Specifications
OpenVMS Operating System for Alpha and VAX (Versions 7.1, 7.1–1H1, 7.1–1H2, and 7.1–2) SPD 41.87.06
RMS also supports block I/O operations for vari-
ous performance-critical applications that require user-
defined file organizations and record formats.
RMS promotes safe and efficient file sharing by provid-
ing multiple file access modes, automatic record locking
(where applicable), and optional buffer sharing by mul-
tiple processes.
RMS utilities aid file creation and record maintenance.
These utilities convert files from one organization and
format to another; restructure indexed files for storage
and access efficiency; and reclaim data structures within
indexed files. These utilities also generate appropriate
reports.
For systems that have DECnet for OpenVMS VAX and
Alpha, or DECnet-Plus installed, RMS provides a sub-
set of file and record management services to remote
network nodes. Remote file operations are generally
transparent to user programs.
Commands such as EDIT, CREATE, COPY, TYPE, and
PRINT allow users to manipulate RMS records within
RMS files at the DCL command level.
Disk and Tape Volumes
The system manager can organize disk volumes into
volume sets. Volume sets can contain a mix of disk
device types and can be extended by adding volumes.
Within a volume set, files of any organization type can
span multiple volumes. Files can be allocated to the set
as a whole (the default) or to specific volumes within
the set. Optionally, the system manager can allocate
portions of indexed files to specific areas of a single
disk or to specific volumes in a volume set.
The system manager can place quotas on a disk to con-
trol the amount of space individual users can allocate.
Quota assignment is made by UIC and can be controlled
for each individual volume set in the system (or for each
individual volume if the volume is not part of a set).
The system manager can cache disk structure infor-
mation in memory to reduce the I/O overhead required
for file management services. Although not required to
do so, users can preallocate space and control auto-
matic allocation. For example, a file can be extended
by a given number of blocks, contiguously or noncon-
tiguously, for optimal file system performance.
The system applies software validity checks and check-
sums to critical disk structure information. If a disk is
improperly dismounted because of user error or system
failure, the system rebuilds the disk’s structure informa-
tion automatically the next time the disk is mounted.
The system detects bad blocks and prevents their reuse
once the files to which the blocks were allocated are
deleted. On DIGITAL Storage Architecture (DSA) disks,
the disk controller detects and replaces bad blocks au-
tomatically.
The system provides eight levels of named directories
and subdirectories whose contents are alphabetically
ordered. Device and file specifications follow Compaq
conventions. Users can use logical names to abbrevi-
ate the specifications and to make application programs
device and file name independent. Users can assign a
logical name to an entire specification, to a portion of a
specification, or to another logical name.
OpenVMS supports multivolume magnetic tape files
with transparent volume switching. Access positioning
is done either by file name or by relative file position.
ASSOCIATED PRODUCTS
OpenVMS Internet Product Suite
The OpenVMS Internet Product Suite is a comprehen-
sive, conveniently packaged portfolio of industry lead-
ing commercial Internet products and popular Internet
freeware for OpenVMS Alpha and VAX systems, and
includes the following components.
Commercial Web Browsers
A web browser provides a text or graphics-based inter-
face to the World Wide Web.
Netscape Navigator Version 2.0 is a major new re-
lease of the world’s most popular web browser. It of-
fers JavaScript, high performance, and improved secu-
rity and brings web exploring, e-mail, newsgroups, chat,
and FTP capabilities together in an integrated package.
Spyglass Enhanced Mosaic Version 2.10 offers support
for widely accepted, proposed HTML extensions includ-
ing tables, centered and right-aligned text and images,
text wrapped around images, background colors and
bitmaps, and colored text.
Commercial Web Servers
A web server is a computer server that hosts an Inter-
net web site. Compaq’s portfolio of OpenVMS Internet
products offers you a choice of three commercial Hy-
perText Transport Protocol (HTTP) servers.
Netscape Communications Server Version 1.12 enables
you to publish HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
documents on the Internet and internal TCP/IP based
networks (Intranet) using HTTP. The server’s compatibil-
ity with network standards and document formats make
it easy to integrate with other applications and systems
in your enterprise. Its easy-to-use graphical user inter-
face makes installation, configuration, and management
simple and fast. It supports industry-standard multime-
dia document formats for the presentation of rich text,
graphics, audio, and video.
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