Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!LBL.GOV!nagy%warner.hepnet
From: nagy%warner.hepnet@LBL.GOV (Frank J. Nagy, VAX Wizard & Guru)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: RE: How to uniquely identify a VAX system.
Message-ID: <880312065347.2bc051a6@LBL.Gov>
Date: 12 Mar 88 14:53:47 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 30

> After much searching, I believe that what's required is something similar to
>  the SID register - perhaps a register containing the VAX serial number (every
>  VAX has a unique serial number for the 'processor box' ). Does anyone know if
>  there is a 'spare register' into which such a number could be planted?

Nope, SID registers are not unique (all MicroVAX-IIs have the same value
in their SID register).  And there are no spare registers about...

> Obvious ways to identify a particular system might spring to mind such as
> DECnet node name/ cluster node name or id/ Ethernet address/ something planted
>  in the USERxx SYSGEN parameters/special file on disk. However, when you
>  consider that VAX systems might be stand-alone/ may not have an Ethernet
>  connection/ may not run DECnet/ may have software which makes use of the
>  USERxx SYSGEN parameters already/special files may get deleted especially
>  during software installation,etc  is there anything left?

Hint: use the SCSNAME==VAXCluster node name system parameter (at least I
think its called SCSNAME) and then use F$GETSYI("NODENAME") to get the
node's identification.  This is what we do (2 LAVCs + 2 S/A VAXStations
+ 3 S/A MicroVAX-IIs + VAXCluster Control Center (VCC) MicroVAX) to
handle all these different systems with a common set of procedures.
The SCSNAME parameter is obviously required and unique on CI clusters
and LAVCs; the trick is that you can also define it on S/A systems with
no problems.  One other thing, the confusion is kept to a minimum if
you always make SCSNAME and the DECnet node name (if any) be the same.

= Frank J. Nagy   "VAX Guru & Wizard"
= Fermilab Research Division EED/Controls
= HEPNET: WARNER::NAGY (43198::NAGY) or FNAL::NAGY (43009::NAGY)
= BitNet: NAGY@FNAL
= USnail: Fermilab POB 500 MS/220 Batavia, IL 60510