Sun E250 Questions
I'm hoping some HW experts can help me out with a question regarding a bunch of old E250s we have here:
Background: Our hardware vendor has informed us that the V440 we've been using as a "sandbox" dev environment is no longer supported, and must be upgraded to a V880 at a total cost of nearly $25K/year on our maintenence agreement! In view of the pricing (and the fact that this box is not entirely critical to our dev efforts) we've decided to decommission the V440, and replace that box with a couple of these E250s we have lying around.
Question: Does anybody know the largest capacity disks we can put in an E250? The spec sheet and upgrade guide says 6 x 9.1GB for a total of about 54GB, which is not large enough for our needs. We were wondering if we could use six 74GB Seagate Cheetahs instead, for a total of around 440GB. The thought is that we may run into addressing limitations with this approach.
Any insights or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
# 1
Sun System Handbook
http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Systems/E250/E250.html
The last disks that Sun ever qualified for that platform were 36GB ea.
However since that platform went EOL in 2003,
there was no reason to ever go backward and re-qualify anything newer/bigger/faster.
Your bigger drives will most likely work.
They're throughput capability will probably be faster then the E250 SCSI bus !
Stay away from 1.6" `fat` drives if possible.They may hinder airflow for cooling.
(... or at least keep drive temperatures in mind when running those boxes.
If they're too hot to keep your hand on them, they're too hot to use. )
--
Opinions from others ?
# 2
I guess I am having difficulty with what your hardware vendor has told you. Yes the V440 is EOL BUT a service contract is still available and will be for some time. I am not so sure if you and development group would be pleased performance of the E250 after using the V440. It sound like you would be taking a 3 yr step back in time and technology.
I think the hardware vendor is trying to sell you on "traded in" equipment that they have on-hand. The V880(10/05) went EOL before the V440(09/06).
# 3
Good point, Lee.
I'd blown right past that aspect of the original post.
L_Ron_Hoover:
Call Sun directly.
If there is current Sun-direct contract coverage, ask them for a quote on renewing it.
If there isn't a Sun-direct contract, open a service case on the serial of the V440.
Ask that it be a "pre-contract certification inspection" type of case.
That will likely get you a Sun-direct price for contract coverage (e.g. Silver).
# 4
Thank you rukbat and Lee for taking the time to reply. Your comments were very helpful.
How I wish I could contact Sun directly! Life would be so much easier. Unfortunately, my company has signed a multi-year contract with an "international" vendor. This contract gives them exclusivity for all hardware and maintenance, and hence, the $25K/year cost for one V880. If I told you what we're charged for the whole platform (sandbox, dev, QA and production), I would not fault you if you called me a liar!
I'm sure that you're correct about us being disappointed when we move back to an E250, but we can't justify the additional $10K/year to our business partners. They already view this box as an unneccesary luxury, but it really comes in handy for us when we are running concurrent projects.
We even tried to do an end-run and purchase our own V440 on the used market, but the vendor will not allow it in the racks unless it is one of their boxes. These E250s have been sitting unused in said computer room since 2001 (well before the contract was signed), and that is the only reason we're going to be able to use them. I must admit that part of the reason we're going to pursue this option is to give the finger to the vendor... even though one little V440 is not a drop in their monolithic bucket.
Sorry for the long-winded frustration vent. Again, thank you both for your very helpful advice. I'll follow this post up after we install the 73GB drives to let future readers know if it worked or not.
