[Info-vax] OpenVMS and virtualization (was: Re: OpenVMS Hobbyist Notification)

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2020-03-09 06:20:53 +0000, Dave Froble said:

> On 3/8/2020 8:56 PM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>> 
>> Because other platforms has had the capability for many years. And 
>> other platforms has adopted the technology.
> 
> Wasn't one of the drivers for VMs the one app one system in non-VMS 
> land?  That is not so significant for VMS users.

There are a whole lot of OpenVMS folks running as guests, using emulators.

With x86-64 port, consolidating OpenVMS server usage onto fewer boxes, 
and faster migrations, will absolutely get deployed. Widely.

OpenVMS itself has little history here, beyond the not-widely-deployed 
HPIVM. Though there are a lot of emulator guests around.

>> Most with more than 1 server are using virtualization.
> 
> Ok, maybe I'm an aberration.  Not one of our customers is using more 
> than one system to run the company operations.  PCs on the desktop for 
> office automation and user interface, yes.  But actually running the 
> company's business, no.

That'll change as folks port to OpenVMS x86-64.

At many sites, OpenVMS as been largely separated from and isolated from 
the rest of the data center.

For many I see, racks and racks of x86-64 servers, and—oh yeah—those 
"weird" OpenVMS servers are in a rack or two over in the corner.

>> ...
>> Why shoudld VMS be different from all other OS??
> 
> Well, for one thing, it is.

It's only been different in that it's been using unique tooling and 
required to run on unique hardware.

With OpenVMS commodity server hardware and with access commodity tools, 
deployments will absolutely shift to use the advantageous parts of 
what's available.

> Don't misunderstand, since looking at VMs, I really like some of the 
> things that they can do.  And yes, in some organizations with people 
> dedicated to such, developing the expertise to manage the VMs can be 
> helpful.  But if an organization doesn't have that manpower, then 
> having to have it is an additional cost, and organizations don't like 
> additional cost.
> 
> There are non-fortune 500 entities out there ....

SMBs are running guests, too. Whether local, or hosted.

Guests are handy for testing for developers of complex apps, too. Load 
in a fully-populated guest, boot it, test, and with no need to 
repeatedly set up or clean up. The closest analog now is InfoServer, 
though that's platform specific and not as widely deployed.

Handy for testing new deployments at customer sites, too.  And handy 
for fail-overs.  And server upgrades.


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