Joe and Scott both make good points.

We've been on PP5 on a 959/400 production machine (525 concurrent
sessions, 1GB memory, 105GB disc and several hundred TurboIMAGE
databases) for ten days. We've seen the DBUTIL ERASE bug, but no other
problems (we don't use DATEDIFF and our exposure to the Posix recursive
directory purge problem is minimal). So, my head tells me there is
nothing to be particularly concerned about. Still, my heart has been
beating a little faster as I read the various speculations about the
scope and nature of the DBUTIL ERASE problem. I can certainly empathize
with those who are panicking since we are talking about the possible
corruption of the life blood of our systems: our data. Bottom line: I
look forward anxiously but patiently to hearing something official today
so I can properly access the situation.

John Burke
e-mail: [log in to unmask]


-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Geiser [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 1998 3:28 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Bug in pp5


Scott McClellan said,

> I am sitting here, at my computer, at 12:03 AM just trying to get some
> work done. Unfortunatly, my e-mail program keeps alerting me
> that I have
> new mail every few minutes. Everytime I check I see that it
> 3-5 new messages
> from users on 3000-L panicing about the PP5 production hold and data
> corruption bug.

<Rest of excellent post snipped>

One last thing to interject here in defense of HP.  HP has *never* gone
public about a bug until it knows what the hell is going on.  If Scott
says
that the bug is a high priority in the lab, it is.

Since HP does not go public with bug details prior to them knowing what
is
going on, it serves several purposes.  First, fear and panic such as
this
(are normally) averted.  Second, HP makes sure that the information it
gives
is accurate.

Case in point:  TurboIMAGE DDX problem.  HP *knew* there was a problem,
but
it was not officially disclosed until *all* of the details were known.
This
could have been disclosed earlier, but (1) it was such a corner case
that
the possibility of it affecting the majority of the user base was low
and
(2) it would have caused unnecessary widespread panic.

So, take a deep breath, relax, and let HP turn out the most reliable OS
in
the industry, OK?  We all make mistakes, and when it comes to patches
and
bugs, HP does not even come close to holding the record.

Lastly, I've been on PP5 now for about a week.  Nothing horrible has
happened, and we've been working the hell out of it.  I'm not saying
that
those who have tapes, rush to load them, but if it were something that
warranted a widespread recall, that the bug was so horrible, HP would
have
done something, like make an announcement on the subject.

(After working with this company's products since 1979, one gets to know
how
they operate after awhile.  Of course, they will surprise you every once
in
awhile).

Best Regards,
Joe

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