HP Monday launched the next version of its HP-UX operating system and took a another step in what experts say is a challenging, long-term attempt to migrate its software from PA-RISC to Itanium architecture, which is expected to triple high-end system performance over the next three years.
In issuing its first update to its OS in more than two years, the Palo Alto, Calif. firm is hedging its bet that HP-UX 11i v2 will continue to be a strong, Unix-based performer alongside Sun Microsystems' Solaris and IBM's AIX products despite its transition to the newer Intel Itanium chip-based schema. The new OS is also singificant part of HP's broader Adaptive Enterprise strategy, which looks to help businesses more agile in dealing with computing demands and needs through such strategies as utility computing.
Mike Wardley, marketing manager for HP-UX operating system, said the new OS offers the same functionality that HP-UX provides customers of PA-RISC processor-based systems -- and then some. To make sure customers and application vendors don't feel as they though they are starting from scratch and need to buy the features they are accustomed to, HP has built the new OS with total data, source and binary compatibility with previous versions of HP-UX 11i for Itanium and PA-RISC systems. HP-UX 11i v2 also offers source and data compatibility with Linux IA-32 programs and binary compatibility with Linux for Itanium processors-based programs.
HP, which Wardley said now supports around 1,000 applications on Itanium, has been working furiously to migrate its software to support Intel's Itanium architecture, something rival vendors such as IBM had taken a wait-and-see approach to before picking it up.
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May 19, 2003, 08:05 PM
