gary@chpc.utexas.edu (Gary Smith) (02/15/91)
I've heard from Ampex that CRAY only intends to support the Ampex R90 D2 recorder, and the Metrum VLDS robot from Model E IOS's. Can anyone from CRAY comment on this? If it's true, I find it unacceptable for [at least] the following reason: If one purchases the largest Y CRAY sells today, one must NECESSARILY accept a Model D IOS and I'd suggest that the largest Y's have at least the mass storage migration/recall problems of their smaller brethren. Were I to purchase a large Y today, I'd make Model D hardware/ software for those devices a requirement of the purchase contract. Those devices can help solve the "storage" aspect (large files) of the "data" problem, while STK 4400 robots primarily address the "access" aspect of it. I have similar arguments for CRAY's line of "inexpensive" DS61 disk drives: Why should the customers who spend the most money with CRAY not have access (without purchasing another, smaller Y) to such devices, given that CRAY is to require you to purchase only Model D IOS's with those most expensive Y's? We have some filesystems that only need unit megabyte/second throughputs, and I don't understand the CRAY's philosophy of treating the largest-system customers as 2nd-class citizens in this regard! Comments? Gary Smith University of Texas System Center for High Performance Computing -- Gary Smith <gary@chpc.utexas.edu> Systems Group, Center for High Performance Computing The University of Texas System Commons Building 1.151C, Balcones Research Center