[Search for users] [Overall Top Noters] [List of all Conferences] [Download this site]

Conference ssag::ask_ssag

Title:Ask the Storage Architecture Group
Notice:Check out our web page at http://www-starch.shr.dec.com
Moderator:SSAG::TERZAN
Created:Wed Oct 15 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:6756
Total number of notes:25276

6697.0. "Prioris & EMC RAID ?" by ULYSSE::STRATMAN (Peter Stratman @VBO) Fri May 16 1997 14:11

    Does anyone know of a customer site where a Prioris server has been
    connected to an EMC raid box ?

    Thanks in advance,
    Peter Stratman - Euro PCBU Tech Support
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
6697.1OTOOA::LAVIGNEFri May 16 1997 19:407
    I hope your kidding.  EMC does not support NT to my knowledge and it is
    typically a very large box, usually 250+GB.  You want to run a 250K
    storage box off a 10K PC?
    
    If they really want the EMC box VS our Raid 450 which is supported and
    running in a number of places then let EMC work out the issues.  I
    doubt that you will find anybody within Digital to support it.
6697.2don't be so sure about no NT support....TROOA::MSCHNEIDERmartin.schneider@tro.mts.dec.comMon May 19 1997 02:1416
    RE: .-1
    
    EMC does support "PC Servers" according to their web page information. 
    I suspect this means Novell and NT servers.
    
    www.emc.com
    
    I heard second hand information of a site in the US with Prioris NT
    servers purchased to run SAP that are connected to EMC.  Not sure if
    this is in production.  I wouldn't expect that there are any specific
    issues hooking up a Prioris server to EMC .... after all a PC server is
    a PC server and SCSI is SCSI.
    
    Yes nobody is likely to buy an EMC box for a single Prioris, but the
    likely situation is that EMC is already in place and we're trying
    to connect our server to it.
6697.3don't underestimate what Intel servers might needTROOA::MSCHNEIDERmartin.schneider@tro.mts.dec.comMon May 19 1997 02:195
    Oh and by the way a small SAP configuration with production and dev
    boxes might EASILY start with 150 GB of disk ..... connected to a
    couple of Prioris Intel servers so it might not that far fetched that
    an EMC box might be considered as a storage solution with a 250GB
    starting point.
6697.4ULYSSE::STRATMANPeter Stratman @VBOTue May 20 1997 05:5710
Re. -1:
>Yes nobody is likely to buy an EMC box for a single Prioris, but the
>likely situation is that EMC is already in place and we're trying
>to connect our server to it.
Yes, this is the case...

I'd appreciate a pointer to a (Digital) contact (offline) if possible.

Thanks,
Peter.
6697.5DECWET::VOBAWed May 21 1997 01:0129
    Re .*, EMC _would like_ to support Windows NT but is not yet there. 
    
    There have been EMC customers who went ahead and tried to connect their
    Symmetrix boxes to random Windows NT platforms with definitely mix
    results.  EMC has been aligning themselves with HP (and several other
    system vendors) to create Windows NT solutions that they know/verify to
    work.  However, that's far from the Microsoft's sense of supporting
    Windows NT.
    
    Due to the quirks of current SCSI port driver in NT 4.0 and the quirks
    in the design of the Symmetrix controller firmware, certain mix-use
    configurations simply do not work.  Mix-use is my term for a multi-
    platform/OS configuration sharing a single Symmetrix box.  Most of the
    Windows NT customers, who are looking at using the Symmetrix, would
    like to have mix-use configurations.
    
    EMC is very aggressively pursuing a crash program to bootstrap itself
    on to the Windows NT market.  An element of that program is to have the
    Symmetrix be certified for the Microsoft HCL.  Another is to entice
    Microsoft to be engaged via their SQL BackOffice and Wolfpack Cluster
    programs.  Another is to establish a local technical liason presence
    here in the Greater Seattle area.  These are only some of the more
    pronounced steps.
    
    However, they are facing several tough technical and business
    obstacles.  But, DIGITAL should certainly not discount them to be
    serious competitor to our StorageWORKS products.
    
    --svb