I just returned from spending three days with the OpenVMS stream of the HP – Intel Developer Forum in Mahwah, New Jersey. The over-subscribed OpenVMS stream was extremely successful, and provided an advanced view of what OpenVMS users can expect from the soon-to-be generally released OpenVMS for HP Integrity Servers. Read article…
(open)VMS is a wonderfully secure, reliable server. I only wish I could try it. Last time I got the urge to try to acquire it, I had to:
(1) Find an Alpha on Ebay
(2) Join a users group
(3) Order the CD and ‘hobbyist’ license
(4) offer first born male child….
Honestly, I never made it past step 1.
Does any one know of an easier way to try this OS. (ie. emulator, VMWare, etc?)
I guess you know about the deathrow cluster?
http://dahmer.vistech.net/
Awesome. Thanks for the link.
Does any one know of an easier way to try this OS. (ie. emulator, VMWare, etc?)
One of the following.
1) Buy a VAX, know someone to get it for free excl. shipping. Not very expensive these days.
2) Buy an Alpha which is VMS-compatible (some run only Windows NT or Linux). The faster models (EV5+) are relatively expensive though.
3) Telnet eisner.decus.org or use the above cluster.
4) SIMH emulator. Homepage: http://simh.trailing-edge.com/ works on Linux, Windows, BSD, etc. Google for howtos, its not hard though, but you’ll need a fast computer IMO.
5) Getting the OS (either for Alpha or VAX) can be tricky, but if you know people its not very hard.
Actually you can get VMS on a hobbiest license (ie you’re not planning to sell software you develop on it – read the license for more info) and on the hobbiest media at http://www.openvmshobbyist.com/.
I’ve installed this on my vaxstation 4000 VLC (which set me back less than $100 on ebay some years ago) and it works nicely. Getting your license paks re-upped every year is a nuisance, of course, but considering what VMS costs, it’s hard to quibble too much.
So the short version: If you want to run VMS on the platform it was originally written for, get a vax (preferably a vaxstation) and the hobbiest license and distribution cd.
OpenVMS is one of the most secure OS I’ve ever used. It beats most UNIX/Linux OS’s!
I hope HP saves it.
Bryan,
Certainly the suggestion that you try Deathrow (or another publicly available box, http://dahmer.vistech.net ) is a good one. It is always easier to learn your way around a system without the bother of learning how to manage your own box.
Once you have gotten some familiarity with the system, you can go about the process of getting your own system. There is a shareware/freeware simulator available from the simh project at http://simh.trailing-edge.com.
You can get licenses from the OpenVMS Hobbyist Page at http://www.openvmshobbyist.com. I suggest that you read the FAQ on that site as to the details of the Authorization Keys. The required membership in the one of the user groups is a nominal expense (if I recall correctly, several of the national chapters do not require you to be a resident of that country to be a member of the national user group).
Last, but not least, the question of media. At one point, the DFWCUG (I think around Version 6.1, I am not in my office at the moment) had a special distribution disk with OpenVMS and the most common hobbyist layered products available for a nominal amount. I do not know what the current situation is with regards to media.
For commercial use, you cannot use the Hobbyist PAKs. On the other hand, I have purchased Alpha workstations at various times for a few hundred dollars with proper licenses OpenVMS and the major layered products for approx. US$ 500.
When purchasing hardware for an OpenVMS system, a small note about capacity is in order: The resources required for reasonable OpenVMS operation are far smaller than what is common in the Windows world. Even a 166 MHz Alphastation 200/4 with a 1Gbyte disk is a quite usable platform for significant development.
I hope that the above is helpful.
– Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com
can openvms be used for internet web servers, like windows, linux and various unix(s), or is openvms used for mostly non-internet related tasks?
OpenVMS used to very popular with banks, and yes they are wonderful internet servers.
They lost much steam toward the end of Compaq… wasn’t supported by the company as much.
I REALLY SUPPORT THE OPEN SOURCE VMS OS EFFORTS!
“I REALLY SUPPORT THE OPEN SOURCE VMS OS EFFORTS!”
good for you tim.
Attila,
Yes, OpenVMS makes an excellent www server. There are three major www servers running on OpenVMS:
– HP’s Secure Webserver (based on Apache)
– WASD (available on all three architectures)
– OSU HTTP
The HP server is available from the HP OpenVMS WWW site (http://www.hp.com/go/openvms). The others are available online on their respective www sites.
– Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com
A small followup on my posting yesterday.
HP Secure Web — http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/products/ips/apache/csws.html (Alpha, IA-64)
WASD — http://wasd.vsm.com.au/ (VAX, Alpha, IA-64)
OSU HTTP — http://kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu/www/doc/serverinfo.html (VAX, Alpha, IA-64)