Mastodawn

Graham Rossiter Nov 19

Mentioning in case useful to others. I have the VMDK distribution of #OpenVMS 9.2-3 for X86_64 under the Community programme (which replaced the Hobbyist programme) per attached screenshots. Its various licenses are all set to expire on 31/01/2026 so I contacted VSI to ask how this will play out.

They've replied to say they'll email all Community users with download links for the then-latest version before the currently licensed release expires. It's not necessary for us to reapply.

pflegende 2d ago

If I understand correctly, this Mastodon channel @Cookies is also the VSI news channel in the Fediverse? That's fantastic news!

You will also report from Malmö?
😊👋

Graham Rossiter 1d ago

@pflegende I believe you have me confused with someone else. My only dealings with VSI have been as a member of the OpenVMS x86_64 Community distribution, and I've been to Malmö only twice in my life, as a tourist, during day-trip visits via ferries from København.

Wishful thinking: given your many VSI updates here, it seemed possible to me that you would also be observing the VSI bootcamp in Malmö this year for the home and in the garden sitting audience.

☺️

Graham Rossiter 1d ago

@pflegende There doesnt appear to be much general online discussion of VAX/VMS and OpenVMS. Until recently, I'd never experienced VMS at all, being principally UNIX through my professional life. I'd like to play my part to keep the platform alive, rather than see it go the way of my beloved Sun Microsystems & Solaris, though it'll probably become more niche over time. From my limited dabbling, VMS seems technically interesting, but increasingly as a hobbyist rather than commercially relevant.

Graham Rossiter 1d ago

@pflegende -> That's something I'd like to change if I could, though I'm just one unconnected end-user voice. I'm not sure how much appetite exists in the IT space nowadays for platforms that are *interesting*, rather than being solely about whether they can play the latest generic gee-whizz game or if they have an MS logo on the box. I like interesting things, but I feel increasingly that I'm in the minority, as the field becomes ever more commoditised. So that's why I sometimes post about VMS.

pflegende 1d ago

I personally left the DEC world in 1990 and moved to SAP. But now, driven only by the nostalgic déjà vu of a retiree, it's surprising: some HR departments seem to be desperately seeking employees. We, the old VAX users, are dying out, and many are retiring at breakneck speed. Therefore, VSI seems to have a bright future on LinkedIn and in other corners of the internet.

pflegende 1d ago

The VMS's exceptional stability became the Achilles' heel of this "hardest OS ever." No one absolutely had to be involved. It just worked. No team was needed for updates or driver magic. One admin could manage 20 systems from the back of a broom closet. And they didn't have to work themselves to the bone. There was no need to invest in new talent.

pflegende 1d ago

And that's precisely where VSI's advantage lies. All these systems are located in a critical environment. Nobody wants to change or migrate them. In such a politically unstable world?

Graham Rossiter 1d ago

@pflegende I'm not sure I'd call VMS especially hard per se, though it does demand a certain mindset. If one has spent enough time supporting large distributed systems then a lot of the acquired skills can transition between UNIX/Linux/*BSD, Windows/DOS, *VMS and, dare I say it, Netware. A network is a network, a file and print resource is a file and print resource. The rest is nuance.

There's certainly much in the VMS ecosphere that looks intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. ->

Graham Rossiter 1d ago

@pflegende -> As a new VMS user I found that I required quite a few shifts in mindset, such as case insensitivity, but also a lot that's conceptually familiar. What VMS calls file versioning, ICL VME calls generations. VMS doesn't appear particularly easy on the eye with its $ symbols all over the place, but it can be learned and is no more obscure than my UNIX world with our two-letter commands, device nodes and capabilities. ->

Graham Rossiter 1d ago

@pflegende -> The barrier I've faced is difficulty in acquiring a working platform with viable licenses, compilers and knowledge sources. I've managed to kludge together enough now, and had a lot of fun doing so, that I can start to flatter myself in claiming a tiny bit of VMS knowledge at long last. It did require persistence, willpower and luck. I'd love to see the next generation of sysadmins finding this initial acquisition and start of the journey more accessible than I have.

Graham Rossiter 1d ago

@pflegende -> Fundamentally though, and spoken as an observer that never experienced DEC technology while it was supremely dominant, I can admire the unusual corporate culture of which I've heard only positives. Ken Olsen. The outstanding longevity of the PDP-11. Workforce benefits. The sense of belonging, of being part of something important, of *wanting* to work there. I yearn to see a modern corporation striving to emulate that, but they really should. It still has a place in 2026 AD.

Graham Rossiter 1d ago

@pflegende Another point concerns the uptimes, the stability. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Sun advocate. With complete honesty I tell everyone how a properly designed specified, engineered, installed and maintained Sun SPARC platform will never *EVER* fail. VAXen feel like the same ethos. Put the effort in, design and implement something that never goes wrong. Yes, you engineer your own obsolesce, but that's a good thing if your system keeps running. Uptime is more than a boast. It shows your skill.

pflegende 1d ago

@Cookies
VSI can work it out.

"to kludge together" This is a very precise description of what today admins have to do when they sit in front of the new VMS GUI.
The tricks and tips that administrators have collected and memorized over the years are being lost. Kludge together them is probably the safest way to avoid being misled by apparent similarities to trends currently being applied to VMS to attract young developers. You realy find out what is the spirit inside.

A little bit of Olsens.

Graham Rossiter 1d ago

@pflegende I should clarify. My judging means taking it apart and finding how to put it back together. Learn how it works based on what few online resources I can find, to supplement my IT knowledge. I have no friendly neighbourhood VMS sysadmin to ask, so I see if I can figure it out myself. That can be one way to learn a system that differs from a formal skills track, and I find it suits me quite well. BTW my interface is an ASCII terminal and a flashing cursor.

Graham Rossiter 1d ago

@pflegende -> I should also add how I'm not too far from retirement either. 40 years in this industry, and I'm turning 59 in a few months from now. I like operating systems. I like networking. I like applying my existing conceptual knowledge to systems that are initially alien to me - such as VMS - and seeing how much of it I understand. For some operating systems & platforms like VMS, this analytical 'systems' approach helps me to appreciate the intricate, appreciate the design.

pflegende 1d ago

The enterprises will belucky with also little authority in front of the youngsters.

And, yes, graphical user interfaces (GUIs) were already frowned upon back then. But that's just how it was, the PR people thought. Since their use at the application level was already essential, they considered it prudent to anticipate their impact on the system.

pflegende 1d ago

and

For university graduates today, GUIs are often standard. However, they can develop a better understanding of how the system works line by line. And you contribute best practices and new insights into how the system functions that cannot be taught in courses.

👍