[geeks] Eeeek

[Eric Dittman]

> > > > > > > > Bringing a mainframe up with a full set of
> > > > > > > > power-on tests takes about half an hour.
> > > > > > > That fast? Ragge (NetBSD VAX portmaster) told once that they have a full
> > > > > > > blown VAX 8800 with 1/2GB RAM up there in north sweden. The RAM test
> > > > > > > only takes 45 minutes. Usually they bring the machine once a year down
> > > > > > > to replace broken disks. (There are about 5 to 6 dozen connected to that
> > > > > > > machine.) 
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > They can't hot swap disks?
> > > > > 
> > > > >   In this case, that's more an issue of OS support than anything else.
> > > > 
> > > > NetBSD doesn't support hotswap disks?
> > > 
> > >   NetBSD does, sure.
> > 
> > I don't understand your previous comment, then, that not being
> > able to hotswap is an issue of OS support.  Did you mean it was
> > more of a hardware issue?
> 
>   Oh nono...I didn't know they were running NetBSD on that 8800...are
> they?  I'd assumed not because NetBSD/vax only got SMP support within
> the past year or so, and it was stated that the 8800 is rarely
> rebooted.

I thought they were running NetBSD from the reference to Ragge
being the NetBSD VAX portmaster.  If they aren't running NetBSD,
I wonder what they are running?  I know they can't be running
VMS if they can't hotswap.
-- 
Eric Dittman
dittman at dittman.net
Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/