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From: mag@whuxlm.UUCP (Gray Michael A)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: Digital Equipment Service(DEC): Is it as bad elsewhere?
Message-ID: <664@whuxlm.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 31-Jan-85 23:53:33 EST
Article-I.D.: whuxlm.664
Posted: Thu Jan 31 23:53:33 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 2-Feb-85 09:27:56 EST
References: <927@druxj.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Whippany
Lines: 28

> Having the unenviable job as machine coordinator for 6 of the
> VAX 11/780s at the Denver AT&T site, I have been extremely 
> frustrated by the high amount of downtime our
> machines have been experiencing.  One VAX has been up less
> than 50% of the time over the last 3 months.  These machines
[..]
> Secondly, DEC seems to be slow to escalate the problem if
> a solution is not readily apparent to the personnel
> on site.  Being a hacker of sorts I understand the old
.......
We have one or two of just about any machine DEC has ever made
in our Department at AT&T Bell Labs.  While I don't feel that
the DEC servicepeople are real fireballs, our downtime is nothing like
yours.  It's certainly less than 15%.  The DEC machines that we
use to run our product in the field (a database system that does
some number-crunching for a test system) average less than 2 hours
downtime per week.

By the way, I know this isn't net.jokes, but:

Q. How can you tell if a person with a flat tire at the side of the
   highway is a DEC repairman?

A. He's the one that is changing all four tires to find the flat.


Mike Gray, BTL, WH