HP OpenVMS Support Status 2015
(1) = Without Sustaining Engineering (2) = With Sustaining Engineering (3) = 24 months prior expiration notice
Standard Support (SS) Full support for the current and previous version of OpenVMS.
Sustaining Engineering (SE) Full support, including escalation to HP OpenVMS Engineering for problem resolution.
Prior Version Support (PVS) Support for older versions at an additional cost.
Mature Product Support (MPS) Support for older versions where there will be no newer versions.
Extended Engineering Support (EES) Full support, including escalation to HP OpenVMS Engineering for problem resolution at an additional cost.
HP only provides Support Services (SS) and Prior Version Support (PVS) for the current and immediately previous version of OpenVMS.
The implications of these OpenVMS support futures from HP are as follows:
VAX
If you are running OpenVMS on VAX the best you can hope for is MPS Support to 31/12/2018.
Until this date you can get support at an additional cost, but without any escalation for unresolvable problems.
After this date there will be no support from HP.
Alpha
If you upgrade to OpenVMS 8.4 you will get Standard Support until 31/12/2016. After that date, MPS Support to 31/12/2018.
This is the recommended route for Alpha users where practical.
Integrity
If you are running OpenVMS 8.4 on Itanium i2 then support will continue until 2020 and possibly beyond.
Also significantly for Integrity users in particular, VMS Software Inc will continue to develop and support OpenVMS into the future. They have plans to extend and develop OpenVMS on the Integrity and X86 platforms.
See here for details on VMS Software Inc’s roadmap for OpenVMS.
What To Do?
If you plan to use OpenVMS into the future and need HP support your options are limited:
- Upgrade to OpenVMS 8.4 on Alpha to keep guaranteed support until the end of 2016.
- Upgrade to OpenVMS 8.4 on Itanium i2 and keep guaranteed support until the end of 2020. Beyond that date VMS Software Inc will provide support.
Many companies cannot upgrade to OpenVMS 8.4/Itanium for various reasons (or they would already have done so).
Where EMA Technology Can Help
We can upgrade OpenVMS for you. We have vast experience in planning and upgrading the operating system. We understand the implications and pitfalls of OpenVMS upgrades.
If you want continued support on your current OpenVMS version we can provide this. We are an HP Business partner and have been supporting OpenVMS systems on VAX, Alpha and Itanium for many years.
We have no intention of stopping support for OpenVMS.
If you decide to support your systems in-house we can provide extensive training for your staff. We’ve been providing OpenVMS training courses for many years across the world.
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OpenVMS Version |
End-Date SS
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End-Date PVS |
End-Date MPS |
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VAX |
All |
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31/12/2018 (1) |
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Alpha |
6.2 |
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31/12/2016 (1) |
31/12/2018 (1) |
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7.3-2 |
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31/12/2015 (2) 31/12/2016 (1) |
31/12/2018 (1)
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8.3 |
31/12/2015 (3) |
31/12/2016 (1) |
31/12/2018 (1) |
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8.4 |
31/12/2016 (3) |
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31/12/2018 (1) |
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Itanium |
8.3 |
31/12/2015 (3) |
31/12/2018 (1) |
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8.4 |
31/12/2020 (3) |
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31/12/2025 (1) |
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UK Support 01335 347571