onconfig file

When you add or change information in the onconfig file, you must follow the conventions that are used in the file.

The parameter description and the possible values are specified in the comments above their entries in the onconfig.std file.

The following line shows the syntax for a parameter line: 
PARAMETER_NAME parameter_value comments

The following rules describe the onconfig file behavior:

  • Each parameter is on a separate line.
  • Lines that start with the # symbol are comments.
  • The maximum line limit of the onconfig file is 512 bytes. Lines that exceed this limit are truncated and might cause configuration problems.
  • White space (tabs, spaces, or both) is required between the parameter name, the parameter value, and an optional comment. Do not use any tabs or spaces within a parameter value. Any characters after the parameter value and blank space are interpreted as comments, regardless of whether they are preceded by a # symbol.
  • Parameters and their values are case-sensitive. The parameter names are always uppercase. If the value entry is described with uppercase letters, you must use uppercase (for example, the CPU value of the NETTYPE parameter).
  • Most parameters can have one valid entry. If more than one entry for these parameters exists in the onconfig file, the first entry is used. Some parameters, however, can have multiple entries, such as the DBSERVERALIASES configuration parameter, which requires a comma between entries. Some parameters, such as the VPCLASS configuration parameter, can exist multiple times.
  • Unrecognized parameters are copied but ignored and no error is given.
Tip: If you run a utility like grep on the onconfig.std template file, specify the new line character (^) to return just the configuration parameter name and value. Without the new line character, the parameter description is also returned.
For example, the following command returns both the configuration parameter description and the value: 
grep "MSGPATH" onconfig.std
# MSGPATH      - The path of the IDS message log file
MSGPATH $INFORMIXDIR/tmp/online.log
Whereas, the following command returns only the configuration parameter value:
grep "^MSGPATH" onconfig.std
MSGPATH $INFORMIXDIR/tmp/online.log

Conventions for environment variables

You can enter an environment variable as a value in any configuration parameter in which the variable is applicable. For example, for the DBSERVERNAME configuration parameter you can specify the following environment variable instead of the name of your database server:
DBSERVERNAME     $MY_DBSERVERNAME
Important: If you enter an environment variable as a value, you must set that environment variable in the environment of any executable program or utility that reads the onconfig file. Utilities that read the onconfig file include the oninit, oncheck, onbar, ontape, onlog, and archecker utilities.