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XX-D5DE7-DB

August 1998

2 pages

Original

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Document:	Canada DND CHARON-VAX Case Study A4
Order Number:	XX-D5DE7-DB
Revision:	0
Pages:	2
Original Filename:	Canada_DND_CHARON-VAX_Case_Study__A4_.pdf

OCR Text

CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS
CHARON™-VAX Aids Aurora Aircraft for
Canadian Department of National Defence
The Challenge

Customer Profile
The Department of National
Defence (DND) collaborates with
the Canadian Forces (CF) to ensure
the security of Canadians. Part
of Canada’s Air Force, 14 Wing
Greenwood is nestled in the heart
of Nova Scotia’s beautiful Annapolis
Valley. Aurora crews conduct
sovereignty and surveillance
missions over the Atlantic Ocean
routinely, while search and rescue
capabilities are maintained
365 days of the year. For more
information, please visit www.forces.
gc.ca

Partner Profile
Quayle Consulting Inc. is
a Professional Engineering
corporation located in Ohio. Since
1992, Quayle Consulting has
provided system virtualization, data
migration, system administration,
software development, and training
services. As a Value- Added
Reseller for Stromasys, Inc., Quayle
Consulting offers CHARON-TB,

When the Canadian Forces procured the CP-140 Aurora Maritime Patrol
Aircraft in 1980, the requirement to maintain its many computer programs
was widely recognized.
To fulfill this
requirement,
the Software
Engineering
Squadron (SES)
was formed on
August 7, 1980.
The Squadron
is tasked with
providing software
support for the
CP-140 Aurora.
This includes
maintenance
and design
of computer
programs, not only for the Aurora’s on-board computer, but also for the Data
Interpretation and Analysis Centre (DIAC), and the computer assisted training
devices used by the 404 Squadron.
In addition to the over 500,000 lines of code they maintain, the past few
years have seen a growing emphasis on the development of new software
as aging components of the Aircraft’s weapons systems hardware are
replaced. In 2007, the SES decided it was time to replace their VAX 6510 &
6520 hardware, for which support had become hard to find, as well as more
expensive. The machines had been running at full capacity day in and day out
for years, but they knew they would not last forever.
The Aurora conducts regular sovereignty and surveillance missions and
maintains search and rescue capabilities 365 days a year, so hardware
failure was not an option. As part of the Canadian DND, it was also important
to keep the security provided by their OpenVMS operating system. The
SES knew that replacing the VAXes would be a challenge; with more than
500,000 lines of code, migrating to another platform was a daunting task,
especially since they had an application for which they did not have all of
the necessary source code. To complicate matters, the VAXes were also
connected to a matchless Rockwell card that communicated with a Unisys
system, whose programs would have to be rewritten for another device.

CHARON-VAX, and CHARON-AXP
products, support, and installation

The Solution

services. Quayle also boasts

In search of a less complicated solution, several SES staff attended the HP
Technology Forum & Expo in Houston, Texas. There, they were introduced
to Stromasys’ CHARON-VAX cross-platform virtualization software, which
promised to keep their VAX applications and operating system running
unmodified on a new, industry-standard server. Using the CHARON-VAX
software, they could replace their VAX hardware with a new server, while
they maintained and could still change their application, all without the original
source code. It was the solution they had been looking for.

extensive experience in OpenVMS,
UNIX, and Linux operating systems.
For more information, visit www.
stanq.com, call 1-888-VAX-VMS-8
(US and Canada) or +1 614-8681363 (Worldwide).

“We needed a
way forward,
and CHARON
provided that,
and more. Using
the CHARON
software
allowed us to
reduce energy
consumption,
increase our
available floor
space, and save
on maintenance
costs.”
- Wayne Graham,
Resource Manager,
14 Software Engineering
Squadron, Department of
National Defence, Canada

After learning about the CHARON solution, Wayne Graham, Resource
Manager for the Software Engineering Squadron, contacted Quayle Consulting
for more information. Although the SES had not given up their search for the
missing source code, after weighing the options, they decided that the CHARONVAX software was the best choice. For their new hardware, they chose a HP
ProLiant DL380 server (pictured below). Quayle Consulting provided support
during the CHARON-VAX implementation process via phone and e-mail. The
implementation went smoothly, although there was a minor issue when specifying
how a serial port would be mapped into the virtual VAX to support their Rockwell
card. The device they originally planned to use to connect the card was limited to
9600 baud (bits per second), which was well below their desired speed. However,
with the assistance of Quayle Consulting and the Support Center, they found a
solution by configuring a virtual DHQ11 device and were able to reach the desired
baud speed. After resolving this issue, their virtual VAX was up and running.

The Result
According to Wayne Graham, the SES has had no issues with their virtual
VAXes running on the CHARON-VAX software. The systems boot automatically
and run just like a VAX, with the exception of being smaller and more energyefficient. Using the CHARON-VAX software, the SES can maintain and continue to
develop programs for the Aurora aircraft, without having to worry about declining
support for legacy hardware. In addition to solving their support problem, they
were also able to increase storage capacity, reduce their energy consumption,
increase the amount of available floor space in the data center, and save money
on maintenance fees.

About Stromasys
Stromasys SA is a privately held company headquartered in Geneva,
Switzerland, serving thousands of users in more than 50 countries. Stromasys
develops and markets Cross-Platform Virtualization solutions that allow owners
of PDP, VAX, and Alpha computers to continue to run their business-critical
applications unchanged on modern, industry-standard computer systems.
Stromasys SA was established in 1998 as part of a management buyout of
DEC’s (Digital Equipment Corporation) European Migration and Porting centre
following the HP/Compaq merger. The vast experience gained from years
of large-scale migration and porting projects, System-level VMS engineering
projects, and development of Binary translators eventually led to the development
of the CHARON-VAX and CHARON-AXP products. For more information, please
visit www.stromasys.com.
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