Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

HP-UX review

#16 of 29 in Server Operating System

A server OS for organizations maintaining existing HP 9000 and Integrity estates.

7.9/10Editor score
Visit HPE
HP-UX7.9 Visit HPE

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

HP-UX is Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Unix operating system for enterprise server workloads on HP 9000 and HPE Integrity systems. It is aimed at organizations maintaining those existing server estates, rather than teams choosing a broadly deployable platform for new infrastructure. The available operating environment choices include BOE, VSE-OE, HA-OE and DC-OE. The supported hardware depends on version: HP 9000 uses PA-RISC, while Integrity uses Intel Itanium, and 11i v3 updates from 2021 onward are for Integrity servers only.

Update-UX guides operating-environment and software selection during updates. Administrators can select or deselect optional bundles and register software depots as update sources. The documented 11i v3 distribution includes Veritas File System. For deployments that need partitioning or virtualization within the Integrity environment, HP-UX supports virtual partitions (vPars) and Integrity Virtual Machines. These capabilities make the operating system most relevant where existing workloads, software bundles and server infrastructure already depend on HP-UX; they do not make it a general-purpose choice across server architectures.

Lifecycle status is the key trade-off for buyers. HPE ended standard support for 11i v3 on Integrity servers on December 31, 2025, and for HP 9000 on March 31, 2021. Mature support without sustaining engineering is offered through at least December 31, 2028 for both. HPE also ended 11i v3 license sales on October 31, 2025. Organizations with a need to maintain existing HP-UX systems may have reason to remain on the platform, but buyers planning a new server estate or requiring standard support and sustaining engineering should consider alternatives.

HP-UX pros and cons

  • Where it wins
    • Offers BOE, VSE-OE, HA-OE and DC-OE operating environments
    • Update-UX supports software selection and depot-based update sources
    • Supports virtual partitions and Integrity Virtual Machines
  • Where it doesn't
    • 11i v3 standard support for Integrity ended December 31, 2025
    • 11i v3 updates from 2021 onward are for Integrity servers only
    • Mature support is without sustaining engineering

HP-UX fact sheet, pricing and score →

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Last updated · How we research and update