[Info-vax] VMS and the Internet of Things (IoT)

[Simon Clubley]

On 2016-09-11, Stephen Hoffman <seaohveh at hoffmanlabs.invalid> wrote:
> On 2016-09-11 10:16:52 +0000, Simon Clubley said:
>
>> So that's my take on the IoT. What's yours and where do you see a 
>> possible place for VMS within the IoT world ?
>
> OpenVMS is ill-suited as an embedded operating system or as an 
> intermediate controller or aggregator.   It's been priced out of those 
> markets for decades.    That's also without discussing 
> currently-missing or currently-weak features and hardware support and 
> power management that would be desirable or required in those markets, 
> and (the lack of) which will preclude OpenVMS in those deployments.
>

I agree. The only possible role I am seeing for VMS is in the remote
server role; I simply don't see it being used in the middle tier of
my 3 level model, running inside a box attached to a wall somewhere
and with a touch screen/LCD interface.

> The only way VSI plays at the lower-end tiers is with some new product 
> or some new variant of VAX ELN.   Not with OpenVMS.  Cheaper, 
> higher-volume, purpose-built, etc...   Then integrate OpenVMS with that 
> client.  Then some savvy marketing.
>

A new VAXELN, restructured to run on modern architectures, isn't going
to happen these days; it's time is over.

This is an example of what you can get for free in the RTOS world:

https://www.rtems.org/

If you want something that you pay for and which requires and takes
advantage of an MMU then there's QNX.

A new VAXELN doesn't stand a chance against the established players.

> I expect to see some OpenVMS boxes acting as mid-range network servers 
> and some of those will get updated to receive notifications and data 
> from embedded sensors and aggregation; what can be called sensor or 
> probes or PLCs in some environments.   Those markets and those 
> capabilities have been around for decades with OpenVMS, and — ignoring 
> DTLS, authentication and other security requirements that can arise in 
> newer deployments — are nothing particularly new.    But I expect there 
> will be few IoT- or industrial-control-related new server deployments 
> outside of the installed base.
>

Jan-Erik's point about existing systems being a source of IoT data is
a good one and one I had not considered. However, that remote server
situation only covers existing VMS installations.

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Microsoft: Bringing you 1980s technology to a 21st century world