Networking Options¶

This section provides information about networking options and basic instructions for configuring DECnet Phase IV, DECnet-Plus, VSI TCP/IP Services, and VSI OpenSSH on OpenVMS x86-64 E9.2-4.

VSI DECnet¶

If DECnet Phase IV or DECnet-Plus is already installed on your system and you want to switch to the other DECnet product, you must remove the currently installed product before installing and configuring the other one.

Warning

If your DECnet installation was not part of the main OpenVMS installation procedure, you must update the Memory Disk after you install DECnet. The Memory Disk update ensures that SYS$LOADABLE_IMAGES:SYS$NETWORK_SERVICES.EXE is loaded on boot. Use the following command:

$ @SYS$UPDATE:SYS$MD.COM

After the next system reboot, you may want to purge the Memory Disk by using the following command:

$ PURGE SYS$LOADABLE_IMAGES:SYS$MD.DSK

If you install DECnet as part of the main OpenVMS x86-64 installation procedure, you do not need to update the Memory Disk. The Memory Disk is updated at the end of the OpenVMS x86-64 installation.

After DECnet has been installed and configured, you can set host and copy files to/from other systems running DECnet.

Setting Up DECnet Phase IV¶

To configure DECnet Phase IV, execute SYS$MANAGER:NETCONFIG.COM and follow the configuration procedure. For more information, refer to DECnet for OpenVMS Guide to Networking.

Once DECnet Phase IV is configured, edit SYS$MANAGER:SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM so that the software starts when the system reboots. You can have the software start interactively or in batch mode by making one of the following changes:

Locate and uncomment the line:
```
$!$ START/NETWORK DECNET
```
So it now appears as:
```
$ START/NETWORK DECNET
```
To start the network in a batch job (which speeds up startup), locate and uncomment the line:
```
$!$ SUBMIT SYS$MANAGER:STARTNET.COM
```
So it now appears as:
```
$ SUBMIT SYS$MANAGER:STARTNET.COM
```

For more DECnet Phase IV documentation, see the VSI OpenVMS DECnet Networking Manual.

Setting Up DECnet-Plus¶

Important

VSI DECnet-Plus OSAK will not be installed with VSI OpenVMS x86-64 E9.2-4 and must be installed manually, if necessary. The installation kit is provided on the distribution media in the directory device-name:[KITS.DECNET_PLUS].

To configure DECnet-Plus, execute SYS$MANAGER:NET$CONFIGURE.COM and follow the configuration procedure. For more information, refer to VSI DECnet-Plus for OpenVMS Installation and Configuration.

Once the software is configured, test the connectivity via the following command:

$ SET HOST 0

You should see the OpenVMS welcome message and the prompt to log in to your system.

Next, disable the OpenVMS Distributed Time Synchronization Service (DTSS) for the current session via these commands:

$ MCR NCL DISABLE DTSS
$ MCR NCL DELETE DTSS

To disable DTSS for all subsequent sessions, add the following command to SYS$MANAGER:SYLOGICALS.COM:

$ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE_MODE NET$DISABLE_DTSS TRUE

Configuring VSI TCP/IP Services¶

This section provides information on configuring VSI TCP/IP Services V6.0-31 with a dynamic IP address provided by a DHCP server. This setup is only necessary if the automatic configuration option was not selected during installation, and you are now planning to configure the system to use a DHCP address.

Important

The procedure below assumes you already have a network with a running DHCP server. It also assumes that your virtual machine is running and that you have established a connection to the VM's OPA0: terminal using a terminal emulator.

To configure VSI TCP/IP Services and DHCP, follow these steps:

At the $ prompt, enter:
```
@SYS$STARTUP:TCPIP$STARTUP.COM
```
If TCP/IP Services has not yet been configured, the following prompt is displayed:
```
%TCPIP-I-NOCONFIG, TCP/IP Services is not configured
Autoconfigure TCP/IP Services using DHCP client [YES]:
```
Press Enter to accept the default YES.

TCP/IP Services automatically configure the DHCP client and start TCP/IP Services.
When the configuration and startup are complete, the following message is displayed:
```
%TCPIP-S-STARTDONE, TCP/IP Services startup completed
```
Optional: From the DCL prompt, issue TCPIP PING ip-address to verify that the configuration is working correctly. Do not close your terminal emulator window.
Optional: To enable automatic startup of TCP/IP Services, uncomment the appropriate line in the SYS$MANAGER:SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM command procedure.

Configuring VSI OpenSSH¶

Warning

If you are upgrading to VSI OpenVMS x86-64 E9.2-4 and you have OpenSSH V8.9-1G or earlier installed, make sure to uninstall VSI OpenSSH from your system before you start the upgrade procedure.

After the installation has successfully completed, follow these steps:

Start the OpenSSH SSH server by executing the following command:
```
$ @SYS$STARTUP:SSH$STARTUP.COM
```
If OpenSSH is not yet configured, the startup procedure automatically starts the configuration process. OpenSSH creates the SSH$SSH and SSH$SSHD accounts and prompts you to specify the default UIC group number for these accounts.

If the accounts are being created for the first time, the default is the first unused UIC group number, starting with 3655. If either account already exists, its existing UIC is not changed. If old TCPIP$SSH account exists, its UIC group number is used for the new TCPIP$SSH account.

The name of the TCP/IP service for the OpenSSH SSH server is SSHDport, where port is the TCP port number that the server is configured to listen on. For example, if the server is configured to listen on TCP port 222, the service name is SSHD222.
At the following prompt, enter the required UIC group number or accept the default:
```
Group: [3656]
```
You can specify any other non-existing UIC group number. Avoid specifying a group number that already exists.
To ensure that OpenSSH starts automatically when OpenVMS is booted, add the command above to SYS$MANAGER:SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM after the TCP/IP startup command procedure.
To have all necessary symbols defined by the time of login, add the following command to the system-wide login procedure (SYS$MANAGER:SYLOGIN.COM):
```
$ @SSH$ROOT:[BIN]SSH$DEFINE_COMMANDS.COM
```
Notes
- If you plan to allow users with SSH-connected sessions to shut down the system, do not invoke SYS$STARTUP:SSH$SHUTDOWN.COM from within the site-specific SYS$MANAGER:SYSHUTDWN.COM procedure. The SSH shutdown will delete the process executing the shutdown, which will prevent the system from shutting down.
- The command procedure SSH$ROOT:[BIN]SSH$DEASSIGN_COMMANDS.COM can be used to undefine these command symbols.
If SSH$DEFINE_COMMANDS.COM is run with the parameter ALL, the following additional commands will be defined. These commands are intended primarily for administrative purposes:
- SSHSTART
  
  Starts and creates (if necessary) OpenSSH services. Before running this command, check the file SSH$ROOT:[ETC]SSHD_CONFIG. to ensure that the SSH server configuration details are correct. Modify if needed.
- SSHSTOP
  
  Stops OpenSSH services. If the parameter ALL is specified, service definitions will also be deleted from the TCP/IP configuration.
- SSHSHOW
  
  Shows details of running OpenSSH processes, including SSH connections, number of connected clients, etc. Note that each client connection consists of two processes:
  - A process named SSHD_BGxxxxx (where xxxxx is the number of the associated BG device)
  - A user process with a name that either matches the username or begins with the string FTAxxx_ followed by the username (for example, FTA110_SMITH). The name of the user process may of course be changed by the user.
- SSHVERSION
  
  Displays information about OpenSSH programs, including version details and other related data.
Note

When the TCP/IP services are restarted, the OpenSSH server may become unresponsive and stop accepting new connections. To restore the OpenSSH server after a TCP/IP restart, first shut down OpenSSH by executing the following command:
```
$ @SYS$STARTUP:SSH$SHUTDOWN.COM
```
Then restart OpenSSH by executing the following command:
```
$ @SYS$STARTUP:SSH$STARTUP.COM
```