[Info-vax] Alpha to Integrity migration, license options

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2018-05-02 15:16:58 +0000, Rich Jordan said:

> The option of waiting for x64 will be presented (it has been 
> mentioned).  And VSI has contacted us now so we're getting the info 
> needed for either migration or going on the Alpha maintenance path.  
> When we looked at replacement shared storage a couple of years ago we 
> saw prices that made updating the SAN unfeasible.  We have some spare 
> disks and they are still not that hard to get; its the SAN switches and 
> controllers that have gotten painful.  Perhaps worth a new look.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/201723-B22-HP-StorageWorks-SAN-MSA1000-4U-Rack-Mount/173226148438 


Etc.

I've been picking up used Universal-sled 300 GB SCSI disks six for ~US$125.

MSA1500 and P2000 are alternatives.  Various non-HPE SAN controllers 
have had support for OpenVMS, too.  (Wouldn't go third-party without 
vendor doc and support, as OpenVMS does have some specific expectations 
here...)

It's pretty rare for a switch to fail, though those are also widely 
available used.

> The software porting effort is not all that big.  Getting the cluster 
> ported and disks set up on the new hardware will take longer than 
> rebuilding all the applications, which are written in BASIC.  We've 
> done that before and the custom code (and the customer's updated code) 
> is a straight recompile with already ported libraries and utilities.

That ease-of-porting situation is better than average for a site that's 
still running OpenVMS Alpha, then.

As you're aware, used Integrity boxes are available, some variously 
with warranties.  That'll get you newer storage and I/O, and better 
remote management.  There's a supported multi-host SCSI configuration, 
if you're clustering and might consider removing the clustering.

If you're using "enough" layered products or could use more and 
particularly if clustering is in play here, VSI OpenVMS Alpha prices 
are better than those of OpenVMS I64, though.

> But we haven't looked at environmental monitoring recently; the netbots 
> used to be very expensive.  Right now monitoring is done by the Alphas; 
> they track their own temperature, and the environmental info from the 
> MSA, and start sending out alert emails to the site operators and owner 
> if the temp gets too high.  And they shut themselves down at a bad 
> enough point, but they can't turn off the MSA; there's no power control 
> involved.  Worth looking at, thanks, regardless of the port/migration 
> work.

A network-connected switch will work in the absence of firmware power 
control on the array.  Odd that the MSA1000 entirely lacks that 
just-power-yourself-down capability, but apparently it does.  And it 
apparently can't power down from the front panel, either.



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Pure Personal Opinion | HoffmanLabs LLC