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Hidden Value details commands and procedures in MPE that can improve your productivity with HP e3000 systems. Send your tips to john@burke-consulting.com, or fax them to 512.331.3807.

Edited by John Burke

What’s the command in MPE used to identify the node name of our HP 3000?

Gilles Schipper replies:
:run nettool.net.sys;info=”status;node;quit”

Frank Smith adds another way:

You may also use the shell command: uname -n

I was doing an audit of PUB.SYS and found X.PUB.SYS. What is this file for?

HP's Bill Cadier replies:
The file contents indicate that it is really “/usr/include/if_arp.h.” I found an X.PUB.SYS on my 6.0 system and one on a system that was just updated to 7.0 last week. My guess is that this file was created on a CSY system in some early installation testing and we have accidentally propagated it out via the installation tapes.

Gilles Schipper adds:
This file has been there at least as far back as 5.5 and probably even before that. I have renamed this file to x.delete.sys before later deleting it without any consequences. I seem to recall that it reappears after each MPE/iX update.

Is there a quick and dirty way of sorting a text file alphanumerically by the content of each line?

Michael Berkowitz replies:
Assuming a file of 80 bytes and no defined columns.

:RUN SORT.PUB.SYS
>INPUT YOURFILE
>OUTPUT YOURFILE of any other filename
>KEY 1,80
>END

Andreas Schmidt adds:
Posix: sort.hpbin.sys HFS-filename. For more options see the man page!

When dropping to the shell and doing a ‘more’ or ‘vi’, I get a message that reads

more: history: File too large

What is the meaning of this message and where do I find this history file?

Rick Clark replies:
The file is ..sh_history. From the shell, type, “man history”

Ted Ashton adds:
If you don’t want its contents, you should be able to simply remove it and start afresh.

We installed 2.0.7 Samba when we upgraded to 7.0. Even though I can see the Samba directories, mine and other users when I do the old ‘map network drive,’ I get one of 2 errors: 1) Unexpected network error, or 2) The network name cannot be found. Why?

Lars Appel and others supply the answers to both:
1) Your username must map to a group with the same name on the HP 3000, otherwise you’ll receive “An unexpected network error occurred.” 2) Windows NT doesn’t like more than 12 characters total for the user and account name.

I am building a new IMAGE data base. What is the number I need to get the record to fit into. Is it still a multiple of 256?

Denys Beauchemin replies:
Because MPE/iX is a page driven system, I have long maintained the best blocking factor for IMAGE datasets to be 2,048 words, or a fraction thereof, like 256, 512 or 1,024.

I have a new 100Mb card for my 9x9. I’ve installed the software, but now I need to install and configure the card. I can’t find any indication of the physical path of the LANIC (the slot).

The Web knows all. Tom Turner replies:
There is a nice diagram in the K-Class IO upgrade manual that labels all of the slots. It’s available online: Go to docs.hp.com and select browse by topic. Then select System Hardware, then select K-Class Servers. Then Select I/O Upgrade manual (in PDF format). It’s on page 21 of the manual.

We had a power failure and the attention light on our N-class is on. What should we do?

Liz Campbell replies:
You have to clear the logs - <cntl> b - then sl - view error logs.

What do I need to know about using the “big pin” with MPE/iX 7.0? It is supposed to let the N-Class servers allow more processes to run.

Guy Paul replies:
Your 7.0 PP1 communicator describes this in the Technical articles section. See docs.hp.com/mpeix/pdf/30216-90328.pdf
[Ed. Note; Tracy Johnson then asked, tongue firmly in cheek, “What happens after you pull the Big Pin?”]

Will MPE/iX 7.0 run on my 918?

Many people responded that 7.0 will run on 9x8, 9x9, 99x, A- and N-class systems.

Joe Dolliver notes a word of caution:
Remember to check the size of LDEV 1. Many of these systems came with a 1Gb disk for LDEV1.

Would a store tape created on a DLT4000 be able to be restored using a DLT8000 and would it work the other way around?

Denys Beauchemin and Thomas Root reply:
The DLT8000 will be able to read any tape created on a DLT4000. If you use TYPE III tape, then it will automatically be readable on a DLT4000. If you use Type IV tape in a DLT8000 then you must force a density switch to make it readable by a DLT4000 drive.