[I wanted to reply to Malcolm's old topic from aug-2008, but google
groups did not allow me to]

I watched those 2*1.5Ghz, 10Gb memory 2600's on Ebay from a seller
called: assetrecoveryctsystems
Their packing and handling fee is high-ish ($85) but it is a solid job
for the single systems.
They are willing to combine multiple for price break.

They used to list some with starting $100 with DVD, but no longer
list, nor have those it seems
For months they have them listed with MP and no DVD for $175, and many
sold for the starting price.

I bought one, and a spare one and communicated with them.
If they are not listed, then you can possible Email/call them and ask
Penny for an 'off-Ebay' quote.

Today they started to show up as $275 starting. Typo ? :-) Are they
running low?
The best deal out there now is a lot of 3 with a starting price of
$525 !
Team up! One each and split one for spares! (the memory alone may be
worth it for some)

For those folks considering and wondering, I also bought bought
several hard drives for those on Ebay.
It all seems to work as long as they have the 80-pin SCA connector.
The sled's are harder to find, but in a pinch you could push any old
drive in there, and prop it up untill you find some carriers. Not
pretty, but it get's you going.
( In fact, by now I bought some 15K rpms's and have too many 'slow'
and smaller 10Krpm 18Gb / 36 Gb drives.
Those are of course just fine for a hobby box. Send me an Email if you
need a few :-).

Hope this helps someone, some day,

Hein.

Hein RMS van den Heuvel wrote:

> The best deal out there now is a lot of 3 with a starting price of
> $525 !

   Yep, just bought a 3-pack from them. Excellent price, I think the 
30GB of memory (10GB each) they come with is worth more than the $525.

   They came very well packed (nice solid box, lots of foam (the 
spray-in kind, not the annoying "popcorn").

   They are all in great shape. My only minor complaint would be that 
the MP firmware on them is really out of date (2.20 IIRC). Not a big 
problem, it only took a few minutes each to update to the latest version.

    At the risk of being sacrilegious I have to admit that the first 
thing I did was install RedHat Linux on one of them.

On Mar 20, 3:35=A0am, Malcolm Dunnett <noth...@spammers.are.scum> wrote:
> Hein RMS van den Heuvel wrote:
>
> > The best deal out there now is a lot of 3 with a starting price of
> > $525 !
>
> =A0 =A0Yep, just bought a 3-pack from them. Excellent price, I think the
> 30GB of memory (10GB each) they come with is worth more than the $525.
>
> =A0 =A0They came very well packed (nice solid box, lots of foam (the
> spray-in kind, not the annoying "popcorn").
>
> =A0 =A0They are all in great shape. My only minor complaint would be that
> the MP firmware on them is really out of date (2.20 IIRC). Not a big
> problem, it only took a few minutes each to update to the latest version.
>
> =A0 =A0 At the risk of being sacrilegious I have to admit that the first
> thing I did was install RedHat Linux on one of them.

Debian 5.0 is nicely up-to-date and works a treat.

On Mar 20, 5:30=A0am, urbancamo <m...@wickensonline.co.uk> wrote:
> On Mar 20, 3:35=A0am, Malcolm Dunnett <noth...@spammers.are.scum> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Hein RMS van den Heuvel wrote:
>
> > > The best deal out there now is a lot of 3 with a starting price of
> > > $525 !
>
> > =A0 =A0Yep, just bought a 3-pack from them. Excellent price, I think th=
e
> > 30GB of memory (10GB each) they come with is worth more than the $525.
>
> > =A0 =A0They came very well packed (nice solid box, lots of foam (the
> > spray-in kind, not the annoying "popcorn").
>
> > =A0 =A0They are all in great shape. My only minor complaint would be th=
at
> > the MP firmware on them is really out of date (2.20 IIRC). Not a big
> > problem, it only took a few minutes each to update to the latest versio=
n.
>
> > =A0 =A0 At the risk of being sacrilegious I have to admit that the firs=
t
> > thing I did was install RedHat Linux on one of them.
>
> Debian 5.0 is nicely up-to-date and works a treat.

And it has a lustre package, which is based on the VMS cluster
technology.  I want to mess around with that a bit.

On Mar 19, 11:35=A0pm, Malcolm Dunnett <noth...@spammers.are.scum>
wrote:
> Hein RMS van den Heuvel wrote:
>
(hein)
> The sled's are harder to find, but in a pinch you could push any old
> drive in there, and prop it up untill you find some carriers.

Sorry for replying to myself, but Daniel S send me an Email alerting
me
to $30 DS2100 'pizza boxes' with 2 drives. Even with the highish
shipping and handling that's probably the best way to get drives right
now.
They are willing to lower shippnig when combining.
( Tell then to toss away the DS2100, just ship the drives &
caddies ? :-)
Search for: A5675A :  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3D=
120394658684

(Malcolm)
> > The best deal out there now is a lot of 3 with a starting price of
> > $525 !
>
> =A0 =A0Yep, just bought a 3-pack from them. Excellent price,

Malcolm, can you send me an Email? Thanks.

Your listed address of @spammers.are.scum bounces :-).
And yes, spammers are scum,
But the scammers are the true low lifes, well below the scum level.

I just went through a 'tease'. Writeup  in:
http://www.siriusaddict.com/2009/03/17/scammers-and-ebay/#comment-8952
No I did not fall for this, instead  'played' with the scammers for a
little while to keep him busy, but I'm afraid some folks will take the
bait hoping to save a buck perhaps.

Hein.

On Mar 20, 2:19=A0pm, "Hein, Nashua NH" <heinvandenheu...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Sorry for replying to myself, but Daniel S send me an Email alerting
> me
> to $30 DS2100 'pizza boxes' with 2 drives. Even with the highish
> shipping and handling that's probably the best way to get drives right
> now.

The other two slots may have blanks (not drive carriers).  They look
the same from the face.

I did a search a few weeks ago using the sled part numbers and came up
with some on eBay.  I think they were $15 each (no disk drive).  I
don't have the numbers in front of me right now or I'd post them for
you.

sapienzaf wrote:
> On Mar 20, 2:19 pm, "Hein, Nashua NH" <heinvandenheu...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
>>Sorry for replying to myself, but Daniel S send me an Email alerting
>>me
>>to $30 DS2100 'pizza boxes' with 2 drives. Even with the highish
>>shipping and handling that's probably the best way to get drives right
>>now.
> 
> 
> The other two slots may have blanks (not drive carriers).  They look
> the same from the face.
> 
> I did a search a few weeks ago using the sled part numbers and came up
> with some on eBay.  I think they were $15 each (no disk drive).  I
> don't have the numbers in front of me right now or I'd post them for
> you.

My rx2600 (the one I am using to reply to this) included the trays in 
the driver 0 and 1 slots.

I bought a drive in a tray for about $150 73GB 10k, before I received 
the system and saw the trays.  :-(

Now I can buy a plain Ultra320 disk and mount it in my trays.


Jim

On Mar 20, 6:58=A0pm, Jim Mehlhop <mjim1...@qwest.net> wrote:
> sapienzaf wrote:
> > On Mar 20, 2:19 pm, "Hein, Nashua NH" <heinvandenheu...@gmail.com>
:
> My rx2600 (the one I am using to reply to this) included the trays in
> the driver 0 and 1 slots.

Yes, those 'Asset Recovery Corporation' RX2600 all come with 2 drive
trays, and a blank. For yucks I tried to 'convert' a blank to a
carrier with a circular saw, but it you cut it flush to the side wall
it is still a little to narrow to hold a drive.
I wanted 3 trays for the system, and it is kinda nice to have an easy
spare/backup... and I wanted multipel OS (hpux in my case), so the 2
trays did not cut it. :-).

> I bought a drive in a tray for about $150 73GB 10k, before I received
> the system and saw the trays. =A0:-(

Ouch. 'bout as much as the system!. Having followed it some, it seems
that
18g/10k =3D $10, 36g10k =3D $15, 72g/10k=3D$30 - $40.  15Krpm is 50% - 100%
more.
146G and 300 gb drives are still 'current', somewhat and still
expensive.

> Now I can buy a plain Ultra320 disk and mount it in my trays.

Right. Just hit Ebay and follow for a few days if you are willing to
make the time for that.

I have some excess 18G and 36G 10krpm SCA-80 SCSI drives that would
work that I can let go for cost  (roughly as per above) or for a good
cause.

btw... I did NOT create this topic to look for partners to buy a 'lot'
of 3.
I have exceeded my hardware quota already!
If you want to team up, just reply here with a location/range and wait
and see?
I was just relaying my learnings over the past months just in case a
lurker out there needed a little push to commit to buying one of those
nice systems.

have a great weekend you'all.
Hein.

In article 
<286f0786-dfff-4243-970c-491a0d6a8cd5@w34g2000yqm.googlegroups.com>,
 "Hein, Nashua NH" <heinvandenheuvel@gmail.com> wrote:


> btw... I did NOT create this topic to look for partners to buy a 'lot'
> of 3.
> I have exceeded my hardware quota already!
> If you want to team up, just reply here with a location/range and wait
> and see?
> I was just relaying my learnings over the past months just in case a
> lurker out there needed a little push to commit to buying one of those
> nice systems.
> 
> have a great weekend you'all.
> Hein.

My very old alphastation is acting very flaky, and I'd be interested
in getting something newer now that I'm employed again.

Bart.

Hi there everyone.

First of all, thanks to everyone here for posting messages which
enabled me
to become aware of the bargain priced rx2600 servers.

I ordered some of these directly from the Vendor (Asset Recovery
Corporation)
I spoke to a very helpful lady called Penny in their customer Service
department.
As I live in Ontario Canada it didn't look good but Penny said they
would be
prepared to sell and ship to me in the great white north. The price
was a little
higher than on ebay, but not by much, although the shipping charges
are a little
steep.

Anyway, I am expecting delivery of my servers soon (they are currently
stuck in
Canadian customs awaiting clearance). I am wondering if anyone has any
experience in sourcing reasonably priced DVD-ROM drives for these
servers.
Do these servers already include the IDE cable required for connection
of
the DVD-ROM drive.

I have noticed there seem to be good ebay deals on bare 73gb 15K
Fujitsu drives
at the moment, so I will be getting some of these I think. Comments on
this
group seem to indicate that the drive trays included with these
servers
are OK to work with as I was uncertain if they would fit bare drives
properly.

John Cookson


On Mar 20, 6:58=A0pm, Jim Mehlhop <mjim1...@qwest.net> wrote:
> sapienzaf wrote:
> > On Mar 20, 2:19 pm, "Hein, Nashua NH" <heinvandenheu...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
>
> >>Sorry for replying to myself, but Daniel S send me an Email alerting
> >>me
> >>to $30 DS2100 'pizza boxes' with 2 drives. Even with the highish
> >>shipping and handling that's probably the best way to get drives right
> >>now.
>
> > The other two slots may have blanks (not drive carriers). =A0They look
> > the same from the face.
>
> > I did a search a few weeks ago using the sled part numbers and came up
> > with some on eBay. =A0I think they were $15 each (no disk drive). =A0I
> > don't have the numbers in front of me right now or I'd post them for
> > you.
>
> My rx2600 (the one I am using to reply to this) included the trays in
> the driver 0 and 1 slots.
>
> I bought a drive in a tray for about $150 73GB 10k, before I received
> the system and saw the trays. =A0:-(
>
> Now I can buy a plain Ultra320 disk and mount it in my trays.
>
> Jim

JC wrote:

> Do these servers already include the IDE cable required for connection
> of
> the DVD-ROM drive.

   If we read "the IDE cable" as "an IDE cable", then mine
did, but it's a fancy/unusual cable, with fancy/unusual
connectors, so I'd guess that you won't have anything to which
it'll connect.  I gather that the official DVD drive has a
suitable adapter pasted on.

> I have noticed there seem to be good ebay deals on bare 73gb 15K
> Fujitsu drives
> at the moment, so I will be getting some of these I think. Comments on
> this
> group seem to indicate that the drive trays included with these
> servers
> are OK to work with as I was uncertain if they would fit bare drives
> properly.

   Ignoring things like capacity, speed, height, power
dissipation, and reliability, if you've seen one SCA SCSI disk
drive, you've seen them all.

JC <thecookson@gmail.com> wrote:
 
> Anyway, I am expecting delivery of my servers soon 
> (they are currently stuck in Canadian customs awaiting 
> clearance). 

> I am wondering if anyone has any experience in sourcing 
> reasonably priced DVD-ROM drives for these servers.

I was just wondering, how hard is it to find SCSI DVD-ROM
or DVD-RW drives?  I still have SCSI CD-RW drives, but
no DVD drives.  Otherwise, copy the DVD to a SCSI hard
drive and mount that on the SCSI port.

(I have one of the RX2600 without a management card,
but with the DVD-ROM included.)

-- glen

glen herrmannsfeldt wrote:

> I was just wondering, how hard is it to find SCSI DVD-ROM
> or DVD-RW drives?  I still have SCSI CD-RW drives, but
> no DVD drives.  Otherwise, copy the DVD to a SCSI hard
> drive and mount that on the SCSI port.

   SCSI DVD-ROM drives seem to be relatively rare.  I got a
few at one of the local junk stores a while ago.  Better than
IDE in an XP1000, where the IDE stuff is dreadfully
slow/CPU-consuming:

alp $ show device /full cd1

Disk ALP$DKA600:, device type TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-M1711, [...]

I used one in a Sun 611 box to install the OS on my rx2600
systems.

   I've never seen a SCSI DVD-writing drive.  I have a Sony
IDE DVD-writing drive in my spare/experimantal XP1000 (where I
care less if the CPU is overwhelmed by a simple job).

On Mar 23, 4:25=A0pm, Steven Schweda <sms.antin...@gmail.com> wrote:
> glen herrmannsfeldt wrote:
> > I was just wondering, how hard is it to find SCSI DVD-ROM
> > or DVD-RW drives? =A0I still have SCSI CD-RW drives, but
> > no DVD drives. =A0Otherwise, copy the DVD to a SCSI hard
> > drive and mount that on the SCSI port.
>
> =A0 =A0SCSI DVD-ROM drives seem to be relatively rare. =A0I got a
> few at one of the local junk stores a while ago. =A0Better than
> IDE in an XP1000, where the IDE stuff is dreadfully
> slow/CPU-consuming:
>
> alp $ show device /full cd1
>
> Disk ALP$DKA600:, device type TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-M1711, [...]
>
> I used one in a Sun 611 box to install the OS on my rx2600
> systems.
>
> =A0 =A0I've never seen a SCSI DVD-writing drive. =A0I have a Sony
> IDE DVD-writing drive in my spare/experimantal XP1000 (where I
> care less if the CPU is overwhelmed by a simple job).

Pioneer made a SCSI DVD writer DVR-S201; they're somewhat older/slower
by modern standards and apparently still quite expensive when you can
find them.

I wonder if you could use a recent IDE model with an ACARD IDE bridge
to do the job.   I have a Yamaha "SCSI" CDRW (the F1 model) that is an
IDE drive with a Yamaha supplied SCSI bridge board in my PWS-600au
that has worked fine, so maybe its a feasible solution for DVD writing
as well.

If you search fleabay for SCSI DVD* there are a number of less
expensive DVD readers listed; as long as the Itanic is able to boot
DVD media on the SCSI bus thats probably the cheapest solution.

Rich Jordan <jordan@ccs4vms.com> wrote:
 
> I wonder if you could use a recent IDE model with an ACARD IDE bridge
> to do the job.   I have a Yamaha "SCSI" CDRW (the F1 model) that is an
> IDE drive with a Yamaha supplied SCSI bridge board in my PWS-600au
> that has worked fine, so maybe its a feasible solution for DVD writing
> as well.

It is my understanding (man cdrecord on linux) that IDE CD/DVD
writers use SCSI commands over the IDE bus.  That would
suggest that the conversion should be easy to do.
  
> If you search fleabay for SCSI DVD* there are a number of less
> expensive DVD readers listed; as long as the Itanic is able to boot
> DVD media on the SCSI bus thats probably the cheapest solution.

-- glen

On 24 Mrz., 21:36, glen herrmannsfeldt <g...@ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote:
> Rich Jordan <jor...@ccs4vms.com> wrote:
> > I wonder if you could use a recent IDE model with an ACARD IDE bridge
> > to do the job. =A0 I have a Yamaha "SCSI" CDRW (the F1 model) that is a=
n
> > IDE drive with a Yamaha supplied SCSI bridge board in my PWS-600au
> > that has worked fine, so maybe its a feasible solution for DVD writing
> > as well.
>
> It is my understanding (man cdrecord on linux) that IDE CD/DVD
> writers use SCSI commands over the IDE bus. =A0That would
> suggest that the conversion should be easy to do.
>
> > If you search fleabay for SCSI DVD* there are a number of less
> > expensive DVD readers listed; as long as the Itanic is able to boot
> > DVD media on the SCSI bus thats probably the cheapest solution.
>
> -- glen

It's impossible to boot from a SCSI-DVD or SCSI-Acard-IDE-DVD
because the drive only understands 2048 block commands whereas
VMS wants 512 Byte blocks per I/O.

The IDE/S-ATA based DVD-drives use 2048 bytes per I/O, too.
But the VMS DQdriver does the mapping for you.

I would recommend to use a USB-IDE/S-ATA converter
that are bootable from EFI.

Hope this helps
Eberhard

vaxinf@chemie.uni-konstanz.de wrote:
 
> It's impossible to boot from a SCSI-DVD or SCSI-Acard-IDE-DVD
> because the drive only understands 2048 block commands whereas
> VMS wants 512 Byte blocks per I/O.

Last time I did a VAX/VMS install I tried a CD-ROM
drive with a 512/2048 jumper and it still wouldn't
install.  I then copied the whole CD to a SCSI
hard drive and it installed just fine.

I also have SCSI CD-RW drives with such jumper, but 
I might not have had one at that time.  

SCSI DVD-ROM or DVD-RW drives may or may not
have that ability.  Small SCSI hard drives are
pretty easy to find and reasonably priced.

-- glen

On 25 Mrz., 09:06, glen herrmannsfeldt <g...@ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote:
> vax...@chemie.uni-konstanz.de wrote:
> > It's impossible to boot from a SCSI-DVD or SCSI-Acard-IDE-DVD
> > because the drive only understands 2048 block commands whereas
> > VMS wants 512 Byte blocks per I/O.
>
> Last time I did a VAX/VMS install I tried a CD-ROM
> drive with a 512/2048 jumper and it still wouldn't
> install. =A0I then copied the whole CD to a SCSI
> hard drive and it installed just fine.
>
> I also have SCSI CD-RW drives with such jumper, but
> I might not have had one at that time. =A0
>
> SCSI DVD-ROM or DVD-RW drives may or may not
> have that ability. =A0Small SCSI hard drives are
> pretty easy to find and reasonably priced.
>
> -- glen

The famous 512/2048 jumper is only used if you put a CD-R(OM)
into the drive. As soon as you put in a DVD the 512/2048 jumper
is ignored and the drive switches to the 2048 mode VMS cannot handle.
This is been tested with a Pioneer Slot-in SCSI DVD drive.

It might be different with other drives.

Eberhard

vax...@chemie.uni-konstanz.de wrote:

> It's impossible to boot from a SCSI-DVD or SCSI-Acard-IDE-DVD
> because the drive only understands 2048 block commands whereas
> VMS wants 512 Byte blocks per I/O.

   As is so often true, there's a difference between
"I couldn't do it" and "It's impossible".

[Some white space removed]

[...]
EFI version 1.10 [14.61]
EFI64 Running on Intel(R) Itanium Processor Family
EFI 1.10 IPF zx6000/rx2600/zx2000 1.22 [Thu Mar 11 14:22:35 2004] - HP

Copyright (c) 2000-2002 Broadcom Corporation
Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet EFI driver v3.0.7

Loading 'FPSWA'...
Loading 'lsi1030'...
Loading 'gigundi'...
2 0 0x00020B 0x0000000000000006 EFI Launching Boot Manager
Scsi(Pun0,Lun0) SEAGATE ST373453LC      DX10 (320 MBytes/sec)
Scsi(Pun1,Lun0) SEAGATE ST336607LC      DS09 (320 MBytes/sec)
Scsi(Pun5,Lun0) TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-M17111005 ( 20 MBytes/sec)
Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet Adapter is detected (PCI)
[...]

EFI Boot Manager ver 1.10 [14.61]  Firmware ver 2.31 [4411]

Please select a boot option

    OpenVMS on DKA0: PKA0.0
    EFI Shell [Built-in]
    Internal Bootable DVD
    Boot Option Maintenance Menu
    System Configuration Menu

    Use ^ and v to change option(s). Use Enter to select an option


Loading.: EFI Shell [Built-in]
EFI Shell version 1.10 [14.61]
Device mapping table
  fs0  : Acpi(HWP0002,100)/Pci(1|0)/Scsi(Pun0,Lun0)/HD
(Part1,Sig7C75A091-D2DA-11
DD-8A23-AA000400FEFF)
  fs1  : Acpi(HWP0002,100)/Pci(1|0)/Scsi(Pun0,Lun0)/HD
(Part4,Sig7C75A090-D2DA-11
DD-8A24-AA000400FEFF)
  fs2  : Acpi(HWP0002,100)/Pci(1|1)/Scsi(Pun5,Lun0)/HD
(Part1,Sig7AA08C95)
  blk0 : Acpi(HWP0002,100)/Pci(1|0)/Scsi(Pun0,Lun0)
  blk1 : Acpi(HWP0002,100)/Pci(1|0)/Scsi(Pun0,Lun0)/HD
(Part1,Sig7C75A091-D2DA-11
DD-8A23-AA000400FEFF)
  blk2 : Acpi(HWP0002,100)/Pci(1|0)/Scsi(Pun0,Lun0)/HD
(Part4,Sig7C75A090-D2DA-11
DD-8A24-AA000400FEFF)
  blk3 : Acpi(HWP0002,100)/Pci(1|0)/Scsi(Pun0,Lun0)/HD
(Part5,Sig7C75A090-D2DA-11
DD-8A23-AA000400FEFF)
  blk4 : Acpi(HWP0002,100)/Pci(1|0)/Scsi(Pun1,Lun0)
  blk5 : Acpi(HWP0002,100)/Pci(1|1)/Scsi(Pun5,Lun0)
  blk6 : Acpi(HWP0002,100)/Pci(1|1)/Scsi(Pun5,Lun0)/HD
(Part1,Sig7AA08C95)
Shell>

[...]

Shell> fs2:

fs2:\> ls
Directory of: fs2:\

  10/08/07  01:07p <DIR>          1,024  EFI
          0 File(s)           0 bytes
          1 Dir(s)

fs2:\EFI> ls
Directory of: fs2:\EFI

  10/08/07  01:07p <DIR>          1,024  .
  10/08/07  01:07p <DIR>              0  ..
  10/08/07  01:07p <DIR>          1,024  VMS
          0 File(s)           0 bytes
          3 Dir(s)

fs2:\EFI> cd VMS

fs2:\EFI\VMS> ls
Directory of: fs2:\EFI\VMS

  10/08/07  01:07p <DIR>          1,024  .
  10/08/07  01:07p <DIR>          1,024  ..
  10/08/07  01:07p <DIR>          1,024  UPDATE
  10/08/07  01:07p            4,196,864  IPB.EXE
  10/08/07  01:07p <DIR>          1,024  TOOLS
  10/08/07  01:07p            1,199,104  VMS_LOADER.EFI
  10/08/07  01:07p              329,216  VMS_BCFG.EFI
  10/08/07  01:07p              302,592  VMS_SET.EFI
  10/08/07  01:07p              300,032  VMS_SHOW.EFI
  10/08/07  01:07p              887,296  VMS_SPCFG.EFI
          6 File(s)   7,215,104 bytes
          4 Dir(s)

fs2:\EFI\VMS> VMS_LOADER.EFI

%VMS_LOADER-W-Conin device path cannot be set to multiple devices

%VMS_LOADER-I-Select Console Device Paths from the Boot Manager Menu.

    HP OpenVMS Industry Standard 64 Operating System, Version V8.3-1H1
    =A9 Copyright 1976-2007 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.

%SMP-I-CPUTRN, CPU #1 has joined the active set.

    Installing required known files...

    Configuring devices...

%EIA0, Auto-negotiation mode assumed set by console
%EIA0, Auto-negotiation started, advertising 100BaseTX Full Duplex,
Flow Control
%EWA0, Auto-negotiation mode assumed set by console
%EWA0, BCM5701 located in 64-bit, 66-mhz PCI slot
%EWA0, Device type is BCM5701C (UTP) Rev B5 (01050000)
%EWA0, Link up: 100 mbit, full duplex, flow control (txrx)
%PKC0, Copyright (c) 1998 LSI Logic PKW V3.2.20 ROM 4.19
%PKC0, SCSI Chip is SYM53C1010/66, Operating mode is LVD Ultra3 SCSI
%PKD0, Copyright (c) 1998 LSI Logic PKW V3.2.20 ROM 4.19
%PKD0, SCSI Chip is SYM53C1010/66, Operating mode is LVD Ultra3 SCSI

    ****************************************************************

    You can install or upgrade the OpenVMS I64 operating system
    or you can install or upgrade layered products that are included
    on the OpenVMS I64 distribution media (CD/DVD).

    You can also execute DCL commands and procedures to perform
    "standalone" tasks, such as backing up the system disk.

    Please choose one of the following:

        1)  Upgrade, install or reconfigure OpenVMS I64 Version
V8.3-1H1
        2)  Display layered products that this procedure can install
        3)  Install or upgrade layered products
        4)  Show installed products
        5)  Reconfigure installed products
        6)  Remove installed products
        7)  Find, Install or Undo patches; Show or Delete Recovery
Data
        8)  Execute DCL commands and procedures
        9)  Shut down this system

Enter CHOICE or ? for help: (1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/?) 8


    WARNING --

    The normal OpenVMS startup procedure has not executed.
    Some commands and utilities will not work as documented.
    HP does not support PRODUCT INSTALL and other
    PRODUCT operations in this environment.


    Enter DCL commands -- Enter "LOGOUT" when done.
    When you enter "LOGOUT" a message will be displayed saying
    "Process SA_STARTUP_DCL  logged out at <date> <time>",
    and you will be returned to the menu.

$$$ show logical sys$sysdevice
   "SYS$SYSDEVICE" =3D "DKB500:" (LNM$SYSTEM_TABLE)

$$$ show device /full d

Disk DKB500:, device type TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-M1711, is online,
mounted, software
    write-locked, file-oriented device, shareable, available to
cluster, error
    logging is enabled.

    Error count                    0    Operations
completed               1293
    Owner process                 ""    Owner
UIC                         [1,1]
    Owner process ID        00000000    Dev Prot
S:RWPL,O:RWPL,G:R,W
    Reference count               13    Default buffer
size                 512
    Total blocks             5881024    Sectors per
track                    32
    Total cylinders             5744    Tracks per
cylinder                  32
    Logical Volume Size      5881000    Expansion Size Limit
37797888

    Volume label         "I640831H1"    Relative volume
number                0
    Cluster size                   4    Transaction
count                    51
    Free blocks               595272    Maximum files
allowed            588100
    Extend quantity                5    Mount
count                           1
    Mount status              System    Cache name
"_DKB500:XQPCACHE"
    Extent cache size             64    Maximum blocks in extent
cache    59527
    File ID cache size            64    Blocks in extent
cache                0
    Quota cache size               0    Maximum buffers in FCP
cache         93
    Volume owner UIC           [1,1]    Vol Prot
S:RWCD,O:RWCD,G:RWCD,W:RWCD

  Volume Status:  ODS-2, subject to mount verification, allocation
inhibited
      because of error on bitmap, file high-water marking, write-
through caching
      enabled.

[...]

$$$ dire /date /prot /size /excl =3D sys*.* dkb500:[000000]

Directory DKB500:[000000]

000000.DIR;1              27   8-OCT-2007 13:05:38.23
(RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
ALPHA_TOOLS.DIR;1          1   8-OCT-2007 13:05:40.96  (RWE,RWE,RE,RE)
AVAILMAN_I640301.DIR;1
                           1   8-OCT-2007 13:08:01.82  (RWE,RWE,RE,RE)
AVAIL_MAN_BASE.DIR;1
                           1   8-OCT-2007 13:07:27.19  (RWE,RWE,RE,RE)
BACKUP.SYS;1               0   8-OCT-2007 13:05:38.23  (RWED,RWED,RE,)
BADBLK.SYS;1               0   8-OCT-2007 13:05:38.23  (RWED,RWED,RE,)
BADLOG.SYS;1               0   8-OCT-2007 13:05:38.23  (RWED,RWED,RE,)
BITMAP.SYS;1             360   8-OCT-2007 13:05:38.23  (RWED,RWED,RE,)
CDSA_I64023.DIR;1          1   8-OCT-2007 13:08:07.94  (RWE,RWE,RE,RE)
[...]

   This is with the block-size jumper set to 2048.  As I
recall, something, perhaps booting from a DVD, failed when it
was set to 512.

> I used one in a Sun 611 box to install the OS on my rx2600
> systems.

   Honest.

Steven Schweda <sms.antinode@gmail.com> writes:
> vax...@chemie.uni-konstanz.de wrote:
 
>> It's impossible to boot from a SCSI-DVD or SCSI-Acard-IDE-DVD
>> because the drive only understands 2048 block commands whereas
>> VMS wants 512 Byte blocks per I/O.
 
>    As is so often true, there's a difference between
> "I couldn't do it" and "It's impossible".
[...]
 
>    This is with the block-size jumper set to 2048.  As I
> recall, something, perhaps booting from a DVD, failed when it
> was set to 512.

While there certainly was an earlier restriction within DKDRIVER that
precluded the use of a 2048 block-sized device, that restriction was
lifted in some recent (V8.2?) release, as shown by Steven's post.

-- 

Rob Brooks    MSL -- Marlborough, MA		brooks!cuebid.ovms.usa.hp.com

Thanks for your comment Steven

I decided to order a brand new one from HP Canada
Price is CDN$195 (Strange but HP US$ price is also US$195)
I went for the 5-7 day shipping option as it is free.

I'll post back here with details of how I get on with it
although I am still waiting for delivery of my rx2600
servers which must be coming by "Molasses" Transport
Company. Go figure... It took one day for these servers
to get from the US to Canada, then forever for them to
get to my door (The last 20 miles).

John Cookson


On Mar 23, 3:22=A0pm, Steven Schweda <sms.antin...@gmail.com> wrote:
> JC wrote:
> > Do these servers already include the IDE cable required for connection
> > of
> > the DVD-ROM drive.
>
> =A0 =A0If we read "the IDE cable" as "an IDE cable", then mine
> did, but it's a fancy/unusual cable, with fancy/unusual
> connectors, so I'd guess that you won't have anything to which
> it'll connect. =A0I gather that the official DVD drive has a
> suitable adapter pasted on.
>
> > I have noticed there seem to be good ebay deals on bare 73gb 15K
> > Fujitsu drives
> > at the moment, so I will be getting some of these I think. Comments on
> > this
> > group seem to indicate that the drive trays included with these
> > servers
> > are OK to work with as I was uncertain if they would fit bare drives
> > properly.
>
> =A0 =A0Ignoring things like capacity, speed, height, power
> dissipation, and reliability, if you've seen one SCA SCSI disk
> drive, you've seen them all.

On Mar 25, 12:33=A0pm, bro...@cuebid.ovms.usa.hp.nospam (Rob Brooks)
wrote:
> Steven Schweda <sms.antin...@gmail.com> writes:
> > vax...@chemie.uni-konstanz.de wrote:
> >> It's impossible to boot from a SCSI-DVD or SCSI-Acard-IDE-DVD
> >> because the drive only understands 2048 block commands whereas
> >> VMS wants 512 Byte blocks per I/O.
> > =A0 =A0As is so often true, there's a difference between
> > "I couldn't do it" and "It's impossible".
>
> [...]
>
> > =A0 =A0This is with the block-size jumper set to 2048. =A0As I
> > recall, something, perhaps booting from a DVD, failed when it
> > was set to 512.
>
> While there certainly was an earlier restriction within DKDRIVER that
> precluded the use of a 2048 block-sized device, that restriction was
> lifted in some recent (V8.2?) release, as shown by Steven's post.
>
> --
>
> Rob Brooks =A0 =A0MSL -- Marlborough, MA =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0brooks!cu=
ebid.ovms.usa.hp.com

That is great to know.  I still prefer SCSI connected devices where
possible.

Just to let anyone who is interested know about the status
of my ebay rx2600 servers.

The experience was very satisfactory. Assetrecovery (The Vendor)
were excellent to deal with and my servers arrived intact on a skid
and very well packaged. They even included a power cord for each
server.

I purchased the appropriate DVD drive from HP for $195 and although
this drive is made by TEAC, it looks different to the Non-HP Teac
drive
which carries the same Teac model number. The HP version is modified
and has the interface connection in a non-standard position, so it
lines up with the rx2600 IDE connector inside the server case. It also
has some side mounted metal sprung clips which hold it in place
after installation. I certainly recommend buying this drive from HP if
you
wish to avoid installation problems.

I had no problems booting the first rx2600 server using a hard drive
from my existing rx1620 server which already had OpenVMS 8.2-1
installed on it. Using Ebay, I have now ordered a lot of 4 used 32GB
15K U320 Fujitsu drives which were available for $130. I have also
ordered some serial console cables for each of the rx2600 servers.

So far I am very pleased with everything. If there is any interest, I
will
continue to update my progress to this group.

JohnC





On Mar 25, 4:17=A0pm, JC <thecook...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks for your comment Steven
>
> I decided to order a brand new one from HP Canada
> Price is CDN$195 (Strange but HP US$ price is also US$195)
> I went for the 5-7 day shipping option as it is free.
>
> I'll post back here with details of how I get on with it
> although I am still waiting for delivery of my rx2600
> servers which must be coming by "Molasses" Transport
> Company. Go figure... It took one day for these servers
> to get from the US to Canada, then forever for them to
> get to my door (The last 20 miles).
>
> John Cookson
>
> On Mar 23, 3:22=A0pm, Steven Schweda <sms.antin...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > JC wrote:
> > > Do these servers already include the IDE cable required for connectio=
n
> > > of
> > > the DVD-ROM drive.
>
> > =A0 =A0If we read "the IDE cable" as "an IDE cable", then mine
> > did, but it's a fancy/unusual cable, with fancy/unusual
> > connectors, so I'd guess that you won't have anything to which
> > it'll connect. =A0I gather that the official DVD drive has a
> > suitable adapter pasted on.
>
> > > I have noticed there seem to be good ebay deals on bare 73gb 15K
> > > Fujitsu drives
> > > at the moment, so I will be getting some of these I think. Comments o=
n
> > > this
> > > group seem to indicate that the drive trays included with these
> > > servers
> > > are OK to work with as I was uncertain if they would fit bare drives
> > > properly.
>
> > =A0 =A0Ignoring things like capacity, speed, height, power
> > dissipation, and reliability, if you've seen one SCA SCSI disk
> > drive, you've seen them all.

Hi John

Great little boxes aren't they!

I had some incredibly helpful people make everything extremely easy for me,
but I haven't heard anyone who's unhappy with these machines. If there are
any still going then I recommend everyone go out and buy one.

Cheers Richard Maher

"JC" <thecookson@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:bdf1beae-1216-4f25-ad20-574998e3788f@p11g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
Just to let anyone who is interested know about the status
of my ebay rx2600 servers.

The experience was very satisfactory. Assetrecovery (The Vendor)
were excellent to deal with and my servers arrived intact on a skid
and very well packaged. They even included a power cord for each
server.

I purchased the appropriate DVD drive from HP for $195 and although
this drive is made by TEAC, it looks different to the Non-HP Teac
drive
which carries the same Teac model number. The HP version is modified
and has the interface connection in a non-standard position, so it
lines up with the rx2600 IDE connector inside the server case. It also
has some side mounted metal sprung clips which hold it in place
after installation. I certainly recommend buying this drive from HP if
you
wish to avoid installation problems.

I had no problems booting the first rx2600 server using a hard drive
from my existing rx1620 server which already had OpenVMS 8.2-1
installed on it. Using Ebay, I have now ordered a lot of 4 used 32GB
15K U320 Fujitsu drives which were available for $130. I have also
ordered some serial console cables for each of the rx2600 servers.

So far I am very pleased with everything. If there is any interest, I
will
continue to update my progress to this group.

JohnC





On Mar 25, 4:17 pm, JC <thecook...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks for your comment Steven
>
> I decided to order a brand new one from HP Canada
> Price is CDN$195 (Strange but HP US$ price is also US$195)
> I went for the 5-7 day shipping option as it is free.
>
> I'll post back here with details of how I get on with it
> although I am still waiting for delivery of my rx2600
> servers which must be coming by "Molasses" Transport
> Company. Go figure... It took one day for these servers
> to get from the US to Canada, then forever for them to
> get to my door (The last 20 miles).
>
> John Cookson
>
> On Mar 23, 3:22 pm, Steven Schweda <sms.antin...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > JC wrote:
> > > Do these servers already include the IDE cable required for connection
> > > of
> > > the DVD-ROM drive.
>
> > If we read "the IDE cable" as "an IDE cable", then mine
> > did, but it's a fancy/unusual cable, with fancy/unusual
> > connectors, so I'd guess that you won't have anything to which
> > it'll connect. I gather that the official DVD drive has a
> > suitable adapter pasted on.
>
> > > I have noticed there seem to be good ebay deals on bare 73gb 15K
> > > Fujitsu drives
> > > at the moment, so I will be getting some of these I think. Comments on
> > > this
> > > group seem to indicate that the drive trays included with these
> > > servers
> > > are OK to work with as I was uncertain if they would fit bare drives
> > > properly.
>
> > Ignoring things like capacity, speed, height, power
> > dissipation, and reliability, if you've seen one SCA SCSI disk
> > drive, you've seen them all.

On 25 Mrz., 19:33, bro...@cuebid.ovms.usa.hp.nospam (Rob Brooks)
wrote:
> Steven Schweda <sms.antin...@gmail.com> writes:
> > vax...@chemie.uni-konstanz.de wrote:
> >> It's impossible to boot from aSCSI-DVDorSCSI-Acard-IDE-DVD
> >> because the drive only understands 2048 block commands whereas
> >> VMS wants 512 Byte blocks per I/O.
> > =A0 =A0As is so often true, there's a difference between
> > "I couldn't do it" and "It's impossible".
>
> [...]
>
> > =A0 =A0This is with the block-size jumper set to 2048. =A0As I
> > recall, something, perhaps booting from aDVD, failed when it
> > was set to 512.
>
> While there certainly was an earlier restriction within DKDRIVER that
> precluded the use of a 2048 block-sized device, that restriction was
> lifted in some recent (V8.2?) release, as shown by Steven's post.
>
> --
>
> Rob Brooks =A0 =A0MSL -- Marlborough, MA =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0brooks!cu=
ebid.ovms.usa.hp.com

Are there any reference in the documention when this feature was
released????

I found out experimentally V8.3 for Alpha and 8.2-1 for I64.

regards
Eberhard

On Apr 5, 9:25=A0pm, JC <thecook...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Just to let anyone who is interested know about the status
> of my ebay rx2600 servers.
>
[...snip...]
>
> So far I am very pleased with everything. If there is any interest, I
> will continue to update my progress to this group.
>

Yes, please keep us posted.

I am "SERIOUSLY" think about purchasing an rx2600 on eBay as well.
(lately there have always been one or two available)

Neil Rieck
Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge,
Ontario, Canada.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/OpenVMS.html

Just a quick update on the ebay rx2600 servers I purchased
from Asset Recovery Corp in the USA

I purchased 6 servers altogether. Every one of these worked perfectly
when I had completed setup on each one.

I paid a total of US$1480.77 (CDN$1893.18) for all six
rx2600 servers which included shipping charges from the
USA to Canada.(6 Servers=US$1080 Shipping US$400.77)
The Vendor (Asset Recovery Corp.) was very helpful at
every stage. A great lady called Penny was my vendor
contact person, she was terrific and very helpful at all
times. The servers arrived in excellent condition and
were very well packaged to prevent damage.

Upon arrival in Canada I got stung for the following additional
charges by the shipping company DB Schenker. Bear in mind this is
the total charge for all six rx2600 servers.

Duty $0.00
Customs entry processing fee       $200.00
Other (Unspecified) processing fee    $9.71
Customs G.S.T.                          $178.59
G.S.T. on services                        $10.49

Total charges in $CDN                $389.79

I had to fight hard to get these servers cleared through
customs and delivered to my house. Schenker Canada were
pleasant enough but very bureacratic and not very alert.
I needed to push them all the way as the shipment kept
getting held up (going into suspended animation) at various
stages. All told, it took around a week and a half to get my
hands on them.

I ordered DVD-ROM/CDRW drives from the HP Canada parts store which is
here :-

http://h20141.www2.hp.com/hpparts/

Part number is A9919-67001

Price CDN$195

All these drives worked and were easy to install.

I haven't used the Management processor on the rx2600 servers as I
don't have
the special tri-connector cable required and these are hard to find at
a decent price.

I have booted one of the servers by plugging in a VGA monitor, USB
mouse
and USB keyboard. This worked fine with no setup required, however
this
arrangement canot operate as a proper permanent console. You will need
to use either the Management Processor, or the serial console port for
this purpose which is why I also purchased 6 Belkin brand serial
console
cables online from onhop.ca

Onhop SKU is 1148416 Description - 6FT INTERLINK LAPLINK FILE TRANSFER
CABLE DB9F
The total cost for all 6 cables was $35.78 including shipping, GST and
PST

I managed to purchase two batches of used 36GB U320 15K drives
on ebay Canada (Total 10 drives) average price under $50 per drive.
Everything worked
out perfectly for me and I now have 6 running servers. One big plus
with these
rx2600 servers is that they run very quietly compared to the rx1620
server which
I purchased brand new under the HP DSPP program. To give you an idea
of the
noise level, my wife would ask for a divorce if I run the rx1620
server when she
is anywhere in the house. The rx2600's are as quiet as a high end
windows box.

Overall I am very satisfied and would recommend anyone to take
advantage
of this excellent opportunity.

JohnC

>
> Yes, please keep us posted.
>
> I am "SERIOUSLY" think about purchasing an rx2600 on eBay as well.
> (lately there have always been one or two available)
>
> Neil Rieck
> Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge,
> Ontario, Canada.http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/OpenVMS.html

JC wrote:

> I haven't used the Management processor on the rx2600 servers as I
> don't have
> the special tri-connector cable required and these are hard to find at
> a decent price.

   If you need only the main port, why not just use a normal
cable, and ignore the other two?  The data pins (2, 3, 7) are
right (give or take a null-modem).

On Apr 28, 8:52=A0pm, JC <thecook...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Just a quick update on the ebay rx2600 servers I purchased
:
> every stage. A great lady called Penny was my vendor
> contact person, she was terrific and very helpful at all
> times. The servers arrived in excellent condition and
> were very well packaged to prevent damage.

Agreed.


> I ordered DVD-ROM/CDRW drives from the HP Canada parts store which is
> http://h20141.www2.hp.com/hpparts/ > Part number is A9919-67001  Price CD=
N$195

I found some on Ebay for much less, but that seller ran out.
It's better to speak to Penny and buy an additional RX2600... with
DVD.
They are not currently listing those on Ebay and sell the whole system
for USD125
Those systems also come with a LSI22915 HP A6829 Dual Ch Ultra160 LVD
SCSI PCI board
that works with OpenVMS, but I would recommend a SmartArray from Ebay.


> I haven't used the Management processor on the rx2600 servers as I
> don't have the special tri-connector cable required and these are hard to=
 find at
> a decent price.

Think Radioshack, soldering iron! I sacrifieced an old db25 male-male
cable and a serial cable.
Glued it all together. Worked fine: db25/2 -> db9/3, db25/3 ->db9/2;
db25/7 -> db9/5

> Overall I am very satisfied and would recommend anyone to take
> advantage of this excellent opportunity.

Ditto.

Hein.

On 29 apr, 06:08, "Hein, Nashua NH" <heinvandenheu...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> On Apr 28, 8:52=A0pm, JC <thecook...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Just a quick update on the ebay rx2600 servers I purchased
> :
> > every stage. A great lady called Penny was my vendor
> > contact person, she was terrific and very helpful at all
> > times. The servers arrived in excellent condition and
> > were very well packaged to prevent damage.
>
> Agreed.
>
> > I ordered DVD-ROM/CDRW drives from the HP Canada parts store which is
> >http://h20141.www2.hp.com/hpparts/> Part number is A9919-67001 =A0Price =
CDN$195
>
> I found some on Ebay for much less, but that seller ran out.
> It's better to speak to Penny and buy an additional RX2600... with
> DVD.
> They are not currently listing those on Ebay and sell the whole system
> for USD125
> Those systems also come with a LSI22915 HP A6829 Dual Ch Ultra160 LVD
> SCSI PCI board
> that works with OpenVMS, but I would recommend a SmartArray from Ebay.
>
> > I haven't used the Management processor on the rx2600 servers as I
> > don't have the special tri-connector cable required and these are hard =
to find at
> > a decent price.
>
> Think Radioshack, soldering iron! I sacrifieced an old db25 male-male
> cable and a serial cable.
> Glued it all together. Worked fine: db25/2 -> db9/3, db25/3 ->db9/2;
> db25/7 -> db9/5
>
> > Overall I am very satisfied and would recommend anyone to take
> > advantage of this excellent opportunity.
>
> Ditto.
>
> Hein.

Would they (Asset Recovery Corp.) ship to the Netherlands?
Hans

On Apr 29, 12:08=A0am, "Hein, Nashua NH" <heinvandenheu...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> On Apr 28, 8:52=A0pm, JC <thecook...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Just a quick update on the ebay rx2600 servers I purchased
> :
> > every stage. A great lady called Penny was my vendor
> > contact person, she was terrific and very helpful at all
> > times. The servers arrived in excellent condition and
> > were very well packaged to prevent damage.
>
> Agreed.
>
> > I ordered DVD-ROM/CDRW drives from the HP Canada parts store which is
> >http://h20141.www2.hp.com/hpparts/> Part number is A9919-67001 =A0Price =
CDN$195
>
> I found some on Ebay for much less, but that seller ran out.
> It's better to speak to Penny and buy an additional RX2600... with
> DVD.
> They are not currently listing those on Ebay and sell the whole system
> for USD125
> Those systems also come with a LSI22915 HP A6829 Dual Ch Ultra160 LVD
> SCSI PCI board
> that works with OpenVMS, but I would recommend a SmartArray from Ebay.
>
> > I haven't used the Management processor on the rx2600 servers as I
> > don't have the special tri-connector cable required and these are hard =
to find at
> > a decent price.
>
> Think Radioshack, soldering iron! I sacrifieced an old db25 male-male
> cable and a serial cable.
> Glued it all together. Worked fine: db25/2 -> db9/3, db25/3 ->db9/2;
> db25/7 -> db9/5
>
> > Overall I am very satisfied and would recommend anyone to take
> > advantage of this excellent opportunity.
>
> Ditto.
>
> Hein.

Good advice from Hein

JohnC

On Apr 28, 8:52=A0pm, JC <thecook...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Just a quick update on the ebay rx2600 servers I purchased
> from Asset Recovery Corp in the USA

JC, how does one contact the Asset Recovery folks directly? And do
they have a website of their own, or some other way of seeing from the
Web what they have on sale? I may have found their Ebay store--it had
a lot of HP stuff but no rx2600's so I wasn't sure.

Thanks,

Galen

On Apr 29, 2:46=A0pm, GLT <gltack...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Apr 28, 8:52=A0pm, JC <thecook...@gmail.com> wrote:
:
>
> JC, how does one contact the Asset Recovery folks directly?

Penny
Asset Recovery Corporation - Customer Service
Hours-M-F 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm Central Standard Time.
Ph: 651-602-0789
Email: ctsys@assetrecoverycorp.com or
ctsystemsdirect@assetrecoverycorp.com

(snip)

Continuing this discussion, I have VMS running on my 
hobbyist license RX2600, but no layered products.

BASIC, Fortran, and C would probably be enough to
stay busy for a while...

-- glen