Number 62 (Update of Volume 6, Issue 7)

Still time to register for the 3000 Webcast

HP continues to refine its Web broadcast efforts for the e3000 with a one-hour show hosted by George Stachnik on May 15, starting at 8:30 AM PDT (17:30 CET). You can still sign up at the HP Web site, to get a spot for the talk about making your HP 3000 work with the Web. Browse to http://webcenter.hp.com/cgi/desktv/csy/2159/index.pl to register; HP's asking a few questions as part of registration to discover how it should focus its content .

Stachnik promises the content will cover how to access data on your HP e3000 from desktop clients; how to access HP e3000 data via the Web; and how other HP e3000 customers create Web-based solutions. The Webcast, to be delivered over Windows-capable browsers only, will give guidelines on securely sharing HP e3000 data on your company's intranet or over the public Internet. Stachnik will show those who sign up "how to solve business challenges using Internet technologies, many of which are bundled with MPE/iX."

HP has been releasing recorded Windows Media Streaming Files of its e3000 Webcasts after the events, for those who can't attend live, using the Web equivalent of videotapes for those customers who work at Windows PCs. (We note this medium excludes Macintosh users and others from accessing the recorded material, but we're not sure what a better option might be other than RealMedia or QuickTime, both multiple platform technologies. At least PC emulators can support enough browser technology to let those customers dial into the events live.) Check the HP e3000 Web site for details on how to sign up for the event and the recorded streaming files.

-- and chat about it afterward on 3kworld

Two chats on 3kworld will follow up on topics covered in the HP Webcast. On Thursday, May 17 Chris Gauthier will host an Open Forum follow-up starting at 1PM PDT (10PM CET). Log in at http://www.3kworld.com/chat.asp.?sit_PK=41 to chat about the Webcast. Two weeks later, HP's OnOn Hong will cover the wireless access aspects of the HP Webcast in a chat on 3kworld, co-hosted by Gauthier and myself. Browse to the HP chat room on 3kworld.com on May 31 at http://www.3kworld.com/chat.asp?sit_PK=63 to get your technical questions answered by Hong, one of the leaders of the e3000 Internet & Interoperability team. The 3kworld chat technology is platform-independent, running on any desktop capable of interacting through a browser-based chat.

Interex Web site opens for HP World e3000 roundtable questions

If you aren't planning to attend this year's HP World conference to get your e3000 skills and news up to date, there are some alternatives to being there. At least the Interex users group has made it simple to have your questions answered during the HP e3000 roundtable at the conference. Go to http://www.hpworld.com/conference/hpworld2001/hpw_prog_09.html and submit a question for either the e3000 event or the IMAGE and HP SQL roundtable. (The Web site has links called "Review Questions" to do this.) As we prepared this Extra, SIG-IMAGE/SQL chair Ken Sletten had already kicked off the questions by wondering when HP would take the wraps off the A-Class performance for e3000s (clock speeds are slower, compared to the A-Class HP 9000 models). HP's been pretty good about addressing many of these pre-submitted questions at the conference -- and we'll report their answers in the NewsWire.

PINFO goes into beta test

HP has released a new function for MPE/iX that tracks what's going on with your processes, submitting the enhancement for MPE/iX 7.0 systems only as a pair of beta test patches. PINFO is a new CI interface to the AIFPROCGET Architected Interface, letting programmers retrieve information for a process such as its IP address or execution state. PINFO does for processes what JINFO did for jobs, an enhancement that made it onto MPE/iX 6.5 after some beta testing.

HP's documentation for the beta test patches says "PINFO users must have SM or OP capability, or the user must have AM capability and the target process has the same 'user.account', or the process' 'user.account' matches the user's and JOBSECURITY is low, or the target PIN is actually the user's PIN." Read the full doc on the patches at http://jazz.external.hp.com/papers/Communicator/7.0/exp1/ci_enhancements.html, and request patches MPELXK7 (the PINFO CI function) and MPELXK8 (the associated PINFO updates for CATALOG.PUB.SYS) from the HP Response Center. Creator Jeff Vance says that customers "only really need LXK7 for testing. LXK8 just adds new PINFO error messages to CATALOG.PUB.SYS."

If you want this on your e3000s, you should help test it. The sooner customers get PINFO beta tested, the sooner the functionality can become a part of the Express 1 release of MPE/iX 7.0. And don't expect HP to be releasing PINFO as a 6.0 patch -- that MPE/iX release has less than a year of supported life left, anyway.

Samba 2.0.7 freeware is different than HP patch

Samba is a great part of the MPE/iX operating system utilities that's getting better, but for now the best version of the file sharing utility is on a freeware site -- and different from the beta test patch offered by HP. Lars Appel, the HP engineer who first ported the software to the e3000 which lets it exchange data with Windows and NT systems, posted this note after our April story about getting the 2.0.7 version of Samba from <http://www.sambaix.com>:

"The version supplied by the HP patch and the version supplied at www.sambaix.com both are based on the 2.0.7 sources from www.samba.org, but the MPE specific changes are independent and different," Appel said. "I haven't checked it lately, but I believe only the www.sambaix.com version includes the source code, handles encrypted Windows passwords and handles SWAT with password validation (so that only selected people can tweak smb.conf) On the other hand, only the HP version seems to offer HP support."

It's no small issue for customers who are moving to Windows 2000 on the desktop. Windows 2000 PC default settings send encrypted passwords which cannot be handled by the older version of Samba being shipped with MPE/iX 6.0 and later. That means password-protected Samba shares created for the HP 3000 have stopped working for some customers once they upgrade their Windows desktop. Unless you've got Samba 2.0.7 installed, a registry patch to permit sending unencrypted passwords is the only way to get the 3000's Samba and Windows 2000 working together.

It's something of a blessing that there are guides available for using the registry patch. Michael Gueterman of Easy Does It Technologies -- keeper of the sambaix.com Web site -- offers this advice:

"Make sure you have applied the WinNT 4.0 registry patch (which works just fine on Windows 2000). Also, if you are using a user.map file, you may need to make some alterations to it. I've included that information provided by Greg Stigers in with some other Win2000 notes in a document entitled "Windows 2000 and Samba/iX Issues" available at the sambaix.com web site. You can get to it from the Document Library section of the site, or directly via the following URL: http://www.sambaix.com/Documentation/index.cfm?FromTemplate=Default.cfm&Fuse Action=10204

A replacement for the D640s in service

After we covered the emergence of the Output Technology OTC6500 printers last year as a replacement for HP's D640 printers, a few customers testified to their favorite HP LaserJet model they use to step in for e3000 print duty. Steve Davidek of the City of Sparks notes that "The City of Sparks just replaced their D640 (as you said, "a work horse") with an HP 8150DN . It may not have the speed (only 32 ppm), but with the attached HCI and HCO, and the fact that the consumables are cheaper (a regular toner cartridge) and a faster processor it has more than replaced the D640. It also can take 11x17 and envelopes in the "manual" feed tray. We had them running side by side for a week and the 8150 actually printed the same jobs faster. The only oddity is the way it "outputs" to the HCO. The HCI does not hold as much paper (only 2,000 sheets compared to 3,000) but the HCO has a larger capacity.

"It also prints PDFs correctly -- which seems to be getting more important every day. Our programmers have said that it outputs from the 3000 as well or better than the D640." Other customers noted that a converter from Extended Systems can get the 8100 LaserJets to talk with the DTC boxes still working on many HP 3000s.

Tech Group University works on certification

The process of assembling a full range of certifications for HP 3000 administration is underway in the e3000 community, with some spearheading by Tech Group University. After we printed TGU founder Jonathan Backus' Guest Editorial in our April issue, he followed up with us to outline what still remains to be accomplished to put certification in place. "I prefer to not call it the TGU certification program," he said. "There are many other distinguished MPE people involved with it, such as George Stachnik, Jeff Kell, Joe Geiser, Bill Lancaster, Jeff Vance, Terry Floyd, Ken Nutsford, Neil Armstrong, Steve Cole, Jerry Fochtman, and Scott Pierson to name a few. I am referring to it as the new MPE Certification program."

Backus added that the committees for the various tests were finalized by April 15. "From there each committee will have to meet via e-mail, and begin the process of creating the tests to be used during the certification process. The plan is to have the complete set of tests up and running by the end of this year."

In the meantime, "the grandfather option still exists. So for a $10 processing fee, anybody with one of the old single MPE certificates can be grandfathered into the new MPE Certification program at the Certified System Manager (MPE-CSM) level. Right now there are 20 people at this level." For more details see the Web site at http://www.techgroupmd.com