HP-UX

HP-UX 11i
Developer Hewlett-Packard
Written in C
OS family Unix (System V)
Working state Current
Source model Closed source
Initial release 1984
Latest release 11i v3 Update 14 / March 2015
Marketing target Server
Available in English
Package manager Software Distributor
Platforms PA-RISC, IA-64
Kernel type Monolithic with dynamically loadable modules
Default user interface KDE, GNOME and CDE
License Proprietary
Official website www.hp.com/go/hpux/
HP Superdome running HP-UX 11.23 OS
HP 9000/425 workstation running HP-UX 9 with HP-VUE
The HP 9000-B180L workstation running HP-UX 10.20 with CDE
HP C8000 workstation running HP-UX 11i

HP-UX (Hewlett-Packard UniX) is Hewlett-Packard's proprietary implementation of the Unix operating system, based on UNIX System V (initially System III) and first released in 1984. Recent versions support the HP 9000 series of computer systems, based on the PA-RISC processor architecture, and HP Integrity systems, based on Intel's Itanium architecture.

Earlier versions of HP-UX supported the HP Integral PC and HP 9000 Series 200, 300, and 400 computer systems based on the Motorola 68000 series of processors, as well as the HP 9000 Series 500 computers based on HP's proprietary FOCUS processor architecture.

HP-UX was the first Unix to offer access control lists for file access permissions as an alternative to the standard Unix permissions system. HP-UX was also among the first Unix systems to include a built-in logical volume manager. HP has had a long partnership with Veritas Software, and integrates VxFS as the primary file system. In 2008, HP-UX 11i was credited with leadership in integrated mission-critical virtualization,[1] observed performance, high availability and manageability.[2]

It is one of five commercial operating systems that have versions certified to The Open Group's UNIX 03 standard. (The others are OS X, Solaris, Inspur K-UX and AIX.)[3]

The current shipping release is 11i v3 with the March 2015 update release (the 14th update for HP-UX 11i v3).[4]

Characteristics

Since about 2000, the focus of HP-UX has increasingly been on enhanced reliability, security, workload management,[5] and partitioning. The reliability is provided through single-system quality and self-healing, and in multi-system installations, clustering technology and application failover on a system outage, as well as error monitoring and correction. HP-UX 11i offers a common root disk for its clustered file system. HP Serviceguard is the cluster solution for HP-UX. HP Global Workload Management adjusts workloads to optimize performance, and integrates with Instant Capacity on Demand so installed resources can be paid for in 30-minute increments as needed for peak workload demands.

System partitioning (virtualization) ranges from hardware partitions to isolated OS virtual partitions on cell-based servers, and HP Virtual Machines (VMs) on all Integrity servers. HP VMs support guests running on HP-UX 11i v3 hosts — guests can run Linux, Windows, OpenVMS 8.4 or HP-UX. HP supports online VM guest migration, where encryption can secure the guest contents during migration.

HP-UX 11i v3 scales as follows (on a SuperDome 2 with 32 Intel Itanium 9560 processors):

With the acquisition of Compaq in 2001, HP obtained another Unix-based system, Tru64 Unix for AlphaServer hardware platform. HP continues to sell Tru64 UNIX, together with TruCluster software, but discontinued AlphaServer manufacturing in 2007.

Security

Security is integrated in HP-UX, with full "trusted mode" shipping with v3.[6] Features significantly increased with 11i v2, with the addition of kernel-based intrusion detection, strong random number generation, stack buffer overflow protection, security partitioning, role-based access management, and various open-source security tools.

Security protection on HP-UX can be divided into three categories: Data, System and Identity:[7]

Category Security Products
Data Encrypted Volumes and File Systems, Trusted Computing, Whitelisting, Containers, OpenSSL, Secure Shell, IPsec
System Software Assistant, Bastille, Auditing System, IPFilter, Host IDS, Standard Mode Security Extensions, Shadow Password, Strong Random Number Generator
Identity RBAC, PAM-Kerberos, LDAP-UX Client, AAA Server, Directory Server, Kerberos Server

Supported hardware platforms

Since the introduction of the PA-RISC architecture, HP-UX operating systems supported a variety of systems based on it. But with the introduction of HP-UX Release 11.0 it added support to Integrity based servers for the transition from PA-RISC to Itanium based machines. HP-UX 11i v1.5 (B.11.20) is the first version of the operating system that supported Intel Itanium based processor architecture. On the introduction of HP-UX 11i v2 (B.11.23) the operating system supported both of these architectures simultaneously triggering the smooth transition.[8]

BL series

HP-UX 11i version has support on HP Integrity Servers of HP BL server blade family (BL60p, BL860c, BL870c, BL860c i2, BL870c i2, BL890c i2). All these servers are based on Intel Itanium processors. Except for BL60p, all current BL blades need to be installed in HP C-class blade chassis (C7000 or C3000)

Latest BL series the BL8x0 i4 products are based on Itanium 9500 series with up to 8 CPU cores per socket. BL860c i4 has 2 CPU sockets up to 16 cores, BL870c i4 has 4 CPU sockets up to 32 cores, BL890c i4 has 8 CPU sockets up to 64 cores. All three BL8xo i4 models are based on the same 2-sockets blade module. It is possible to upgrade BL860c i4 or BL870c i4 to higher BL model by combining more 2-socket blades with Blade Link interconnect module.

CX series

HP has supported its CX series servers (cx2600 and cx2620) with HP-UX operating system 11i v2 (B.11.23) and 11i v3 (B.11.31). CX stands for carrier grade server series, and is used mainly for telco industry with -48V DC support and is NEBS certified. Both of these systems were based on Itanium Mad6M processors. But these servers are no longer available for purchase.

RX series

RX series have the long history of support for the HP-UX operating system as most of the servers in RX family have the full support for the HP-UX.[9]

Release history

Prior to the release of HP-UX version 11.11, HP used a decimal version numbering scheme with the first number giving the major release and the number following the decimal showing the minor release. With 11.11, HP made a marketing decision to name their releases 11i followed by a v(decimal-number) for the version. The i was intended to indicate the OS is Internet-enabled, but the effective result was a dual version-numbering scheme.

Versions

1.0 (1984)
Support for the HP Integral PC (embedded ROM version). Basic kernel runs from ROM; other commands are disk based.
2.0 (1987)
First release for HP 9000 Series 800. There may have been a different 2.x version for the Series 200 at an earlier date.
3.x (1988)
HP 9000 Series 600/800 only. Note: 2.x/3.x (for Series 600/800) were developed in parallel with 5.x/6.x (for Series 200/300/400), so, for example, 3.x was really contemporary with 6.x. The two lines were united at HP-UX 7.x (with different minor numbers for different series), so that Series 800 jumped from 3.1 to 7.0 and Series 300 from 6.5 to 7.01.
5.0 (1985)
Updated and renamed HP-UX 1.0 for the HP Integral PC. Supported Series 200, 300 and 500.
6.x (1988)
Support for HP 9000 Series 300 only. Introduced sockets from 4.3BSD. This version (together with 3.x) also introduced the context dependent files (CDF) feature, a method of allowing a fileserver to serve different configurations and binaries (and even architectures) to different client machines in a heterogeneous environment. A directory containing such files had its suid bit set and was made hidden from both ordinary and root processes under normal use. Such a scheme was sometimes exploited by hackers to hide exploits.[10] CDFs and the CDF filesystem were dropped with release 10.0.
7.x (1990)
Support for HP 9000 Series 300/400, 600/700 (in 7.03) /800 HP systems.[11] Provided OSF/Motif.
8.x (January 1991)
Support for HP 9000 Series 300/400 600/700/800 systems.[11] Shared libraries introduced.
9.x (July 1992)
9.00, 9.02, 9.04 (Series 600/800), 9.01, 9.03, 9.05, 9.07 (Series 300/400/700), 9.08, 9.09, 9.09+ (Series 700 only), 9.10 (Series 300/400 only). These provided support for the HP 9000 Series 300, 700 and 800 systems. Introduced SAM. The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) was presented in 9.00 for the Series 800 as a replacement for the older methods of disk management. The easiest way to determine the platform that a version of HP-UX 9.x would run on was by the last digit. Even numbers ran on servers, odd numbers ran on workstations.
10.0 (1995)
This major release saw a convergence of the operating system between the HP 9000 Series 700 (workstation) and Series 800 (server) systems. (The OS no longer supported the older series.) There was also a significant change in the layout in the system files and directories, based on the AT&T UNIX System V Release 4 standard. Applications were removed from /usr and moved under /opt; startup configuration files were placed under /etc/rc.config.d; users were moved to /home from /users. Software for HP-UX was now packaged, shipped, installed, and removed via the Software Distributor (SD) tools. LVM was also made available for Series 700. 10.0 was followed by 10.01 (1995), 10.02 (1995), 10.03 (1996), 10.08 (1996), 10.09 (1996), 10.10 (1996) and 10.16 (1996).
10.20 (1996)
This release included support for PA-RISC 2.0 processors that support 64-bit data registers. Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) were introduced for use within CDE. The root file system could be configured to use the Veritas File System (VxFS). For legacy as well as technical reasons, the file system used for the boot kernel remained Hi Performance FileSystem (HFS, a variant of UFS) until version 11.23. 10.20 also supported 32-bit user and group identifiers. The prior limit was 60,000, or 16-bit. This and earlier releases of HP-UX are now effectively obsolete, and support by HP ended on June 30, 2003.[12]
10.24
This is a Virtual Vault release of HP-UX, providing enhanced security features. Virtual Vault is a compartmentalised operating system in which each file is assigned a compartment and processes only have access to files in the appropriate compartment and unlike most other UNIX systems the superuser (or root) does not have complete access to the system without following correct procedures.
10.30 (1997)
This was primarily a developer release with various incremental enhancements. The use of PAM continued to expand in the system security components. Various changes to system calls were also made. This OS also provided the first support for Kernel Threads, with a 1:1 thread model (each user thread is bound to one kernel thread). 10.30 was also the first release of HP-UX that was fully year 2000 compliant.
11.00 (1997)
The first HP-UX release to also support 64-bit addressing; previous releases had been 32-bit only. It could still run 32-bit applications on a 64-bit system. This release was also deemed Y2K-compliant. It supported 1:1 kernel threads, symmetric multiprocessing, fibre channel, and NFS PV3. It also included tools and documentation to convert 32-bit code to 64-bit.
11.04
Virtual Vault release.
11.10
This was a limited release to support the HP 9000 V2500 SCA (Scalable Computing Architecture) and V2600 SCA servers. Other versions supported the HP 9000 V-class servers in a single cabinet configuration, 11.10 ran on the SCA versions where two servers are stacked on top of each other, interconnected by a hyperplane crossbar. 11.10 also added JFS 3.3, 128-CPU support, AutoFS, and a new ftpd. It was not available separately.
11.11 (2000)
Also known as 11i, this release of HP-UX introduced the concept of Operating Environments. It was released in December 2000. These are bundled groups of layered applications intended for use with a general category of usage. The available types were the Mission Critical, Enterprise, Internet, Technical Computing, and Minimal Technical OEs. (The last two were intended for HP 9000 workstations.) The main enhancements with this release were support for hard partitions, gigabit ethernet, NFS over TCP/IP, loadable kernel modules, dynamic kernel tunable parameters, kernel event Notifications, and protected stacks.
11.20 (2001)
Also known as 11i v1.5, this release of HP-UX was the first to support the new line of Itanium-based (IA-64) systems. It was not intended for mission critical computing environments and did not support HP's ServiceGuard cluster software. It did provide support for running PA-RISC compiled applications on Itanium systems, and for Veritas Volume Manager 3.1.
11.22 (2002)
An incremental release of the Itanium version of HP-UX, it was designated 11i v1.6. This version achieved 64-way scalability, m:n threads, added more dynamic kernel tunable parameters, and supported HP's Logical Volume Manager on Itanium. It was built from the 11i v1 source code stream.
11.23 (2003)
The original release of this version was in September 2003 to support the Itanium-based systems. This version is also identified as 11i v2. In September 2004 the OS was updated to provide support for both Itanium and PA-RISC systems. Besides running on Itanium systems, this release includes support for ccNUMA, web-based kernel and device configuration, IPv6 and a strong random number generator.
11.31 (2007)
This release is also identified as HP-UX 11i v3. This release supports both PA-RISC and Itanium.[13] It was released on February 15, 2007.[14] Major new features include native multipathing support, a unified file cache, NFS v4, Veritas ClusterFS, multi-volume VxFS, and integrated virtualization. Hyperthreading is supported on Itanium systems with Montecito and Tukwila processors. HP-UX 11i v3 conforms to The Open Group's UNIX 03 standard.[15] Updates for 11iv3 have been released every 6 months,[16] with the latest being Update 14,[17] released in March 2015. HP has moved to a cadence of one major HP-UX operating system update per year.

11i v3 Updates

Update 14 (2015)
New features/products - Java 8.0.00 and 10GigEthr-05 (itxgbe driver for stand-up, mezzanine, and LOM technologies) [18]

Future versions

A 2012 HP-UX 11i roadmap by Hewlett-Packard showed plans of continued updates of HP-UX.[19]

HP-UX 11i operating environments

HP sells HP-UX 11i in Operating Environments (OEs).[20] OEs are HP-tested and integrated operating system plus application bundles designed to simplify installation and maintenance while providing the functionality needed for the system's purpose.

In 2008, HP introduced new OEs for HP-UX 11i v3 to align application bundles with typical systems' use. OEs for HP-UX 11i v2 remain unchanged. The following lists the currently available HP-UX 11i v3 OEs:

HP-UX 11i v3 Base OE (BOE)
Delivers the full HP-UX 11i operating system plus file system and partitioning software and applications for Web serving, system management and security. BOE includes all the software formerly in FOE & TCOE (see below), plus software formerly sold stand-alone (e.g. Auto Port Aggregator).
HP-UX 11i v3 Virtualization Server OE (VSE-OE)
Delivers everything in BOE plus GlancePlus performance analysis and software mirroring, and all Virtual Server Environment software which includes virtual partitions, virtual machines, workload management, capacity advisor and applications. VSE-OE includes all the software formerly in EOE (see below), plus additional virtualization software.
HP-UX 11i v3 High Availability OE (HA-OE)
Delivers everything in BOE plus HP Serviceguard clustering software for system failover and tools to manage clusters, as well as GlancePlus performance analysis and software mirroring applications.
HP-UX 11i v3 Data Center OE (DC-OE)
Delivers everything in one package, combining the HP-UX 11i operating system with virtualization and high availability. Everything in the HA-OE and VSE-OE is in the DC-OE. Solutions for wide-area disaster recovery and the compiler bundle are sold separately.[20]
HP-UX 11i v2 (11.23) 
HP's public roadmap[21] indicates v2 availability through December 2010, while recommending upgrading to v3. The following lists the currently available HP-UX 11i v2 OEs:
HP-UX 11i v2 Foundation OE (FOE)
Designed for Web servers, content servers and front-end servers, this OE includes applications such as HP-UX Web Server Suite, Java, and Mozilla Application Suite. This OE is bundled as HP-UX 11i FOE.
HP-UX 11i v2 Enterprise OE (EOE)
Designed for database application servers and logic servers, this OE contains the HP-UX 11i v2 Foundation OE bundles and additional applications such as GlancePlus Pak to enable an enterprise-level server. This OE is bundled as HP-UX 11i EOE.
HP-UX 11i v2 Mission Critical OE (MCOE)
Designed for the large, powerful back-end application servers and database servers that access customer files and handle transaction processing, this OE contains the Enterprise OE bundles, plus applications such as MC/ServiceGuard and Workload Manager to enable a mission-critical server. This OE is bundled as HP-UX 11i MCOE.
HP-UX 11i v2 Minimal Technical OE (MTOE)
Designed for workstations running HP-UX 11i v2, this OE includes the Mozilla Application Suite, Perl, VxVM, and Judy applications, plus the OpenGL Graphics Developer's Kit. This OE is bundled as HP-UX 11i MTOE.
HP-UX 11i v2 Technical Computing OE (TCOE)
Designed for both compute-intensive workstation and server applications, this OE contains the MTOE bundles plus extensive graphics applications, MPI and Math Libraries. This OE is bundled as HP-UX 11i-TCOE.
HP-UX 11i v1 (11.11)
According to HP's roadmap,[21] was sold through December 2009, with continued support for v1 at least until December 2015.[22]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ideas International (2008). "HP-UX 11i v3 Delivers Superior Capabilities for Virtualized Data Centers" (PDF). HP. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  2. ↑ Gabriel Consulting Group (2009). "2008/09 - UNIX More Strategic Than Ever". HP. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  3. ↑ "The Open Brand Register of Certified Products". The Open Group. 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  4. ↑ HP-UX 11i v3 Update Information http://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA3-5947ENW.pdf
  5. ↑ HP-UX Workload Manager overview
  6. ↑ The March 2010 update release completed "trust mode" integration. See www.hp.com/go/hpux11isecurity.
  7. ↑ "Protect your environment". Hewlett Packard. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
  8. ↑ HP-UX Combatibility
  9. ↑ HP-UX 11i Support Matrix
  10. ↑ HP certifications
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Loftus, Chris (1994). ADA Yearbook 1994. IOS Press. ISBN 90-5199-155-X.
  12. ↑ "HP-UX media release". Hp.com. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  13. ↑ Staff (2007-03-14). "HP-UX 11i compatibility for HP Integrity and HP 9000 servers" (PDF). HP. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
  14. ↑ Staff (2007-02-15). "HP Eases Deployment of UNIX Virtualization with Newest HP-UX Operating System, HP Integrity Servers". HP. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
  15. ↑ The Open Group (2007-02-27). "HP-UX 11i v3 Open Brand Certificate" (PDF). The Open Group. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  16. ↑ Anton Shilov (2012-03-27). "Hewlett Packard Sees Microsoft Windows and Linux as Viable Solutions for Mission-Critical Systems.". Xbit laboratories.
  17. ↑ HP-UX 11i v3 Operating Environments: For workloads vital to the enterprise, because your business is always on. - Data sheet (Data sheet/4AA3-5947ENW.pdf). H20195.www2.hp.com (March 2015, Rev. 10) Retrieved on 2015-04-16.
  18. ↑ "HP-UX 11i v3 Read Before Installing or Updating March 2015". Hewlett Packard. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
  19. ↑ "HP-UX Roadmap" (PDF). Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/w1/en/os/hpux11i-oe-options.html
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "HP UX — High Availability Unix | Mission Critical Infrastructure | HP®" (PDF). H20338.www2.hp.com. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  22. ↑ HP (2009-11-16). "HP-UX 11i server support matrix" (PDF). HP. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
  23. ↑ PRM described at this URL http://h20338.www2.hp.com/enterprise/w1/en/os/hpux11i-prm-overview.html
  • Scott W. Y. Wang and Jeff B. Lindberg "HP-UX: Implementation of UNIX on the HP 9000 Series 500 Computer Systems", Hewlett-Packard Journal (volume 35 number 3, March 1984)
  • Frank McConnell, More about the HP 9000, gaby.de
  • Hewlett-Packard Company, "HP-UX Reference, Vol. 1, HP-UX Release 6.5, December 1988", HP Part number 09000-90009

External links