Emulation or Migration?
| Important migration factor | Choice |
|---|---|
The application source code is not available. | Emulation is the only alternative. The CHARON-TB emulator can be configured exactly like the old hardware system. |
The application is still being modified and extended. | Source code migration has the advantage that the resulting application runs directly on the new platform and can be easily maintained and integrated with other applications. |
The PDP-11 system has specialized or expensive peripherals which must be retained. The use of a bus adapter allows connecting UNIBUS or QBUS peripherals to the PCI bus of a new host system. The CHARON-TB emulator allows the unmodified PDP-11 code to be used for such connection. | The use of a bus adapter allows connecting UNIBUS or QBUS peripherals to the PCI bus of a new host system. The CHARON-TB emulator allows the unmodified PDP-11 code to be used for such connection. |
The PDP-11 application is in maintenance mode, but it is desirable to use its data by modern applications (e.g. SAP or BAAN). | The FTPDP utility allows offline read/write of PDP-11 disk files by a host system application. For real time interaction, the QQ11-N subsystem of CHARON-TB allows data exchange with host system applications with minimal PDP-11 programming. |
The company still develops PDP-11 software but wants to replace the PDP-11 or VAX-RSX development systems. | The CHARON-TB emulator provides a fast and elegant PDP-11 software development environment, with the ability to use modern code management systems on the host system. |
The PDP-11 application itself should be phased out, but it would be advantageous to use part of the application on a new platform, but in a more modern source language. | Source code migration is the solution, with semi automatic translation of the programming language (e.g. Pascal to C++) if desired. Code translation is available as part of the SRI migration service. |
The PDP-11 system supports many terminals on serial lines, but the terminal network should be modernized. | The CHARON-TB emulator permits replacing PDP-11 serial lines by Ethernet terminal servers or terminal emulators in a distributed network. |
The PDP-11 applications should be replaced in several steps, but the PDP-11 hardware is failing and expensive to maintain. | The CHARON-TB emulator allows immediate replacement of the PDP-11 hardware by a new platform (e.g. Windows NT), but is designed to migrate parts of applications stepwise to the new platform |
The PDP-11 system executes a time-critical process control system | The Windows NT version of the CHARON-11 emulator has a special mode to accurately support real time events up to 1 KHz. |
The PDP-11 is part of an industrial control system where the Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC's) should be renewed. Source code migration can be the solution. During the code upgrade the PDP-11 drivers are removed and the new PLC drivers integrated. Alternatively, the QQ11-N pseudo device in CHARON-TB permits the connection of a new host system driver to the existing PDP-11 code. | Source code migration can be the solution. During the code upgrade the PDP-11 drivers are removed and the new PLC drivers integrated. Alternatively, the QQ11-N pseudo device in CHARON-TB permits the connection of a new host system driver to the existing PDP-11 code. |
