Compaq support for OpenVMS VAX licenses on the CHARON-VAX emulator
Sue Skonetski
sue
Compaq Support for OpenVMS VAX Licenses on the CHARON-VAX Emulator
Software Resources International (SRI) has developed a VAX emulator that
prolongs the usability of Compaq OpenVMS VAX and MicroVAX applications by
enabling their transfer to new hardware platforms without any conversion
effort. CHARON-VAX emulates a complete MicroVAX system on a Windows NT or
Windows 2000 platform, allowing OpenVMS applications to run unmodified.
Compaq is providing the following extension licenses for the CHARON-VAX
environment, allowing the OpenVMS VAX operating system and OpenVMS VAX
layered products and licenses to be transferred to the CHARON-VAX
environment.
Ø OpenVMS VAX Operating System Extension License:
o QM-6KQAA-AA: VAX to CHARON-VAX for OpenVMS Alpha - $500
o QM-6T7AA-AA: VAX to CHARON-VAX for Windows and Linux - $1000
Ø Compaq Layered Product Extension License:
o QM-6KRAA-AA: VAX to CHARON-VAX for OpenVMS Alpha - $500
o QM-6T8AA-AA: VAX to CHARON-VAX for Windows and Linux - $100
Compaq Services will support the Compaq OpenVMS VAX software on the
CHARON-VAX emulator running on Compaq systems only. Existing software
service contracts are valid on supported OpenVMS VAX applications running on
the emulator. Compaq will fix software problems if they are also seen in the
comparable VAX environment.
The CHARON-VAX emulator is a software product owned, sold, and serviced by
Software Resources International (SRI). For more information about the SRI
CHARON-VAX emulator, see their web site at:
www.charon-vax.com http://www.charon-vax.com/
Included in the "Compaq Layered Product Extension License" are the following
products: ACMS, ALL-IN-1, Compaq BASIC, Compaq C, CMS, COBOL, DCE, DCPS,
DECmigrate, DECram, DECwrite, DFS, DQS, DTM, DTR, DECnet-Plus, DECnet Phase
IV, DECwindows Motif, FMS, Forms, Fortran, GKS, LSE, MACRO-64, MAILbus, MMS,
Notes, Pascal, PCA, PHIGS, RMS Journaling, RTR, SLS, SQL, TCP/IP Services
for OpenVMS, VAXcluster, OpenVMS Clusters, Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS,
X.25, X.500. This list of products excludes any products that have
third-party obligations that prohibit inclusion in this extension license.
© 2001 Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P.
Larry Kilgallen
> This will be on the OpenVMS web site this week.
Thanks for the information Sue.
Is that layered product extension license a single license to cover
all layered products, or is there a separate license required for
each layered product on the machine?
JF Mezei
> o QM-6KQAA-AA: VAX to CHARON-VAX for OpenVMS Alpha - $500
>
> o QM-6T7AA-AA: VAX to CHARON-VAX for Windows and Linux - $1000
Does this mean that if I want to transfer an existing VMS license on a VMS to
a machine that emulates a vax on an 8086, Compaq wants USD $1000 to *transfer*
the licence for which I have already paid ?
Or is that for a brand new licence ?
Also, and this is technical, does Charron Vax actually run as an application
over windows and/or linux, or does it have its own kernel without any need for
windows or linux ?
> o QM-6KRAA-AA: VAX to CHARON-VAX for OpenVMS Alpha - $500
> o QM-6T8AA-AA: VAX to CHARON-VAX for Windows and Linux - $100
Interesting that for VMS, Compaq gives you a break if you run the emulator on
an alpha, but for layered products, they charge more if you run the products
on an alpha.
> Compaq Services will support the Compaq OpenVMS VAX software on the
> CHARON-VAX emulator running on Compaq systems only.
While it is cool that Compaq is acknowledging this and supporting it, I have a
feeling that the "running on Compaq systems only" is a harbinger of things to
come. Since VMS, through the Charron-VAX emulator, now runs on "industry
standard hardware" as per Compaq's definition of "industry standard", they
are in fact defeating this "industry standard" by limiting support only to
their own systems, making them proprietary.
Also interesting that in the list of supported applications, they include
ALL-IN-1 and Mailbus, but they exclude Message Router, the one key messaging
product that Digital did not port to Alpha forcing customers to retain VAX
hardware in their shops. This would be a natural since companies might still
have the need to run that one application that remains unavailable on Alpha
and using the emulator for it would be the only option now that VAXes are no
longer availble from Compaq.
Rob L Lyons
> Also, and this is technical, does Charron Vax actually run as an application
> over windows and/or linux, or does it have its own kernel without any need for
> windows or linux ?
The Charon-VAX software is installed and run as an application on the base (WinNT,
Win2K, Linux, or VMS) operating system. At the Charon-VAX command prompt you
boot the VMS-VAX environment just as if you were booting the original VAX
system. The VMS software being booted is typically a image file of the disk that was
transfered from the original VAX system hardware. The Charon-VAX software
kit does not include any Compaq written pieces of VMS software.
> > o QM-6KRAA-AA: VAX to CHARON-VAX for OpenVMS Alpha - $500
> > o QM-6T8AA-AA: VAX to CHARON-VAX for Windows and Linux - $100
>
> Interesting that for VMS, Compaq gives you a break if you run the emulator on
> an alpha, but for layered products, they charge more if you run the products
> on an alpha.
Apparently the $100 discount is Sue's typo. The official posting shows the same
$500/$1000 ratio for both the OS and for layered products.
Check out http://www.openvms.org/stories.php?story=02/01/03/6838306
> > Compaq Services will support the Compaq OpenVMS VAX software on the
> > CHARON-VAX emulator running on Compaq systems only.
>
> While it is cool that Compaq is acknowledging this and supporting it, I have a
> feeling that the "running on Compaq systems only" is a harbinger of things to
> come. Since VMS, through the Charron-VAX emulator, now runs on "industry
> standard hardware" as per Compaq's definition of "industry standard", they
> are in fact defeating this "industry standard" by limiting support only to
> their own systems, making them proprietary.
If I run Charon with Windows 2000 on a Dell box and I run Charon with Windows 2000
on a Compaq box, I would expect the same software bugs to appear in both places. The
chance that the hardware, which is three layers away (VMS->Charon->Windows->Intel H/W),
will mess things up is pretty slim. I'd want to replicate the problem on another box anyway
to prove the hardware wasn't broken. All I need to do it use a Compaq box as the second
system. I figure Compaq needs to limit their risk at some point and I see your point too but
I don't read all that much into it.
> Also interesting that in the list of supported applications, they include
> ALL-IN-1 and Mailbus, but they exclude Message Router, the one key messaging
> product that Digital did not port to Alpha forcing customers to retain VAX
> hardware in their shops. This would be a natural since companies might still
> have the need to run that one application that remains unavailable on Alpha
> and using the emulator for it would be the only option now that VAXes are no
> longer availble from Compaq.
I miss DECmcc and some of the other "long gone" products too. They didn't make
it to Alpha but I've been pleasantly surprised to see them working fine on Charon anyway.
(You should have seen the look on my daughter's face when I got the old Adventure
game/program running on my laptop. It doesn't compare to Myst III running on the
same machine but it brings back fond memories.)
Maybe all it take is for someone to ask that Message Router be added to the set of
products being put through the current testing cycle. For that matter, what other old
VAX software products would people like to see added?
Rob Lyons
Consultant
High Availability Systems & Charon-VAX