The basic jist was that while Hitachi has a fine product and most who had
Hitachi would recommend it, there are some things to strongly consider:
1) The majority suggested that a totally Compaq solution is the best bet.
2) If a mixed solution is chosen, the importance of Compaq "branded" parts
increases the closer you get to the server (i.e. if you go with Hitachi,
make sure the switch and the HBA are Compaq, if you chose to go with a
non-Compaq switch, chose Brocade and make sure your HBA is Compaq, etc.)
3) There were concerns about non-Compaq HBAs from a firmware standpoint
(and after talking to Hitachi, they did say that they would only support
Compaq HBAs if they had standard Emulex firmware loaded - sounds like a
possible place for "fingerpointing" already)
4) The two solutions are VERY comparable in price for the same capabilities
(this we found to be true in our bidding as well)
5) Tru64 is SAN capable from 4.0F and up with support increasing the higher
one goes. The really fancy features are only available once you get to
Version 5 and above.
6) Finally, I was cautioned to stick with 36 and 18GB drives over 72GB
drives.
My thanks to:
Manish Vashi
Vincent D'Antonio
Sutter Arnold
Lee_Brewer
Paul Henderson
Wheelock, Michael D
Jim Kurtenbach
Kemp, Tom
O'Brien, Pat
Clegg, Larry
Dan Harrington
William H. Magill
Ziomek, John
My original question was as follows:
We are positioning for a SAN. We have very nice offers from both Compaq
storage works and Hitachi. Our initial environment is a single server
(DS20E) running Tru64 V4.0G and will be attached through whichever solution
we decide on to approximately 1TB of storage. I'm hoping that some of you
out there have been through this and can offer some advice and guidance:
Has anyone had any experience with the Hitachi 9200 connected to an Alpha
running Tru64?
The vendor in question is proposing a Brocade switch and Emulex HBAs. Are
we going to find "fingerpointing" if there are problems (i.e. Compaq won't
support because they are Emulex/Hitachi, Hitachi won't support because it is
a Compaq problem)?
The suggested configuration is based on 72GB HDS fibre disks. Is anyone
familiar with this technology (reliability, performance, etc.)?
Any other advice, guidance, opinion, experience, etc. would be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks,
Jef H. HamLin
Bangor Hydro
Bangor, Maine
Received on Tue Aug 07 2001 - 12:16:26 NZST