Cheryl’s List #40 – March 3, 2000

1. HDS Triniums
2. IBM MP3000 Status
3. SHARE in Anaheim

1.  HDS Triniums

On February 7th, HDS announced their newest line of Triniums based on a 262 MIPS engine. This is the fastest processor to date! I’ll have a larger description of these in my next newsletter. The models are shown below.

Last September, HDS repositioned their Trinium n008 models because of a reduction in speed and capacity from their initial estimates. This represented a reduction of 16% to 23% in capacity from the original announcement. The SU/Sec and MSUs therefore changed and are shown below. Although 13- to 16-way models were announced last year, they are no longer available in the 8-series. I am including the Trinium 8-series in this list because I have not previously sent out the updated MSUs to members of Cheryl’s List.

Subscribers to Cheryl Watson’s TUNING Letter received these updates as part of the CPU Chart that was mailed out last month. There was a typo in the chart, however, that listed the estimated minimum and maximum MIPS for the Triniums incorrectly. Electronic subscribers to Cheryl Watson’s TUNING Letter will receive the corrections and MIPS estimates for the new Trinium 9-series shown above following this email. Paper subscribers may contact Doni Richardson at admin@watsonwalker.com with their company name and address to receive the same information.

2.  IBM MP3000 Status

On February 2nd, IBM placed a stop shipment on orders of their new MP3000 models (the 7060-H30, H50, and H70). Shipments were resumed on February 18th. The primary problem was with the 4mm DAT tape drive. The problem was identified and the corrections are being made in the currently installed machines. You should have already been contacted by your supplier to schedule maintenance. IBM also identified microcode problems that caused some unplanned outages. These microcode problems normally occurred only under heavy load and have been resolved. These changes should be installed at the same time as the tape drive.

A recurring rumor on the customer forums is the possibility of IBM creating an even smaller version of the MP3000, such as an H15. IBM tells me that there are definitely no plans to do that. They’re expecting customers to quickly grow into the larger machines because of increased requirements due to e-business and ERP applications moving to the mainframe.

Part of the rumor could have stemmed from their latest promotion. IBM is doing a sales promotion for the next six months that is quite attractive for small sites who are looking to upgrade their processors. This is available to end users of IBM Business Partners who have one of the following machines installed: 2003-106, 2003-206, 9121-260, 9221-211, 9221-221, 9672-R11, and 9672-RA2 and want to replace them with a 7060-H30 (the smallest of the MP3000 series). IBM says that special bids will be considered for other qualifying processors. If the order is completed before August 14, 2000, IBM will allow the IBM software currently installed on the older processor to be moved to the H30 with no increase in software charges for a period of two years. Obviously, this doesn’t apply to non-IBM software, and it does not apply to new software obtained for the new machine. New software will be charged using the GOLC pricing for the H30. This offer can make a significant reduction in charges for sites who anticipate needing the higher capacity. As an example, the charge for CICS V4 would remain at $3885 per month instead of $5293 per month (a 26% reduction) using PSLC pricing. Contact your Business Partner for more details.

3.  SHARE in Anaheim

I was planning to attend the SHARE conference next week in Anaheim. But yesterday I fell and hurt my back and am not able to travel. I’ll miss seeing all of my friends.

If you find something at SHARE that would be useful for my TUNING Letter readers, please send it along. I’ll miss not being able to attend the sessions to write my SHARE trip report.

I WOULD like to put in a plug for the Enterprise Wide Capacity and Performance project sessions (sessions 25xx), which I think are invaluable for those of you interested in capacity and performance.

Stay tuned!