Number 90 (Update of Volume 8, Issue 11)

OpenMPE gets national coverage – what's next?

Even though OpenMPE has been on a half-dozen covers of The 3000 NewsWire since the organization started working early in 2002, the venerable Computerworld just discovered the MPE advocacy group, putting it on the front page of the magazine's September 15 issue. The article by Patrick Thibodeau noted that the 3000 community is a "who's who" of businesses, and included positive comments from HP e3000 business manager Dave Wilde about working with OpenMPE and listening to HP 3000 customers.

Several sites quoted in the story were skeptical about how much OpenMPE's most recent focus, an emulator to mimic 3000 hardware, might be able to help them soon. Timing appears to be a major issue in the story's comments that focused on the prospect of a software-based PA-RISC emulator. Gavin Scott, VP of Allegro Consultants and a potential creator of an emulator to replace HP 3000 hardware, was described as "non-committal" about the project, though Scott's actual quote just detailed the prospective cost, and commented on the uncertainty about how many customers would buy such a product.

A customer site in Quebec offered a quote that they wouldn't consider an emulator as a migration plan — unless they were convinced one could be built. And a technical manager of operations at General Chemical called the emulator "vaporware," but added that if it were available, he might make allowances for it.

Right on target in the article was the summary that potential users like that manager need to know right away if an emulator can be built. OpenMPE may fund the project, according to Computerworld's reporting. But so far the organization hasn't launched a drive to collect membership fees and build revenues for supporting its virtual lab.

There's been initial steps to create that virtual lab of MPE experts under the OpenMPE aegis. Members have heard of no budget, no roster of experts announced, or a timetable for projects for this "vLab."

The organization has advocated and negotiated a helpful agreement with HP about emulator-based MPE licenses. Computerworld's report called it "an agreement in principle with HP on a key aspect of the MPE survival plan." There's no legally-binding document, however, and the HP document is full of statements like "HP intends," because HP's lawyers wouldn't brook anything more binding. Perhaps they will in the future, but there's no guarantee.

Last month's HP World included talk of a fundraising drive for OpenMPE, although chairman Jon Backus' comments during the HP World session seem to be the only mention of the drive -- nothing about fundraising has been posted on the Web site www.openmpe.org.

The emulator project is either:

1. Only being pondered by one SW vendor, Allegro;

2. Being coded as a prototype which might the finished this fall, but not for sale anytime soon by another SW vendor, Software Resources International;

3. Being pursued as a project thoroughly independent of OpenMPE by Strobe Data, as a hardware card product. (We have a lengthy interview with Strobe's founder Willard West coming up in the October NewsWire issue.)

OpenMPE Members were surveyed this spring about how many emulators they might buy. The 39 respondents said they'd buy 258 copies, though one respondent accounted for 200 of that total. Meanwhile, Backus reports that he's having an update call with HP's Mike Paivinen every two weeks.

What we'd like to know is this: Why is OpenMPE not an advocacy organization for homesteading on the HP 3000? A statement at the HP World conference from Backus reported that "I'm not trying to talk anyone into staying on MPE. We're not trying to butt heads with HP." We wonder if OpenMPE cannot make a business case for this strategy, then why does the organization exist?

We propose a more lasting project for OpenMPE: the access rights to MPE/iX source code, to be used by the members of the organization's vLab, with results to be shared among OpenMPE members. That's more important than an emulator which competes with used hardware for sales. The heart and soul of the 3000's unique value lies in IMAGE and MPE, not in PA-RISC hardware.

Patchwatch: N-Class systems

HP hardware is getting big-vendor attention for the next several years, even if it's not at the center of the 3000 customer's success with the platform. N4000 systems in the HP-UX side of the line got several critical firmware patches in late August, applicable to the rp7400 and rp2400 models of the computer. These are what 3000 customers will have in their shops if they convert N-Class and A-Class HP 3000s to HP 9000s.

Server firmware revision 43.22 adds support for Ultra320 SCSI (not planned for support on HP 3000 models), as well as 2GB Fibre Channel. It also fixes a host of service requests, as do revisions 42.06, 41.46, 41.36, 41.02, 40.25 and 39.41. And those are just the firmware patches for the N-Class systems.

Customers can get the firmware upgrades at http://support.itrc.hp.com, by logging in using their IT Resource Center User ID and password and selecting Individual Patches (under Maintenance and Support). Customers can also download patches via anonymous FTP from ftp.itrc.hp.com

HPCUA user group liquidates

After our early August report on the demise of the UK-based HP Computer Users Association user group, we heard from the HPCUA's Peter Bradley on the official liquidation of the organization. "HPCUA was formally put into liquidation on Thursday, August 14, at the meetings held at 2 PM (members) and 3 PM (creditors) at the Holiday Inn, Aston Clinton Road, Aylesbury. Nunn Hayward was appointed liquidator."


Interex board voting kicks off

North America's HP user group started its voting for its board last week, using a Web-based method that was quick and painless when we cast our ballot. Only one board seat out of seven is being contested in this year's election, with NETSerenity principal security consultant Dillon Pyron making his second run for the board, this time against Speedware's worldwide marketing director Chris Koppe.

Balloting runs through Oct. 31; members have been notified by e-mail of where to go vote on September 11, invited to take their member ID and verification ID to https://ix.SynthesysSolutions.com. Interex members can ask questions of the candidates and read basic vitals on the two men at www.interex.org/inside/brdcand.html


Malta magic might woo 3000 prospects

Nothing like a few days on a Mediterranean island to clear the senses about 3000 migration. HP this week was trying to get its European 3000 partners to bring 100 prospects to Malta for a few days, to convince those customers that the new HP Integrity servers are the right choice to take over for HP 3000s. HP was giving the partners less than a week to round up the prospects, or the party was off.

Horst Kanert, HP e3000 Business Development Manager, and Juergen Probst, HP e3000 Transition Manager, sent a request for two customer prospects each to 50 partners late last week. ":BYE HP E3000! :HELLO INTEGRITY!" will also require the partners to pony up for travel expenses and hotel for their prospects. Apparently HP is watching its sales costs during its last quarter of fiscal 2003 while hoping to get commitments to the latest Itanium-based servers.

Since Dracula is officially part of the invitation, we don't expect the party's message to include any note that the 3000 will still be living and working for years to come. For the record, the only thing dying out on Oct. 31 is HP's sales effort on the 3000. End of HP support is more than three years away, and third parties already are supporting more than half of the installed base, by our calculations.


Jazz server delivers free MPE goodies

HP's Jeff Vance, hard-working MPE/iX engineer and a notable force in crafting HP's role in the post-2006 HP 3000 era, let customers know about new software for the systems. There are several new scripts and one new UDC on HP's Jazz Web server, created and donated by customers Paul Christidis and Donna Garverick.

By browsing to jazz.external.hp.com/src/scripts 3000 managers can now find an extended LISTF, an FTP wrapper, an MPE directory utility and a shutdown protection tool. An experienced user community has always contributed to the improvement of the HP 3000 ownership experience. HP says "it intends" to move such programs from the HP Jazz Web site to an independent organization after HP support for the 3000 ends.