NonStop NS-Series Operations Guide (H06.12+)

NOTE: When using explicit names, you must revise your command files whenever a
configuration change occurs. Therefore, you should balance the time it takes to update
configuration files against the savings in startup or shutdown time.
• Use single-line commands instead of multiple-line commands. Multiple-line commands in
a command file increase execution time.
Avoid Manual Intervention
Write startup and shutdown files so that they execute correctly without requiring manual
intervention. Any time an operator must intervene, startup and shutdown time increase and the
possibility of human error increases.
Use Parallel Processing
Parallel processing decreases the time required to start up or shut down your system or application
because startup and shutdown processes are distributed throughout the processors in your
system. For example, this SCF command file uses parallel processing in four processors to start
several communications lines. The files START0, START1, START2, and START3 contain the
actual commands that start the communications lines.
This command file uses a special technique intended to ensure that each process gets started
even if a given processor is out of service. The technique is to start each process in two processors.
If the first processor is down, the command file continues to the next processor. If the first
processor is up, and the process is started, the command file still continues to the next processor
but fails because the process name ($Sn) is in use by the process that was successfully started.
As a result, a specified process is started in whichever processor is running. Of course, if neither
processor is up, the attempt to start the process fails.
SCF /IN START0, NOWAIT, CPU 0, NAME $S0/
SCF /IN START0, NOWAIT, CPU 2, NAME $S0/
SCF /IN START1, NOWAIT, CPU 1, NAME $S1/
SCF /IN START1, NOWAIT, CPU 3, NAME $S1/
SCF /IN START2, NOWAIT, CPU 2, NAME $S2/
SCF /IN START2, NOWAIT, CPU 0, NAME $S2/
SCF /IN START3, NOWAIT, CPU 3, NAME $S3/
SCF /IN START3, NOWAIT, CPU 1, NAME $S3/
When using the technique shown in this command file, make sure to spread the process workload
across all available processors. If there are too many processes to start in processors 0 and 1,
queuing and memory-contention problems can result.
Investigate Product-Specific Techniques
Some products provide commands that reduce the time required to start up or shut down their
services. Familiarize yourself with the products and applications that run on your system to
identify time-saving techniques for speeding startup and shutdown operations. Refer to the
relevant documentation for each product.
For example, the HP NonStop TS/MP product provides the COOL START option and the
SHUTDOWN2 command to shorten startup and shutdown times, respectively. Using the COOL
START option, rather than COLD START, to restart an existing transaction-processing system
is much faster. The SHUTDOWN2 command is faster and more reliable than the SHUTDOWN
command. Both of these techniques are described in the TS/MP System Management Manual.
180 Creating Startup and Shutdown Files