HP says mission critical features of HP-UX will move to Linux ( Linux winning in Server land )

The Inquirer ^ | Thu Apr 26 2012, 10:02 | By Lawrence Latif

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Customers are moving to mission critical Linux

MAKER OF EXPENSIVE PRINTER INK HP said mission critical technologies in its proprietary HP-UX Unix operating system will cascade down to Linux and Microsoft Windows.

HP recently told The INQUIRER that it will commit to Linux in the mission critical market, however it said its HP-UX Unix implementation will be the proving ground for features that the firm will push in Linux and Windows. According to Kate O'Neill, product marketing manager for HP's Business Critical Systems unit, the firm wants to bring a "UNIX-like experience to Linux and Windows".

Talking with The INQUIRER about the mission critical aspect of HP-UX, O'Neill said, "If you think about where Windows and Linux is at today, in terms of delivering the full mission critical experience it's not where HP-UX is at, at this moment in time." But it seems HP will use HP-UX as the operating system for mission critical technologies that it will eventually try to commit to the Linux kernel.

"We continue to drive and innovate in HP-UX because it is what we consider to be the design centre for mission critical, we have to stay at the bleeding edge of mission critical so we can cascade those technologies into [the] Windows and Linux environments," said O'Neill. "It will drive us to be better, not just in that environment itself, but in this emerging mission critical Windows and Linux also."

Given that HP has invested decades and millions into HP-UX, it might be something of a surprise to hear the firm say that its mission critical customers know that one day they will move off proprietary UNIX and onto Linux or Windows.

O'Neill said, "Customers are hesitant to make the transition to Windows and Linux when uptime and planned and unplanned downtime is critical to them, but they do recognise in the future that could be a possibility, so they want to make sure there are options to them as they look down the road."

Although O'Neill's comment about Windows not being mission critical will to many seem like stating the bleeding obvious, there are still questions over whether Linux can be considered in the same breath as HP's HP-UX, IBM's AIX or Oracle's Solaris. Perhaps Linux's biggest hurdle is not its technology but the conservative nature of mission-critical computing, with managers opting for big brands such as IBM and HP in order to safeguard their jobs.

HP's decision to use HP-UX as a proving ground for mission critical features that it will eventually push into Linux serves three purposes. HP's operating system stays ahead of Linux, while the Linux community gets to see whether new features of HP-UX are worth incorporating and potentially the ability to convince the conservative suits that Linux has resilient, high availability features similar to those found in expensive, proprietary operating systems. µ

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

And IBM chimes in:

IBM's Powerlinux brings Power7 chips and Linux together

AIX is nowhere to be found

By Lawrence Latif

Thu Apr 26 2012, 15:15

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY VENDOR IBM has introduced cut-price enterprise servers that use Linux on its Power architecture.

IBM's Powerlinux range of servers use the firm's Power7 processors and Linux distributions from Red Hat and SUSE to compete against x86-based kit from AMD and Intel. According to IBM, its Powerlinux range will address requests from customers to run Linux applications on its Power7 chips, which are usually found in servers running the firm's proprietary AIX Unix implementation.

IBM claims its Power7 chips offer better price performance than x86 servers, with Colin Parris, GM of IBM Power Systems saying, "As CIOs seek to transform their IT department from a cost center to a strategic asset, many have a misconception that deploying Linux on x86 servers equipped with VMware software is their only option for taking advantage of open source applications."

IBM's decision to release a range of servers that use Linux on its own Power7 architecture is yet another sign that customers are getting fed up with proprietary Unix operating systems from big enterprise vendors. HP has told The INQUIRER that its customers see a future in which they will move away from HP-UX onto Linux, and IBM's Powerlinux is a sign that its customers are asking for Linux rather than being tied down to a closed source operating system that has a high level of vendor lock-in.

Being fair to IBM, it has been active in the Linux community for a well over a decade and it is not surprising to see the firm push its own Power7 processors in a bid to generate a bit more cash from a business that has largely been reliant on its own proprietary Unix operating system. IBM hopes that companies wanting to move to Linux-based operating systems will do so using its own Power-based kit rather than look at alternatives. µ

[allmost]

Hmm. Interesting. It won't save the palm of course. It's questionable.

[af_vet_rr]

MAKER OF EXPENSIVE PRINTER INK HP said mission critical technologies in its proprietary HP-UX Unix operating system will cascade down to Linux and Microsoft Windows.

I love the British sense of humor at times.

[jonose]

HP’s problem is that the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing. Cloud computing vs servers. x86 servers vs Itaniums. In the big picture toner and ink sales are weaker due to handheld computing and social media. Why print a document or a picture out when it can be in the cloud?
Without the income from toner and ink HP has a very big problem.

As for servers, HP has the same problem as Cisco, Dell and others. The move to the cloud or in house virtual servers has created a vast glut of used equipment.

Someone will write an interesting book about how a company that produced the 16C calculator went on to utterly fail in the handheld computing sector.

[allmost]

HP has done well in the recent turn-around in my opinion. They keep their female cult pc users. Like to see more actionable from them though.

[ShadowAce]

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

So are they saying that HPUX is the Fedora Core to linux. That they will “try things out” in HPUX and then migrate those changes to linux?

If this is what is being said then my response is - ohhhhkay ......

How does this change my life? I think that the answer is “not much”.

I think what they are really saying is that one day HPUX is going away and they’re simply finding a convoluted way to say that. Which, by the way, doesn’t change my life either, because I don’t use HPUX and don’t know anyone who does.

[zeugma]

I haven't used HP-UX for years, as the shops I've been in for the past 15 or sohave been mostly Solaris, AIX and were being migrated largely to Linux. If I recall correctly, FTX,which was a fault tolerant Unix implementation (and was pretty solid in my experience) was largely a port of HP-UX, given the close relationship between HP and Stratus at the time. Of course, that was back when HP was driven by engineers and Carly had not yet destroyed the culture of the company.

I didn't realize HP was even actively working on HP-UX anymore.

[OneWingedShark]

>Why print a document or a picture out when it can be in the cloud?

Hardcopies are explicitly protected under the fourth amendment; if you have to appear in court the confiscation of your papers would be grounds for felony charges of the involved officers of the court. (Plus, it seems, sometimes that hardcopies have more prestige/perceived-validity.)

[B Knotts]

I think what they are really saying is that one day HPUX is going away and they’re simply finding a convoluted way to say that.

Agreed. That's exactly what they're saying. And I suspect "one day" is a year or two away.