11i V2 is the next release of 11i, coming initially for Itanium servers only. A PA Risc processor version will be released late this year called 11.23PI.
It appears HP has changed the way we handle the kernel with this release. The core kernel is basically a frozen piece of code. Configurations are created that are applied at boot up or on the fly. Multiple configurations can exist at the same time. Many "tunables" are now dynamic, some even becoming more or less part of the kernel, so they do not need to be changed. The OS manages these parameters automatically. Some drivers can be added and removed on the fly, like CDFS file system. I expect V3 will add even more DLKM products.
Management of HP-UX is also changing. SAM functionality is reduced in this release as new web based tools are taking over these functions. It is expected that SAM will eventually be completely removed. kcweb is the tool used for tuning the kernel. pdweb manages periferal devices and SPB (software package builder). SCM or HP Systems Insight Manager becomes a major component of system administration. parmgr is the tool used for partition management. All have both GUI and command line interfaces.
Presently, when you boot a PA Risc system, you interact with the PDC, BCH and ISL. A new layered boot tool allows for standardization when booting different platforms. An EFI boot services layer sits on top of a SAL (system abstraction layer) which sits on top of a PAL (processor abstraction layer) which talks to the microcode.
Disk layout changes may not directly impact you, but are something you need to be aware of. Besides the LIF, ISL and HP-UX areas there is now a MBR (master boot record. not used), a Partition Table (duplicated at end of disk), an EFI partition and a HP Service Partition. The ISL is no longer used and is now part of the HP-UX area for compatibility reasons.
When you cold install a system, you can choose a security level. Bastille is part of the OS and is run at install time. There are 4 options you can choose from when you install. These are Security Tool Infrastructure installation only, Host-based lockdown, DMZ Manager lockdown or Full DMZ lockdown.
The customer class also covers n-Par information and commands.
Several library changes happening may be of interest to programmers and application administrators. New aC++ support libraries, enhanced math libraries and more.
CDE is being deprecated. It runs through the Aries PA compatibility application and will not be migrated to native mode IA.
Others: Compressed Crash Dump, IPv6, WBEM, OLAR improvements, MxN thread support, lazy loading, Adaptive Address Space (SAS) to ease porting to HP-UX. and more.
Rgds...Geoff
Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make all your paths straight.
