HP sets summertime conversion update

Advisory opens prospect of turning HP 9000s into 3000s

HP is about one month away from telling its HP 3000 customers more about getting additional HP 3000 hardware from an unlikely source: HP’s own warehouses.

In an April letter to the HP 3000 user community, the vendor said it has re-opened the subject of using HP 9000 systems as a source for more HP 3000 hardware, an idea HP had dismissed during 2003.

While details of the proposition were still under review at HP, the concept is likely to use returned HP 9000 systems as fodder to become used 3000s, especially the more recent A-Class and N-Class generations of HP 3000s. The PA-RISC systems are identical in both HP 9000 and HP 3000 instances. HP said that its range of options to make 9000s into 3000s would not include any rewriting of MPE to run on the 9000 systems.

“We do not plan to change MPE to run on 9000 hardware,” said Dave Wilde, the business manager for the HP 3000 operations at HP. Sources in the authorized reseller community say a PA-RISC server becomes able to boot MPE/iX because of processor-dependent code that is sent to the server through a program like SS_CONFIG, although HP has updated that software. HP could authorize its resellers or third parties to change those HP 9000s’ personalities, or do the changes itself. This would allow MPE/iX to boot on the 9000s now being returned to HP during upgrades and trade-ins.

HP promised no final decision on the conversion plan by June, only an update. The vendor also is withholding a decision on the release of MPE/iX source code — which would make enhancements and repairs to the 3000 possible after 2006 — until the second half of 2005. HP also pledged a $5,000 contribution to OpenMPE to help on the organization’s expenses.

News encourages

Customer reactions to HP’s announced plans led to HP’s reconsideration of the conversion idea. Some parts of the community felt encouraged by HP’s April 9 news, and recalled HP’s promises.

“It is nice to know HP is finally taking the MPE users seriously,” said Judy Zilka, a systems manager at The Andersons, retailers and agribusiness operators. “HP must absolutely make these conversions available. Many years ago, HP promised to bring both platforms together, stating that the box was the same. Many of us believed this was HP’s long term strategy.”

Terry Simpkins, ISIT director for manufacturer Measurement Specialties, said “I am encouraged that HP seems to now be thinking about what is best for its customers, instead of trying to force people into ill-timed changes. It changes nothing for my migration planning, because I don’t plan to migrate off the HP 3000 for at least four to five years.”

The conversions might open up a stream of processor boards for 3000s, one of the last pieces in the post-2006 repair puzzle. “I’m glad they’re considering allowing HP 9000 parts to be used to repair HP 3000s,” said Chris Bartram, an MPE software vendor and consultant at the US Mint, “although that only applies to CPU boards. Everything else is already interchangeable.”

Bartram worries that protecting application software licenses may become a problem if 9000s can be changed to 3000s. “I’m a lot more concerned about being able to adjust licenses (i.e., SS_CONFIG issues) as machines get repaired/replaced in coming years — which would seem to be a logical pre-cursor to HP being able to ‘adjust’ HP 9000 CPUs to become HP 3000 CPUs.”

Jim Himmelreich, HP 3000 System Manager at Teleflex Morse, said “We are delighted that HP is reconsidering its position on 9000-to-3000 conversions. We are particularly pleased they are throwing money at OpenMPE. We see these as positive indications that we may be able to benefit from HP’s actions after all.”

Opening up a channel of 3000 hardware might even bring application providers back onto the scene who’ve curtailed their marketing. Ken Roberts, president of retail package provider ADi, did $50 million in HP 3000 business and was once on HP Advisory Board for 3000 vendors. His application uses Basic 3000, and he sees the HP letter as a ray of hope.

“I have renewed hope that if MPE is extended into the future, it might include support of the Basic 3000 language,” Roberts said. “I still have clients running on my system and I support them. I would have many more clients if I had suspected that the HP 3000 would last this long and longer. I am anxious to hear if the future will be extended, and for how long.”

Customers who want to stay on the 3000 indefinitely were cheered by the prospect of new hardware sources. “We intend to stay on the MPE platform as long as it is feasible,” said Darrell Bartkowski of the Euclid, Ohio school district. “The ability to run MPE on a 9000 machine would be of help to us a couple of years from now.” He added that he also wants HP to release the MPE source code.

Some sites haven’t started to evaluate alternatives, even with more than two years gone since HP’s announcements. The latest update encourages customers like Rick Albertie of Sligh Furniture and Clocks. “The story gives me some hope that the 3000 will continue longer than expected,” he said. “We do not plan to begin evaluating alternatives until the end of this year.”

The timing of HP’s decision on an MPE source code release — it will give no word on the topic before 2005 — made one customer doubt HP’s motives. “It seems totally unrealistic that anyone should expect an MIS manager to wait until the year before the HP 3000 becomes unsupported to hear if HP will even release the source code,” said John Dunlop of Polimer Europa. “We will be hanging on to our HP 3000s as long as possible. We are not seeing any positive actions, and it is getting too late.”

Others unmoved

HP’s letter did not appear to be undoing migration projects already underway. “I don’t think it will affect my company’s decision to migrate off of MPE/iX,” said Paul Schultz of ST Microelectronics. “I don’t know if we’ll be off the platform by HP’s drop-dead date, but I would think we’ll be close.”

Healthcare customers didn’t see HP’s letter as a factor in their plans. “Since we are so far along in our migration planning the direct impact of HP’s homestead letter to Health New England is none,” said team leader Jonathan Hale. “We are committed to migrating to Amisys/Advance on the HP 9000, and will likely take delivery of an HP 9000 in August.”

Such well-along migrations aren’t likely to turn about. “This will not change our migration plans to a different server platform,” said Will Bauman. “We have completed about 95 percent of the migration. The company has moved to a centralized Unix base server farm running Oracle applications.”

App suppliers like Ecometry are following HP’s lead, and dictating an irreversible course for some sites. “The damage has been done as far as software suppliers,” said Jeff Cox of Benchmark Brands. “We have been told by Ecometry that they will end support of the MPE version at the end of 2006. Additionally, they are no longer creating new releases of their code, and are only working on patches for problems. Our choice has been dictated to us: Migrate before the end of 2006.”

Some customers expressed distrust over HP’s messages to the 3000 installed base. “Frankly, we do not put much faith in anything HP says anymore,” said Don Baird, president of Encore Systems, a medical claims vendor. “If they provide a solution that we and our customers can take advantage of, fine. In the meantime we will proceed with our migration plans. We will not be tied to any one hardware vendor again; too much to lose.”

The Amisys healthcare sites appear least likely to let HP’s letter change their future. “Most of my contacts have thrown in the towel,” said Joe Dolliver, a consultant at e3k Solutions. “About half of my clients are migrating to new apps on the IBM iSeries platform. That would be five clients, outside of the Amisys folks. Of the Amisys folks I support, two are migrating to Facets on IBM, two to Amisys Advance, and one on the fence.”

Even some customers who are following their application vendors away from the HP 3000 sound dismayed by HP’s announcements. “HP’s announcement changes nothing for us,” said Randall Davis, Enterprise Systems Manager at writing products retailer Levenger. “We use a third party software package and we’ll be migrating away from the HP 3000 with that. Personally, I have a rather negative view of HP at this time. Their decisions in more recent years have continually negatively impacted the businesses I have worked for. So, as a result, I have been moving further and further away from them. I’ve lost the faith and trust that I used to have.”

Long-time customers who feel forced into moving said the latest HP communiqué wouldn’t change their long-term plans. But it might offer interim options.

“At the very least, they don’t appear to be ignoring us any more,” said Jim Haeseker, technical operations manager at General Chemical Corp. “Although we will be running HP 3000s beyond 2006, we won’t homestead for too many years after the platform’s end-of-life. Still, like any other business, we would like to have as many options as possible. I’m cautiously optimistic that HP will eventually come through with a number of the OpenMPE community’s requests.”