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Power Tools 1993 November - Disc 2
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Power Tools Plus (Disc 2 of 2)(November 1993)(HP).iso
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iface.txt
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1993-07-23
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HP-FL/SCSI Positioning
Multiuser SCSI HP-FL
Interface type Industry Standard Proprietary
CPU Target Entry Level to Mid-range Mid-range to High-end
(9X7LX/807/817/837/etc.) (9X7/8X7/960/980/
870/etc.)
Disk Configurations Small to medium Large
Devices supported Many (DAT, CD-ROM, etc.) Disk only
Pricing Less expensive Price premium
Cable lengths Short (6 meter max) Long (500 meter max)
Feature set Basic Enhanced
Disk mirroring No Yes
CPU switchover No Yes
Performance Optimized for file access Optimized for OLTP
and small configurations and large
configurations
The positioning of the interfaces is as follows:
Single-ended Multiuser SCSI
- provides an excellent replacement for HP-IB
-- supports multiple devices, not just disks
-- cable lengths are adequate for small disk configurations
- has powerfail, an important feature for multiuser systems
- because of its restricted cable lengths, it is not possible to
build very large disk configurations with single-ended SCSI
(see manuals for details).
HP-FL
- very long cables allow for larger, more flexible configurations
- fiber optic cable is immune to electromagnetic interference and
does not emit radio frequency energy
- supports powerfail
- software has been written to take advantage of HP-FL's
configuration flexibility, providing:
-- disk mirroring to protect against disk failures
-- SPU switchover in cases of SPU failure
- has been designed to use the interface very efficiently, to
allow for high I/O rates with little bus contention.
NOTE: Performance data to verify performance differences
between HP-FL and SCSI is not yet available.
Recommendations:
- If the customer is building small to medium disk
configurations, and does not need disk mirroring or SPU
switchover, SCSI should meet the need.
- If the customer is building a large disk configuration or needs
one of the availability options, HP-FL should be purchased.
Comments on the Competition:
Like HP, the competition (Sun, DEC, IBM, etc.) offers two disk
interface choices with multi-user/server systems: proprietary and
SCSI. Like HP, the competition has two pricing tiers, with SCSI being
significantly cheaper than proprietary solutions.
SCSI is an industry standard interface with a limited feature set and a
low price/megabyte. SCSI is an excellent solution for entry-level to
mid-range systems where special features are not required and low-cost
is important.
Proprietary interfaces offer more features at a premium price, and are
typically required to meet the needs of mid-range to high-end systems.
The price of proprietary interfaces is always higher than SCSI, due to
added functionality.
Please note that HP is competitive in terms of SCSI and proprietary
disk pricing. HP's FL disks are one of the lowest priced proprietary
disk solutions in the industry, while HP's multiuser SCSI pricing is
competitive with multiuser system competitors.
Disk pricing is just one component of the total solution. HP's new
business systems servers offer significantly higher price/performance
levels than the competition. Always sell the total solution.
Questions and Answers:
Q. Why are the new SCSI disks so much cheaper than the older HP-IB and
HP-FL disks?
A. There are three major factors that make the newer disks cheaper
than the older ones:
- First, the new SCSI disks represent the latest generation disks,
which offer higher capacity and lower cost/megabyte. HP is
passing the benefits of this newest generation of disks on to
its customers.
- Second, the SCSI disks do not have the extra layer of
proprietary interface in them that HP-IB and HP-FL disks have
(which enables HP-FL to offer a richer feature set), so it is
less expensive to build them. This cost savings is also being
passed on to the customer.
- Third, as noted above, HP's SCSI and proprietary solutions are
competitive with comparable products from our competitors.
Q. Are there plans to provide a new HP-FL solution based on the latest
disk technology?
A. Yes. HP-FL follow-on products based on disk array technology will
be available in 1992. These products will offer high availability
and high capacity for high-end solutions. A press release issued
by CSY on July 30th discusses HP's disk array plans, and a short
article describing some of the product features and benefits of
HP's disk array will appear in Computer News in the August
timeframe.
Q. What will the price of the new disk arrays be?
A. Pricing has not yet been determined. You can expect that there
will be a price premium over SCSI, reflecting the added value (and
added expense) of the HP-FL interface. Rest assured, however, that
the solution will be very price competitive with comparable
products from our system competitors.
Q. Are there plans to provide a new HP-IB solution based on the latest
disk technology?
A. No. SCSI will be HP's low-end interface of choice for the
foreseeable future. There are no plans to provide a new HP-IB disk
subsystem.
Q. How long will the older HP-IB solutions be available?
A. HP will ship these products (new) through fiscal 1992. At that
point, we will evaluate demand and parts availability and give
warning to the actual discontinuance. We expect the HP-IB products
to be active in the used marketplace as well.
Q. Will there be any trade-in programs toward the new SCSI disks?
A. There are currently no plans for trade-in promotions/programs
toward these products.
Q. I want the new SCSI disks, but they are not supported on my system.
Why not?
A. HP felt the highest priority for their customers was to provide the
system price/performance of the latest systems as soon as possible.
Those systems were expedited, and provided on system specific
operating system releases. The new SCSI disks will be supported on
the next general release of MPE-XL (4.0) and HP-UX (9.0).
Q. Will the new disks be supported on MPE-V systems?
A. Currently, there are no plans to support the new SCSI disks on MPE-
V systems. However, HP is investigating the need for SCSI on MPE-
V.
Q. Are there any plans to lower the price on existing HP-IB and HP-FL
disks?
A. No. There are no plans to lower the price on existing disk
subsystems. The older disks are based on older disk technology and
have the costs of a proprietary interface in them. HP is
maintaining their price at current levels to remain adequately
profitable. The current pricing levels of HP's proprietary
solutions are competitive with comparable products from our
competitors.