[Info-vax] rx2800i2 sales/support window changes

[Keith Parris]

On 2/12/2014 10:04 PM, JF Mezei wrote:
> If HP has no plans for an IA64 emulator on Linux, then those shops who
> are "stuck" on VMS should consider instead moving from IA64 to Alpha
> VMS, at which point they can move to an emulated instance on x86 servers

Customers who have migrated already from (VAX or) Alpha to Integrity, 
and traded in all their licenses, old hardware, etc. (or those customers 
who started out on Integrity) are unlikely to find moving to Alpha on 
emulators attractive at all, for multiple reasons:
1) Performance. They got a performance gain going to Integrity from 
Alpha (or VAX). Running under emulation of Alpha is extremely unlikely 
to give them anywhere near the performance they are getting on Integrity 
native today.
2) Support. Since HP Mature Product Support for OpenVMS 8.4 on Alpha is 
committed only through at least the end of 2018, whereas MPS on OpenVMS 
8.4 on Integrity is committed through at least the end of 2025, anyone 
interested in longevity of support would probably aim to get to the 
safest landing zone of OpenVMS 8.4 running on Integrity.

I expect the prospect of Itanium emulation to start to become attractive 
as individual hardware platforms age and after they lose hardware 
support from HP and start to fail frequently, and the necessary decade 
or two has elapsed from a platform's heyday so that system performance 
of an emulator can at least match the original hardware platform's 
performance.