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OpenVMS VAX Drivers? (version compatibility)

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The Question is:

 
I have a VAX 4200 (OpenVMS 5.5-2) with a 3rd
party SCSI interface.  I would like to upgrade
to 7.1 but the vendor will not provide the
required device driver, he will however provide
a driver for OpenVMS 7.0 or 6.2.  He says that
developing a driver for 7.1 would be too costly
due to the significant differences between 7.0
and 7.1.  I think we're his only customer and
he's bailing out of the VAX market.
Is there a downside to 7.0?  Since there is no
Y2K kit for 7.0, would I be better off with 6.2?
 
Thanks
Jay Shipley
Northrop Grumman

The Answer is :

 
  There is little difference in kernel mode -- both routines and
  data structures -- among OpenVMS VAX V6.2, V7.0, V7.1, and V7.2.
 
  The OpenVMS Wizard would tend to expect that most drivers for
  most any of these OpenVMS VAX versions would tend to operate on
  OpenVMS VAX V7.1 -- likely unmodified.
 
  OpenVMS Alpha is another discussion, and has seen various changes
  to the kernel particularly at V7.0 and again at V7.2.
 
  Y2K kits are available per the information in the OpenVMS FAQ.
 

  
     
     answer written or last revised on ( 4-MAR-1999 )
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