The Year 2000 Date Problem
Y2K: Are Your HP Products Ready?
Monica
Dessouky
Hewlett-Packard Company
1421 South Manhattan Avenue, MS 41
Fullerton, CA 92631
Telephone: (714) 758-5615
Fax Number: (714) 758-7549
E-mail Address monica_dessouky@hp.com
The Year 2000 Date Problem Year 2000 Problem Scope Year 2000 Urgency The Year 2000 Project Year 2000 Event Horizons Year 2000 Responsibilities
Year 2000 Compliance of HP Products Overview of Computer Hardware Identifying Year 2000 Compliance of HP Products HP 9000 Hardware Year 2000 Compliance HP-UX Year 2000 Compliance Obtaining Year 2000 Patches Year 2000 Compliance of HP Applications
The HP 3000 Product Familyspan HP 3000 Hardware Year 2000 Compliance MPE/iX Year 2000 Compliance MPE/V Year 2000 Compliance
The Intel-based Product Family Time Related Areas of Intel-based Hardware NetServer Hardware Year 2000 Compliance HP Business PC/PC Workstation Year 2000 Compliance Making Older PCs Year 2000 Compliance HP Notebook PC Year 2000 Compliance
HP. s Role in Supporting Year 2000 Efforts Cure2000 Rework and Replacement Solutions Other Year 2000 Resources
Year 2000 Introduction
The Year 2000 problem, also known as Y2K, the millennium
bug, or the century date change, centers on the inability of most computer
systems to understand a four-digit year. Most systems are designed to accept dates in a month/day/year (mm/dd/yy)
format where the year is represented by two-digits and the century is assumed.
For example, 1997 is represented as 97 and 1901 is represented as 01.
A two-digit year works well until a new century is designated. Most computer systems are designed to assume the year 01 is 1901, not 2001. Many computer systems may become confused by their clocks turning back 100 years and may actually stop functioning. Others may automatically turn their clocks back to factory default dates.
In the early 1960s RAM and external storage devices were
expensive and data entry was labor-intensive. In 1963, mainframe hard disk storage cost about $10,600 US per MB
per year in 1995 dollars. In their
search to conserve storing, entering and displaying data, data processing
professionals used only two digits to represent a year.
Depending on industry and application, 3 to 6 percent
of the data in databases is dates. Using
a four-digit year would have required 33 percent more storage.
The Year 2000 problem also can be attributed in part to
the rate of change in the computing industry.
With an expectation of how rapidly the technology would evolve, many
programmers did not think the same applications would still be in use by the
Year 2000.
A cause of the century assumption is the mm/dd/yy format
for storing dates. Changing this format
affects the layout of fields on screens, reports, data files, and raises user
training issues. Data entry screens
are already full. Adding two more
characters may result in significant screen layout changes and require training
efforts to prepare for the change. In
addition, data files may need to be altered to accommodate the century, requiring
larger storage systems. Because data
is the lifeblood of most organizations, this transfusion of additional century
data requires careful consideration for such critical systems.
Nearly every computer related activity has the potential
of being affected by the Year 2000. Report
headers may produce the wrong date. Backup systems that use automated rotation schedules may fail or
unintentionally request and delete the wrong data. Electronic mail passing through a gateway might be thrown away because
the gateway believes messages are 100 years old. Electronic schedulers might loose their ability
to coordinate dates for joint meetings. Automated security systems might act improperly. Voice mail might purge messages believed to
be 100 years old or might report fictitious call dates. Telephone systems might route calls using improper
alternative or after-hour methods.
The effects on mainframes are extreme for industries such as finance, banking, and insurance. It is common for a company to have 70,000,000 lines of code with a date reference every 50 lines. Every line of code has to be scanned, either manually or with an automated tool, to locate the dates before they can be changed and tested.
Old microcomputers will be the hardest hit. Most Personal Computers (PCs) track their dates
in BIOS. Pre-1997 PCs will need to
have their BIOS replaced or risk faulty dates and lock-ups. Even with BIOS fixes, many DOS systems may
return to an error date of 1/1/80 on January 1, 2000.
The Year 2000 problem extends beyond the organization.
Most organizations use literally thousands of products from suppliers
in addition to having partners, service contracts, and other relationships.
Each must be scrutinized to determine if it is Year 2000 compliant. If either the data coming into the organization
or the mechanism that processes the data is flawed, the output may also be
flawed. The success of preparing an
organization for the Year 2000 might be determined by the preparedness of
the many others they interface with.
The Year 2000 problem is an ominous problem because it
has a solid and inescapable deadline and adds little value to the company.
The problem has proven to be larger, more costly, more
involved, and had further-reaching effects than anyone estimated. Those companies who are most agile and able
to adjust internal focus quickly have the best chance of solving unforeseen
problems and meet the Year 2000 deadline.
A lot of the programming code was written in a language
called COBOL by programmers who have since moved on to other assignments. The market has a finite number of programmers
of which COBOL programmers are a subset. As the Year 2000 approaches, the scarcity of programmers is driving
up repair costs.
q Assess the situation to determine the entire organization. s exposure. Begin with a comprehensive inventory of all software (proprietary and vendor-supplied), hardware, networks, databases, files, languages, utilities and objects. Analyze programs, data maps and modules to determine where date objects occur. Organizations using third-party applications must contact the company to find out what is being done to correct Year 2000 problems.
q Develop a strategy to address the problem for each application. Strategies may include reworking or replacing specific applications. Determine systems or databases that may require special attention as well as grouping applications together based on when they would be likely to fail.
q Implement changes that are required to support the various strategies for the affected applications. Change applications according to their importance to business and inter-application relationships. Computer enhancements and some changes to applications may require additional lead-time for shipping new solutions.
q Unit and system test the applications to ensure the applications are Year 2000 ready and that interoperability between applications and modules functions as required. Create a time-based testing environment with time-sensitive scenarios to prevent the possibility of the loss of data or system resources.
q Redeploy each corrected and new application into the production environment and convert the data if appropriate.
In performing testing on programs and applications for
the Year 2000, there are many important dates that need to be considered to
ensure correct processing. The list
of dates is defined by the particular business or enterprise, and may be driven
by industry or governmental mandates.
Note: An event horizon is a
date on which software or hardware fails. A failure can be hard or soft. A hard failure is
when the program stops working. A soft failure is when the program continues to
run, but produces incorrect or inconsistent results. Soft failures may
cause more problems than hard failures.
To identify what the event horizons are, consider what the
critical dates are for an application to be in operation using converted date
logic to process date values for the Year 2000 and beyond. In cases where a
system forecasts future events, the event horizons fall prior to the Year
2000.
|
Examples |
|
q A credit card network for a bank issues credit cards that expire every three years. On January 1, 1997 the bank issues cards expiring in 00. If the approval network has not been updated to accept the year 00 for the year 2000, it may interpret the account as expired in the year 1900, rendering the card useless. q Manufacturing planning and purchasing packages schedule inventory replenishment several weeks out into the future. The package needs to be able to interpret the beginning weeks of the Year 2000 in the October 1999 timeframe. q Financial and budgetary planning needs require forecasting out several months or years into the future. The tools used for forecasting activities must understand the Year 2000 one year in advance. |
There are several dates that are likely event horizon dates for many businesses:
|
Event Horizon Date |
Description |
|
January 1, 1999 |
In some legacy systems the year . 99. meant . forever. . If someone wanted to keep a record permanently, it was assigned an expiration year of . 99. . Problems may result if purge programs inadvertently delete 1999 records, intended to be permanent. |
|
August 21-22, 1999 |
Older Global Positioning Systems (GPS) receivers may stop working. The GPS satellite clocks count weeks, and rollover to 0 on this date. Some older GPS systems interpret the date as January 7, 1980. |
|
September 9. 1999 |
Many older programs use . 9999. to indicate and end of file or termination record. |
|
December 31, 1999 |
The same problem as January 1, 1999. |
|
January 1, 2000 |
Change of century. All two-digit date systems are likely to fail. |
|
February 29/March 1, 2000 |
Leap year processing. |
|
April 1, 2000 |
The first end-of-quarter processing since the turn of the century. |
|
October 1, 2000 |
Depending on how it is stored, the first date that requires eight digits (10/01/2000). |
|
January 1, 2001 |
The first end-of-year processing since the turn of the century. |
HP as a vendor has been addressing the Year 2000 issue for many years. HP is conducting numerous activities to ensure that its customers have up to date Year 2000 related information about its products and services:
q HP is communicating its Year 2000 activities to its customer through a web site dedicated to Year 2000 information.
q HP customer support staff and field engineers are familiar with HP. s Year 2000 information and can assist customers with their questions.
q Year 2000 compliance status information for HP products can be found on the HP Year 2000 web site.
q Most patches required for Year 2000 compliance of HP products are free and readily obtainable.
HP provides Year 2000 compliance information about its
products after they have been rigorously tested per HP defined requirements in a
tested and controlled environment. HP supports its customers as specified in the
contract or warranty for the product. HP provides Year 2000 product support through
already established customer support channels.
HP has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of its
product testing.
However, because each customer. s environment is different from HP. s
laboratory test environment, it is the customer. s responsibility to validate the Year
2000 readiness of these products in their own environment. Information about
the Year 2000 status of HP products is provided . as is. without warranties of
any kind.
The HP 9000 Product Family
A main component of Year 2000 preparation efforts is to
conduct an inventory to assess the compliance of computer systems and
applications being utilized in the work place. For each system the basic assessment focuses
on the hardware, the operating system, and the applications. It is the
responsibility of HP customers to complete the assessment on all computer
systems within their own working environment.
It is recommended to assess the hardware foundation first,
followed by the operating system second, and finally the applications. All required actions to
achieve Year 2000 compliance as outlined in the HP Year 2000 web site are the
responsibility of HP customers (e.g., upgrade hardware, install Year 2000
patches, etc.).
Note: The HP Year 2000 web site is at www.hp.com/year2000.
The HP 9000 product family includes server (800 series) and
workstation (series 700) hardware platforms. Both sets of hardware run the HP-UX operating
system. The HP
3000 product family (series 900) consists of multi-processing servers that run
the MPE/iX operating system. The Intel-based product family contains
hardware that uses Intel processors, and may interface with a number of
operating systems including Microsoft Windows NT, Novell NetWare, SCO UNIX, and
IBM OS/2, to name a few.
HP 9000 hardware is identified using two numbers: the model
number and the product number. Historically, the server product line used an
800 series model number and the workstation product line used a 700 series model
number. Over
time the model numbering scheme changed for both product lines to a combination
of letters and numbers. The model number is typically printed on the
front casing of the System Processing Unit (SPU).
The product number is usually a six-digit alphanumeric
combination used for ordering and tracking purposes. The product number
is typically located on the back of the SPU near the serial number. This product number
is important when obtaining support, upgrading hardware, and locating Year 2000
compliance information using the HP Year 2000 Product Status web-site. Some examples of HP
9000 hardware are listed in the following table:
|
Series |
Model Number |
Product Number |
|
800 |
832S |
A1044A |
|
800 |
K400 |
A3181A |
|
800 |
T600 |
A3329A |
|
700 |
715/33 |
A2870A |
|
700 |
755 |
A2551A |
|
700 |
J282 |
A4487A |
To identify the model number of the hardware, many systems
have information that can be displayed during system startup. For example,
information for a model 715 workstation obtained during system startup is
displayed as follows:
|
Select from menu: a BOOT_ADMIN> info ----------------------------------------------------
Hardware Configuration
---------------------------------------------------------- Machine model:
9000/715 Processor Frequency
=
33333500 Hz I/O Subsystem Frequency = 16666750
Hz |
The HP-UX model and uname commands can be used to identify the HP 9000 model number as well as the HP-UX version number.
The Hewlett-Packard Year 2000 Product Status web site
contains comprehensive Year 2000 compliance status information for
Hewlett-Packard products. It offers search and browse capabilities.
All supported HP 9000 PA-RISC based servers and
workstations have been tested by HP and confirmed to be Year 2000
compliant.
Both currently shipping systems and those that HP has discontinued, but
are still under support, are Year 2000 compliant.
Those few systems that become obsolete, signifying the end of support, before the Year 2000 will not be tested or supported.
The Year 2000 compliance status of HP 9000 servers is
listed below.
|
Systems Tested and Year 2000 Compliant |
Systems Not Tested (End of Support Date) |
|
840S, 850S, 855S, 860S, 870S, 890 822S, 832S, 842S, 852S 8X7S A-, D-, E-, F-, G-, H-, I-, K-, N-, R-, T-, and V- Class |
808S, 815S (July 1997) 825S, 835S/SE, 845S/SE, 635S, 645S (November 1998) |
The Year 2000 compliance status of HP 9000 workstations is
listed below.
|
Systems Tested and Year 2000 Compliant |
|
Model 705 (all configurations) Model 710 (all configurations) Model 712 (all configurations) Model 715 (all configurations) Model 720 (all configurations) Model 725 (all configurations) Model 730 (all configurations) Model 735 (all configurations) Model 750 (all configurations) Model 755 (all configurations) HP B-Class (all configurations) HP C-Class (all configurations) HP J-Class (all configurations) Model 742 VMEbus Board Computer Model 743 VMEbus Board Computer Model 744 VMEbus Board Computer Model 745 Modular Workstation Model 747 Modular Workstation Model 748 Modular Workstation Model 362 Modular Workstation Model 382 Modular Workstation |
HP-UX versions 11.0, 10.20, 10.10, and 10.01 are all Year
2000 compliant operating systems with customer action (all of these releases
require the customer to install Year 2000 patches to be compliant). HP-UX 9.04 or
earlier versions of the operating system will not be made Year 2000
compliant. Customers who are
currently using HP-UX 9.0x and earlier versions must migrate to a compliant
version of HP-UX, preferably 11.0 or 10.20. A Year 2000 patch is available for customers
using HP-UX 9.10 on the series 300 or 400 systems. The table shown
below provides a compliance summary.
|
HP-UX Version |
Required Customer Action |
|
9.04 or earlier |
Upgrade to 10.20 or 11.0 |
|
9.10 on Series 300 and 400 |
Patches |
|
10.01, 10.10, 10.20 |
Patches |
|
10.30 |
Upgrade to 11.0 |
|
11.0 |
Patches |
Year 2000 patches for HP-UX versions 10.X and 11.0 are
available to all customers at no extra charge whether or not they have support
agreements.
The Year 2000 patches for the series 300 and 400 are for the operating
system product only; no updates will be made for HP application products (HP-UX
9.10 compliant version).
Note: To download Year 2000 HP-UX 9.10, 10.x or 11.0 patch bundles, use the Year 2000 patch web site.
Application developers and customers with proprietary
applications should be aware that the new libc behavior, for Year 2000
compliance, needs to be explicitly enabled. To prevent incompatibility, the
behavior should not be enabled until the application has been made Year 2000
compliant. Customers with off-the-shelf software do not need to enable the libc
behavior, but simply need to install the Year 2000 patches.
Note: For more information regarding libc, please refer to the HP-UX Patch Information web site and patch # PHCO_10175 (the libc white paper).
Year 2000 HP-UX 9.10, 10.x and 11.0 patch bundles are obtained from the HP Year 2000 web site:
www.software.hp.com/products/Y2K
For downloading individual Year 2000 patches, go to the HP
Electronic Support Center.
us-support.external.hp.com (U.S., Asia-Pacific and Latin America)
europe-support.external.hp.com
(Europe)
HP-UX patches are distributed electronically as a single shar file
containing a .text file and a Software Distributor depot from which swinstall can be
used directly to install a patch. The patch name format is PHxx_yyyyy
where:
PH = Patch HP-UX
xx =
area patched:
CO . general HP-UX commands
KL . kernel patches
NE . network-specific patches
SS . all other subsystems (e.g., X11, Starbase, etc.)
yyyyy = a unique number
Examples of Year 2000 HP-UX patches are as follows:
|
Component |
11.0 |
10.20 |
10.10 |
10.01 |
|
cron/at |
PHCO_17553 |
PHCO_175524 |
PHCO_18060 |
PHCO_17550 |
|
date |
N/A |
PHCO_10124 |
PHCO_10121 |
PHCO_10111 |
|
libc |
PHCO_16130 |
PHCO_16302 |
PHCO_16722 |
PHCO_16721 |
|
SAM |
PHCO_14887 |
PHCO_14888 |
PHCO_14851 |
PHCO_14889 |
|
sccs |
PHCO_17076 |
PHCO_17075 |
PHCO_17074 |
PHCO_17073 |
|
set_parms |
N/A |
PHCO_14039 |
PHCO_14039 |
PHCO_14309 |
The HP-UX Year 2000 Patch Lists are available from the HP
Year 2000 patch web site. These lists include only patches that make
Year 2000 functional changes. Sometimes a patch in one of the lists is
superseded by a patch fixing a problem unrelated to Year 2000
functionality.
Such patches are not added to the HP-UX Year 2000 patch lists, although
the . old. patches are retained. New or superseding patches that change Year
2000 functionality will be included in the appropriate Year 2000 Patch List.
1. Backup system
2. Log in as root
3. Copy patch to /tmp
4. Unshar patch (use sh command)
5. Read .text file
6. swinstall patch
HP develops a variety of compilers, utilities and
applications.
Examples include MC/ServiceGuard and OnLine JFS for high
availability, and ClusterView and PerfView for performance measurement. Up to date Year
2000 compliance status of HP applications is obtained from the HP Year 2000 web
site.
Year 2000 compliant versions of HP-UX 10.x applications are
available free to customers on support via DART 35 Application CD of November
1997 and later.
The HP 3000 Product Family
HP 3000 business computer servers offer comprehensive
system availability and data integrity features for maximum uptime and
accuracy. The
PA-RISC series 900 servers run the MPE/iX operating system. The older classic
HP 3000 business servers run the MPE/V operating system.
Like the HP 9000 hardware, the HP 3000 hardware is identified using two numbers: the model number and the product number. The model number takes on the form of a 900 number combined possibly with letters. The model number is typically printed on the front casing of the System Processing Unit (SPU). Some examples of HP 3000 hardware are listed in the following table:
|
Model Number |
Product Number |
|
995/800 |
A3099A |
|
939KS/020 |
A3768A |
|
996/800 |
A3368A |
|
Series 33 |
32412B |
|
MICRO 3000 |
32509A |
Note: The model number may be used to look up Year 2000 compliance status of HP 3000 hardware on the HP Year 2000 web site: www.hp.com/year2000/allproducts.html
The MPE/iX showvar and showme commands can be used to obtain information about the
version of the operating system and the model number of the hardware.
All supported HP 3000 PA-RISC based servers have been
tested and confirmed to be Year 2000 compliant. There are a few systems that will become
obsolete (signifying the end of support) before the Year 2000 and will not be
tested or supported.
The Year 2000 compliance status of HP 3000 series 900
servers is listed below.
|
Systems Tested and Year 2000 Compliant |
Systems Will Not Be Tested for Compliance (End of Support Date) |
|
Series 920, 922, 932, 948, 958 Series 950, 955, 960, 980 Series 917, 927, 937, 947, 957, 967, 977, 987 Series 918, 928, 968, 978, 988 Series 929KS, 939KS, 959KS, 969KS, 979KS, 989KS Series 990, 991, 992, 995, 996, 997 |
Series 925, 935, 949 (11/1998) |
The Year 2000 compliance status of HP 3000 classic servers
is listed below.
|
Systems Will Not Be Tested for Compliance |
|
Series 3x Series 4x Series 5x Series 6x Series 7x MICRO 3000 x |
Note: Ask an HP sales representative about current upgrade programs for HP 3000 classic business servers.
HP released Year 2000 patches to MPE/iX 5.5 with Express 4
in 1997. All
HP 3000 customers must upgrade to this release prior to the Year 2000 because
earlier versions of MPE/iX will not be Year 2000 compliant or supported. As a result of more
rigorous testing, additional patches were released on MPE/iX 5.5 PowerPatch 5
(August 1998).
It is available to customers with valid existing HP support contracts at
the date of release for no additional charge.
MPE/iX 6.0 (October 1998) and all subsequent MPE/iX releases will be Year 2000 compliant.
Note: For more information on MPE/iX patches, refer to the following web site: jazz.external.hp.com/year2000/patches.html
Note: To obtain MPE/iX patches, go to the following web site: us-support.external.hp.com (U.S., Asia-Pacific and Latin America) europe-support.external.hp.com (Europe)
The classic HP 3000 MPE/V Release 3P and Release 40 are
Year 2000 compliant with customer action. Year 2000 patches are required to be
compliant.
These Year 2000 patches are available to customers with valid existing HP
support contracts for no additional charge by calling the HP Response
Center.
|
MPE/V Release |
Tested and Passed for Year 2000 Readiness? |
End of Support |
|
Release 2P |
Does not and will not have Year 2000 support |
January 1, 1997 |
|
Release 3P |
Yes, with patches |
September 1, 1998 |
|
Release 40 |
Yes, with patches |
September 1, 1998 |
|
V-Delta-4 DODC2 certification release |
Does not and will not have Year 2000 support |
September 1, 1998 |
HP 3000 customers that do not have valid existing support
contracts need to contact their HP sales representative to discuss upgrade
alternatives.
Note: For more information about Year 2000 compliance of MPE/V, refer to the following web site: www.hp.com/ssg/vin/year.html
Even though HP. s support commitment on the MPE/V operating
system and subsystems ended September 1998, the operating system supports
multiple date formats, including a two-digit year, and correctly manipulates
dates through the year 2027. HP has verified that the HP MPE/V software
components related to system clocks correctly represents January 1, 2000, and
that the leap year is accommodated in the years 2000 through 2027. The HP MPE/V
operating system will function improperly beginning in the year 2028 due to an
internal storage standard used to save the year since 1900.
As mentioned earlier, it is the customer. s responsibility
to locate Year 2000 compliance information for third party applications,
including information about HP products. Consult the corresponding support channel or web site for
complete information about a particular vendor. s Year 2000
compliance.
Note: For a list and links to several independent software vendors, refer to the following web site: www.hp.com/year2000/help/cure.html
Note:
For
further information on preparing the HP 3000 environment for the Year 2000,
select an HP video from the following web site:
www.hp.com/ibpprogs/tape/main.html
The Intel-Based Product Family
The Intel-based product family has four basic categories of
hardware products, the NetServers (servers), business personal computers (PCs),
PC workstations and notebook PCs. The NetServers are typically used to house
software and provide services to clients over a LAN or WAN (network). The PCs (clients)
are typically used by end users to access the services over the network. The PC workstations
are best suited for high-end office (financial modeling), software development,
and/or mechanical and engineering design. The notebook PCs are portable PCs designed
for mobile computing.
Industry-standard PCs contain two separate and independent
clocks: the real time clock and the system clock. Three time and date-related areas on a PC are
listed below:
q Real Time Clock
(RTC). A hardware clock
that runs continuously even when the PC is turned off. The RTC tracks the
time and the date, and contains non-volatile memory referred to as CMOS. The RTC has no
knowledge of centuries. only years from 00-99. It uses the mm/dd/yy date
format.
q BIOS. The BIOS is
software that resides permanently on the PC. Century information is maintained by the BIOS
in CMOS memory.
The BIOS provides the date by reading the two-digit year from the RTC and
combining it with the century date kept in CMOS.
q System Clock (DOS
clock). This virtual clock operates while the PC is
turned on. The
system clock is a 24-hour counter and has no real concept of days. The operating
system reads the system clock counter and converts the information to hours,
minutes, and seconds.
To get date information, most operating systems read the
RTC via the BIOS during the boot-up process and then track the date
independently based on the system clock rolling over at midnight.
Because of the way the first PCs were originally designed
back in the early 1980s, the RTC only tracks the year but not the century
information.
For the Year 2000, the RTC will simply indicate . 00. . It is therefore the
responsibility of the BIOS to track the century, and preserve that information
in the RTC. s non-volatile memory.
The BIOS assumes that the years 1900 . 1979 cannot occur,
so when the year is within 00-79 and the century information is 19, the BIOS
sets the century information to 20. If the BIOS does not track the century, the
operating system will be given an invalid year and most likely will assume 1980
(Microsoft operating systems do not support dates earlier than 1980).
Note:
Application packages typically take the date from the system clock. An incorrect system
clock could cause major problems with date-sensitive applications such as
accounting, checking, scheduling, calendar, and other applications.
Most HP NetServer systems will automatically change the
real-time clock date to 01-01-2000 at midnight on 12-31-1999 (or 31-12-1999 for
non-US). These
systems include all processor speeds and both uni- and multi-processor
systems. All future NetServers
that are released are being designed to change the date correctly.
|
Systems Year 2000 Compliant |
Systems Year 2000 Compliant with Manual Reset |
|
HP NetServer E 30, E40, E45, E50, E60 HP NetServer LC+ (5/75, 5/100, 5/133 and 5/166) HP NetServer LC II, LC 2, LC 3 HP NetServer LD Pro HP NetServer LH, LH Plus, LH Pro, LH II, LH 3, LH 3r, LH 4, LH 4r HP NetServer LM, LPr, LS HP NetServer LX Pro HP NetServer LXe Pro HP NetServer LXr Pro HP NetServer LXr Pro8 HP NetServer LXr 8000 |
HP NetServer LC (4/66, 4/100 and 5/66) HP NetServer LE HP NetServer LF 486 S20, 486 ST, 486 T, 486 U |
Includes all processor speeds and both uni-and dual-processor systems
A few HP NetServer systems reset the RTC date to 01-04-1980
at midnight on 12-31-1999. If these systems are operating when the date
change occurs, any Year 2000 compliant operating system will reflect the correct
date but the RTC will be incorrect (the operating system software clock is
independent of the RTC after the operating system is initialized). The next time the
system is rebooted, the operating system will get the incorrect date from the
RTC if it has not been manually reset. This incorrect date could cause problems with some
applications.
To correct this situation, on or after 01-01-2000, the
system clock must be manually reset to the correct date via either the EISA
(System) Configuration Utility (ECU) or the MS-DOS date command. The system RTC will
maintain the correct date from that point on. To manually reset the RTC using the
date command:
Note: Change the date on a test system and fully test applications prior to making the change on a live production system.
All HP Vectra PCs and HP Kayak PC Workstations introduced
since the end of 1995 are Year 2000 compliant. All new HP Vectra PCs, HP Kayak PC
Workstations, and HP Brio PCs are NSTL YMARK2000 certified. Certification for
the majority of older HP Vectra PCs is in progress. The results of
these tests can be found at NSTL. s web site at www.nstl.com. The Year 2000 compliant products are listed
below.
Note: For more information, see the following web site: www.hp.com/desktop/year2000/compliance.html
|
Systems Year 2000 Compliant |
|
HP Kayak XA 6/xxx and 7/xxx HP Kayak XA-s 6/xxx and 7/xxx HP Kayak XU 6/xxx and 7/xxx HP Kayak XU Xeon 6/xxx and 7/xxx HP Kayak XW 6/xxx HP Kayak XW Xeon 6/xxx |
|
HP Brio Model 71xx HP Brio Model 80xx HP Brio Model 81xx HP Brio Model 82xx HP Brio Model 83xx HP Brio Model 84xx HP Brio Model 85xx HP Brio Bax HP Brio BA |
|
HP Net Vectra HP Vectra VE 5/xxx Series 2, 3, 4 HP Vectra VE C/xxx-0 Series 7 HP Vectra VE 6/xxx Series 8 HP Vectra VEi 7, VEi 8 HP Vectra VL 5/xxx Series 4, 5 HP Vectra VL 6/xxx Series 6, 7, 8 HP Vectra VLi 8 HP Vectra VA HP Vectra XM 5/xxx Series 4 HP Vectra XA 5/xxx HP Vectra XA 6/xxx HP Vectra XW 6/xxx HP Vectra 500 models 510/5xxx and 515 HP Vectra 500 models 320, 520 and 525 |
For the Pentium and Pentium Pro-based HP Vectra PCs that
were introduced before 1995 (see list), Hewlett-Packard has made available a new
version of the system BIOS that will manage the Year 2000 transition
correctly.
These new BIOS versions are available from the HP Vectra PC web site:
Note: For more information, see the following web site: www.hp.com/desktop/year2000/y2k-solution.html
|
System Year 2000 Compliant With BIOS Upgrade |
Required BIOS Version |
|
HP Vectra500 model 502, 510(D37xxA), 512, 514 |
GP.05.07 or above |
|
HP Vectra 500 model 522 |
GK.05.13 or above |
|
HP Vectra 500 models 56x and 57x |
GJ.07.18 or above |
|
HP Vectra VE 4/xxx |
GP.05.07 or above |
|
HP Vectra XP 5/60 |
Y.05.06 or above |
|
HP Vectra VL Series 2 5/60 |
GI.05.05 or above |
|
HP Vectra XU 5/90 |
GO.05.14 or above |
|
HP Vectra XU 5/1xx |
GS.05.03 or above |
|
HP Vectra VE 5/xx Series 1 |
GL.05.11 |
|
HP Vectra VL 5/xx Series 3 |
GK.05.13 |
|
HP Vectra XM 5/xx Series 3 |
GM.05.07 |
|
HP Vectra XU 6/xxx |
GG.06.05 or above |
|
HP Vectra VT 6/xxx |
GV.06.05 or above |
Many corporate networks are configured to synchronize all
PC client internal clocks to the date and time kept on a server. So long as the
server has the correct date, all clients on the network will also have the
correct date.
Several operating system vendors have already announced
that their operating systems will detect a date that rolls incorrectly, and then
either prompt the user to change it or correct it automatically. For example, if the
date of 1900 was detected, then the user would either be prompted to change the
date, or the operating system will correct it automatically.
In the event that the date is not updated by one of the
methods above (e.g., customers do not wish to update the BIOS, or have a 386 or
486 HP Vectra PC), customers also have the option of setting the correct date on
January 1, 2000.
The correct date may be set by using the BIOS setup program or by using
the operating system Date/Time function. This task was performed previously when the
PC was installed and the local time and date were set.
All current and future OmniBook PCs are Year 2000
compliant.
These systems transition to the new century automatically without
customer intervention. In addition, several systems are certified by
NSTL with the YMARK2000 tool.
|
Systems Year 2000 Compliant |
Systems Year 2000 Compliant with Customer Action |
|
Omnibook 800 CS/CT, 900 Omnibook 2000 CS/CT Omnibook 2100 Omnibook 3000 CTX Omnibook 3100 Omnibook 4100, 4150 Omnibook 5700 CT/CTX Omnibook 7100, 7150 Sojourn XE |
Omnibook 300 Omnibook 425, 430 Omnibook 530 Omnibook 600 C/CT Omnibook 4000 C/CT Omnibook 5000 C/CT/CTS Omnibook 5500 CT/CS |
Note: For more information, see the following web site: www.hp.com/omnibook/whyomnibook/facts/yr2000.html
HP provides BIOS upgrades available from the Year 2000 web
site.
Another option to make an OmniBook Year 2000 compliant is
to manually reset it.
On January 1, 2000, the date may be manually set by accessing the BIOS
Setup menu, or the operating system Date/Time function.
Year 2000 Resources and Support
HP is committed to providing Year 2000 compliant solutions
for its products.
HP customers are responsible for ensuring that all third party solutions,
including hardware and software, are Year 2000 compliant and operable within
their own work environment.
The individual pieces that require assessment for Year 2000
compliance include hardware, the operating system, and applications. There are a number
of resources available to assist in the Year 2000 preparation efforts. HP offers the
Cure2000 Framework and has a network of partners that offer Year 2000
services.
HP recognizes that organizations have different Year 2000
strategies, depending on their application, business requirements and
resources. HP.
s Cure2000 solution framework supports multiple languages, platforms and
implementation alternatives. HP and its partners have tools and services
to help customers convert or rework their existing HP 9000, HP 3000, PC,
mainframe, or proprietary midrange applications to make them Year 2000 compliant
as quickly as possible.
Note: For more information regarding the Cure2000 Framework: www.hp.com/year2000/help/cure.html
Many applications meet business demands or cannot be
replaced due to insufficient time, resources, and/or complexity. HP has products,
services, and partners to assist in all aspects of rework activities:
q HP. s
integrated network
and systems management tools from the HP OpenView family provide
capabilities that result in less disruption to end-user services during Year
2000 preparation efforts.
q A consolidated
inventory system can be created by having an enterprise-wide asset
management solution in place to track such things as hardware configuration,
software licenses, lease and maintenance contracts, and service history.
q Centralized software
management provides unattended distribution, installation and configuration
of Year 2000-safe software across both LAN and WAN environments. Full control can be
exercised over installed software products and system revisions.
q
Resource and performance management solutions enable
system managers to examine resource utilization and performance data from
various types of systems and sources, regardless of where they are located on
the network.
System managers may respond to performance problems before user
productivity is affected.
q
HP and its partners provide enterprise-wide solutions that ensure
enterprise data is protected, and that cost effective storage space is managed
cost-efficiently.
For legacy applications, such as mainframe environments,
that lack functionality and performance and are not meeting business needs, the
Cure2000 solution framework makes it possible to migrate legacy applications to
client/server environments. This is accomplished through a replacement
strategy using off-the-shelf Year 2000-safe applications from HP. s independent
software vendor (ISV) partners.
This strategy is valid for legacy applications on
proprietary platforms and internally developed client/server applications on
open systems.
If an ISV application is not available, development tools such as HP
Softbench, Texas Instruments Performer, etc., can be used to re-architect the
legacy application.
There are a number of available resources outside of HP
that exist for Year 2000 information. The following table lists a few resources,
and are not endorsed or supported by HP.
|
Resource |
Type of Information |
URL |
|
Government |
Best Practices |
|
|
Year 2000 Industry Wide |
Industry Information and Tools Library |
|
|
US Navy Year 2000 WW web site |
Year 2000 Navy activities |
|
|
RightTime |
Test computer tools |
|
|
Smith Lyons |
Legal discussion |
|
|
US Federal Government |
US Government Year 2000 activities |
|
|
State Government Information |
Links to other sites |
|
|
Computerworld |
Year 2000 Resources |
|
|
Securities Exchange Commission |
Year 2000 Activities |
|
|
Automotive Industry Action Group |
Year 2000 Information Center |
|
|
Internal Revenue Service |
Year 2000 Project |
|
|
NIST |
Year 2000 information |
|
|
Centers for Disease Control |
Year 2000 |
|
|
US Department of Energy |
Year 2000 activities |
cio.doe.gov/y2k |
|
US Postal Service |
Year 2000 Preparations |
|
|
Legal Resources |
Legal Resources |
|
|
American National Standards Institute |
Standards |
web.ansi.org/default.htm |