[Info-vax] Should VSI offer a HP style Test Drive cluster to the public ?

[Bill Gunshannon]

On 08/06/2018 11:21 AM, Kerry Main wrote:

> Btw, I did a data center / IT futures strategy for UNCC (University of North
> Carolina) a number of years ago when I was at HP. The UNCC chancellor wanted
> to reign in all of the rogue college IT depts who each wanted to do their
> own thing, so I do understand the politics of University IT.
> 

I have no doubt.  We went thru that same process every couple of
years.  And then The Department would spell out our particular
computing requirements only to be told  by the people who ran
University's datacenter that because they lacked the required
skills and equipment they could not meet those requirements.

This was  not surprising to me.  My first foray into the academic
world came in 1980 when I arrived as a Staff Sergeant at the United
States Military Academy.  I started as an applications programmer
but quickly moved into Systems work which brought me in contact
with the academic as well as the administrative side.  Originally,
there was a Univac-1100 to meet the academic computing needs of
the school.  Later it migrated to a bunch of Prime 50 Series minis.
during all this time G&CS (The Department of Geography and Computer
Science, how's that for a pairing!) had it's own computing resources
and the number increased while I was there.  They ran the first
VAX with VMS that I ever worked with.  Their function was never
subsumed into the University datacenter.  I later worked at the
US Naval Academy as a contractor.  Same thing.

bill