RE: Op's console versus W2K SP4 -- MIDRANGE-L

This is not bigotry.  This is a discussion about IBM replacing a solid
technology with one that has a very spotty record at best.

Dumb tubes are generally far more reliable than PCs.  Terminals don't
have hard drives that fail -- or any moving parts, for that matter,
beyond the keyboard.  Yes, they fail, but not nearly as often as PCs.
Terminals also consume less power and generate less heat (unless you're
using a laptop for your ops console) and in most cases have a smaller
form-factor.

I'm using an InfoWindow from 1997 on my production system.  It's been on
24x7 since installation and has never glitched once.  Prior to June I
had a used InfoWindow on our dev box.  It was used in 1999 when it was
installed.  It too has never glitched or failed.  They aren't even
covered under maintenance.

Truly, the only thing terminals lack in today's world is remote command
capability.  That to me is the sole advantage of a PC-based console.
And is in fact why we replaced the tube on our dev box with an Ops
Console.

How many security patches has IBM had to release for terminals?  How
often are AV signatures updated for terminals?  How many times has a new
firmware release necessitated a terminal hardware upgrade (I say
firmware instead of OS since terminals don't run an actual OS)?

Personally, I feel Ops Consoles has not been implemented properly.  It
should be Linux based ('hardened' kernels are available), run on an IxS
or natively, and use internal disk.  The front of the system should have
a pop-out LCD panel & keyboard or a place for them if they are separate
from the system itself.  Remote control/access is achieved via a LAN
port.

-----Original Message-----
From: rob@xxxxxxxxx [mailto:rob@xxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 10:47 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: RE: Op's console versus W2K SP4


Let me ask you this.  One time we had a twinax console go bad.  We 
replaced it with another model and it failed to work.  Had to use 
RUNRMTCMD to manually configure it.

If you had come from a shop with all experience with Op's Console, tried
a 
twinax terminal, and had this happen would you feel the same bigotry 
against twinax that you feel towards Op's console?

Rob Berendt
-- 
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary 
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." 
Benjamin Franklin 
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