The SYSGEN configuration utility/More INI Details

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Revision as of 18:52, 21 August 2008

The INI file is a text file that contains configuration information for an entire Comet enterprise. It contains the following major sections:

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

Refer to the minimal INI file to see the minimum requirements to configure Comet.

Groups

An INI file contains 11 groups. The keyword that starts each group is enclosed in square brackets. For example:

[COMET SYSTEM OPTIONS]

Each group contains detailed information about a portion of your Comet configuration. The details are defined by one or more segment titles within each group. A segment title contains a keyword, and equal sign (=), and one or more parameters.

Here is an example of the [COMET SYSTEM OPTIONS] group:

[COMET SYSTEM OPTIONS]
First Partition = P00;
# of Partitions = 10;
First Terminal = T00;
# of Terminals = 3;

In this example, the four lines following the major keyword define the partition and terminal range for a particular Comet node.

Each segment title line ends with a semicolon (;), which provides one way to add comments to the INI file, as all text following a semicolon is ignored by SYSGEN. (See below for more information about adding comments to an INI file.)

Please note that there is no line continuation allowed in an INI file. Each segment title must fit on its own line.

Do not mix segment titles of one section with another. For example, it makes no sense to declare a directory name under the [COMET SYSTEM OPTIONS] groups, since it belongs to the [DIRECTORIES] group.

Global and Local

In order to accommodate all possible configuration options, the INI file can contain global and local entries. Global entries apply to the entire enterprise, while local ones apply to a specific node. Since the main goal is to develop an INI file specification that would declare Comet configuration information for an entire enterprise, the concept of global verses local entries must be further clarified.

Global entries refer to those entries that are common to multiple nodes within a networked system. Typical examples of this are:

[DIRECTORIES]

[COMET SYSTEM OPTIONS]

[INVALID CHARACTER TRANSLATION]

Local entries refer to those entries that are unique to a given workstation. Typical examples of this include declarations of local directories, partition/terminal/session information, individual printers, gateways that are used on one node only (for example, XAP, ODBC, Winsock, and the fax gateway).

The blend of global and local entries within an INI file is left up to to the system administrator. During the compilation of the INI file, global statements are recorded as default entries for all subsequent nodes, and local statements overriding the default entries.

Here’s an example that demonstrates this point. Comet directories may be the same for most nodes in a network. Logically, these would be global entries in the INI file. However, you could still make local directory entries for a specific node, and these entries would take pcedence. Local entries are made by including a new [NODE] section for each node that requires settings that are different from the global settings.

In this example, let assume that the node named MANAGER wants to configure an extra directory named SECURITY.

The global section might contain the following directory definitions:

[DIRECTORIES]

00 = S ,\\FS1\SYS\COMET\REL\; REL directory

01 = S ,\\FS1\SYS\COMET\SYS\; SYS directory

02 = S ,\\FS1\SYS\COMET\NET\; NET directory

03 = L ,D:\TEMP\; TMP directory

04 = S ,\\FS1\SYS\COMET\SPOOL\; SPL directory

05 = S ,\\FS1\SYS\COMET\UTL\; UTL directory

06 = S ,\\FS1\SYS\COMET\UTR\; UTR directory

07 = S ,\\FS1\SYS\COMET\MISC\; MSC directory

The local section for the MANAGER node would contain the following:

[NODE]

Name = MANAGER; Node name is MANAGER

Server = N01,FS; Get files and security from N01

[DIRECTORIES]

08 = S ,\\FS1\SYS\COMET\SECURITY; Add directory for this node

The local section can also take away entries that were made in the global section. For example, suppose that the MANAGER node wants to (1) add the SECURITY directory, and (2) remove the TEMP and QSPOOL directories. The local section would then look like this:

[NODE]

Name = MANAGER; Node name is MANAGER

Server = N01,FS; Get files and security from N01

[DIRECTORIES]

03 = ; Don’t configure this directory on this node

04 = ; Don’t configure this directory on this node

08 = S ,\\FS1\SYS\COMET\SECURITY; Add directory for this node

Here’s a good strategy to follow when editing the INI file for global and local settings:

Complete the segment entries for each of the sections except [NODE]. The segment entries here are the global entries for the enterprise. Entries should be the settings that are most common for all the nodes in the enterprise. Place the [NODE] section(s) after the [INVALID TRANSLATION TABLE] section and before the [END] section. The local entries for each node are specified in this area.

In order to satisfy, in the broadest terms, all configuration options that are possible, no limitations exist between what can be declared global or local. For some installations, a specific global declaration may make sense whereas for another, it would make no sense.

Documenting the INI file with comments

It's always a great idea to document your INI file, if for no other reason but to clarify configuration entries. There are two ways to include documentation within your Comet INI file, they are:

1. Using the asterisk character (*) in the 1st position of any INI line.

For example:

• COMET.INI *

• Last Date Modified: 04/16/01 # of NODES = 60 *

2. Each segment title must end with a semicolon. Any text to the right of the semicolon is considered a comment and is ignored by SYSGEN.

For example:

[NODE]

Name = MANAGER; Node name is MANAGER

Server = N01,FS; Get files and security from N01