HP-UX 11i Version 2 May 2005 Release Notes

Introduction to HP-UX 11i Version 2

Welcome to HP-UX 11i v2 May 2005

Chapter 2

Welcome to HP-UX 11i v2 May 2005

The May 2005 release of HP-UX 11i v2 continues as a joint release of HP-UX 11i v2

supported on both the HP 9000 and HP Integrity server families. This enterprise release

offers the full range of HP-UX Operating Environments and capabilities. Significant new

capabilities include:

• HP-UX Virtual Partitions (vPars) for the HP Integrity server family

• HP-UX Virtual Partitions (vPars) for the HP 9000 server family

Itanium-based systems offer significantly better price/performance and performance

scalability than systems based on current architectures, and HP-UX 11i v2 provides the

best way to preserve your investment through the transition from Precision Architecture

Reduced Instruction Set Computing (PA-RISC) HP 9000 servers to Itanium-based HP

Integrity servers.

HP's enterprise computing business carefully planned the transition to Itanium-based

systems and places a premium on customer and partner investment protection. HP-UX

11i v2 maintains compatibility between HP 9000 and HP Integrity servers in the

following ways:

• Common “look and feel” for HP-UX 11i on both server families

• Application Build Environment compatibility (source, makefile, and script

compatibility)

• Data compatibility (identical data formats)

• Binary compatibility (the Aries dynamic code translation technology, a standard

integrated component of every copy of HP-UX 11i for HP Integrity, executes HP 9000

programs on HP Integrity without recompiling or relinking)

With this May 2005 update to the September 2004 release of HP-UX 11i v2 (for both the

HP 9000 and HP Integrity server families), HP-UX 11i v2 continues as a transition

bridge between the PA-RISC architecture and the Itanium-based architecture, and

continues to provide a smooth transition path for HP-UX customers and partners on to

the next-generation Itanium-based architecture.

NOTE Please note that your system must have an HP-UX 11i v2 Operating Environment (OE)

from September 2004 (or later) before updating your system with any individual

patches, patch bundles, or products released from September 2004 forward.

1. For more information about compatibility, see “HP-UX 11i v2 Compatibility” on

page 29.