As of: January 29, 2024, 12:23 p.m
By: Christoph Elzer
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The railway is looking for an administrator for the more than 30-year-old operating system Microsoft Windows 3.11.
© Screenshot Gulp/Microsoft
Unfortunately, the system update today is 30 years late: Deutsche Bahn is apparently still working with software that runs on Windows 3.11 - and is therefore now looking for a specialist for outdated operating systems.
Erlangen - “Never change a running system” is one of the simplest basic rules of IT administrators: If something works, it's better to leave it alone.
The railway has apparently taken this principle to the extreme and is still working with an operating system that is more than 30 years old.
In November 1993, Microsoft released version 3.11, the best and most stable iteration of its operating system to date.
An unprecedented triumph of home and business computers began, which ultimately made Microsoft a de facto monopolist.
At the end of the 2000s, Microsoft Windows had a global market share of around 95 percent. It was only in the following years that Apple was able to make up ground again with its MacOS and currently has around 21 percent market share, while Microsoft's share has fallen to 69 percent.
Applicants should be familiar with outdated operating systems
All of these market developments have apparently left Deutsche Bahn without a trace, as a current job advertisement reveals.
Accordingly, we are looking for a “Windows 3.11 Administrator (m/f/d)” who, in addition to “knowledge of WIN 3.11”, also has “knowledge of legacy operating systems and Windows managers (especially MD DOS and Windows for Workgroups)” as skills .
Main tasks according to the job description: “Update drivers” and “Maintain the legacy system”.
We would also be happy about the applicant’s “basic knowledge” of Siba.
This makes the area of application of the administrator you are looking for a little clearer.
The abbreviation “Sibas” stands for “Siemens Railway Automation System”, an “automation system for practically all control tasks in the railway environment” that Siemens developed in the mid-1980s.
According to the manual, the current version “Sibas 32 - The control system for all rail vehicles” is used not only in the DB ICEs, but also, for example, in the Munich subway and the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train.
“With Sibas 32 you are setting the course for success in any case,” says Siemens.
The result of your work is high-quality display software whose interfaces to the vehicle control and vehicle control technology function smoothly.
From the job description
Apparently the system is so successful that the course was never set for an update.
Screenshots from the manual show that the program actually still runs under Windows 3.11 today.
Or in other words: In everyday Deutsche Bahn operations, the drive and control technology system runs on an operating system that is more than 30 years old and has no longer been supported by the manufacturer since 2001.
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It is not clear from the job advertisement whether applicants will be paid according to the flex price, but at least there is apparently no job commitment since the job is advertised remotely.
The job advertisement has now been taken offline again.
It is currently unknown whether this is a disruption in operations or whether a new administrator has already arrived at the Erlangen location.