[Info-vax] Layered products, the HP view !?!

[Jan-Erik Soderholm]

Simon Clubley skrev den 2015-06-17 13:00:
> On 2015-06-17, Robert A. Brooks <FIRST.LAST at vmssoftware.com> wrote:
>> On 6/16/2015 5:00 PM, clairgrant71 at gmail.com wrote:
>>
>>> I'll give this a shot. On HP V8.4 you will find layered product xyz. If you
>>> do a LICENSE SHOW you will see that the producer is "HP". On our release
>>> V8.4-1H1 you may also find that same layered product xyz but its producer is
>>> "VSI" which we obviously support.
>>>
>>> HP will not support HP-branded products on 1H1. So, if VSI is not currently
>>> shipping a VSI-branded version of a product and you continue to run your
>>> HP-branded version, HP will not support it.
>>>
>>> Slightly clearer than mud, I hope. We've been answering these questions for
>>> months now so we should be getting better by now.
>>
>> Opening up the rat's nest even more . . .
>>
>> There is also the distinction between PCSI and VMSinstallable products.
>>
>> An HP-provided layered product that uses PCSI ***WILL NOT INSTALL***
>> on V8.4-1H1 as things are currently configured.  The HP product will
>> require HP VMS <mumble>, and the VSI operating system is VSI VMS <mumble>.
>>
>
> I'm sure you are very aware of this :-), but that could be a _massive_
> problem within end user organisations.
>
> If people have already paid for some IA-64 layered products which work
> just fine, the question they are going to ask (quite rightly) is why
> should they be forced to pay for them again ?

Has there been any mention about "paying again"?
The only thing mentioned is that you need a "VSI VMS..." kit.

If VSI re-test and re-brand and then take over the support
revenue stream, wouldn't that be good enough for everyone?


>
>> The producer is the issue for PCSI, and required a lot of tap-dancing and
>> beneath the sheets machinations to get the HP VMS-to-VSI VMS upgrade to work
>> correctly.  Thank you, Richard Bishop!
>>
>> For VMSINSTAL, this is likely not an issue, as VMSINSTAL does not by default
>> check to see who provided the operating system, although an author
>> of KITINSTAL.COM could put anything they want in there as a preinstallation
>> check.
>>
>> For any HP layered product installed on HP-provided V8.4 that is
>> then upgraded to V8.4-1H1, it should continue to work but it is not
>> supported by either HP or VSI.
>>
>
> That's not a viable production option. In a worse case scenario, you need
> to be able to re-create the existing system disk from the current versions
> of products in the customer's possession.
>
> This needs fixing. You need to be able to give a potential customer a
> firm and viable answer to this question about existing (working) HP
> products on VSI VMS because it's going to be one of the first questions
> they ask.
>
> This is obviously not an issue for x86-64 where new products will have
> to be bought anyway...

Maybe wait until we know if you actualy have to *buy* new kits... :-)