Heroes Happen Here Launch Events
Attend the upcoming launch of three powerful new products, take a test drive, meet the teams, and leave with promotional copies of Windows Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2008, and Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. Register here.
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Install What You Need with Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 is Microsoft's most full-featured server operating system yet, so it's ironic that one of its most exciting new features is an install option that cuts out most of the other features. Paul Rubens explores why a Server Core installation makes a great deal of sense in many instances.
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Q&A with Bob Muglia: Senior VP, Server and Tools Division
Bob Muglia, senior vice president, Server and Tools Division, discusses Microsoft's new interoperability principles and the steps the company is taking to increase the openness of its products.
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Q&A with Lutz Ziob, GM of Microsoft Learning
Lutz Ziob, the general manager of Microsoft Learning, talks about how IT professionals can become certified heroes within their enterprises by getting trained and certified in Windows Server 2008.
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March 28, 2005 Hardware Today: HP Shows Some OpenVMS Integrity By Drew Robb
The writing has been on the wall for OpenVMS on AlphaServer ever since Compaq gobbled up DEC in the '90s. Or so some of the analysts at the very "best" analyst firms have us believe. When HP ate up Compaq in 2002 the combination was very much in play, but the survival of platform seemed even more unlikely. Yet, the OpenVMS/AlphaServer combo has lived through each transition and to date is still found in hundreds of thousands of server rooms throughout the world.
But the hardware doesn't come cheap. So as part of HP's ongoing hardware consolidation initiative, the company is phasing out the Alpha and porting VMS to its Intel Itanium-based Integrity server line.
"OpenVMS continues to be a strategic platform for HP," said Ann McQuaid, spokesperson for the HP OpenVMS Systems Division. "HP customers can now take full advantage of the availability, scalability, and rock-solid reliability of OpenVMS on the industry-standard Integrity platform."
The latest release of OpenVMS, version 8.2, has been designed to work on both the AlphaServer and Integrity server lines. Alpha applications need only be recompiled and relinked to run on Integrity servers. Common source code can be used to build applications for both environments. In addition, OpenVMS clustering supports AlphaServer systems and Integrity servers in mixed architecture clusters.
HP's goal is to lure the entire user base to its new platform, but the company doesn't expect an immediate rush from Alpha to Integrity. The user base tends to be conservative, so a more gradual transition is anticipated with companies hanging on to their Alphas so long as they have juice.
"Most applications will migrate to Itanium with a minimum of effort, mainly recompilation," says Bob Gezelter, a software consultant in New York with many years experience on OpenVMS. "Programs which contain special Alpha- or VAX-specific code typically require modest changes. Getting a small Integrity system for testing, porting, and sizing purposes is a modest investment with substantial payoff."
Already, 260 OpenVMS applications have been ported to Integrity, and 380 partners have demonstrated their commitment to the port through their represented applications. The two key applications currently missing are Oracle Rdb (currently in beta) and Oracle Server (expected late 2005).
"The same range of applications available today on Alpha should be ready on Integrity servers by the end of 2005," said Mark Gorham, vice president of HP's OpenVMS Systems Division. "Some vertical market applications that have a dependency on the availability of Oracle will quickly become available as soon as Oracle is ready for VMS/Integrity."
The biggest handicap in the Alpha-to-Integrity switch is that porting to OpenVMS on Integrity lacks the performance range it has on AlphaServer. HP began the transition with an intial focus on entry-level systems (i.e., the HP Integrity rx4640, rx2620, and rx1620 servers).
"OpenVMS on Itanium isn't yet supported for big multiprocessor environments," said Colin Butcher, a consultant from the U.K.-based XDelta specializing in OpenVMS and high-availability systems. "The limit on Itanium for now is an 8-way box, while Alphas go up to 64-way."
Butcher has tested OpenVMS on Integrity and been involved in porting various applications from Alpha to the Itanium 2 64-bit platform. Other than needing some time to figure out the Integrity server console interface, he found OpenVMS runs and behaves just as it always does.
"The rx2600s are well-made machines that are easy to work on," said Butcher. "They run v8.2 well and feel comparable to the DS25 class machines."
No Rush
HP's goal is to lure the entire user base to its new platform, but the company doesn't expect an immediate rush from Alpha to Integrity. The user base tends to be conservative, so a more gradual transition is anticipated with companies hanging on to their Alphas so long as they have juice. HP has promised to support the Alpha until at least 2011. However, if its VAX predecessor is any indication, Alphas are likely to linger much longer. Although VAX hasn't had OEM support for years, its still-sizable user base is apparently willing to purchase parts on the second-hand market and even update the code to keep mission-critical applications running. Similar inertia is expected for the Alpha.
"Large Alpha boxes tend to be around for a while, and their users are usually more cautious," said Butcher. "Low-end stuff, on the other hand, in the Alpha DS15/ DS25 and Integrity rx2600 territory, tends to have a shorter cycle and the costs aren't so big."
The changeover will happen, though. HP expects customers to gradually add Integrity/VMS boxes into their Alpha-based clusters. As OpenVMS on Integrity gains their trust, it will start retiring the older machines.
"When customers moved from VAX to AlphaServers, it took two years on the low end for volumes to be 50/50 on each platform, and three years on the high end," said McQuaid. "We are expecting similar results in this transition."
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