CCSS has recently implemented a call compatible replacement for HP SNA 3270 DSPI which uses TN3270 technology rather than the SNA technology for communication to IBM compatible hosts. This initial implementation is compatible for FIELD mode operation of SNA 3270 DSPI.

We are looking for organizations that would like to beta test this facility. It will operate on either OpenVMS Alpha or OpenVMS IA64 operating systems and only requires TCPIP as the communications protocol.

Interested parties should contact CCSS for more information and to discuss how we might be able to work with you.

864-490-8863
pedersen@ccsscorp.com

How to get access to the HP Support Center - legally!

As you all know Hewlett Packard Services changed the access to patches some time ago. Well, then there was a second change this last October where they broke the patch access for HP AllianceONE Partners. Well, the most recent problem has been fixed by HP Services and AllianceONE but this only helps if you are an AllianceONE Partner.

So, how can you need a licensed operating system (you see OpenVMS, Tru-64 and HP-UX fall into this category). Windows and Linux are handled separately - different patching model. And NonStop is handled differently as well - but I suspect it too is not "free". The pricing model for NonStop is very different than that of the other systems. We will come back to how to get a license - if you do not already have one or need one (more on that later, too).

So once you have the license you then need to have the necessary contracts to be able to use the HP Support Center. And in this case the contracts will give you access to patches AND access to submit software support cases. And the pricing is not too bad at least not on an Alpha DS10L. But I will give you some figures so you can project your potential costs.

So you need a license, who do you call? I would recommend you contact one of your local resellers or refurbished equipment sellers. Two who seem most likely to be able to help are Len Whitwer of Puget Sound Data Systems (len@psds.com) and Dave Turner of Island Computer (dturner@islandco.com).

The following are approximate costs for licenses on "new" systems:

QL-MT1AE-6Y
OVMS/ALPHA 21066AB BASE LIC (DS10/DS10L)
500.00

QL-005AP-6Z
OVMS/MVAX 3110e BASE LIC
1,095.00

BA991AC
OVMS IA64 for SC rx26xx Series Integrity Servers
695.00

So, first row is model number. Second is description. Third is approximate cost of the license. The licenses for Alpha and VAX vary by model number. These are the cheapest licenses for these architectures - notice the VAX license has not decreased in price while the new more powerful system have become available. This is sort of historic - DEC never reduced prices on systems, licenses, and services - just came out with other models or offered discounts when they "wanted/needed" so as to be able to get the business. Compaq and HP have pretty much maintained that approach.

The IA64 license cost goes up by multiples of number of cores.

So now you have your license.

Now, how to get that support contract.

You need to purchase the following to items:

HA108AC Software Support
HA156AC Update Support

As associated with your licensed system. HP will look for proof of purchase of the license to confirm. Now this is important. So if you have a long out of support system they use this to charge the "Return to Support" fee. This fee grows by the number of months you have been out of support... So, if you have been out of support for YEARS, it might (most likely IS) be cheaper to buy a new license for your system.

Total cost for annual support on a DS10L (QL-MT1AE-6Y) is less than $150. I would expect the IA64 annual cost to be on something less than $200 and the VAX annual cost to be less than $300. I do not have exact figures for these last two options as I only needed the Alpha access.

These prices are all United States prices, your mileage will vary... BUT this give the PROCESS anyone can use to get access to PATCHES and SUBMIT a SOFTWARE SUPPORT CASE.

Make sure they ONLY sell you the above contracts. The folks when I started this seemed to think you needed to have the system under hardware support (not my reseller but HP) - that got corrected REAL FAST!

The following is posted at the request of Kevin Duffy:

Dear Oracle Rdb and Oracle Database on OpenVMS Customers,

We are happy to inform you that registration for the Redwood Shores, USA, 2013 Oracle Rdb and Oracle Database on OpenVMS Technical Forum is now open. To register, go to

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/datab ... 01986.html

Registration for the remaining 2013 Forums will become available on a rolling basis over the next 2 weeks. Please recheck the link above during this time to see if registration for the Forum you would like to attend has opened.

The Forum dates and Oracle office locations where they will be held are:

• September 30 - October 1, 350 Oracle Pkwy (Oracle Conference Center) , Redwood Shores, CA, USA
• October 7-8, Mölndalsvägen 93, Gothenburg, Sweden
• October 10-11, Koenigshof, Hamborner Str. 51-55, D - 40472,
• Dusseldorf, Germany
• October 14-15, 1 South Place, London, UK
• October 17-18, 15 Boulevard Charles de Gaulle, Colombes (Paris), France
• December 9-10, 4 Julius Avenue, North Ryde (Sydney), NSW, Australia

We are also pleased to announce that JCC Consulting will offer one-day, no fee workshops in association with 3 of the Forums. The workshops will illustrate everything you need to know to use the JCC LogMiner Loader (http://www.jcc.com/LML.htm)to publish changes in your Oracle Rdb database to Rdb or other data stores. The dates and Oracle office locations will be:

• October 2, Redwood Shores, CA, USA, Oracle Pkwy, Redwood Shores, CA, USA
• October 9, Gothenburg, Sweden, Mölndalsvägen 93, Gothenburg, Sweden
• October 16, London, UK, 1 South Place, London, UK

To register for the JCC workshop or pose questions click at http://www.jcc.com/SeminarRegistration.htm .

A sampling of the Forum session topics includes:

• Oracle Rdb and Oracle Database on OpenVMS Product Status and Direction
• HP OpenVMS Update
• Update for Oracle on OpenVMS: 10.2.0.5 and 11g
• How You Can Use RAT to Improve Your Oracle Database Performance
• A DBAs Guide to Implementing 11 Years of Rdb Performance Features
• Tricks and Gotcha's with Oracle Rdb Large Transactions
• Auditing with Oracle Rdb
• Oracle Rdb Query Re-Write
• Oracle Rdb Connectivity Update
• Rdb’s New Frontier: Extending Rdb Applications to Modern Mobile Platforms
• Demonstration of New Web-Based Rdb Management Tools

The full Forum agendas are being finalized and will be posted soon on our registration web page. Before that, you can look at the posted agenda from the Burlington, MA Forum (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/products/rdb/community/rdbtf-agenda-13burl-1912328.html) held this past March, since the sessions will largely be updated versions of the Burlington talks.

Attendance will be opened to those who cannot join us in person. Remote attendees will be sent the information needed to join us in a live online Forum web conference. To receive this information, remote attendees must send an email to InfoRdb_US@oracle.com after they have registered indicating that they will be attending remotely. Remote attendees are welcome to attend any or all sessions.

These Forums are offered at no charge and present a series of sessions conducted by acknowledged technical specialists from our development staff and the Oracle Rdb and Oracle Database on OpenVMS community at large. They should be considered a requirement for anyone wishing to remain up-to-date with all the latest enhancements and optimizations in either of these two product families.

We are very excited to be bringing these 2013 Technical Forums to you. I hope you will be able to join us.


Best Regards,
Kevin Duffy
Senior Director, Software Development
Oracle Rdb
Oracle Database on OpenVMS

I posted the following on LinkedIn.com earlier today...

So the question is has your company or any of your clients' companies been harmed by this decision? Did you or they make a strategic decision in the last couple years based upon a promise made in a meeting with HP that OpenVMS would in fact be continuing on to Poulson? How is that affecting you now? What sort of plans? What sort of push back to HP? Any? If not WHY NOT?

As an HP Partner I am very discouraged by this decision and intend to express as load as I can and as effective as I can. Our business is nearly 100% OpenVMS! I have no plans to retire but I do have plans to continue to work to make sure the OpenVMS Community has a future past 2020!

If you are of a similar mindset please contact me.

Thanks,

Bill.

I am reposting this here as the LinkedIn.com group page is not globally accessible to everyone.

Well, one member of the OpenVMS Community, Colin Butcher of XDelta in the UK, has an idea:

"I'm not sure that HP knows just how big the OpenVMS customer base really is. Most OpenVMS systems out there today are mission-critical on one form or another and because the systems "just work", they tend not to get much attention. They also tend to run very specific applications (often bespoke in one way or another), be fairly static over time and have risk averse owners. One consequence of all that is that OpenVMS has a fairly low profile, even within the organisations that rely on it.

The revised roadmap announcement is likely to get quite a lot of attention within such companies, now that it's happened. So, if this badly affects your business and its future plans, why not get your board level people to talk directly to HP at board level and explain why it's bad for your business and for HP's business."

So, have a discussion with your senior management about this impact this is having on your business and how they might be able to have a discussion with people on your company's board! Find a way to get more discussion going from all angles.

After posting this initially I had a conversation with a colleague, Bob Gezelter. He presents another tack on the HP OpenVMS Poulson Fiasco, is HP a reliable partner for enterprise computing? Here is his letter to HP on this subject.

Bill.