HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

HP OpenVMS Version 8.3 Release Notes

This appendix contains notifications about OpenVMS products that are no longer supported or that are slated for retirement. It also tells you how to find manuals that have been archived.

Freeware

Once a product is retired, HP does not accept or act on problem reports posted against the product. However, for those interested in doing their own development and support, and where contractual and other considerations permit, product installation kits or source code for many former products can be available as OpenVMS Freeware, which is available from the following sources:

• On the Freeware media that ships with the OpenVMS operating system.
• On the web site at the following address:
  http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/

V8.2

For OpenVMS Version 8.2, the layered product Compaq Open3D for OpenVMS Alpha V4.9B and earlier versions is not supported. However, it will continue to be supported on OpenVMS Versions 6.2 and 7.3-2 under Mature Product Support (MPS). This product should not be confused with the Open3D product that is integrated into OpenVMS Version 8.2 and supports new cards such as the PowerStorm 300, PowerStorm 350, and ATI RADEON. The product that is no longer supported is 3D support for PixelVision, FFB, TGA, and TGA2-based graphics in releases following OpenVMS Version 7.3-2. See Section 6.19 for a related release note.

If the unsupported Open3D product is installed on your system, you might encounter problems. For example, the DECwindows display server might hang in a CPU-intensive loop. If Open3D is already installed on your current version of OpenVMS and you plan to upgrade to OpenVMS Version 8.2, you must first ensure that none of the following graphics controller boards are installed on your target system:

• ZLX-M Series (PixelVision): ZLX-M1 (PMAGC-AA), ZLX-M2 (PMAGC-BA)
• ZLX-L Series (PixelVision Lite): ZLX-L1 (PMAGC-DA), ZLX-L2 (PMAGC-EA)
• ZLXp-L Series (PixelVision PCI): ZLXp-L1 (PBXGC-A), ZLXp-L2 (PBXGC-B)

V8.2

Starting with OpenVMS Version 8.2, the 3D graphics display feature is licensed with the operating system for both AlphaServers and Integrity servers. Therefore, the Open3D license is not available for Version 8.2 of OpenVMS.

For details, refer to Section 6.14.

A.3 DECamds Not Supported on OpenVMS Version 8.2

V8.2

DECamds is not supported on OpenVMS Version 8.2. HP recommends that users transition to using the Availability Manager in place of DECamds. For information about the Availability Manager, refer to the following website:

V8.2

DECevent and the DIAGNOSE command are not supported on OpenVMS Version 8.2.

Replacements for DECevent include the following:

• System Event Analyzer (SEA)
  SEA is now the supported error log analysis tool for OpenVMS and for later hardware platforms (for example, all I64 platforms, and the Alpha DSnn, ESnn, and most GSnn platforms).
  Install the latest available version of WEBES to receive the latest hardware support, including SEA. At a minimum, WEBES Version 4.2 or higher is required on Alpha systems, and Version 4.4 or higher is required on I64 systems.
  For detailed information about operating system requirements and supported hardware for SEA, refer to the WEBES Installation Guide, which is with the other WEBES documentation at the following web site:
  http://h18000.www1.hp.com/support/svctools/
• Error Log Viewer (ELV)
  You can use ELV to quickly examine an error log file that was created on these later hardware platforms. ELV is integrated into the OpenVMS operating system and can be accessed by entering the DCL command ANALYZE/ERROR_LOG/ELV.
  For more information about ELV, refer to the ELV chapter in HP OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.

V8.2

On December 31, 2004, DECwrite reached its End-of-Service life and has been removed from the Software Products Library.

A.6 Error Log Report Formatter (ERF) Unsupported

V8.2

The Error Log Report Formatter (ERF) is no longer supported. If you require this product for use with error logs written on older systems running OpenVMS versions prior to Version 7.2, you can access ERF documentation from the Freeware website:

The Error Log Viewer (ELV) replaces ERF. For more information, refer to online help for ANALYZE/ERROR_LOG/ELV or see the HP OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.

Before using ERF, you must convert error log files using ELV's CONVERT command or the Binary Error Log Translation utility, which is part of DECevent. DECevent and the DIAGNOSE command are no longer supported, but users who need these tools can download the software and related documentation from the Freeware website:

Until you install the DECevent software, you will get an error if you try to use the DIAGNOSE command.

A.7 ISA_CONFIG.DAT Unsupported in Future Release

V7.1

Support for using the SYS$MANAGER:ISA_CONFIG.DAT file to configure ISA devices will be discontinued in a future release of OpenVMS Alpha. If you use this file, you should convert to using the ISACFG utility from the console, and the new file-based autoconfiguration method for loading device drivers (as described in Writing OpenVMS Alpha Device Drivers in C).

A.8 POSIX 1003.4a Draft 4 Interface May Be Retired

V7.0

The POSIX 1003.4a, Draft 4 (or "d4") interface of the Compaq POSIX Threads Library (formerly named DECthreads) is slated for retirement in a future release. Applications that were written using the POSIX 1003.4a, Draft 4 interface should be migrated to the new POSIX 1003.1c standard (or "pthread") interface provided by the POSIX Threads Library. A compatibility mode for the Draft 4 POSIX 1003.4a interface has been provided in this release to help ease migration. This compatibility mode will be removed in a future release.

A.9 NetBeans Version 3.6 Support Ends with OpenVMS Version 8.3

V8.3

OpenVMS Alpha and I64 Version 8.3 are the last releases on which NetBeans Version 3.6 for OpenVMS is supported. NetBeans Version 3.6 will be supported over the support life of OpenVMS Version 8.3. Also, note that NetBeans Version 3.6 for OpenVMS Alpha and I64 is supported only on Java^tm Platform, Standard Edition, Development Kit (JDK) v 1.4.2-x.

For a GUI-based development environment on OpenVMS, please consider using Distributed NetBeans, which provides a cost-effective and flexible development environment solution. More information about Distributed NetBeans can be found at:

http://www.hp.com/products/openvms/distributednetbeans/

V8.2

The following deadlines apply for ordering Alpha systems:

V8.3

As products are retired and the operating system evolves, certain OpenVMS manuals are archived. Archived manuals are no longer maintained and are not part of the OpenVMS documentation set. However, they are available on the following web site:

Click on "Archived documents" in the left sidebar to link to the archived manuals.