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.