[rescue] Re: IBM pSeries disk brackets

[Jonathan C. Patschke]

On Wed, 1 Sep 2004, ghub005 wrote:

> Good questions. The system is only used for QA testing Java apps and
> since it isn't a production server, it isn't under a maintenance
> contract.

Right, but there's a good chance it's still under warranty.  The one on
my desk is (according to the IBM FE) one of the first ones delivered in
Austin, and its warranty expires in two months.

> Based on current market prices, the genuine IBM 73GB/10k parts are priced
> at just over seven times the price of a new Seagate or Hitachi disk.

Is this from a quote or from their website?  Their website gives list
price, which can be 3 to 4 times as high as what they'll actually charge
you.

> So it makes sense to pick up some brackets (if they're available)

They're not.  Those new brackets were introduced with the 7029 type
systems--they're not even the same as the brackets on the p610.  The new
p5 systems might use the same brackets, as it looks like they finally
got the design right.

> and pair them with generic disks.

Makes sense.  Be aware that if AIX doesn't recognise the part number of
the drive, it'll pessimally configure its SCSI settings (and those of
the bus it lives on).  If you know your way around chdev or smit, that's
not a problem, though.

> FWIW 'vendor lock-in' is still a major factor in the Unix midrange
> marketplace.

Dell, HP/Compaq, and IBM all use proprietary brackets in their PC
servers.  You can't order third-party disk trays for a brand new Dell,
either.

I would say that your best bet is to get a SCSI card for the machine
(they show up on eBay from time-to-time, or I -might- could be convinced
to come off one of my RS/6000 PCI SCSI cards), and stuff the disks in an
external box.

-- 
Jonathan Patschke )"We're Germans and we use Unix.  That's a combination
Elgin, TX        (  of two demographic groups known to have no sense of
USA               ) humour whatsoever." - Hanno Mueller in de.c.o.u.p