With the OS/400 operating system – 3.1 or 3.6 – for the AS/400 now running NetWare on the 80486-based File Server Input-Output Processor ( CI No 2,690), Glen Van Benschoten, director of systems product management at the AS/400 division, said that there are a bunch of other irons in the fire that will eventually see other operating systems, and therefore applications, up on the system. But again, he was not saying when that was likely. The division could add support for other iAPX-86-based environments to the processor, including OS/2, and was dropping large hints that Santa Cruz Operation Inc OpenServer would be next up. Van Benschoten said the company is also looking at Windows NT, but had not yet made a decision about whether it would figure in its plans. Another way to get other applications over would be to follow the application programming interface route. The division is currently implementing Unix Spec 1170 interfaces to OS/400 to encourage independent software vendors to make their Unix software available to the 300,000-odd-strong installed AS/400 base. He said the objective is to make it easier to port to the AS/400 than it is to port between Unixes. OS/400 3.6 will see 450 of the Spec 1170 application programming interfaces migrated. The final iron is the microkernel route; providing OS/400 with a microkernel that could host other operating system personalities (CI No 2,590). IBM’s experience with microkernel technology thus far does not inspire confidence in this proposition, although Van Benschoten maintained that work is progressing on each of these fronts and that no option has yet been ruled out.
