HP-UX 11i v2 Compatibility

HP understands the need for investment protection better than any other computer vendor. HP provides complete compatibility for the most comprehensive investment protection in the industry. HP provides:

HP provides forward binary compatibility between the versions of HP-UX 11i on the same architecture. This means that:

This binary compatibility does not apply to kernel-intrusive applications or applications that rely on proprietary data structures inside HP-UX.

	NOTE: HP-UX 11i v2 returns B.11.23 as the release identifier in the uname command. HP C compilers for the HP 9000 (PA-RISC) systems support the C89 (ISO/IEC 9899:1989) standard. The C compilers for HP Integrity (Itanium®-based) systems support both the C89 and newer C99 (ISO/IEC 9899:1999) standards. This means that while C code developed on HP 9000 servers is forward compatible to HP Integrity servers, the reverse is not necessarily true. HP-UX 11.0 applications that have been certified or proven to run well on HP-UX 11i v1 can also be considered to be compatible with HP-UX 11i v2. (HP-UX 11.0 application programs can run unmodified on HP-UX 11i v1 although binary compatibility is not guaranteed for applications that are kernel intrusive or depend on internal proprietary data structures of HP-UX 11i v1.) Compatibility details are fully documented in these Release Notes. Additionally, there is complete data compatibility between the architectures.

Compatibility between HP-UX 11i for HP 9000 (PA-RISC) systems and HP-UX 11i for HP Integrity (Itanium®-based) systems includes the following features:

As of July of 2002 HP began to introduce HP-UX 11i servers that support both PA-RISC and Intel® Itanium® processors. For these servers, customers are be able to specify the architecture they desire when they order systems. Servers that are initially ordered as PA-RISC servers can be field-upgraded to Itanium®-based systems and will enjoy all of the compatibility advantages listed above.

With the source, data, and binary compatibility that HP provides from the PA-RISC architecture to the Itanium®-based architecture, it is expected that the vast majority of independent software vendors (ISVs) that support applications on PA-RISC will transition these applications to HP-UX 11i for Itanium®-based systems. This means that not only will HP-UX 11i and its layered system management, security, and high availability products have a common “look and feel” on the two architectures, it also means that application products will have a common “look and feel” across the two architectures, thus eliminating the need to retrain users for new applications.

In nearly all cases PA-RISC applications can execute under the Aries dynamic code translator which is included as an integrated component in every copy of HP-UX 11i for Itanium®-based systems. The following list documents the exceptions to binary compatibility. HP's Aries dynamic code translator does not support the following:

In nearly all cases, 32-bit PA-RISC applications can be recompiled for native execution on Itanium®-based systems without source code modifications. This is true because the HP compilers for Intel® Itanium® support both 32-bit and 64-bit data models.

In the case of a 32-bit PA-RISC application that is being recompiled for native execution on Itanium®-based systems, the compiler will emit instructions that cause the application to behave as though it is a 32-bit application executing on a 32-bit architecture even though the underlying architecture is 64 bits. This is transparent to the application; it has no awareness that it is actually executing on a 64-bit architecture.

It is this feature of the HP compilers that allows the vast majority of 32-bit PA-RISC applications to be recompiled without source code modification for native execution on the Intel® Itanium® architecture.

Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) whose HP-UX 11i v1 application meets the criteria for binary compatibility (i.e., not kernel intrusive, etc.) and fails to function on HP-UX 11i v2 for HP 9000 as it functions on HP-UX v1, can contact HP through a special support line (for North America) at 1-800-249-3294 and use option 2, and then option 1. Help is also available alternatively by sending an e-mail to spp@cup.hp.com. When calling this number or sending an e-mail, identify the problem as a compatibility failure and the support staff will help you with the situation.

HP maintains application binary compatibility across all hardware platforms of the same family which are supported by the same version of HP-UX. In other words, binary compatibility across the members of a hardware family (such as PA-RISC) is provided if the following conditions apply:

HP has an excellent record of introducing new processors that provide complete software binary compatibility with previous processors, thus protecting customer and partner investments and allowing support for new processors with a minimum of risk and investment. HP has always recognized that software binary compatibility with new processors is an important partner and customer requirement.

Applications and software developed for systems with the PA-8X00 processors will run correctly without modification on PA-8800 modules. These new processors differ from previous ones in the use of a dual-core module that replaces a single PA-8700 processor, thus doubling the number of processors that each server can support and improving price/performance. PA-8800 modules are seen by HP-UX as two separate processors and are supported by HP-UX 11i v2 September 2004 and later release.