This message is broken into two parts:
I. General 5.0 Platform Release Update
II. IMPORTANT patch information for ALL 5.0 Customers
I. General 5.0 Platform Release ("PUSH") Update:
This message is an update for the Internet community on the
availability of the 5.0 General Release of MPE/iX. This
Software represents the state of the art of operating system
technology for your HP 3000 Business Computer. This software
demonstrates Hewlett-Packard's continued commitment to the HP
3000 for worry free, business critical computing, with many new
features that make it possible for you to move forward into the
world of open systems and client/server. If you're currently
using release 4.0, you'll find many new features are available
to you on this release, including:
* The bundling of ARPA networking services, including FTP,
TCP/IP, Ethernet and BSD Sockets into MPE/iX. This makes
your HP 3000 into a totally "network-ready" server, suitable
for use in a variety of client/server environments.
* A new improved POSIX environment, making it possible for
software developers to leverage their development dollars
across MPE/iX systems, UNIX systems and other POSIX-compliant
operating systems such as Microsoft's NT.
* High availability features such as SETCLOCK, CONTIGVOL and
SETCOUNTER, to minimize the amount of time you have to
spend on routine system maintenance.
* Support for the IMAGE/SQL Database Management System, which
brings TurboIMAGE into the open systems world, and makes
it easier than ever before to implement client/server applications
on the HP 3000. IMAGE has also been enhanced to expand detail
datasets automatically.
* Support for the Workload Manager, for truly mainframe class
performance management, Security Monitor/iX, for improved
security management, and many other new products for your
HP 3000 system, making system management easier than ever.
If you currently have a valid HP 3000 software support contract,
then you'll soon be receiving 5.0 General Release Media and the
Communicator, which contains more details about the contents of
this new version of MPE/iX.
All HP 3000 customers should begin planning an update to the 5.0
General Release of MPE/iX. This software supersedes MPE/iX
Release 4.0, HP's previous platform release for the HP 3000.
Support for 4.0 will lapse approximately 12 months from now (in
February of 1996). Support for other limited releases of MPE/iX,
such as 4.5 and the Limited Release of 5.0, (5.0 "Pull") will
lapse approximately 6 months from now (in August of 1995).
Two critical problems were identified on the 5.0 Limited Release
(5.0 Pull) too late to have fixes incorporated into the 5.0
General Release. In order to be proactive, we are planning to
include a patch tape in the 5.0 Platform Release shipments.
The first problem involves Native Mode STORE and all TurboSTORE
products. Section II of this message describes the problem in detail.
The second problem concerns an increase in memory requirements for
5.0. This problem could impact small memory systems that
are currently experiencing memory pressure. We have created a patch,
MPEHX23, that alleviates this problem. This patch is also included on the
patch tape included with the 5.0 General Release shipments. (Note:
MPEHX23 should NOT be installed on the 5.0 Limited Release.)
As part of HP's continued commitment to HP 3000 customers, we
are offering at no charge, a series of audio and video conferences
and taped copies of past events, to help you learn more about
how to get the most out of your HP 3000. Call the HP 3000
Customer Connection Hotline (1-800-224-hp3K in the U.S.), or
send a FAX to 612-430-3388 for a list of available tapes and
upcoming HP 3000 related events.
II. IMPORTANT Patch information for ALL 5.0 Customers (Limited &
General Release):
A critical Natve Mode STORE and TurboSTORE problem was reported by one of
our 5.0 Limited Release customer sites. The problem has been characterized
and a fix has been developed. The patch id is MPEHX40; this patch is
currently in beta test.
In certain rare circumstances, STORE does not correctly
handle the receipt of bad status from a media write request. When
it receives such a bad status, STORE should mark the current media
as "BAD" and request a new piece of media. In these rare
circumstances, the current version of STORE will issue an error
message to $STDLIST and then continue to write out data as if no
error occured. As a result of this problem, it is possible for
STORE to create media that cannot successfully be read by RESTORE.
This is usually seen as an "UNKNOWN ERROR ENCOUNTERED" during the
RESTORE of a specific file.
Please note that there are two version of the patch...
MPEHX40C for the 5.0 Limited Release
MPEHX40D for the 5.0 General Release.
With this patch installed, STORE behaves correctly -- it marks tapes as
"BAD" whenever a write request fails and then requests new media.
We at HP believe that the quality and reliability of
STORE functionality needs to be no less than perfect. The MPEHX40C
patch and MPEHX40D patch will both be included in the 5.0 General
Release package, which will be shipped to all customers in the
mid-to-late February timeframe.
Please plan on installing MPEHX40C on your 5.0 Limited Release
systems as soon as possible. Also, please plan on installing
MPEHX40D immediately after you update to the 5.0 General Release.
Summary:
- If you are running on the 5.0 Limited Release, install
patch MPEHX40C on your system.
- After updating to the 5.0 Platform Release, you will need to
install patch MPEHX40D.
- As always, verify your backups, using VSTORE or RESTORE,
- and you can visually scan the $STDLIST of your STORE operations
to look for WRITE errors.
Please continue to monitor the Internet -- we'll be posting updated status
as things change.
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