Managers:
I apologize for the erroneously labeled Summary I just sent out which by
mistake just repeated my original inquiry. Nevertheless, I got two more
useful replies. This *is* the summary.
I had asked:
> I have two similar Alphas, a DEC3000/model 300 and a 3000/model 400. About
> a year ago, I installed a Seagate 4GB Barracuda (ST 15050N) in each box to
> complement the DEC disks (an RZ26L and an RZ25). They both seem to be fine,
> but I am becoming worried because a Sparcstation 2 in which I installed two
> similar Barracudas about two years ago started showing write failures. The
> disks were *screaming* hot. They seem to be working ok now that I installed
> them in external enclosures.
>
> My question: am I asking for trouble with the Barracudas installed as
> internal drives?
I received ten replies. Some people suggested opening the box and seeing how
hot the drives were, others suggested ignoring how hot the drives ran, others
said installing an extra fan was a good idea.
Tom Webster quoted his salesperson who has the motto
> "The general rule is, big server boxes O.K, desktop workstations, BAD.
> Be safe, put them external."
Dan Bowman offered:
> I've had one internal 2GB Barracuda for quite a while but I wouldn't
> advise two. There is an FCO, (Field Change Order), for external disk
> pedastals for improved / upgraded fans for enclosures using the 7200rmp
> drives. That should give you a clue as to how DEC regards the heat
> problem. I personally would never stuff a workstation with more than
> one HDD in any case. The external drives are cheap enough to make it
> worth the reliability.
Kevin said:
> I went to order a 3000/900 this week with 4G Barracudas,
> and found out DEC does not support anything above an RZ28
> in the 3000 boxes. Which is odd, we have three 3000-500's
> and a 3000-400 all of which have 4G Barracudas internally.
> We've not seen any problems. But, I did buy an external
> cabinet for the new box and will probably keep doing that
> to be safe.
Eugene Chu observed:
> We've seen a number of overheating problems with drives installed inside
> of SPARC pizza boxes as well. I'm thinking that the SUN boxes are simply
> packed too tightly. I've never had any problems with the Barracudas in
> my 3000 series cabinets. They do run hot, though.
Nobody reported any failures with the Barracuda installed in a 3000/300 or
3000/400. I bought a spare drive just in case ;-)
Thanks to:
Jim Belonis <belonis_at_dirac.phys.washington.edu>
Thomas Leitner <tom_at_finwds01.tu-graz.ac.at>
Robert L. McMillin <rlm_at_syseca-us.com>
Tom Webster <webster_at_ssdpdc.mdc.com>
Daniel Bowman <dbowman_at_sph.jhu.edu>
Jeffrey G. Micono <jgmicon_at_sandia.gov>
Bruce Whittaker <bjw_at_ansto.gov.au>
Kevin <kevin_at_netins.net>
Matt J. L. Goebel <goebel_at_emunix.emich.edu>
Eugene Chu <chu_at_musp0.Jpl.Nasa.Gov>
--Harvey
Received on Sat Feb 01 1997 - 00:07:32 NZDT