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Conference wonder::turbolaser

Title:	TurboLaser Notesfile - AlphaServer 8200 and 8400 systems
Notice:	Welcome to WONDER::TURBOLASER in it's new homeshortly
Moderator:	LANDO::DROBNER

Created:	Tue Dec 20 1994
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1218
Total number of notes:	4645

1179.0. "Supported PCI adapters?" by MANM01::NOELGESMUNDO () Wed Apr 23 1997 02:17

    Hi!
    
    We have this big customer who has a Turbolaser with 4 300-mhz cpus. It
    is clustered to a AS 4100 thru CI with a SW800 using HSJ40 controllers.
    Their primary application is running around 8 hours and would like to
    trim it down some more. We invited one of the storage works engineers
    who recommended the upgrade of their controllers from KZMSA to KZPDA
    and CIXCD to CIPCA which basically means replacing their XMI bus with a
    PCI bus. In addition, replace HSJ40s with HSJ50s to increase I/O
    thruput since this particular application has been determined to be I/O
    intensive.
    
    I scanned this conference for any mention of CIPCA but found none. I
    checked also the PSP for AS8400 but this document did not mention CIPCA
    either.
    
    Our questions are:
    
    1. what PCI adapters are supported as this moment and on what versions
    of O/S are they fully supported? Our customer is running OVMS 6.2 but
    is going to upgrade to 6.2-1H3 in a few days time.
    
    2. is it worth (price and performance) to switch the adapters from XMI
    to PCI? What if we just add a PCI bus and install the SCSI controlllers
    there, leaving the DEMFA and DEMNA controllers on XMI.
    
    Thanks.
    
    Noel Gesmundo
    MCS/Digital Equipment Filipinas Inc,
    Manila, Philippines

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1179.1	my .02 worth.	TOPTEN::KELLER		`Wed Apr 23 1997 03:07`	21
	I am not a performance person but will add my .02 worth. Before I asked the customer to invest money, I would want a few more answers, and maybe you have those answers already, but you didn't say. a. Is the CI saturated or close to it? If so, then I don't think this is the answer. b. Is the application read intensive? Is cache being utilized effectively? c. Is the application write intensive? Is WBC being used? d. Are certain disks being saturated. Would shadowing help, or striping? Can certain files be moved to other spindles? I'm only a rookie at this, but these are basic questions that I would want answered before I push "upgrade". And like I said, maybe they have already been answered. I think there are more questions that could be asked, too. Larry
1179.2		NETCAD::STEFANI	FDDI Adapters R Us	`Wed Apr 23 1997 15:07`	10
	If cost wasn't an issue, I'd recommend replacing the DEMFA with the DEFPA. The DEFPA is much cheaper and a better performer. Any XMI adapter development at this point is bug fixes. All of the fun adapter development is in PCI and long term you'll likely get better support on the PCI products, given the current corporate system bus strategy on Alpha and Intel. Just my $0.02. - Larry
1179.3	is CIPCA supported on 8400?	MANM01::NOELGESMUNDO		`Thu Apr 24 1997 01:06`	17
	Thank you for the responses so far but my first query is still not answered - what PCI adapters are supported by 8400. In particular, is CIPCA supported on 8400? The guy from storage works engineering who came and analyzed the situation has confirmed that there is an I/O bottleneck and has recommended CIPCA and HSJ50. We are in the process of quoting CIPCA and HSJ50 on the 8400 but I am confused from what I read in the PSP and web about alpha server info. Has anybody installed a CIPCA on an 8400? Thanks. Noel
1179.4		NETCAD::STEFANI	FDDI Adapters R Us	`Thu Apr 24 1997 01:46`	7
	>> Thank you for the responses so far but my first query is still not >> answered - what PCI adapters are supported by 8400. In particular, is >> CIPCA supported on 8400? Check out the pointer given in 516.2. /l
1179.5	it's in the SOC	UTOPIE::OETTL	hide bug until worst time	`Thu Apr 24 1997 16:49`	6
1179.6		SSDEVO::ROLLOW	Dr. File System's Home for Wayward Inodes.	`Thu Apr 24 1997 17:27`	3
	Moving from the KZMSA to nearly any PCI SCSI adapter will probably be a good move, though you'll probably want to prefer the KZPSA.
1179.7	do what's right!	TOPTEN::KELLER		`Thu Apr 24 1997 20:37`	10
	Is the Cipca supported on the 8400? yes Has anyone installed it on an 8400? I have. I repeat, just because it is a bottleneck doesn't mean that a faster controller is going to solve the problem. You need to understand the reason behind the bottleneck and ensure that everything has been done to solve it before throwing iron at it. Larry