ORACLE RDB ON OPENVMS

Off the cliff edge.

Onto a

controlled runway.

Oracle has ended Rdb on x86-64, and the support clock runs out in 2027. Salem gets your system onto safe, modern hardware in days — unchanged — then migrates it forward in planned, reversible stages.

THE CHALLENGE

It’s not the software. It’s the ground it stands on.

Your Oracle Rdb system has run reliably for years — often decades. Three pressures are now closing in at once.

Hardware aging out

VAX, Alpha, and Itanium systems get harder to source, service, staff, and insure every quarter.

Support sunsetting

Extended Support ends 31 December 2027. From 2028, Sustaining Support means existing patches only — no new ones.

No native Rdb on x86-64

The one destination that would have carried the database forward unchanged is gone. There is no Oracle Rdb on x86-64.

The decision to move has effectively been made for you. The only question is how.

TWO ROADS

Two ways off old hardware. Only one keeps your options open.

The real choice is whether you replace everything at once — or move onto modern hardware first and migrate in planned, reversible stages.

Single-step cutover

The rip-and-replace route

Upgrade straight to OpenVMS V9+ on VMware® in one step.

A dead end for native Oracle.

Phased & reversible

The Salem Controlled Runway

A runway, not a cliff.

HOW IT WORKS

The Controlled Runway

Reach safe ground first, understand the system while it runs, then migrate on terms you control. Each stage stands alone and is engaged separately.

0

Start here

Risk Assessment

Fixed-scope, fixed-fee look at your exposure, with a costed phased plan.

1

Phase 1

Stabilize

Virtualize onto modern x86 — unchanged. Hardware risk gone in days.

2

Phase 2

Understand

Map dependencies and data while it runs. Risk register and target plan.

3

Phase 3

Migrate

Incremental, parallel, reversible — to native Oracle on Windows or Linux.

Long-Term Support Services — continuous

Why Salem

One partner, from cliff edge to modern platform.

Virtualization, long-term support, and migration come from a single team — so the people who learn your system are the people who move it.

Native Oracle preserved

You’re never forced to rip out the database just to get off old hardware.

VAX is supported

A dead end on the rip-and-replace route — fully supported here.

Nothing rewritten during virtualization

Applications, 4GL, and native compilers run unchanged after stabilization.

Reversible at every step

Old and new run side by side; you cut over only once it’s proven.

Data brought forward

Preserved and verifiable for audit — and opened up to modern SQL and BI.

Backed by IT Service Alliance

Deep OpenVMS specialists and dual fluency in legacy and modern platforms.

Trusted where downtime isn’t an option

Manufacturing

Utilities & energy

Defense & Aerospace

Financial services

R&D & national labs

Common Questions

Straight answers

Oracle says we’re supported through 2027 — why act now?
Support of the software isn’t the risk — the hardware is, and it’s degrading now. After 2027 there are no new patches at all. The assessment is low-cost and tells you exactly how much runway you really have.

vtVAX / vtAlpha virtualization is production-proven and presents the exact hardware your software expects — nothing is rewritten. It typically improves performance on modern x86, and Salem supports it under LTSS.

No. Stabilizing buys time to choose. The natural path is native Oracle on x86, but the assessment evaluates alternatives too — the decision is made on evidence, not forced.
You don’t buy the whole program at once. Start with a fixed-fee assessment; each phase is scoped and funded only if the evidence justifies it. Spend tracks decisions.

A single cutover concentrates every risk — undocumented dependencies, data that won’t reconcile, downtime — into one event you can’t price in advance. Phasing turns that into a series of small, reversible steps.

Yes. Whether you’re on Oracle Rdb or Oracle Database (Oracle’s flagship RDBMS) on OpenVMS, the same controlled runway applies: stabilize on modern hardware first, then migrate on your timeline. Tell us what you’re running and we’ll scope it.

Start with a fixed-fee assessment.

Tell us about your Oracle Rdb environment and we’ll map your exposure and a phased plan — beginning with the most urgent hardware risk.

No obligation beyond the assessment. Confidential. · Salem Automation
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