ArticlesCharon-AXP, the line of Alpha hardware emulation solutions from Stromasys, offers businesses a way to continue running not only the mission-critical applications but also the time-tested legacy Tru64 operating system.
As it ages, the Alpha hardware becomes less reliable, but the applications and operating system are still in the middle of their life cycles. When these legacy Alpha Servers fail, it’s usually the hardware—not the applications or the Tru64 operating system—that is at fault. Charon solutions from Stromasys provide a stable environment on which Tru64 can run, ensuring continuity for businesses around the globe.
Tru64 UNIX (also known as Digital UNIX and DEC OSF/1 AXP) was first released by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1992 as an operating system for DEC Alpha systems. More than 25 years later, companies continue to run critical applications on Tru64 operating systems, trusting in its stability.
Since HPE end-of-lifed the operating system—and later discontinued all support at the end of 2016—Stromasys has been offering not only the hardware emulation solution to replace aging Alpha hardware but also Tru64 support to assist customers in ensuring the ongoing reliability of their systems.
The Stromasys team of Tru64 experts provides high-quality support for both the Charon solution that allows hardware emulation of the original DEC Alpha hardware and for the Tru64 operating system (along with its trademark AdvFS filesystem and industry standard UFS filesystem) that runs on top of it. Stromasys supports a range of Tru64 versions, from Digital Unix 3.2 to Tru64 Version 5.1B, as well as some iterations of TruCluster.
With Charon, Tru64 users and the organizations relying upon the operating system don’t have to worry about downtime caused by either hardware failure or an unsupported operating system. With hardware emulation, the applications continue to run on Tru64 just as they did on the original hardware. There are no changes to the software or operating system, and no re-certifications are required.
