MPE/iX Release 7.5 is designed to further enhance our HP e3000
product offering that capitalizes on the PCI architecture of the
A- and N-Class systems running MPE/iX. These enhancements provide
additional functionality, increased performance and connectivity
advancements
MPE/iX Release 7.5 enables the new A- and N-Class systems
to higher speed and performance as provided by the new PA-8700 processors.
Further, this release provides new functionality to these systems,
such as Native Fibre Channel Support, new storage devices, increases
in user logging limits, ability to access LDEV 1 disk space beyond
4 GB, and many other system enhancements designed to help MPE/iX
and HP e3000 customers.
MPE/iX Release 7.5 features include the following:
Hardware Platform Enhancements
PA-8700 N-Class
For our mid-range and high-end customers, MPE/iX Release 7.5
supports up to a 4-way PA-8700-based N-Class system. The PA- 8700-based
N-Class has the same configuration limits, supported peripherals
and supported interface cards as on 7.0 Express 1. In addition,
MPE/iX 7.5 provides many Fibre Channel features.
PA-8700 A-Class
For our low-end customers, MPE/iX Release 7.5 supports the
PA-8700-based A-Class systems. The PA-8700-based A-Class has the
same configuration limits, supported peripherals and supported interface cards
as on 7.0 Express 1. In addition, MPE/iX 7.5 provides many Fibre
Channel features.
External Storage and I/O Connectivity Enhancements
Native Fibre Channel Support
With MPE/iX Release 7.5, support has been introduced for the
PCI 2GBs Fibre Channel Device Adapter card (A6795A) on A- and N-Class
HP e3000 systems. This adapter card provides the ability to connect
a fibre channel device directly to the HP e3000 system using fibre
channel cables. The 2 GB/s FC card is supported with the VA7100
and XP512 Fibre Channel disk arrays on MPE/iX 7.5. Prior to MPE/iX
7.5, HP e3000 systems supported connectivity to Fibre Channel devices
through the HP SCSI-Fibre Channel Router, which was connected to
a PCI-SCSI adapter card. The router will continue to be available
for those customers who choose to remain on MPE/iX 7.0.
HP Surestore Tape Array 5300
The HP Surestore Tape Array 5300 is a 3U rack enclosure that
will hold a variety of full-height and half-height tape drives (DDS3,
DDS4 and DLT8000), providing a truly flexible storage solution for
use in a variety of different data storage situations. This device
is also supported on MPE/iX 7.0 Express 1.
HP Surestore Disk System 2300 (DS2300)
The HP DS2300 is a 3U, 14-LP-disk, Ultra160 enclosure. Redundant
hot-swappable components ensure system uptime. Mixed disk environment
support, flexible deployment options, and upgradability to Ultra320 protect
your investment. This device is also supported on MPE/iX 7.0 Express 1.
Internet and Interoperability
WebWise v.2 part of FOS
The current Apache web server in FOS has been replaced by
the HP WebWise MPE/iX Secure Web Server which is built from recent
versions of Apache, mod_ssl, and OpenSSL. In addition to the security
related features of X.509 authentication and SSL transport encryption,
there are new Apache features and bug fixes that have come out since 1.3.14.
SIB Item #4- Sendmail in FOS
The Sendmail MTA (Mail Transport Agent) is now included in
FOS to facilitate the sending and receiving of e-mail. The functionality
supported is comparable to the Sendmail functionality of HP-UX.
ODBC and JDBC Continue to be the Prime Database Connectivity
Updated ODBC access is provided via MB Foster Associates,
ODBC/Link SE and is bundled at no additional cost with IMAGE/SQL
and ALLBASE/SQL.
High End Functionality
Large File Dataset
Each dataset in a TurboIMAGE database is an MPE file. The
maximum size of a dataset file was 4 GB. For dataset size greater
than 4GB, TurboIMAGE used a set of files residing in HFS domain
to store the data, called a JUMBO dataset. With the Large File Dataset
enhancement, TurboIMAGE allows users to use MPE large file instead
of JUMBO files as dataset files.
User Logging Limit Increase
With this solution, a single user level process can access
2851 user logging concurrently. This is improved from the current
user-logging limit of 1140.
IMAGE/SQL Performance
IMAGE product performance increases by adding two new options
to the Attach command: NOAUTO and NOAUTOSPLIT.
HP Predictive Support Software
Predictive provides proactive hardware support and helps increase
the uptime of your systems by monitoring system memory and disk/tape
drives. When Predictive detects a potential problem, it sends a
message to the HP Response Center. The Response Center portion of
the system screens the data and forwards problems requiring further
analysis to a Response Center Engineer. If action is needed at your
site, the Response Center Engineer and a Customer Engineer work
with you to resolve the problem. This proactive hardware support
is provided as part of your HP Hardware and Software Support Services
Agreement.
Performance and Capacity Improvements
LDEV 1 Now Supports more than 4GB Disk Space
Prior to Release 7.5, MPE/iX supported and used only 4GB of
disk space of LDEV 1 disk, even though the physical disk itself
had more than 4GB disk space (such as 18GB, 36GB, 73GB) With the
enhancement, the limitation on LDEV 1 using only 4GB is now removed
so that LDEV 1 can use up to the maximum capacity of the physical disk.
New CI Command :Shutdown, Restart
This enhancement provides a shutdown mechanism with a reboot
option in the command level similar to the HP-UX operating system.
This enhancement provides a :SHUTDOWN command on the CI prompt,
with a RESTART option, which shuts down the system completely and,
optionally, reboots automatically.
UPS Monitor Enhancement
This enhancement allows user-controlled system shutdown when
the UPS reports that incoming AC power has failed. The MPE/iX UPS
Monitor software is now a part of FOS and has been enhanced to permit
a System Manager to instruct the UPS device.
Chapter 2 Announcements
HP Announces Transition Plan for HP e3000 Server Series