THE UNOFFICIAL WARP 5 FAQ - REV 6

(Last update September 22, 1997)

New or updated items are marked with italic

This FAQ was created by Martin Alfredsson and was edited (English) by Daniel McNulty.
Please note that most features/timetables discussed are rumors and may never surface.




Latest news


"WorkSpace OS"
Well, WorkSpace On Demand (AKA Bluebird) is now official and it brings me back to the rumors of a change of name. Do you remember the WorkPlace OS, the OS that lead up to OS/2 for the PowerPC ? Let's make a qualified guess: merge these names. Well how about WorkSpace OS or WorkSpace OS/2 (for a transitional period).

I can already picture the ad: "WorkSpace OS - Your future WorkSpace, built on proven OS/2 technology".
I for one would not care if they changed the name. Just keep WorkSpace Shell (deliberate spelling mistake) and the OS/2 API and I'll love to install WorkSpace OS Version 5.0 on my machine.

Netscape Navigator 4.0
What does this have to do with Warp 5?
Many sources tells me that the reason for the delay in the project (or at least one of the reasons) is that IBM want the Navigator Part of Communicator as the primary browser for OS/2. This means the final end of WebExplorer and more importantly that IBM gets the source code of Navigator. IBM has a policy that states that all software included in their operating systems must be owned (or at least part-owned) by IBM and that IBM must have the source code to fix bugs and so on. I'll make a qualified guess of the browser that's part of Warp 5: Netscape Navigator 4.0.

Warp Server 5.0 in Alpha
Warp Server 5.0 is rumored to go into alpha testing (outside of IBM) in a few weeks. I don't know for sure but I believe this is Warp Server 5.0 (LAN Server SMP atop Warp 4) and not Warp 5.0 Server (the server version of Warp 5). If anyone knows more please inform me.

Warp 5 - Very unofficial :-)
I spoke with a IBM developer from Raleigh, NC. I did ask him about the Warp 5 beta. He stated that he had seen it and confirmed that it was being worked on actively. He also confirmed the merging of the source code for the server and desktop version. He offered testing betas when they became available.

I also asked some other highly placed IBM employee about specifics and received some very wide grins with shuffling of feet...very unofficial.

No more Warp 4.1 rumors
Though I don't doubt that there will be some kind of "service update" or "fixpack+" released for Warp 4 I do not believe there will be a release of Warp that is called Warp 4.1. Therefore I have removed the section on Warp 4.1 in this FAQ. I will however report on related subjects on my main page.

JFS/Warp on internal IBM disks
This is a directory listing I got before summer:
jfs.ifs 28-May-97 15:01 193k
jfs.sym 28-May-97 15:01 12k
jfssyncd.exe 28-May-97 15:02 29k
jfssyncd.sym 28-May-97 15:02 3k
logredo.exe 28-May-97 15:02 65k
logredo.sym 28-May-97 15:02 4k
mkfs.exe 28-May-97 15:02 63k
mkfs.sym 28-May-97 15:02 4k
ujfs.dll 28-May-97 15:02 9k
ujfs.sym 28-May-97 15:02 2k

(And, no, I do not have to code myself.)


Warp 5/Merlin 2 - "The Mega Release"

So you still believe that Warp 4 was the last version of OS/2? Get a grip and get ready for a reality check. IBM has (yes IBM) officially announced the next version of OS/2 will be released in early 1998. They refer to it as the "the mega release".

The name game:

The name "Warp 5" is not a firm name. I have indications IBM wants to drop the name since Paramount (owner of the Star Trek series) wants too much money from IBM to use the Paramount-owned trademark "Warp."
On the other hand, OS/2 has had lots of good press lately (even from Infoworld !) so nothing is for sure here.

The documents:

There is an internal document called "Project Notes for Warp 5" that contains the currently planned features for Warp 5. There have been a few leaks but Warp 5 is a moving target and things on the drawing board today may be scrapped for different reasons.

This document refers to personnel requirements and also refers to Warp 5 as Warp 5/Merlin 2. According to this document there are only a few features that are firm at this time. The decisions on the final feature set will be made in October/November 1997.

Apparently there are several different teams evaluating several different plans (directions) for Warp 5/Merlin 2. This means that we will probably hear lots of contradictory rumors until IBM decides what path to follow. Some people will tell you that Warp 5 will NOT be based on this or that and other people will tell you IT WILL. Not even IBM will know for sure until October/November 1997!

Warp 5/Merlin 2 has over a dozen (IBM internal) system design documents (SDDS) that will be available over the next three months that describes the function being provided by a Warp 5/Merlin 2 system (device drivers, file systems, system management, installation, transports etc.), the components that constitute the system, and the interaction of functions and components.

Each of these SDDs will, in turn, spawn one or more (IBM internal) component design documents (CDDs) which provide the detailed design for each component. The development of the CDDs will overlap that of the SDDs and is targeted to continue through November.

If anyone has any of these SDDs or CDDs please send them to me. The best way to stay anonymous is to scan the pages on a scanner and e-mail the bit maps to me or even OCR the pages. Mail me: jma@jmast.se

One very interesting thing is the talk of "significant OEM emphasis for Warp 5/Merlin 2". This seems to mean that IBM will try to make Warp 5 an even better network client. That is a LAN client, not just Java!

The release date is also a moving target (software development folks!). The plan at PSP is to release in the first quarter of 1998. Warp 5 it is to be client/server and it means that IBM creates a single version that is used for both Warp Server 5 and Warp Client 5. That will make things much easier for both IBM and users (one fixpak for both versions).

Another SDD (system design document) for the Warp 5 kernel that I have seen though talk about the design of the Warp 5 kernel. However this document was last edited in late 1996.

Rumored features:

C2 security:
One of the key short-term objectives for Warp 5/Merlin 2 is to submit (to the US government) by end of year for C2 security. This submission requires four documents: an Architecture Summary Design (ASD), an Interface Summary Design (ISD), a Trusted Facility manual (TFM), and a Security Features User's Guide (SFUG). It seems IBM feels C2 is important. I suspect lots of large IBM customers asked for this. C2 requires a secure file system and while HPFS is adequate JFS/WARP will probably be used.

Will it be Microkernel based ?
Probably not, there has been no indication since early this year of any OS/2 Mk development. If I'm wrong, tell me, I will not be sorry.

No more 512MB limit
"Warp 5 will provide all 32 bit applications the ability to address memory higher than 512 Mb. Applications that use APIs that accept pointers as parameters can now allocate those parameters above the 512M line." Note: This is a requirement if, and I say if, IBM wishes to support Win32s 1.30

Kernel redesign
"Another goal is to make all the internal worker routines pure 32 bit (enhancing performance). The external interfaces to the Doscall APIs will not be changed to preserve compatibility. Thunk routines will be removed and new interfaces will be created in the Kernel to support 32 bit workers but external 16 bit APIs will still be supported."

SMP everywhere
"Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) support is a key feature in Warp 5. SMP support will be fully integrated into Warp 5. The Warp 5 product will integrate SMP support into a 'single source' product code base. There will not be a separate SMP product for Warp 5. All versions of Warp 5, both client and server versions, will support SMPs. The primary objectives of the Warp 5 SMP support is to integrate SMP support as a basic part of the system and to improve the SMP scalability and performance. In order to have both the cost saving attributable to a single binary and still have acceptable Uni-processor (UP) performance, Warp 5 will have single SMP enabled binaries for all parts of the system except the kernel (OS2KRNL). Both UP and SMP versions of OS2KRNL will be provided to avoid the SMP performance cost when running on a UP system. "

Time to get rid of your 386
"Warp 5 intends to use the CMPXCHG instruction. This instruction was introduced on the Intel 486 processor, therefore Warp 5 will not work on Intel 386-based machines. The usage of this instruction by Warp 5 on both UP and SMP systems prevents Warp 5 from running on Intel 386 processors. Some of the places where the CMPXCHG instruction will be used is in the 32 bit RAM semaphore code and the kernel execution environment locking services."

New device drivers
"Warp 5 assumes that all 32 bit installable file systems and device drivers are SMP safe. The 32 bit IFSs and DDs are new for Warp 5. Warp 5 will not do protective locking around 32 bit IFSs and DDs to make them SMP safe. The new 32 bit IFSs and DDs must make themselves SMP safe. Kernel execution environment 32 bit locking services are provided for use by IFSs and DDs to become SMP safe. Kernel execution environment services are also provided to obtain necessary serialization for a 32 bit IFS or DD to call a non-SMP safe 16 bit DD. " Note: This is the Add32 interface. I think IBM will push developers hard to convert their 16bit device drivers to 32bit versions telling them that "a future version of Warp will not work well with 16bit drivers".

Osprey
The code name Osprey (to prey on other operating systems) is the effort to supply XPG4v2 (spec1170) and X11/Motif API's for Warp 5. This allows most UNIX (spec1170) programs to be ported to OS/2 quite easily.

JFS/Warp
JFS/WARP is the OS/2 version of the AIX 64bit Journaling File System. It is currently being ported to OS/2 by mainly a group of AIX people. JFS/Warp has been out on a internal alpha/beta round a least since the beginning of February and the current code is said to be quite stable. It is therefore possible that it will be out before Warp 5 as a "fix" for Warp Server. IBM is VERY quiet about JFS/Warp and might plan to use it as a surprise item when promoting some future Warp update (most likely server based). I would expect IBM to deny its existence up till the day they tell everybody what a new and fantastic file system they have for OS/2 Warp.

The code name for the JFS is "Owl" and here is why :-) The JFS/WARP team comes largely from the AIX Programming Center. The owl is their mascot, as UNIX programmers are often nocturnal creatures. UNIX is also the operating system of choice in academia, and owls are usually represented as being wise.

LVM
Logical Volume Manager (LVM). All Installable File Systems (IFS) will be contained in the LVM. LVM takes over drive letter mapping for programs that require them. This allows users to selectively assign drive letters to a volume of our choice. And (even better) the OS itself won't use drive letters. I'm told that this combined with JFS/Warp will allow us to combine several partitions and even physical disks into a single logical drive (also known as disk spanning)!

OO drivers
There might also be 32 bit Object Oriented "device drivers". The technique of Object Oriented device drivers is inherited from OS/2 for the PowerPC and is probably based on Taligent code. It means that a device driver developer can "inherit" from other drivers to greatly reduce the development effort. This is similar but not that same as the current video (GRADD) and printer (OMNI) drivers and NOT the same as ADD32 drivers.

More SmartGuides
The SmartGuides (WarpGuides in Warp 4) will be enhanced and expanded. There are already a dozen tasks that are identified as candidates for Warp 5/Merlin 2. I suspect there will be lots of work with Guides for the installation program.

Human-centric features.
Full human-centric features. What we see today is primarily VoiceType in Warp 4. VoiceType is included in OS/2 for the PowerPC since the PowerPC has DSP encoding/decoding in the hardware. We might see other things like voice output (text to speech), software agents and an operating system that adapts to the user. There will probably also be a more adaptable/customizable user interface. There are rumors of a much more guided interface.



Hawk Release 1 - The next Warp Server (Warp Server 5 ?)

Hawk is not a server version of Warp 5. Its the next version of Warp Server and is to be based on the Warp 4 kernel. Its probably the product that will be the server part of WorkSpace On Demand but I expect it to be as useful for fat clients as for thin clients.
There is an official (though internal IBM document) on three pages describing the next Warp Server.

Rumored features:

SMP and UNI in one package
It is rumored to contain the SMP level-2 kernel and this kernel is to be used for both UNI (one processor) and SMP machines.

More horsepower
Warp Server will be much enhanced with new multithreaded device drivers (probably from OS/2 for the PowerPC), no more serialized I/O, raw file I/O, full failover-support and lots more. Clustering of servers will also be supported.

JFS/Warp
Many things point to a new file system being included into the next Warp Server. The JFS/Warp file system is described above in the Warp 5 text but is also planned to be included into Warp Server. The texts says that JFS/Warp is to be included into the "Warp Server framework". I have no indications what this means.

Fallback Fault-tolerant Server
A server-specific enhancement called Fallback Fault-tolerant Server (FFS) will be included. FFS can be thought of as an automated version of the domain controller/backup server concept in Warp Server. The FFS is the same thing as the Vinca Standby server as IBM licensed it from Vinca. And the concept is that there are 2 machines (servers) up and running. One of them (the primary machine) will be running all the server code, while the other ( the standby machine ) is only running OS/2. As soon as the primary goes down the server code gets started on the standby machine which becomes the primary machine. It takes from one to two minutes for the switch over.


Warp 6:

Sorry Infoworld, you do your best to help kill off OS/2 but IBM just let you down :-)

In Austin there is a secure server with a directory that had a list of many of the projects IBM PSP is working on. Each project has a directory and are password protected. Well, there are two directories for Warp, one for Warp 5 and another one for Warp 6. Sorry to say no one who has been able to peek inside has yet contacted me.

If Warp 5 is non-Microkernel based you MK freaks could possibly get your hope up for this one.


More stuff:

More on JFS/Warp
Following is the text of a internal document describing JFS/WARP:

"JFS/WARP Project Overview"

"The Journaled File System for WARP is intended to satisfy the requirements for a robust, competitive, byte-level file system in the WARP environment. A journaled file system provides improved structural consistency and integrity using techniques developed for database management systems. It logs information on the file system metadata and is able to replay this log to commit or abort in-flight transactions upon recovery from a system failure. Applying changes from the log not only ensures consistency, it also markedly speeds recovery time over methods such as the chkdsk command in OS/2 or the fschk command in UNIX. Although preserving the metadata, it does not guarantee recovery of user data in the files."

"JFS for WARP will incorporate the POSIX and XPG4v2 (Spec 1170) file system interfaces and semantics as its base set of functionality. This is in support of the Osprey effort. The JFS for WARP will operate as a physical file system under the WARP File Server Framework. It is based on the field-proven technology developed for the AIX Journaled File System."

Even more on JFS/Warp
"I've seen an old draft of the spec for JFS for OS/2."
Some of the design criteria are:
1) As fast or faster than JFS under AIX (it screams)
2) As fast or faster than other JFS implementations under UNIX
3) As fast or faster than NTFS, or HPFS386
4) Very fast recovery from logical file system problems, even for very large disks (unless there is physical damage to the disk or to the underlying structure; then recovery time could be lengthy)
5) Very reliable, due the journaling feature
6) Maximum partition size of 2 petabytes using the maximum cluster size of 4096 bytes (I'm not even sure what a petabyte is!). This is likely to be artificially limited to some smaller size, since there is no way to test a 2
petabyte partition. With a cluster size of 512 bytes, the maximum partition size is 28 terabytes (I think).
7) The maximum file size is equal to the maximum file system size; this would also be limited due to other constraints within the OS; the document did not state what that size would be, but is might be the current limit of 2 gigabytes, unless some other unspecified changes to the OS are made.
8) Supports striping and spanning
9) Is efficiently scalable for systems running up to eight processors
10) Will be disk image compatible through some mechanism with existing HPFS drives
"The document made constant references to interfacing to a microkernel, and constant references to ADD32.
"Not sure what to make of that."

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