Evan first and then a couple other people said ~~:
 
>I just received a mailing from HP's "Twin Cities Fulfillment Center"
>containing the HP3000 Web Server Solutions Guide -- did anyone else out
>there receive it?
 
>The package also included a 4-page case study of 3K Associates use of a
3000
>based web server.  Way to go Chris!
 
Me too got one.  And I  was impressed.....  In fact this
is IMHO a fairly fascinating document, and not just
because it presents the 3000 as a WWW server.
I would suggest that all who care about the future of
the 3000 might at least scan this Solutions Guide,
even if they have no current plans to implement a
WWW server.
 
A few quotes from the subject guide:
 
"The WWW and HP 3000 are both built upon an
open systems foundation........"
 
"The HP 300's strengths in high availability, resiliency,
and best in class performance provides everything
needed to build a solution to prosper in the new
information society."
 
"HP 3000 WWW solutions are unmatched in delivering
best-in-class solutions that meet the rigorous demands
of the 24 x 7, interactive, multimedia, database-driven
WWW interface."
 
"The HP 3000 offers superior flexibility in meeting
customers' WWW needs.  The entire HP 3000 product
family is WWW-ready."
 
"As companies begin to build WWW solutions,  ..........
..........  traditional strengths of the HP 3000 family;  high-
performance, scalability, reliability, and availability, will
make the HP 3000 an obvious choice."
 
Great stuff......
 
"....... allows web sites to link to Image/SQL databases
(as well as Allbase/SQL, KSAM, Oracle, Sybase, and
Informix) to create a dynamic web site."
 
HP actually dared to list Image/SQL first, and then
Oracle, et. al. under "as well as".....
 
"Open Market WWW applications include Webserver,
Secure WebServer, Merchant Server, and Authentication
Server.  The WebServer .... available .... April and the
Secure WebServer ....  in the second half of 1996.  The
Merchant and Authentication Servers should be available
.... in 1997".
 
First time I've seen specifics about the Merchant and
Authentication Servers....
 
In short, this is a good job of selling sushi as sushi, and
not raw fish.....  It almost looks like HP marketing might
have undergone some kind of positive transformation...
 
But I wonder:
 
(1)    Did this mailing go only to the installed base ??..... I
hope not (although I fear that may be the case).....  Surely
this would be an ideal thing to send to a good prospect
list of IBM, DEC, and etc. users.  I.e.:  potential NEW 3000
customers...
 
(2)    In one of the separate flyers that was included with
the Guide, it says that the Open Market Web Server is
"20 percent Faster Than Freeware HTTPD"....  Why does
is only say 20 percent ??....  I thought some of the prelim
results that were posted to 3000-L awhile ago indicated the
performance improvement was like >= 300-400 percent.
 
...... Chris Bartram must be :-)  from the good PR he got.....
But note that in a separate post Chris also said:
 
><flame on>
>When is someone at HP gonna pick up the already-in-progress port of named
>that John Sullivan started long ago? Named should be a supported tool on
>every 3000 if they're gonna "co-exist" with the rest of the world; and from
>what I remember, John was close to getting it working, but hit a couple
>(2?) areas that would require HP to look into anyway. I've never succeeded
>in getting anyone from HP to even LOOK at it...
><flame off> *sigh*
 
I throw another log on Chris' fire.  This seems to be another
case where the 3000 is tantalizingly close, but still missing
a couple key pieces.  With all the good PR from the subject
Solutions Guide, if when asked HP has to say "Oh, but you
need to install a separate NT or HP-UX box to get named",
that doesn't fly.
 
Our site has already been through the "disappearing DOS
DTC files;  PC didn't come back up after power fail, etc."
experience with DTC Openview Manager.  In the real world,
having to go through the hassle of getting approval, buying,
installing, supporting, and running a separate box for
*anything* is something to be avoided if possible (when
MPE/iX online config is available, we will probably retire
DTC Openview Manager and get rid of that PC).
 
Hello HP Nicole & Co. ??....  How about that named port ??
 
Ken Sletten