> Date:          Tue, 18 Nov 1997 10:51:21 -0800
> Reply-to:      [log in to unmask]
> From:          Mark Bixby <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject:       Re: Stage/iX feedback URGENTLY needed.
> To:            [log in to unmask]

> [log in to unmask] writes:
> > There are other useful commands in STAGEMAN.

> Indeed.  Using expert mode you can manually create your own staging areas
> that contain any files you want to be moved into place on
> MPEXL_SYSTEM_VOLUME_SET.  I've personally done this to add messages to
> CATALOG.PUB.SYS.  You could also use it to modify *any* non-system application
> files as long as they reside on MPEXL_big_name_omitted.
There are definitely "creative" uses for "expert mode'. I know of one
customer that likes to bundle patches together, and then release the
bunldles, after testing, as "mini releases". This particular customer
has **LOTS** of systems (if I told you how many you would immediately
be able to guess who the customer is ;-).

Anyway, since this customer likes to keep all of their systems in
"sync", and needs to be able to track which "mini release" is
installed on which machines, they change the "user VUF" and use this
to track things. The "user VUF" is changed in SYSGEN.  So when they
create SLT tapes and update their systems, the "user VUF" is
automatically carried along with their bundle when it is installed
(via UPDATE on each machine). This particular customer wanted to know
how to do this with Stage/iX.

So I told them. If you run sysgen and change the user VUF and do a
'keep' to a new group, then sysgen will update a file called
IDP.group.SYS with the new user VUF. If you add the new IDP file into
the staging area (using 'expert' mode and the 'stagefile' command),
then when you boot out of the staging area the user VUF will be
changed (and will show up correctly in 'showme' and if you do a
'showvar'). Well they thought this was pretty slick.

This type of non-malicous modification of a staging area's contents
is supported.

> Whether customer use of expert mode is supported I have no idea.  But the
> functionality is available for those of us wishing to use it.
Customer use of "expert mode" is supported. Mis-use would not be
supported. Let me explain.

What Is Expert Mode?
====================

First, let me explain how expert mode works and what it is for.
Basically, STAGEMAN will allow a system manager (by default) access
to all of the non-expert mode commands. These commands give the
system manager all the tools he/she needs to manage staging areas as
objects. But the default STAGEMAN commands do not allow the system
manager to tamper with the contents of a staging area -- which is
generally a more dangerous thing to do -- hence the name "expert
mode". If you know what you are doing, and you don't screw anything
up, there are useful thing that you can do -- mostly by 'adding'
files to staging areas (which is modifying the contents but not
destroying anything that is already there).

Patch/iX uses 'expert mode' to interface with Stage/iX. Basically,
when you run Patch/iX to install patches, if you select the option to
create a staging area, then Patch/iX runs STAGEMAN.PUB.SYS and passes
command files to STAGEMAN to do all the work. These command files put
STAGEMAN in expert mode and make use of the expert mode commands to
build the staging area and manipulate its contents.

Patch/iX invokes some Stage/iX code (which is linked into the
PATCHIX.INSTALL.SYS program file) that builds the command files which
are in turn passed to STAGEMAN.

Typically, Patch/iX does basically the following

expert on
create stage
stagefile stage, file1.install.sys, FILE1.PUB.SYS
stagefile stage, file2.install.sys, FILE2.PUB.SYS
stagefile stage, file3.patchxl.sys, FILE3.PUB.SYS

(for each patched file a stagefile command is generated)

complete stage
validate stage

The above steps are not exactly what Patch/iX does, but they give you
the general idea. In reality it is more complicated than what is
shown above  -- but what else is new! :-)

NOTE: Patch/iX capture the output of all interaction with STAGEMAN in
a file called STAGELOG.INSTALL.SYS. This file is actuall staged in
the staginga are, along with some of the other Patch/iX log files, as
a sort of "audit trail". If you want to see an example of the exact
dialog that takes place between Patch/iX and Stage/iX then you can
"print" the STAGELOG file.

:print /SYS/hpstage/stage_area/STAGELOG.INSTALL.SYS


An Example Of A Really Bad Idea! Something NOT To Do In Expert Mode!!
=====================================================================

Patch/iX will typically put several files into a staging area. These
files are a "matched set". There are numerous, subtle, and difficult
to detect inter-dependencies between various system files.

For example: consider and SL, NL, and START image. There are
literally thousands of places where variuos system programs make
calls into the NL. Thousands of places where the NL call routines in
the SL and vice versa. There are alos thousands of addresses of
memory resident routines in the NL that much mach the addresses in
the START image exactly. Eeach of these files are dependent on the
exact memroy layout of thousands of shared system data strucutres.

The same types of interedependencies exist betwen other system files
-- the above list is the tip of the iceberg not a complete list.

So what is my point? My point is that it is very dangerous and
foolish to make any changes to any of the system files unless you
know *exactly* what you are doing. If you delete one of them and then
try to boot (for example) there is no way to predict what the results
will be -- though you can just about gaurentee that the results will
not be good!

The good news is that you should always be able to recover. Even if
the system will not boot you should be able to STAART the system from
the BASE OS (which the version of the OS that was put down by the
last UPDATE or COMITT).

If a customer modifies a staging area and then calls the RC to
complain that there is a problem, then the customer should be
prepared to explain *exactly* what he/she changed and why. If the
changes include system files, I would suspect that the HPRC will be
"suspicious" to say the least that your change may be the root cause
of the problem you are having.

NOTE: STAGEMAN will leave evidence around that the stagig area has
been tampered with that the "trained eye" can easily detect. I don't
know why anyone would tamper with a staging area maliicously, but if
they did, chances are HP could figure it out (I think I could).

>
> STAGEMAN A.01.00, (C) Hewlett-Packard Co., 1995. All Rights Reserved.
> STAGEMAN> expert on
> STAGEMAN$ help
>
> ...standard commands deleted...
>
> EXPERT MODE COMMANDS:
>
>                       Required
> Command (Abbrev)      Capabilities   Description
> --------------------- ------------   ------------------------------------
> STAGEFILE (SF)        SM             Put a file in a staging area.
> DELETEFILE (DF)       SM             Delete a file from a staging area.
> CHANGEFILE (CF)       SM             Change the attributes of a staged
>                                      file.
> SETDEFAULT (SETD)     SM             Set the default attributes for a
>                                      particular file.
> SHOWDEFAULT (SHOWD)   SM             Display the default attributes for
>                                      a particular file.
> COMPLETE (COMP)       SM             Mark a staging area as complete.
> EXPERT                SM             Put STAGEMAN in expert mode.
>
>
> For a more detailed description of any command type "help <command>".

In general, I would say the using STAGEFILE is not all that
dangerous. Using DELETEFILE and CHANGEFILE means that you need to
knwo what you are doing, and you probably should not do these
commands (at least not to a system file) unless directed to do so by
an HPRC engineer. SETDEFAULT is mildly dangerous -- particularly if
you are changing the DEFAULT attributes for any critical system files
(like NL.PUB.SYS). SHOWDEFAULT is completely safe and if you are
curious give it a try. The EXPERT command just toggles the user in
and out of expert mode.

                                 Scott McClellan
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