Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!gumby!peirce
From: peirce@gumby.cc.wmich.edu (Leonard J. Peirce)
Newsgroups: news.software.anu-news
Subject: Re: creating remotely served groups
Message-ID: <802@gumby.cc.wmich.edu>
Date: 26 Jul 89 13:17:31 GMT
References: <1011@clyde.Concordia.CA>
Reply-To: peirce@gumby.cc.wmich.edu (Leonard J. Peirce)
Distribution: na
Organization: Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI
Lines: 41

In article <1011@clyde.Concordia.CA> timl@maxwell.Concordia.Ca ( TIM LAPIN ) writes:
>Hi all,
>
>I recently set up news v5.8 on our vms system as a client of our ultrix system
>After wrestling with a few undocumented facts, such as tasks must be defined
>in ***capital letters*** on the ultrix system if they are to be accessed
>properly (note: this applies to zero numbered objects only).
>
>The only problem left seems to be one of buffering.  When I issue the create
>newsgroups */server command, it only creates about one buffer full before
>losing the link to the server.  Further, it won't create any more on
>subsequent calls.  I modified the nntp_client test program's output buffer
>and it works like a charm.  By the way, it works as a sequenced packet object
>better than as a stream.  So I *** DO NOT *** recommend using DECNETSTREAM
>conditional compilation.
>

We're still running 5.7 here so I can't really say that I have in fact
tried running 5.8 with the DECNETSTREAM option defined....

But I *know* with 5.7 that without using DECnet stream sockets things would
hang about 30% of the time when transferring articles.  We have a VAXcluster
that uses remotely served newsgroups on an Ultrix machine running NNTP over
DECnet and after I started using stream DECnet sockets, things worked fine.

I corresponded with Matt Thomas @ DEC a while back regarding the difference
between stream and sequenced packet sockets some time ago and he suggested
modifying the NNTP interface in ANU News to use stream DECnet.  He wrote
the Unix NNTP DECnet interface and used stream sockets for efficiency.
And the behaviour that I was seeing (article transfers hanging) could in
fact be caused by the difference in socket types.  I still have the mail
messages we exchanged in case anyone is interested; they sure helped me.

Granted, I'm not a DECnet expert.  But I do know that before I modified
5.7 to use stream DECnet sockets, it didn't work.  Now it does.  I haven't
had the time to try 5.8; I'm waiting for 5.9....:-)
-- 
Leonard J. Peirce               Internet:  peirce@gumby.cc.wmich.edu
Western Michigan University                peirce@gw.wmich.edu
Academic Computer Center        UUCP:      ...!uunet!sharkey!wmichgw!peirce
Kalamazoo, MI  49008            Voice:     (616) 387-5469