Fancy trying the granddaddy of Windows NT for free? Now's your chance
- Reference: 1681374613
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/04/13/openvms_921_x86_hobby/
- Source link:
The slow-but-steady migration of OpenVMS onto commodity x86 kit has passed a couple of significant milestones. A year ago, we [1]covered the release of OpenVMS 9.2 , the first production-ready version of the OS for x86-64 kit. In that story we mentioned that the VMS equivalent of a point release was coming, probably at the end of 2022. Well, it's here, and there is also a way to get hold of the new OS and try it for yourself.
Progress is slow, but that is a good thing: this is one of the most reliable and stable OSes in the IT industry. A measured, thoroughly tested release cycle is what you want when some clusters have uptimes measured in decades .
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Last month, [3]HP spin-off VMS Software Inc. started the field test of OpenVMS [4]E9.2-1 . This version means two significant new milestones for this 46-year-old enterprise OS. It's the first update for the new x86-64 edition: if you were running 9.2 on Intel-powered tin, you can get the 9.2-1 update and do an in-place upgrade.
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However, there is also a good reason for performing fresh installs of version 9.2-1: this is also the first release to directly support AMD chippery. So you can both update some existing Intel installations, and also add some new AMD ones. Slightly less exciting but also worthwhile improvements include OpenJDK 8, SSL 3, and a DHCP client.
The [7]release notes [PDF] have the full info, spread over 82 pages, but then VMS has long been infamous for being verbose. The product [8]homepage has seven separate sections of documentation for you to peruse – a pale shadow of the legendary [9]"gray wall" of documentation that accompanied VMS in ancient times, replacing the [10]orange wall enjoyed by users of older DEC OSes.
[11]Ubuntu 23.04 'Lunar Lobster' beta is here in all its glitchy glory
[12]New models of IBM Model F keyboard Mark II incoming
[13]OpenMandriva Rome version 23.03 is out now
[14]Version 100 of the MIT Lisp Machine software recovered
Alongside copious amounts of documentation, DEC was also famous for its hobbyist program, which allowed fans to get and run DEC OSes on their own non-production machines for free. After Compaq bought DEC, an early Reg article covered the [15]extension of the hobbyist program to Alpha machines . Very nearly a quarter of a century later, VMS Software is in the process of extending its equivalent, the [16]community licence program, to include x86 alongside Alpha and Itanium. Blogger Remy van Elst [17]reports that although he hasn't received the notification himself, another hobbyist forwarded the email, and Remy was able to log in and download the x86 edition.
You will need a login for VSI's [18]service portal , but if you've already got one, the files to look for are X86E921OE.ZIP for the software itself, plus x86community-20240401.zip for the license PAK. Remy has also published a handy [19]guide on how to install the OS on VirtualBox – which, if you're running on Windows, requires disabling Hyper-V. The Reg FOSS desk hasn't tried the x86 edition just yet, but we've applied for a license and we'll report back if we get one.
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[21]Youtube Video
According to VSI's [22]roadmap , version 9.2-2 should follow in the second half of this year. As we reported last time, 9.2-1 was expected in late 2022 so this timing is provisional and could slip. Some of the delay could be due to the sad [23]death of CEO Kevin Shaw, who died in a traffic accident in October at just 44 years old. ®
Get our [24]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/10/openvms_92/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZDfSxEt9CyeM2TkYpUxA7wAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2014/07/31/openvms_spared/
[4] https://vmssoftware.com/about/news/2023-03-09-openvms-e921-availability/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZDfSxEt9CyeM2TkYpUxA7wAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZDfSxEt9CyeM2TkYpUxA7wAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://vmssoftware.com/docs/VSI_X86E921_RN.pdf
[8] https://vmssoftware.com/about/current-openvmsx86/
[9] https://everything2.com/title/Big+Gray+Wall
[10] https://retrocomputingforum.com/t/the-wall-of-orange-decs-manuals/1314
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/04/ubuntu_2304_lunar_lobster_beta/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/03/new_model_f_keyboards/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/31/new_openmandriva_rome_2303/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/31/mit_cadr_software_recovered/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/1999/02/25/compaq_to_give_away_vms/
[16] https://vmssoftware.com/community/community-license/
[17] https://raymii.org/s/blog/OpenVMS_9.2_for_x86_is_finally_available_for_hobbyists.html
[18] https://sp.vmssoftware.com/
[19] https://raymii.org/s/blog/OpenVMS_9.2_for_x86_Getting_Started.html
[20] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZDfSxEt9CyeM2TkYpUxA7wAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[21] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS2u9HK6KNE
[22] https://vmssoftware.com/about/roadmap/
[23] https://vmssoftware.com/about/news/2022-10-19-vms-software-devastated-by-untimely-death-of-ceo-kevin-shaw/
[24] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: The modern museum
Remember - some people do not have the source code for software they depend on. Although I would expect that by now they would have had to buy themselves into another lock in relationship with a different vendor.
About all I remember of VMS is that every time the team dealing with it got a new hire someone would have to deal with a machine clogged up by a full disk because VMS defaults to creating new versions of files instead of overwriting.
Re: The modern museum
“ About all I remember of VMS is that every time the team dealing with it got a new hire someone would have to deal with a machine clogged up by a full disk because VMS defaults to creating new versions of files instead of overwriting.”
So the team didn’t seem to know about (proactive) version limits available on files and/or directories? I remember teaching that in the “VMS Utilities and Command” course when working at Digital.
Re: The modern museum
PURGE was your friend. To keep the two most recent copies: PURGE/KEEP=2
Re: The modern museum
[Author here]
> I wonder how long it lasts to make economic sense.
I considered adding a "why would anyone care" paragraph. I decided not to. It seems I should have.
DEC kit was exceptionally well-made and as bulletproof as their OS. I know people still running PDP-11s, let alone VAXen and Alpha boxes.
If someone is still running some important function on VMS, then they could be running it on VAXen (probably somewhat unlikely now, but possible), on Alpha boxes (plausible), or on Itanium ones (not that old but no longer made and facing EOL.)
But there are also emulators, and VMS' clustering is unparalleled (pun intended) so you can run an emulator and cluster it with the host machine the emulator is running on. This can be is a lot more efficient than running an emulated machine -- a VM -- with emulated disks containing filesystems, lessons the PC virtualisation industry has yet to learn.
You could be running VAX or Alpha emulators, which cost money, on x86 kit. This way, you could recompile your app and get a performance boost from running native.
You could be running real Alpha or Itanium kit, in which case this lets you migrate to current commodity server kit, with hardware support contracts and readily available spares.
You could support real aging native VMS kit with cluster members with cheap modern hardware, for a fast and inexpensive upgrade.
You could have some special app you can't afford to port, or the people who wrote it are gone or dead or something.
You could have some special VMS expertise and this is cheaper than retraining or hiring new people.
VMS was huge once. If there's still money to be made from modernizing OS/2, then this potential market is bigger. And while VSI does not own the VAX version and can't award VAX licenses, it does and can sell Alpha and Itanium licenses, support, etc. It's not dependant on new sales.
Re: The modern museum
VMS was huge once
For good reason - it was awesome!
I do remember the "Grey Wall" of documentation. My first company got a VAXstation running VMS to support a project, and the documentation occupied about half of a large steel bookcase in the development lab. One day the software engineer assigned to the project wanted to find the API call required to print a message on the console; it eventually took 4 of use a half day going through numerous manuals to eventually find the syscall he wanted. Fun days, now lost in the mists of time.
Re: The modern museum
Yep, Alphas still in service running older rigs. Newer builds have moved on, and it would be very hard to go back now the skills are gone. I have no doubt the Alpha hardware would keep going forever, if we wanted it to.
Re: The modern museum
Well with a supported version that runs on (some) current commodity hardware it may attract further investment and rise phoenix like...
The real hurdle is too many people in IT today think there is only Windows and Linux and these represent the pinnacle of OS design and development, because that is all they know...
Locked down, 1980s style!
Only telnet & ftp running ;)
Option of last resort
Worked for a company who did weather forecast presentation/annotation software which ran exclusively on VMS. Unfortunately, all the VMS people left and no one was keen to learn it. The major customers (Dutch Air Force and Dutch TV station) enacted the escrow clauses and took on maintenance themselves. God knows where they got people with VMS dev experience as we couldn't.
The modern museum
So, the long tail it is, the legacy OS option. Any other application would have already been updated and compiled for another OS.
I wonder how long it lasts to make economic sense.