9.2 Managing an OpenVMS Galaxy with the GCU
Your ability to manage a Galaxy system using the Galaxy
Configuration Utility (GCU) depends on the capabilities of
each instance involved in a management operation.
The GCU can be run from any instance in the Galaxy.
However, the Galaxy Software Architecture implements a
push-model for resource reassignment. This means that, in
order to reassign a processor, you must execute the reassign
command function on the instance that currently owns the
processor. The GCU is aware of this requirement, and will
attempt to use one or more communications paths to send
the reassignment request to the owner instance. DCL is not
inherently aware of this requirement; therefore, if you use
DCL to reassign resources, you will need to use SYSMAN or
a separately logged-in terminal to issue the commands on
the owner instance.
The GCU favors using SYSMAN, and its underlying SMI_
Server processes to provide command paths to the other in-
stances in the Galaxy. However, the SMI_Server requires
that the instances be in a cluster so that the command envi-
ronment falls within a common security domain. However,
Galaxy instances might not be clustered.
If the system cannot provide a suitable command path
for the SMI_Server to use, the GCU will attempt to use
DECnet task-to-task communications. This requires that
the participating instances be running DECnet, and that each
participating Galaxy instance have a proxy set up for the
SYSTEM account.
It is possible for an instance to not be clustered, have no
proxy account established, and not have DECnet capability.
These are considered isolated instance from a management
perspective. The only way to reassign resources from an
isolated instance is to be logged in to its console. (For more
information about isolated instances, see Section 9.2.1.)
9.2.1 Independent Instances
You can partition a Galaxy system so that one or more
partitions are booted without becoming members of the
Galaxy sharing community. These are known as indepen-
dent instances. Because independent instances reside in a
Galaxy partition, their presence is reflected in the Galaxy
Configuration File, and they are visible to the GCU.
These independent they can still participate in CPU reas-
signment. They cannot utilize shared memory or related
services.
You can create a partition that has no Ethernet device and
is not a member of a cluster or of the Galaxy sharing com-
munity. These are known as isolated instances . Because
they reside in a Galaxy partition, they are still visible to the
GCU and you can reassign CPUs to them. To reassign CPUs
away from isolated instances, you must log in to the console
of the isolated instance.
9.2.2 Required PROXY Access
When the GCU needs to execute a management action, it
always attempts to use the SYSMAN utility first. SYSMAN
requires that the involved instances be in the same cluster. If
this is not the case, the GCU will next attempt to use DECnet
task-to-task communications. For this to work, the in-
volved instances must each have an Ethernet device, DECnet
capability, and suitable proxy access on the target instance.
For example, consider a two-instance configuration that is
not clustered. If instance 0 were running the GCU and the
user attempts to reassign a CPU from instance 1 to instance
0, the actual reassignment command must be executed on
instance 1. To do this, the GCU's action procedures in the file
SYS$MANAGER:GCU$ACTIONS.COM will attempt to es-
tablish a DECnet task-to-task connection to the SYSTEM
account on instance 1. This requires that instance 1 has
granted proxy access to the SYSTEM account of instance
0. Using the established connection, the action procedure on
instance 0 will pass its parameters to the equivalent action
procedure on instance 1, which now treats the operation as a
local operation.
The GCU action procedures assume that they will be used
by the system manager. Thus, in the action procedure file
SYS$MANAGER:GCU$ACTIONS.COM, the SYSTEM ac-
count is used. To grant access to the opposite instances
SYSTEM account, the proxy must be set up on instance 1.
To establish proxy access:
1. Enter the following commands at the DCL prompt:
$ SET DEFAULT SYS$SYSTEM
$ RUN AUTHORIZE
2. If proxy processing is not yet enabled, enable it by entering
the following commands:
UAF> CREATE/PROXY
UAF> ADD PROXY instance::SYSTEM SYSTEM
UAF> EXIT
Replace instance with the name of the instance to which you
are granting access. Perform these steps for each of the in-
stances you want to manage from the instance on which you
run the GCU. For example, in a typical two-instance Galaxy,
if you run the GCU only on instance 0, then you need to add
proxy access only on instance 1 for instance 0. If you in-
tend to run the GCU on instance 1 also, then you need to add
proxy access on instance 0 for instance 1. In three-instance
Galaxy systems, you may need to add proxy access for each
combination of instances you want to control. For this reason,
a good rule of thumb is to always run the GCU from instance
0.
You are not required to use the SYSTEM account. To change
the account, you need to edit SYS$MANAGER:GCU$ACTIONS.COM
on each involved instance. Locate the line that establishes the
task-to-task connection, and replace the SYSTEM account
name with one of your choosing.
Note that the selected account must have OPER, SYSPRV,
and CMKRNL privileges. You also need to add the necessary
proxy access to your instances for this account.