CHARON Newsletter - September 2005

 

 

Contents

 

 

1. Introduction

Software Resources International publishes the CHARON newsletter to keep customers, potential customers and partners informed about the recent changes in CHARON-VAX and CHARON-11 product offerings and functionality updates.

The last Newsletter was published in July 2005.

Back copies of the CHARON Newsletter are available from the Software Resources International WEB site:
http://www.softresint.com/Newsletter.html

For full details on CHARON-VAX see www.charon-vax.com and for full details on CHARON-11 see www.charon-11.com.

The September 2005 edition of the CHARON Newsletter announces the availability of new CHARON-VAX products and Freeware products. The Newsletter also describes important maintenance releases of CHARON-VAX.

The September 2005 Newsletter also announces the forthcoming CHARON-VAX training events and includes the usual updates on new Value Added Resellers and the standard reminder about operating system and layered products licensing support.

2. Announcing CHARON-VAX/66x0 Plus for OpenVMS/Alpha

Software Resources International is now offering improved CHARON-VAX performance on OpenVMS/Alpha through the following products:

• CHARON-VAX/6660 Plus for OpenVMS/Alpha offers a VAX 6000-610 with 1 GB of memory.
• CHARON-VAX/6620 Plus for OpenVMS/Alpha offers a VAX 6000-620 with 2 GB of memory.
• CHARON-VAX/6630 Plus for OpenVMS/Alpha offers a VAX 6000-630 with 2 GB of memory.
• CHARON-VAX/6610 Plus for OpenVMS/Alpha offers a VAX 6000-660 with 2 GB of memory.

Functionality:

• Support of up to six SMP CPU´s.
• Advanced CPU Emulation (ACE).
• May operate as an unattended batch service.
• Support up to 2 GB VAX memory.
• Support 10 or 100 Mbps network connections.
• Can be configured as a VMS NI-cluster member or as a cluster member with shared disk clustering.
• Earliest VMS version supported is 5.5-2H4.
• KDM70 XMI disks.
• KDM70 XMI tapes. Tapes can only be used for data exchange. Booting from tape is not possible. Only hardware tapes are supported, no tape images.
• DEMNA Ethernet adapters.
• The products are installable on any Alpha running VMS 7.3 or later with a minimum of 2 GB of memory for the 6610 and at least 4 GB of memory for the 6620, 6630 and 6660.
• The host must have at least one more CPU than the number of CHARON-VAX CPU´s.

For more details read the Software Product Description at: http://www.softresint.com

3. Announcing CHARON-VAX/6660 Plus for Windows

CHARON-VAX/6660 Plus for Windows is an extension of the existing range of CHARON-VAX SMP products on Windows. The CHARON-VAX/6660 Plus for Windows offers a six CPU system that will run on any Windows system with seven or more CPU´s. For example a system with four AMD dual core CPU's will be a good host platform for CHARON-VAX/6660 Plus for Windows. Note that HyperThreading is not appropriate for this product. There was no VAX ever built to match the performance of CHARON-VAX/6660 Plus which currently offers 400+ VUPS running on a fast 8-CPU AMD system.

For more details read the Software Product Description at: http://www.softresint.com

4. CHARON-VAX maintenance releases

These releases fixing known problems will be available within September 2005 to all GOLD and PLATINUM supported customers. Please contact your CHARON-VAX Value Added Reseller for access to this software.

CHARON-VAX/XM and /XL and /XK (Plus) for Windows version 3.1.50 are created to solve a series of problems and limitations identified during the past twelve months. Functionality includes:

• The MicroVAX 3100 model 96 and 98, and the VAX 4000 model 106 and 108 can boot VMS 5.5-2 without the H4 extension.
• Improved networking reliability and performance.
• Corrections for running as a service under Windows 2003.
• Tape images may be of unlimited size. (Previously limited to 4 GB).
• CHARON-VAX launcher takes the CHARON-VAX model from the configuration file and remembers the default configuration file.
• A new Dummy_VCB02 function is implemented (does not need CHAPI.) allowing D type VMS licenses (Workstation) to run on CHARON-VAX/XM/XK/XL.
• It is now possible to halt a 3600 emulation that is set up for Auto Boot.
• A DVD write capability. Eberhard Heuser-Hofmann (vaxinf@chemie.uni-konstanz.de) sells a CD/DVD reading/writing software for VAX/VMS. This feature is provided “as-is” and is not supported by Software Resources International.

CHARON-VAX/66x0 Plus for Windows versions 1.0.51 are created to generally improve Network reliability.

5. Announcing CHARON-VAX Freeware products for Alpha, Itanium and Linux

See here http://www.softresint.com/charon-vax/Tools_and_tips.htm#freeware for details of the:

• CHARON-VAX/Freeware for OpenVMS/Alpha
• CHARON-VAX/Freeware for OpenVMS/Itanium
• CHARON-VAX/Freeware for Linux

6. CHARON-VAX training

Stan Quayle of Quayle Consulting, Inc. will run a CHARON-VAX training in conjunction with the HP Technology Forum in New Orleans. The HP Technology Forum will be held in New Orleans between 12 and 15 September 2005. If you wish additional information about this in-depth "hands-on" CHARON training, please go to http://www.hptechnologyforum.com/about/sessions.html or send email to Stan at stan@stanq.com. To register please go to http://www.hptechnologyforum.com/registration/

The next European CHARON-VAX training will take place during October 5th and 6th, 2005 in Geneva, Switzerland. Partners and customers are invited to attend. For more information and enrolment, please email to info@softresint.com

7. New Partners

We are pleased to announce the following new Value Added Reseller in France:

ASARYS
Marcel Williaume
email: williaume@asarys.com
www.asarys.com
83 route de Grigny
91130 RIS-ORANGIS, France
Tel: +33 1 69 06 36 19
Fax: +33 1 69 04 15 88

8. Operating system and layered products licensing support

To maintain support from the software owners remember that when deploying CHARON-VAX or CHARON-11 you can buy transfer licenses.

For HP supported VAX software contact your local HP office using the references from the following page:
http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/sri-charon-vax-emulator.html.

For Mentec supported PDP-11 software contact Mentec Inc. at
www.mentec-inc.com or call the Mentec US office at +1 603 883 7711.

For Oracle Rdb, please see the following page: http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/rdb/htdocs/rdb7/charon_vax.html