Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!cornell!rochester!bbn!uwmcsd1!ig!agate!ucbvax!VENUS.YCC.YALE.EDU!LEICHTER
From: LEICHTER@VENUS.YCC.YALE.EDU ("Jerry Leichter ", LEICHTER-JERRY@CS.YALE.EDU)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: re: DECNET Phase V
Message-ID: <8802101220.AA23456@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 7 Feb 88 17:59:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 39

[The beginning of this message seems to have gotten cut off, but the meaning
is clear]:

	able to shed some truth concerning DECnet Phase V supporting
	Phase IV and Phase III nodes. I have heard some inconclusive
	information regarding Phase V not supporting Phase III nodes,
	and providing compatability with Phase IV nodes for a limited
	period of time. Supposedly, subsequent releases of Phase V
	and/or Version 5.0 of VMS will not support DECnet connections
	to RSX11M/M+/S systems. This is most distressing since we have
	a significant requirement to want to have this support, such as
	for our DECSA boxes.

ALL the rumors you list here, with one exception, are FALSE.

	a)  The support commitment for DECnet is that connections between
		Phase N nodes and Phase N-1 nodes will work.  Forever.

		That does NOT mean the Phase N-1 node can do anything it
		couldn't do before - Phase III nodes in a Phase IV
		network can't communicate outside of their own area, for
		example.  Presumably similar things will happen to Phase IV
		nodes in a Phase V network.

	b)  The flip side of (a) is that connections between Phase N nodes
		and Phase N-2 nodes are NOT supported.  So a Phase III
		node might not work when connected to a Phase V node.
		(Presumably, a Phase IV node could act as a gateway between
		them.)

	c)  As a consequence of (a), whatever the future of RSX and DECSA
		software, your nodes will continue to work, providing the
		service they do now - AND NO MORE - at least until a so-far
		conjectural Phase VI.

	d)  Finally, there is no connection between Phase V of DECnet and
		Version 5 of VMS - Phase V is considerably further into the
		future than Version 5.
							-- Jerry