[Info-vax] Quiet?

[Jan-Erik Söderholm]

Den 2022-04-01 kl. 15:27, skrev Arne Vajhøj:
> On 4/1/2022 9:12 AM, Jan-Erik Söderholm wrote:
>> Den 2022-04-01 kl. 14:03, skrev Phillip Helbig (undress to reply):
>>> In article <jamnh3FodncU1 at mid.individual.net>, Bill Gunshannon
>>> <bill.gunshannon at gmail.com> writes:
>>>> On 3/31/22 17:10, Phillip Helbig (undress to reply) wrote:
>>>>> The old DEC hardware: all VAXes (not sure about even older stuff, but my
>>>>> guess is yes) were really built to last.  I've generally had good luck
>>>>> with Alphas, but have the impression that the newer they are the shorter
>>>>> the useful lifetime, though it is still OK.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The last Alpha I had at the University was one of those deskside
>>>> boxes that looked like a PC.  While it was heavier than the average
>>>> PC it was badged Compaq and it lasted about as long as PC's do.
>>>
>>> The PWS?  I've had some running for about 11 years.  They're much older,
>>> of course.
>>
>> My customers DS20e's was installed in May 2006 (by me!). 16 years now.
>> And yes, I have explained the potential risks involved. I'd like to
>> replace them with something much more modern, some DS25's...
> 
> DS25's are newer but not new.
> 
> Could the applications run in an Alpha emulator?
> 
> An Alpha emulator running on a stripped down Linux/Windows running in
> a VM under ESXi may fit better with the overall IT strategy.
> 
> Of course they could also wait just a few months and go for
> VMS x86-64 in a VM under ESXi. But given that it is on Alpha
> not Itanium then that may not be the plan.
> 
> Arne
> 

The plan has been (since I came there in 2006) to replace this system
in "3-4 years". And still is, but now extended to "approx. 5 years".

Now, they just need to supply rack space. I do all the system
management, so there are no other support groups from the site
involved. If we'd go with an emulation in a VM a lot of other
groups would be involved and probably just cause trouble.

Easiest right now is a box-swap using three DS25's.

x86-64 could be possible. If that would be with or without VM's
is not clear. One could just swap the Alphas to X86 servers and
have a very similar setup. We'll see.

We have other issues. Alpha only supports up to 2 Gb FC cards.
The SAN group wants to go to 8/16/32 FC switches. They have
now kept 2 pcs of 2/4/8 Gb switches just for our servers, but
these are end-of-support in April 2024, and the SAN group do not
want to run FC switches that are unsupported...

Jan-Erik.