OpenVMS
Also known as VAX/VMS, VMS, Virtual Memory System
OpenVMS, often referred to as just VMS, is a multi-user, multiprocessing and virtual memory-based operating system. It is designed to support time-sharing, batch processing, transaction processing and workstation applications. Customers using OpenVMS include banks and financial services, hospitals and healthcare, telecommunications operators, network information services, and industrial manufacturers. During the 1990s and 2000s, there were approximately half a million VMS systems in operation worldwide.
Key facts
- OS.name
- OpenVMS
- OS.logo
- Vsi-openvms-logo.svg
- OS.logo size
- 250px
- OS.screenshot
- DECwindows-openvms-v7.3-1.png
- OS.caption
- OpenVMS V7.3-1 running the CDE-based DECwindows "New Desktop" GUI
- OS.developer
- VMS Software Inc (VSI) (previously Digital Equipment Corporation, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard)
- OS.source_model
- Closed-source with open-source components. Formerly source available
- OS.kernel_type
- Monolithic kernel with loadable modules
- OS.supported_platforms
- VAX, Alpha, Itanium, x86-64
- OS.ui
- DCL CLI and DECwindows GUI
- OS.released
- Announced: V1.0 /
- OS.latest_release_version
~41 min read
Article
28 sectionsContents
- History
- Origin and name changes
- Port to Alpha
- Port to Intel Itanium
- Port to x86-64
- Influence
- Architecture
- Executive and Kernel
- File system
- Command Language Interpreter
- Features
- Clustering
- Networking
- Programming
- Development tools
- Database management
- User interfaces
- Text-based user interfaces
- Graphical user interfaces{{Anchor|DECwindows}}
- Security
- Vulnerabilities
- POSIX compatibility
- Hobbyist programs
- Release history
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
OpenVMS, often referred to as just VMS, is a multi-user, multiprocessing and virtual memory-based operating system. It is designed to support time-sharing, batch processing, transaction processing and workstation applications. Customers using OpenVMS include banks and financial services, hospitals and healthcare, telecommunications operators, network information services, and industrial manufacturers. During the 1990s and 2000s, there were approximately half a million VMS systems in operation worldwide.
It was first announced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) as VAX/VMS (Virtual Address eXtension/Virtual Memory System) alongside the VAX-11/780 minicomputer in 1977. OpenVMS has subsequently been ported to run on DEC Alpha systems, the Itanium-based HPE Integrity Servers, and select x86-64 hardware and hypervisors. Since 2014, OpenVMS is developed and supported by VMS Software Inc. (VSI). OpenVMS offers high availability through clustering—the ability to distribute the system over multiple physical machines. This allows clustered applications and data to remain continuously available while operating system software and hardware maintenance and upgrades are performed, or if part of the cluster is destroyed. VMS cluster uptimes of 17 years have been reported.