holtz@clan.UUCP (Neal Holtz) (11/04/84)
I am soliciting any comments you care to give regarding the reliability
of Apollo hardware. I have no experience to compare with, but my
impression is that, while the generally reliability is not bad, it is not
terribly great, either.
The following summarizes the problems we have had in a relatively short
time (since mid-February). Note that all times are given in days, and
that the power to the hardware is never turned off. During the prime
times, utilization is now 100% for 12 hours per day, but probably averaged
<70% for 12 hours/day, 5 days per week since May, and less before that.
Total # days
Qty Item in operation Problems
--- ---------- ------------ --------
3 DN300 3x260= 780 none (well - a $1 transistor in video failed)
2 DN320 2x165= 330 CPU board
2 DSP80 260+75= 335 CPU board
1 DN660+Winchester 120 Minor power supply + unknown other (disk?, CPU?)
1 Cypher Tape 260-40= 220 mother board
2 CDC Disks 260+75= 335 $30 triac switch
1 70MB Winchester 120 head crash? (est. $4500US to fix)
The main question I am trying to answer is whether or not to go with
Apollo's maintenance plans, which seem to be in line with other
manufacturers but are still pretty pricey, given the realities
of University funding here. Any thoughts on the matter will be
gladly received.
Neal Holtz
Dept. of Civil Engineering/ Carleton University/ Ottawa K1S 5B6
(613) 231-2677