15 Dec
2005
15 Dec
'05
4:55 p.m.
Subject: VAX 9000 (was: Re: Sun 386i available)
From: Adrian Graham <witchy at binarydinosaurs.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 00:16:54 +0000
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at
classiccmp.org>
Your mail name reminded me of a conversation I had today with an ex-Digit
with regard to the Vax 9000 and its reliability record which is less than
good. Apologies if this question has been asked before and is in the
archives, but did you work with VAX9000s back in the day?
My reason for asking is that I believed the VAX9000 would be watercooled
(its codename was Aquarius) but shipped machines were aircooled and I'm
wondering why there was a change in policy?
Water was new to DEC required special people to fix it and some sites
didn't like the idea or could not support water for the system. NY some
of the older buildings took near a year to get adaquate power for smaller
machines. Water, forget about that.
Reminds me of a site in Salt Lake City, water flooded top floor and
sustem on second floor was crushed when the building pancaked from
the flood.
All ex-digits can reply of course :)
It was a good machine that held up well in use. The bulk of them
succumed when installed (phase rotation had the blowers backward!)
and the usual field circus tricks.
The person I was talking to today explained that their
9000s were removed
and replaced with 7000s....must've been a hell of a drain on Digit
resources......
Didn't want to support machine that was so unique parts and skills wise.
There was (may still be) a PDP1 in Yellowknife doing bookeeping for
a mill. Field service offered them all sorts of inducements during
the 80s to replace it. I believe they system cost over a half million
to replace with software and stuff tossed in. It was just too costly
to fix the PDP1 if it broke.
Allison
On 15/12/05 23:39, "9000 VAX" <vax9000 at
gmail.com> wrote:
On 12/15/05, Patrick Finnegan <pat at
computer-refuge.org> wrote:
--
Adrian/Witchy
Binary Dinosaurs creator/curator
Www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the UK's biggest private home computer
collection?
On Thursday 15 December 2005 18:08, 9000 VAX
wrote:
Yes, private and yes, inches. I was thinking about a program I was
working on. Actually I thought twice before typed ', and still the
wrong one is chosen.
vax, 9000
fedex rate a 30'x25'x25' box
I'm assuming that was supposed to be private.. but I must say, that's
one huge box! (Or did you mean inches ala " not feet ala '? :)
Pat
--
Purdue University Research Computing --- http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/
The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org