[NCSA-discuss] SCO nfs

[Joseph Mack NA3T]

On Tue, 8 May 2012, Craig Cook wrote:

>
>
>>> If the requirement is backing up data why don't you review the tape setup?
>
>> my initial reasoning was that tapes are expensive and disks are cheap and I'd get a NAS. However with their legacy setup, they're committed to forking out money just to keep running, so the thinking that goes with creating a new machine doesn't apply. A bigger tape drive would handle it and would allow them to keep doing what they're well practiced at doing.
>
> Oh, so it sounds like as you have started digging, the issue is worse than you expected.
>
I hadn't expected to be at a site where the customer was 
intellegent, but not computer savvy and be presented with a 
canned app/machine that had been working perfectly for ages 
and they wanted a bigger disk and would need some other form 
of backup, since the tapes would now be too small to take 
the new disk. The hardware/OS now has limited support and 
all upgrade paths will be expensive probably both in terms 
of $ and aggravation. It's not just a matter of replacing a 
40G IDE with a 320G IDE. I can do just that right now, but 
sooner or later down the road, that machine is going to die 
and they need to be ready for it.

>>> If you can't find IDE disks that will work, install a SATA and see what happens. 
>
>> SCO 5.0.4 doesn't have SATA drivers.
>
> With the IDE adaptor SCO would not need to know about SATA.

So it's IDE on the mobo side and SATA on the disk side.

>>> Installing in a VM is an option, but you will also have fun with your serial card issues.
>
>> I take it you know about the SCO multiport serial card and VMs?
>
> I administer VM's.  I've used multiport serial cards as 
> part of a multi server console solution, did not set it up 
> myself though (and not within a VM env).
>
> If you use VMware you would have to install the serial 
> card in the ESX host.  Then present the serial interface 
> to the VM.  I've done that before for modem access. (long 
> time ago though)

thanks for the heads up.

> VMware can also present a virtual IDE disk to the VM.

got that.

> You could actually test this setup using ESXi (free).

OK. I'm still working on plans for the customer. At the 
moment I have more options than anyone can sensibly decide 
amongst.

Thanks Joe

-- 
Joseph Mack NA3T EME(B,D), FM05lw North Carolina
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