Specifications

OpenVMS VAX Operating System, Version 5.5-2 SPD 25.01.37
year. In addition to these built-in filters, a site can in-
stall their own filter to screen passwords against a site-
specific password policy.
The system password hash algorithm can also be re-
placed with a private algorithm for those sites that have
contractual agreements to use specific password en-
cryption algorithms. This feature can be enabled on a
per-user, per-password basis.
Login security includes breakin detection, which allows
terminals to be disabled when password guessing is de-
tected. When a user logs in, the system displays a mes-
sage stating when the last login for the account occurred
and if there have been failed attempts to log in since the
last successful login.
A UIC consists of two fields, the unique user field and a
group field. Every file, device, queue, or other system
object is labeled with the UIC of its owner (normally the
user who created the object).
Files, devices, queues, and other system objects are
assigned a protection mask that allows read, execute,
write, and delete access to be selectively granted to the
object’s owner, group, to privileged system users, or to
all other users. In addition, files, devices, queues, and
some other system objects can be protected with access
control lists to allow access to be selectively granted or
denied to a list of individual users, groups, or identifiers.
Scavenge protection can be enabled selectively in the
form of file high-water marking, erase on allocate, and
erase on delete, to ensure that file contents cannot be
read after a file has been deleted.
Security alarms are provided to allow selective auditing
of security related events, including:
• Login and logout
• Login failures and breakin attempts
• Authorization changes
• File access, selectable by use of privilege, type of
access, and by individual file
Note: No system can provide complete security and
Digital cannot guarantee system security. However, Dig-
ital continually strives to enhance the security capabili-
ties of its products. Customers are strongly advised to
follow industry-recognized security practices.
INSTALLATION
VMS is distributed as binary kits on tape and compact
disc. Procedures for setting up the system disk from a
kit and for preparing the system for day-to-day opera-
tions are easy and straightforward. The procedures are
described in the VMS Upgrade and Installation Manual
and in the VMS Update Procedures. Computer-specific
information is contained in the upgrade and installation
supplements for each family of VAX computers.
VMSINSTAL
VMS includes a facility to automate operating system
software updates, as well as to handle the installation
of optional Digital-supplied software products.
Tailoring Facility
Tailoring lets the system manager remove groups
of VMS files from the system disk or add groups
of VMS files that were formerly removed. The
VMSTAILOR program supplies step-by-step instruc-
tions. The DECW$TAILOR program is used to add or
remove groups of DECwindows files from the system
disk.
Due to space constraints, there is no guarantee that
layered products can be installed if user files reside on
the system disk.
Application programs will execute as long as the layered
products or optional software products do not depend on
optional software run-time components that are not sup-
ported in the tailored environment. Refer to the prod-
uct’s System Support Addendum (SSA) for the optional
products supported in the tailored environment.
Batch/Print Facility
VMS provides an extensive batch/print facility that al-
lows the creation of queues and the setup of spooled
devices in order to process non-interactive workloads in
parallel with timesharing or real-time jobs.
In the VMS Operating System, batch and print opera-
tions support two types of queues: generic queues and
execution queues. A generic queue is an intermediate
queue that holds a job until an appropriate execution
queue becomes available to initiate the job. An execu-
tion queue is a queue through which the job (either print
or batch) is actually processed or executed.
The system queues batch jobs for execution. The sys-
tem manager can regulate the number of queues and
the number of streams per queue (that is, the number of
batch jobs in the queue that can execute concurrently).
Both generic and execution batch queues can have dif-
ferent attributes, such as the maximum CPU time per-
mitted, working set size, and priority. Facilities are pro-
vided for starting and stopping queues, and for starting
and stopping jobs in a queue. Because multiple exe-
cution queues can be associated with a generic queue,
VMS enables load balancing across available CPUs in a
VAXcluster system, increasing overall system through-
put.
4