The SYSGEN configuration utility

From CometWiki

The term SYSGEN refers to a method for creating and maintaining the system configuration file used by Comet Workstations. The SYSGEN process consists of three separate parts:

• Creating a text file containing the configuration specifications.
• "Compiling" this text file and creating configuration files; one file for each workstation.
• Starting the Comet Workstation program using the configuration file.

The INI file

The text file containing the configuration information is referred to as the | INI file (pronounced "eye en eye" or "in ee"). This text file is not a Comet file. Typically this file is stored in the Comet Startup Folder, but it can be stored in another folder. As it is not a Comet File the file name should not be limited to 8 bytes, but it is not known what the limitations are on the length of the filename. Typically short names are used and often the name is simply COMET.INI. The file extension is typically INI, but again this is not a requrement. The file name must have an extension and that extension must be associated in Windows with a text editing program.

What's in the INI file?

The INI file contains all of the configuration information for your entire Comet enterprise. It includes groups of commands that specify the configuration for various parts of your Comet system. Here are the groups in an INI file:

[ENTERPRISE]
[SITE]
[NODE]
[COMET SYSTEM OPTIONS]
[COMET SESSION OPTIONS]
[PRINTERS]
[SPOOLERS]
[DIRECTORIES]
[GATEWAYS]
[INVALID TRANSLATION TABLE]
[END]

Each of these keywords represents the beginning of a group of additional keywords that specify the details of the Comet configuration. For example, the [DIRECTORIES] keyword is the beginning of a group of keywords that define the Comet directories that will be used in the configuration. See The INI file documentation for more information about these keywords.

Some of the major keywords are optional. Refer to the minimal INI file to see the minimum requirements to configure Comet.

Note: Two keywords that were supported in previous versions of Comet (MULTI-USER BOARDS and TERMINALS) are no longer supported.

Based on the information contained in the INI file, the SYSGEN program creates one configuration file for each node. If multiple nodes are defined, SYSGEN creates multiple configuration files. The node configuration files have .CFG extensions and the file name is the NAME coded in the NODE seqment.

It's important to note and understand that individual workstation configurations can contain different information. Thus some workstations can be prevented from accessing specific directories, or printers.

Starting Comet

To start Comet using a specific configuration file, you include the node name in the shortcut that starts Comet. The /PN= startup option, “profile name,” specifies the CFG file to be loaded. For example, suppose you have defined a node named SALES, and that SYSGEN has created a configuration file named SALES.CFG. Your startup shortcut will consist of:

  C:\comet\comet.exe /PN=SALES

The .CFG extension is not required when specifying the shortcut.

The .CFG files must be stored in the Comet start up directory.

The SYSGEN configuration utility/More INI Details

Migration From Legacy CFIG Files

The SYSGEN program contains a very useful feature for Comet users who want to migrate from the legacy format configuration files. SYSGEN can read a legacy CFIG file and create an INI file. This feature is not limited to a single CFIG file either. SYSGEN can read multiple CFIG files (from different nodes in a network, for example) and create a composite INI file that represents the master configuration for the entire Comet enterprise.