    gone from UPPER case to LOWER case without a re-boot or anyone touching
    them (this seems hard to believe in this place!!)
    
    He is running V1.1 HUBWATCH, VMS V5.5-2 and DS90TL s/w V1.1 BL44-10 and
    as I had the same s/w in-house I tried this and as yet haven't been
    able to duplicate this phenominon and after dabbling in TSM and console
    SET commands have found that only HUBWATCH can change the server name
    to lower case as the other methods always convert lower case to upper
    case which is very strange for the DS90TL as the help file from the
    console says :
    
    DEFINE/SET/CHANGE SERVER NAME
    
    Use NAME to specify a name for the server.  The name must be unique in
    the
    local network. The name is used to identify the server to LAT service
    nodes and
    for use in remote access and host-initiated requests.
    
    NAME server-name
    
    For server-name enter a string of 1 to 16 of these characters:
    A to Z  a to z  0 to 9  $       -       .       _
    
    The default for NAME is LAT_xxxxxxxxxxxx, where the x's represent the
    twelve
    hexadecimal characters in the Ethernet address for the server.
       
    From the above it would seem that lower case should be accepted   Y/N ?
    
    Has anybody else come across this weird problem or should I jump off
    the bridge now ??
    
    Thanx
    
    John Moretti
    CSC Sydney
    Australia
    612-561-5109
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name		DateLines
488.1Sounds vaguely plausible to me...TOOK::D_NELSONDave Nelson LKG1-3/A11 226-5358Thu Nov 11 1993 13:1223
    RE: .0
    
    The DECserver command parser used to upcase all input.  Some of the
    older commands have been "retrofitted" with new syntax to allow
    mixed case input.  For these commands you must enclose the string in
    double quotes.  Some of the newer commands have data field that are
    implicitly mixed case input. 
    
    The command that changes the server name is an old-style command that
    for some reason hasn't been retrofitted with the double-quotes syntax.
    You cannot from the command line enter a server name as mixed case.
    
    I shouldn't be suprised if SNMP access allows you to change the server
    name to a mixed case string, however.  It's the command line parser
    that typically enforces upcasing, when it exists.
    
    One then sould ask under what circumstances the server name is used in
    a case sensitive comparison?
    
    Regards,
    
    Dave
488.2Very enlighteningGIDDAY::MORETTINot drowning...wavingFri Nov 12 1993 01:0120
    
    Thanks for the answer Dave, although it sounds a bit flaky from our
    point of view on the "retrofitted" parsers.
    
    I have had the customer and myself try an experiment as we both have
    the same software, whereby we create a DS90TL in a hub with HUBWATCH
    and give it an upper case name and monitor it overnight.
    
    Well the name on my system didn't change and neither did hid this time
    but it has led to me finding out that LAT is case sensitive when a
    print is sent to a printer on a DS90TL.
    
    I am monitoring my 90tl over the weekend and if it doesn't change to
    lower case the customer must have a local problem.
    
    Your comments were very enlightening for those of us here in networks.
    
    Thanks
    
    John
488.3Flaky? Well, maybe....TOOK::D_NELSONDave Nelson LKG1-3/A11 226-5358Fri Nov 12 1993 08:4019
    RE .2
    
    > Thanks for the answer Dave, although it sounds a bit flaky from our
    > point of view on the "retrofitted" parsers.
    
    I suppose it does sound a little flaky.  I use the term retrofitted
    loosely here.  The details are complicated - we actually have a new
    parser in the DECserver software now.  We are faithfully emulating the
    syntax of the old parser, with some exceptions.  One exception is that
    you can now use "strings" to force mixed case in *some* commands.  The 
    days of the ASR33 Teletype are gone, so forced upper case is passe.  
    Some of the commands you enter actually involve strings that *are* case 
    sensitive, e.g. Kerberos passwords, or software names for BOOTP booting 
    (basically protocols spawned in the Unix-world of case-sensitivity).
    
    Regards,
    
    Dave
488.4Any time/date for the new parser ?GIDDAY::MORETTINot drowning...wavingSun Nov 14 1993 15:5012
    
    Dave,
    
    Got a good reply from Mike Raspuzzi in the TERMINAL_SERVERS conference
    suggesting this is a bug in the 90TL s/w as the LAT protocol shouldn't
    be case sensitive (Note 1403) and he will be putting out new s/w to
    correct this when possible.
    
    Thanks for the information though, it's nice to come to a company where
    those in the know are willing to dispense the information the coalface.
    
    John