Latest HP-UX OS set for July release

Hewlett Packard (HP) is to launch the latest version of its HP-UX operating system (OS) in mid-July to coincide with the release of the new Itanium 2 processor on which the OS will run.

Observers are suggesting 8 July as the most likely release date for the Itanium 2, with shipments expected to follow a few weeks later.

HP-UX 11i version 1.6 for Itanium brings in new functions which will make it look and feel more like its proprietary PA-Risc processor version.

Ram Appalaraju, HP-UX marketing director, said that the earlier version of the OS was "more or less a tyre-kicking, early adopter" iteration.

For Itanium, HP-UX lacked a lot of features present in the PA-Risc OS. Appalaraju indicated that both versions should reach feature parity in 2003 with the release of HP-UX 11i version 2.

The new OS will run on both the Merced (Itanium) and McKinley (Itanium 2) processors.

The latest OS can now support up to 64 processors and will allow Hyper Fabric II clustering of up to 64 server nodes. The old version was limited to 16 nodes.

Another important feature brought into the Itanium fold is its 26 dynamic kernel tunables, which allow enterprises to adjust the kernel without the need to re-boot the server.

This eliminates 75 per cent of voluntary re-boots, and follows feedback from HP customers.

Companies will also be able to run applications written specifically for PA-Risc chips through translation software called Aries. The software will mean a performance hit on the server, but should ensure easier software migration.

Appalaraju went on to outline the future of HP-UX. Both Itanium and PA-Risc versions will run on servers with up to 128 processors, called 11i version 2.

Also on the cards is software that allows Linux applications to run unchanged on Itanium servers under HP-UX.

In addition, the Itanium version of HP-UX will include a 32-bit Java 1.3 virtual machine with a 64-bit Java 1.4 version pencilled in for November 2002.