The most recent version of the OpenVMS operating system Alpha V7.3-1 is now
shipping worldwide on all new AlphaServer DS, ES, and GS systems and Alpha
based workstation as of August 30. There are a number of enhancements and new
features in this release that are outlined in this memo.
» OpenVMS 7.3-1 Announcement information
OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-1 delivers enhanced OpenVMS Storage Area Network
offerings, improved system availability, significant improvements in I/O and
SMP performance, enhanced security, expanded ability to port UNIX applications
to OpenVMS and an enhanced TCP/IP product for extended interoperability and
performance.
New features and enhancements to the operating system include:
Extended failover capability to served devices in an OpenVMS cluster
environment -- extends device failover to served devices, as well as directly
attached devices. This eliminates single points of failure for served devices.
Fibre channel performance enhancements -- new features such as distributed
interrupts and interrupt coalescing, as well as reductions in I/O Lock8 usage,
providing two times the I/O throughput on fibre channel over the previous
release.
Multipath tapes on fibre channel -- provides multipath capabilities for fibre
channel tapes to reduce downtime.
Significant Performance improvements for applications running on SMP systems.
Expanded security with more authentication options -- integrated Kerberos
support and simplified authentication through the new SYS$ACM interface.
Industry standard encryption options -- OpenSSL (Secure Socket Layer) and the
Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA) provide the cryptographic tools and
utilities needed to deploy secure applications.
UNIX portability enhancements -- enhancements in the CRTL and file system make
porting UNIX applications to OpenVMS much easier.
Secure Web Browser (CSWB) -- the supported browser for OpenVMS
AlphaServer systems based on Mozilla, an open-source Web browser designed for
standards compliance, performance and portability.
Graphic Configuration Manager (GCM) for OpenVMS -- a portable, client/server
application that provides a visual means of viewing and controlling the
configuration of partitioned AlphaServer systems running OpenVMS which helps
overall management of the partitions.
Some competitive advantages of the OpenVMS environment include: OpenVMS Galaxy
which provides dynamic reconfiguration without rebooting; significant
flexibility with partitioning and multiple operating systems supported; high
availability features such as online repair and clustering for 24x365
computing; total conversion to 64-bit functionality for more than a decade
while some competitors are still migrating; seamless interoperability with
Microsoft® Windows NT®; and the availability of thousands of commercial and
freeware applications.
"This release of the OpenVMS operating system, the highest quality ever,
continues to lead the competition," said Mark Gorham, vice president,
OpenVMS Software Group. "It is further evidence of HP's long-term commitment to
the millions of users around the world who value and require the performance
and the expanded mission-critical capabilities from OpenVMS."
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