Number 85 (Update of Volume 8, Issue 6)

NewsWire's editorial e-mail is changing

After ten years with the same Internet Service Provider, the 3000 NewsWire is moving its editorial e-mail address. As of April 30, rseybold@jump.net, and the older rseybold@zilker.net, won't be responding anymore. You can now reach Ron Seybold at the official address of editor@3000newswire.com, or at rseybold@sbcglobal.net if you encounter any bounces sending to 3000newswire.com.

[About those bounces -- Our NewsWire Web and e-mail administrator has implemented the most up-to-date spam-blocking procedures, and sometimes e-mail servers trying to contact us have been configured too loose to pass the 3000newswire.com spam checking.]

Our subscription, advertising and publisher's e-mail addresses remain unchanged.

Please change your address books so we can keep in touch with one another. Our contact with the customer and supplier community is what has always enabled the NewsWire to stay on top of the rapid developments in the 3000 world.

Emulator project taking first steps at OpenMPE

While just in the talking stages, the OpenMPE organization has chosen a name for its inititive to get a 3000 hardware emulator off the ground and supported by the business server's homesteading community. After we wrote our March issue report on the HP MPE emulator licenses, Jon Backus of the OpenMPE board talked about the Morphe project:

"Morphe, as it is used in our discussion, is the simulating of the Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC instruction set and related hardware to allow for the execution of the MPE/iX operating system and related sub-systems without requiring any modifications.

"Let's reflect back on my proposal of a community-owned "Morphe" solution. We've been talking about roughly one million dollars needed. We've talked about how many "sales" would need to happen at various "selling prices." We've talked about different time periods to implement Morphe. If OpenMPE coordinates a community funded and owned project then the whole million dollars would not need to be present day one (although it would be nice). If the development takes four years then we would need to come up with the money to cover the expenses (salary) on an ongoing basis for the duration of the project life cycle. The number of "it depends" people that might switch to "ok" could be greater if they actually see progress being made. We could take money for the project as a percentage of membership dues (assuming we increase from zero) or we could have a separate fund drive. Either way, the money paid toward the project by individuals (or companies) could be counted as payment on their copy (or copies) of the emulator."

"This could serve two points. It could take the sting out of the cost. For example, instead of saying we need you to put down $4,000 upfront and we'll get back to you in four years with an emulator (hopefully). We could say we need you to put down $1,000 a year for four years and you will get an emulator at the end of the four years. This would protect you to an extent in that you could pull out if you feel the project is going south or your company looses all interested before the end. New company's could join in during the four year project and simply pay the balance at the end for their copy. It would also take the sting out of the cost for the "Morphe" project team. They may not want to sink any degree of effort on the project without seeing the commercial viability or the million dollars upfront. With this approach, it's just another project they have been contracted to do. As long as their hours are being paid for on an ongoing basis they should be happy. If the project goes south, they are not out anything."

MPE gets a sendmail security fix

Since our initial report on the security problems that surround the sendmail e-mail software in the world's computers, HP has come up with a consolidated patch set that aids 3000 sites in reducing the risk from the problem.

3000 managers can experience potential unauthorized privileged access and potential Denial of Service (DoS), according to an HP security bulletin. The problem affects MPE 7.0 and 7.5 running Sendmail 8.12.1 A.01.00 or A.01.01, as well as earlier unsupported freeware versions of sendmail.

The solution for MPE/iX 7.0 and 7.5 is to download and install the appropriate sendmail patch: MPE/iX 7.5 gets SMLHD16A; MPE/iX 7.0 gets SMLHD15A (if SMLGDT8A is installed); MPE/iX 6.5 (and earlier) needs SMLGDT8A, then SMLHD15A, a patch process that requires manual installation. The patches are available online at http://itrc.hp.com.

HP reported that its Unix systems are at more risk than the HP 3000s to the sendmail security flaw. The vulnerability was reported in CERT/CC CA-2003-12, and HP said "It should be noted that while sendmail on Unix may allow for the execution of arbitrary code via a buffer overflow, that [condition] does not apply on MPE/iX, where a buffer overflow would simply result in a process abort."

Interex offers Symposium two-fer deal

In much the same way that those who are migrating later are getting better deals from HP on its Unix software, customers who still haven't signed up for this coming week's e3000 Solutions Symposium have a last-minute discount to enjoy. Interex announced that it's having a 2-for-1 sale on one-day registrations for the four-day event which begins Wednesday morning April 23.

3000 managers who purchase a 1-Day Pass on a day of their choice (Wednesday through Saturday) can take advantage of the 2-for-1 special. Register using priority code SS0324 and receive two 1-Day Passes (which must be used together) for only $300.

While last year's Symposiums were top-heavy with migration advice, more recent surveys of customers indicate a growing homesteading community, and the content has shifted to match the customers' intentions. A notice from Interex pointed out that "Many of you have elected to migrate, while numerous others have opted to homestead. Either way, now that your decision has been made, the next step is plotting the course for implementation. Research shows that it takes on average two years or more to implement your transition strategy."

The show in San Jose at the Doubletree features:

* A briefing on new 3000 hardware announcements from HP
* An update from OpenMPE
* Sessions and case studies for migrating and homesteading based on real-life experiences
* Two migration tracks and a comprehensive e3000 systems management/homesteading track
* A networking reception to mingle with HP, HP partners and peers

As an example of the homesteading instruction available, we'd like to pass along comments from HP's Jeff Vance, a 3000 engineer who serves on the OpenMPE board of directors. Vance, who gave his own in-depth talk on CI programming at the Valley Forge version of the show, said:

"I'd like to plug a talk that anyone who manages an e3000, or manages someone who manages an e3000, should attend. It is Mark Bixby's presentation on MPE/iX security, titled "Is Your Homestead Secure?" I went to his East coast talk and learned something new about MPE security from almost every slide. Whether you are homesteading or not, this should be worth every minute of your time."

You can register online at www.interex.org/hpe3000. We'll see you there!

Itanium gets an ecosystem

HP is becoming concious of ecology in the last few years -- how else to explain the rise of the term "ecosystem" when describing the future of its computing solutions? After telling the 3000 marketplace in late 2001 that the computer's ecosystem wasn't healthy, not long ago the company announced that the new Itanium processor line was already developing an ecosystem -- even through the chips haven't overwhelmed the marketplace after having been out for more than a year.

HP announced that software makers continue to migrate their offerings to the Itanium 2-based server platforms, noting that 300 applications have been ported to date. HP also said the California Institute of Technology's Center for Advanced Computer Research is using 17 two-way Itanium 2-based rx2600 servers as part of its supercomputer cluster called TeraGrid.

Intel, of Santa Clara, Calif., is scheduled to launch the next generation of the Itanium chip, code-named Madison, this summer. Madison is supposed to begin to close the gap in performance that still exists between Itanium and the PA-RISC family that's still powering HP 3000s. Meanwhile, HP and Intel have a market fight coming up from AMD's entry in the 64-bit processor arena, Opteron. The chip, set to be released April 22 at a New York City event, will initially play in the lower-end of one-way to eight-way servers. This is the same space that Itanium started in about a year ago, and now AMD is getting interest from software firms in its 64-bit entry. Microsoft will launch versions of Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 tailored to Opteron.

There's differences in the designs. Some architecuture analysts say that Opteron has better backwards compatibility for the 32-bit software that makes up the majority of today's product choices. Then there's the timing. HP began work with Intel on Itanium in 1994 -- when it couldn't have imagined that AMD might be able to come up with a competitive alternative only a year or so after HP began releasing systems. Itanium has taken much longer to develop than anybody expected, and some analysts are saying it's not a lock for the lion's share of processor business anymore because of the delays.

FTP patch improves 3000 file transfer

HP has put patch FTPGDY7A for MPE/iX 6.5 into general release, providing a multitude of improvements for the File Transfer Protocol server software that runs on the HP 3000. New features include the use of the sendport client command as well as the PASV passive command, and the ability to handle files in the Posix namespace.

The patch is available online at itrc.hp.com