Conference evms::y2k

   Please see the previously-posted official statements.  As you will
   find from the official statements posted here and at Digital's web
   site, there is presently no `yes' or `no' statement.

	--

   Please have the stock exchange *test* their own hardware and software
   configuration for Y2K compliance.  Any site that depends on a vendor's
   compliance statement alone -- without the additional necessary local
   testing for hardware, software, and procedures that all likely reside
   outside the scope of the configuration the vendor can evaluate for Y2K
   compliance -- is, bluntly, foolhardy.

re .0
    
>    They would like to inquire if the VAX 7620, VMS 5.5 and VMS 6.2 are
>    compliant with Year 2000 or not.
    
    If you want to discuss this question then this is the right conference.
    And as it happens official statements are also available here (although
    the customer could get it for himself from the web and it is not usual
    for official statements to be sourced from a notes conference).
    
    I assume that the stock exchange runs a lot of other software besides
    just VMS (as much as I love VMS). To be confident that they will still
    be trading on 2-JAN-2000 they had better validate *all* software, not
    just the operating system, and the best way of doing that is not a
    piece of paper from Digital or any other software supplier or indeed
    their own IT people if they run in-house developed applications. They
    must do TESTING.
    
    For the vast majority of customers I would guess that VMS will function
    perfectly in the year 2000 and beyond but for a customer that might be
    doing millions of dollars per hour in trading my _guess_ or anyone else's
    is just not good enough.
    
    There are some minor known non-compliances in VMS regarding Y2K. Digital
    has no way of knowing whether what is in some absolute sense minor
    might happen to be major for any one particular customer (e.g. need to
    exchange files with RSX systems via DECnet).
    
    Some issues will be addressed in later releases of VMS and some will
    also be retrofitted to installed base releases. If you want release details,
    you will have to ask a Product Manager.
    
    P.S. Is there some reason why the customer is only going to V6.2? Given the
    planning and effort involved in upgrading in the customer's kind of
    environment they might want to jump further.

    re: -1
    
    ".. if they want to be trading on 2-Jan-2000..."
    
    I don't know many stock exchanges that are open on Sunday, perhaps they
    plan on using the weekend of 1-2 Jan to upgrade to be ready for trading
    early Monday, 3-Jan-2000... ;)
    
    

    re .3
    
    Oh well, if 1-JAN is a Saturday then perhaps 3-JAN will be a public
    holiday in lieu and I should have said "if they want to be trading on
    4-JAN-2000".

re: .0

I'd like to point you again to our official statements. 
Also, please check, and suggest your customer to do the same,
the Year 2000 OSSG page at 

http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/products/year-2000

where you can find a general presentation about the Year 2000 
issue and a set of specific information on Digital's and
OSSG efforts to help customers.

Finally, feel free to get back to me if you have specific 
questions.

Thanks,

	Vittorio