Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!wuarchive!csus.edu!cssmtf.ccs.csus.edu!cooling
From: cooling@cssmtf.ccs.csus.edu (Mike Cooling)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec
Subject: Re: SI 8-mm on HSC VAX Cluster - dual drive ok?
Keywords: SI Digital Review
Message-ID: <1990Dec20.181852.6694@csus.edu>
Date: 20 Dec 90 18:18:52 GMT
References: <1990Dec19.213412.24576@csus.edu> <6755@bgsuvax.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@csus.edu (USENET News System)
Organization: California State University: Sacramento
Lines: 19
Nntp-Posting-Host: cssmtf.ccs.csus.edu

It's my understanding that in order to support HSC devices, SI reverse
engineered the SDI and STI boards and came up with their own board that will
plug into an HSC and support their disks and tapes. That is why DEC took them 
to court. Other vendors have made protocol converters that plug into DEC's SDI
or STI boards in the HSC, so there is no patent infringement.

If you buy an SI disk that plugs into a BI bus controller, then that disk
can be available cluster wide and no HSC patent infringements will exist.
However that disk is available to the cluster, only if the node it is
plugged into is up and running (ie. no failover or volume shadowing).
It all depends on your needs and goals.

Hope this helps.

-- 
____________________________________________________________________________
Mike Cooling                                    Internet: cooling@csus.edu
Manager, Operating Systems & Network Support
California State University, Sacramento