Software Product Description ___________________________________________________________________ PRODUCT NAME: HP DECram for OpenVMS SPD 34.26.12 DESCRIPTION This Software Product Description describes the following Versions of HP DECram for OpenVMS: o HP DECram for OpenVMS Alpha and Integrity servers Version 8.3 o HP DECram for OpenVMS Alpha Version 3.2 o HP DECram for OpenVMS Alpha and VAX Version 2.5 DECram for OpenVMS is a disk device driver that improves I/O perfor- mance by allowing an OpenVMS system manager to create pseudo disks (RAMdisks), which reside in main memory. Frequently accessed data can be accessed much faster from a DECram device than from a physical disk device. These RAMdisks can be accessed through the file system just as physical disks are accessed, requiring no change to the application or the system soft- ware. Because main memory is allocated for a DECram device, extra memory is generally required. The OpenVMS system manager can designate the amount of memory dedicated to the DECram device(s) and the files that will be stored on it. Beginning with OpenVMS Version 8.2, the images for HP DECram ship with the HP OpenVMS Alpha and Integrity servers distribution kits. To run the DECram software, customers must first purchase and install a sep- arate DECram or Enterprise Operating Environment (EOE) license pack- age. June 2006 Before upgrading to OpenVMS Alpha Version 8.2 or higher, you must man- ually remove earlier versions of DECram for OpenVMS. The upgrade pro- cedure cannot remove DECram for OpenVMS automatically. If an old ver- sion of DECram for OpenVMS is installed, the upgrade procedure might abort; if the upgrade does complete, DECram for OpenVMS might cause errors or work improperly. Note: This requirement applies to OpenVMS Alpha systems only, and only to upgrades from any version of OpenVMS prior to Version 8.2. Beginning with DECram Alpha Version 3.2, DECram's capability was ex- tended to use OpenVMS Galaxy shared memory to create a VMS shared mem- ory disk. This allows users to take advantage of OpenVMS Galaxy shared memory without modifications to any of their applications. With DECram Alpha Version 3.2 or higher, the limit on DECram disk size is 4,294,967,296 blocks on OpenVMS Alpha systems running OpenVMS Ver- sion 7.2-1H1 or higher. However, the largest value that OpenVMS supports is 2,147,483,647 for ODS-2 and ODS-5 volumes. With DECram Version 2.5, the maximum disk size on an OpenVMS Alpha sys- tem is limited to 67,108,864 blocks.The maximum disk size on an Open- VMS VAX system is limited to 524,280 blocks. It is possible to cre- ate logically contiguous devices greater than these limits by creat- ing multiple DECram devices and binding them together. Note: An actual DECram device is limited by the number of available system page table entries (SPTEs) on the system. A DECram device can- not be bigger than the available physical memory of the host. 2 Cluster Environment DECram Versions 8.3, 8.2, 3.2 and 2.5 are fully campatible and there can be any combination of these versions of DECram in a VMScluster. DECram Alpha Version 3.2 or higher will run only on OpenVMS Alpha sys- tems and DECram for Integrity servers Version 8.2 or higher will run on both Alpha and Integrity server systems; however, the RAMdisk can be accessed by OpenVMS VAX and Alpha systems in an OpenVMS Cluster sys- tem. DECram Versions 8.3 will run in the following configurations: o AlphaServer systems with OpenVMS Galaxy configured with one or more instances as nodes in an OpenVMS Cluster o Standalone OpenVMS Alpha systems o Standalone OpenVMS Integrity server systems o OpenVMS Cluster systems consisting of all Alphas or all Integrity server systems or a combination of Integrity server, Alpha and VAX systems. DECram Version 3.2 will run in the following configurations: o AlphaServer systems with OpenVMS Galaxy configured with one or more instances as nodes in an OpenVMS Cluster. o Standalone OpenVMS Alpha systems. o OpenVMS Cluster systems consisting of all Alphas or a combination of Alpha and VAX systems. DECram Version 3.2 can be installed over a previously installed copy of DECram Version 2.5, on Alpha systems only. If DECram Version 3.2 is removed for any reason, DECram Version 2.5 is automatically removed as well. If you want to continue to run DECram Version 2.5, it must be reinstalled. 3 If this is an initial installation of DECram Version 3.2, using Open- VMS Version 7.2-2 or higher on an Alpha-based system in a clustered environment, and all nodes that will be using DECram have a common sys- tem disk, then only one installation of the DECram software on the clus- ter is required. However, for each node in the cluster that will be using the DECram product, a license key must be installed. If you are installing DECram in a cluster, be sure there is only one installa- tion active at any given time. If this is an initial installation of DECram Version 3.2 using Open- VMS Version 7.2-2 or higher in a clustered environment and there is no common system disk, the DECram Version 3.2 software must be installed on each node of the cluster where you want to create a DECram disk. If this is an upgrade of a clustered environment from DECram Version 2.5 to DECram Version 3.2, the DECram Version 3.2 software must be in- stalled on all nodes in the cluster where you want to create a DECram disk. Installation of DECram versions prior to DECram Version 3.2 on a clus- tered system requires installation of the DECram software and a li- cense key for all nodes that are members of the cluster. DECram Versions 8.3 is fully supported when installed on any valid and licensed stadalone or clustered Alpha or Integrity server system. DECram Version 3.2 is fully supported when installed on any valid and licensed standalone or clustered Alpha system. DECram Version 2.5 is fully supported when installed on any valid and licensed standalone Alpha or VAX system, or any clustered VAX system. A minimum of DECram Version 2.3 is required for any OpenVMS Cluster systems running any version of OpenVMS Alpha. DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.2 supports operation in an Adaptive Par- titioned Multi-Processing (APMP) environment, also known as HP Galaxy Software Architecture on OpenVMS. Previous versions of DECram must not be used if RAM disks are being served, or served and shadowed, across 4 nodes within a cluster, or if DECram is being used in an Adaptive Par- titioned Multi-Processing instance. Multiple DECram devices can be members of a Volume Shadowing for Open- VMS shadow set. The MDA devices are compatible across the cluster, but the actual data is hosted by a single node and that is served across the cluster via the mass storage control protocol (MSCP) server. With DECram Version 3.2 or higher, Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS will support shadow sets composed of DECram devices and other disk class devices. Removal of the last non DECram device will cause the shadow set virtual unit to abort and become unavailable. Please refer to the Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS Software Product Description (SPD 27.29.xx) for more information. With DECram Version 3.2 or higher, you can use the new DECram command interface or continue using the same familiar commands from SYSMAN for creating, initializing, and mounting DECram disks. With DECram Version 3.2 or higher, the disk is configured using the DECRAM> user interface to create and format the Random Access Memory (RAM) disk. The INITIALIZE command is then used to write the OpenVMS cluster file system to the RAM disk. With DECram Version 2.5, the user interface to a DECram device is the same as other disk class devices. Management Interface A DECram device is managed by the same tools as any other OpenVMS disk device. For example, the INITIALIZE, MOUNT, and DIRECTORY commands will work the same on both hard disk and DECram devices. However, the stan- dard utilities are used differently to set up a DECram device. System Analysis Before creating a DECram device, the OpenVMS system manager must de- termine its size. Each disk block allocated to a DECram device will mean one less disk block of available memory. The system manager should also assess the need for multiple DECram units. See Restrictions listed below. 5 System Generation When adding a DECram device, the OpenVMS system manager must reassess the values for the SYSGEN parameters that control paging and swapping behavior. Restrictions DECram for OpenVMS currently has the following restrictions: o Data in a DECram device is volatile unless shadowed with a phys- ical disk. o DECram Version 3.2 or higher cannot be installed on a VAX system. o With DECram Version 3.2, the maximum size of a single DECram de- vice on OpenVMS Alpha systems running OpenVMS V7.2-2 or higher is 2048 Gigabytes (GB). o In DECram Version 2.5, a single DECram device size on OpenVMS Al- pha systems running OpenVMS Version 7.2-2 or higher is limited to 32 GB. o In DECram Version 2.5, a single DECram device size on OpenVMS VAX systems running OpenVMS Version 6.2 or higher is limited to 256 Megabytes (MB). o DECram V3.2-3HP is the minimum version for OpenVMS V7.3-1 or higher. Note: For disk volumes larger than 256 MB on VAX or 2048 GB on Alpha, multiple DECram disk devices can be created and bound into a volume set. DECram for OpenVMS is not designed to support long-term data storage. If a system or hardware failure occurs, data stored in the DECram de- vice is lost and must be recreated. This restriction does not apply if the device is shadowed to a real physical device, using a supported version of OpenVMS Volume Shadowing. 6 HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS There are no special hardware requirements to install DECram for Open- VMS. Processor and hardware configurations must conform to specifications in the HP OpenVMS Operating System for Alpha Version 7.3-1 and 7.3- 2, and VAX Version 7.3 Software Product Description (SPD 25.01.xx) or the HP OpenVMS for Alpha and Integrity Servers Version 8.3 Software Product Description (SPD 82.35.xx), or the appropriate operating sys- tem documentation set. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS DECram for OpenVMS Version 8.3 supports OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS for Integrity servers Version 8.3. DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.2 supports OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.2-2 or higher. DECram for OpenVMS Version 2.5 supports OpenVMS Alpha Versions 7.2- 2, and 7.3. A minimum of DECram Version 2.3 or higher is required for any OpenVMS Cluster systems running any version of OpenVMS Alpha or VAX. DECram for OpenVMS Version 2.5 supports OpenVMS VAX Version 6.2 or higher. ORDERING INFORMATION OpenVMS for Integrity servers Software License: BA407AC For HP OpenVMS for Integrity server customers, a software license for HP DECram may be purchased either as a separate per-processor core li- cense (PCL): BA407AC or as part of the OpenVMS Enterprise Operating Environment (EOE) license bundle. Please refer to the HP Operating En- vironments for OpenVMS for Integrity servers Software Product Descrip- tion (SPD 82.34.xx) for ordering information. 7 Software Media: Foundation Operating Environment Media, BA322AA or Enterprise Operating Environment Media, BA323AA or Mission Critical Operating Environment Media, BA324AA OpenVMS for Alpha Software Licenses: QL-MV3A*-** Software Media: QA-03XAA-H8 DECram for OpenVMS Version 3.2 (for Alpha) is distributed on the Open- VMS Alpha Software Product Library Distribution CD-ROMs (order num- ber QA-03XAA-H8). DECram for OpenVMS Version 2.5 (for Alpha) is distributed on the Open- VMS Alpha Software Product Library Distribution CD-ROMs (order num- ber QA-03XAA-H8). OpenVMS for VAX Software Licenses: QL-GJ9A*-** Software Media: QA-YL48A-H8 DECram for OpenVMS Version 2.5 (for VAX) is distributed on the Open- VMS VAX Software Product Library Distribution CD-ROMs (order number QA-YL48A-H8). DECram is no longer available on TK50 and magtape media. * Denotes variant fields. For additional information on available li- censes, services, and media, refer to the appropriate price book. DECram for OpenVMS documentation is available in text, PostScript[R], HTML, and PDF formats. 8 SOFTWARE PRODUCT SERVICES A variety of service options are available from HP. For more infor- mation, contact your local HP account representative or distributor. Information is also available from: http://www.hp.com/hps/software. License Management Facility Support This layered product supports the OpenVMS License Management Facil- ity (LMF). License units for this product are allocated on a CPU-capacity basis. For more information about the License Management Facility, refer to the HP OpenVMS Operating System for Alpha Version 7.3-1 and 7.3-2, and VAX Version 7.3 Software Product Description (SPD 25.01.xx) or the HP OpenVMS for Alpha and Integrity Servers Version 8.3 Software Product Description (SPD 82.35.xx) or documentation set. SOFTWARE WARRANTY This software product is provided by HP with a 90-day conformance war- ranty in accordance with the HP warranty terms applicable to the li- cense purchase. © 2006 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Confidential computer software. Valid license from HP required for pos- session, use or copying. Consistent with FAR 12.211 and 12.212, Com- mercial Computer Software, Computer Software Documentation, and Tech- nical Data for Commercial Items are licensed to the U.S. Government under vendor's standard commercial license. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. 9 Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional war- ranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omis- sions contained herein. PostScript[R] is a trademark of Adobe Systems. 10 11