converting 32 to 64 bit. Should I?

[Bopper]

Need some opinions please......
We have 2 Hp boxes. One in Cleveland (K450) the other Toronto(D250). Both are running Unix 11.00 Progress 8.3b (32) and QAD 8.5e. We want to move both systems to an N class Hp box. Still running Unix 11.00. Hp tells me that a N class only has the 64 bit available. I want this to be quick and painless so now for my questions...
How much trouble do you forsee me having if I want to simply move from the K and D class to the N class? I believe I can stay 32 bit with the Progress and QAD, correct? Would I be better off changing to 64 bit? Can I without upgrading?
Note: Can not upgrade because this system is highly modified. 2000 + programs touched and we don't have all the source code for them. Trying to do this on a budget so corporate doesn't take the systems and put them in their facility and leave me looking for work.

 

[toby.Harman]

Can you stay 32 bit with Progress - Check with your local PSC people. I would suspect that since HP are offering 64bit HP-UX only then you will need to change platform.

Would you be better off changing to 64bit. 64 Bit progress is only different in its handling of memory, so yes - you would be able to attach more shared memory to a database and have a larger buffer pool, and No - you would not be significantly better off if everything is running smoothly now.

Can you do it without upgrading - again, this is one for the PSC people. I get lost in the current "what's my licence" game and am not aware of the current licencing policy.

SInce you are running 8.3B, any change to the licence will inevitably require a new set of media on 9.1D etc, so there will be an upgrade. I believe 8.3 is approaching end of life anyway and you should probably upgrade at some point soon...

 

[Bopper]

Toby,
thanks for your reply. Couple of things. I was looking around this forum and found a thread from Mario Espinoza Llamas on Sept 9 2002 about running a couple of sites on an Hpux 11 64 bit box one site had upgraded to 64 bit version 9.1c and was having trouble the other was kept at 32 bit v8.3b and performance was fine. That is what I would like to do. the reasoning? the system I am admining has been highly customized for the users and they do not have all the source code (2000 + programs touched) that is why we can not upgrade. The other reason for not upgrading is that the corporate folks are working on an new ERP platform to put in it's place using Oracle. Not my choice. I feel stuck. The system hardware we are on now is a HP9000 K450 box that is pretty full. Haven't been able to do a D/L since I got here 3 years ago. Anyway enough of me whining. thanks for your response