Transferring spool files between systems

You may transport NMS nonprivate output spool files between NMS MPE/iX systems with STORE and RESTORE. You need not be a system manager to use these programs to store and restore spool files, but you must have nonshareable device (ND) capability.

However, if you are working with spool files that were created on an early version of MPE/iX (or classic MPE/V) that does not support the Native Mode Spooler, you use a different method to transfer files. Read "Using the SPFXFER utility" later in this section for that information.

Storing spool files

Linked spool files reside in the HPSPOOL account, but users in other accounts create them. Your ability to store linked spool files depends upon your capabilities. For example, if you are the creating user, you can store your own spool files even though they reside in HPSPOOL and not your account. If you are an account manager, you can store any spool files created by a user of your account. If you have system manager (SM) or system operator (OP) capability, you can store all linked spool files.

When you store a file on tape using the STORE command with the PURGE option (STORE ...;PURGE), the system purges the spool file after storing it. The system also deletes the spool file directory (SPFDIR) entry and deletes any checkpoint files associated with the spool file.

If a spooler process finishes its last copy of a spool file that is in the process of being stored on tape, the spooler cannot delete the spool file. The file management routines leave the file in the DELPND state, where it remains until any one of the following occurs:

Someone opens and closes the spool file (for example, with the PRINT command to display the file on $STDLIST).
You use STORE with the PURGE option.
The spool file is put into a Ready state by raising the number of copies with the command SPOOLF ...;ALTER ;COPIES= number where number exceeds the number already printed.

Restoring spool files

Stored linked and unlinked spool files can be restored to become linked or unlinked. Any spool file restored using RESTORE into OUT.HPSPOOL becomes linked. If a spool file is restored elsewhere, it becomes unlinked. To avoid potential ID and name conflicts, spool files restored to OUT.HPSPOOL (and, therefore, linked) are assigned new SPOOLIDs.

You can restore files to OUT.HPSPOOL in one of the following two ways:

Restoring files stored to tape from the OUT.HPSPOOL group. If you have SM or OP capability, you can restore files created by any user even if that user does not exist on the system. If you have AM capability, you can restore files created by any user in your account provided the user exits. If you are a general user, you can restore files that you created.
Specifying the GROUP=OUT ;ACCOUNT=HPSPOOL option with RESTORE. You may be logged on anywhere, but you must have SM or OP capability. This method is not recommended, however, since it also restores files that are not spool files in the selected file set.

If you have SM or OP capability and you restore files to OUT.HPSPOOL, you must explicitly specify the CREATOR option with RESTORE to check that the creating user exists on your system. Otherwise, RESTORE restores the file even if the creating user and account do not exist. The specified creating user must also have nonshareable device (ND) capability whenever an SM or OP uses the ;CREATOR option.

If you have AM capability and you restore linked spool files created by other users in your account, those users must have ND capability at the time of the restore, or the restore fails for that file. You, the restoring user, also must have ND capability or you cannot allocate the tape drive to restore the files.

For spool files, the RESTORE options ;CREATE=GROUP and ;CREATE=ACCOUNT do not create the HPSPOOL account or any groups in it if they do not exist. You cannot restore any spool files to HPSPOOL if the account does not exist. Since linked spool files are associated with the HPSPOOL account and the creator's account, there is an ambiguity in ;CREATE=ACCOUNT. Since you should never purge HPSPOOL, RESTORE resolves the ambiguity by not restoring the spool file if HPSPOOL is missing.

Suppose OUT.HPSPOOL exists and you have SM or OP capability. If you specify CREATE, RESTORE creates the spool file creator's account and user if they do not exist. The file is restored to OUT.HPSPOOL.

If you specify ;CREATOR=newuser ;GROUP=OUT ;ACCOUNT=HPSPOOL, you change only the file's account not the creator's account. Suppose that USER.ACCT originally created spool file ABC and that ABC is stored from the ACCT account. Enter:

   FILE TAPEFILE;DEV=TAPE

   STORE ABC.USER.ACCT;*TAPEFILE

If you restore ABC using ;CREATOR=NEWUSER ;GROUP=OUT;ACCOUNT=HPSPOOL, the result is file SPOOLID.OUT.HPSPOOL and the creator is NEWUSER.ACCT.

Suppose that you restore ABC as described above. Enter:

FILE NEWTAPE;DEV=TAPE

RESTORE *NEWTAPE;ABC;CREATOR=NEWUSER;GROUP=OUT;ACCOUNT=HPSPOOL

Suppose O23 is the SPOOLID assigned to file ABC as it is restored. Then ABC is created on the system as O23.OUT.HPSPOOL and the creator is NEWUSER.ACCT.

If you restore a file to OUT.HPSPOOL and that file is destined for a device or class not configured on the target system, the file is put in the PROBLM state. The system links the file to the queue and creates the queue if necessary.

The ;SHOW=LONG option of the RESTORE command displays both the original SPOOLID and the new SPOOLID of spool files restored to OUT.HPSPOOL.

Refer to the STORE and TurboSTORE/iX Manual (30319-90001) for detailed information on storing and restoring files.

Using the SPFXFER utility

Spool files created on earlier versions of MPE/iX not containing NMS or on a classic HP 3000 (MPE V/E based operating system) have a somewhat different internal structure so they must be converted or transported before they can be used in native mode. Similarly, native mode spool files must be transported before being used in compatibility mode or on a classic HP 3000. The SPFXFER utility allows you to transport spool files back and forth between these different system types.

The SPFXFER utility reads tapes created only by itself or the SPOOK utility and writes tapes only in a format readable by SPOOK or itself. SPOOK is a contraction of the words "spooler look" and is a utility available on classic HP 3000's and on MPE/iX systems not containing NMS. In these two environments, SPOOK is the only method for transferring files to and from tape.

Transferring spool files to native mode

The INPUT command allows you to restore spool files that were transferred to tape using SPOOK onto your system. It also restores spool files previously stored with this utility. Restored spool files are placed into the OUT.HPSPOOL group and account as linked spool files and are assigned new SPOOLIDs.

To use the INPUT command, you must have SM or OP capability. Also, ND capability is required to access the tape drive.

The general form of the INPUT command is:

   INPUT [ [username[.acctname] ] 

           [dfid [,...] ] ] ;*tapefile

The INPUT command requires a tape device back reference. So before running the utility, set up a file equation for a tape such as:

   FILE T;DEV=TAPE

To run the SPFXFER utility, enter:

   SPFXFER

The prompt > appears. To see all commands available in SPFXFER, enter HELP at the prompt.

Input by user and account name

To input all spool files created under a specific user and account name, enter:

   INPUT USER.ACCT;*T

To input all spool files created by all users in a specific account, enter:

   INPUT @.ACCT;*T

To input all spool files created by a given user in your logon account, enter:

   INPUT USER;*T

To input all spool files created by a given user name in any account, enter:

   INPUT USER.@;*T

To input all spool files created by all users in all accounts, enter:

   INPUT @.@;*T

The user name and account need not exist in the system directory nor does this command create them.

Input by DFID

The DFID is the identifier given to a spool file by MPE/iX systems not containing NMS and on a classic HP 3000.

To input a single spool file by DFID, enter:

   INPUT #O357;*T

You may also string several DFIDs and you may omit the #O as follows:

   INPUT 357,375,458;*T

If username.acctname and DFID are omitted, all spool files belonging to the logon user are input. For example:

   INPUT ;*T

Transferring spool files out of native mode

The OUTPUT command enables you to store spool files from your native mode environment onto a tape in SPOOK format for use on MPE/iX systems not containing NMS or on a classic HP/3000.

To use the OUTPUT command, you must have SM or OP capability. Also ND capability is required to access the tape drive.

The general form of the OUTPUT command is:

   OUTPUT [[username[.acctname] ]

           [spoolid [,...] ] ] ;*tapefile [;PURGE]

The OUTPUT command requires a backreference to a tape device. So before running the utility, set up a file equation for a tape such as:

   FILE T;DEV=TAPE

To run the SPFXFER utility, enter:

   SPFXFER

Since native mode spool files can be much larger than those spool files created on MPE/iX systems prior to version A.40.00 or spool files created on MPE V/E systems, you may not be able to move NMS spool files onto those systems.

Output by user and account name

To output all spool files for a specific user and then purge them, enter:

   OUTPUT USER.ACCT;*T;PURGE

The ;PURGE parameter is optional and causes files to be purged from your system after being written to tape.

To output all spool files for all users in a specific account, enter:

   OUTPUT @.ACCT;*T

To output all spool files created by a given user in your logon account, enter:

   OUTPUT USER;*T

To output all spool files created by a given user in any account, enter:

   OUTPUT USER.@;*T

To output all spool files created by all users in all accounts, enter:

   OUTPUT @.@;*T

Outputting by SPOOLID

To output a single output spool file, enter:

   OUTPUT 749822;*T

You also may output several spool files by stringing their SPOOLIDs. For example:

   OUTPUT 749822,37721,482943;*T

You may add ;PURGE to purge the spool files from your system as they are written to tape.

If username.acctname and spoolid are omitted, all spool files belonging to the logon user are output. For example:

   OUTPUT ;*T