Using NS3000/iX Network Services (36920-90008)

Chapter 5 69
Network File Transfer
File Copying Formats
File Copying Formats
NFT uses two file copying formats: Transparent Format and
Interchange Format.
Transparent Format
When files are copied from a source file node that is the same type of
computer as the target file node (for example, if they are both HP 3000s
or HP 9000s), the files are copied using a format called Transparent
Format. Transparent Format does not alter a file’s attributes, but
simply copies the file. It should be used when you want a low-overhead,
maximum-speed file copy process between systems of the same type.
Interchange Format
When two computers are of different types (for example, one is an
HP 9000 running a release prior to HP-UX 10.0 and one is an HP 3000),
files copied from one to the other must be converted to Interchange
Format (Figure 5-2). Interchange Format consists of a set of attributes
that describe a file in a standard way so that it can be understood by
any NS system. Interchange Format is invoked by default whenever
you use NFT to copy a file residing on one type of system to a system of
another type. You can also use a DSCOPY command option (INT) to
explicitly specify that a file be converted to Interchange Format. In
addition, several options automatically invoke Interchange Format.
These options are described in the DSCOPY syntax description later in
this chapter.
Figure 5-2 Interchange Format