Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
Dear Jim, Please see my response inline... On 25/01/2019 23:04, Jim Manley wrote: > Hi Andrew, Hi Jim, > If it’s any consolation I needed no consolation because I already knew that these machines are going to a good home. But your message is great to read. This sounds like an amazing project. > the users of these components will be high > school students in an extremely rural area at the lowest level of > poverty in the U.S. The students are eager to learn computing and > networking principles, and these will provide opportunities for that in > spades. I think that learning foundational principles on real AlphaServers, with a good teacher, /actually sets up students in greater stead compared to computers based in the x86_84 universe, for example/. I mean this on many levels and across varying dimensions. Kind of like how I learned computer architecture from Hennessey & Patterson using MIPS and a RISC ISA. The concepts translated easily and well. All you need is genuine interest. I don't know much about the socioeconomic profile of Montana. I spent much of my in many parts of the US, mostly for personal reasons, and I loved the country in general. Unfortunately I never had a chance to go to Montana. > The performance level of these, compared with current technology, is > unimportant, as getting the right answers is more significant than how > fast they were computed. Are you referring writing networked computer programs to solve problems? I was discussing with my partner earlier this week that knowing about computing skills, like how networking _really_ works, is critical future knowledge for people who want to stay street smart in the universe of electrons whizzing by. It's going to be seriously important. > These components were used for data services, > so that fulfills the trifecta of computing, data structures, and > networking (and at fiber channel speeds, AIUI). This trifecta of "computing, data structures, and networking" intrgues me. Is it part of some curriculum? Or is it a grouping of computing concepts that you have identified as being meaningful? In the second sense I think I get it if I think hard enough. > We’ll make some videos eventually as they puzzle their way through > getting software licenses acquired and installed, things are configured > to work together, and we get proof-of-life command line prompts. I have a huge and active interest in education. I would be very interested to hear about how you get on with this. > I hope you are able to acquire your own Alphaservers and whatever other > techno-toys you covet in the near future. I don't like phrases like "techno-toys", regardless of how they are intended to come across. Similarly, words like "gizmos" and "gadgets". They rub me the wrong way but it is not a conversation I want to have right now. I'm not looking for AlphaServers to fulfil some sort of fetish. Rather, I have a specific project use case for them, and I would like to include them in this project I'm working on. I wish you all the very best in this work, Jim, and I believe that motivated students will appreciate the value of something clearly amazing like an AlphaServer. As I mentioned above, I've got a genuine interest in education and would love to hear how it goes. Do you mind if I ping you again in 6-12 months? Kind regards, Andrew > On Fri, Jan 25, 2019 at 2:58 PM Andrew Luke Nesbit > mailto:ullbek...@andrewnesbit.org>> wrote: > > Dear Richard, > > Thank you for replying in such a considered way. Please see below for > comments. > > On 25/01/2019 00:07, Richard Loken via cctalk wrote: > > > All of you have at one time expressed interest in all or part of > this > > rack full of Alphaservers and one of you even talked about > driving a truck > > up from Montana and taking it all home. > > All I can think of at this moment is how beautiful it must be to > go on a > road trip in Montana. > > > Are any of you still interested? > > I remain tremendously interested in learning about AlphaServers and > acuiring another one or two. > > But I live in London, UK. I was considering paying for the cheapest > slow seamail. Other people have less crazy ideas. I doubt that > my idea > is appealing to Richard either. > > > First priority goes to anybody willing to come up here and pick > up all > > or part of the collection. I will consider shipping if that is > what it > > comes down to but the packing and transprotation will be > expensive for > > the DS15 and extremely expensive for the other units. > > From reading the rest of this thread, it looks as though you've > already > found your collector/s and arranged a date. > > I'm very happy that these are going to a good home. It's fabulous > that > the flame is carrying on. > > For future reference, if anybody sees AlphaServers or similarly >
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
Hi Andrew, If it’s any consolation, the users of these components will be high school students in an extremely rural area at the lowest level of poverty in the U.S. The students are eager to learn computing and networking principles, and these will provide opportunities for that in spades. The performance level of these, compared with current technology, is unimportant, as getting the right answers is more significant than how fast they were computed. These components were used for data services, so that fulfills the trifecta of computing, data structures, and networking (and at fiber channel speeds, AIUI). We’ll make some videos eventually as they puzzle their way through getting software licenses acquired and installed, things are configured to work together, and we get proof-of-life command line prompts. I hope you are able to acquire your own Alphaservers and whatever other techno-toys you covet in the near future. All the Best, Jim On Fri, Jan 25, 2019 at 2:58 PM Andrew Luke Nesbit < ullbek...@andrewnesbit.org> wrote: > Dear Richard, > > Thank you for replying in such a considered way. Please see below for > comments. > > On 25/01/2019 00:07, Richard Loken via cctalk wrote: > > > All of you have at one time expressed interest in all or part of this > > rack full of Alphaservers and one of you even talked about driving a > truck > > up from Montana and taking it all home. > > All I can think of at this moment is how beautiful it must be to go on a > road trip in Montana. > > > Are any of you still interested? > > I remain tremendously interested in learning about AlphaServers and > acuiring another one or two. > > But I live in London, UK. I was considering paying for the cheapest > slow seamail. Other people have less crazy ideas. I doubt that my idea > is appealing to Richard either. > > > First priority goes to anybody willing to come up here and pick up all > > or part of the collection. I will consider shipping if that is what it > > comes down to but the packing and transprotation will be expensive for > > the DS15 and extremely expensive for the other units. > > From reading the rest of this thread, it looks as though you've already > found your collector/s and arranged a date. > > I'm very happy that these are going to a good home. It's fabulous that > the flame is carrying on. > > For future reference, if anybody sees AlphaServers or similarly > interesting hardware closer to home (UK or EU), then please do let me > know! Thank you!! > > Kind regards, > > Andrew >
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
Dear Richard, Thank you for replying in such a considered way. Please see below for comments. On 25/01/2019 00:07, Richard Loken via cctalk wrote: > All of you have at one time expressed interest in all or part of this > rack full of Alphaservers and one of you even talked about driving a truck > up from Montana and taking it all home. All I can think of at this moment is how beautiful it must be to go on a road trip in Montana. > Are any of you still interested? I remain tremendously interested in learning about AlphaServers and acuiring another one or two. But I live in London, UK. I was considering paying for the cheapest slow seamail. Other people have less crazy ideas. I doubt that my idea is appealing to Richard either. > First priority goes to anybody willing to come up here and pick up all > or part of the collection. I will consider shipping if that is what it > comes down to but the packing and transprotation will be expensive for > the DS15 and extremely expensive for the other units. >From reading the rest of this thread, it looks as though you've already found your collector/s and arranged a date. I'm very happy that these are going to a good home. It's fabulous that the flame is carrying on. For future reference, if anybody sees AlphaServers or similarly interesting hardware closer to home (UK or EU), then please do let me know! Thank you!! Kind regards, Andrew -- OpenPGP key: EB28 0338 28B7 19DA DAB0 B193 D21D 996E 883B E5B9
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On Thu, 24 Jan 2019, John H. Reinhardt via cctalk wrote: I also know I think other have their dibs in first. But if they wash out... Thanks John, I will keep you in mind. -- Richard Loken VE6BSV: "...underneath those tuques we wear, Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" ** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On 1/24/2019 6:07 PM, Richard Loken via cctalk wrote: Gentemen, All of you have at one time expressed interest in all or part of this rack full of Alphaservers and one of you even talked about driving a truck up from Montana and taking it all home. Are any of you still interested? First priority goes to anybody willing to come up here and pick up all or part of the collection. I will consider shipping if that is what it comes down to but the packing and transprotation will be expensive for the DS15 and extremely expensive for the other units. I'm in DFW Texas area so a drive up to the far north is not in the cards. But I just bought a DS10 on Ebay and paid around $50 shipping. With this DS15 being in Canada I expect shipping to be more but I'd pay $200-300 for it if that's what it takes. I also know I think other have their dibs in first. But if they wash out... -- John H. Reinhardt
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On Thu, 24 Jan 2019, Jim Manley wrote: I've got everything lined up to do a full pickup, except the timing. It will have to be next Saturday, 2/2, or preferably 2/9, but I appreciate that the owner has waited this long. The only potential bugaboo could be the weather, but the cycle seems to be favorable at the moment. However, I just heard that the dreaded Polar Vortex may bust out of The Great White North and cause Al Gore to switch from air conditioning to heating in his oversized 50,000-foot environment-unto-itself mansion in Tennessee. February 2 would be the best date. I am away the weekend of February 8 and would have to get somebody else meet you and help you load. -- Richard Loken VE6BSV: "...underneath those tuques we wear, Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" ** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
Hi Richard, I've got everything lined up to do a full pickup, except the timing. It will have to be next Saturday, 2/2, or preferably 2/9, but I appreciate that the owner has waited this long. The only potential bugaboo could be the weather, but the cycle seems to be favorable at the moment. However, I just heard that the dreaded Polar Vortex may bust out of The Great White North and cause Al Gore to switch from air conditioning to heating in his oversized 50,000-foot environment-unto-itself mansion in Tennessee. Thanks and All the Best, Jim On Thu, Jan 24, 2019 at 5:08 PM Richard Loken wrote: > Gentemen, > > All of you have at one time expressed interest in all or part of this > rack full of Alphaservers and one of you even talked about driving a truck > up from Montana and taking it all home. > > Are any of you still interested? > > First priority goes to anybody willing to come up here and pick up all or > part of the collection. I will consider shipping if that is what it comes > down to but the packing and transprotation will be expensive for the DS15 > and extremely expensive for the other units. > > -- >Richard Loken VE6BSV : "...underneath those tuques we > wear, >Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" >** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black >
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
Gentemen, All of you have at one time expressed interest in all or part of this rack full of Alphaservers and one of you even talked about driving a truck up from Montana and taking it all home. Are any of you still interested? First priority goes to anybody willing to come up here and pick up all or part of the collection. I will consider shipping if that is what it comes down to but the packing and transprotation will be expensive for the DS15 and extremely expensive for the other units. -- Richard Loken VE6BSV: "...underneath those tuques we wear, Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" ** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On Tue, 18 Dec 2018, Richard Loken via cctalk wrote: > > I also know that the DS20 mother boards had hardware on them such as USB > controllers and maybe SCSI controllers that were not supported by either > OS. > I recall having a retired DS20 doing light duties back at the office. It used to crash occasionally and somebody found it was still on the maintenance contract so we got the DEC (or whatever they were called that week) engineer to take a look at it. He declared that the internal disk being plugged into the onboard SCSI controller was the source of the problem because this configuration was not supported by VMS. We were somewhat surprised by this as we thought that "not supported" in this context meant that VMS probably didn't have a driver for the onboard controller at some point in the past but it must have been added since because it seemed to work fine when we tried it. There were no further problems after a PCI SCSI controller was added and the disk was plugged into this instead. Regards, Peter Coghlan.
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
> On Dec 18, 2018, at 11:01 AM, Grant Taylor via cctalk > wrote: > > On 12/18/2018 11:55 AM, Zane Healy wrote: >> My main box is now a Compaq XP1000/667, though I’m slowly moving everything >> to a virtualized cluster. > > Will you please share details about what you're hosting your virtualized > cluster on? Please include emulator and / or hypervisor. HP SFF PC’s running: VMware cluster on ESXI 6.7 (and then Ubuntu Linux running SIMH), OpenVMS/VAX 7.3 Ubuntu Server running SIMH, OpenVMS/VAX 7.3 (I need to virtualize this Ubuntu server) Raspberry Pi 2+: Raspian running SIMH, OpenVMS/VAX 7.3 Compaq XP1000/667, running OpenVMS/Alpha 8.3 Now that I have the cluster up and running, my primary use for the Alpha is WASD, Oracle RDB, and Fortran, I’ve moved pretty much everything else to SIMH, including drive capacity. Unfortunately there aren’t any good solutions to move an Alpha to an emulator, when the system is for Hobbyist use. I find that VM’s running on VMware make an great SIMH host. Once I virtualize my Ubuntu server box, it will become a 3rd node in my VMware cluster (I’m licensed for up to 6 CPU’s). Zane
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On 12/18/2018 11:55 AM, Zane Healy wrote: My main box is now a Compaq XP1000/667, though I’m slowly moving everything to a virtualized cluster. Will you please share details about what you're hosting your virtualized cluster on? Please include emulator and / or hypervisor. -- Grant. . . . unix || die
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
> On Dec 18, 2018, at 10:40 AM, Grant Taylor via cctalk > wrote: > > On 12/18/2018 10:28 AM, Zane Healy wrote: >> On Alpha’s, the SRM console supports both OpenVMS and Tru64, while the ARC >> firmware only supports WinNT. > > Wasn't it possible to switch between ARC and SRM on many Alphas? As in to > overwrite one firmware with the other? Yes, for example on a DEC PWS 433au. It is also possible to load the SRM console on a DEC PWS 433a (Windows NT only), and once you had a supported SCSI card, and if you wanted video, a supported video card, you can run OpenVMS (or Tru64). This was my primary VMS box for many years, including several years after one of the PCI slots died (which speaks highly in my mind about how well the hardware was made). My main box is now a Compaq XP1000/667, though I’m slowly moving everything to a virtualized cluster. Zane
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On 12/18/2018 10:28 AM, Zane Healy wrote: On Alpha’s, the SRM console supports both OpenVMS and Tru64, while the ARC firmware only supports WinNT. Wasn't it possible to switch between ARC and SRM on many Alphas? As in to overwrite one firmware with the other? -- Grant. . . . unix || die
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On Tue, 18 Dec 2018, Tapley, Mark via cctalk wrote: Not to start a flame war, but I?m well aware VMS supports clustering pretty well, so I?m puzzled - does anyone know why the Product Description called out Tru64 rather than VMS or both? Was Compaq de-emphasizing VMS when that was written? DEC, Compaq, and HP always had separate part numbers and product descriptions for Tru64, VMS, and Windows systems. I know from repeated experiance that you can run either OS on these systems and I also know that all the ES45 hardware is supported by VMS including the video cards. I also know that the DS20 mother boards had hardware on them such as USB controllers and maybe SCSI controllers that were not supported by either OS. -- Richard Loken VE6BSV: "...underneath those tuques we wear, Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" ** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
> On Dec 18, 2018, at 9:11 AM, Grant Taylor via cctalk > wrote: > > On 12/18/2018 09:08 AM, Tapley, Mark via cctalk wrote: >> Not to start a flame war, but I’m well aware VMS supports clustering pretty >> well, so I’m puzzled - does anyone know why the Product Description called >> out Tru64 rather than VMS or both? Was Compaq de-emphasizing VMS when that >> was written? > > Is there a chance that what you found was a kit (order able SKU) that > included Tru64? As in was there possibly a different kit (SKU) that was > (Open)VMS? > > I remember seeing similar from Compaq for Windows NT vs NetWare. Same > hardware, just different software (and possibly factory BIOS config / > optimizations). Tru64 supports various bits of hardware not supported by VMS. The one that is in the forefront of my mind is video cards, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there aren’t also disk controllers. On Alpha’s, the SRM console supports both OpenVMS and Tru64, while the ARC firmware only supports WinNT. As for the product description calling out the clustering in Tru64, perhaps they simply assumed anyone looking knew it would be supported in VMS. Zane
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On 12/18/2018 09:08 AM, Tapley, Mark via cctalk wrote: Not to start a flame war, but I’m well aware VMS supports clustering pretty well, so I’m puzzled - does anyone know why the Product Description called out Tru64 rather than VMS or both? Was Compaq de-emphasizing VMS when that was written? Is there a chance that what you found was a kit (order able SKU) that included Tru64? As in was there possibly a different kit (SKU) that was (Open)VMS? I remember seeing similar from Compaq for Windows NT vs NetWare. Same hardware, just different software (and possibly factory BIOS config / optimizations). -- Grant. . . . unix || die
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
> On Dec 17, 2018, at 7:29 PM, Glen Slick via cctalk > wrote: > > I have two ES47 System Building Block Drawers boxes, each with two > 1GHz 21364 EV7 processors, which form a four CPU ES47 Model 4 when the > two boxes are connected via the interprocessor hose cables. I didn't > have any issues getting OpenVMS 8.4 running on the four CPU system. > Maybe the memory is half full, so 8GB in each of the two boxes. Glen, this is interesting! My comment was based on looking at: https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c00376999#N10010 First hit on my gurgle search and I apparently didn’t do enough digging. That page lists CPU’s available including ES45, and calls out as software, "Tru64 UNIX 5.1a HP AlphaServer SC system software, including Cluster File System, Parallel File System, and Platform LSF”. Not to start a flame war, but I’m well aware VMS supports clustering pretty well, so I’m puzzled - does anyone know why the Product Description called out Tru64 rather than VMS or both? Was Compaq de-emphasizing VMS when that was written? - Mark
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
Dear Richard, As soon as I saw this message my heart skipped a few beats, merely at the _possibility_ that I might be able to share in some of this hardware. I have been fascinated by my first HP AlphaServer DS15, ever since an acquaintance at the local hackspace kindly gave it to me. Here are some photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jxxkmh9fiaqdsjw/AAC5QdhR8NXE-Id5A44UYWRya?dl=0 I would love to take it all, and would gladly pay for shipping and insurance to the UK. But I don't want to be greedy either. Maybe there are other people on this list who would like to, or ought to, experience the same exhilaration as owning an AS. Having a small cluster of AlphaServers, plus RAID server and fibre switches, fits in SO PERFECTLY with my side project; it's about formalising methods for distributed computation and then making a libre-friendly distributed computing environment available to interested users in a communal or co-operative environment. I'm currently preparing the x86 portion of the overall project for shipping to colo. Several AS'es in an HA, resilient setup would be such a perfect complement. Please let me what you think! I value comments and questions from all. Kind regards, Andrew Sent from my mobile phone > On 17 Dec 2018, at 23:02, Richard Loken via cctalk > wrote: > > Ladies and gentlemen, > > I have immediate access to four Alphaservers, an RA8000 raid server, > and the associated fibre switches in need of a new home. > > There three servers that were running Tru64 Unix 5 when shut down a week > ago, they are a DS15, and two ES45s. There is also a third ES45 which > has not run in a decade and was kept around as a cold spare. > > None of the RA8000 disk will be available because the present owner is > protecting his data (of course) but all of the unused spare disks are > available and they will fit the internal slots in the DS15 and ES45s > which may or may not have disks depending on the whim of the present owner. > > Lots of paper docs and Tru64 OS installation kits but no licenses. > > They can be had for free but shipping will most assuridly not be free. > > -- > Richard Loken VE6BSV : "...underneath those tuques we wear, > Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" > ** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
> On Dec 17, 2018, at 4:49 PM, Al Kossow via cctalk > wrote: > > On 12/17/18 4:27 PM, Richard Loken via cctalk wrote: >> Anything >> Tru64 Unix does VMS does better. Anything Linux does Tru64 Unix does >> better. >> >> Have I made my bigotry clear? > > Spoken like a true VMS Jackass > > Some things stay constant over the DECades Face it Al, there is no better OS than VMS. I for one am looking forwards to the completion of the port to Xeon. Zane
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On Mon, 17 Dec 2018, Jacob Ritorto wrote: There are contractors who have the hardware to correctly and contractually perform mil spec data wipe in situations like this. More thorough than leaving sitting on some shelf and crossing fingers that one will find time to burn them or whatever. I seriously don't care what happens to their data or their disks. -- Richard Loken VE6BSV: "...underneath those tuques we wear, Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" ** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
There are contractors who have the hardware to correctly and contractually perform mil spec data wipe in situations like this. More thorough than leaving sitting on some shelf and crossing fingers that one will find time to burn them or whatever. On Mon, Dec 17, 2018 at 6:02 PM Richard Loken via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > Ladies and gentlemen, > > I have immediate access to four Alphaservers, an RA8000 raid server, > and the associated fibre switches in need of a new home. > > There three servers that were running Tru64 Unix 5 when shut down a week > ago, they are a DS15, and two ES45s. There is also a third ES45 which > has not run in a decade and was kept around as a cold spare. > > None of the RA8000 disk will be available because the present owner is > protecting his data (of course) but all of the unused spare disks are > available and they will fit the internal slots in the DS15 and ES45s > which may or may not have disks depending on the whim of the present owner. > > Lots of paper docs and Tru64 OS installation kits but no licenses. > > They can be had for free but shipping will most assuridly not be free. > > -- >Richard Loken VE6BSV : "...underneath those tuques we > wear, >Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" >** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black >
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On 12/17/18 5:27 PM, Richard Loken via cctalk wrote: Anything Tru64 Unix does VMS does better. Anything Linux does Tru64 Unix does better. If that's true, then I would expect Tru64 to have better support of modern cryptographic ciphers than Linux. Carrying your analogy further, I'd expect to see bleeding edge development on future ciphers on (Open)VMS systems. Have I made my bigotry clear? Yep. Have I? }:-) You will seriously raise your electric bill and somewhat lower your heating bill. All of this hardware is 120V single phase but it would like a couple circuit breakers all to itself. Do the breakers need to come from /my/ breaker panel? Or do the Alphas care if they come from my neighbors house? ...Assuming that there's no sneak current or cross phase issues. I guess I could power them completely from my neighbor's place and just link our houses with optical fiber. :-D Or wireless! Seeing as how Linux sort of supports wireless, (Open)VMS is bound to have support for it. -- Grant. . . . unix || die
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On Mon, Dec 17, 2018 at 3:45 PM Tapley, Mark via cctalk wrote: > > I hope hard enough that this cluster gets saved that if no-one else comes > forward, I’d like to be notified….I’m not certain what I could arrange, but > the thought of running my own personal Alpha supercomputer … wow. Not sure > how to solve the license issue though. I assume OpenVMS doesn’t support that > level of parallelization? > I have two ES47 System Building Block Drawers boxes, each with two 1GHz 21364 EV7 processors, which form a four CPU ES47 Model 4 when the two boxes are connected via the interprocessor hose cables. I didn't have any issues getting OpenVMS 8.4 running on the four CPU system. Maybe the memory is half full, so 8GB in each of the two boxes. The real issue is that each of the two ES47 boxes weigh around 125 pounds and they are almost 3 feet deep, so not something I can pull out and set up for casual use. They were reasonably cheap on their own to acquire at the time, but the freight shipping certainly was not cheap. If someone in the Seattle area is really interested in an ES47 system, let me know, although I wouldn't want to just give them away completely free at this point.
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
Dear Richard, As soon as I saw this message my heart skipped a few beats, merely at the _possibility_ that I might be able to share in some of this hardware. I have been fascinated by my first HP AlphaServer DS15, ever since an acquaintance at the local hackspace kindly gave it to me. Here are some photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jxxkmh9fiaqdsjw/AAC5QdhR8NXE-Id5A44UYWRya?dl=0 I would love to take it all, and would gladly pay for shipping and insurance to the UK. But I don't want to be greedy either. Maybe there are other people on this list who would like to, or ought to, experience the same exhilaration as owning an AS. Having a small cluster of AlphaServers, plus RAID server and fibre switches, fits in SO PERFECTLY with my side project; it's about formalising methods for distributed computation and then making a libre-friendly distributed computing environment available to interested users in a communal or co-operative environment. I'm currently preparing the x86 portion of the overall project for shipping to colo. Several AS'es in an HA, resilient setup would be such a perfect complement. Please let me what you think! I value comments and questions from all. Kind regards, Andrew Sent from my mobile phone > On 17 Dec 2018, at 23:02, Richard Loken via cctalk > wrote: > > Ladies and gentlemen, > > I have immediate access to four Alphaservers, an RA8000 raid server, > and the associated fibre switches in need of a new home. > > There three servers that were running Tru64 Unix 5 when shut down a week > ago, they are a DS15, and two ES45s. There is also a third ES45 which > has not run in a decade and was kept around as a cold spare. > > None of the RA8000 disk will be available because the present owner is > protecting his data (of course) but all of the unused spare disks are > available and they will fit the internal slots in the DS15 and ES45s > which may or may not have disks depending on the whim of the present owner. > > Lots of paper docs and Tru64 OS installation kits but no licenses. > > They can be had for free but shipping will most assuridly not be free. > > -- > Richard Loken VE6BSV : "...underneath those tuques we wear, > Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" > ** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On 12/17/18 4:27 PM, Richard Loken via cctalk wrote: > Anything > Tru64 Unix does VMS does better. Anything Linux does Tru64 Unix does > better. > > Have I made my bigotry clear? > Spoken like a true VMS Jackass Some things stay constant over the DECades
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On Mon, 17 Dec 2018, Tapley, Mark via cctalk wrote: Wikipedia reports there is some variability in ES45 models, including number of CPU and amount of memory. Any idea what model/spec these are? If I recall correctly the ES45s each have 2 CPUs. The three ES45s are not intentical, the one that was purchased first had a CPU upgrade after a couple years but I do not recall either part number. I have no idea what the other two have for CPUs. Two of them have 32Gbyte of RAM, the cold spare is unknown. Also: ?...The AlphaServer SC was a supercomputer constructed from a set of These were single computers that happen to be in the same rack. Two of them have the special HP cluster card whose name and number I forget so they were formed into a TruCluster once upon a time. I hope hard enough that this cluster gets saved that if no-one else comes forward, I?d like to be notified?.I?m not certain what I could arrange, but the thought of running my own personal Alpha supercomputer ? wow. Not sure how to solve the license issue though. I assume OpenVMS doesn?t support that level of parallelization? I assume that VMS does support that level of parallelization. Anything Tru64 Unix does VMS does better. Anything Linux does Tru64 Unix does better. Have I made my bigotry clear? You will seriously raise your electric bill and somewhat lower your heating bill. All of this hardware is 120V single phase but it would like a couple circuit breakers all to itself. -- Richard Loken VE6BSV: "...underneath those tuques we wear, Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" ** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On Mon, 17 Dec 2018, Grant Taylor via cctalk wrote: On 12/17/2018 04:02 PM, Richard Loken via cctalk wrote: I have immediate access to four Alphaservers, an RA8000 raid server, and the associated fibre switches in need of a new home. Where are the servers located? Are they in Athabasca, Alberta Canada near you? Yes, they are within 1/2 mile of me... In Athabasca, Alberta Canada Is the owner keeping the raw disks or are they disks staying in sleds / enclosures? Read: Are the enclosures sans-disks available? I can get the sleds if they are of use to you. These machines all use the narrow HP Storage Works carriers not the wide blue or green ones. They can be had for free but shipping will most assuridly not be free. Does it need to move as a single lot? Or is someone (you?) willing to passel things out (assuming everything moves relatively quickly)? All the dispersal, packing, and shipping will be done by me. The owner wants no part of it. I am willing to send small quantities of things hither and yon. Shipping a DS15 will be hard work but possible, shipping an ES45 will be seriously hard. I am unwilling to box and ship the RA8000/HSG80 but I am willing to part it out. Anybody who wants to come visit Athabasca with a 1/2 ton truck can have the whole lot including the 7 foot rack or a subset of the whole. I would be thrilled not to have to pack and ship stuff. -- Richard Loken VE6BSV: "...underneath those tuques we wear, Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" ** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On 12/17/2018 04:45 PM, Tapley, Mark via cctalk wrote: I hope hard enough that this cluster gets saved that if no-one else comes forward, I’d like to be notified….I’m not certain what I could arrange, but the thought of running my own personal Alpha supercomputer … wow. Agreed. Not sure how to solve the license issue though. I assume OpenVMS doesn’t support that level of parallelization? I'm not sure what to make of OpenVMS doesn't support this level of parallelization. I know that (Open)VMS has some impressive clustering abilities. But I don't know how parallel different jobs can be. I would assume that it is highly dependent on the job at hand and how it was coded. -- Grant. . . . unix || die
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
> On Dec 17, 2018, at 5:32 PM, Grant Taylor via cctalk > wrote: > > On 12/17/2018 04:02 PM, Richard Loken via cctalk wrote: >> I have immediate access to four Alphaservers, an RA8000 raid server, and the >> associated fibre switches in need of a new home. > > Where are the servers located? Are they in Athabasca, Alberta Canada near > you? > >> There three servers that were running Tru64 Unix 5 when shut down a week >> ago, they are a DS15, and two ES45s. There is also a third ES45 which has >> not run in a decade and was kept around as a cold spare. >> None of the RA8000 disk will be available because the present owner is >> protecting his data (of course) but all of the unused spare disks are >> available and they will fit the internal slots in the DS15 and ES45s which >> may or may not have disks depending on the whim of the present owner. > > Understandable. > > Is the owner keeping the raw disks or are they disks staying in sleds / > enclosures? Read: Are the enclosures sans-disks available? > >> Lots of paper docs and Tru64 OS installation kits but no licenses. > > ACK > >> They can be had for free but shipping will most assuridly not be free. > > Does it need to move as a single lot? Or is someone (you?) willing to passel > things out (assuming everything moves relatively quickly)? > > -- > Grant. . . . > unix || die Wikipedia reports there is some variability in ES45 models, including number of CPU and amount of memory. Any idea what model/spec these are? Also: “...The AlphaServer SC was a supercomputer constructed from a set of individual DS20L, ES40 or ES45 servers (called "nodes") mounted in racks….” I hope hard enough that this cluster gets saved that if no-one else comes forward, I’d like to be notified….I’m not certain what I could arrange, but the thought of running my own personal Alpha supercomputer … wow. Not sure how to solve the license issue though. I assume OpenVMS doesn’t support that level of parallelization? - Mark
Re: Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
On 12/17/2018 04:02 PM, Richard Loken via cctalk wrote: I have immediate access to four Alphaservers, an RA8000 raid server, and the associated fibre switches in need of a new home. Where are the servers located? Are they in Athabasca, Alberta Canada near you? There three servers that were running Tru64 Unix 5 when shut down a week ago, they are a DS15, and two ES45s. There is also a third ES45 which has not run in a decade and was kept around as a cold spare. None of the RA8000 disk will be available because the present owner is protecting his data (of course) but all of the unused spare disks are available and they will fit the internal slots in the DS15 and ES45s which may or may not have disks depending on the whim of the present owner. Understandable. Is the owner keeping the raw disks or are they disks staying in sleds / enclosures? Read: Are the enclosures sans-disks available? Lots of paper docs and Tru64 OS installation kits but no licenses. ACK They can be had for free but shipping will most assuridly not be free. Does it need to move as a single lot? Or is someone (you?) willing to passel things out (assuming everything moves relatively quickly)? -- Grant. . . . unix || die
Orphan HP Alphaservers looking for a new home
Ladies and gentlemen, I have immediate access to four Alphaservers, an RA8000 raid server, and the associated fibre switches in need of a new home. There three servers that were running Tru64 Unix 5 when shut down a week ago, they are a DS15, and two ES45s. There is also a third ES45 which has not run in a decade and was kept around as a cold spare. None of the RA8000 disk will be available because the present owner is protecting his data (of course) but all of the unused spare disks are available and they will fit the internal slots in the DS15 and ES45s which may or may not have disks depending on the whim of the present owner. Lots of paper docs and Tru64 OS installation kits but no licenses. They can be had for free but shipping will most assuridly not be free. -- Richard Loken VE6BSV: "...underneath those tuques we wear, Athabasca, Alberta Canada : our heads are naked!" ** rllo...@telus.net ** :- Arthur Black
