5 ms·

How many OpenVMS systems are out there in production?

by raincom 2y ago

icedchai 2y ago
I haven't seen one since the early 2000's. That company has since ported their code to Linux and AIX.
- metaphor 2y ago
  We still operate hundreds of legacy (2nd and 3rd gen) systems with Alpha hosts running OpenVMS in airgapped prod environments across the country. The portfolio of apps we developed/maintain for these legacy systems have all been ported to their modern replacement systems years ago, but we still regularly release updates targeting legacy that maintain feature parity with modern releases.
  - Scramblejams 2y ago
    What’s that like? Fun? Annoying? Interesting? Boring?
    - metaphor 2y ago
      All of the above; being a mid-career IC/TL with visibility into actual outcomes in prod has organically matured a deep respect for boring technology---warts and all---especially when cumulative NRE is well into 10-digit territory. I'll be glad when legacy support hits EOL though, if only for the indirect consequence of unambiguously seperating wheat from chaff as we embrace a new tech stack approaching stability. Although it isn't the case, it sure has felt like we've been operating like cost center baggage these past few years.
  - icedchai 2y ago
    Curious how you handle hardware failures for all that old equipment, etc. Do you have a huge depot of spare parts? Ebay? etc
    - b_davis_ 2y ago
      Equipment of this time frame was highly reliable. The machines were expensive to purchase and very solidly built. I would be surprised if this fleet of systems deals with a hardware failure a year. Especially if they are kept in a space with cold conditioned air.
    - metaphor 2y ago
      I'm a R&D plebeian; not my job. We have a lifecycle management team that monitors metrics---e.g. system availability, failure rates, spares inventory, obs, etc.---and postures as risk/budget considerations permit. In the aggregate, these legacy systems are on the right tail of the bathtub curve quickly approaching EOL, hence their modern replacements already being fielded. As legacy systems are decommissioned, reclamation buffers the spares inventory pool. Push come to shove, cannibalization in the field keeps most balls rolling at the cost of diminished availability/throughput. Based on a sample size of 2 legacy systems in our lab that saw daily use over the past decade, things definitely broke, but I don't recall the production Alpha hosts every giving up the ghost beyond CMOS battery replacement nuisance. We still have a few support Alphas laying around just in case, but virtualization[1] on commodity bare metal effectively renders them redundant. [1] https://www.stromasys.com/solution/charon-axp-alpha-virtualization-and-emulation/ https://www.stromasys.com/solution/charon-axp-alpha-virtuali...
datadeft 2y ago
A lot. Problem is that sometimes the hardware is lost due to renovation to the building. https://www.theregister.com/2001/04/12/missing_novell_server_discovered_after/ https://www.theregister.com/2001/04/12/missing_novell_server...

How many OpenVMS systems are out there in production?

icedchai 2y ago

I haven't seen one since the early 2000's. That company has since ported their code to Linux and AIX.

metaphor 2y ago
We still operate hundreds of legacy (2nd and 3rd gen) systems with Alpha hosts running OpenVMS in airgapped prod environments across the country. The portfolio of apps we developed/maintain for these legacy systems have all been ported to their modern replacement systems years ago, but we still regularly release updates targeting legacy that maintain feature parity with modern releases.
- Scramblejams 2y ago
  What’s that like? Fun? Annoying? Interesting? Boring?
  - metaphor 2y ago
    All of the above; being a mid-career IC/TL with visibility into actual outcomes in prod has organically matured a deep respect for boring technology---warts and all---especially when cumulative NRE is well into 10-digit territory. I'll be glad when legacy support hits EOL though, if only for the indirect consequence of unambiguously seperating wheat from chaff as we embrace a new tech stack approaching stability. Although it isn't the case, it sure has felt like we've been operating like cost center baggage these past few years.
- icedchai 2y ago
  Curious how you handle hardware failures for all that old equipment, etc. Do you have a huge depot of spare parts? Ebay? etc
  - b_davis_ 2y ago
    Equipment of this time frame was highly reliable. The machines were expensive to purchase and very solidly built. I would be surprised if this fleet of systems deals with a hardware failure a year. Especially if they are kept in a space with cold conditioned air.
  - metaphor 2y ago
    I'm a R&D plebeian; not my job. We have a lifecycle management team that monitors metrics---e.g. system availability, failure rates, spares inventory, obs, etc.---and postures as risk/budget considerations permit. In the aggregate, these legacy systems are on the right tail of the bathtub curve quickly approaching EOL, hence their modern replacements already being fielded. As legacy systems are decommissioned, reclamation buffers the spares inventory pool. Push come to shove, cannibalization in the field keeps most balls rolling at the cost of diminished availability/throughput. Based on a sample size of 2 legacy systems in our lab that saw daily use over the past decade, things definitely broke, but I don't recall the production Alpha hosts every giving up the ghost beyond CMOS battery replacement nuisance. We still have a few support Alphas laying around just in case, but virtualization[1] on commodity bare metal effectively renders them redundant. [1] https://www.stromasys.com/solution/charon-axp-alpha-virtualization-and-emulation/ https://www.stromasys.com/solution/charon-axp-alpha-virtuali...

datadeft 2y ago

A lot. Problem is that sometimes the hardware is lost due to renovation to the building. https://www.theregister.com/2001/04/12/missing_novell_server_discovered_after/ https://www.theregister.com/2001/04/12/missing_novell_server...