Re: config for a low end 710 or 720

Whatever you do, ignore the S/36 completely when estimating disk usage. I
believe the i has standard service programs bigger than the entire disk on
an old S/36. Hopefully your disk estimates are based on some existing i's
and not any existing S/36 configuration.

Is a four drive raid set cheaper than 4 mirrored drives? I'm not all that
up to speed on raid controllers versus the redundant hardware needed for
mirroring. Also, they're going to want to keep maintenance on the
machine, if only to cover replacing raid batteries. Maintenance may be
something they did without on the S/36.

If you go raid I'd definitely recommend a 4 drive set versus a 3 drive
set. Yes, we covered it on this list before that anyone coming from a
S/36 won't notice that a 3 drive raid set is a performance killer but
after awhile they WILL know, especially with additional workload like they
are planning.

You realize they lose all twinax, right? Ensure that the price estimate
either includes a PC for lan console or an HMC. Granted, they can use an
existing PC for lan console, providing it's not as dated as their S/36,
nor is it the boss' laptop he frequently takes with him.


Rob Berendt