doug@tci.bell-atl.com (Doug Mildram) (12/15/89)
I'm interested in buying a 650meg single or 2-pack for our DECsystem server
(DECsystem 3100 is no more than a graphics-less DECstation 3100, correct?)
The server supports DECstation 3100's and 2100's.
The salesmen believe the RZ56 (650 meg guts of RZ5x-DA, RZ5x-FA boxes)
is NOT SUPPORTED as a boot device -- is this a real barrier or
something easily overcome?
I can opt to keep a 300meg disk as root if that's preferable.
Then all client roots would have to fit on 300meg as well...
thanks...
--
Doug Mildram Technology Concepts Inc.
40 Tall Pine Dr. uucp: {anywhere}!uunet!tci!doug, doug@tci.bell-atl.com
Sudbury MA 01776 (508) 443-7311 x273 avolio@decuac.DEC.COM (Frederick M. Avolio) (12/16/89)
In article <486@tci.bell-atl.com>, doug@tci.bell-atl.com (Doug Mildram) writes: > I'm interested in buying a 650meg single or 2-pack for our DECsystem server > (DECsystem 3100 is no more than a graphics-less DECstation 3100, correct?) > RIGHTEO. > The server supports DECstation 3100's and 2100's. > > The salesmen believe the RZ56 (650 meg guts of RZ5x-DA, RZ5x-FA boxes) > is NOT SUPPORTED as a boot device -- is this a real barrier or > something easily overcome? Not "supported" (not quotes) because ULTRIX V3.1 came out BEFORE the RZ56 did. There is a workaround. Easy one... Your sales rep should check things out with his/her ULTRIX support. Go ahead and order it. Fred (speaking not for dec officially, but what the heck that won't save me if I get in trouble :-))
paul@speedmetal.engin.umich.edu (Paul Killey) (12/19/89)
We are booting and running 3100s off Maxtor 200M, 380M, and 760M disks -- none of which are supported by dec, at least as far as I know. We have machines that have various combinations of these disks ... two 200M disks, four 760M disks, two 760M and two 200M disks, etc. and they all do fine. I understand that there may be problems with other vendors' unsupported disks. Like, that some unsupported drives are *really* unsupported drives. It strikes me that dec engineers did a pretty good job in doing the scsi interface, and that it is somewhat strange that dec doesn't go the extra (probably tiny) distance and just try some of these things out so that customers and local dec office people at least have a clue about what works better and what works less than better. "Don't call me baby when she's waiting in the car."
jg@max.crl.dec.com (Jim Gettys) (12/21/89)
We did try some other disks out, in particular the 760 M Maxtor. That is why there is a good chance your favorite disks work. But there are more different disks than you can shake a stick at, and to be sure a disk really works right is more than a slight amount of work (realistically, a first order evaluation takes man weeks per disk, and that isn't anywhere close to a thourogh test). And every time a manufacturer updates their firmware, you get to do it all over again. Installation is an additional headache; when DEC says a disk is supported, that implies a standard installation of a release of the operating system will install without standing on your head. As sizes of disks differ, this has interesting consequences on the installation. I believe there are plans in the works to help with this problem, but don't know how much is public yet. - Jim