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           TOPS10 USAGE Accounting Functional Specification
                                 for
         Computer Resource Utilization Data Gathering Project






               Date:  28-Apr-83
               File:  USGFUN.RNO
               Edition:  0.2



;COPYRIGHT (C) 1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1983 BY
;DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION, MAYNARD, MASS.
;
;
;THIS SOFTWARE IS FURNISHED UNDER A LICENSE AND MAY BE USED AND COPIED
;ONLY  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  THE  TERMS  OF  SUCH LICENSE AND WITH THE
;INCLUSION OF THE ABOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICE.  THIS SOFTWARE OR ANY  OTHER
;COPIES THEREOF MAY NOT BE PROVIDED OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE TO ANY
;OTHER PERSON.  NO TITLE TO AND OWNERSHIP OF THE  SOFTWARE  IS  HEREBY
;TRANSFERRED.
;
;THE INFORMATION IN THIS SOFTWARE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT  NOTICE
;AND  SHOULD  NOT  BE  CONSTRUED  AS A COMMITMENT BY DIGITAL EQUIPMENT
;CORPORATION.
;
;DIGITAL ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE USE OR RELIABILITY  OF  ITS
;SOFTWARE ON EQUIPMENT WHICH IS NOT SUPPLIED BY DIGITAL.
                                                                Page 2


1.0  PRODUCT OVERVIEW

A glossary is included  in  this  specification.   If  the  reader  is
confused  by  the  terms used, it is strongly reccommended that he use
the glossary for clarification since definitions will not be given  in
the text.



1.1  Product Abstract

This product provides a mechanism  for  DECsystem-10  computer  owners
that  will  allow  them to effectively charge their computer users for
the resources that the users have used.  This mechanism associates  an
account  and user identification with billable data.  This information
is recorded in an ASCII file we have called  USAGE.   The  USAGE  file
format is extensible, is designed for both TOPS10 and TOPS20 operating
systems and can be processed easily by a  downstream  billing  program
written  in  a higher level language (e.g., COBOL).  The accounts used
can be validated (an option of the system  administrator)  before  any
data associated with these accounts is accumulated and recorded.

The major tasks of this project are  to  define  a  comprehensive  and
extensible  file  format  for recording computer usage data, to modify
the TOPS10 monitor and monitor programs to support this  file  format,
and  to  support  account  validation.   Account  validation  and  the
recording of USAGE data is done by an accounting daemon called  ACTDAE
via  the  QUEUE.   UUO  and IPCF messages.  The monitor programs which
send the IPCF messages to  the  accounting  daemon  are  the  monitor,
GALAXY,  LOGIN,  LOGOUT, all input and output spoolers and BACKUP.  In
addition, DIRECT and REACT have been modified.



1.2  Product Audience

All of DEC's  new  customers  will  use  this  product.   The  current
customers  who do not use a sophisiticated accounting package will use
this product within half a year after this product is released.  Those
who   have  spent  years  developing  their  own  data  gathering  and
accounting probably will not use this product.



2.0  PRODUCT GOALS

The major goals for this project are:

     1.  To provide the user with  system  information  needed  to  do
         meaningful accounting and billing.

     2.  To make the data gathering output on the -10 and -20  systems
         as similar as possible so that one accounting program will be
         usable on both systems.
                                                                Page 3


     3.  To fulfill the  requirement  that  the  Software  Development
         computers run standard field image software.

     4.  To keep the user  community  informed  and  to  solicit  user
         input.

Goals that were considered when designing the new  format  are  listed
below;  it is an ordered list with respect to importance.

     1.  Digital and its customers can extend USAGE  entries  and  add
         new  USAGE  entries  without  invalidating  any program which
         reads the USAGE files (assuming it was properly  coded  as  a
         USAGE file-reading program).

     2.  Maximum data can be recovered from damaged files.

     3.  The data is self-identifying.

     4.  The data is self-contained.

     5.  A high level language, such as COBOL, can process a raw USAGE
         file.

     6.  An  installation  can  tailor  the  monitor  data   gathering
         facilities  to  its requirements without modifications to the
         monitor.

     7.  A comprehensive  library  of  MACRO-10  subroutines  will  be
         available  for  gathering  and  formatting  data entered into
         USAGE files.

     8.  The same USAGE format applies to TOPS10 and TOPS20.

     9.  No distributed program  should  have  conditional  assemblies
         based on the old FACT files.

    10.  Adequate documentation on how  to  write  USAGE  file-reading
         programs will be available in the future.

    11.  Project administration and cost-to-date reporting will not be
         precluded.

    12.  The format provides a focal point  for  all  data  gathering,
         thus  permitting  localized  modifications to standard Digita
         software if required.

    13.  The data is compact for on-line storage.

The non-goals of this product are:

     1.  In formatting the USAGE file, optimal thruput was traded  off
         in favor of meeting the goals.
                                                                Page 4


     2.  To provide  each  customer  with  an  installation  dependent
         downstream billing program.

     3.  Implement support for project administration or  cost-to-date
         reporting.




2.1  Performance

2.2  Support Objectives

2.3  Environments

3.0  FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION

This  product   affects   system   administration,   computer   users,
operations, and downstream billing processing.



3.1  Functional Description For The Data Base, The USAGE File

The following gives a description and  detailed  format  of  the  data
base.   This  data  base  will  be  the input to downstream accounting
programs.  This is probably the most important  change  and,  although
the  format will not be affecting computer users, it will be important
to the administrators and downstream programmers of the installation.



3.1.1  General File Description - In this document  it  is  imperative
that  the  reader  understand  the  semantics  of certain words (e.g.,
account string, entry, record, and  session).   A  glossary  has  been
provided  at  the  end of this document to clarify the meaning of some
words used in this document.   Appendix  A  has  the  complete  format
layouts of the USAGE file records.

All USAGE file entries will be made by the accounting daemon,  ACTDAE.
(ACTDAE  will  run  detached under [1,2].) Under no circumstances will
the calling programs make their own entries.  The  data  mode  of  the
USAGE  files  will be ASCII.  Each USAGE file entry will be made up of
two or more records.  (A  record  is  a  string  of  ASCII  characters
terminated   by   a   line-feed.)  The  numeric  fields  (n)  will  be
right-justified, zero-filled;  the alphanumeric  fields  (a)  will  be
left-justified, blank-filled.

The first entry (file header entry) of each USAGE  file  will  contain
file and system information.

ACTDAE will maintain binary checkpoint files on disk.  When a  job  is
logged  in  or  device media is mounted, information will be stored in
the job's slot of the checkpoint file.   Checkpointing  will  be  done
periodically  (the  time  period  is  dependent  on an ACTDAE assembly
                                                                Page 5


definition), updating the necessary data for each job or device.  When
the  job  is  logged  out,  CSHIFT  is invoked or a session command is
typed, the "session entry" will be translated to ASCII and appended to
the  USAGE  file.   When  a  job  is  logged out, the job slot will be
zeroed.  If a CSHIFT or session command is typed, pertinent data  will
be kept in the checkpoint files.

When ACTDAE is started after a monitor reload,  all  checkpoint  files
will be translated to ASCII and appended to the USAGE file.  This will
be done before any other job attempting to make USAGE file entries  is
allowed  to  proceed.  The system will enforce this action by blocking
IPCF messages until the file update has been completed.   The  session
entries  will be incomplete and be identified as such.  all incomplete
entries will have the same format as SESSION entries except the  entry
type  code  will  be  '0003'.  The record revision numbers will be the
same as the SESSION entry's current revision numbers.

The device mount entries, spooler  entries,  batch  entries  and  disk
storage  entries will be appended to the USAGE file by ACTDAE whenever
these events happen.

The current USAGE file will be renamed to a unique filename and a  new
USAGE  file  created when a "CHIFT" is generated specifically to close
the current USAGE file and begin a new one.   All  checkpoint  entries
will  be  written  out  as  session  entries.  In the case of multiple
CSHIFTs or  SESSION  command  during  a  user's  LOGIN-LOGOUT  period,
auxilliary checkpoint files will be kept to prevent redundant data.



3.1.2  Common Data Descriptions - This section will define all  common
data descriptions used in entries.



3.1.2.1  Dates And Times - All dates will be of the form

          YYYYMMDDHHMMSS

which is the ANSI standard.  This format will be referred  to  as  the
abbreviation (sf) in the entry record descriptions.



3.1.2.2  Program Version Numbers - All program version numbers will be
in the format of

          nnnaa(nnnnnn)-n

left-justified in compressed format.   For  example,  if  the  version
number  data  field  occurs  in  columns 40-54, version 1(3)-1 will be
positioned in columns 40-45 and the remaining columns, 46-54, will  be
blank.
                                                                Page 6


3.1.2.3  Disposition Items - A   disposition   is    a    method    of
communicating  what  happened  during  an  event  to  the  down-stream
processing.  All disposition items will contain a six character  field
provided  by  the  calling  program  indicating  what  happened.  A 39
character field is provided for the calling program to relay a comment
made  by  the system, operator, or user, specifying why the action was
taken if the disposition was other than normal.



3.1.3  Adding And Obsoleting Data Fields - The  following  rules  must
hold  true  when  modifying  the  USAGE format to ensure that programs
reading USAGE files will not be broken.

     1.  An entry type is changed only if  data  fields  withing  that
         entry are redefined.

     2.  If a data item becomes obsolete, the record  revision  number
         is  increased  by  one  and  the data field is filled in with
         blanks.

     3.  If a data item is added, the record revision number is  again
         increased by one and the data field is appended to the end of
         a record within the entry.   This  way  programs  which  were
         written  to  process  USAGE files properly will just truncate
         the record and continue.




3.1.4  Overview Of The Active Job Checkpoint File - This    checkpoint
file  called  USEJOB.BIN will be binary and will have one (1) block of
disk space allocated to each possible job running on the system.  This
checkpoint  file will be created by ACTDAE if one does not exist or if
a  LOOKUP  fails.   Every  n  minutes  (a  parameter  of  ACTDAE)  the
information  for  each active job slot of this checkpoint file will be
updated by ACTDAE.

On a monitor restart, the following steps will be done:

     1.  The system comes up with account validation  turned  off  and
         LOGINs  suppressed  until  the system PIDs have been created.
         This ensures that the necessary system jobs, e.g., accounting
         daemon (ACTDAE), DAEMON, QUASAR and ORION, are established.

     2.  After the accounting PID has  been  created  by  ACTDAE,  the
         system restart entry is appended to the USAGE file.

     3.  If the checkpoint file exists, all non-zero entries  will  be
         translated  to  ASCII  and appended to the USAGE file.  These
         entries will have the same format as session entries but with
         an  entry type code of 0003.  All non-zero device checkpoints
         will be appended also;  the type codes will  not  change  for
         these.
                                                                Page 7


     4.  Zeroes are moved to all blocks/pages of the checkpoint file.

     5.  LOGINs and account validation is now allowed  if  the  system
         status bit was set.

Note that the jobs that are necessary for system  operation  will  not
have their account, if given, validated.  So far this is the only hole
in this accounting system with respect to  invalid  accounts.   It  is
recommended  to  the  system  administrator  that  he double-check the
accounts used by these jobs for validness.



3.1.5  Overview Of Active Device Checkpoint File - This     checkpoint
file  called USEDEV.BIN will be binary and will have one block of disk
space allocated for the devices currently being used on  a  per  entry
basis.   For  instance, if two jobs have a private pack mounted, three
entries will eventually be appended to the  USAGE  file  --  one  disk
spindle  usage  entry  and  two  file structure mount entries (one per
job).  Multiple entries as just described will only occur for sharable
access  devices.   For  single  access devices, only one entry will be
made for each user mount/dismount command pair.

As with the active job checkpoint file,  a  checkpoint  will  be  made
every  n  minutes  (a  parameter  of ACTDAE) to update the appropriate
data.  On a monitor restart, the same steps  will  be  done  for  this
checkpoint file as with the active job checkpoint file.



3.1.6  Entry Descriptions - All  data  is  ASCII  with   each   record
terminated  by  a  carriage  return-line  feed.  Entry types from 0000
through  5000  are  DEC-reserved  and  from  5001  through  9999   are
customer-reserved.

Each entry of the  file  has  two  logical  parts:   a  header  record
followed by one or more data records.  The header record of each entry
has the same format for all entries.  The subsequent data records vary
among entry types.  The entries defined are:

     1.  System restart entries

     2.  Session entries

     3.  Incomplete session entries

     4.  USAGE file header entries

     5.  Date/time change entries

     6.  Batch processor entries (not available)

     7.  Input spooler entries
                                                                Page 8


     8.  Output spooler entries

     9.  Disk usage entries

    10.  Spindle usage entries

    11.  File structure mount entries

    12.  Magtape mount entries

    13.  DECtape mount entries

    14.  DECtape file command entries

A detailed description of the formats for each record are in  Appendix
A.   Entries  are  discussed in the following sections.  Refer to each
record description in Appendix A to find out what kinds  of  data  are
recorded.



3.1.6.1  System Restart Entry (Entry Type 0001) - A   system   restart
entry  consists of an entry header record and a system restart record.
This entry is written for every system  restart.   When  a  system  is
restarted,  this entry is the first to be written.  Afterward, all the
incomplete session entries are written from the checkpoint files.



3.1.6.2  Session Entry (Entry Type 0002) - A session entry is  written
whenever  a user logs out a job or types a successful SESSION command.
This entry consists of an entry  header  record,  session  record  #1,
session record #2, and a TOPS-10 user identification record.



3.1.6.3  Incomplete Session Entry (Entry Type 0003) - Incomplete
session  entries  are  written  only if the monitor has stopped and is
being restarted again.  These entries have the same format as  session
entries,  except the entry type is 0003 instead of 0002.  On a monitor
restart, a system restart entry is made, then the checkpoint  file  is
scanned  and  any job slots that have data in them are appended to the
USAGE file.



3.1.6.4  USAGE File Header Entry (Entry Type 0004) - The  USAGE   file
header entry is always at the beginning of every USAGE file.  It gives
system information where the file was made.  This entry consists of an
entry header record followed by a USAGE file header entry record.
                                                                Page 9


3.1.6.5  Date/Time Change Entry (Entry Type 0005) - The      date/time
change  entry  is  written  every  time  the system's date and time is
changed by executing the SET DATE  or  SET  DAYTIME  commands.   These
entries  consist  of  an  entry  header  record and a date/time change
record.  The old date and time are recorded in  the  date/time  change
record.  The new date and time are found in the date/time field in the
entry header record.



3.1.6.6  Batch Processor Entry (Entry Type 0006) - The batch processor
entry  consists  of  an entry header record, a batch processor record,
and a user identification record.  The date/time recorded in the entry
header  record  is  the time the batch job was completed.  Note that a
session entry was also made when  the  job  running  under  batch  was
logged out.



3.1.6.7  Input Spooler Entry (Entry Type 0007) - This  entry  consists
of  an  entry  header  record,  an  input spooler record, and the user
identification record.



3.1.6.8  Output Spooler Entry (Entry Type 0008) - The  output  spooler
entry  consists  of  an entry header record, an output spooler record,
and a user identification record.   The  scheduled  date/time  of  the
request  compared  with the date/time in the header record is the time
an output device was busy and unavailable for other users.



3.1.6.9  Disk Usage Entry (Entry Type 0009) - This  entry  enables  an
installation  to keep track of permanent disk storage.  One disk usage
entry is made for each non-empty UFD.  An entry consists of  an  entry
record  header,  a disk usage directory record, and disk usage account
string records.  There is one disk usage  account  string  record  for
every  account  string  occurring  in  the  project-programmer  number
specified in the disk usage directory record.  A count of  the  number
of  account  string  records  is  included in the disk usage directory
record.



3.1.6.10  Device Mount Usage Entries - The device  mount  usage  entry
records  applicable computer usage and connect time whenever a user is
using a mountable peripheral device, such as magtape  drives,  DECTAPE
drives,  and disk drives.  The first two are stand-alone entries.  The
latter is a stand-alone entry in a sense, but is extended by the  disk
spindle usage entries.
                                                               Page 10


3.1.6.10.1  Disk Spindle Usage Entry (Entry Type 0010) - The      disk
spindle  usage  entry  gathers  data for analysis of disk drive usage.
This entry consists of an entry header record and disk  spindle  usage
records  (one  disk spindle usage record for each physical pack in the
file structure).  Additionally, installations will have the ability to
use  this  entry  in  conjunction  with  previous file structure mount
entries to propagate another method of billing.   The  m  of  n  count
tells which pack (and, therefore, which record) it is.



3.1.6.10.2  File Structure Mount Entry (Entry Type 0011) - The    file
structure  mount  entry  provides  data  whenever a user mounts a file
structure.  It then is appended  to  the  USAGE  file  when  the  user
dismounts or logs off.  This entry consists of an entry header record,
a file structure mount record, and a user identification record.



3.1.6.10.3  Magtape Mount Request Entry (Entry Type 0012) - This entry
consists  of  an  entry header record, a magtape mount request record,
and a user identification  record.   There  is  one  entry  for  every
magtape mounted.



3.1.6.10.4  DECTAPE Mount Request Entry (Entry Type 0013) - This entry
for  TOPS-10  only  is  created  when  a  user mounts a DECTAPE.  File
commands are recorded in the DECTAPE file command  entry.   A  DECTAPE
mount  request  entry  consists  of  an entry record header, a DECTAPE
mount request record, and a user identification record.  This entry is
appended  to  the  USAGE file when the user dismounts the tape or logs
off.



3.1.6.10.5  DECTAPE File Command Entry (Entry Type 0014) - This  entry
for TOPS-10 only is appended to the USAGE file for every file command.
An entry consists of an entry header record, a  DECTAPE  file  command
record, and a user identification record.



3.1.7  Examples Of Usage Files - This section will  give  examples  of
USAGE  files.   Dashes  denote  record boundaries;  equal signs denote
entry boundaries.



3.1.7.1  Example Of USAGE File On TOPS10 - This is a typical file with
no system restarts occurring after the file has been created.

!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   Usage Header Entry
!-------------------------------------!
                                                               Page 11


!        Usage Header Record          !     "       "     "
!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   Session Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #1           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #2           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
! User Identification Record TOPS10   !      "      "
!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   Session Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #1           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #2           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
! User Identification Record TOPS10   !      "      "
!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   Session Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #1           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #2           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
! User Identification Record TOPS10   !      "      "
!=====================================!
!         Entry Header Record         !   Output Spooler Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!        Output Spooler Record        !      "      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
!  User Identification Record TOPS10  !      "      "      "
!=====================================!



3.1.7.2  Example Of USAGE File With A Restart - This example is  shown
with  TOPS10  entries.  The incomplete session entries in this example
will have the same format as session entries.

!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   Usage Header Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!        Usage Header Record          !     "       "     "
!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   Session Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #1           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #2           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
! User Identification Record TOPS10   !      "      "
!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   Session Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #1           !      "      "
                                                               Page 12


!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #2           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
! User Identification Record TOPS10   !      "      "
!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   Session Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #1           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #2           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
! User Identification Record TOPS10   !      "      "
!=====================================!
!         Entry Header Record         !   Output Spooler Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!        Output Spooler Record        !      "      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
!  User Identification Record TOPS10  !      "      "      "
!=====================================!
* * * * * * C R A S H * * * * * * * * *
!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   System Restart Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!       System Restart Record         !     "       "     "
!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   Incomplete Session Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #1           !        "        "      "
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #2           !        "        "      "
!-------------------------------------!
! User Identification Record TOPS10   !        "        "      "
!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   Incomplete Session Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #1           !        "       "      "
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #2           !        "       "      "
!-------------------------------------!
! User Identification Record TOPS10   !        "       "      "
!=====================================!
!        Entry Header Record          !   Session Entry
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #1           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
!         Session Record #2           !      "      "
!-------------------------------------!
! User Identification Record TOPS10   !      "      "
!=====================================!
                                                               Page 13


3.2  System Administration And Operational Functional Changes

3.2.1  TOPS10 Monitor 7.01 - There is a  MONGEN  question  which  will
determine  the  maximum  length  allowed  for the account string.  The
maximum possible is 39 characters, which is the default.



3.2.2  Requiring An Account Or Remark From The User - The       system
administrator can now force a user to type an account, remark, or both
when the user logs in or types a SESSION command.  He can do  this  by
having  his operator set the account (bit 25) and remark (bit 24) bits
in the profile word of the user's entry in ACCT.SYS using  REACT.   If
any  one of these bits is set, the user must enter something before he
can proceed.



3.2.3  ACT Ersatz Device - A   new   ersatz   device,   ACT,   project
programmer  number  [1,7],  will  be  used to store various accounting
files.  The USAGE file, account validation file, and checkpoint  files
will be stored and updated here.



3.2.4  Account Validation - In many shops the account a user has typed
is  used  later,  in  a downstream process, to charge the user for the
computer resources that he used during a session.  The most economical
and  foolproof way of billing for computer usage is to ensure that the
user typed a valid account BEFORE he used any computer resources.  The
process  of  verifying  the  account  a  user  typed is called account
validation.  (The difficulty with  account  validation  is  that  each
customer will have a diverse accounting scheme.  Therefore, the format
of PROJCT.SYS and the software doing validation  must  be  extensible;
this is a difficult design and requires careful consideration.  During
the design, project administration was not precluded;  however, we  do
not  plan  to implement project administration during this development
cycle.) The account a user types will be verified based on the account
validation  system  states  bit  (ST%ACT  in CNSTS2) and a file called
PROJCT.ACT.  



3.2.4.1  Account Validation System States Bit - The account validation
system  states bit is a bit set at MONGEN time.  If the bit is on, and
a user has typed an account, the account will be verified.  If someone
wants  to  take  the system stand alone without account validation, he
can use the /NOVALIDATION switch to the STARTUP OPTION when he  brings
the  monitor  up.  This will turn the account validation system states
bit off suppressing account validation.

If the account validation bit is set, validation  will  occur  if  the
user  types  an  account  at  LOGIN  time  or  when he types a SESSION
command;  validatiton will also occur when the user types an  /ACCOUNT
switch to any QUEUE command.  If a QUEUE request has a parameter which
                                                               Page 14


will delay the servicing of  that  request  (e.g.,  AFTER:n),  account
validation  must  be  done  twice.  Once at the time the user made the
request and, again, at  the  time  the  request  is  serviced.   If  a
validation  error  occurs  when  the  user  typed  the request, just a
warning is given:

          %ACVIVA Invalid account xxxxxx

If a validation error occurs when the request is serviced, the request
is cancelled with no USAGE entries begin made.

The 7.01 control file examples of running MONGEN will be released with
account validation turned on.



3.2.4.2  Account Validation File, PROJCT.ACT - The account  validation
file,   PROJCT.ACT,  will  be  created  and  modified  by  the  system
administrator using a text editor.  After PROJCT.ACT is  created,  the
program, PROJCT.EXE, must be run to convert the ASCII information into
a mixed mode file called PROJCT.SYS.  (This file will be  designed  so
that  programs  reading  the  file  will  go  faster than if they read
PROJCT.ACT.)  PROJCT.SYS  will  reside  on  the  ersatz  device   ACT:
(project-programmer number [1,7]).

The format of PROJCT.ACT will be:

[p,pn]/switctes=account1/switches,account2/switches,account3/switches

Wildcarding will be supported using the characters ?  and *  with  the
following definitions and restrictions:

     1.  * matches any arbitrary string, including the null string

     2.  ?  doesn't match a null;  therefore, for every question mark,
         there must be a character.

     3.  Restriction:  This  wildcarding  will  not  support  *'s   in
         combination  with  numbers.   For  example,  [1,2*]  will  be
         illegal.

The project programmer entries in  PROJCT.ACT  must  be  in  ascending
numerical order.  In the case of wildcarding, a ?  becomes a logical 7
and a * becomes a logical 777777.  In  ascending  numerical  order,  a
logical  7 occurs after a real 7.  Following is an example of hiearchy
in PROJCT.ACT.

          [10,10]=ABC
          [10,2370]=DEF
          [10,*]=GHI
          [*,*]=JKL

Note that the scheme used here makes it illegal for [10,10] to log  in
using  account  JKL.   In  other words, if a ppn match is found and an
account match is not found, an invalid account error message is  typed
                                                               Page 15


to the user -- scanning for another ppn match is not done.

If the project programmer  entries  are  not  in  ascending  numerical
order,   the  following  error  message  is  typed  when  the  program
PROJCT.EXE is run:

     SPECIFIED [P,PN] IS NOT IN ASCENDING [P,PN] SEQUENCE.

Accounts can also be wildcarded.  In the following example,

          [10,2162]=???ABC*

all accounts typed with "ABC" beginning at character  position  4  and
ending at character position 6 will be valid for [10,2162].  Note that
if a "*" is used, the scan and compare of the  ASCIZ  account  strings
will  stop;   this  implies  that  any  arbitrary number of characters
(maximum is 39 total) typed after the "ABC" in the above example  will
be considered valid.



3.2.4.3  PROJCT.EXE - To run PROJCT.EXE, have PROJCT.ACT in your area,
then type:

          R PROJCT<CR>

If there are no errors the message is typed:

          END OF JOB
          EXIT

Other possible errors are:

     NON-NUMERIC BYTE ENCOUNTERED IN [P,PN] FIELD.
     [P,PN] FIELD TERMINATED BY CR!LF.
     NON-OCTAL DIGIT ENCOUNTERED IN [P,PN] FIELD.
     MULTIPLE COMMA'S ENCOUNTERED IN [P,PN] FIELD.
     NULL PROJECT NUMBER ENCOUNTERED IN [P,PN] FIELD.
     MULTIPLE EQUAL SIGNS ENCOUNTERED IN [P,PN] FIELD.
     NULL PROGRAMMER NUMBER ENCOUNTERED IN [P,PN] FIELD.
     LENGTH OF P!PN EXCEEDS 6 DIGITS.
     MULTIPLE ['S ENCOUNTERED IN [P,PN] FIELD.
     MULTIPLE ]'S ENCOUNTERED IN [P,PN] FIELD.
     NULL ACCOUNT STRING ENCOUNTERED IN A.S. FIELD.
     SPECIFIED [P,PN] IS NOT IN ASCENDING [P,PN] SEQUENCE.
     [P,PN] ENTRY EXCEEDS BUFFER SIZE. ENTRY DELETED.
     NULL /SWTCH. FIELD ENCOUNTERED IN A.S. FIELD.
     ACCOUNT FIELD LENGTH EXCEEDS 39 CHARACTERS.
     EQUAL (=) SIGN MISSING FROM ACCOUNT STRING FIELD.
     ILLEGAL WILD-CARD SYNTAX IN [P,PN] FIELD.
     WILD-CARD CHARACTERS  * AND ?  EQUAL ZERO.
                                                               Page 16


3.2.5  CSHIFT Command - In some cases, system administrators will want
to  encourage  system  usage during non-prime hours so the system load
can be spread over all  hours.   To  encourage  this,  users  may  get
charged  less  after  17:00 than between the hours of 08:00 and 17:00.
This is called charging by  shift.   A  mechanism  to  do  this  shift
charging is provided via a command called CSHIFT.

At the given date and time the accounting daemon, ACTDAE, will  "close
out"  the  USAGE  file  that  is currently open and being appended to.
Before the file is closed, all checkpoint files will be examined.   If
there are any job slots in use, ACTDAE will do a checkpoint to get the
information up-to-date, make a USAGE  entry,  and  then  remember  the
accumulated data in case of another CSHIFT or SESSION event.

The format of the CSHIFT command is:

          CSHIFT day-of-week hh:mm:ss

For example, the command 'CSHIFT SUNDAY 12:00' will  cause  ACTDAE  to
close the current USAGE file on Sunday at noon.

It has been suggested at Spring, 1978 DECUS to  have  a  command  file
that  ACTDAE  can  read.   This file, CSHIFT.ACT, will reside on ACT:.
The format will be as above with one CSHIFT entry per line.  This file
will  be  read when ACTDAE first begins to run and will be part of its
initialization procedure.  It will not read the file whenever the file
changes.

The CSHIFT command should be used before a USAGE file  is  copied  for
processing.  This closes out the file, gives it a unique filename, and
prevents redundant data.



3.2.6  USAGE And FACT Files - USAGE  and  FACT  files  will  be   made
simultaneously  with  release  7.01 for those customers who wish to do
so.  The FACT files will not change in any way and will be created  in
SYS:  as they are now.  The other option will be to produce only USAGE
files.  A patch for DAEMON will be provided in the beware file to turn
off FACT files.

The USAGE files will be created by the ACTDAE  in  the  ersatz  device
ACT:.    The  USAGE  file  currently  being  updated  will  be  called
USAGE.OUT.   The  USAGE  file  format  is  discussed  in   the   USAGE
specification section.

FACT files will not be supported six months after the release of 7.01.
                                                               Page 17


3.2.7  BACKUP - There will be a new switch called  /USAGE  which  will
make  disk  usage  entries  in  the  USAGE  file  based on account per
directory.  See the USAGE file section for a description of the entry.
This  switch  can  be  used  in conjunction with the /SAVE switch when
doing a system-wide BACKUP.  After the entry for a directory is  made,
the  current  date  and time is written into the "last accounting date
and time" word of the UFD.  This date and  time  will  appear  in  the
USAGE  entry  the next time the /USAGE switch is typed.  This date and
time can be used to give a time interval for charging  permanent  disk
storage.



3.3  User Or Terminal Operator Functional Changes

3.3.1  LOGIN Procedure - Two additional prompts will be added  to  the
LOGIN  procedure.   One will ask for an account and the other will ask
for a user remark.  The user remark is simply a comment  typed  in  by
the  user  to describe what flavor of work he is doing on a particular
project, e.g., debuggging,  inserting  code,  etc.   When  a  carriage
return  is typed to the remark prompt, spaces will be the default.  If
a control character is typed in  response  to  the  remark  prompt,  a
backslash (\) will replace the character.  If the remark typed is more
than 39 characters in length, the first 39 characters will be recorded
in the USAGE file.

An example of the LOGIN dialogue is:

          LOG 10/2162
          JOB 31    RZ3A7A KL10 SYS#1026  TTY0
          PASSWORD:
          ACCOUNT: FOO
          REMARK: BAR
          1003    20-JUL-78       THUR
          
          .

The LOGIN error messages are:

          ?LGNATL Account xxxxxx too long
          ?LGNICA Illegal character in account
          ?LGNNAS No account specified

If account validation is in effect, the  following  validation  errors
may occur.

     ?ACVNCA No channels available
     ?ACVNED Nonexistent ersatz device ACT:
     ?ACVFRE FILOP. error (n)
     ?ACVNDP No data in PROJCT.SYS
     ?ACVEOF Unexpected end of file
     ?ACVIOE I/O error (n) reading PROJCT.SYS
     ?ACVFUE FILOP. USETI function error (n)
     ?ACVPVS PROJCT.SYS version skew -- Currently is xxxx but should be yyyyy
     ?ACVWEH Cannot write-enable the high segment
                                                               Page 18


     ?ACVGHS Cannot get core in high segment
     ?ACVGLS Cannot get core in low segment
     ?ACVCRT Cannot read table
     ?ACVWLH Cannot write-lock the high segment
     ?ACVNPP Nonexistent project-programmer number [xxxxxx,yyyyyy]
     ?ACVIVA Invalid account yyyyyy



3.3.2  ACCOUNT Command - This monitor command will report to the  user
what account he is logged in under (via a LOGIN or a SESSION command).
The format of this monitor command is:

          .ACCOUNT<CRLF>

After the <CRLF> is typed the monitor will type the account  the  user
is logged in under.  If he does not have any account, a <CRLF> will be
typed;  this is called a null account.



3.3.3  SESSION Command - This command allows the user  to  change  the
billing  profile  of  his  job.   There  currently  are two arguments,
/ACCOUNT and /REMARK.  The format of the command is:

          .SESSION /ACCOUNT:arg, /REMARK:arg

If a <CR> is typed, the user will be prompted as if he was logging in.
See  the "LOGIN procedure" for error messages.  This command will have
the same effect as  if  the  user  logged  off  and  logged  back  in;
however,  he  will keep the same profile of his job and any devices he
currently owns.



3.3.4  QUEUE Commands - A user will be able to type /ACCOUNT  switches
to  all  QUEUE commands.  If necessary, the account he types will then
be validated.  This valid account will then be entered  in  the  USAGE
entry  it is associated with.  In the case of a SUBMIT command, a user
will also be able to type a /REMARK switch which will  be  entered  in
the session entry produced by the subsequent batch job.



3.3.5  DIRECT - There will be a new switch in  DIRECT.   The  /ACCOUNT
switch  will  type  out  the file and the account associated with that
file.  The account is stored in the RIB with the account the  user  is
logged  in  under  whenever the file is created or superseded.  In all
cases, the account stored in the RIB  will  be  left-justified  padded
with spaces.  The format is shown in the following examples.

.DIRECT/ACCOUNT

FOO     1       0  <055>   24-Jul-78    THIS IS AN ACCOUNT STRING       DSKC:   [10,2162]
FOO     2       0  <055>   24-Jul-78    THIS IS AN ACCOUNT STRING
                                                               Page 19


FOO     3       0  <055>   24-Jul-78    THIS IS AN ACCOUNT STRING
FOO     4       0  <055>   24-Jul-78    THIS IS AN ACCOUNT STRING
  Total of 0 blocks in 4 files on DSKC: [10,2162]

.DIRECT/SORT/ACCOUNT

FOO     1       0  <055>    19780724                    THIS IS AN ACCOUNT STRING
FOO     2       0  <055>    19780724                    THIS IS AN ACCOUNT STRING
FOO     3       0  <055>    19780724                    THIS IS AN ACCOUNT STRING
FOO     4       0  <055>    19780724                    THIS IS AN ACCOUNT STRING
  Total of 0 blocks in 4 files on DSKC: [10,2162]

.DIRECT FOO.1/DETAIL

DSKC0:FOO.1[10,2162]
Access date: 24-Jul-78
Creation time, date: 10:35 24-Jul-78
Access protection: 055
Mode: 0
Blocks allocated: 10.
Written on: Unit(s) 0 on controller 1 on CPU 1026
Data block in directory: 439150.
Internal creation date,time: 24-Jul-78 10:35:30
RIB block number: 133030.
ACCOUNT: THIS IS AN ACCOUNT STRING
  Total of 0 blocks in 1 file on DSKC: [10,2162]

In addition the /DETAIL switch will report  the  expiration  date  and
time and the last accounting date and time of the UFD.  The format is:

.DIRECT [16,2162].UFD/DETAIL

DSKB0:16,2162.UFD[1,1]
Access date: 25-Jun-76
Creation time, date:  5:16 25-Jun-76
Access protection: 775
Mode: 0
Words written: 128.
Blocks allocated: 5.
Written on: Unit(s) 4 on controller 0 on CPU 514
Logged in quota: 3000.
Logged out quota: 2500.
Blocks used: 585.
Data block in directory: 1125.
Internal creation date,time: 11-Jun-76  2:54:20
Last accounting date,time: 30-Jun-76  18:45:29
Directory expiration date,time: 11-Jan-96  0:30:00
RIB block number: 69765.

  Total of 1 block in 1 file on DSKB: [1,1]
                                                               Page 20


4.0  ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED.

     1.  Do we ship this software with FACT files turned on or off.




5.0  COMPATIBILITY

The software distributed will support the FACT  file  format  for  six
months after 7.01 release.



6.0  EXTERNAL INTERACTIONS AND IMPACT

See section 3.0 through 3.4.



7.0  RELIABILITY/AVAILABILITY/SERVICEABILITY

8.0  PACKAGING AND SYSTEM GENERATION

9.0  DOCUMENTATION

10.0  REFERENCES


     1.  USAGE File Specification #100-012-001-00

     2.  CRUDG Project Plan #100-012-002-00

     3.  DECSYSTEM-10 Spring '75 Minutes, Accounting Session Memo
                                                               Page 21


                               GLOSSARY



Account is a string  of  ASCII  characters  (48  octal  to  175  octal
     inclusive)  that  can  be used by the installation for downstream
     billing, reporting, charging, etc.  The string can be  broken  up
     into  small data fields or be used as one field, depending on the
     needs of the installation.

Accounting daemon  -  A  program,  called  ACTDAE,  that  handles  all
     accounting   functions,  namely,  account  validation,  appending
     accounting data to the USAGE file, checkpointing, etc.

Account validation is  the  process  that  ensures  that  any  account
     recorded  with any billable event will be accurate.  This process
     needs to happen before any computer access or events take place.

Billing profile of a user is used by downstream  billing  programs  to
     charge   and   summarize  computer  usage.   Two  mechanisms  are
     currently provided:  the account and the remark.

Calling program is one that sends an IPCF message to ACTDAE to make  a
     USAGE file entry.

Disposition and comment - The contents of the disposition  data  field
     (6  characters)  will be some specified text to report success or
     failure of a particular task (e.g, printing).   The  contents  of
     the  comment  data field (39 characters) will be a string of text
     provided by the user, system, or operator.

Entry - A USAGE file entry is made up of two or  more  records.   Each
     entry is self-contained and therefore easily billable.

FACT is the name of the file containing accounting data with  the  old
     format.

CSHIFT will be a new operator command to conveniently  close  out  the
     current USAGE file and begin a new one.  System action taken as a
     result of this command will be invisible to the users.

Record is a basic unit of an entry.  A record consists of a string  of
     ASCII characters terminated with a carriage return-line feed.

Record revision number is a version number of the record.  This number
     will  be increased by one every time the record is changed in any
     way, i.e., data fields are obsoleted or appended to the record.

Remark is a  mechanism  with  which  the  user  can  communicate  with
     downstream  billing  programs and reports at the time the user is
     utilizing the computer.  For instance, he  can  record  the  fact
     that he is debugging at a given session or that he is documenting
     for a project.

Session - In this document the definition of a session  is  the  time,
                                                               Page 22


     usage,  and  events being recorded in a session entry.  A session
     entry can begin on a LOGIN, SESSION command or CSHIFT command and
     terminate  with  a  logout,  SESSION command, CSHIFT command or a
     monitor stop.

SESSION command will be a new user command that will allow an  account
     string or user remark (see DECUS memo by S.  Strickler) to change
     while the user is still logged in.  This implies that  a  session
     entry will be written out and a new session begun.

USAGE is the filename of the file containing data of  the  new  format
     described in this document.