Selecting the System File to Download
When a download is initiated (whether it is initiated interactively, from the client's VCP console, or upon autoboot), VCP on the client system sends a request out on the LAN for a particular file number. This file number is the file number that is specified in the bootstring. For the LAN card, the bootstring is of the form:
%bdsff00sc
where ff is the file number and sc is the select code.
If ff is non"zero, the •00" in the bootstring is necessary as a placeholder. If ff is not specified, ff defaults to 0 (and the •00" placeholder is not necessary, giving a bootstring of %bdssc). Also, ff defaults to 0 in the case of autoboot.
If the file number is 0, VCPMT running on the server (who receives the request to download file number 0) performs a translation of file number 0. First, VCPMT checks to see if an interactive session has been started with RMVCP on the server system. If an interactive session has been started, VCPMT uses the client name (or number) given in the RMVCP runstring, to perform a search of the configuration file (/FILES802/IPL_TABLE.TXT). The system file in the configuration file associated with the given client name will be the system file that gets downloaded.
If VCPMT receives a request to download file number 0 and an interactive session has not been started (that is, the client has just initiated an autoboot), VCPMT will search the configuration file for the system file that has the default flag set. If more than one system file has the default flag set, the last entry with the default flag set will be the one that is downloaded. If no entries have the default flag set, the last entry in the configuration file will be the one that is downloaded.
If the file number is not 0, VCPMT translates the file number to form the file name Pfffff. For example, the bootstring %bds70024, would initiate a download of system file P00007 from the server (client LAN select code 24). When the file number is non"zero and a Pfffff file name is to be downloaded, VCPMT does not search the configuration file. VCPMT first searches the /FILES802 directory, then searches each FMGR cartridge on the server system until it finds the correct Pfffff file to download.
DISPATCH - Monitoring LAN Packets
DISPATCH is the dispatcher module. It monitors the link to the A"Series and ensures that all LAN packets arriving on service access point F8 (hex) are routed correctly to either the LAN Node Manager (NM) or RMVCP for that LAN card. DISPATCH is only required if Node Manager services are needed from other nodes to this node. DISPATCH decreases the download speed by 5%.
The following command schedules the dispatcher program which can be run in the WELCOME file.
Syntax:
XQ,DISPATCH,lu
6%6 LANVCP Operations