Value of a small VAX farm

----- Original Message ----- From: "Will Jennings" <xds_sigma7(a)hotmail.com> To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Sent: Friday, March 09, 2001 2:34 AM Subject: Re: Value of a small VAX farm MicroVAXen machine... Actually, 6K's are an XMI and BI machine, some are XMI only, (I have one of those, no BI card cage.) Ok, find me an SDI CDROM and I'll take the SCSI controller out of the 6K-440 in the next room. :^) Actually, I won't, as it also talks to my 4mm DAT. I don't recall ever seeing anything in DSSI or SDI for CD or DAT. (Better yet, find me a SCSI channel card for an HSC70 so I can put them on the cluster a bit easier) CPU and RAM in a 6K are XMI only, the 'slow' buss is used by peripherals, my XMI only box had DSSI, ram, cpus and ethernet adapters in the XMI cage. I believe there is now an XMI SCSI card available, but I don't think it would fit my budget anytime soon. The only 6K compatible DSSI controller I have (actually in my personal 6K-430) is the XMI one. I currently don't have any DSSI drives, which is a bit of a shame as I have a DSSI Microvax 3400 - minus disks - that would love some. They are scarce around here. My personal 6K also has KDB-50 (BI based SDI) connected to 2 RA90's that live in the bottom of the cabinet. DSSI (XMI based) SCSI (Disk only - BI based) and CI (HSC support - BI based) All genuine DEC except the SCSI adapter which is a CMD CBI-1000M. I have one CBI-1000/TM (Tape and disk) - it's in the machine at work here, and talks to our 4MM DAT and Sony CDROM. I still have a spare CBI-1000M at home in another cabinet. It's interesting to note that Ficomp (USA) still list the CMD CBI-1000/xx Vax SCSI controllers, brand new @ $1400US each, with the (presumably upgraded) CBI-1010/xx @ $1900US. At last count I had 4 6K's at home. Only one is up and going. Of the others, one has a PSU problem, (must get around to that, plenty of spares ;^) the others are minus cpus and ram. (Transplanted into my personal 6K and the machine at work. I have the innards of another that I scrapped (the dropped off the forklift one - originally a 6000-240). 2 TA79's (not in use) 2 HSC50's (not in use), and several drive cabinets with RA70's and RA9x drives (spares mostly) though some of the RA70's might find their way into another 6K cabinet. I also have a few RA81's and a couple of 82's, but don't plan on using them. (The lights dim when they start) I scrapped a TA78/TU78 pair last year, since the PSU had seriously died in the master. Nice air compressors. ;^) I will probably find a use for the vaccuum pumps one day. Fascinating technology, the entire tape deck runs on air and vaccuum, even the motors are air driven. Cheers Geoff Roberts Computer Systems Manager Saint Mark's College Port Pirie, South Australia geoffrob(a)stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au netcafe(a)tell.net.au ICQ: 1970476