OpenVMS Systems Software Group Questions and Answers Fall DECUS 1996 Thanks to Ed Herold, the ESILUG's Digital Counterpart, the ESILUG is able to share with you the OpenVMS Q & A session from the Fall 1996 DECUS Symposium in Anaheim. It's really heavy duty OpenVMS stuff!!! Table of Contents Affinity Wave 3 OpenVMS V7.1 System Management - OpenVMS Management Tools V2.0 OpenVMS Clustering OpenVMS File System Technologies ISG NAVIGATOR OPENVMS PRIOR VERSION SUPPORT OpenVMS Data Warehousing Partyline OpenVMS Data Warehousing Year 2000 Infrastructure OpenVMS Hardware Support OpenVMS Performance and TPC-C OpenVMS Internet Product Suite Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS DECnet-Plus and Wide Area Networking Digital Wide Area Networking Messages (X.25 and ISDN) FACT SHEET : DECnet-Plus (formerly DECnet/OSI) V7.1 for OpenVMS FACT SHEET: X.25 V1.1b for OpenVMS Alpha Systems FACT SHEET PRODUCT NAME: Wide Area Networking Support V2.0a for Digital UNIX PATHWORKS Digital Enterprise Integration Packages Digital Priority Service Plan AFFINITY WAVE 3 Press Q & A Affinity Program Q: Does the Affinity Program pressure customers into adopting NT? A: The program helps customers easily integrate NT into their OpenVMS computing environment and lets them build and deploy client/server applications that take advantage of OpenVMS's unlimited high-end capabilities -- for transaction processing, fault tolerant and other mission critical applications. The benefit of this approach is that Affinity customers are best prepared to invest in Windows NT for mission critical computing. Q: Affinity is for integrating Windows NT with OpenVMS, didn't you recently announce a program to integrate Windows NT with Digital UNIX? A: Yes, based on the successful Affinity Program, in August, 1996 Digital announced the AllConnect program which encompasses NT integration across the enterprise. This overarching program has two components: Affinity for Open VMS and AllConnect for Digital UNIX. Q: Is Digital betting is operating system strategy on Windows NT? A: Windows NT is one major thrust of Digital's growth strategy along with Digital UNIX and continued strong performance from OpenVMS. Through the Alliance for Enterprise Computing and the AllConnect and Affinity Programs, Digital is positioned exceptionally well to capitalize on the growth of Windows NT. Q: Isn't the whole Affinity Program an admission that OpenVMS is dead? A: Customers continue to make significant new investments in OpenVMS and will continue to do so for years to come. A large number of these customers have asked us to help them integrate Windows NT into their OpenVMS environments and we have responded with this program. Q: How many customers are participating in the Affinity Program? A: Customer response continues to be exceptionally strong. He have reached thousands of customers to date through the Affinity program and this is reflected in the OpenVMS business performance. Q: How well is OpenVMS doing and how much of Digital's business does it represent? A: We do not disclose that type of information, but we can tell you that OpenVMS drives a significant portion of Digital's business and that business continues to grow since the introduction of the Affinity Program. OpenVMS V7.1 Q: What are the key new features for OpenVMS V7.1? A: OpenVMS Version 7.1 provides new features specifically designed to improve performance and expand configuration flexibility of OpenVMS Clusters. In addition, OpenVMS Alpha and VAX Version 7.1 provide a great number of enhancements and new features focused on connecting OpenVMS with the Internet, extending the Very Large Memory (VLM) capabilities introduced in OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.0, and making system management of OpenVMS systems even easier. The last question in this section provides detailed information on specific functionality new to OpenVMS V7.1. Q: When will OpenVMS V7.1 be available? A: OpenVMS Alpha V7.1 and OpenVMS VAX V7.1 are scheduled to ship at the end of calendar year 1996. Q: Is V7.1 being FIS'd (Factory Installed Software) on new systems? A: Yes. OpenVMS V7.1 will be factory installed on new systems beginning in January, 1997. Q: What upgrade paths will be supported with OpenVMS V7.1? A: The majority of Alpha and VAX customers can move to OpenVMS V7.1 with one upgrade step, two at the most: OpenVMS Alpha One-Step Upgrade Paths: OpenVMS VAX One-Step Upgrade Paths: V6.1 to V7.1 V6.1 to V7.1 V6.2(-1Hx) to V7.1 V6.2 to V7.1 V7.0 to V7.1 V7.0 to V7.1 For customers running OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2, moving to OpenVMS VAX V7.1 is just two upgrade steps away. An "express" upgrade is available which moves OpenVMS customers from OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2, quickly through OpenVMS VAX V6.1, and directly on to OpenVMS VAX V7.1. This path is documented in the appendix of the OpenVMS V7.1 Release Notes. Q: Will this be the last release of OpenVMS VAX? A: No way. We have a large number of customers that are using OpenVMS VAX and we intend to support the VAX platform with updated releases for many years to come. We will protect our customer's investments in VAX through our support of Mixed Architecture Clusters. In fact, Digital is extending the capabilities of the OpenVMS operating system making it the industry's best choice for providing business critical client/server computing. In a letter to customers on June 14, 1996, Wes Melling, Vice President for OpenVMS Systems noted that "We are continuing to make investments to keep OpenVMS competitive so our customers can count on OpenVMS long-term. We have additional releases in field test and software engineering that will add new functionality in the OpenVMS environment well into the foreseeable future… Customer response to our strategy and commitment for OpenVMS has been very strong. Our OpenVMS server sales have been growing at a healthy rate (12% year-on-year in the last quarter), and our strategic plan assumes that OpenVMS will be a significant long-term business." Q: I've heard that DECnet Phase IV will be retired with the release of OpenVMS Version 7.1. A: No, DECnet Phase IV will continue to ship with OpenVMS Version 7.1, but the installation will change. With the OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.1 and OpenVMS VAX Version 7.1 releases, DECnet-Plus V7.1 for OpenVMS (formerly known as DECnet/OSI) will replace the DECnet Phase IV product in the installation and upgrade routines. The OpenVMS operating system installation script will allow customers to choose among the following network software products: DECnet-Plus, Digital TCP/IP Services, or a non-Digital network product. DECnet-Plus V7.1 delivers all the OSI compliance of the DECnet/OSI product, plus DECnet Phase IV functionality including host-based routing, plus the ability to run OSI and/or DECnet applications over industry-standard TCP/IP networks (RFC 1006 and RFC 1859 support). And, it requires no change to existing DECnet applications. OpenVMS V7.1 integrates DECnet-Plus into the operating system installation and upgrade procedures, making it faster and easier for customers to install. The DECnet Phase IV software product will be available on the OpenVMS distribution media. Customers running the DECnet Phase IV software product will need to purchase an addendum to their services support contract, available as part of the Prior Version Support Program (described below under section on "continued support for OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2"). Q: Is OpenVMS Version 7.1 a production release? A: The OpenVMS Version 7.1 release has been fully qualified and tested to run in a production environment. A large number of applications are now available to run on OpenVMS Version 7.1. Customers can check the Software Public Rollout Reports which are updated monthly to check the availability of their specific Digital application. These reports are available from the OpenVMS World Wide Web in the "literature" section. Use the following URL: http://www.openvms.digital.com Q: Do you have a new Freeware CD-ROM available for this DECUS? A: Yes. The OpenVMS Freeware V3.0 CD-ROM is available in the OpenVMS Campground. It will also be distributed with the OpenVMS V7.1 release. Q: When will Sybase Release 11 be supported on OpenVMS? A: Sybase is making an announcement at DECUS concerning this support. My understanding is that support will be available in this quarter. Q: When will Oracle System 7.x support VLM on OpenVMS? A: We expect that VLM and Oracle Parallel Server will be available on OpenVMS in the February to March time frame. Please see Oracle for more details on their development efforts. Q: How long will Digital continue support for OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2? A: Digital's current policy for support of any given version of OpenVMS is to provide support for six months following the release of a new version. In recognition that many customers have a need for support on older versions beyond the six month period, Digital has been investigating alternatives, and now offers a program called Prior Version Support to support older versions of selected Digital software. Prior Version support provides an industry leading support commitment to customers choosing to remain on older versions of OpenVMS software. The Prior Version Support Program formalizes Digital's support commitment to customers who remain on older software versions. The same high level of service provided for current releases can now be purchased as an addendum to current service contracts for selected prior software versions. OpenVMS V5.5-2 will be supported through this program. Q: Will applications currently running on OpenVMS V7.0 continue to run unchanged on OpenVMS 7.1? A: For both Alpha and VAX, applications currently running on OpenVMS V7.0 will continue to run on OpenVMS V7.1, except SCSI port and class drivers will need to recompile and relink on OpenVMS Alpha and VAX V7.1. Q: Will applications currently running on OpenVMS Alpha V6.2 continue to run unchanged on OpenVMS Alpha V7.1? A: Changes to interfaces and data structures were made to OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 to enable new 64 Bit Virtual Addressing features. This means privileged applications which access undocumented or internal data structures or interfaces many require recompilation or recoding. Unprivileged applications should continue to run unchanged, except for the following. For both privileged and unprivileged applications, SCSI port and class drivers will need to recompile and relink on OpenVMS Alpha V7.1. Q: Will applications running on OpenVMS VAX V6.2 need to change to run on OpenVMS VAX V7.1. A: On OpenVMS VAX the only change is that SCSI port and class drivers will need to recompile and relink on OpenVMS VAX V7.1. Q: Is DECthreads with Multiple Kernel Threads available with V7.1? A: It certainly is! DECthreads with Multiple Kernel Threads is available with OpenVMS Alpha V7.1. A new linker qualifier allows applications to turn the kernel threads feature on and off on a per-image basis. Applications which are highly parallelized and compute intensive will see near perfect scaling on SMP systems. Q: What specific functionality will be available with OpenVMS Version 7.1? A: This section describes the functionality new to OpenVMS Version 7.1. Each header specifies whether it is Alpha specific, VAX specific, or common to both. All systems and options supported in the OpenVMS Alpha Version 6.2-1Hx hardware releases are supported in the OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.1 release. 1 New OpenVMS Cluster Features This section describes new OpenVMS Cluster features in OpenVMS Version 7.1. These new capabilities bring additional performance and expanded configurations and flexibility to OpenVMS Clusters. 1.1 MEMORY CHANNEL (Alpha) MEMORY CHANNEL is a new, high-performance cluster interconnect technology for PCI-based Alpha systems. With the benefits of very low latency, high bandwidth, and direct memory access, MEMORY CHANNEL complements and extends the unique ability of OpenVMS systems to work as a single, virtual system. MEMORY CHANNEL offloads internode cluster traffic (such as Lock Management communication) from existing interconnects-CI, DSSI, FDDI, and Ethernet, so that they can process storage/network traffic more effectively. MEMORY CHANNEL significantly increases throughput and decreases the latency associated with traditional I/O processing. Any application that must move large amounts of data among nodes will benefit from MEMORY CHANNEL. It is an optimal solution for applications that need to pass data quickly, such as real-time and transaction processing. MEMORY CHANNEL will also improve throughput in high performance databases and other applications that generate heavy OpenVMS Lock Manager traffic. Customers who wish to use MEMORY CHANNEL in a two-node configuration will require two MEMORY CHANNEL PCI adapters and a single cable Customers who wish to have three or more nodes will require: o A MEMORY CHANNEL PCI adapter and cable for each node, to connect to o A MEMORY CHANNEL Hub The following hardware is needed: o CCMAA-AA MEMORY CHANNEL ADAPTER o CCMHA-AA MEMORY CHANNEL HUB (INCL. 4 PORT LINE CARDS) o CCMLA-AA SINGLE PORT LINE CARD o CCMRA-AA RACKMOUNT KIT MEM CHANEL HUB 1.2 CIPCA Adapter (Alpha) The CIPCA is a CI-to-PCI adapter that was first introduced in OpenVMS Alpha Version 6.2-1H2 and is currently supported in OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.1. With this adapter, Alpha servers that contain a combination of PCI and EISA buses can now connect to the CI. CIPCA support for Alpha servers provides the following benefits to customers: o Lower entry cost and more configuration choices o High-end Alpha speed and power o Cost-effective Alpha migration path o The speed, high-volume storage capability, and availability features of the CI Customers who wish to use the CI-to-PCI storage host bus adapter will require a CIPCA-AA, as well as one of the following CI cables: o BNCIA-10 (10 M CI cable) o BNCIA-20 (20 M CI cable) o BNCIA-45 (45 M CI cable) 1.3 SCSI Device Naming (Alpha & VAX) Prior to OpenVMS Version 7.1, SCSI disk device names were constructed using the SCSI controller letter and the SCSI bus ID. This simple name construction has proved restrictive when configuring OpenVMS Clusters with many SCSI buses and disks. OpenVMS Version 7.1 implements a new, optional SCSI device-naming scheme that provides greater configuration flexibility and allows a greater number of SCSI devices to be served in a cluster without name conflicts. The new scheme allows every SCSI bus in a configuration to have its own allocation class, which is different from the traditional node-based allocation class. When new SCSI device naming is enabled, the controller letter for a SCSI adapter is always set to "A". This convention provides additional flexibility when configuring a multiple-host SCSI bus. In prior releases, each logical SCSI bus (PKA, for example) was limited to 8 devices per cluster. As of OpenVMS Version 7.1, each physical adapter can support 8 or 16 devices. Note that usage of this new naming scheme is not mandatory. It can be enabled when the current scheme proves limiting. 1.4 High SCSI IDs on Wide Adapters (Alpha) OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.1 device driver support of high SCSI IDs allows host adapters that support the wide SCSI bus to configure and use up to 16 devices per SCSI bus. 2 Projects in Support of OpenVMS and NT Affinity This section describes OpenVMS Version 7.1 projects that support OpenVMS and NT Affinity. 2.1 Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) Support (Alpha) Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) is an Internet layer protocol that is now the widely accepted replacement for the Serial Line Interconnect Protocol (SLIP). PPP support enhances the connectivity and Internet-readiness of OpenVMS Alpha by providing a way to establish a dynamic Internet Protocol (IP) network connection over a serial line without extensive router or server hardware. Based on code originated at Carnegie Mellon University, this serial protocol features: o A way to encapsulate datagrams and a serial link. Specifically, PPP supports an asynchronous link with 8 bits of data and no parity. o A link control protocol (LCP) that establishes and verifies the data link connection. This protocol enables each host, network, or transport to configure various communication options. To support this protocol, OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.1 offers a Point-to-Point Protocol utility (PPPD) and related device drivers (PPP and ASN). Once enabled by the IP stack installed on OpenVMS, users can access this DCL-level utility to initiate and manage PPP network connections. 2.2 DCL PIPE (Alpha & VAX) OpenVMS Version 7.1 introduces some popular UNIX-style command processing functions to its base operating system. With the PIPE command you can quickly create complex command processing statements from a single DCL command. For example, you can execute one or more of the following operations from the same DCL command line: o Pipelining o Input/output redirection o Multiple and conditional command execution o Background processing This style of command processing supports the development and use of Internet software, which often expects some form of pipeline command parsing to be present on both host and target systems. 2.3 External Authentication (Alpha & VAX) The External Authentication project provides a mechanism that allows users to be validated by a system other than OpenVMS. For OpenVMS Version 7.1, this support will be provided in LAN Manager (via PATHWORKS). With this functionality, users can enter their Microsoft Windows userid and password and log in to OpenVMS. Because there is only one password for both Windows and OpenVMS, there is no synchronization problem. With External Authentication, OpenVMS uses the password stored in the UAS file to validate the user, not the password stored in the OpenVMS SYSUAF file. External Authentication can be selected on a per-user basis and is disabled by default. To use the External Authentication feature in OpenVMS Version 7.1, you must be running PATHWORKS Version 5.0. 2.4 PATHWORKS Integration (Alpha & VAX) Within a larger effort to improve the integration of OpenVMS and PATHWORKS, the $GETSYI system service will be enhanced to return information displayed by the DCL command SHOW MEMORY. 2.5 Batch/Print Enhancements (Alpha & VAX) OpenVMS Version 7.1 contains Batch/Print projects in support of PATHWORKS Integration. The first project is support for multiple simultaneous print jobs from one server process. The second project allows deletion of a file whether or not the file has printed successfully. 3 Connecting OpenVMS Systems to the Internet OpenVMS customers now have simple and secure access to the Internet. 3.1 Internet Product Suite (Alpha and VAX) The OpenVMS V7.1 operating system distribution will include the OpenVMS Internet Product Suite, which provides a variety of products for easy access to the Internet for our customers. The OpenVMS Internet Product Suite is a comprehensive, conveniently packaged portfolio of industry-leading third-party and Digital Internet products, plus freeware, that allow users to choose the Internet software that best meets their business needs. The OpenVMS Internet Product Suite will contain everything users need to quickly and painlessly transform an OpenVMS Alpha or VAX system into a web client or server. Support for products included in the Internet Product Suite will vary and the level of support available through Digital and third parties is dependent on the existing industry standards that currently exist for this class of product. 4 System Management Projects System management gets easier with OpenVMS Version 7.1, with the following new features and enhancements. 4.1 OpenVMS SCSI Device Driver Enhancements (Alpha and VAX) OpenVMS SCSI device drivers have been enhanced significantly for OpenVMS Version 7.1 to allow OpenVMS SCSI device drivers to work with a wider range of non-Digital SCSI devices, while taking advantage of as much SCSI functionality as the devices offer. 4.2 File-Based Autoconfiguration for Device Drivers (Alpha) File-based autoconfiguration is a new feature that enables OpenVMS Alpha to configure third-party hardware device devices automatically. As of OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.1, device configuration tables are constructed from ASCII text files on the OpenVMS Alpha operating system disk. Third parties and end users can configure non-Digital supported devices and load user-written device drivers by adding simple descriptions of their devices in the appropriate ASCII text file. This file-based autoconfiguration method provides a simpler alternative to the traditional methods of configuring devices available in previous releases. 4.3 Dump off System Disk (Alpha) Dump off system disk provides the ability to write crash dumps to non-system disks. This feature is especially useful in clusters with common system disks and in large memory systems. Dump off system disk is supported on all Alpha systems. This feature was introduced on VAX with OpenVMS VAX Version 6.2. 4.4 System Disk Mini-Merge (Alpha and VAX) In previous releases of OpenVMS Volume Shadowing, the mini-merge capability that is provided for CI- and DSSI-based disks was only available for non-system disks. This restriction was necessary to ensure that it was possible to write consistent crash dump files. In Version 7.1 it is possible to configure crash-dump files off the system disk. As a result it is now possible to enable the mini-merge feature on system disks and provide a performance improvement for shadowed system disks in a cluster. The following new features have been added to the OpenVMS Alpha System Dump Analyzer and System Code Debugger: o Operator shutdown no longer overwrites crash dumps. o A system manager can now choose the key process that need to be dumped early in a dump. o Re-ordering of processes and global pages to improve the ability to get the most useful information when dumpfile is not big enough to hold all of memory. o Support of full memory dumps on systems over 4GB (previously a limitation) o The following new commands have been added to the System Dump Analyzer on Alpha: o SET ERASE_SCREEN o SHOW ADDRESS o SHOW BUGCHECK o SHOW GLOBAL_SECTION_TABLE o SHOW GSD o SHOW WORKING_SET_LIST o Several enhancements have been made to SDA/BUGCHECK to improve the reliability of writing and reading crashdumps. 4.6 Lock Manager Limits and Quotas Extended (Alpha & VAX) A number of existing limits in the OpenVMS Distributed Lock Manager have either been removed or expanded. The following changes have been made for OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.1: o To support processes with an ENQLM larger than 32767, a process which has an ENQLM of 32767 can now exceed this limit. The value of 32767 will give a process a virtually unlimited ENQLM. o The LOCKIDTBL_MAX SYSGEN parameter has been made obsolete. The Lock Id table will now expand if there is available physical memory. o The maximum size of the Resource Hash Table (RESHASHTBL SYSGEN parameter) has been expanded to over 16 million. Previously the size was limited to 64k entries. o Sub resources can now be virtually unlimited. Previously there was a 64k limit. o Sub locks can now be virtually unlimited. Previously there was a 64k limit. 4.7 DECamds (Alpha and VAX) With OpenVMS Version 7.1, the DECamds software product will be licensed as part of the OpenVMS operating system base license. Prior to Version 7.1, customers were required to have an OpenVMS Cluster license to utilize the DECamds product. Now customers can access and use all the system management capabilities provided by DECamds from a non-clustered environment. 4.8 OpenVMS Management Station Version 2.1 (Alpha and VAX) The OpenVMS Management Station V2.1 (ARGUS) is included in this release of OpenVMS. It is a PC-based tool that allows management of one or more OpenVMS Cluster systems from a single point of control. This version provides new functionality for printer and queue management, including the ability to drag and drop jobs onto queues controlled under the same queue manager. This new functionality is in addition to user account management implemented in V1.0. With this release, all OpenVMS user account and printer management can be performed from any MS-Windows based (including Windows NT and Windows 95) client, using a single set of Windows 95 style property-tab dialogs. Both DECnet and/or TCP/IP transports are supported on client and server. In addition, the PATHWORKS client is no longer required. The OpenVMS Management Station is licensed and bundled with OpenVMS and is also available separately from the OpenVMS home page at http://www.openvms.digital.com.openvms/product/argus/index/html. 5 Developer Projects OpenVMS Version 7.1 adds new capabilities that can improve the performance of your applications and make programming on OpenVMS easier. 5.1 OpenVMS Alpha Very Large Memory Management Features (Alpha) OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.1 provides extended, additional memory management features that facilitate Very Large Memory (VLM) support on OpenVMS. Memory-resident global sections and shared page tables provide support for database, data warehouse, and other very large database (VLDB) products. By using these new OpenVMS Alpha VLM features, data warehousing and VLDB applications can realize increased capacity and performance gains. Memory-resident global sections allow a database server to keep larger amounts of "hot" data cached in physical memory. The database server accesses data directly from physical memory and does not perform I/O to read the data from disk. With faster access to the data in physical memory, run-time performance increases dramatically. Shared page tables allow that same database server to reduce the amount of physical memory consumed within the system. Because multiple server processes share the same physical page tables that map the large database cache, an OpenVMS Alpha system can support more server processes. This increases overall system capacity and decreases response time to client requests. Also, with shared page tables, the database server startup time is dramatically reduced. A memory-resident global section with shared page tables can be mapped 1000 times more quickly than a global section without shared page tables. With a multiple gigabyte global database cache, the server startup performance gains can be significant. 5.2 Backup API (Alpha & VAX) This project provides a callable API that allows invocation of backup routines from an executable procedure. 5.3 Discontiguous Physical Memory Now Supported (Alpha) OpenVMS Alpha now supports systems whose physical memory is not contiguous; that is, there may be one or more gaps in the physical memory addresses. 5.4 Debugger Enhancements (Alpha and VAX) The following enhancements have been made to the Debugger. Note that some are Alpha specific, some VAX specific, and some common to both. o Better support for debugging (Alpha) C++ programs. You can refer to class members using C++ syntax and correctly match expressions to symbols defined in the in the program according to current scopes. In addition, when the current language is C or C++ the CALL command by default passes arguments by value rather than by reference. Note that this support requires use of the C++ Version 5.5 compiler. o Support for Fortran-90 (VAX and Alpha). o Ability to set watchpoints in global sections (Alpha). o Ability to set breakpoints to suspend program execution whenever unsigned byte and word fetch instructions have been emulated on Alpha systems. o New predefined screen-mode register views (Alpha) to display all registers, general registers, or floating-point registers. o A new debugger DUMP command to display the contents of a specified memory range in a manner similar to the VMS DUMP command. You can display registers, variables, and arrays in a variety of formats, including binary, byte, word, longword, quadword, octal, decimal, and hexadecimal. o Support (on Alpha) for debugging programs linked with the /NODEBUG/DSF=filespec qualifiers. You can specify a path for the .DSF file to direct the debugger to symbol information. 5.5 System Services Support for 64-Bit Addresses (Alpha) In OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.1, the following system services have been enhanced to support 64-bit addresses: $ASCTOID $ASCTIM $ASCUTC $BINTIM $BINUTC $CRELNM $CRELNT $DELLNM $FINISH_RDB $GETJPI $GETJPIW $GETSYI $GETSYIW $GETUTC $IDTOASC $NUMUTC $NUMTIM $PROCESS_SCAN $SETIME $TIMCON $TRNLNM 5.6 DECthreads with Multiple Kernel Threads (Alpha) Kernel Threads provide for concurrent processing over all CPUs in a multiprocessor system by allowing a multithreaded application to have a thread executing on every CPU. Use of the Kernel Threads capabilities will provide performance improvements for most threaded applications. OpenVMS Version 7.1 includes a new linker qualifier which allows you to enable and disable the kernel threads feature on a per-image basis. 6 Networking Changes With OpenVMS V7.1, installing the network protocol of your choice gets easier. The OpenVMS operating system CD-ROM includes Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS, DECnet-Plus for OpenVMS and DECnet Phase IV for OpenVMS. 6.1 DECnet-Plus Product Replaces DECnet Phase IV Product (Alpha & VAX) DECnet-Plus (formerly known as DECnet/OSI) is easier to install with OpenVMS V7.1. With the OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.1 and OpenVMS VAX Version 7.1 releases, the DECnet-Plus software product will replace the DECnet Phase IV product in the installation and upgrade procedures. The OpenVMS operating system installation script will allow customers to choose among the following network software products: DECnet-Plus, Digital TCP/IP Services, or a non-Digital network product. The DECnet-Plus product supports DECnet Phase IV (NCP) protocol, the OSI protocol, and allows interoperability with industry standard TCP/IP protocol. DECnet-Plus Version 7.1 includes support for host based routing. The DECnet Phase IV software product will be available on the OpenVMS distribution media. Customers running the DECnet Phase IV software product will need to purchase an addendum to their services support contract, available as part of the Prior Version Support Program (described under the section on "continued support for OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2"). 6.2 Digital TCP/IP Version 4.1 This new TCP/IP release includes Post Office Protocol, Version 3, that ensures mail is accepted even when the PC is turned off. Network management support is enhanced using an extensible SNMP agent, enabling developers to create sub-agents that manage other entities in their network. A new Finger Utility displays information about users on the systems, a new FTP Command displays the contents of a file on the current output device, and a new file naming enhancement to the NFS server allows users to create files and directories in an OpenVMS file system using non-conforming names. NFS now supports access to XQP+ which improves performance. 6.3 LAN emulation and Classical IP (CLIP) over ATM (Alpha) OpenVMS Alpha users now have LAN Emulation Client support over the ATMWORKS 750 and ATMWORKS 350. LAN emulation over an ATM network permits a group of ATM stations to perform as though they were connected to an ordinary local network. The ATMWORKS 750 adapter is supported on the TURBOchannel based systems with the exception of the DEC 3000-300. The ATMWORKS 350 is supported on the PCI-based systems with the exception of the AlphaServer 200, and the AlphaServer 400. Classic IP over LAN is currently being implemented and we hope to include this support in the final release of OpenVMS V7.1. This support would enable Classical IP and ARP protocols in an ATM network environment to be configured as a logical IP subnetwork. 7 Licensing Changes This section describes licensing changes and enhancements in OpenVMS Version 7.1. 7.1 Volume Shadowing Per Disk Licensing Enforcement (Alpha & VAX) Volume Shadowing Version 7.1 includes a license check for each volume that is shadowed in a configuration. The ability to license the Shadowing software product by disk has been available with several releases, but this is the point at which the licensing will be enforced. 7.2 New LMF functionality in the release of LMF V1.2 (Alpha & VAX) In addition to several new convenience features like automatic license unloading prior to load, LMF Version 1.2 introduces greatly enhanced flexibility in the handling of a variety of license types using a single LMF product name. 8 DECwindows R6 Server (Alpha & VAX) The DECwindows server for OpenVMS Alpha has been upgraded to be based on the X Consortium's X11R6 server (X Windows system Version 11 Release 6). Some server extensions from X11R6 are also included in this on the X11R5 server. System Management - OpenVMS Management Tools V2.0 Q: What is OMT V2? A: OMT V2 stands for OpenVMS Management Tools Version 2.0 for Windows NT and is a component of Digital's three part strategy for managing OpenVMS systems from a Windows NT environment. Q: Was there an OMT V1? What did it do? A: The first release of OMT simplified user account, printer, and queue management. System managers and help desk staff no longer needed to remember complicated DCL syntax or command procedures to manage their OpenVMS systems. Q: Can I do backup operations with these management tools? A: Yes. You can do backups via POLYCENTER Archive & Backup enabling you to schedule OpenVMS and Windows NT backups over the network to drives attached to an OpenVMS system. Q: What system management capabilities does OMT V2 offer? A: With OMT V2, not only can you control backup operations and more easily manage the media life cycle, but you can also monitor the performance of your OpenVMS systems and receive notifications of potential bottlenecks without switching between systems. With OMT V2, you can do all that V1 offers and much, much more: * Monitor memory, CPU, and I/O utilization * Integrate data into spreadsheets and databases * Generate alerts and reports * Be advised of appropriate actions to take Q: Is everything that I need to run OpenVMS Management Tools V2.0 for Windows NT in the box? A: OpenVMS Management Tools V2.0 for Windows NT includes all the system administration software that you need. It includes data collector software and the license. OMT V2 also includes the software for the viewer, however, you need to contact the vendor to acquire a viewer license. Q: What's next for OMT? A: Digital and Computer Associates have formed a strategic alliance to better address the need for comprehensive enterprise management solutions. Under the alliance, Digital and CA have agreed to standardize and create an integrated enterprise management environment for multivendor platforms based on the CA-Unicenter for Windows NT. Technology is evolving to enable other industry-leading enterprise directors to manage OpenVMS systems using an extensible SNMP agent. By providing tools and API's, Digital plans to create a framework customers and third-parties can use to create additional application-specific sub-agents. OpenVMS Clustering Q: I have several DEC 3000 Alphas, can I cluster them on a shared SCSI bus? A: Yes. This is supported in V6.2-1H2/3 and V7.1 using KZTSA adapters. Q: I get very mixed messages from Digital regarding which cluster interconnect I should use. SCSI seems fast and cheap, so is very attractive. How should I choose? This is a complex issue. The answer is highly dependent on your availability requirements and how large your configuration will be. Please talk to Nick Carr about this - he is here at Anaheim this week. Q: Will I be able to SCSI Cluster VAX systems? A: Resource constraints and functional limitations of most VAX SCSI adapters mean that we currently have no plans to provide this functionality. Q: I'm told that I can use DECamds for free if I have a cluster. Is this true? A: No - it's even better than that! From V7.1 onwards you can use DECamds for free on any OpenVMS system - clustered or standalone. Prior to V7.1 you are correct, DECamds was licensed as part of OpenVMS Cluster software. Q. I've seen OpenVMS Cluster software prices rise dramatically over the past year. Why is this? A. The price of OpenVMS Cluster software has been set on the basis of careful competitive analysis. If you check the price of competitors cluster software offerings you will see that in most cases they are higher than the price of OpenVMS Cluster software. We believe that, based on its leadership functionality, the product is priced fairly. Q. I'm very interested in using Memory Channel in my Cluster, but I still run V6.2, do you have plans to support Memory Channel on earlier releases than V7.1? 1. Unfortunately not. For several technical reasons it's impractical to backport V7.1's Memory Channel support to earlier releases. However, the upgrade from V6.2 to V7.1 should be straightforward, with no impact on non-privileged applications. Q. How fast is Memory Channel anyway? 1. The speed of Memory Channel depends primarily on the speed of the Memory Channel adapter, and the speed of the Alpha processor. The Memory Channel hub is capable of close to 100MB/sec, while the initial Memory Channel adapters are capable of 35-50MB/sec. With several nodes the aggregate bandwidth can approach that of the hub. More importantly, the performance of the Distributed Lock Manager can be somewhere between two and three times faster than the CI. Even better, Memory Channel offloads Lock Manager traffic from the CI and DSSI, leaving them with more bandwidth for I/O. Q. I need to configure more than two CIPCAs on my AlphaServer systems, when will I be able to do that? A This is a common request. To solve this problem we have just announced the ability to configure 3 CIPCAs on AlphaServer 2xxx systems, 4 on 4xxx systems, and 10 on 8xxx systems with V6.2-1H2/3. With V7.1 the number goes even higher on 8xxx systems - it's up to 26. OpenVMS File System Technologies Q: What is the Storage Server? A: Storage Server was an internal program name for the OpenVMS file system engineering effort. This program has more aptly been renamed OpenVMS File System Technologies (OFST). Q: What is the new Spiralog File System that I have heard so much about? A: Spiralog is an optional file system (to Files-11) that runs under OpenVMS Alpha. Spiralog provides on-line backup, improved write performance and scalability beyond the levels of Files-11, needed to support huge numbers of files, very large files and deeper levels of file directories. The Spiralog V1.n series was developed to demonstrate technology, and for our customers to test and evaluate in non-production environments. Q: What version of Spiralog runs on OpenVMS V7.1? A: Spiralog V1.2 is the supported version of the file system that runs with OpenVMS Alpha V7.1. Q: Is Spiralog V1.2 the production level delivery of Spiralog I was told about? A: No. The Spiralog V1.n series should not be used in production environments. Spiralog should be used with full adherence to the prerequisites in the SPD. Spiralog data will require a significant migration effort to roll forward from the Spiralog V1.n series to Spiralog V2.0, due to future on-disk structure (ODS) changes. Q: What prerequisites do I need to run Spiralog V1.2? A: Hardware requirements include: 64MB of memory (minimum) volumes must run at 70% (or less) full support for data disks only (min. capacity of 500MB) A: Software requirements include: OpenVMS Alpha V7.1 Volume Shadowing or RAID 5 (for data integrity) Q: How much additional disk and memory will I need to add to my system in order to take advantage of Spiralog's on-line backup? A: There is additional CPU, memory and disk overhead involved in providing the on-line backup capability. The exact amount depends upon configuration, application update rates and other factors. Q: When will a production level version of Spiralog be available? A: Spiralog V2.0 will be fully supported in a production environment. This version is under development and will sustain a normal field test period before it is made commercially available. Delivery is anticipated before the end of 1998. Q: How do I get Spiralog? A: The license rights for Spiralog are included in the base OpenVMS Alpha operating system license. The Spiralog media and online documentation is available by ordering part number QA-4P7AA-H8. Q: Is hardcopy documentation also available? A: Yes, the printed Spiralog documentation set is available by ordering part number QA-4P7AA-GZ. Q: What products will the OFST Program deliver? A: The OFST Program delivered the Spiralog File System in early 1996 and is delivering the OpenVMS SnapShot Disk Driver before the end of 1997. The OpenVMS SnapShot Disk Driver allows Files-11 consumers to gain the advantages of on-line backup without changing file systems. Q: What is the OpenVMS SnapShot Disk Driver? when available? how much? A: The OpenVMS SnapShot Disk Driver is not a file system but a software driver operating at a disk level, providing the ability to take an on-line backup of Files-11 data, while existing Files-11/RMS applications run unchanged. OpenVMS SnapShot Disk Driver will be available before the end of 1997. Stay tuned for pricing announcements. Q: Will the OpenVMS SnapShot Disk Driver support both the Spiralog and Files-11 file systems? A: No. The OpenVMS SnapShot Disk Driver brings on-line backup to Files-11 customers but is not needed with the Spiralog File System (which already provides on-line backup). Unlike the Spiralog V1.n series of the file system, the OpenVMS SnapShot Disk Driver for Files-11 can be used in production environments. Q: Do I need to change my applications to use the OpenVMS SnapShot Disk Driver? A: No, your existing Files-11 applications run unchanged on an OpenVMS SnapShot Disk Driver. Q: I heard there was a new OpenVMS cache? A: The new virtual data cache (VDC) is closely integrated with the file system to improve RMS (including Recovery Unit Journaling) application performance. Requiring no changes to applications, it operates seamlessly with Files-11 applications and Spiralog Disks. The VDC caches file data (not metadata), supports shared write file caching in a cluster, dynamically allocates/deallocates memory, provides cache management as well as supporting massive cache sizes. VDC runs only on Alpha. Q: How do I get VDC? How much does it cost? A: VDC will be bundled in OVMS Alpha V7.2 as the replacement to VIOC. It provides a super-set of the facilities provided by VIOC; improved RMS performance, a more scaleable cache, shared file caching in a cluster and better cache management. As part of OVMS there is no extra cost for VDC. Q: How do VIOC and VDC operate together either on a single node or in a cluster? A: VDC and VIOC cannot both operate together on a SINGLE node. If you have VIOC on at least one node in a cluster (and VDC on the remaining nodes) ALL nodes in the cluster will experience the benefit of VIOC caching, those with VDC will also support a larger cache, but none of the other benefits of VDC. Q: Is VDC different from other caching products supplied by Digital's business partners? A: Yes, all caching products from our business partners are logical block caches which cache blocks of disk (data and metadata). As these products work below the level of the file system they cannot exploit knowledge of files to help gain RMS performance improvements as VDC does. Q: What is the NT block server? A: This software provides a disk service which allows NT Servers to use OpenVMS storage. OpenVMS volumes will appear as a local disk to the NT user, but has the added capability of online backup, centrally housed storage on OpenVMS, simple online volume management and flexibility of storage between OpenVMS and NT environments. All management e.g. volume backup/restore and volume management is carried out centrally from OpenVMS. The contents of the NT volume on OpenVMS will not be accessible from OpenVMS, however multiple client PCs can access data on the volume through shares from the NT server. Q: Polycenter Archive Backup (PAB) and PATHWORKS both allow me to backup NT data to OpenVMS, why is the backup provided by NT Block Server different/ better? A: The NT block server provides backup of files with full NTFS semantics. Q: How is the NT block server different to PATHWORKS? A: PATHWORKS provides SMB support, file and print services. The NT block server provides a virtual disk - just like a local NT disk. It allows any NT file system, storage management tools etc to be used on the data (see above description). PCs can access this NT data through shares from the NT server. Q: Can PATHWORKS access NT block server data? A: No, because data is stored by the NT block server in native NTFS format. Q: Can I share data between OpenVMS and NT? A: PATHWORKS allows OVMS and NT to share data. The NT block server does not provide this functionality. ISG NAVIGATOR Q. What is ISG Navigator? A. ISG Navigator is a complete OLE DB middleware product which includes a DCOM interface and RPC, Query processor/Optimizer and a variety of Database Interfaces. ISG Navigator provides a series of methods for creating hierarchical queries and single queries that access multiple data sources. These can be recorded as repetitive static queries and saved in the local data store. As a result ISG Navigator simplifies the task of populating and updating a relational or multidimensional database. Q. What is the benefit of incorporating ISG Navigator/OLE DB into my development environment or Data Warehouse? A. ISG Navigator makes developing applications using application development tools such as OLAP, Data Warehouse, and Datamart simpler by providing a single layer of data access for the final application. ODBC vs. OLE DB Q. What does OLE DB/ISG Navigator give me that ODBC doesn't? A. A typical ODBC connection accesses one source of data. ISG Navigator uses one connection to access several sources of data. A typical query could, for example, access Sybase tables on the PC, RMS and Rdb tables on OpenVMS, and Oracle tables on an Alpha server with joins performed in multiple places, each closest to the datasource, thus providing better performance. With ISG Navigator, a developer can work with object oriented interfaces as well as with ODBC. Q: Isn't OLE-DB just another Microsoft attempt to create a "standard"? Why shouldn't I just wait and see for 12-18 months? A: Microsoft has historically stood behind its standards. If you take your chances with this standard, in 12 - 18 months you will be 12 -18 months behind. In addition, OLE-DB is just one of the benefits of using ISG Navigator. ISG Navigator also provides access to heterogeneous databases across distributed platforms as well as access to non-relational databases. Q: Are ISG's OLE DB drivers non-standard ones that I'll have to replace later with an Oracle OLE DB driver or a Sybase OLE DB Driver? A: OLE DB is OLE DB. OLE DB is the standard, ISG Navigator adheres to it. ISG developers have the advantage of being in direct contact with Microsoft OLE DB developers and as the Microsoft standard evolves with additional "methods" ISG Navigator will continue to conform to it. When for example Oracle provides its own OLE DB driver it will work with ISG Navigator. Q. What does this middleware do for me? Can I use it as is or do I need to write an OLE DB interface for my application (or tool set)? A. As long as your application has an ODBC interface, ISG Navigator can be used as is to access datasources, out of the box. No writing of OLE DB interface is necessary. Q. ODBC drivers are getting improved performance I hear. Isn't new technology such as OLE DB going to be slower? A. ODBC may or may not be getting faster, but the fact remains that ODBC is not architecturally designed to handle data across distributed databases, and performance in distributed environments will always be a problem for ODBC because of this. ISG Navigator and OLE DB, on the other hand, is designed to handle data in a distributed environment and for that reason there is really no contest between the two in terms of performance. Q. Do I need to throw away my current ODBC database drivers and replace them with OLE DB/ISG Navigator? A. No. ODBC database drivers that are currently in use can be called concurrently with ISG Navigator. However, users will eventually find it beneficial to convert their drivers to the ISG Navigator/ODBC in the interest of performance and simplicity. Q. How do I know for sure that ISG Navigator is a fully conforming OLE DB product? Will other OLE DB supporting products plug-and-play with the ISG Navigator that I get? A. Microsoft was so impressed by the architecture, design and implementation of ISG Navigator that they chose to contract with ISG to include ISG Navigator/Bridge with the Microsoft OLE DB SDK. Their intention is for companies developing OLE DB interfaces to use ISG Navigator as the gauge to ensure compliance with their OLE DB specification. Any products that also conform to the Microsoft standard will "plug and play" with the ISG Navigator that you get. Q. Does Navigator use standard SQL? Am I going to have to learn a new "language"...OLE DB? A. ISG Navigator offers a robust implementation of ANSI '92 SQL. Customers familiar with the ODBC client need to learn no new languages. ODBC data will be accessed just as it was accessed before. Q. Does ISG Navigator provide a driver for MS SQL Server? A. Yes. ISG Navigator currently provides a driver for the MS SQL Server on Intel NT and Win95. Q. Can I connect Microsoft Access to an OpenVMS server through ISG Navigator? A. Yes. ISG/Navigator provides transparent access from MS Access over the network to OpenVMS data sources, such as RMS Indexed files, Oracle, Rdb, and Sybase databases. Internet Connection: Q. How does ISG Navigator support database access on my Alta Vista Web server driving MS Explorer browsers in our Intranet environment? A. Currently, ISG Navigator supports web server database access in the same way ODBC providers support database access, except with the additional benefit of support for distributed platforms and heterogeneous databases. Microsoft's web server software "Denali" will expose OLE DB as its interface through the ActiveX data object (ADO). ISG Navigator will be compatible with ADO when it is released. DCOM vs. CORBA. Q. Does ISG Navigator work in my already running CORBA environment? A. ISG Navigator was built around the DCOM object architecture; ISG is considering building access paths to CORBA applications. Evaluation Kit Availability Q. How do I get an evaluation copy of ISG Navigator? A. Evaluation copies will be included in the Enterprise Integration Package. In addition, the evaluation kit will also be available over the internet from the OpenVMS Website. Website availability is expected in mid-November. Q. What data sources will the evaluation kit support? A. RMS, Oracle Rdb, Oracle 7, and Sybase will be supported in the OpenVMS ISG Navigator evaluation kit. Q. How do I purchase an ISG Navigator license (non-evaluation)? A. Digital and ISG are currently working very aggressively towards finalizing the distribution and service agreement. Product availability is expected in February time frame. OPENVMS PRIOR VERSION SUPPORT Q. What should I sell customers who require support on prior versions? A. Customers with older versions of Digital Software will be offered either Sustained Engineering or local Best Endeavor support, depending on the available coverage for their particular product. If the product is not on the Digital Prior Version Supported Products List and does not qualify for local Best Endeavor support they will be informed of the recommended migration. Q. If customers are receiving support for older software versions today, why the change? A. Digital Software Products Support agreements have specified for years that support is only committed for software versions within six months of the latest release date. In some instances customers have received support for software products which are more than six months beyond the latest version availability date. This practice however has been outside of corporate policy and contractual commitment. Customers ran the risk that support could be denied at any time. With the Prior Version Support Program we are formalizing Digital's support commitment to our customers who remain on older software versions. Q. Does Digital still provide support for software products for six months after a new release? A. In response to customer demand Digital has changed its policy. Formerly Digital supported software versions for six months after the release of a new version. In response to customer's concerns Digital will now support the current versions and 1 previous versions for 12 months if a customer has a Digital Software Product Support Agreement. After 12 months Prior Version Support services are available. Q. How much of the Digital Software Products installed base is covered by the Prior Version Support program? A. We estimate over 60% of the installations running versions more than 12 months beyond the latest release will be covered by the Prior Version Support program. Q. How will the pricing of Prior Version Support compare with current software support pricing? A. Support for prior versions requires an investment in resources that is over and above the resources involved in the development and maintenance of the mainstream current version. To allocate support costs appropriately, Digital will charge an uplift from current version support prices. Q. How will this change be communicated to customers? A. We are requesting all account representatives contact their customers to notify them of this new services program as appropriate. Announcements of these new services will also be made in a number of Digital publications, including Inform, Sales Update, Partner Update and Outlook. In addition, callers to the CSC will be informed that a Prior Version or local will be needed to continue to receive telephone support. Sessions will also be held on Prior Version Support at upcoming DECUS meetings. Q. Which products are on the Prior Version Support list? A. The Prior Version Support (Sustained Engineering) Supported Products List follows: Supported Products (OpenVMS Alpha) Version Notes Effective date ALL-IN-1 3.1 July 1997 DECnet (Phase IV) 6.1 (1) October 1997 DECnet (Phase IV) All January 1997 OpenVMS Alpha Operating System 6.1 (1) October 1996 RMS Journaling 6.1 (1) October 1996 VMScluster Software 6.1 (1) October 1996 Volume Shadowing 6.1 (1) October 1996 Supported Products (OpenVMS VAX) ALL-IN-1 3.0 October 1996 ALL-IN-1 3.1 July 1997 DECnet (Phase IV) 5.5-2 October 1996 DECnet (Phase IV) 6.1 (1) October 1996 DECnet (Phase IV) All January 1997 OpenVMS VAX Operating System 5.5-2 (2) October 1996 OpenVMS VAX Operating System 6.1 (1) October 1996 RMS Journaling 5.5-2 October 1996 RMS Journaling 6.1 (1) October 1996 VAXcluster Software 5.5-2 October 1996 VAXcluster Software 6.1 (1) October 1996 Volume Shadowing 5.5-2 October 1996 Volume Shadowing 6.1 (1) October 1996 (1) OpenVMS V6.1 will be available for Prior Version Support until June 1997. Prior to July 1997, companies should convert to V6.2 or the current version of OpenVMS. (2) OpenVMS VAX 5.5-2 includes the following releases: 5.5-2, 5.5-2H4. Q. What versions of product are compatible with the supported versions of Digital's Operating Systems? A. SUPPORTED CONFIGURATION LIST OpenVMS ALPHA: Prior Version Current Version Through Long Term June 1997 Support Planned 6.1 6.2 Operating System: Operating System 6.1 6.2 VMScluster SW 6.1 6.2 Volume Shadowing 6.1 6.2 RMS Journaling 6.1 6.2 POSIX 2.0 2.0 DECwindows Motif (English) 1.2-3 1.2-4 DECwindows Motif (All other) 1.2-3 1.2-3 Enterprise Network: DEC TCP/IP 4.0A 4.1 DECnet (Phase IV) 6.1 6.2 DECnet-Plus (formerly DECnet/OSI) 6.3 6.3 PCI: PATHWORKS(Lan Manager) 5.0 5.0 OA: ALL-IN-1 3.1 3.1 OpenVMS VAX: ----------- Prior Version Prior Version Current Long Term Through Long Term Support June 1997 Support Planned Planned 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 Operating System: Operating System 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 VAXcluster SW 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 Volume Shadowing 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 RMS Journaling 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 POSIX 2.0 2.0 2.0 DECwindows Motif(English) 1.2-4 1.2-4 1.2-4 DECwindows Motif (All Other) 1.2-3 1.2-3 1.2-3 Enterprise Network: DEC TCP/IP 4.0 4.0 4.1 DECnet (Phase IV) 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 DECnet/OSI n/a 6.3 6.3 PCI: PATHWORKS(Lan Manager) 5.0 5.0 5.0 O/A: ALL-IN-1 3.0 3.0 3.0 ALL-IN-1 3.1 3.1 3.1 Note: Both V6.2 and 7.0 of OpenVMS are Current Version. Long term Prior Version Support is planned for V6.2. No long term support is planned for 7.0 Q. Where can I find up to date Supported Product Lists & Supported Configurations? A: Please visit our WEB site at http://www.digital.com/info/mcs/prior/html OpenVMS Data Warehousing Partyline The Data Warehousing on OpenVMS program emphasizes the proven strengths and capabilities that make OpenVMS a cost- effective, powerful, and reliable platform for delivering complete data warehousing solutions. With its outstanding symmetric multiprocessing performance and rock-solid reliability, OpenVMS is the premier operating system for 24x365 computing. Specific OpenVMS features for data warehousing solutions include: o Leadership high-availability. o Bulletproof client/serving computing for application performance and scalability. o 64-bit capability and VLM features that allow database products and data warehousing applications to realize increased capacity and performance gains. o Tight, three-tier affinity integration with Windows NT. o Partnerships and existing relationships with key data warehousing vendors, major database vendors, and support for data warehousing tools. o Consulting, training, and prime contractor services. OpenVMS Data Warehousing Q: Last year, Digital's focus was on Unix Data Warehousing. How come you are also promoting OpenVMS Data Warehousing to your customers this year? A: We have tens of thousands of OVMS customers with medium to large or even very large (VLDB) operational data bases running Oracle, Oracle Rdb, Sybase, SAS, or IBI FOCUS. OpenVMS and OpenVMS clusters have proven time and again that they make great general purpose, relational data base systems for operational activities such as order processing and other transaction processing applications. Many of these OpenVMS customers have already successfully implemented data warehouses, data marts, data mining operations, decision support systems (DSS), executive information systems (EIS), and a host of other data analysis and reporting tools (DART). These customers have proven that OpenVMS is also a great system for data warehousing; that OpenVMS data warehousing helps then turn passive data into substantially increased bottom line profits. We believe that almost all of our OpenVMS customers with medium to large operational databases can benefit tremendously by architecting and building a data warehouse and feeding it with data from their OpenVMS operational data bases. For most of these OpenVMS customers who can benefit from adding data warehousing solutions to their existing operations, we are certain that an OpenVMS system, or an OpenVMS cluster, or an OpenVMS Affinity solution will be their best, their lowest risk, their most quickly available and highest payoff solution. Our plan is to make it possible for all of our OpenVMS customers with significant databases to extend these databases so that they can enjoy the benefits and payoffs of cost effective OpenVMS data warehousing. Q: Which OpenVMS features are especially beneficial to customers who are interested in data warehousing? A: 24X365 - bullet proof availability, reliability, disaster tolerance. OpenVMS is number #1, bar none, in Continuous Computing. It's the solution that banks, stock markets, and others with mission-critical requirements depend on for their operations. Many customers are finding that the data warehouses they build must be as bullet proof as their operational systems. In these scenarios, OpenVMS is the number one choice even for customers who have never experienced the benefits of OpenVMS before. About 20% of OpenVMS sales last year were to new customers - many of them driven by this crucial differentiator. OpenVMS is far and away the best solution in the industry for 24X365 data warehousing. With Data Warehousing on OpenVMS, you can be sure that your data will be there when you need it. OpenVMS clustering -- OpenVMS clustering is the gold standard in the industry by which all other system clustering implementations are measured. OpenVMS invented clustering and has had more than 10 years experience and success with more than 60,000 clusters worldwide. OpenVMS clusters still remain in a league of their own. OpenVMS clusters support a variety of cluster interconnects including FDDI and Ethernet with the latest, hottest, fastest industry standard interconnects arriving soon. OpenVMS clusters can grow to 96 individual system nodes, where each node could grow to be an up to 12 cpu AlphaServer 8400/440 with up to 28 GB of storage giving unmatched cluster scalability. These clusters can support much more than 10 terabytes of data. Clustering is especially important in a data warehousing architecture. With OpenVMS clustering, all of the operational systems plus the data warehouse plus the data marts and other specialized OpenVMS servers can be managed as a single logical system. This greatly simplifies data extraction from operational systems, loading onto the data warehouse, and distribution of the data to data marts and other servers. Clustering will speed the implementation and dramatically lower the cost of operation of any OpenVMS data warehouse. Performance and scalability -- every one knows that performance today, and scalability for tomorrow are critical factors in the successful implementation of a data warehousing strategy. Once data warehouses prove out their potential to transform data into dollars, the warehouses will grow rapidly in volume of data, number of users and frequency of use. OpenVMS warehousing offers the absolutely best performance and scalability of any warehousing solution. VLM64 -- OpenVMS takes full advantage of Digital's Alpha technology and VLM64. Alpha performance records with VLM64 include best TPC-C single system performance, best TPC-C cluster performance, best TPC-D price/performance, and a host of other awards. OpenVMS has held the hotly contested TPC-C single system performance record for an unprecedented 5 1/2 months (as of October 18,1996) with 14,227 tpmC @ $269/tpmC. OpenVMS clustering and its mechanisms for sharing disk storage between cluster nodes is by far the most scaleable choice available today. This provides countless opportunities for OpenVMS datawarehousing solutions grow as fast as needed with an unlimited high-end. OpenVMS NT AFFINITY -- Digital was the first vendor to develop a close coupling with NT. Consequently we have advanced the most rapidly of any industry player to implement this solution. What this means to anyone considering adding data warehousing is that OpenVMS allows you take advantage of the latest and greatest data warehousing software applications on NT while letting you still benefit from having your data protected by OpenVMS 24X365 bullet proof operations - the best of both worlds. Q: Why is OpenVMS data warehousing the logical choice for customers who already have operational data bases running on OpenVMS and OpenVMS clusters? A: There are numerous reasons such as: Lowest risk to prove the data warehousing concept Quickest to prove concept and demonstrate ROI payback Can continue to use their data base of choice Can continue to use same Data base administrator Easiest integration with OpenVMS clusters Simplest data extraction, warehouse loading, data distribution Easiest data replication Lowest cost of operations and administration and management World's best 24X365 World's best clustering World's best single system scaling VLM64 performance boosts whenever you need it World's best (by far) cluster scaling Alpha architecture and its continuous stream of advances No migration costs, training costs, re-development costs Q: Does Data Warehousing on OpenVMS let you pick and choose the tools and solution components from the top data warehousing players such as Oracle, Sybase, SAS, Prism, and others. A: Yes. Absolutely. OpenVMS supports or works in conjunction with Oracle7 and Oracle Rdb7, Sybase, SAS, Software AG, Prism, IBI FOCUS and a host of other top-of-the-line tools. Our OpenVMS NT Affinity program will make all of the best NT data warehousing tools available while your vital data is safely stored on your bullet proof, 24X365 OpenVMS warehouse. We are actively pursuing additional relationships in this fast developing market. Digital's NSIS professional consultants can help design and architect an OpenVMS warehousing solution to meet your exact needs. Year 2000 Q: What is the Year 2000 issue? A: The Year 2000 issue is the result of the common practice of using two digits instead of four to represent years in dates and of having multiple time formats that are internal to the operating system. When this practice is extended to computer hardware and software, it causes incorrect results in arithmetic operations, comparisons, and data sorting when users work with years beyond 1999. Q: Is OpenVMS affected by the Year 2000 issue? All versions of the OpenVMS operating system use multiple internal representations of years. These representations interface through external ASCII and binary year fields. When writing your applications, if you have consistently used the complete four-digit year field representation that OpenVMS produces or accepts as input, you will not be affected by the transition to the year 2000. The four-digit year field provides a Year 2000-safe core on which to layer your applications. [Please note that with "all versions of OpenVMS", we also include V5.5-2 or older versions, that are usually referred to as "VMS" instead of "OpenVMS".] Q: Is hardware affected by the Year 2000 issue? A: At the hardware level, no changes are needed, because all of Digital's Alpha and VAX system platforms use representational formats that are totally unaffected by the transition to the year 2000. Q: What is likely to be affected by the Year 2000 issue? Digital expects that most Year 2000-related problems will probably occur in layered software and applications. Therefore, starting a complete evaluation of applications as soon as possible is very important. OpenVMS provides the advantage of allowing you to start testing NOW. Q: Is there an automatic way of solving the Year 2000 issue? A: No systematic and automatic testing method can ensure that all customer applications will continue to work across the year 2000 boundary. However, OpenVMS is one of the few operating systems that allows you to set the system clocks to times in the future, which will enable you to test your software for possible Year 2000 problems. To ensure integrity of your data during these test sessions, Digital recommends that you perform the evaluation in a completely restorable, non-production environment. Q: If OpenVMS is already Year 2000 ready, why you are conducting an investigation? A: In the OpenVMS software environment, many interfaces and layered software components are layered on the Year 2000-safe core described above. To make sure that these interfaces and layers of software are safe for the transition to the year 2000, Digital is conducting an investigation of its software environment. The results of this investigation will indicate if any modifications to the software environment will be required. These modifications will be released with the version of OpenVMS that is available in calendar year 1997. (At the current stage of the investigation, only minor modifications are expected.) Q: Is a complete list of software products' status for Year 2000 readiness available? A: At the end of the investigation, Digital will provide information regarding the Year 2000 for our hardware, operating systems, middleware and applications. For software products in particular, Digital will be publishing a complete listing of layered products, along with the Year 2000 status of the current releases, planned "Year 2000 safe" release versions, and the expected release date for each layered product. We plan to also include information on software products customers are using which have been supplied by Digital's key software partners. This information will be included in a database which is accessible via the World Wide Web by the end of calendar year 1996. Infrastructure Q: I've heard the message that OpenVMS is going to interoperate with Windows NT, but specifically what code are you delivering to make this possible? A: There is a talk being presented Monday at DECUS titled, "OpenVMS and Windows NT - Connectivity and Infrastructure Directions", which attempts answer this question. There are three broad areas of connectivity that we are addressing: (1) Support for distributed objects and applications. The deliverable here is DCOM (see Q&A's on DCOM). (2) Support for common accounts on OpenVMS and Windows NT systems. The deliverable here is a capability called "Single Signon". (3) Support for distributed LANmanager file and print services. The deliverable here is PATHWORKS and a number of base capabilities that support all three areas of connectivity and work across OpenVMS and Windows NT systems. These base capabilities include: a common Registry, Single Signon, common access to NT Services, adoption of an NT Security model on OpenVMS, interaction with NT Events, and a way to Authenticate Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) between OpenVMS and NT systems. All of these projects are in their early stages and do not have committed schedules at this time. Q: What is DCOM (Distributed Component Object Module)? A: DCOM, previously known as "Network OLE", is a programming environment developed by Microsoft Corporation that enables software components to communicate directly over a network in a reliable, secure, and efficient manner. DCOM uses an object request broker to find objects or applications and send communications between them over a network. DCOM first shipped on Windows NT V4.0 in August 1996. Q: Do you plan to support DCOM? A: OpenVMS is investigating porting DCOM to the OpenVMS Alpha platform as part of the OpenVMS Windows NT Affinity Program. We realize the importance of this new technology to our customers who require objects to interact across different systems. This project is in its early phases and no specific commitments can be made at this time about functionality or schedule. DCOM on a UNIX platform is also being investigated. Q: Many of the capabilities you mention for connectivity (a built-in registry, etc.) are already part of the PATHWORKS for OpenVMS product. Are you going to duplicate or rewrite these functions? A: The Infrastructure and PATHWORKS teams are working together on enhancements to these capabilities, where they already exist. The goal is to have no duplication of effort, and to have both groups benefiting from the new implementations. Q: Tell me more about the "Single Signon" capability. A: This functionality extends OpenVMS user authentication so that when a user logs in, OpenVMS consults external authenticators (such as LANmanager provided in PATHWORKS). This means a user can log in using his external user ID and password, rather than requiring him to use a separate OpenVMS-specific user ID and password. The first step of this implemen- tation will be available in OpenVMS V7.1. Fuller functionality will be available in subsequent releases. Q: Tell me more about the "Registry" capability you are proposing. A: The WIN32 API set on Windows NT includes a set of services that permit loading and fetching of system, user, application, and object information. The database, or Registry, holds this information. The Registry is the storage location for user information, OLE information, security information, and all the .ini files from traditional Windows NT applications. An OpenVMS Registry would have the same functionality as the Windows NT Registry. It would provide an interface so that tools could update the Registry database on OpenVMS transparently, and (longer term) it would provide a repository for OpenVMS system utilities and application programs to store information. Q: Tell me more about the "NT Security" support you may offer on OpenVMS. A: The long term goal of this project is to provide a means of integrating Windows NT security with OpenVMS security. Security is a basic under-pinning or capability that many pieces of interoperability infrastructure such as DCOM, Single Signon, Registry, Authenticated RPC, Services and Events depend upon. Windows NT Security on OpenVMS would have to address the areas of user authentication, credentials, access mediation, delegation, impersonation, and auditing. Q: What are "Services and Events"? A: The WIN32 API set on Windows NT includes a set of services that permit a Service Control Manager (SCM) to start and stop servers or services on the local system and remote Windows NT servers. The OpenVMS SCM would provide the same functionality as the Windows NT SCM by providing an interface to view and manage services in a consistent manner between OpenVMS and Windows NT systems. In a cluster, the OpenVMS SCM would also provide failover (restart) capabilities across the cluster. The WIN32 API set on Windows NT also provides a set of services that permit the recording of application, system, and security events. The OpenVMS Event Log will have the same functionality as on Windows NT and provide an interface so that tools can manage event logs and a repository where system and security events can be stored. Q: Tell me more about "Authenticated RPC". A: OpenVMS currently supports the Distributed Computing Environment (DCE). This environment provides a strongly authenticated RPC mechanism that ensures the identity of both a client and server in a client/server transaction. OpenVMS plans to add support to the existing DCE product to provide the addition of the Windows NT authentication protocol. This protocol has several names including LANman3 and NT LANman Security Support Provider. Q: Is there going to be a new release of DCE soon? A: Yes, V1.4 of DCE will be shipping on the OpenVMS Gryphon (V7.1) release in Q2FY97. This is a maintenance release of DCE to support the new release of the OpenVMS operating system and to provide a number of essential bug fixes to customers. This new version of DCE does not contain any newer ports of OSF code to the OpenVMS platform. Nor does it contain any of the proposed interoperability features of the Windows NT authentication protocol. These would follow at a later time. Q: Is Digital continuing to partner with Bristol Technology for WIN32 APIs, and if so, how does this fit with the Infrastructure work? A: Yes, OpenVMS is continuing to partner with Bristol Technology to provide customers with the WIN32 APIs via Bristol's Wind/U product. The run-time version of Wind/U V3.2 is bundled with OpenVMS V7.1. The license for the Wind/U run-time is available from Bristol. The developer's kit and license for Wind/U is also available directly from Bristol. If new APIs are needed to support the Infrastructure work, Digital will work with appropriate third parties to deliver complete solutions to our customers. OpenVMS Hardware Support Q: I purchased a new AlphaServer/AlphaStation supported with V6.2-1H3, tried to run V7.0 on it and it would not even boot! Why? A: The contents of the OpenVMS Alpha V6.2-1H3 release, FRS May'96, are not included in the OpenVMS Alpha V7.0 release, FRS December'95. V6.2-1H3 has been integrated into the V7.1 release. Q: I was told that my new AlphaServer 2100A is supported in V6.2-1H1. The kit that came with the system was v6.2-1H3. Is the 2100A supported in 6.2-1H3? A: OpenVMS Alpha V6.2-1H3 is a complete superset of the preceding releases, OpenVMS Alpha V6.2-1H1 and V6.2-1H2, and is a fully supported substitute. Q: There have been new Alpha Systems announced since V6.2-1H3 shipped in May. Do I have to wait until V7.1 for support? A: No. All systems shipped after V6.2-1H3 will be supported by OpenVMS on this version using Dynamic Systems Recognition (DSR) once qualification is complete without having to release a new version of OpenVMS. Q: I ordered the new DE500 10/100 Mbs Ethernet adapter which is supported in V6.2-1H3 and it doesn't work! The support center and the SOC state that it's not supported until V7.1! What's the problem? A: The DE500-XA was initially supported in V6.2-1H3. The follow-on product, the DE500-AA is a fully forward compatible product which provides the added Auto-Negotiation feature in V7.1. It must be noted that OpenVMS support for the DE500-AA is *not* backward compatible to V6.2-1H3. If you must have DE500 support on a system running a V6.2-1H3 based solution, you must specify DE500-XA on your order to ensure you do not get the DE500-AA. Q: You have support for Wide SCSI with OpenVMS V6.2 and the -1H# releases, so how come you still only support 7 SCSI drives? A: The support in V6.2 based releases for Wide SCSI was limited due the existing addressing architecture of the SCSI drivers in the V6.2 base release. The Wide SCSI drives were supported in Narrow mode. Full Wide SCSI support is now available in OpenVMS Alpha V7.1. Q: What's new in supported SCSI configurations? A: OpenVMS Alpha V6.2-1H3 now supports up to 26 FWD SCSI busses on the Alpha Server 8200 and 8400! Q: If OpenVMS really supports Industry Standard SCSI devices, why can't you support the use of any 3rd party SCSI devices? A: Well, the SCSI (pronounced `scuzzy', OK?) standard has more options than Starbuck's. There are 10 critical SCSI features required for OpenVMS and all of Digital's products implement these features correctly to function, as required, with OpenVMS. Many 3rd party devices do not correctly implement these features and suffer in terms of quality, availability and performance. Q: Even when I do use Digital's SCSI solutions with OpenVMS I still have lots of problems. Why is that? A: The very nature of SCSI forces the o/s to support and/or deal with all the possible features in various manners. This has limited some functionality for SCSI support with OpenVMS. We have made lots of changes in V7.1 to improve quality and performance of SCSI. For the full scoop attend the OpenVMS SCSI Features, Futures & Issues session. Q: What release of OpenVMS is required to support the MicroVAX 3188/3198 and VAX 4108? A: These new systems are fully supported all the way back to V5.5-2! There are, however, limitations on the system ID during boot. We are working on a patch kit to correct that minor feature. Q: When will OpenVM support ASYNCH boards on the Alpha systems? A: The CXI01 ISA ASYNCH boards are fully supported on selected Alpha Servers now. The boards and the OpenVMS drivers are sourced from Digiboard International. The OpenVMS drivers for V6.2, or later, come with boards and are fully supported by Digital and Digiboard. OpenVMS Performance and TPC-C Q: How does OpenVMS performance compare to the latest results on the TPC-C benchmark, specifically Hewlett Packard's HP 9000 K460 Enteprise Server achieving 12,322 tpmC @$188/tpmC? A: OpenVMS wins hands down. OpenVMS has held the world record TPC-C single system performance mark for an unprecedented 5 and 1/2 months with 14,227 tpmC@$269/tpmC. HP's "best-ever" single system performance isn't even within 15% of our record. HP is far behind on 64 bit and VLM and cluster scaling. OpenVMS wins on cost of ownership with substantially reduced requirements for operational and administrative personnel. Most important: just about everyone who needs a system capable of completing thousands of transactions per minute, also needs a system that is absolutely bullet proof with 24X365 availability. OpenVMS is the undisputed leader in continuous computing. Q: What about the latest COMPAQ Pentium Pro results on TPC-C? How do OpenVMS' solutions for high end transaction processing compare with the COMPAQ results? A: For application to the high-end, transaction processing market, where customers want bullet proof systems capable of thousands of transactions per minute, and where customers must have the ability to scale their systems upwards fast their business grows, being fast and cheap is not sufficient. These customers need scaling beyond 4 CPUs, beyond 4 GB, beyond a handful of cluster nodes; and they need the best continuous computing that they can get. In other words, only OpenVMS will do. Q: What do we need to know about OpenVMS performance today and tomorrow? A: World records are only a small part of the OpenVMS performance story. - We're back. Every time we play we win - 3 world records set in 1996. * 14,227 tpmC@$269/tpmC, May 10, 1996 - Best single system performance and an unprecedented 5 1/2 months on top * Aug 13, 1996 - Best upgradable departmental server performance, beating previous record by 25% (superseded by our 3rd record) * 7,985 tpmC@174/tpmC, Aug 27, 1996 - the best ever departmental server performance in a platform that also has a proven, published, Enterprise Server tpmC rating. (What good is a mid-range result unless you also have a proven growth path?) - OpenVMS is #1 in 64 bit and VLM along with Digital UNIX - OpenVMS is #1 for never-say-die performance, the key factor at the high end - OpenVMS is #1 in cluster scalability with up to 96 systems, 1000+ CPUs - OpenVMS is #1 in cluster experience - over 60,000 installed over 12 years - OpenVMS AlphaServer sales grew 30% last year, including 10-15% new wins primarily due to OpenVMS' absolute superiority in continuous computing, OpenVMS' gold standard ranking in clustered solutions, and OpenVMS's leadership in NT integration with our Affinity program. - OpenVMS is a Digital Strategic Platform based on our continuing success. - OpenVMS is seen as tops in customer perceived price/performance thanks to our remarkable advantages in lower cost operations & administration. - OpenVMS runs on Alpha - the fastest HW on the planet - with more to come (4 GB memory boards, 28 GB max memory, 440 mhz CPUs ...) - OpenVMS performance keeps getting better, e.g Memory Resident Global Sections in 7.1 and the dramatic drop in $/tpmC in our latest benchmarks as a result of PCI and KZPSA. Q: Won't someone come out with faster results some day? A: Of course. That's the nature of benchmarking. OpenVMS's answer: continuous improvements in AlphaServer performance and OpenVMS performance. With our active and effective programs in place, we are certain we will be able to meet any challenges to OpenVMS' current leadership position. Q: Rdb has proven the value of OpenVMS VLM64 with 3 record breaking results this year. What other OpenVMS databases plan to take advantage of VLM64? A: The immensely popular Oracle7 will support VLM with OpenVMS version 7.1. Oracle 7 plans to make full use of the new Memory-resident global sections and shared page tables in OpenVMS version 7.1. We expect great results on OpenVMS from Oracle7 with VLM. Based on Rdb's success, and OpenVMS' great new VLM features, other database vendors are showing lots of interest in adding VLM64 to their OpenVMS offerings in order to stay competitive. Q: What is TPC? A: The Transaction Processing Council is a non-profit corporation founded to define verifiable performance benchmarks for transaction processing and decision support. Their internet address is http://www.tpc.org where you can find the latest benchmark results and the detailed explanation of each TPC authorized benchmark. Q: What are the meanings of the two TPC metrics: tpmC and $/tpmC? Also, is the TPC-C benchmark run in a true customer environment? A: tpmC is the TPC-C benchmark's performance measure. tpmC indicates the number of New-Order transactions completed per minute when running the TPC-C benchmark and satisfying all other requirements for response and robustness. $/tpmC is the price/performance measure. $/tpmC is computed by dividing the total cost of system hardware, software, communications, storage and maintenance by the tpmC measure. Note that this figure does not include the total cost of system administration or operation, nor the cost that would be required to create and deliver a bullet proof continuous computing environment. The TPC-C benchmark is an online transaction processing (OLTP) application environment which simulates one example of a possible customer environment. Performance of other OLTP applications will vary. Digital maintains a number of conveniently located benchmark centers that are available to help prove OpenVMS' performance capabilities on an individual customer's specific application requirements. Q: Which TPC-C measure is more important: tpmC or $/tpmC. A: The TPC suggests for application environments needing very high, mission-critical performance, that more weight be given to the throughput measure: tpmC. We agree, and add that for customers interested in these mission-critical environments, it will be essential for them to evaluate: a) the capabilities and cost for providing rock solid continuous computing, b) the full cost of ownership that includes operations, administration, data base administration, and training. Q: Which vendor has the best single system tpmC numbers using Oracle Corporation Databases? A: At the Enterprise Server, high end, OpenVMS and Oracle Rdb7 hold the single system performance record with 14,227 tpmC @$269/tpmC. At the mid-range, upgradable departmental server level, OpenVMS and Oracle Rdb7 have the best performance results with 7,985 tpmC@$174/tpmC. Q: How do OpenVMS' TPC-C numbers compare to the OpenVMS VLM64 query tests that showed performance improvements up to 250 times that of comparable 32 bit systems? A: These two tests are very different. TPC-C measures online transaction processing performance (OLTP). The query tests reflect performance in a decision support or data warehousing environment. Multi-way joins are the key to great performance in large data warehousing systems. This is where OpenVMS with VLM shows the greatest relative performance compared to 32 bits. The bottom line is that you can expect great performance with OpenVMS in both of these key application environments. Q: What features of OpenVMS and Rdb7 make such great results possible, both on TPC-C and with complicated queries and multi-way joins? A: Continuous improvement of both OpenVMS and Rdb7 over the last 3 years * 64 bits & VLM with 8 GB has provided tremendous gains with more to come * Fast IO and Fast Path for more cpu performance and better SMP scaling * Extremely efficient memory management * Highly optimized low level system routines - we keep making these better! * Superior manageability, tunability * Superior range of interconnects to disk storage including CI and SCSI * Rdb7's record cache makes better use of VLM than caches used by others * Rdb7 puts VLM to excellent use in a variety of ways. * Rdb7 allows hash & btree indices and multiple indices for the same table * Rdb7 performance monitoring Q: Will you be running more OpenVMS AlphaServer benchmarks? A12. You bet. We're on top of benchmark performance today, and we intend to stay there. You can keep up with our latest wins and the newest performance features by visiting the OpenVMS web at: http://www.openvms.digital.com OpenVMS Internet Product Suite Q: Digital has Internet software solutions for Digital UNIX and NT. What about OpenVMS A. The OpenVMS Internet Product Suite V1.0 is shipping NOW! The OpenVMS Internet Product Suite is a comprehensive and conveniently packaged portfolio of Digital and third-party products that gives VAX and Alpha customers the ability to launch an OpenVMS web server or client. Using the product suite, existing OpenVMS systems can be redeployed as Internet or intranet servers, preserving customers' long-term hardware and software investments. Q. What products are available now in the OpenVMS Internet Product Suite V1.0? A. The OpenVMS Internet Product Suite includes the following components: Web Browsers: Netscape Navigator V2.0 (with JavaScript) Spyglass Enhanced Mosaic V2.10 lynx V2.4-FM (freeware) gopher client V2.16 (freeware) mxrn, a Motif News reader (freeware) Servers: Purveyor WebServer for OpenVMS V1.1B (OSU) DECthreads HTTP Server V2.0A (freeware) CERN Proxy Server V3.0 (freeware) gopher server V1.12 (freeware) IUPOP3 mail server (freeware) ANU-NEWS server (freeware) Digital VTX Web Interface Freeware tools and utilities ported to OpenVMS from UNIX and provided as pre-built kits: UNIX utilities such as grep, gawk, and sed Scripting utilities such as perl and tcl/tk Language tools such as bison and flex The Purveyor WebServer for OpenVMS as well as the VTX Web Interface will be separately licensed. The Netscape Navigator and Spyglass Enhanced Mosaic web browsers will not require separate licenses and will be included under the DECwindows Motif license. We'll continue to add Internet products and freeware to this product suite. By the end of calendar year 1996, you'll see the Netscape Communications and Commerce Servers added to the product suite; in early 1997, we'll be adding the Digital Firewall for OpenVMS. We'll continue to evaluate third-party and Digital products for inclusion on the product suite based on customer requirements and OpenVMS strategic directions. Q. How is the OpenVMS Internet Product Suite being delivered? A. The OpenVMS Internet Product Suite CD is: - Included now in all OpenVMS system BOMs - Being included in the OpenVMS V7.1 kit In addition, the (OSU) DECthreads HTTP Server and the Netscape Navigator are being FISed (factory installed) on all OpenVMS systems. Q: We've been waiting for the availability of the Netscape Commerce and Communications Servers on OpenVMS. What's the hold up? A: The Netscape Commerce and Communications Servers are approaching the end of external field test and are scheduled to ship to customers before the end of calendar year 1996. In addition, we're putting steps in place to ensure that we keep pace with the availability of Netscape products on other industry platforms. In the future, you can expect to see more timely delivery of Netscape products on OpenVMS. Q. What will future versions of the OpenVMS Internet Product Suite contain? A. The next version -- Version 1.1 -- of the Internet Product Suite, scheduled to ship before the end of 1996, will contain the Netscape Communications and Commerce Servers; the follow-on version to V1.1 will contain the Digital Firewall for OpenVMS. And we'll be making Netscape Navigator V3.0 -- with full Java support -- available on the OpenVMS home page in early 1997. As new products continue to be embraced by the marketplace, the Product Suite will grow to include those that most meet the needs of OpenVMS users. We're also looking at providing a Tunnel for OpenVMS to allow for Internet/intranet communication between trusted nodes through a firewall. Q. Will Digital provide Java on OpenVMS? A. We are currently evaluating the variety of Java offerings; you can expect to see us focus on delivering Java runtime support on OpenVMS. That said, Java plans for OpenVMS include providing: - Full Java support in Netscape Navigator V3.0 in January 1997 - JDK (Java Development Kit), including the Virtual Machine (VM) on VAX and Alpha - Just-in-time (JIT) compiler; Alpha only - Look for JDK and JIT on OpenVMS in late 1997 - Packaging for JDK and JIT on OpenVMS is TBD Q: Will Java development tools be available on OpenVMS? A: We see Java development taking place on PCs rather than on OpenVMS. As a result, we will be partnering with third-parties to provide Java development tools for use in creating Java applications. Q. How can I exploit OpenVMS's capabilities in an Internet environment? A. Non-stop computing is one of the legendary benefits of OpenVMS. Never has constant availability been more important that when you're about to make your business visible to the world via the Internet OpenVMS Clusters from Digital let you configure your web servers so there is no single point of failure -- thus eliminating unexpected downtime. If one web server system goes down, applications and users fail over to another system automatically, without missing a beat -- or a customer! And with OpenVMS Clusters, you can be sure that any type of downtime will not affect the availability of your applications, data, or client systems across the Internet. Q. Describe the Digital Firewall for OpenVMS. A. The Digital Firewall for OpenVMS provides a way for you to control access between two networks. Firewalls are most commonly used to protect a private network from the Internet. The Firewall for OpenVMS consists of an OpenVMS VAX or Alpha computer system with two network interfaces running the firewall software. The firewall system serves as a bastion host, and prevents any IP traffic from flowing between the two networks. Communication between the two networks takes place at the application level, and is handled by application gateways running on the firewall system. No direct connections between external and internal hosts are allowed. Gateways are provided for the standard internet services including telnet, ftp, www, news, and smtp mail. A generic gateway is for use with other TCP applications. Q. How does the Digital Firewall for OpenVMS compare with the Firewall for Digital UNIX V1.0? With the AltaVista Firewall for Digital UNIX V2.0? A. The Firewall for OpenVMS V1.0 is a port of the Digital Firewall for UNIX V1.0. The features included in this first release of the Firewall for OpenVMS are equivalent with those in the Firewall for Digital UNIX V1.0 product with two exceptions: 1. The Firewall for OpenVMS V1.0 does not have the capability to perform filtered routing; in the Digital Firewall for UNIX V1.0, this feature is provided by the screened facility. 2. An application gateway for finger is not included with the Firewall for OpenVMS V1.0. The major new features available in the Digital Firewall for UNIX V2.0 (now called the AltaVista Firewall for Digital UNIX V2.0) include transparent application proxy support and an enhanced GUI. These features will be provided in a future version of the Firewall for OpenVMS. Q. Can I run the Digital Firewall for OpenVMS in an OpenVMS Cluster? A. OpenVMS Clusters are not supported by the Digital Firewall for OpenVMS V1.0. Workstation-based Clusters rely on the use of SCS communications across the LAN between clustered systems. Currently, the Firewall for OpenVMS does not have the ability to monitor SCS traffic. As a result, workstation-based clusters are not suitable for use with the firewall. We recognize, however, that reliability is a highly desirable asset for any firewall system, and that clusters are particularly well suited to deliver this reliability. We are currently investigating how the Firewall for OpenVMS might be run in a dedicated, non-LAN based OpenVMS Cluster. Q. Can I run the Firewall for OpenVMS with a TCP implementation (TGV's MultiNet, Process Software's TCPware, Wollongong's Pathway) other than TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS? A. The Digital Firewall for OpenVMS is supported only for use with Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS (UCX). Certain firewall components (e.g. the per-interface IP packet filter) are directly tied to the networking kernel and require us to have access to low-level IP processing. We don't have this kind of access with third-party TCP/IP products. In addition, part of the development of the Firewall for OpenVMS has been the examination of the networking kernel to ensure that there are no security holes. We haven't had the access to source code that would be required to attempt this with other TCP/IP implementations. Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Q. What is new in this release of Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS? A. Within this release Digital has provided Post Office Protocol (V3) Server, SNMP Extensible Agent (eSNMP), Finger Utility, FTP command: View, and Network File System enhancements. Q. Can you tell me a little more about each of these new features? A. Yes - o Post Office Protocol, V3 (POP), based upon Indiana University IUPOP3 POP is a mail repository used mostly by PC's which ensures mail is accepted even when the PC is turned off. o Extensible Simple Network Management (eSNMP) Extensibility means that an agent can support multiple subagents. This implementation has an agent, two subagents, and an Applications Programming Interface (API). The subagents provide support for RFC 1213 (MIB-II) and partial support for RFC 1514 (Host Resources MIB). o Finger Utility - Finger allows user to display information about a particular user logged on a system. o FTP command: VIEW - VIEW enables a user to display the content of a file to the current output device. o Network File System (NFS) Server Enhancement - File Naming Enhancement allows users to create files and directories in an OpenVMS file system using names which do not conform to OpenVMS file-naming rules without use of the container file system. The NFS Server now supports access to XQP+, which improves NFS performance. Q. Is Digital truly committed to TCP/IP for OpenVMS market? A. Absolutely! Digital stated in 1990 that they would deliver full and equal support for DECnet, TCP/IP and OSI protocols across our family of system platforms. Digital continues to deliver on this promise. Q. Does Digital have any future plans for IPv6 and OpenVMS? A. Digital is committed to maintaining our leadership position in IPv6. In addition to the efforts underway within other Digital organizations, OpenVMS is committed to offering our customers a robust IPv6 implementation when the market is prepared for IPv6. Digital was the first company to demonstrate a working prototype of IPv6 running on OpenVMS and work continues to ensure our customers can move to IPv6 when they are ready to embrace v6. IPv6 will be an evolutionary change for customers, providing backwards compatibility with IPv4 whenever technology permits backwards compatibility. Q. Can you explain the expanded relationship Digital has with Process Software Corporation? A. Digital and Process Software have expanded the scope of the agreement such that Process Software will now provide on-going engineering support for Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS. Process Software will also provide engineering resources to add enhancements to the product. Customers will continue to get their service from Digital's CSCs. The product will continue to be based upon the existing Digital product. Digital will continue to own, sell, and set future direction for Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS This agreement is further proof of our commitment to continued improvements and enhancements for our product. Process continues to be a competitor, offering their TCPware product. Q. What does this agreement mean to TCPware customers? Does this mean Process Software is no longer continuing to develop TCPware? A. Process Software can best answer this question, however, Digital does not see any reason to believe TCPware customers will see any changes resulting from this agreement. Process Software will continue to sell their competing product. Q. What does this agreement mean to OpenVMS customers? A. This agreement means OpenVMS customers will continue to have a number of vendors from whom they may purchase their TCP/IP implementations. Q. How should customers decide between TCPware and Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS? A. Customers should evaluate the product attributes and strengths of the companies when purchasing TCP/IP or any other software product for their computing needs. Q. Are there plans for Digital to eventually purchase Process Software? A. No, this agreement is a further demonstration by Digital to partner with leading vendors to offer customers the best solutions to their business problems. Q. Can you comment on the financial details of this agreement? A. No, the financial details are considered confidential. DECnet-Plus and Wide Area Networking Q: Is DECnet-Plus a totally new product, or is it essentially a new version of DECnet/OSI? A: DECnet-Plus is the new name for DECnet/OSI, this change begins with DECnet-Plus V7.1. DECnet-Plus V7.1 for OpenVMS includes all of the functionality of DECnet/OSI, plus some new features such as host-based routing. DECnet-Plus delivers DECnet Phase IV functionality, OSI Compliance, and the ability to run OSI and/or DECnet applications over industry-standard TCP/IP networks. Q: Can you please explain some of the features in DECnet-Plus in more detail? A: Yes. New Features: Support of DECnet Phase IV host-based routing: Allows Phase IV users to upgrade to DECnet-Plus, without sacrificing their investment in host-based routing. Integrated installation with OpenVMS: Provides faster and easier installation and upgrade. DECnet-Plus is the default network transport for OpenVMS V7.1. Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS can also be installed during OpenVMS installation. DECnet Phase IV is still available as a layered software product, but Phase IV should not be necessary since all Phase IV functionality, including host-base routing, is now a part of DECnet-Plus. Fast configuration option: DECnet-Plus includes a fast configurationoption for upgrades which a system or network manager can use to configure DECnet-Plus quickly on an OpenVMS system by invoking the net$configure.com procedure. OSAK V3.0 Session Programming Interface (SPI); Customers that use the OSAK Version 1.1 interface should migrate to the OSAK Version 3.0 SPI interface. The OSAK Version 3.0 SPI, or Session Programming Interface, provides the same capabilities as the OSAK Version 1.1 interface. The DECnet-Plus (DECnet/OSI) OSAK Programming manual (AA-PJ1CD-TE) contains additional information about OSAK Version 3.0 SPI. ______________________________________________________________________________ Existing Features: Support of OpenVMS V7.0 and V7.1: Allows network applications to take advantage of the 64 bit operation and P2 addressing of OpenVMS V7.0 and V7.1 on Alpha Systems, significantly improving their performance. However, DECnet-Plus still allows 32 bit operation and addressing on either VAX or Alpha Systems. Improved Management Capabilities: Cluster management enhancements allow configuration of an entire cluster from any one member of the cluster. An X.25 Network Management Interface provides more efficient management of Packet Switched Data Networks (PSDN). Large Local File: Can support up to 100K nodes in a local naming database, removing the need for a global naming service for many customers. There is a migration tool built in to convert DECnet Phase IV databases to Large Local file automatically. NCL GUI: Digital provides a Motif-based Graphical User Interface into NCL (Network Control Language). With NCL GUI, network system managers as well as end users can now control their network components as well as monitor their status through a Motif-based windows interface. Command line interface is also provided. DECnet/IP: Providing support for applications written to DECnet interfaces to run unchanged over TCP/IP protocol stacks. Digital is providing support for both Digital and third party TCP/IP stacks including those from TGV, Wollongong, and Process Software. RFC1006: Using industry standard RFC1006, customers can run OSI applications such as X.400, X.500 as well as FTAM and VTP applications that ship with DECnet-Plus, and others over TCP/IP protocols on OpenVMS platforms. Similarly, using industry standard RFC1859, customers can run DECnet applications over TCP/IP protocols on OpenVMS platforms. Q: Can you elaborate on the host-based routing support included in DECnet-Plus? A: Sure, the DECnet-Plus V7.1 host-based routing support includes: o Communication with nodes running DECnet Phase IV and DECnet- Plus (DECnet/OSI) protocols. o Virtually unlimited DECnet-Plus (DECnet/OSI) routing domains, depending on the memory size and processor capability of the routers used (Phase IV host-based routing supports a network configuration of up to 63 areas with a maximum of 1023 nodes each.) o The routing vector protocol only (default) o FDDI large packets. The manual Datalink SDU Size characteristic value can be raised from 1492 to 4352. o DDCMP (supported on VAX only). o X.25 switched and permanent virtual circuits (SVCs and PVCs), also on VAX only. Q: How does DECnet-Plus provide investment protection for users with applications written on DECnet Phase IV? A:Since the DECnet-Plus product is comprised of DECnet software PLUS OSI software, it preserves existing investments in network hardware and applications. Because DECnet Phase IV protocols, and host-based routing, have been built into DECnet-Plus, existing DECnet applications run unchanged on a DECnet-Plus system. DECnet-Plus (DECnet/OSI) and DECnet Phase IV systems can coexist in a single network. Q: What naming services does DECnet-Plus support? A: DECnet-Plus provides support for several naming options including Large Local File, DNS/BIND, and DECdns Server (VAX only). Large Local File can support up to 100K nodes in a local naming database, removing the need for a global naming service, while support of DNS/BIND and DECdns provide almost unlimited network growth and unique addressing on a global scale. Q: What is the current status of the retirement of DECnet Phase IV ? A: The current release of OpenVMS , V7.1, announced at Fall DECUS 96, integrates the the installation of a Network Transport (DECnet-Plus, Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS, or DECnet Phase IV). However, DECnet-Plus is identified as the default, replacing DECnet Phase IV. Phase IV is still available as a layered software product. Q: Does this mean that my DECnet Phase IV applications will no longer work on OpenVMS? A: No. Each new release of DECnet maintains backward compatibility with the previous release while providing new features and functionality. DECnet applications run equally well over DECnet, OSI and/or TCP/IP transports, without modification. Q: What about X.25 support/P.S.I. Access? A: X.25 support that was previously provided with the P.S.I. Access product is now integrated into the DECnet-Plus product for OpenVMS VAX. The X.25 media and documentation ship with the OpenVMS VAX DECnet-Plus product; a separate VAX P.S.I. license (QL-071A*-AA) is required. There is a separate license and media (QL-0THA9-AA) for the X.25 support on OpenVMS Alpha. Q: I hear that upgrading to DECnet-Plus is a nightmare. What is being done to make that easier? A: Many of the problems with upgrading are due to combining the upgrade of DECnet products and a change in name service. We recommend that you first upgrade from DECnet Phase IV to DECnet-Plus, using the same name service and make sure that your network is stable. Then, upgrade to DECdns or DNS/Bind after the network is stable. However, we have heard our customers' concerns about migrating to DECnet-Plus and have invested a significant amount of time in each release of DECnet-Plus (DECnet/OSI) to improve the ease of migration. The concerns we have heard, and the improvements we have made, center around these areas: Host-based routing -- DECnet-Plus now includes DECnet Phase IV host-based routing capabilities. This allows those users who have continued to use DECnet Phase IV because of a lack of host-based routing on DECnet-Plus (DECnet/OSI) to migrate to DECnet-Plus without sacrificing important Phase IV functionality. NET$CONFIG -- Allows a System or Network Manager to configure DECnet-Plus quickly on an OpenVMS system by invoking the net$configure.com procedure. Applications -- DECnet Phase IV applications run unchanged on a DECnet-Plus system. NCL - a new Motif-based GUI has been added to the product to make NCL much easier to use. In addition, several NCP-NCL translation tools ship with DECnet-Plus including the NCP emulator and an NCL keypad definition example program. Large Local File - customers who prefer a local naming database can now use a local namespace capable of handling up to 100K nodes. Distributed naming services are also available. DECnet-Plus will automatically convert existing DECnet Phase IV node information to either the local or the distributed name service. Segregated Routing Mode - allows a DECnet-Plus end system to choose to use a Phase IV (dedicated or host-based) or a Phase V router. Q: What automated tools are available for users to ease the migration from DECnet Phase IV to DECnet-Plus? A: DECnet_Migrate is a set of transition tools that are part of the base package. These tools were developed by Digital in order to facilitate a smooth transition for customers from DECnet Phase IV to DECnet-Plus. These tools are part of the DECnet-Plus end system license. Digital also offers Quick Reference Cards for DECnet upgrades. There are Installation and Troubleshooting Quick Reference cards for DECnet Phase IV to DECnet-Plus upgrades. There is also a System Management Quick Reference Card to help with ongoing system management. Q: What type of services/support does Digital offer users to ease their migration? A: Digital offers a variety of service options for those upgrading from DECnet Phase IV to DECnet-Plus. These are standard services offerings sold to the customer. Local offices can make allowances on services as is appropriate. Additionally, Creative Computing of Colorado Springs, Colorado offers customized DECnet-Plus upgrade and network migration services (800-371-1224) Q: I've heard you state that 'Digital is setting the standard for running DECnet applications over TCP/IP', can you explain further? A: Yes. In addition to delivering support with DECnet-Plus for both Digital and third party OpenVMS TCP/IP stacks, Digital submitted a draft RFC to the IETF on running DECnet applications over TCP/IP. This RFC is now known as RFC 1859 and the functionality, DECnet over TCP/IP, is included in the DECnet-Plus product. Q: What protocol does Digital prefer it's customers to use - DECnet, OSI or TCP/IP? A: Digital is a Multi-Lingual Networking Vendor' 'Digital offers customers a choice of and integration with the industry's most popular networks - IPX, NetBEUI, AppleShare, TCP/IP, OSI and DECnet. It is our customers choice which protocol or combination of protocols they wish to run their computer networks on. . Digital Wide Area Networking Messages (X.25 and ISDN) Q: How does Digital ensure Wide Area Networking connectivity? A: Digital systems support two key technologies: - CCITT (now known as ITU) X.25 interface to packet switching networks on OpenVMS and Digital UNIX - Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) on Digital UNIX Today's world is interdependent and interconnected. To succeed in this environment, you need open, multi-vendor, multi-protocol wide-area networking support. The kind that Digital UNIX and OpenVMS systems deliver. Whether you use DECnet, OSI, and/or TCP/IP as your network transports, Digital WAN connectivity software products ensure that you can successfully connect with non-Digital systems anywhere in the world. Q: Can Digital integrate both local and wide-area connectivity? A: Digital systems provide you with complete local and wide-area connectivity through adherence to industry and international standards -- enabling you to talk and communicate around the world with systems from other vendors and with other Digital systems. With Digital's Wide Area Networking products, OpenVMS and Digital UNIX customers can connect, communicate, and share applications worldwide with systems from other vendors as well as with other Digital systems. Digital solutions adhere to industry and international networking standards to facilitate connectivity, interoperability, and distributed applications in a dynamic multi-vendor environment. Q: What types of device drivers are supported by Digital's X.25 software? A: Support is currently provided for TURBOchannel, EISA, ISA and PCI. DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION FACT SHEET : DECnet-Plus (formerly DECnet/OSI) V7.1 for OpenVMS Overview: The ideas and information conveyed by your networked applications are extremely valuable. Sharing and communicating those ideas and applications should be easy and transparent, without worrying about the protocols used to transmit and receive them. DECnet-Plus for OpenVMS provides a choice of network transports for transparent connection of applications over a LAN or WAN, because it's the information and ideas communicated via your applications that are important, not the protocols that convey them. You can run DECnet applications over TCP/IP, as well as OSI applications over TCP/IP. DECnet-Plus breaks the traditional restrictions tying network applications to specific network transports. Additionally, DECnet-Plus is supported on the 64-bit version of the OpenVMS operating system. But, DECnet-Plus still protects your existing investments in network hardware and applications developed on earlier versions of DECnet and DECnet/OSI. DECnet-Plus is DECnet software PLUS OSI software, making it fully compatible with DECnet Phase IV and OSI compliant systems. Because DECnet Phase IV protocols have been built into DECnet-Plus for OpenVMS, existing DECnet applications run unchanged on a DECnet-Plus system. And, DECnet-Plus now includes support for host-based routing, making the upgrade from DECnet Phase IV even smoother. DECnet-Plus for OpenVMS provides transparent networking of your valuable applications, allowing you to concentrate on what's really important: the information and ideas being communicated. ______________________________________________________________________________ NEW FEATURES BENEFITS Supports DECnet Phase IV Allows Phase IV users to upgrade to DECnet- host-based routing Plus enhancements, without sacrificing invest- ment in host-based routing Integrated installation with OpenVMS Provides faster and easier installation and upgrade ______________________________________________________________________________ FEATURES BENEFITS Supports OpenVMS V7.0 an V7.1 Network Applications running on Alpha systems can take advantage of 64-bit operation and P2 addressing. Continued support of 32 bit applications on both VAX and Alpha Improved Cluster Management Configuration of the entire cluster from capabilities any one member of the cluster NCL Graphical User Interface Network system managers and end-users can control their network components through a Motif-based Windows interface. Command line interface is also available DECnet over TCP/IP Applications written to DECnet Interfaces can now run unchanged over TCP/IP OSI applications over TCP/IP Users can run OSI applications such as X.400 and X.500 over TCP/IP protocols on Digital OpenVMS platforms Expanded Naming Options: - Large Local File Can support up to 100,000 nodes in a local naming database, removing the need for a global naming service - DNS/BIND Provides greater network growth and unique addressing on a global scale - DECdns Supports DECdns Distributed Name Server (VAX only) Support of 4500 byte FDDI packets Increased network backbone performance Built-in management utilities including Ease of network transport installation, NCL, EVD, CML, and transition tools configuration, and transition HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: Any Alpha or VAX system running the OpenVMS V7.0 or V7.1 operating system AVAILABILITY AND PRICING: o DECnet-Plus V7.1 for OpenVMS End System License, $1,150 - $7,506 - Right to use all DECnet-Plus features except Cluster Alias, OSI Application Gateways, and DECdns Server o DECnet-Plus V7.1 for OpenVMS Extended Function License, $1,781 - $21,007 - Right to use all DECnet-Plus features of the End System License, Cluster Alias, OSI Application Gateways, and DECdns Server o End System to Extended Function Upgrade License , $631 - $13,501 #### Note to Editors: OpenVMS, DECnet and Digital are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION FACT SHEET: X.25 V1.1b for OpenVMS Alpha Systems Overview: The need to share information and ideas across multiple networking environments has never been greater than it is today. Internet access and electronic mail are a must, as are distributed, networked applications. Sharing of information and ideas across the enterprise, as well as outside of the enterprise, makes open, multivendor, multiprotocol, wide area networking mandatory for most businesses. Digital's X.25 for OpemVMS Alpha systems is a layered software product which provides the support necessary to network over a wide area via an X.25 Packet-Switching Data Networks (PSDN), an X.25 connector node, or directly via a synchronous communications link. Whether you use DECnet-Plus or TCP/IP as your network transport, Digital's X.25 for OpenVMS Alpha systems ensures that you can successfully connect and share information with both Digital and non-Digital systems anywhere in the world. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FEATURES BENEFITS Device Drivers and data link Provides direct connection of Alpha support for Digital's synchronous systems to a PSDN. Support communications options includes SCC, TURBOchannel, EISA, ISA, and PCI Supported on OpenVMS V7.1 Wide Area Access to OpenVMS V7.1 features such as 64 bit addressing Application Programming interfaces Allows application programs to access to the x.25 protocol stack X.25 packet level services via C callable library routines Conformance to Standards Provides compliance with: - ITU(CCITT)/TSS recommendations: X.25 (1980, 1984 and 1988), X.3, X.28, X.29 - International Standards (ISO): 8208, 7776 8881, 8802/2, 8878, 8473 Security Supports control of remote access to the system (incoming security) and local access to the network (outgoing security) based on: - Normal and reverse charging - DTE number - Network (PSDN) - Process (or user) making the outgoing call - Application handling the incoming call - Any combination of the above X.25 Process-to-process communication Provides a means for application programsto access X.25 networ services via the standard OpenVMS QIO system service X.25 Mail Allows electronic mail over X.25 between two systems running the Mail-11 protocol DECnet-Plus Connectionless Network Services Allows the use of DEC-HDLC and X.25 protocols as subnetworks for the OSI Connectionless-mode Network Service (CLNS) DECnet-Plus Connection Oriented Network Supports OSI Connection Oriented Service Network Service (CONS) communication over X.25 subnetworks X.29 Process-to-terminal Communications Users of the OpenVMS system can make outgoing calls to other Digital or non-Digital systems through the programming interface X.29 Terminal-to-Process Communications Allows remote terminals connected to a PSDN to access an OpenVMS Alph host by means of an X.29 Switched Virtual Circuit (SVC) call HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: See SPD 47.37 for a complete list of Alpha OpenVMS systems, PSDNs, an synchronys devices supported by X.25 V1.1b for OpenVMS Alpha Systems AVAILABILITY AND PRICING: o X.25 V1.1b for OpenVMS Alpha Systems (QL-0THA9-AA), $1,803 o Customers who purchased Digital X.25 Client for OpenVMS Alpha systems (QL-0TWA*-AA) may upgrade that processor to X.25 for OpenVMS Alpha at no additional cost. The original license must be within warranty or covered by a Digital service contract. #### Note to Editors: Digital, the DIGITAL logo, OpenVMS, and DECnet are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION FACT SHEET PRODUCT NAME: Wide Area Networking Support V2.0a for Digital UNIX Overview: The need to share information and ideas across multiple networking environments has never been greater than it is today. Internet access and electronic mail are a must, as are distributed, networke applications. Sharing of information and ideas across the enterprise, as well as outside of the enterprise, makes open, multivendor, multiprotocol, wide area networking mandatory for most businesses. Digital's Wide Area Networking Support provides users of Digital UNIX Alpha systems with the support necessary to network over a wide area using X.25 Packet-Switching Data Networks (PSDNs) and Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDNs). Whether you use DECnet-Plus (DECnet/OSI) or TCP/IP as your network transport, Digital's Wide Area Networking Support for Digital UNIX ensures that you can successfully connect and share information with both Digital and non-Digital systems anywhere in the world. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FEATURES BENEFITS Device Drivers and data link Provides direct connection of Alpha support for Digital's synchronous systems to a PSDN or ISDN. Support communications options includes SCC, TURBOchannel, EISA, ISA, PCI and ISDN Basic Rate Access (BRA). Application Programming interfaces Allows application programs to access to the three layers of the X.25 protocol X.25 packet level, data link and driver services stack via C callable library routines X.25 Relay Allows appropriately configured Alpha Systems to relay X.25 packets between a LAN and a synchronous communications link to a PSDN X.25 Mail Allows electronic mail over X.25 between two systems running the Mail- 11 protocol DECnet-Plus Connectionless Network Services Use DEC-HDLC and X.25 protocols as subnetworks for the OSI Connectionless-mode Network Service (CLNS) DECnet/OSI Connection Oriented Network Supports OSI Connection Oriented Service Network Service (CONS) communication over X.25 subnetworks TCP/IP over X.25 Allows an X.25 Switched Virtual Circuit (SVC) to be used as the data link protocol for Internet Protocol (IP) traffic TCP/IP over ISDN Allows an ISDN circuit to be used to transport IP traffic using the Point to Point Protocol (PPP) X.25 over Circuit Switched ISDN Supports ISDN circuit switched B- channel access to a PSDN Access Unit AU) which allows X.25 traffic over an ISDN connection Process-to-terminal (X.29) Communications Users of the Digital UNIX system can make outgoing calls to other Digital or non-Digital systems through the programming interface Terminal-to-Process (X.29) Communications Allows remote terminals connected to a PSDN to access a Digital UNIX host by means of an X.29 Switched Virtual Circuit (SVC) call HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: See SPD 42.47 for a complete list of Alpha UNIX systems, ISDNs, and PSDNs supported by Wide Area Networking Support V2.0a for Digital UNIX Systems AVAILABILITY AND PRICING: o Wide Area Networking Support V2.0a for Digital UNIX Systems (QL-MVDA*-AA), $1,544 - $3,088 #### PATHWORKS Q: What is the future of PATHWORKS A: Microsoft networking support is the focus for PATHWORKS. To address this focus Digital will deliver a number of key products over, including new servers for OpenVMS and new client software for Windows 95 and Windows NT. PATHWORKS V6.0 for OpenVMS is planned for release in the Spring and PATHWORKS 32 7.0 is planned for release in the Winter. Q: Why do I need PATHWORKS client software when NT and Windows 95 has all the networking capability built in? A: NT and Windows 95 software by itself provides excellent access to PATHWORKS servers. Some customers will not need PATHWORKS on these desktops. The aim of PATHWORKS client software is however not to compete but to augment the capabilities in Windows 95 and NT. We provide the strongest desktop connectivity to Digital servers by delivering a package of tools that is missing on the standard desktop. Some of these tools can be purchased separately from other sources, PATHWORKS however delivers a more complete suite and a more cost effective solution. Q: What are the plans to support NT 4.0 with PATHWORKS for NT. A: Development is progressing on the next version of PATHWORKS for NT. This version will support NT 4.0. There is considerable investment to take advantage of the new NT operating features. For example DECnet is redesigned to support Winsock 2.0 and will be based on the Microsoft TDI architecture. Customers will see quality improvements as well as new features. Q: What's new in PATHWORKS 32 7.0 A: The Following functionality will soon be available. Protected-mode DECnet and Related Utilities and APIs This functionality includes the protected-mode DECnet and all the additional pieces required to deliver DECnet on both the Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 platforms, including: o TDI support for Windows NT 4.0 o Various DECnet utilities, e.g. NCP, NFT, FAL, SPAWNER o Winsock 2.0 support o Various system integration components VT Terminal Emulation This functionality provides 32-bit terminal emulation, support for scrolling, multi-linguality, and enabled for single login. Also included in this deliverable is a 32-bit implementation of LAT, CTERM, Telnet, and the terminal access library. Password Assistant Enabled Applications This functionality enables Windows 95 and Windows NT single-login capabilities, allowing applications in the follow-on PATHWORKS 32 release that require a username/password to store the login data in a central location. eXcursion, a Windows-based X-Windows/Motif Server eXcursion replaces the DOS-based PC DECwindows/Motif server that ships today as part of PATHWORKS V6.0 for DOS/Windows 3.x. eXcursion lets you run X Windows or Motif applications, known as X applications. For example, you can simultaneously run an X terminal session (such as DECterm), an X mail program (such as Sun's Mailtool), and a Windows application (such as Microsoft Word for Windows) on your workstation. You can cut and paste information from on type of application to another. Sharing Local Printers using PATHWORKS Print Services This functionality allows users to print from OpenVMS or Digital UNIX to printers connected to a Windows 95 or Windows NT system, using DECnet or TCP/IP network protocols. As an optional three-tier functionality, it can be installed on a Windows NT server, which in turn connects to printers attached to desktop workstations. This functionality is a replacement for the DOS-based LAT printing option that is included in PATHWORKS V6.0 for DOS and Windows. Access to InfoServer CD-ROMs This three-tier functionality would let a Windows NT server offer, to any desktop, access to InfoServer CD-ROMs. In this implementation, no additional software would be required on the desktop. Use of DECnet for Remote Access This functionality provides remote network access support for DECnet. This includes support for asynchronous links using DDCMP, and on Windows 95 it also supports PPP and integration with Microsoft Dial-Up Networking. DECnet over TCP/IP This functionality, which exists already in DECnet/OSI on OpenVMS and Digital UNIX, enables DECnet applications to use TCP/IP as a network service rather than (or, in addition to) traditional DECnet network services. For example, it would let you run DECnet-based applications over TCP/IP backbone networks. This functionality on PC platforms provides a consistent, cross-platform approach to the problem of DECnet-to-TCP/IP migration. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) The follow-on PATHWORKS release supplies an extensive set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that provide a consistent user interface across multiple transports and transport protocols. These are: o Network Management Interface Applications o DECnet Socket Interface (including WinSock 2 support) o NETBIOS Interface o IOCB Applications o Terminal Access Applications Q: What's New in the Next Releases of the PATHWORKS for OpenVMS Server? A: The next releases to the PATHWORKS for OpenVMS server include: o PATHWORKS V5.0E/1.0E for OpenVMS (LAN Manager) o PATHWORKS V6.0 for OpenVMS (Advanced Server) PATHWORKS V5.0E/1.0E for OpenVMS (LAN Manager) Expected availability in December, this release provides Windows NT Server interoperability and OpenVMS Clustering. Based on Microsoft LAN Manager 2.2, the PATHWORKS server can be a Backup Domain Controller to Windows NT. V5.0E will support OpenVMS V7.1 (both VAX and Alpha). New functionality includes Single Signon [LAN Manager only] Single signon provides OpenVMS and Windows NT common passwords. PATHWORKS V6.0 for OpenVMS (Advanced Server) Expected availability in May, 1997 this release provides seamless Windows NT Server interoperability, enhanced with OpenVMS high availability and failover Clustering technology. Based on Microsoft Windows NT protocols, V6 provides compatible and seamless interoperability with a Windows NT server in a Domain by supporting both the Primary Domain controller and the Backup Domain controller roles. In addition, V6 provides full support of the Trust feature available in the Windows NT Server. These features enable OpenVMS to fully participate in a network with a Windows NT server, and provides better support for Windows NT and Windows 95 workstations. V6 allows the PW server to be functionally equivalent in a domain that spans a wide area and includes Windows NT V4.0 servers. PATHWORKS V6 for OpenVMS provides file and print services to support an environment of PCs running Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows for Workgroups, and PATHWORKS clients. PATHWORKS V6 will continue to inter-operate with a PATHWORKS V5 server, and LAN Manager V2.2 Server as "down level" server. V6 provides a comprehensive Command Line interface to support the management of a PATHWORKS V6 Server, both locally and remotely. Other functionality offered in V6 includes: Both local area and wide area Domain support o Trusted Domain support - supports one centralized user database that provides authentication between domains so users can access resources in other domains. This concept is known as trust. o Browser support, including the ability to be browsed by a Windows for Workgroups client, Windows 95, and Windows NT. V6 also provides the capability to participate as a "Master Browser" or a "Backup Browser" on the NT network. o Single Sign On (also called password synchronization) will provide an external authentication mechanism allowing users to be validated by a system other than OpenVMS. There will be only one password between OpenVMS and Windows, thus there is no synchronization problem. o Windows NT-like event logging support, including alert and auditing services o PATHWORKS Configuration utility to provide server configuration support o Migration utility to assist the migration process from V5 to V6 PATHWORKS for OpenVMS V6.0A Expected availability in August, 1997 this release provides OpenVMS VAX V7.1 support. Q: What is the V4.x Support situation A: Support for PATHWORKS for OpenVMS V4.x will end on December 31, 1996. Q: What are your plans for Macintosh support A: Although the focus of future products will be integrating Microsoft technology we are actively pursuing a plan to release PATHWORKS for OpenVMS 1.3A and PATHWORKS for Macintosh 1.3A to support OpenVMS 7.1 and provide support for more Apple Macintosh's Digital Enterprise Integration Packages Q: Please explain the concept and goals of the Enterprise Integration Packages? A: The Enterprise Integration Server and Client packages provide the software components which allow OpenVMS customers to integrate Windows 95 and Windows NT desktop systems with their mission-critical OpenVMS applications and data. These components are delivered in two easy to understand packages: o Digital Enterprise Integration Server for OpenVMS o Digital Integration Client for Microsoft Windows. Q: Who would benefit from utilizing these packages? A: Digital Installed Base user organizations who have utilized OpenVMS systems for their critical data and applications, but who must now integrate Windows NT and Windows 95 desktop systems into their computing environment. The Enterprise Integration Packages appeal to organizations who: Have numerous Windows NT and/or Windows 95 systems which must be connected either directly (two-tier environment) or indirectly (three-tier environment using Windows NT Servers) to OpenVMS Need to preserve their investment in OpenVMS systems and applications Need to retain the reliability, availability and scalability of their OpenVMS systems (24x365 ) Availability, cluster reliability, scalability of AlphaServer systems Require a package of the necessary software components "out of the box" so that they can instantly begin building an integrated OpenVMS and Windows NT environment Need lower purchase cost for software components with "less than sum of the pieces" pricing Q: What is the key functionality delivered by the Digital Enterprise Integration Server for OpenVMS? A: The functionality delivered by the Enterprise Integration Server Package can be broken into six key areas: o Network Transport and Connectivity Services: - DECnet-Plus V7.1 for OpenVMS (formerly DECnet/OSI) - Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Alpha V4.1 o File and Print Services: - PATHWORKS V5.0e for OpenVMS - PrintServer Software for OpenVMS - DECprint Supervisor (DCPS) V1.3 for OpenVMS Alpha, Base, Plus, and Open o Management Software: - OpenVMS Management Tools V2.0 System Management Performance Data Collector Archive Backup System DECamds - POLYCENTER Software Distribution for OpenVMS Client V3.0 License o Presentation Software - DECwindows/Motif V1.2-4 for OpenVMS Alpha o Application Development - Application Developers Package o Evaluation Software -- As part of the Enterprise Integration Server packaging effort, Digital will be delivering evaluation software for customer trial use. In this first version, the following components will be delivered for evaluation : -- data access software -- performance monitoring software Q: What is the functionality delivered of the Enterprise Integration Client for Microsoft Windows package? A: The client package delivers the following components: - Host Connectivity Components: PATHWORKS 32: Transports: DECnet, DECnet over TCP/IP, LAT, LAST, CTERM Terminal Emulator Windows-based X Server InfoServer Access Sharing of locally attached printers with host users Rights to access PATHWORKS for OpenVMS (LAN Manager) Server - Messaging Components Teamlinks V2.7 for Microsoft Windows - Support for public messaging APIs (i.e., POP3/SMTP/MIME, Simple MAPI, ODMA) - Support for ALL-IN-1's Shared Drawer management, Mail Delegation, Group and Print services - A new CREATE message editor provides a choice of text or rich text format - Drag & drop from File Manager or Explorer MAPI Driver V1.0 for ALL-IN-1 Allows ALL-IN-1 Office Server to support Exchange Client, Exchange Inbox and MAPI 1 enabled applications on Windows 95 PCs. Q: When will Digital begin shipping the Enterprise Integration Packages? A: The packages are currently scheduled to begin shipping in the first quarter of calendar year 1997. Q: Will the Enterprise Integration Packages be expanded or modified in the future? A: Yes, this first release of the Packages is considered a base release. The next release of the Enterprise Integration Packages will include value-added packages which will deliver components such as Windows NT connectivity middleware, application development software, and disk storage services. Q: What is the relationship between NAS and the Enterprise Integration Packages ? A: Migration offerings are being planned. Besides the normal trade-in of the Digital NAS Base Server 200 for the new Digital Enterprise Integration Server, there may be an upgrade package which provides NAS 200 customers the added components in the Enterprise Integration Server Package at an attractive price. Q: Does the release of the Enterprise Integration Packages mean that NAS is going away? A: NO. Digital NAS will coexist with the Enterprise Integration Packages for some period. As customers move to new affinity environment, we would expect the shift from NAS to Enterprise Integration Packages. We plan to continue NAS in a steady state(maintenance) mode on VAX systems. Digital Priority Service Plan Q. How do I position Digital Priority Service Plan with the AlphaServer Support Plan and Supplemental Warranty Services? A. Digital Priority Service Plan are pre-defined, one part number, one price services packages which cover the full system configuration (hardware, operating system, software layered products, and components). A Digital Priority Service Plan is purchased at the time of product sale and is not intended for installed systems. The One-Step quoting process is particularly attractive to Channel partners and Digital Sales Reps who require quick turnaround of quotes and predefined service packages to support a product sale. The AlphaServer Support Plan (ASP) is a suite of recommended services for Server environments. The ASP is focused on the server itself and the needs of the environment. Add-ons beyond the server configuration are quoted separately. The focus for the ASP is a "jumping off point" for a service discussion with the customer. In order to quote an ASP, a sales rep would need to quote the service part number within the suite. Supplemental Warranty Services extend and uplift warranty on a one-to-one relationship with the product. Supplemental Warranty Services offers the flexibility of matching and quoting the desired service to the individual product level. Supplemental Warranty Services are sold at the time of the product sale or any time during the warranty period. Q. How is the Service Plan price determined? A. A salesperson determines the total value of a system order and performs a single table look-up to secure the price for the appropriate service Plan. This system price (hardware, software, and components) represents one of many possible combinations of products which could sum to similar list prices. This approach introduces a new pricing paradigm where the service price is derived from the list price of the system configuration. Q. When can the Digital Priority Service Plan be purchased? A. The Digital Priority Service Plans are purchased at the time of system sale or within 30 days of system purchase. The Service Plans are paid for in total at the time of purchase. Q. What discounts are allowed for the for the Digital Priority Service Plan? A. The Digital Priority Service Plans are eligible for channel (Gold Key) and product DBA discounts. Prepayment and Multiyear discounts have been factored into the List price. Q. What do I sell to a customer who wants to purchase service for a system which was installed a few months ago? A: You should sell either Supplemental Warranty Services or a Service Contract, which ever best meets your customer's needs. Since the customer is outside the 30 day post-installation window, he/she is ineligible for the Digital Priority Service Plan. Q. How do prices for the new Plans compare to Supplemental Warranty Service pricing? A. The Digital Priority Service Plan price represents one of many possible combinations for products. A general comparison of the pricing approaches is not possible. The pricing objective for the program was to have the most popular hardware and software configurations at each price point equal the Supplemental Warranty Services sum-of-the-pieces pricing. To ensure customer satisfaction, both methods for computing prices will be available. Q, What if the Digital Priority Service Plans exceed the need for my customer? A. Supplemental Warranty Services would be the best choice in this case. You can still position service at the time of product sale, but also have the flexibility to quote the service on the individual items that your customer requests. Q. What if Digital Priority Service Plan is not comprehensive enough to meet the needs of my customer? A. Focus on a broader services discussion using the AlphaServer Support Plan as a framework. If your customer is looking for more of an "environmental" solution which may also have components of Network System Integration or Operations Management Services, engage your MCS rep to lead this opportunity. Q. All my customer wants is a consistent level of warranty on the entire configuration. What do I sell? A. The easiest approach is the Digital Priority Service Plan - Warranty Plus, which will smooth the variances in the product warranties to match the server level. Q. I have three 4xxx server configurations on my quote, do I add them together and use the price band for the total sum? A. No. To quote this configuration you "sum by server" (including all server options) and select the appropriate price band. Your quote would contain an "FP" part number for each server configuration. Q. How do I quote a configuration that exceeds the price band matrix? A. Supplemental Warranty Services would be used to quote this order. Q. Are software layered products covered under the Digital Priority Service Plans? A. At this time, the Digital Priority Service Plans provide for service on software layered products by directing the customer to purchase software layered product licenses at standard list price (SLP), which includes rights to new versions and software support on a 9x5 basis. Q. Are non-Digital products addressed in the Priority Service Plans? A. With the exception of Windows NT, the focus in at this time is on Digital products. Q. Is the software content of OpenVMS, Digital UNIX and Windows NT system packages the same? A. Digital is able to include rights to new version of software and software updates in the Digital Priority Service Plan for the Digital-developed Operating Systems only. In the case of Windows NT, Digital has included some application support in addition to operating system support to be assure equivalent value for OpenVMS, Digital UNIX, and Windows NT customers. Q. HELP! I don't know anything about services, I forgot to discuss it with my customer, and I have quote due tomorrow… What service should I quote? A. Choose a Digital Priority Service Plan. It is comprehensive enough to cover the needs of your customer without being difficult to quote. Since you have not had a service discussion with your customer, quote the most commonly requested services: Priority Plus(support 24x7 with a four hour response). This will also leave you room to move up or down in service level should your customer require it. Quickest to prove concept and demonstrate ROI payback Can continue to use their data base of choice Can continue to use same Data base administrator Easiest integration wtih OpenVMS clusters Simplest data extraction, warehouse loading, data distribution Easiest data replication Lowest cost of operations and administration and management World's best 24X365 World's best clustering World's best single system scaling VLM64 performance boosts whenever you need it World's best (by far) cluster scaling Alpha architecture and its continuous stream of advances No migration costs, training costs, re-development costs Q: Does Data Warehousing on OpenVMS let you pick and choose the tools and solution components from the top data warehousing players such as Oracle, Sybase, SAS, Prism, and others. A: Yes. Absolutely. OpenVMS supports or works in conjunction with Oracle7 and Oracle Rdb7, Sybase, SAS, Software AG, Prism, IBI FOCUS and a host of other top-of-the-line tools. Our OpenVMS NT Affinity program will make all of the best NT data warehousing tools available while your vital data is safely stored on your bullet proof, 24X365 OpenVMS warehouse. We are actively pursuing additional relationships in this fast developing market. Digital's NSIS professional consultants can help design and architect an OpenVMS warehousing solution to meet your exact needs. Mail/Messaging Q: What is Digital's Mail Strategy? A: Digital's mail strategy is to support implementation of Microsoft Exchange on Windows NT by providing value-added software, hardware and services to support an enterprise mail environment. Q: Could you give me an example? A.Digital and Microsoft recently announced a joint win at Lockheed Martin which includes Exchange servers and clients, Digital's MAILbus 400 messaging backbone, our X500 Directory Service, hardware as well as consulting and implementation services. Q. What does the strategy imply for the OpenVMS installed base? A.The strategy means that if our customers chose to move to Microsoft Exchange, we will support them in terms of both integrating their current mail environment and migrating them to Exchange at the pace they chose. Supplying a messaging backbone and directory on OpenVMS will be critical to customers who require large scale implementations. Today we are announcing a product, the Digital MAPI Driver for ALL-IN-1, which supports this strategy. The driver lets Exchange clients use ALL-IN-1 as their mail server and document repository, thus preserving the customer's investment in ALL-IN-1 and OpenVMS while giving users the option of the Exchange client. Q. What about your installed base customers who aren't interested in Exchange? A. For customers who plan to continue with OpenVMS mail systems, we plan future releases of both ALL-IN-1 and the TeamLinks Windows and Macintosh clients. In fact, our next release of ALL-IN-1 will be a combined OpenVMS server on both Alpha and VAX using the best aspects and features of both ALL-IN-1 and our MailWorks products. Q. About the MAPI driver, does it require a lot of support or changes to the ALL-IN-1 server? A. The product quickly installs on each Exchange client PC and requires no changes to the server. Once installed, the user is not aware of the driver because he or she interacts only with the Exchange client. Q. Does it help move from one environment to the other? A. The product has a drag and drop feature which allows users to select and move documents from ALL-IN-1 to Exchange. Q. What is the price? A. The list price is $65. per client, with discounted prices for volume packages. Q. What is the availability? A. Target customer ship is end of December. Transaction Processisng -- ACMSxp Q: What makes ACMSxp different from other TP Systems ? A: ACMSxp is the most modern TP solution on the market today. It is the only TP solution to integrate all Digital platforms while protecting investments in data, applications, systems and people. It was the first TP solution to take the fear out of running business critical applications over the Internet . It meets X/Open, MIA, STDL, and DCE standards. ACMSxp also works with any XA compliant database. And as Microsoft's MTx TP solution defines standards associate with Windows NT ACMSxp intends to comply. When customers use the Digital Application Generator to develop TP applications, they can expect as much as a 50% reduction in development time. Q: Why would Digital ACMS customers want to use ACMSxp ? A: ACMSxp is the multi-platform derivative of the highly successful ACMS product. ACMSxp runs on OpenVMS Alpha platforms, Windows NT and Digital UNIX. ACMSxp is the "open" version of ACMS . The strategy is "ACMS approach everywhere". We have recently completed porting STDL to NCR's TopEnd and will port to Microsoft's MTx platform, making it easier to develop portable applications across platforms. Q: Does ACMSxp run on any other platforms ? A: Our current strategy focuses on interoperability and TP application development across 55 platforms. The most recent example of this work is the porting of the STDL compiler to NCR's TopEnd TP system. We also intend to port the STDL compiler to Microsoft's MTx product. We are entertaining adding additional TMs (transaction managers) options to the ACMSxp Gateway, such Microsoft's DTC (distributed transaction control). We are continue to investigate the integration of other TMs. We are also open to porting ACMSxp to additional platforms where there is a viable business opportunity associated. Q: Is Digital committed to ACMSxp ? We hear that it is being sold ? A: We are committed. ACMSxp is the most modern TP system on the market today. Architecturally designed for distributed three tier applications, making it easier to develop, deploy and support. We continue to enhance the product; most recently announcing the TP Internet Server product on July 3rd. TPI was the industries first secure TP solution for the Internet. As mentioned earlier, we will entertain the integration of additional TMs. V3.0 will provide transaction integrity and interoperability across all Digital platforms, WEB browser support and a new NT GUI. The browser support will provide the ability to initiate a transaction from any of the major browser products on the market. ACMSxp is a key element of the Digital Affinity program. Q: Why doesn't ACMSxp appear in the UNIX TP strategy ? A: We are fixing that !!!! ACMSxp implements the Digital AllConnect strategy today as well as affinity Q: What is the "ACMS approach" ? A: Structure the application according to type of work being done - interact with the user, workflow control, data access and optimize and tune for performance and scalability. This way you get both productivity and performance. ACMSxp has been used for developing 3 tier client server applications before 3 tier became popular in the industry. With ACMSxp you can separate the user interface from the business logic from the data. We see the ACMS approach gaining industry recognition via the standardization and growing acceptance of STDL. Most recently we completed porting the STDL compiler to NCR's TopEnd. We will also port to Microsoft's MTx.. Our approach allows users to develop on a single platform but to deploy to many platforms. Q: What is STDL ? A: The Structured Transaction Definition Language is an X/Open standard defined originally by the telecommunications industry (same ones that brought us Unix, C, C++ etc.) for multi-platform TP. Q. Which products are on the Prior Version Support list? A. The Prior Version Support (Sustained Engineering) Supported Products List follows: Supported Products (OpenVMS Alpha) Version Notes Effective date ALL-IN-1 3.1 July 1997 DECnet (Phase IV) 6.1 (1) October 1996 DECnet (Phase IV) All January 1997 OpenVMS Alpha Operating System 6.1 (1) October 1996 RMS Journaling 6.1 (1) October 1996 VMScluster Software 6.1 (1) October 1996 Volume Shadowing 6.1 (1) October 1996 Supported Products (OpenVMS VAX) Version Notes Effective date ALL-IN-1 3.0 October 1996 ALL-IN-1 3.1 July 1997 DECnet (Phase IV) 5.5-2 October 1996 DECnet (Phase IV) 6.1 (1) October 1996 DECnet (Phase IV) All January 1997 OpenVMS VAX Operating System 5.5-2 (2) October 1996 OpenVMS VAX Operating System 6.1 (1) October 1996 RMS Journaling 5.5-2 October 1996 RMS Journaling 6.1 (1) October 1996 VAXcluster Software 5.5-2 October 1996 VAXcluster Software 6.1 (1) October 1996 Volume Shadowing 5.5-2 October 1996 Volume Shadowing 6.1 (1) October 1996 (1) OpenVMS V6.1 will be available for Prior Version Support until June 1997. Prior to July 1997, companies should convert to V6.2 or the current version of OpenVMS. (2) OpenVMS VAX 5.5-2 includes the following releases: 5.5-2, 5.5-2H4. Q. What versions of product are compatible with the supported versions of Digital's Operating Systems? A. The Prior Version Support Supported Configuration Lists follow: Supported Configuration Listing (OpenVMS ALPHA) Prior Version Current Version Supported Through June Long Term 1997 Support Planned 6.1 6.2 Operating System: Operating System 6.1 6.2 VMScluster SW 6.1 6.2 Volume Shadowing 6.1 6.2 RMS Journaling 6.1 6.2 POSIX 2.0 2.0 DECwindows Motif (English) 1.2-3 1.2-4 DECwindows Motif (All other) 1.2-3 1.2-3 Enterprise Network: DEC TCP/IP 4.0A 4.1 DECnet (Phase IV) 6.1 6.2 DECnet-Plus (formerly DECnet/OSI) 6.3 6.3 PCI: PATHWORKS(Lan Manager) 5.0 5.0 OA: ALL-IN-1 3.1 3.1 Supported Configuration Listing (OpenVMS VAX) Prior Version Prior Version Current Long Term Supported Long Term Support Planned Through June Support Planned 1997 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 Operating System: Operating System 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 VAXcluster SW 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 Volume Shadowing 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 RMS Journaling 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 POSIX 2.0 2.0 2.0 DECwindows Motif(English) 1.2-4 1.2-4 1.2-4 DECwindows Motif (All Other) 1.2-3 1.2-3 1.2-3 Enterprise Network: DEC TCP/IP 4.0 4.0 4.1 DECnet (Phase IV) 5.5-2 6.1 6.2 DECnet/OSI n/a 6.3 6.3 PCI: PATHWORKS(Lan Manager) 5.0 5.0 5.0 O/A: ALL-IN-1 3.0 3.0 3.0 ALL-IN-1 3.1 3.1 3.1 Note: Both V6.2 and 7.0 of OpenVMS are Currrent Version. Long term Prior Version Support is planned for V6.2. No long term support is planned for 7.0 Q. Where can I find up to date Supported Product Lists & Supported Configurations? A: Please visit our WEB site at http://www.digital.com/info/mcs/prior/html [DECUS Home Page] ] [ESILUG Home Page] ] [ESILUG Feedback] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last Updated: Fri Dec 13, 1996 08:49 © DECUS U.S. Chapter, 1996. DECUS and the DECUS Logo are Trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. All other names, products, and services are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.