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BEA eLink OSI TP Release Notes

BEA eLink OSI TP Version: 4.2
Date: December 2002

About This BEA eLink OSI TP Release

This distribution of the BEA eLink OSI TP product includes a CD-ROM that contains the BEA eLink OSI TP Version 4.2 product and a second CD-ROM that contains product documentation.

Supported Platforms

The BEA eLink OSI TP Version 4.2 server and client support platforms running BEA Tuxedo 8.0 on the following operating systems:

Operating System
AIX 4.3
HP-UX 11, patches PHKL_21039, PHKL_21684, PHKL_21778 Note: Refer to HP-UX 11.0 Patches for more information.
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Solaris 7
Solaris 8
UnixWare 7.1.1

Miscellaneous Issues

The following sections describe some of the miscellaneous issues you may need to consider before you install BEA eLink OSI TP. Refer to the BEA eLink OSI TP Installation Guide for more detailed information about installing or upgrading BEA eLink OSI TP.

Pre-Installation Considerations

Complete the following tasks prior to installing eLink OSI TP:

- Read the BEA eLink OSI TP Release Notes.

- Review the Upgrade Prerequisites in the BEA eLink OSI TP Installation Guide if you are upgrading from a previous version of eLink OSI TP.

Note: On a UNIX operating system, if you are upgrading to Tuxedo 8.0 from a previous version of Tuxedo, you must remove the old version of Tuxedo before you install Tuxedo 8.0 or you must install Tuxedo 8.0 in a different directory. Do not overwrite the old version of Tuxedo.

- Make sure you have installed and verified the operation of the correct version and patch level of the BEA Tuxedo product.

- Make sure the BEA Tuxedo environment is configured properly.

Prerequisite Software

The software described in the following sections must be installed and operational prior to installing your BEA eLink OSI TP software.

BEA Tuxedo Version 8.0 Rolling Patches

You must install the appropriate BEA Tuxedo Version 8.0 rolling patch for your operating system. The required rolling patch levels are listed in the following table.

Operating System | BEA Tuxedo Version 8.0, Rolling Patch Level
--- | ---
AIX 4.3 | Rolling Patch 50
HP-UX 11 | Rolling Patch 50
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server | Rolling Patch 51
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional | Rolling Patch 51
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server | Rolling Patch 51
Solaris 7 | Rolling Patch 50
Solaris 8 | Rolling Patch 50
UnixWare 7.1.1 | None Required

HP-UX 11.0 Patches

If you are installing eLink OSI TP on an HP-UX 11.0 platform, the following HP-UX 11.0 32-bit plus patches must also be installed:

- PHKL_21039

- PHKL_21684

- PHKL_21778

The PHKL patches are an enhancement to HP-UX 11.0 that allow it to handle the large message queue sizes produced by BEA Tuxedo 8.0. These patches increase the SysV IPC MSGMNB message queue capacity from a 16-bit (ushort) limit to a 32-bit (int) limit for recompiled applications that are designed specifically to take advantage of this feature.

Known Limitations

This section describes limitations in the current BEA eLink OSI TP release and includes possible workarounds where applicable.

The table below lists a CR (Change Request) number for each problem. Refer to this number to conveniently track the solution as the problems are resolved. Please contact Unisys Technical Support for assistance in tracking any unresolved problems. For contact information, see Contact Us!

1 | N/A | Change in return code
| Problem | TPCONNECT gets a return code of 1 with the revent field not set. In previous Tuxedo releases tpsend used to return -1 with tperrno=TPEEVENT and the rEvent=TPEV_SVCSUCC, now tpsend returns 1.
| Platform | All
| Workaround | None
2 | CR053479 | dmadmin can only be executed from the $TUXDIR, all other executions just return.
| Problem | The Microsoft Windows operating systems have a system file called dmadmin, which is listed in the WINNT\system32 path. If the Tuxedo dmadmin is not executed from the $TUXDIR, the Microsoft dmadmin is called.
| Platform | Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 2000 Advanced Server
| Workaround | Add TUXEDO\BIN to the beginning of your environment path.
3 | CR090077 | X_OCTET to STRING translation not adding NULL to end of buffer when necessary.
| Problem | When data is going from the gateway (X_OCTET) to a Tuxedo application (STRING), the NULL should be added at the end of the X_OCTET buffer so that the Tuxedo application can use it. The gateway does not add the NULL at the end of the buffer.
| Platform | All
| Workaround | None.

Tuxedo 8.0 Issues

This section describes limitations in Tuxedo 8.0 that affect the current BEA eLink OSI TP release and includes possible workarounds where applicable.

The table below lists a CR (Change Request) number for each problem. Refer to this number to conveniently track the solution as the problems are resolved. Please contact Unisys Technical Support for assistance in tracking any unresolved problems. For contact information, see Contact Us!

1 | CR052213 | Reply from GWOSITP is not passed back to gateway.
| Problem | GWOSITP does not pass the reply back to the gateway when you are running Tuxedo 8 on Sun Solaris 2.8 system with REPLYQ=Y configured as the DEFAULT in the *SERVERS section of the ubbconfig.
| Platform | Solaris 8
| Workaround | Remove REPLYQ=Y from the *SERVERS section of the ubbconfig and reissue the tmloadcf command.
2 | CR053471 | XATMI_ENCODING for an RDOM cannot be updated with dmadmin.
| Problem | When updating the XATMI_ENCODING for an RDOM with dmadmin, a status of "Operation completed successfully' is returned; however, the encoding is not set.
| Platform | All
| Workaround | XATMI_ENCODING for an RDOM cannot be updated with dmadmin.
3 | CR053476 | Incorrect encoding type.
| Problem | When adding a new RDOM with dmadmin, the default encoding type is set to PRELIMINARY instead of CAE.
| Platform | All
| Workaround | RDOMs cannot be dynamically added.
4 | CR055782 | Delete command for non-existing target file on Windows 2000 causes makefile to exit.
| Problem | The delete command (DEL) under Windows 2000 returns a different error status from Windows NT if issued for a target file that does not exist. Under Windows NT, the delete command on a non-existing target file returns an error status of 0. On Windows 2000 platforms, the delete command on a non-existing target file returns an error status of 1. If you use the simpapp makefile (simpapp.nt), and attempt to build the server and client programs, the makefile will exit on the DEL command lines because simpcl.exe and simpserv.exe do not exist on a new install.
| Platform | Windows 2000
| Workaround | Create a temporary simpcl.exe and simpserv.exe so the DEL command executes successfully, modify the simpapp.nt makefile, or use the modified ubbsimple and dmconfig files that were downloaded in the $TUXDIR/eLink/osi/simpapp directory when you installed eLink OSI TP.

Using the License Key

You must enter the license key for BEA eLink OSI TP software to enable the connection capabilities for your system. As a prerequisite, BEA Tuxedo must be installed and operational with its license key file available. To enable the BEA eLink OSI TP license key, you must append the license key file provided with the product software to the BEA Tuxedo license key file. This can be done automatically by answering a query at eLink OSI TP installation time. Or it can be done manually as shown in the steps below.

Caution: Do not alter any information within sections of the license key files. This is a violation of the BEA Systems licensing agreement. Doing so may disable the BEA eLink OSI TP and/or additional components.

Perform the following steps to use the license key.

1. With the text editor of your choice, open the Tuxedo license key file in $TUXDIR/udataobj/lic.txt. An example of this file follows.

   Listing 1 Sample Tuxedo License Key File

>     [TUXEDO 8.0]
>     LICENSEE=BEA Professional Services
>     SERIAL=1000000104
>     ORDERID=0
>     USERS=20
>     TYPE=SDK
>     WEBGUI=separate
>     WSCOMPRESSION=separate
>     EXPIRATION=2001-12-31
>     SIGNATURE=

1. Append the BEA eLink OSI TP license key file to the Tuxedo license key file. An example of the BEA eLink OSI TP license key follows.

   Listing 2 Sample BEA eLink OSI TP License Key File

>     [BEA eLink OSI TP]
>     VERSION=4.2
>     LICENSEE=*** BEA SYSTEMS ***
>     SERIAL=8882327878
>     ORDERID=N/A
>     EXPIRATION=2001-12-31
>     SIGNATURE=

1. Save the file and exit the text editor. Your license key is now in effect.

Where to Get Product Documentation

Documentation for this product is available from the following locations:

- On the BEA corporate Web site. From the BEA Home page at http://www.bea.com, click on Product Documentation or go directly to the "e-docs" Product Documentation page at http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/index.html.

- On the BEA eLink OSI TP Online Documentation CD. The documentation CD includes Web-browsable HTML and easy-to-print Adobe Acrobat PDF documentation for this product.

To access the PDFs, open the eLink OSI TP documentation Home page, click the PDF files button and select the document you want to view or print. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can get it for free from the Adobe Web site at http://www.adobe.com/.

Using the BEA eLink OSI TP Online Documentation

You can install the HTML files on your server or client, or leave them on the CD. If you copy the files to your system, you should maintain the directory structure that was provided on the CD. However, you can move that directory structure to any location. The files are located on the CDROM in the docs/osi/v42 directory. Note the filename path to the directory where you install them on your server or client.

The Online Documentation CD includes a Java search applet to help you find eLink OSI TP topics in the documentation. To use the search capabilities, your browser must have Java support enabled. For information on limitations of the search capabilities, see Documentation CD Search Applet Limitations.

To view the documentation, you need a Web browser that supports HTML 3.0 features including tables and frames. Netscape Navigator 4.0 or later or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later are recommended. When you install the HTML files, they will be located in a directory on your system. You should keep the HTML files that are contained within a directory together. However, you can move that directory to any location.

Note: It is recommended that you locate the HTML browser and the HTML files on the same client or server device.

Accessing the Documentation

To begin viewing the online documentation, use one of the following methods to open the HTML file in a Web browser:

Use the following path to access the document from the CD.

Listing 3 Accessing Online Documentation from a CD

>     <cdrom>/docs/osi/v42/index.html

Use the following path to access the document installed to a Web server.

Listing 4 Accessing Online Documentation from a Web Server

>     http://(directory path to eLink OSI TP HTML files)/index.html

On UNIX systems, you may need to mount the CD before you are able to access the index.html page. For mounting instructions on UNIX platforms, refer to the installation instructions in the eLink OSI TP Online Documentation CD-ROM.

Printing the PDF File

You must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print the PDF file. If you do not have this reader, you can obtain it free of charge from the Adobe Systems Incorporated home site at www.adobe.com. (Please note that the eLink OSI TP Documentation PDF page contains a hot link to this site.)

Printing from the Web Browser

You can print a copy of this document, one file at a time, from the Web browser. Before you print, make sure that the topic you want is displayed and selected in your browser. (To select a topic, click anywhere inside the frame you want to print. If your browser offers a Print Preview feature, you can use the feature to verify the topic you are about to print.)

Documentation CD Search Applet Limitations

The Online Documentation CD includes a Java search applet to help you find eLink OSI TP topics. The following sections describe current limitations with the search applet.

Special Characters

The search applet does not find strings containing some special characters, such as slashes(/) and/or dollar signs ($). The Java search applet does find strings containing underscores (_) and periods (.). Attempts to search for strings with unsupported special characters result in a "No matches" message.

UNC Path Names

The Java search applet uses a pre-compiled search database of topics. Because of the way the search database is built, you must adhere to one of the following options to use the documentation CD search feature:

- Use the CD on a local CD reader.

- Map a network drive to a remote, shared device that contains the CD or a copy of the CD's content; in your browser, use the network drive to find and open the index.htm file in the CD's top documentation directory.

- Copy the CD's content to a local drive on your system.

- Copy the CD's content to a Web server on your corporate Intranet. Make sure that index.htm is the default file name used by the Web server software. The Online Documentation CD contains a file called index.html, which <is the home page> <or> <creates the framework> for the online documentation. The path name for this file on the CDs is \docs\<product>\<version>\index.html.

If your Web server software does not allow you to use a file named index.htm, make a copy of index.htm and rename the copy with the default file name you must use, such as default.htm. Keep both the original index.htm file and your renamed copy of it in the same directory.

You cannot use the search applet if you have accessed the CD or a copy of its content through a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path. For example, UNC paths are used by the Windows NT Network Neighborhood. The search applet does not interpret relative paths to the matched target *.htm pages because the UNC path is added to the beginning of each link. To use the documentation CD search feature, please use one of the four recommended methods listed earlier in this section.

Only the search applet's results list is affected by this UNC limitation. You can use UNC paths, such as accessing the documentation CD on a Network Neighborhood system's shared CD device, for all other relative hyperlinks on the CD.

Additional CD Search Tip

The search applet returns a list of HTML files that contain the search keyword(s) you enter. When you double click an entry in the search results list, the applet displays the target HTML file. To get the name of the book containing this HTML file, click the [TOP] hyperlink. The book's title page (which shows the name of the book) is displayed. You can then click the Back button in the browser to return to the HTML file that was originally displayed.

Browser Version and Platform Limitations for the Search Applet

Testing has shown that the Java search applet performs well on:

- Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional systems running Netscape 4.x, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x

- Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 systems running Netscape 4.x, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x

- Microsoft Windows 95 systems running Netscape 4.x, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x

- Microsoft Windows 98 systems running Netscape 4.x, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x

- Sun Solaris systems running Netscape 4.x, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x

Browser Error on UNIX Platforms

On some UNIX platforms, you may encounter a browser error message similar to the following:

>     Unable to start a java applet: Can't find 'java40.jar' in your CLASSPATH. Read the release notes and install 'java40.jar' properly before restarting.

If the search applet does not work on your UNIX platform, try using the latest Netscape browser for the platform and add the Netscape Java Archive (JAR) file to your CLASSPATH environment variable. The path to the JAR file is in the directory in which you installed Netscape. For example:

>     CLASSPATH=mytools/netscape/communicator/program/java/classes/java40.jar

After you revise the CLASSPATH variable, exit Netscape and then restart Netscape in the updated environment. When you access the search page, the search feature should work properly.

Documentation Notes

The following documentation can help you use BEA eLink OSI TP:

- BEA eLink OSI TP User Guide

- BEA eLink OSI TP Installation Guide

Additional Information

For additional information, please see the BEA Tuxedo Online Documentation athttp://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/index.html.

Contact Us!

BEA eLink OSI TP is a product jointly developed by BEA Systems, Inc. and Unisys Corporation. Support services and contacts are described in the following sections.

SURETY Support Services

A SURETY service agreement gives you easy access to Unisys Support Online or Unisys Client Support Centers. These services are described below.

Unisys Customer Support

Unisys customer support gives clients easy access, on the World Wide Web or by telephone, to these service options:

- Support Online

- Client Support Centers

- Tech Advantage

Clients with valid support agreements can visit an electronic database of reported problems and solutions. They can also use e-mail or telephone to contact our product specialists with technical questions. Clients are eligible to receive updates to a product when critical problems have been fixed.

Support Online

Unisys has a World Wide Web site available to customers who have support agreements. If you have any questions or problems with a Unisys product, your first source of information is Support Online, an online technical resource available through the World Wide Web at http://www.support.unisys.com.

This technical resource is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It offers a wealth of information about Unisys hardware and software systems. Take some time to explore Support Online and discover the services available to you.

Client Support Centers

Unisys clients with valid support agreements can also access Client Support Centers. If you have unresolved questions or problems concerning Unisys product installation or operation (after referring to the documentation or your system administrator), call the appropriate Client Support Center:

Within the continental United States or Canada, call one of the following toll-free numbers:

1-800-328-0440 (prompt 4) - United States

1-800-387-6181 - Canada

1-800-361-8097 - French Canada

Outside the continental United States, obtain a support center telephone number from your local Unisys customer support representative.

To expedite your request, please have the following information ready before contacting Unisys.

- The name of the hardware (for example, Sun, HP, AIX, UnixWare or PC)

- The name and release level of the operating environment (for example UnixWare 7.1, or Windows 2000)

- The BEA Tuxedo release level, the BEA eLink OSI TP version and release level, and the patch levels of both.

Tech Advantage

In addition, Unisys Client Support Centers offer Tech Advantage, a full complement of technical service packages that provide you with cost-effective, fast-cycle support. Tech Advantage services can help you solve your most difficult problems or maximize the effectiveness of your system, regardless of your product choice.

Here are some ways to put Tech Advantage to work for you:

- System Generation-Assist in generating or installing system software upgrades and enhancements.

- Operating System Migration-Plan and optimize your system migrations.

- Performance Review-Evaluate existing systems and networks and provide tuning recommendations.

- Communications Systems Enhancements-Assist in configuring, generating, and installing communications systems.

- Database Management Consulting-Confirm that systems and database backup procedures are optimized to promote data recovery.

For more information on Tech Advantage, visit the Support Online Web page and follow the link to Tech Advantage or call your Client Support Center.

Reporting a Software Problem with a User Communication Form

A customer representative may provide instructions or solutions from the Client Support Center database. If this help is insufficient, provide your representative with a full description of the problem, including any relevant error messages, and, if possible, a full description of the function you were attempting and your actions immediately prior to the error. The representative will then submit an electronic User Communication Form (UCF) to Unisys on your behalf, and give you the following information:

- A UCF registration number

- Instructions for submitting supporting materials, such as configurations, logs, traces, and dumps.

VAR Customer Support

All clients of Unisys resellers should contact their Value Added Resellers (VARs) for support access details.

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