2015 will be a VMS year

When we met them last November in Böblingem, Germany, the VSI team engaged itself to publish before the end of the year an official agenda for 2015. It’s done since December, the 18^th . VSI is ending 2014 fulfilling its engagements and announces its engagements for 2015.

We have got on the VSI site a letter from Duane Harris, and a form to subscribe for field-tests on February (to submit before the 15^th, January).

The documents can be downloaded from VSI site or on our site ( UDP001_pricing  VSI_Field_Test_20152).

It is not the moment to write advanced analysis or new questions to VSI – perhaps should we have as soon as possible the actual content of the version? -. We just are able to affirm 2015 will be a VMS year.

We underline:

^-                  The CEO letter makes commitments on dates:

• February for the field-tests,
• February for availability of pre-order,
• Selling in Spring,

^-                  The letter and the form list the hardware supported (other to come after Spring, or in demand):

• RX2800-i2
• RX2800-i4
• BL860-i2
• BL860-i4
• BL870-i2
• BL870-i4
• BL890-i2
• BL890-i4

^-                  The prices are given: same than HP, and 50% trade-in for existent licenses.

It is worthy to note the presence in the prices and in the field-test of the i2 together with the i4: the message is clearly to let the users experience as soon as possible the validity and continuity of the VSI versions of OpenVMS (8.4.1H1 here).

HP-Interex France, with the unshakeable help of HP France, and thanks to support of French VMS professionals, will do best as possible to help for fluency between all actors, to hand round information, questions and answers. We study the possibility a peculiar action to facilitate the field-tests organization for actors who can have difficulties to test on their site. We‘ll let you know later if we have concrete propositions.

For whose can do it, do submit a form for field-test. The places are not in infinite number.

We plan to launch as soon as possible a survey which could help VSI to define their targets. Since that, we collect all questions, recommendations of software or applications on VMS, contacts of interested people.

Waiting for the new moving year, happy holidays and a happy new year!

For HP-Interex France, Gérard Calliet, vice-président.

Special thanksgiving for VMS

VSI team was in Böblingen, Germany, only a few days before thanksgiving. The effort equivalent in Europe is to do business two days before Christmas. So, thanks a lot.

As usual in Europe for VMS the event was a success, with this time more than 40 attendees. They have been more than 80 inAmsterdam, and equivalent numbers in Stockholm. All confirmed professionals from important companies. All very happy to learn about the new future for VMS.

And the very subject of thanks is what that gave us a new future, the splendid initiative of VSI creation.

So thank you all, VSI team, and specifically the ones who had first trust in this adventure and made him happen.

Because all of the VMS community are not American, there is here a link to the thanksgiving story:

http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving

(In French: http://french.france.usembassy.gov/a-z-thanksgiving.html).

The whole point is: nothing is possible without collaboration. The survivors of the MayFlower would not have pass a second winter without help from Indian Americans who helped them to fish, hunt, and grow corn on the new continent.

(To know if Europe is or is not a new continent for VMS is another question).

As a thanksgiving gift from the old continent these pictures:

What is the sense of the third? It is page 3 of our VMS Bible: VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures, Ruth E. Goldenberg, Lawrence J. Kenah and Denise D. Dumas. What is remarkable in this page? Epigraph. Every chapter in this book has an epigrap.

It is another sort of collaboration… about collaboration.

An OS is a collaborating system of specific part of software,  which enables collaboration between user, upper level software and computer. VMS is a particular good OS because this collaboration was well thought.

And to think about a design is well done by ery well educated people, who can imagine, coordinate objects. The writers of our VMS bible found a sort of thnking root for each part. The epigraph are like key images of the chapters.

I decided to offer to the community a novel for VMS. I will publish every month a short story about one chapter. My rule will be:

1) to imagine the link between the epigraph and the content of the chapter,

2) to say something about the technical ideas which funded the technical content,

3) to open a discussion about the technical choices, their evolution, the comparison which can be made with other OS,

4) to collect from authorized people all complements, critics.

We need encyclopaedia for VMS. I am not authorized for such a  task. My ambition is to give the desire to deepen knowledge of VMS, to have incentives in understanding why VMS is a so interesting technical system.

A collaboration begins and continues with gifts. I hope for collaboration, and it is my first gift:  turkey 1
All folks, a good thanksgiving !

Paving the way to a new future: VSI & HP alliance for VMS sounds very good

How can you enjoy a journey? When you are comfortable on the road, and when you have a good destination.

What was heard at the last Connect Bootcamp in Boston, 29^th-2^nd October, where VSI and HP presented the alliance for VMS, confirms a very good deal for VMS has been made.

We have got well inspired investor. We have got a reinforced old-new (or new-old ?) VMS experts team. We have got a new branded company for exclusive VMS use: VMS Software inc.  We have got a true commitment from HP to continue business as usual for decades with all knew hardware offered to be supported by VSI on OpenVMS.

Also we have had always a very concerned community of exigent and competent customers. We have had always good users club. Reasons of the very good quality of the Bootcamp.

The very important ideas from the Bootcamp:

The new deal for VMS is well structured : real investment, true cooperation between HP and VSI, reasonable plans for the future.

The collaboration between HP and VSI make all the itaniums potentially usable by VMS customers, with HP before i4, with HP and VSI (directly or undirectly) for i4 Poulson and successors. Of interest for HP because VMS users will now consolidate their environment with new HP hardware. Of interest for VSI for sure. Of interest for us.

The plans of VSI are strongly structured. Everyone look for the new VMS on x86. But it is not worth dreaming that the day after tomorrow is tomorrow. So VSI has designed a two-phases plan:

Phase I: making comfortable VMS users with huge new performance of i4 on OpenVMS, permitting them reasonable investments for the 2 or 3 next years.

Phase II: offering the new VMS on the new x86s, for a new age of VMS.

What has been felt anew at the bootcamp is about port to x86. The presentations we heard demonstrate this port is not a vague project. It is a fundamental part of the overall strategy. It is already  on work.

But for now it is very important to reinforce all the OpenVMS ecosystem, and to prepare with serenity the future. The availability of i4 Poulson with the VSI 8.4-* new versions of OpenVMS opens for worthy investments in terms of stability, productivity improvements, gains of performance, energy economy, as we can understand.

HP-Interex France will do all could be done for help in this new situation.

Duane Harris the ceo of the new company opened his speech by a Ken Olsen quotation: “doing the right thing”.

Sue Skonetski concluded the bootcamp with this phrase “you depend on us, and we depend on you”.

In the VMS culture this is a truism. It is positive collaboration between a company exposing ethics and a loyal and competent community. The way to unexpected successes, we hope.

We will expose in our site all information, presentations, announces about this new VMS, and we are waiting for all commentaries. For the moment, have a look at this document : http://www.vmssoftware.com/pdfs/VSI_DrawerSt_v2.pdf.

And, have a look on the VSI site : http://www.vmssoftware.com

The first presentations at the bootcamp:  vsi commented roadmap 2014     vsi porting VMS to x86