IRIX 6.5.14

IRIX 6.5.14 Feature Stream:

Filesystems

• The CXFS GUI has been enhanced in the IRIX 6.5.14 release as follows:
• CXFS Manager and CXFS Cluster View windows are now combined into one window called CXFS Manager.
• Tasks can now be launched by clicking the right mouse button over the tree-view area, or by selecting Tasks on the menu bar.
• Command line interfaces (CLIs) that the GUI runs can be viewed from a new File > Show SALog menu item.
• You can now partially mount filesystems on just a subset of nodes, using the Define Filesystem and Modify Filesystem tasks.
• A new Find text field helps you find items within the displayed tree-view area.
• Filesystem status and cluster status update faster.
• The structure of the CXFS filesystem configuration was changed with the release of IRIX 6.5.13f. Backward compatibility with earlier versions is no longer maintained as of IRIX 6.5.14f, since all nodes in the cluster must be running the same or adjacent releases.
• If you are upgrading from 6.5.13f to 6.5.14f or later, there is no further impact.
• If you intend to run a mixture of 6.5.13f and 6.5.14f nodes, you must turn off backward compatibility.
• If you are upgrading from 6.5.12f or earlier without first installing and running 6.5.13f, you must perform a one-time manual conversion of your CXFS filesystem definitions.
• For CXFS customers, if you install IRIX 6.5.14f including sysadm_base on a cluster node where the the 6.5.13f version of CXFS is installed, you will need to upgrade to the 6.5.14f verion CXFS (sysadm_cxfs) and install 6.5.14f sysadm_cluster.

IRIX 6.5.14 Maintenance and Feature Stream:

Filesystems

In the IRIX 6.5.5 release, SGI introduced a new optional directory format for XFS filesystems, referred to as the "version 2" directory format in mkfs output. XFS filesystems with a version 2 directory format can provide improved reliability and performance over filesystems with a version 1 directory format in some applications, particularly for applications that use NFS exported XFS filesystems.

The directory format for an XFS filesystem is specified with the -n parameter of the mkfs command. The default directory format is currently the original version 1 directory format.

Beginning with the IRIX 6.5.14 release, version 2 directories of XFS will be the default for all new filesystems created with mkfs. Version 1 directory filesystem creation will still be supported, but this will require that you specify the -n version=1 parameter of the mkfs command.

SGI recommends that all new XFS filesystems be created with version 2 directories. IRIX releases older than IRIX 6.5.5, however, will not be able to mount a filesystem created with a version 2 directory and will issue the following message when a mount is attempted:

Wrong filesystem type: xfs Many SGI customers are currently running production servers with version 2 directories. If you want to format filesystems with the version 2 directory format prior to the 6.5.14 release, you can specify the following option of mkfs:

mkfs -n version=2 There is no means for converting a filesystem, in place, between version 1 and version 2 directories. A filesystem can be converted between version 1 and version 2 directories by means of an xfsdump/mkfs/xfsrestore sequence.

System Availability

For FailSafe customers, if you install IRIX 6.5.14, including sysadm_base, on a cluster node where FailSafe 2.1.1 is installed, you will need to upgrade to FailSafe 2.1.2 (sysadm_failsafe2) and install 6.5.14 sysadm_cluster. Scalability

Adds a -q cpuset_name -p option to the cpuset command that allows you to see the properties of particular cpuset, such as, the number of processes and CPUs associated with the specified cpuset. Added cpusetGetProperties() and cpusetFreeProperties() functions to the Cpuset System library .The cpusetGetProperties() function allows you to retrieve various properties associated with a cpuset. The cpusetFreeProperties() functions allows you to release the memory used by a cpuset_Properties_t structure. Any programmer that uses the cpuset API from IRIX 6.5.14, and later, can use these functions. For information, see chapter 4, "Cpuset System", in the IRIX Admin: Resource Administration manual and the cpusetGetProperties(3x) and cpusetFreeProperties(3x) man pages.

Graphics workstations

Parts of the IRIX Interactive Desktop have been refreshed in IRIX 6.5.14. While functionality has not changed, the navigation, imagery, and graphics design have been enhanced in the following areas: The main IRIX login window (clogin) has a new design using new SGI colors, font, and logo. The product is called sysadmdesktop and appears automatically at boot when root has "chkconfig noiconlogin on". EZsetup has a new layout and login icon using new SGI colors, font, and logo. The product is called sysadmdesktop and is launched by logging into EZsetup account from main IRIX login window. The System Manager main window uses new SGI colors, font, and logo. The product is sysadmdesktop and is launched from the System toolchest. The Welcome to SGI web pages have new navigation and new SGI colors, font, and logo. The product is Welcome. Launch from Find toolchest, select WhatsNew, double-click the Welcome_to_SGI icon. The Background Setting panel includes seven new desktop patterns using the new SGI logo and font: Camouflage, Citrus Citrus, Iron, Midnight, Reef, Sand, and Sprinkle. Note: You may notice slow performance when previewing all but the Sprinkle background, but not when switching desks (see the background(1) man page). Old backgrounds are still available. The product is desktop_eoe and is launched from the Desktop toolchest, select Customize, then Backgrounds.

SGI Origin 300 server

• Support for the SGI Origin 300 server series is included in 6.5.14. This includes support for the SGI Origin 300 Base Module in 2, 4, and 8 processor sizes, the addition of a NUMAlink Module for scaling up to 32 processors, and the TP900 Storage Module.
• SGI software product life cycle management

Licensing software

Added command to dump all possible lmhostid values for partitioned Origin 3000 systems. (See "IRIX 6.5.X Lookahead" below for important Partitioned FLEXlm licensing change planned for IRIX 6.5.15.)

Applications CD

The following products were updated with bug fixes only:

• Bug fix update for SGImeeting 2.0.1
• Final bug fix update for Color Management
• Bug fix update for Internet Gateway 3.2
• Security and other bug fixes for NEdit 5.1.1b
• Minor fixes for Appletalk 10.01
• Netscape Communicator 4.78 By default, version 4.78 will install the new N32 version of the browser. Any existing third-party plugins for the browser that are O32 will no longer function.
• Support for the Macromedia Flash plugin is also included. For more information, see http://browsers.netscape.com/browsers/main.tmpl

The following products contain enhancements or new features:

• None for this release.

Other IRIX Software Changes

IRIX OS Bundled Software:

• SCSL 1.4
• SCSL is a collection of high-performance mathematical and numerical libraries that are widely used in scientific and technical compute intensive applications. An iterative solver for sparse systems of linear equations, as well a direct solver for sparse complex symmetric systems of linear equations, have been added to the SCSL 1.4 release. Additional features added to SCSL for this release are as follows:
  • A thread-safe parallel random number generator
  • Fortran90 interfaces to the BLAS
  • A parallel implementation of the solve phase for the out-of-core sparse solver
  • Removal of all entry points to the CHALLENGEcomplib FFT routines
  • Performance enhancements and rollup bug fixes from SCSL 1.3.
  • For more information on SCSL, see the SCSL page.

• For customers who do not have web access and are enrolled under a valid support contract, CD media can be requested free of charge from their local support center. Non-contract customers can order SCSL from their local sales representative.

Next release

IRIX 6.5.15

Previous release

IRIX 6.5.13