Re: EMC Drives

I think this might evoke some emotional responses.  Seems like people either
love them or hate them.  I do not use them and will not use them.  However I
would never say anything bad in a generic way despite my beliefs.  I do know
some people who have had issues with compatability from time to time.

I would ask a few questions as to what your parent company is looking for and
trying to accomplish.  Are they comparing Symmetrix to VSS or internals?  Are
they in an environment where they want to use multiple servers sharing the same
DASD farm?  Are they trying to minimize certain costs (acquisition,
maintenance)?  How concerned are they with performance?

If you get involved with this you will hear a lot of crud from both sides but
here are some points to consider:

1.) Don't be oversold on SRDF and three way mirroring.  Ask lot's of questions.
2.) Don't be oversold on the reference sheet.  Check any EMC reference in
detail.
3.) Don't be oversold on the benefits of external cache.
4.) Make sure you look at total costs (acquisition, maintenance, modifications,
upgrades, etc.)
5.) Look at residual values.
6.) Ask about AS/400 IOP support - future and current.
7.) Do you want multiple service providers?
8.) AS/400 PTF and new release support?
9.) Look long and hard at backup claims.
10.) Ask if anything is billable above and beyond acquisition and maintenance.

I think you can tell how my feelings fall.....:)  Oh well, I still think the
above items are valid and will help represent a good picture about what you are
getting or not getting.....

HTH

Mike





eric <eric@norcov.com> on 05/18/99 01:32:18 PM

Please respond to MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com

To:   "'midrange-l@midrange.com'" <midrange-l@midrange.com>
cc:    (bcc: Mike Crump/IS/Ball-Foster)

Subject:  EMC Drives




     My parent company is considering purchasing EMC drives for their new 7XX
AS/400.  They will be purchasing almost a terabyte of DASD.  Does anyone
have any thoughts as to why they should or shouldn't do this.  Thanks in
advance for any assistance.

Eric Kempter
CommAir Mechanical Services, Inc.


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