This chapter describes how to configure the display server and includes the following topics:

Topic	Section
Customizing the DECwindows Server Startup Environment	Section 3.1
Workstation-Specific Customizations	Section 3.1.1
Server Customization Symbols and Logicals	Section 3.2
Customization Examples	Section 3.3
Specifying New Fonts	Section 3.4
DECwindows Transport	Section 3.5
Using Local Transport	Section 3.5.1
Using DECnet Transport	Section 3.5.2
Using Alternate Transports	Section 3.6
Using DEC TCP/IP	Section 3.6.1
Using Other Transports with DECwindows	Section 3.6.2
Writing a Transport Interface	Section 3.6.2.1
Installing the Transport Interface Image	Section 3.6.2.2
Determining Current System Parameters	Section 3.7

3.1 Customizing the DECwindows Server Startup Environment

The DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.TEMPLATE file is located in the SYS$MANAGER directory. This template file ships with the display server, which is bundled with the operating system. This file contains information you need to customize your DECwindows Motif environment.

If DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM is placed in SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR], symbols defined within the file apply to every workstation system that shares that system disk, which is usually every member of a cluster.

To customize the DECwindows environment for all workstations in your VMScluster, perform the following steps:

1. Copy the template file into SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM.
2. Edit the command file and search for the section titled Cluster Common or Standalone Workstation Setup. If no such section exists, search for NODE_LIST = " ".
3. Add any customizations in this section.
4. Restart the DECwindows server with the following command:

   $ @SYS$STARTUP:DECW$STARTUP RESTART

   
   You need to restart DECwindows on each workstation on which you want the customizations to take effect.

   Caution Restarting the DECwindows server disconnects all current client processes.

In some cases, one or more workstations in a cluster may have special server requirements. Use one of the following two methods to customize specific workstations in your cluster.

Method 1

Create a private copy of the DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM file and place it in SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSMGR] on each workstation that you want customized.

Method 2

Use the node list facility in the DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM file.

To use method 2, perform the following steps:

1. Edit the DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM and search for NODE_LIST = " ".
2. Add the nodes in your cluster between the quotation marks. For example:

   $ NODE_LIST = "NODE1/NODE2/NODE3"

3. At the end of the command procedure, add a label and your workstation-specific definitions.
   Example 3-1 shows how to customize NODE1, NODE2, and NODE3.

Example 3-1 Workstation-Specific Customizations

$! $! server symbol definitions for NODE1 $! $DO_NODE1: $ DECW$SERVER_TRANSPORTS == "DECNET,LOCAL,TCPIP" $ EXIT $! $! server symbol definitions for NODE2 $! $DO_NODE2: $ DECW$SERVER_DENSITY == "75" $ EXIT $! $! server symbol definitions for NODE3 $! $DO_NODE3: $ DECW$DEFAULT_KEYBOARD_MAP == "US_LK201AA" $ EXIT

3.2 Server Customization Parameters

This section describes the parameters that you can use to customize the DECwindows Motif environment.

These customizations modify the default behavior of the DECwindows display server. When the display server is started, it looks in the logical name table (DECW$SERVERn_TABLE) for logical names that can override the default characteristics.

The logical name table is created and populated during the DECwindows startup process. For any parameter defined in the DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM file, the startup procedure creates a logical name in the display-server logical name table with the same name as the parameter.

However, some parameters are used only during the startup procedure and do not have a matching logical name in the display server logical name table. These parameters either identify system parameters to be used in starting the display server process or are used in combination with other parameters to obtain the value of a logical name to be added to the display server logical name table. If the display server does not find a logical name in its private logical name table, it looks in the system logical name table. Therefore, you can use the DCL command DEFINE/SYSTEM in the DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM file to directly define logicals for those functions that are supported but do not have an associated parameter in the version of OpenVMS that you are using.

In Section 3.2.1 through Section 3.2.12, each parameter description includes an example of how to use it. Note those cases where you need to define a logical instead of the symbol.

Table 3-1 lists the parameters alphabetically along with the type, default value, and range for each parameter.

Table 3-1 DECwindows Customization Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default Value	Range
+DECW$BITONAL	Boolean	False
DECW$CLIENT_ERROR_THRESHOLD	Integer	1
DECW$COLOR	Boolean	True
++DECW$CURSOR_SIZE	Integer	32	16,32
DECW$DEFAULT_KEYBOARD_MAP	String	Device dependent
DECW$DEVICE	String list
+DECW$FM_INIT_NUM_CACHE_ROWS	Integer	60
+DECW$FM_MAX_ROW_CACHE_SIZE	Integer	300
+DECW$FM_MIN_ROW_CACHE_SIZE	Integer	20
+DECW$FM_NO_CACHE_AUTOTUNING	Boolean	False
+DECW$FM_ROW_CACHE_EXTEND	Integer	5
+DECW$FM_TIME_TO_SHRINK_CACHE	Integer	600
++DECW$FONT_SERVERS	String list
DECW$KEYMAP	String
DECW$MONITOR_DENSITY	Integer list
+DECW$MULTI_HEAD	Boolean	False
+DECW$PRIMARY_DEVICE	String
DECW$RGBPATH	String	SYS$MANAGER: DECW$RGB.DAT
DECW$SERVER_BUG_COMPATIBILITY	Boolean	True
DECW$SERVER_CONNECT_LOG	Boolean	False
DECW$SEVER_DEFAULT_VISUAL_CLASS	Integer	Device dependent	0...5
DECW$SERVER_DEFAULT_BACKING_STORE	Integer	0	0...2
DECW$SERVER_DENSITY	Integer	Device dependent	75,100
DECW$SERVER_DISABLE_BACKING_STORE	Boolean	False
DECW$SERVER_DISABLE_SAVE_UNDER	Boolean	False
DECW$SERVER_ENQUEUE_LIMIT	Integer	See Table 3-2
DECW$SERVER_ERROR_LOG_TO_KEEP	Integer	2
++DECW$SERVER_FONT_CACHE_SIZE	Integer	0
++DECW$SERVER_FONT_CACHE_UNIT	Integer	128
DECW$SERVER_BELL_BASE_VOLUME	Integer	50	0...100
DECW$SERVER_DUMP	Boolean	False
DECW$SERVER_ENABLE_KB_AUTOREPEAT	Boolean	True
DECW$SERVER_ERROR_THRESHOLD	Integer	10
DECW$SERVER_KEYCLICK_VOLUME	Integer	0	0...100
+DECW$SERVER_MAIN_KB_UPDOWN	Boolean	False
DECW$SERVER_MOUSE_ACCELERATION	Integer	2	0..2
DECW$SERVER_MOUSE_THRESHOLD	Integer	4
DECW$SERVER_PAGE_FILE	Integer	See Table 3-2
DECW$SERVER_RETRY_WRITE_INTERVAL	Integer	500
DECW$SERVER_RETRY_WRITE_TIMEOUT	Integer	30000
++DECW$SERVER_SCALE_BITMAP_FONTS	Boolean	False
DECW$SERVER_SCREEN_SAVER_INTERVAL	Integer	600
DECW$SERVER_SCREEN_SAVER_PREFER_BLANKING	Boolean	True
DECW$SERVER_SCREEN_SAVER_TIMEOUT	Integer	600
DECW$SERVER_TRANSPORTS	String list	Local, DECnet
DECW$SERVER_WSDEF	Integer	See Table 3-2
DECW$SERVER_WSEXTENT	Integer	See Table 3-2
DECW$SERVER_WSQUOTA	Integer	See Table 3-2
DECW$XPORT_SYNC_TIMEOUT	Integer	30000

The following sections contain definitions and examples for all symbols and logicals listed in Table 3-1. The symbols and logicals are grouped into the following areas:

• Server process
• Device setup
• Transport
• Font
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Color database
• Screen saver
• Backing store
• Error reporting

As part of the DECwindows startup process, the DECwindows display server is invoked as a detached process. Normally, the default process quotas assigned to the server process are sufficient. Table 3-2 lists the default settings for both VAX and AXP systems.

Table 3-2 Default Process Quotas for VAX and AXP Systems

Logical	VAX	AXP
DECW$SERVER_WSDEF	500	3000
DECW$SERVER_WSQUOTA	1300	6000
DECW$SERVER_WSEXTENT	WSMAX 1	WSMAX 1
DECW$SERVER_PAGE_FILE	25000	50000
DECW$SERVER_FILE_LIMIT	200	200
DECW$SERVER_ENQUEUE_LIMIT	512	512

However, in some instances, certain parameters may need to be increased. By defining symbols in DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM, server process quotas can be adjusted.

There are two primary cases where you need to increase these parameter values:

• High memory usage---This results from running applications that use many large pixmaps. In addition, extensive use of the Display PostScript or PHIGS extensions (PEX) requires more memory.
  To adjust for a high memory-usage environment, increase the value assigned to DECW$SERVER_PAGE_FILE. This controls the PGFLQUOTA of the server process. Note that this parameter is limited by the VIRTUALPAGECNT system parameter and by the size of the system page file. In addition, you may consider increasing the values for DECW$SERVER_WSDEF and DECW$SERVER_WSQUOTA. <VAX_PS_SECTION> <VAX_BR_SECTION>
• Concurrent use of many fonts--- All font files that are referenced and for which font caching is enabled remain open until all of the client applications that reference those fonts are terminated.
  To adjust for this situation, increase the value of DECW$SERVER_FILE_LIMIT. This value must be greater than the total number of fonts used by any set of concurrently active client applications.<ENDSECTION>

DECW$SERVER_WSDEF

This parameter defines the process limits (in pages) to be applied to the DECwindows server process. DECW$SERVER_WSDEF values that are larger than the value of DECW$SERVER_WSQUOTA revert to the value of DECW$SERVER_WSQUOTA. For information about establishing working set sizes, see the Guide to OpenVMS Performance Management.

The following logical definition defines a working set size of 512 pages for the DECwindows server:

Example

$ DEFINE DECW$SERVER_WSDEF 512
      

DECW$SERVER_WSQUOTA

This parameter defines the maximum amount of physical memory (working set) pages (pagelets on DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS running on an AXP system) that can be allocated to the DECwindows server. For information about establishing working set sizes, see the Guide to OpenVMS Performance Management.

The following logical definition establishes the maximum number of pages allocated to the DECwindows server as 2048 pages:

Example

$ DEFINE DECW$SERVER_WSQUOTA 2048
      

DECW$SERVER_WSEXTENT

This parameter defines the absolute limit on physical memory pages that the DECwindows server is to be allocated if the server requires more pages than the DECW$SERVER_WSDEF value allots. The total number of pages allocated to the DECwindows server may exceed the value in DECW$SERVER_WSQUOTA (up to the value of DECW$SERVER_WSEXTENT if the additional pages are available). For information about establishing working set sizes, see the Guide to OpenVMS Performance Management.

The following symbol definition allocates 256 pages for the DECwindows server on an as-needed basis, not to exceed the value in DECW$SERVER_WSQUOTA:

Example

$ DEFINE DECW$SERVER_WSEXTENT 256
      

DECW$SERVER_PAGE_FILE

This parameter defines the maximum amount of virtual memory (in pages) that the DECwindows server can use.

The following logical definition increases the size of the page file to 30000 blocks:

Example

$ DEFINE DECW$SERVER_PAGE_FILE 30000
      

DECW$SERVER_FILE_LIMIT

This parameter defines the maximum number of files the server can open at one time. The default is 200 files.

The following logical definition increases the maximum number of files the server can open to 275:

Example

$ DEFINE DECW$SERVER_FILE_LIMIT 275
      

DECW$SERVER_ENQUEUE_LIMIT

This parameter defines the maximum number of outstanding locks that are used in sharing resources, particularly files, between processes. The default is 512 locks.

The following logical definition doubles the default enqueue limit to 1024 locks.

Example

$ DEFINE DECW$SERVER_ENQUEUE_LIMIT 1024