Legacy Technology · Migrations
HP-UX to Linux migration after end of support
Standard support for HP-UX 11i v3 ended on 31 December 2025, and no new Itanium servers are being made. We move HP-UX workloads to supported Linux with the applications, scripts and clusters intact.
- UK contract with Dreams Technologies Hub Private Limited (VAT registered)
- Engineers delivered from our own Coimbatore office, India
- Shortlist within 5 working days
- Building software since 2013
Why now
HPE now lists HP-UX 11i v3 as mature support without sustaining engineering through at least 2028. In practice that means no new fixes and a shrinking supply of hardware spares. Each year you wait, the people and parts get harder to find.
Most HP-UX estates run custom C and C++ built with HP aC++, plus years of shell scripts and Serviceguard packages. That is where the work is, and where we focus.
What’s in scope
Every migration starts with a full inventory. On this kind of move, that means:
- Servers, partitions (nPars, vPars) and Integrity VM guests.
- Applications built with HP aC++ or HP C, and their libraries.
- Shell scripts, cron jobs and rc scripts under /sbin/init.d.
- Serviceguard clusters and packages.
- Storage on LVM or VxVM, and backup integrations.
- Databases and middleware, and their supported Linux versions.
How we run the migration
- Assess. Inventory, dependencies and risks, delivered as our fixed-fee legacy estate assessment.
- Plan. Migration waves, test approach, cutover and rollback, agreed with you. Fixed price from here.
- Build the target. New environment built to your standards and automated where it helps.
- Port and test. Code, scripts and configuration moved and tested, with before-and-after comparison of outputs.
- Run in parallel. Old and new side by side until results match.
- Cut over. Planned, rehearsed, with a rollback ready.
- Hypercare. Our engineers stay on hand while the new platform settles in.
The problems we plan for
| What goes wrong | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| HP-UX is big-endian on both PA-RISC and Itanium; x86 Linux is little-endian. | Binary file formats identified and converted; databases moved by export and import or replication. |
| HP aC++ accepts code that GCC rejects, and C++ ABIs differ. | Code rebuilt with GCC or Clang, portability issues fixed, and outputs compared against HP-UX runs. |
| Scripts use HP-UX-specific commands and paths. | Every script scanned and converted, with tests. |
| Serviceguard packages encode years of failover logic. | Packages documented and rebuilt on Pacemaker or the target HA, then failover-tested. |
| No vendor fixes for problems found during migration. | Problems are fixed on the Linux side; the HP-UX side is only stabilised, not changed. |
What you receive
- Inventory, risk register and wave plan.
- Supported Linux environment, documented.
- Ported applications and scripts with test evidence.
- Rebuilt HA with failover tests.
- Cutover and rollback runbooks, rehearsed, plus hypercare.
If you can’t move yet
Sometimes a migration can’t start for a year or more. We can stabilise the HP-UX estate in the meantime with a support pod, recovery images and a hardware risk review. In some cases an emulation layer buys time; we’ll tell you honestly when that’s the better option.
How it’s priced
We start with a fixed-fee assessment so the scope is clear. The migration itself is then quoted at a fixed price, with any optional work listed separately. If you prefer, we can supply specialists to work inside your own migration team instead.
Related services
Why teams come to us for scarce skills
Finding thin talent pools is our core skill
Large service firms rarely staff a single Pro*C or HP-UX role quickly. We keep a vetted network of engineers who have these skills and want this work.
Screened by people who have done the work
Our own senior engineers run the technical interview. Candidates are tested on the platform you run, not on general programming.
UK contract, India delivery
You contract with our UK company. The work is delivered from our own office in Coimbatore with working hours that overlap the UK day.
AI-assisted code understanding
Our team works with Claude Code to read, document and test old codebases faster. Every finding is checked by an engineer before it reaches you.
Continuity built in
Every engagement keeps a runbook and code notes from week one, and a second engineer is briefed on your system. Losing one person does not mean losing the knowledge.
We also run the migration
When you are ready to leave the platform, the same team that kept it running plans and delivers the move.
Tell us what you’re running
Send us the stack and the problem. We’ll reply within one working day and, if it’s a staffing request, send a shortlist within five.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which Linux should we move to?
Usually RHEL or another enterprise distribution your software vendors support. We check vendor support for every component before recommending one.
Is it safe to run HP-UX until we migrate?
For a limited time, with care: tested recovery images, spares planning and no unnecessary changes.
Can you move HP-UX to the cloud?
Yes. The applications move to Linux first; the Linux servers can then run on-premises or on Azure or AWS.