[comp.os.vms] Large Third-Party Disk Subsystems for VAXstations

amr@rti.UUCP (Alan Roberts) (08/04/87)

Hello,

I hope to be beginning a project in the near future which is hosted on
a VAXstation II/GPX, running VMS.  The project requires LARGE amounts 
of disk space.  In its original form, it was necessary to provide an 
"all DEC" hardware solution.  We specified an RA81 drive, which did 
not provide enough disk space, but was the best offering from Digital 
at the time.

Certain aspects of the project have changed, and I can now consider
a foreign disk system.  Based on recent reading, it would appear that
I could build a disk subsystem around either of:

	1.  Maxtor XT-8760E, 5.25in, 765MB (unformatted), ESDI
	2.  CDC FSD III, 8in (9in?), 1.03GB (unformatted), SMD-E

using either Emulex or Dilog controllers, for no more (and perhaps
less) cost than the RA81 subsystem.  Both options would offer more
formatted disk space, along with various tradeoffs in terms of
performance, power consumption, and mounting.

Both drives are also recent products, which leads to my question.
Is anyone out there using either drive with a MicroVAX?  If you are,
I would appreciate hearing from you, concerning:

	1.  Which drive and controller combination.
	2.  How long did it take to obtain the hardware, once
		ordered.
	3.  Any problems with installation and initial
		operation.
	4.  Reliability of the drive and controller to date.

The additional capacity provided by the third-party drives is very
tempting, and the performance data (at least as seen in Digital
Review and other test results) looks good, but I need to have a
reliable system for this project.  Any experiences, ranging from
shining successes to horror stories (note that I didn't list the
SuperEagle as a candidate) would be greatly appreciated.