IPSec and VMS Roadmaps

[Brad McCusker]

>Who contacted them about the RTR to Linux >port
>Yeh, I thought as much.

The RTR to Linux port was customer funded. No, I won't tell you who, it's none of your business. But, I do know for a fact that it was customer funded.

I agree with you - IPSEC should be on the roadmap. Actually, it should be delivered by now. At least one of our clients was expecting it and will be sending cards and letters to product management.

Brad McCusker

[Richard J Maher]

Hi Brad,

Thanks for the reply.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The RTR to Linux port was customer funded. No, I won't tell you who, it's none of your business. But, I do know for a fact that it was customer funded.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I sure hope it's not NasdaqOMX as part of a migration to Linux! But hey, as long as I and other VMS license payers don't have to foot *any of* the bill then who cares? Anyway, thanks for pointing that out.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I agree with you - IPSEC should be on the roadmap. Actually, it should be delivered by now. At least one of our clients was expecting it and will be sending cards and letters to product management.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Glad to hear it!

Cheers Richard Maher

[Steven Fletcher_1 · Accepted solution]

I've been clicking around myself over the past few days, trying to figure out when IPSec will (finally) be released for OpenVMS. I noticed the missing mention of IPSec in the roadmaps and was similarly worried.

We are a small shop with only five VMS boxes, but like many others out there (I guess), the requirement for secure comms is becoming more and more pressing.

The EAK has been running on a couple of our test boxes with no major problems at all, with the only caveat being that it broke our LPD printing.

I too very much hope that the essential IPSec functionality will be made available in TCP/IP 5.7.

[John Abbott_2]

The last I heard was that it'll not ship with 5.7

With the TUDs just finishing the in the US, maybe someone knows something more and can share... please!

[Ian Miller.]

There appeared to be an updated IPSEC in the T5.7 field test kit included in the OpenVMS 8.4 field test kit.

[Richard J Maher]

Steven,

If you look at the latest RoadMap (not that it has been historically worth the vapourware it is written on) it now says "IPSEC: Future Release". Sadly this can once again only be considered a further downgrade as, last I looked (and you had to cut and paste it to notepad et all just to make it visible), there was a commitment to 2010 :-(

Either way, IPSEC ships with TCP/IP services ('cos it would be too much work to extracate it) but it is uncertified and unsupported.

Lamentably, those left at HP/VMS continue to do whatever they like whenever they damn well feel like it. So you've probably got more chance of seeing "32 volume shadow-sets", "RTR on the iPhone" or "Clusters over gSOAP" than you have of the essential e-business infrastructure of IPSEC being delivered in a usable form any time soon :-(

They simply can't have been "working" on IPSEC all this time or they'd be moer incompetent than I give them credit for.

In the meantime allow me to point out that Process Software offer quite a feature-rich line of IPSEC that has just been expanded: -

http://www.openvms.org/stories.php?story=10/04/08/4128705

Regards Richard Maher

[John Abbott_2]

Hi Richard,

I asked the question yesterday, whilst it is suggested and there may well be "something" in TCP/IP v5.7... Full support will not come until 2011. Sounded like another kit to me.

Whilst clearly not what you want to here, I did hear a commitment that it _WILL_ be done.

Kind Regards
John.
ps.. please don't shoot the messenger! :-)

[Richard J Maher]

Hi John,

"Full support will not come until 2011."

It's only April 2010 for Pete's sake! And IPSec was supposed to "ship" with VMS 8.3. Do these people have absolutely no shame or embarasssment???

Seeing as you have access to the horse's "mouth" could you be so bold as to enquire why it could take more than a year to simply certify an already bundled IPSec?

Clearly UCX(TCP/IP Services) users have had their expectations managed so as to expect sloth-like response times, but we are clearly in glacial-pace territory now. Well why not 3011 for all the good it'll do :-(

The inability of HP/VMS Middle Management to respond to customer requirements and industry trends may help to explain why VMS is in the place it is today.

But that is *not* the problem here John! No, here we have essential e-business infrastructure being deliberately and maliciously ham-strung for no reason other than to satisfy someone's petty political agenda and self-interest.

IPSec *can* be shipped any time they like with 8.4 or after. The obstacles are now imaginary (if they were ever valid in the first place). Go ahead ask them!

I sat outside Oracle's offices in Sydney discussing IPSec with Matt Muggeridge over 4 years ago now and I can assure there is now valid reason or insurmountable obstacle preventing IPSec from being delivered this year!

They are deliberately sand-bagging for reasons and agendas only known to themselves :-(

Regards Richard Maher