Post by VMSgenerations working groupwe want to thank all those who managed to attend the last webinar
“Rendez-vous around VMS” organized by the French VMSgenerations user
group on October 17th.
We had product update sessions from Kevin Duffy (Oracle), Adam
Hoff-Nielsen (VSI) and Camiel Vanderhoeven (VSI).
Before the webinar we collected questions for Oracle and VSI who gave
detailed answers in their presentations.
The session report (French and English), presentations & questions are
available on
www.vmsgenerations.fr/rendez-vous-autour-de-vms-du-17-octobre/ .
Very interesting. And thanks to the french for arranging and
posting.
I hope it is OK that I provide a few quotes or what I think are
the most interesting.
Oracle Classic:
<quote>
For Oracle classic, version 11gR2 (11.2.0.4) is the
terminal release for OpenVMS, which reached the end of extended
support in December 2020. The latest patches date back to 2021.
Since then, the version has been in "Indefinite Sustaining
Support", with no official end date.
</quote>
<quote>
On the client-server side, 11g is the latest version of the
VMS client available and can interoperate with database servers
running versions 11.2, 12.1 and up to 19c. Both versions 11g
and 19c have Sustaining Support and Long Term Support.
</quote>
My comment: I don't think this new.
Rdb:
<quote>
V7.4 is the current version with Premier support until at least December
2025 but this may last longer.
</quote>
<quote>
For new developments, priority is given to Rdb and DBMS kits
for x86. The development environment is moving from VMS on Oracle
VirtualBox (easier for development & tests) to VMS on Oracle
Linux KVM (OLVM, selected for production) and cross-compilers
will soon be replaced by native VMS compilers. Progress is
illustrated by figures on testing and the arrival of native
compilers enables tests to be extended. The main dev compiler
(Bliss) has just arrived in native version.
</quote>
<quote>
Rdb in the Oracle cloud: The transition to Oracle KVM as a
hypervisor will make it possible to run VMS & Rdb in the
Oracle cloud.
</quote>
<quote>
The licensing principle for Rdb on x86 will be the same
already known for Oracle Enterprise Edition, with a core-factor
of 0.5: according to the formula "nb licenses = nb cores x
core-factor". For Itanium and Alpha, core-factor = 1.
</quote>
<quote>
There are currently no plans for a "Free" version of Rdb for
personal & free use (as exists for Oracle 23c, with limitations).
</quote>
<quote>
Roadmap : a beta kit of Rdb on x86 could arrive in the
first part of 2024 if porting problems are resolved.
</quote>
My comment: looks like strong commitment but a slight delay.
VSI:
<quote>
VSI aims to address the needs of over 1,000 VMS customers with
more than 6,000 servers.
</quote>
<quote>
Indications of revenue, R&D expenditure and profit are given
for Teracloud with 310 employees and over 1,000 customers. VSI
represents the bulk of Teracloud's teams. A significant
proportion of VSI revenues (>40%) are reinvested in OpenVMS
development. The first 5 years were profitless, but since 2019 the
profit exists and is growing. Development of the OS and
associated products is mainly carried out in the USA,
with some roles and new developments based in Denmark and
Armenia. Compilers are split between the USA and Armenia, with plans
to expand the team in Armenia to support most compilers.
Current opensource products remain in Armenia, Denmark and New Zealand.
New opensource developments will come from Greece. VSI has
140 employees, including ~100 engineers.
</quote>
<quote>
VSI employs 140 people at several sites around the world. VSI is part of
the Teracloud group. 60% of Teracloud's revenue comes from VSI. VSI's
revenue in 2023 will be around €45M, of which around €20M will be
reinvested in R&D. Revenue generated: 45% in North America, 55% in the
rest of the world.
</quote>
My comment: sounds like VSI is in good shape. I don't understand why
VSI is doing development in Denmark - that can't be cost efficient.
Arne