[Info-vax] analyze/disk errors

[David Froble]

Stephen Hoffman wrote:
> On 2013-12-10 23:26:35 +0000, David Froble said:
> 
>> Yes, the AlphaServer 800 that I have has the disk cage for 4 drives, 
>> and I thought it was rather nice.  But the DS20 I have has an older 
>> storage works cage and the earlier disks in caddys.
> 
> FWIW, a mini-history: AlphaServer DS20 and DS20E have the so-called 
> Universal disks and shelves in either the older 1.4" spacing or newer 1" 
> spacing heights, and all of these Universal sleds are newer than the 
> StorageWorks Building Blocks (SBBs) mentioned earlier.  The connector 
> used on these metal-finned Universal disks isn't the same 80-pin used on 
> the US$30 Seagate 146 GB disks mentioned upthread, either.   These were 
> common on DEC- and Compaq-legacy systems.
> 
>  From the HP side, the pull-ring disks where common — donno the official 
> name of those, but they were used on various PA RISC boxes, and on the 
> rx1600, rx1620, rx2600 and rx2620 series Integrity Itanium systems and 
> various of the HP-legacy storage shelves.
> 
> The HP-legacy pull-ring disks and the DEC/Compaq-legacy Universal disks 
> were eventually replaced by the StorageWorks Small Form Factor 2.5" 
> (SFF) disks commonly used on most (all?) of the current-generation 
> Itanium servers including the rx2660 and other recent boxes, and on 
> various recent storage systems and shelves.
> 
> More than a few storage configurations are mongrels, too; various 
> mixtures of generations and disks.  Replacement seldom seems to be 
> complete.
> 
> 

The DS20 appears to have an enclosure similar to the AlphaServer 1200 
and the AlphaServer 1000.  I can see the logic in re-using something 
that is serviceable.  Keeps the development costs down.  Damn things 
sure are heavy.