What is OpenVMS?
Q: What is OpenVMS?
A: OpenVMS is an operating system developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) for their VAX servers. It was later ported to DEC Alpha and Itanium-based systems, and it is a 32 bit operating system.
Q: When was OpenVMS released?
A: OpenVMS was published in 1977, making it one of the first of its kind.
Q: What features does OpenVMS offer?
A: OpenVMS offers many features such as virtual memory, time sharing, batch processing, transaction processing, real-time system support, high availability through clustering, computer networks (DECNet/TCP/IP), symmetrical/asymmetrical/NUMA multiprocessing including clustering, distributed file system, integrated database (RMS/Rdb), support for different programming languages with standardized mechanism of calls between them, extensible Shells and high levels of security.
Q: How long can the uptime be on an OpenVMS system?
A: System up-times of over a decade have been reported on an OpenVMS system.
Q: Does upgrading software or hardware require shutting down the system?
A: No - a feature called "rolling upgrade" allows users to upgrade software or hardware without needing to shut down the system.
Q: Is there any way to avoid downtime if a data center is destroyed?
A: Yes - if the system is configured properly then even if a data center is destroyed there will not be any downtime.
Q: Who uses OpenVMS today?
A: Today customers using OpenVMS include banks and financial services companies, hospitals and healthcare organizations, network information services providers and large-scale industrial manufacturers of various products.
