[Info-vax] New Hardware (rx2800) Compatibility

[Phillip Helbig undress to reply]

In article <2c03e05c-35f1-4277-bbd8-0b7ef325ca9a at googlegroups.com>,
serfsmith at gmail.com writes: 

> We are looking to upgrade our existing Itanium hardware (rx6600,
> Itanium 9000 series) with a newer, supported platform, namely: rx2800,
> Itanium 9520. 
> 
> The operating system we currently run is OpenVMS 8.4, the new server
> will be running VSI V841H1. 
> 
> I would like to know:
> 
> 1. Assuming that the equivalent, latest layered products are installed
> on the new environment, will binaries compiled on the old platform be
> able to execute without incident on the new platform? 

I can't say for sure in this case, but if not, that would break a long 
tradition of backward compatibility.  New architecture?  Recompile, of 
course.  But new generation of the same chip?  I've never had to 
recompile ANYTHING, even between major versions, on the same 
architecture.  (And, in the other direction, old machines can run much 
newer software, often developed even after the machines themselves were 
no longer supported.)

> 2. Will binaries compiled on the new platform be able to execute on
> the old platform? 

This is less certain, but it would surprise me if this wouldn't work.

> 3. What sorts of things should be on the radar to ensure that a
> migration of our present system to the new system will go smoothly? 

If you change the version of the chip, the version of the operating
system, and (relevant for new code) the versions of the compilers, all
at the same time, it's hard to locate the problem if something goes
wrong.  If possible, change one thing, run your test suite, change
another, run the test suite, and so on.