[Info-vax] Estimates of long-term availabilty of 600MHz DS10s

[abrsvc]

On Wednesday, May 9, 2012 2:25:34 PM UTC-4, tadamsmar wrote:
> On May 9, 1:14 pm, abrsvc <dansabrservi... at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > On Wednesday, May 9, 2012 9:53:00 AM UTC-4, tadamsmar wrote:
> > > We depend on 4 DS10s and an AS800.  Or more or less, 2 of these can be
> > > pressed into service as backup machines if need be.
> >
> > > DS10s seem fairly easy to find for <$2000 these days.
> >
> > > I wonder if I should stock up, put some on the shelf for the future.
> >
> > > How long will they be easily available?
> >
> > > What strategy do you use to make sure you don't run out of hardware?
> >
> > I have numerous machines in stock as replacement units.  Any repairs are performed offline.   I do have spare components like power supplies, controllers, memory etc.  I have only had a few fans fail.  The Alpha itself appears to be quite solid and reliable. I have one that is on day 1207 now nad had over 1000 before that.  A move of data centers was the reason for the reboot.
> >
> > I personally have had good luck purchasing systems and components through Ebay.  DS10s can be obtained for less than $1000 there.  Just be sure of the configuration and CPU speed.
> >
> > Dan
> 
> You mean it's been up 1207 days?  Our policy is power down to dust the
> interiors more often than that.
> 
> It can be hard for me to purchase on ebay over $250 because of the
> approval cycle at my company.  But thanks for the tip.

These machines are located in a data center and the air comes up through a raised floor. There are filters in the air handlers as well as in the cabinets themselves.  I have never had a problem with dust accumulation in these units.  I frequently run these in my office and still don't have problems with dust.

As far as Ebay goes.  Perhaps I have been lucky, but I have spent almost $9K accumulating various Alpha systems and parts with no problems thus far.  I have even purchased a few that were broken with the intent of repair and have completed that as well.  Caution is advised if you can not repair these on your own.  If you have specific questions or concerns, please contact me directly.

Dan