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WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO MIGRATE HP 9000 SYSTEMS?The most economical and easy approach is the HP 9000 virtualization approach. In this legacy modernization approach, the lift-and-shift migration strategy is applied using a mature legacy HP 9000 emulator, i.e., Charon-PAR. This mimics the original PA-RISC environment on modern x86 servers or cloud environments. After that, using the lift-and-shift migration approach, the critical HP 9000 workloads and existing HP-UX applications are migrated with zero modifications. There are various benefits of HP 9000 virtualization, like elimination of failing hardware risk, substantial reductions in power and maintenance costs, improved performance, and scalability. While full application rewrites can be very expensive and time-taking. Charon-PAR is a cost-effective legacy HP 9000 emulator that acts as a bridge that preserves your existing critical workloads while leveraging the benefits of a modern platform.
ArticleFun fact: The HP 9000 series reached its End of Life (EOL) on April 30, 2008. The last order date is December 31, 2008, and the last ship date is April 1, 2009.
It’s been more than a decade since the HP 9000 series has become obsolete. But still it is widely used in industries due to its reliability. Operating on this aging hardware is risky, and it can result in shutdowns impacting business continuity.
So, are you looking to eliminate the risks associated with your HP 9000 PA-RISC systems? If yes, then you have come to the right place.
In this article, we will show you how to decouple your aging hardware from the software and continue running your applications as usual in a modernized environment. You’ll discover cost-effective modernization paths, i.e., a proven lift-and-shift approach using a legacy HP 9000 emulator, and real-world results from organizations that have already made the move. We’ll also cover key considerations so you can choose the strategy that fits your risk tolerance and timeline.
But before we get into the details, let’s consider why these systems need to be modernized.
First thing first, why are HP 9000 systems becoming obsolete?
Legacy HP 9000 emulators, or, as they say, Hewlett Packard 9000 computers, are renowned for their robustness and reliability. They have served many organizations well for years.
However, as these systems age, they become increasingly difficult to maintain. Additionally, as replacement parts become scarce, finding them is both challenging and expensive.
Also, the hardware becomes prone to failures. This leads to unplanned downtime, which can cost a typical business close to $300,000 per hour for over 90% of mid-size and large enterprises (ITIC Survey).
Finally, the last version of HP-UX supported on HP 9000 workload (HP-UX 11i v3) reached its end of support (EOS) on March 31, 2021. HP-UX end-of-life means you can no longer get help from the vendor.
Taking all of the above into account, it poses significant risks to business operations and necessitates the need for HP 9000 migration.
Three out of four businesses are stuck in this situation. They often hesitate about complete migration. But why? Because complete migration is overly expensive and time-consuming. Moreover, it requires recompiling the software, which can hinder your business continuity.
Thus, the ideal solution would be to replace the existing hardware with a modern and easy-to-maintain system without having to migrate the application.
This is where HP 9000 virtualization comes into the picture. With seamless migration process, you can run your business as usual without changing anything. The lift-and-shift migration or rehosting approach enables your end users to not even notice that the software is not running on the legacy hardware. Also, you get enough time (at least ten years) to rethink about whether you really need complete migration or not. If you feel so, you will have ample time to plan for that (both financially and resource-wise).
By mimicking the legacy HP 9000 emulator on modern hardware, you can run your current apps and data without needing to recompile. This keeps things running smoothly while enjoying the perks of modern hardware, like better reliability, availability, and lower costs.
Well, let’s quickly summarize the migration strategies:
| Migration Strategy | Description | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Rewriting Applications | Completely rewriting legacy applications to run on new systems. | Highly time-consuming and expensive. |
| Re-platforming | Moving application to a new platform with minimum code changes. | It may still require significant changes. Also, compatibility issues may arise. |
| Replacing Applications | Replacing legacy applications with commercial off-the-shelf software. | High initial cost. It may not meet all the specific needs. Also, it requires user retraining. |
| Legacy emulation (Lift and shift) | Moving legacy applications to new hardware or cloud without recompiling or recreating anything. | You won’t need any code changes, also it extends the lifespan of your mission-critical applications. There is also no need to spend a hefty amount on maintaining obsolete hardware. |
Now that you know the importance of emulation, it’s time to offer you the exact solution that you are looking for.
CHARON-PAR is a software solution that creates a virtual HP 9000 environment running an unmodified copy of MPE/iX HP-UX. This solution operates on industry-standard Intel x64 servers with supported Linux distributions such as Red Hat 7.x or CentOS 7.x, or under VMware, running these distributions as guest operating systems.
With CHARON-PAR, you can securely transfer your HP 9000 workloads to a state-of-the-art environment.
Hannover Re, the world’s third-largest reinsurer, faced growing challenges with its aging PA-RISC systems. As maintenance became more challenging and the risk of system failures increased, frustration led to an online search for a “PA-RISC emulator.” This search brought it to Charon-PAR by Stromasys.
Opting for Charon-PAR helped Hannover Re to future-proof their business with confidence:
To know more, check how our HP migration strategy has helped for our clients.
HP 9000 computers originated as a family of 500s in 1982. Then, in 1986, PA-RISC came into the picture with 840 servers. Fast-forward today, it has become legacy hardware and comes with a lot of challenges, such as: excessive maintenance costs, unplanned downtime, finding skilled professionals, and many more. Therefore, it is evident that modernizing these systems is the need of the hour. However, choosing the most practical solution is slightly tricky.
Throughout this article, we have compared several HP 9000 workload migration strategies and given you the solution. Now, it’s up to you. Make an informed decision that suits your organization’s specific needs and aligns with your long-term plan.
Extend the Life of Your Critical Legacy HP 9000 Workloads and HP-UX OS with Charon-PAR. No Rewriting & Zero Migration Risks
The HP 9000 is a family of workstations and servers developed by Hewlett-Packard (HP). The microprocessor behind this hardware is PA-RISC (Precision Architecture-Reduced Instruction Set Computing).
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