BSD 4_2 development

[unix-history] / usr / doc / hints / 03.t

.sh OVERVIEW
We first discuss components, listing the alternatives we have tried
and sometimes a few we have not, and then discuss system packages.
We buy a substantial portion of our equipment from vendors other
than DEC.
The reasons
for choosing second vendor equipment are usually 
some combination of more current technology, lower cost for
equivalent equipment or shorter delivery time.
.LP
We do not consider devices that have
proven unreliable or whose performance
we consider inadequate.*  In addition,
.FS
* An exception to this rule is made where we have yet to
find any satisfactory devices in a particular category. 
In these instances we have
indicated our reservations about the existing choices
in the hopes that new products will address the problems
we believe are important.  The reader should realize that
if a vendor's equipment has been mentioned in a negative
light it indicates we at least thought highly enough of it
to evaluate it
seriously.  We are not trying to damage any company's reputation,
merely insure that important information is shared equally.
.FE
there are many devices that we
have no experience with.
As a general rule, every new peripheral has required
a non-trivial amount of leg work to get up to speed.
We suggest using
only peripherals that have been previously used successfully on 
.I
the type of VAX you are configuring
.R
(780, 750 or 730)
or
demanding a substantial (50-100%) discount for being
a guinea pig.
Be especially careful of UNIBUS\(dg interfaces.
Almost every manufacturer of a UNIBUS widget now includes the VAX
as a machine on which his device will work.
Some of these devices have still not been well tested in this situation.
These often will not work without substantial modification.
.LP
.I
System buyers without ready access to an in\-house hardware staff
should consider carefully the option of buying as much DEC equipment
as possible.
.R
If you have the money and time required to do this,
there are some strong advantages.
Our DEC equipment has, in general, proven somewhat more
reliable than the equivalent alternate vendor equipment.
Time from equipment delivery to running system is also usually shorter.
DEC field service in our area is excellent.
Outside service available for non-DEC peripherals is spotty at best.
.LP
For smaller installations this option should be carefully considered.
It is easier if you can call one party for all your problems, if you can
afford it.
At Berkeley, we are well past the inventory level where self maintenance
begins to pay off even on all DEC systems, so this is not a 
consideration.
One of us (Kridle) manages our local hardware support group.
.LP
Unfortunately, the limited selection of configurations currently available
sometimes make the all-DEC choice difficult.
This is especially true of the smaller configurations as
DEC's bottom end peripherals are less satisfactory for UNIX.
We say this not just for monetary reasons; functionally and aesthetically
we would prefer to have neither the RK07 disk
nor the TS11 tape unit in any system we have to deal with.
.LP
We recommend getting field service at least on your CPU
for the first year.
It has paid off for us in the cost of parts alone.
You can drop the contract after the engineering changes have
tapered off and most of the infant failures have occurred.
DEC requires a certain amount of its peripheral equipment on the machine to
qualify
for field service.
We understand that it is company policy not to
provide a maintenance contract for a system
without a DEC mass storage peripheral.
If you intend to purchase a maintenance contract, be certain
that your local field service is willing to support at least the DEC
equipment you buy.