[Info-vax] VSI software

[Hans Bachner]

Phillip Helbig (undress to reply) schrieb am 04.08.2020 um 22:36:
> In a few months I'll have some more time and plan to get VSI VMS running
> on an Alpha, as the first step to moving to an x86 hobbyist cluster.
> :-)
> 
> Some questions, answers to which I don't recall here nor did I find
> poking around the VSI website for half an hour or so.
> 
> Can I cluster VSI VMS with versions of VMS from DEC/Compaq/HP?  If so,
> which ones?

Yes, clustering Alpha and Integrity 8.4[-*] from VSI and HP works. Don't 
know off my head how far you can go back with HP versions - I believe 
8.3 and even 7.3-2 should work as well, but you want to check with VSI 
documentation. In any case, you need an LMF patch for VSI OpenVMS.

Things will change when 9.x comes into the play. Changes to/improvements 
of cluster communication (at least) will require special patches for 
8.4, which will exist for VSI versions of OpenVMS only. In other words, 
OpenVMS V9.x on any platform can no longer cluster with HP[E] versions.

> How does one get the software onto the system?  CDs delivered by mail is
> probably too oldschool.  Download an image?

Yes. Burn the image to a DVD or provide it with Infoserver software on a 
VMS system to boot/install over the network.

Again, this may be other options with V9. The first versions of V9.0 
were/are distributed as a VM image. Just unpack this image and start the 
VM, no installation needed/possible.

> VSI licenses will not work with earlier versions of VMS and vice versa,
> right?  (Note that one could mix and match DEC, Compaq, and HP licenses,
> software, and hardware, e.g. hardware from DEC with software from
> Compaq with a license from HP.)

Basically right. IIRC the VSI OpenVMS Alpha documentation (Release 
Notes?) contains a chapter on setting up LMF properly in a mixed 
producer cluster (= requiring licenses with different producer fields), 
including some special handling of licenses in this case.

Btw, there are no Compaq licenses for OpenVMS (that I know of). VAX and 
Alpha licenses always have DEC as the producer, and Integrity licenses 
use HP. For combining licenses in a cluster, these two producers are 
treated like they were the same.

Hope this helps,
Hans.