OpenVMS on home computer

[Bob Maker]

Hi guys, is it possible to run somehow an openVMS on a home pc? I read that the only option I have is to use HPVM. Is it true? what should i do?

[Ian Miller.]

Use one of the VAX emulators
SIMH or CHARON-VAX
or one of the alpha emulators
CHARON-AXP or www.es40.org

Get a hobbyist licence and media. Lots more on this at
http://www.openvmshobbyist.org

[Hein van den Heuvel]

I use the Stromasys 'Personal Alpha'

Works great!

http://www.emulatorsinternational.com/en/personalalpha.htm

Regards,

Hein

[Hoff]

HP Integrity Virtual Machine (HP VM) isn't yet an option for OpenVMS, that's still in the roadmap for later this year. And that's virtualization and not emulation. You'll need an Integrity box to use that. Some other VMs that are in common use won't work, either:

http://64.223.189.234/node/640

There are a couple of ways to go here, and the most direct answer is what folks have referenced: emulation. Here are some notes from Mac OS X and OpenVMS VAX with the simh VAX emulator:

http://64.223.189.234/node/922

And then there are the rx2600 boxes that have been showing up on eBay and elsewhere for US$200 plus shipping, or less. Add an Ultra2 or Ultra3 SCSI disk and a slimline DVD drive and scrounge up an OpenVMS I64 distribution for your hobbyist licenses and you're running full real OpenVMS on an Itanium. There are also deals on used VAX and Alpha boxes. Hobbyist details:

http://64.223.189.234/node/23

[Sheldon Smith]

Ditto on 'Personal Alpha'. You still need the hobbyist license and media.

[Stanley F Quayle]

HPVM also requires that you're running HP-UX underneath it. It's really targeted at sites with big Integrity servers that they'd like to chop into smaller virtual domains.

Use PersonalAlpha -- Stromasys releases new versions from time to time to have the community "beta test" release candidates for the commercial product, CHARON-AXP.

[Shameless Plug Alert (tm) -- I am a CHARON reseller]