The oldest protocol we're running anywhere is IPv4. (It had to be said! :-) )
On Mon, Mar 23, 2015 at 1:35 PM, David Parter <dpar...@cs.wisc.edu> wrote: > I think there are (at least) two distinct scenarios for running old > software: > > 1) infrastructure: the difficulty of transitioning from old to new. This > includes the dollar cost of the new software (and hardware) and the huge > amount of staff time needed: both immediately obvious (the actual > transition/migration) and the not-so-obviouscosts and time necessary to > really understand and deal with all the dependencies, both technological and > business-process. It is very hard to know all the ways that people are using > the features (and oddities) of any major software infrastructure. And > getting people to change how they work is really hard, especially when they > don't see any advantage or benefit. > > 2) applications: some people don't like change, so they resist moving to new > versions or replacements for anything. Others have a legitimate need (or > legitimate perceived need) to be able to deal with documents and other data > from the old applications. It took us many many years to finally get rid of > really really old drawing programs that faculty were either using, or > thought that they might need to update the images that they use in their > teaching. > > --david > > > On 03/23/15 15:10, Esther Schindler wrote: > > > I recently listened to an IT manager talk about how many Novell Netware > servers the organization still used. I could hear the pain in his voice. > > I’m planning to write a blog post about the old software that IT folks and > developers have to support. I’m thinking it might be entertaining… in a > schadenfreude way. And perhaps the “why” answers can give us all insight > into what makes organizations hold onto legacy applications, for good or > ill. > > I’m not looking for answers about custom applications or in-house software. > The reasons to hold onto old custom code are relatively well-known, and a > different discussion. But software you acquired from a vendor…? > > But… what’s the oldest software your shop still uses? Why is it still in > place? > > Send me a note privately if you like, but I'm not planning to quote anyone > by name. It does help to have a context (e.g. "says a sysadmin at a midwest > insurance company") but it’s the experience that matters, not the company or > source’s name. > > --Esther > > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@lists.lopsa.org > https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss > This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators > http://lopsa.org/ > > > -- > David Parter > Director of Academic Computing Services > University of Wisconsin Computer Sciences Department > dpar...@cs.wisc.edu > 608-262-0608 > > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@lists.lopsa.org > https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss > This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators > http://lopsa.org/ > _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.lopsa.org https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
