14 HP NCS 1.5.1 for the HP 3000 Technical Data The NCS 1.5.1 Product is the Network Computing System Remote Procedure Call version 1.5.1 for our HP 3000 MPE/iX systems. NCS 1.5.1 provides capabilities for transparently making network resources available to users and applications by allowing applications written to NCS 1.5.1 to be distributed. [Figure 1 (HP NCS 1.5.1 for the HP 3000) Caption: none] NCS 1.5.1 is the basis for the NCS component of DCE, OSF's Distributed Computing Environment. By providing NCS 1.5.1 for MPE/iX, a migration path is provided for MPE applications moving to DCE. NCS 1.5.1 is a Remote Procedure Call. It allows remote execution of client procedures on servers throughout the network. NCS RPC makes it possible to develop and run application procedures remotely allowing them to use network resources without causing network traffic, improving performance for enterprise-wide data access and allowing network resource scalability for future growth. NCS provides the base foundation for OSF's DCE, the enabling technology for enterprise-wide heterogenous distributed computing in the future. NCS 1.5.1 on MPE/iX provides a strong foundation of growth for HP 3000 customers moving to DCE environments by enabling multivendor application integration. NCS also provides the HP 3000 with improved capabilities for building distributed applications and integrating existing applications, providing a core foundation for distributed OLTP and data access applications in the future. Benefits of NCS: o Optimum Use of Network Resources: By using NCS RPC, parts of applications can be split to run on server systems closer to the data. This allows better use of the network, faster data access, and better use of processing power. o Multivendor Application Integration: NCS 1.5.1 is adopted by the major vendors and is the basis for the DCE Remote Procedure Call. By developing applications using the NCS 1.5.1 RPC, the applications have an easy migration path to the DCE environment in the future. NCS 1.5.1 will provide interoperability with the next generation of DCE environments. o Ease of Client/Server Application Development: NCS 1.5.1 RPC enables applications to be written in a client-server module. Client applications can run specific procedures on servers to take advantage of server functionality. For example, an inventory application running on a client can have a data update procedure run directly on the appropriate database server and then automatically return results to the client upon procedure completion. NCS Product Structure NCS 1.5.1 for MPE/iX consists of two components: The Network Computing Kernel {NCK} is required to execute NCS applications, and the Network Interface Definition Language {NIDL} is required to actually develop the NCS 1.5.1 applications. 15 The NCK Kernel on MPE/iX provides runtime support for distributed NCS applications and has been tested between NCK implementations on the HP/UX Series 9000/3xx and 8xx platforms. It consists of a set of intrinsics that are accessed by applications at runtime. This Kernel offers applications the ability to execute across networks and facilitates the communication to manage distributed processing. NIDL on MPE/iX is a tool for developing distributed applications. It provides the NCK Kernel the environment for building those applications by taking input and generating client and server stub programs. NCS 1.5.1 consists of both above components. Product Requirements: NCS 1.5.1 will run on MPE/iX version 4.0 or later. It requires the following network and system software to run: o MPE/iX C compiler and C runtime library o NS 3000/iX LAN LINK and Transport o NS 3000/iX Network Services Ordering Instructions: NCS 1.5.1 for MPE/iX is being shipped as a limited distribution product. For information on ordering NCS 1.5.1 for MPE/iX, contact the network sales center at 447-4444. From HP Networking Communications Specification Guide, 5091-3821E, 9205, p 311 Associated files: la3821u1.plt, la3821u1.gal, a3821311.doc HP NCS 1.5.1 for the HP 3000 Technical Data