HP was proud to announce the advances in its 7.5 release of MPE/iX, but the last HP-designed version of the operating system might become an drag on acceptance of the fastest HP 3000 hardware models in the line’s vaunted 30-year history. That’s because HP is requiring the 7.5 release to boot up a new 3000, for reasons that include HP’s interest in where you’re getting processors after the company stops selling them. Add the fact that 7.5 won’t be getting a PowerPatch release until sometime between March and September of 2003, and you could have a new MPE/iX release that could stand in the way of customers’ purchase of the new A-Class and N-Class models.

HP’s Kriss Rant explained that 7.5 is required for the newest systems for a number of reasons, some related to IO issues. Fibre Channel was going to demand a mainline release, because “It was virtually impossible to patch,” Rant said. But demanding that 7.5 be present to run the new PA-8700-based 3000s “was a more difficult decision. Typically we do PowerPatches for processor rolls. But this was more than a processor roll. It also included support for a new system board in the A-Class, and a new system board and core IO in the N-Class.” Rant said that one more issue is making the new version of MPE/iX a must for the new 3000s — HP’s desire to track where your added processors are coming from. Rant described this as “updated logic for verifying that the processors installed in the system are legitimate.” Once customers install MPE/iX 7.5, any system which gets additional processors beyond what are specified in their CPU model string won’t be able to use those extra processors without a support visit from HP. The HP support staff has been instructed only to enable new processors that are purchased from authorized channels, or to replace failed processor boards. Starting with 7.5, HP is taking a harder look at where your processors come from.

Configuration experts in the 3000 community say this is the same kind of code HP introduced in the 7.0 release of MPE/iX, which is required to use the first generation of A-Class and N-Class systems. That 7.0 version won’t boot up the Series 9x7 systems, locking out customers running the five- to 10-year-old systems from moving to 7.0. Developer partners report that 7.0 ran fine on 9x7 systems during beta tests, but HP cut the 9x7s out of 7.0 because of support and sales issues.

“These circumstances made it much more difficult to patch,” Rant said of the 7.5 requirements. “I am not saying that it was not possible, just more difficult than past processor rolls that were done on PowerPatches.” The PowerPatch for any mainline release signals widespread acceptance in the customer community, since a PowerPatch fixes bugs that can be show-stoppers. If HP doesn’t get a PowerPatch out until mid-2003 for 7.5, it may see many sites wait until then to buy a new system. There’s no way to hurry that process; bugs get reported and then fixed only after systems go into production.

But HP's timing of ending sales of the HP 3000 next November might be another example of HP calling off an HP 3000 campaign too early, giving customers less than six months to buy new A-Class and N-Class systems if they want a PowerPatched MPE/iX 7.5. Adding the model string-watching code to 7.5 could also keep some customers away from the newer release and those systems, too — like those customers who don’t want HP’s persnickety 3000 licensing process to stand in the way of acquiring more processors on the open market, outside of HP’s higher-priced authorized channels.