MEMORANDUM

TO:     Bill O'Brien
FROM:   Keith Corbett
DATE:   8/12/87
SUBJ:   VAX Purchase/Upgrade Prices
COPY:   Ron Genest, Clovis Regis

This memo is an update on our options and prices for adding to our
MicroVAX capacity.

To review, currently we have:

  * 1st MicroVAX II
        - BA23 w/ floppy, 4mb main memory
        - 2 RD53s @ 70 mb = 140mb
        - 8 port terminal interface
        - TK50 floppy
        - LA120

[By the way, I wonder if we are getting the best possible performance.
We need to do some performance analysis and perhaps, for example, adjust
the user quotas and system parameters.  Even so, disk and memory on the
1st VAX are probably less than half what we need just for 8 users
running the "core four" ASK modules.]

When I began exploring prices, I thought we had to buy a second
stand-alone VAX to be connected with the 1st VAX by DECNET.  There is
another option: buying the second VAX with the LAVC clustering
capability.  The quotes I've received were for both DECNET and LAVC.

LAVC is ultimately less expensive than DECNET, and it also is an easier
system to manage.  LAVC clustering means that the second VAX boots over
the network; it's only disk requirement is for paging / swapping.
System management is only done on one node -- this is much easier to
setup and maintain.

By going with LAVC, we save some money on the 2nd VAX, but it becomes
imperative to upgrade the first one, because it acts as the "boot node"
or master-mind in the cluster.

Hamilton-Avnet recommends further that we purchase a DEC terminal
server.  This would route users between the two VAXes, for a more
dynamic, load-balancing, fault-tolerant setup.  (If the satellite VAX
goes down, all terminals can still access the "boot node".)  Note that
the terminal server apparently also provides per-location security, so
that we could, e.g. establish a tape-duplication work-station with no
possible access to other services such as ASK.

With the terminal server it may also be possible to purchase VMS
licenses for additional users without having to buy additional terminal
ports (notwithstanding the expense of memory vs. throughput, of course).

They have not given me details and prices on this alternative setup.
However, with reservations and questions as noted, the following is what
I think we need to support roughly 16 users on an LAVC.  The bottom line
here approaches $120,000 -- but this includes upgrading the current VAX.
We could look into third-party memory; it's cheaper, but maintenance may
be a problem.


I need further information before I can propose a firm configuration and
get quotations.  I'm still studying the (tedious and poor) ASK manuals
to estimate Serviceman requirements; also, Hamilton-Avnet is looking
into the LAVC licensing issues.

KMC


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