VAX 4000-700A OS upgrade & support

[FOX MULDER_2]

Please let me know, on VAX 4000-700A running on VMS 7.1,can it be upgraded to 7.2 or 7.3?
If yes please also indicate to what extent HP will give support.

[Andy Bustamante]

Your VAX can be upgraded to OpenVMS 7.3.

The VMS Roadmap can be found here http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/roadmap/openvms_roadmaps.htm for additional details. The documentation for the 7.3 release is at http://h71000.www7.hp.com/doc/os73_index.html. You should have operating system support or a right to upgrade from HP to install the new version.

HP will continue to support the VAX 7.3 as final VAX release. According to the latest Roadmap, VAX 7.3 stays in standard support until 2011, with a 24 month notice to prior ending support after that. You can also find third party support here and at at openvms.org.

Andy

[Karl Rohwedder]

I would be more concerned regarding hardware support for such a beast, VMS will be no problem. We have a 2nd for spare and are thinking about an emulator, if the 1st gives up.

regards Kalle

[Colin Butcher]

From a purely hardware and OS viewpoint - it should be no problem at all. If anything, V7.3 will be better supported than previous versions.

However, you need to check carefully that all the applications you're running will work and you may also need to ensure that they are certified for use with OpenVMS VAX V7.3. You should also check that any additional hardware (eg real-time IO devices) and their device drivers are supported by OpenVMS VAX V7.3. It depends very much what the system is being used for.

I would expect that a real VAX still in production use is probably fairly important, so you really want to think about it and test things carefully. The fact that you're asking first is a good sign.

If you are uncertain about the system and you're not comfortable with the level of knowledge available within your organisation then perhaps you should consider seeking professional assistance. Again, it depends on what the system is being used for and how important it is that the upgrade be carried out with minimal downtime and disruption.

Cheers, Colin.