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Re: Has anyone run Rockwell Interchange on VMS 7.2+ ?

 
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Has anyone run Rockwell Interchange on VMS 7.2+ ?

I know that that it's not offically sanctioned by Rockwell, but has anyone run Rockwell Interchange (for controlling PLCs) on OpenVMS 7.2 or later?

The official specs. say OpenVMS 7.1 and TCP/IP Services V4.2, but I'm certain I've seen references (which I can no longer find, of course) to people running it on later model AXPs that I know require at least 7.2 or later.

If anyone has tried it, or knows of anyone who has, I'd appreciate knowing.

Thanks!
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labadie_1
Honored Contributor

Re: Has anyone run Rockwell Interchange on VMS 7.2+ ?

I would tend to say that if it works with 7.1 it will work with 7.2+, the compatibility being with the more recent versions.

I remember some Vms nodes running (unsupported) Sybase with Vms 7.3 without problems.

It is funny that the official specs says Vms 7.1, as it is not (like vax 5.5-2 or Alpha 6.2) a long support version

:-)

Re: Has anyone run Rockwell Interchange on VMS 7.2+ ?

Thanks labadie.

That's my expectation (that it should work), but I needed more than my own hunch to convince the 'powers-that-be' to even let me consider trying it.

Right now I'm still stuck on VMS 6.2, so even 7.1(-2) will be a nice step up, but I have other s/w (e.g. higher versions of Oracle) that won't run on 7.1, so I'm hoping I can move things into the 1990s at least.
Thomas Schick
Advisor
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Re: Has anyone run Rockwell Interchange on VMS 7.2+ ?

Hello Brian
IIRC I've seen running Interchange on V7.3-1 and TCPIP V5.3.

BTW the release notes from 1999 mention only V7.1 but other docs on Rockwell's pages like
http:/domino.automation.rockwell.com/applications%5Ckb%5CRAKB.nsf/0/25D910AEB7D7197A85256AFB0056EB61?OpenDocument
reference to V7.x. So ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Don't forget the Interchange patch (I can't remember the reason)
http:/domino.automation.rockwell.com/applications%5Ckb%5CRAKB.nsf/0/F0A40CBA5EB4E65585256E3F006250DD?OpenDocument
(use cut/paste, 2nd / is missing)


Problems will come up for OpenVMS on Intanium - I miss Interchange on
http://h71000.www7.hp.com/solutions/matrix/i64application_R.html

Re: Has anyone run Rockwell Interchange on VMS 7.2+ ?

Thanks Thomas!

That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. :-)

I'd been through the Rockwell docs but I missed the reference to 7.X that you pointed out. That's ideal, and should solve any worries anyone here might have.

Thanks also for the reminder about the patch. I had seen references to it, and I'm sure I've probably got it in place on the 7.1 systems we have running, but the reminder is greatly appreciated.

I do feel for the people who might need to move to Intanium in the near future. Hopefully Rockwell and other vendors will embrace it quickly, but given how fast Rockwell moves, I'm glad I'm not facing that need anytime soon.

Many many thanks again! I don't suppose the forum will let me assign 100 points for your answer, but I'll try! :-)
Robert Gezelter
Honored Contributor

Re: Has anyone run Rockwell Interchange on VMS 7.2+ ?

Brian,

I agree with the general comment, however, a small note.

You will likely get few if any problems with a 7.x release, however, I would advise caution when using new features present in later releases with new features. For example (I would have to check notes and the web for which version and the date), ODS-5 came out with support for mixed case significant file names (which is needed for Java, among other things). I would not be surprised if older software had problems interacting with files whose name was case significant).

However, this is a volume-specific attribute, not a feature of 7.3-2 overall, so you should not encounter it so long as the volumes that the package are using are not ODS-5.

As an example of this, PRODUCT INSTALL is fussy that the name of the PCSI file be upper case only (you may speculate how I discovered this feature, but it did involve FTP and downloading a product install kit to an ODS-5 volume). A bit of a surprise, but not a difficult problem to circumvent.

The question of what a software vendor's release notes say is a supported release are often more of a legal statement about their certification and qualification process than a technical statement about whether or not it will work in a particular case. There is a substantial difference between "appears to work" and "fully tested".

- Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com

Re: Has anyone run Rockwell Interchange on VMS 7.2+ ?

Thanks Bob,

Fortuantely, I shouldn't have to worry about the ODS-5 volumes (yet) -- especially in the case of this s/w.

From what I gather, I have some other s/w (e.g. Oracle) which may run into some of these issues (if we were to go to ODS-5 volumes, which I don't forsee happening anytime soon), but I don't think Interchange deals with such things (or even deals with file names at all).

In any case, we always go through a long drawn out series of off-production testing before risking anything live.

One of my biggest worries was that we use various contractors to do a lot of work, and even though i might work fine, if the vendor said 7.1 only, then it had the potential to wind up in a finger-pointing contest with me in the middle. Labidie note showing 7.x was a real bonus in this -- it gives me a chance to head that situation off, should it happen.

I don't think any software ever gets "fully tested" anymore before being released. Quality just doesn't seem to be a design goal in the post-windows software world anymore.