Netview/6000 Subagent NMVTs to HOST

ITEM: RTA000067699



We have installed a RISC System/6000 (running AIX 3.2), and we                  
are sending Netview/6000Subagent NMVTs up to our host system,                   
to alert the operators to problems on the RISC. The application                 
on the host (not Netview) was having problems formatting some of the            
Subvectors. Close investigation showed that the RISC Netview/6000               
system was sending in Subvectors whose codes were not identified                
by the host application.                                                        
                                                                                
Checking the IBM SNA Network Product Formats manual (LY43-0081)                 
Chapter 8 Common Fields, MS Major Vectors (etc) I noted that the                
codes sent in do not appear to be defined, and furthermore are                  
Reserved.                                                                       
                                                                                
For example, Netview/6000 sends in a Generic Alert Data (x'92')                 
Alert MS Subvector with an Alert Description Code of E845. According           
to the manual x'E000'-x'EFFF' are Reserved (and I quote) "This range            
of code points is reserved for use by NON-IBM products and customer             
written applications. NO IBM product will send a code point from                
within this range".                                                             
                                                                                
The NMVT data from Netview/6000 also sends in Probable Cause Alert              
MS Subvectors (x'93') that also fall in to this catagory E.G. E823,             
and Detailed Data Alert MS Subvectors (x'96') E.G. E8E8.                        
                                                                                
Further research into this problem has shown that NetView/6000                  
does not use any non-architecture code points.  Examples of the                 
code points in error can be seen using the following command:                   
errmsg -w ALL                                                                   
Some attempt at fixing this problem was made in APAR IX10400, but               
this wasn't exhaustive.                                                        
We believe that AIX should abide by the SNA architecture and not                
use restricted code points.                                                     
Can you help with this problem?                                                 
                                                                                
                                                                                
ANSWER                                                                          
                                                                                
I recommend that you open a (Retain) problem and, in turn,                      
use User Code point handling in NetView to account for the problem until        
the problem is resolved.                                                        
                                                                                
Now that I have said the above...... I believe there will ALWAYS be             
user-code points in a NetView and Service Point situation.  So, even if         
we find out AIX NetView/6000 has some defaults in the Exxx range -- and,        
your Retain item or something "straightens that out": you will, still,         
get involved with User Code points.  However, I fully agree that the            
products should not default to Exxx without, at least, a good set of            
documentation on how to (in this case, with AIX NetView/6000) use               
event configuration to modify the sent-SVs to have "acceptable" code            
points (yet, again.... I suspect you will end up back at user code              
points in many cases¢).                                                         
                                                                                
S e a r c h - k e y w o r d s:                                                  
USER CODE POINTS                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                               


WWQA: ITEM: RTA000067699 ITEM: RTA000067699
Dated: 08/1995 Category: ITSCSAIXNV6
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