It has become virtually impossible to avoid virtual NonStop

In the May- June 2022 issue of the Connect Worldwide publication, The Connection, there were numerous articles focused on virtualization. With the availability of virtual NonStop (vNS), the long-held belief that NonStop was really a software solution was realized. Today, with enough energy and skills you can deploy vNS on any mix of x86 hardware with the right interconnect fabric and where VMware has been installed.

With as much emphasis that is being placed on clouds, both private and public, and on the awareness that with vNS you truly do end up with a smaller footprint – think virtual CLIMs just for starters – it has become widely anticipated that in time, the deployment of NonStop on virtual machines will overtake the deployment of NonStop on traditional HPE converged systems.

In her article, Virtual NonStop when you need one, Pyalla Technologies Cofounder and COO, Margo Holen, writes about her own observations about deploying vNS today –

Whether your need happens to be for a virtual NonStop to run within your own x86 server farm or simply as a desktop solution for your own development teams, the upside is recognizable. That old idea that echoed around the corridors of Tandem Computers that it was the NonStop software that was the “special sauce” has been proven!

My biggest issue with all of this is that so few people even know about the availability of virtual NonStop! Like many of you, I probably tend to socialize with people either involved or at least familiar with the computer industry. Whenever we get together for a glass of wine we exchange work-related thoughts, ideas, and stories. Unless the folks we talk to have a Tandem/NonStop association bringing up virtual NonStop meets with the same look our server last night gave us when the 1980s tour of the wineries was mentioned.

However, for those already familiar with vNS, Margo highlights one potential value of the packaged vNS with HPE hardware solution, the HPE Virtualized Converged NonStop NS2, that being for developers as well as those tasked with QA –

… back in the 1970s and early 1980s if you were developing software for the NonStop computer (called Tandem back then) you needed a dedicated machine to test it! In the Tandem offices in Cupertino, there were computer rooms dedicated to performing debugging and QA of the software – as a developer or as a tester you were signing up for a time window when this expensive hardware was for your personal use!

The point is that every developer and tester whether working for Tandem or for a small vendor developing solutions for Tandem or for Tandem’s customers who needed their specific environment augmented or tested, needed time on a dedicated machine. That is expensive! That not only takes money to get the hardware and software, but it also takes money to get a space, raise the floors and run cables! It is really very expensive and time-consuming! I know firsthand as often it was part of my development budget.

To read Margo’s article in full then click on the hyperlink above or cut and paste the link below into your favorite browser. For all those who will be attending the upcoming NonStop Technical Boot Camp 2022 (NonStopTBC22) make sure you catch up with her for additional insights into the value proposition of vNS –

https://connect2nonstop.com/virtual-nonstop-when-you-need-one/

Joining Margo with a contribution of his own, was Pyalla Technologies Cofounder and CEO Richard Buckle. His article, It’s a virtual world after all … it’s a virtual, virtual world!  draws inspiration from the 1964 – 65 World’s Fair held in New York and the Disney song that resonates across the generations that should be recognizable from the phrasing of the article’s title. But there is considerable substance provided in terms of how strongly we are attracted to the availability of vNS –

And that is the beauty of virtualized NonStop today; the NonStop community has many more choices than at any other time in its history. It is an important step and one that needs a little more context. As (former HPE CTO Martin) Fink noted, “wouldn’t it be cool to ‘bring to market (more) powerful hybrids – a powerful combination.’” Enterprise IT has become Enterprise Hybrid IT and with some transformation, there are now many moving parts to deal with. However, by focusing on just one foundation server architecture such as x86, configuring VMware across a server farm means that NonStop can be positioned just a few electrons away from servers where analysis can be performed in real-time and where the algorithms of AI / ML can be leverage also in real-time.

This is the real story behind the virtualization of NonStop. The story of many steps being taken to get us to where we are today; capable of running real or virtual. Considering where the separation of NonStop from the underlying hardware has taken us so far it’s difficult to imagine that this story is entering its final chapters. Rather, as enterprise hybrid IT becomes even more diverse in time catering to IoT, IIoT, V2V, and more, it becomes abundantly clear that what we are witnessing today is only the first of many baby steps to follow. Yes, baby steps that lead us to the realization that as an operating system, NonStop is on the verge of virtually becoming ubiquitous in terms of possibilities for underpinning all mission-critical applications.

As for the article’s conclusion then perhaps these few words summarize it best –

Excited? Suddenly, it becomes a very small world, after all.

To read Richard’s article in full click on the hyperlink above or cut and paste the link below into your favorite browser –

https://connect2nonstop.com/virtual-nonstop-when-you-need-one/