Conference wonder::turbolaser

1218.0. "Alphaserver 8200 KFTIA & other queries" by XFMV01::AJITK () Fri Jun 06 1997 11:22

Hi

I have a few queries on an Alphaserver 8200 configuration :

The customer currently has several Alphaserver 8200s running 
Digital Unix 3.2c which have been operational for over a year. 
During this period a few problems have been faced with KFTIA FWD
ports such as CAM error, DAT drive (TLZ07) hanging, multiple
active tape drives causing system hang etc... 

I want to see if we can rectify the situation by changing
the configuration in the next upgrade planned by the 
customer in terms of additional hardware. We are also 
planning an upgrade to the latest Unix release.  

In light of the above, following are the queries :

1. Are there any known limitations in the FWD ports on KFTIA which
one should be aware of while using them to connect to disk 
& tape drives in BA356 shelves ? This is in terms of performance,
stability, used for combination of disk & tapes  etc... 
Can it be replaced in any situation where a KZPSA can 
work (except for cluster/HSZ connection) ?

2. Will DLT (TZ87, TZ88) or DAT performance be affected by 
the type of controller it is connected to e.g. KFTIA, KZPSA or 
KZPAA.  

3. Is there a difference in behaviour among the 3 ports
on the KFTIA ? Some notes here seem to indicate that. 
 
4. In general,  should disk drives and tape drives be 
combined on a single controller ?

5. Is daisy chaining of tape devices recommended if both
are going to be active simultaneously ?

6. The Alphaserver 8200s are using 300Mhz CPUs. Would this
be a problem in upgrading the Unix to the latest release ?

Thanks in advance. 

Ajit Kale