Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cfa!ward
From: ward@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Ward)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: Help us defend against VMS!
Message-ID: <890@cfa.cfa.harvard.EDU>
Date: 4 Mar 88 18:59:18 GMT
References: <2235@bsu-cs.UUCP> <2075@rti.UUCP>
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. for Astrophysics
Lines: 37
Summary: only one VMS problem....



The DEC Educational Software Library with DEC workstations scenario is
great, but has one very large problem:

When a MULTIUSER VMS LICENSE is needed beyond the basic 2-user VMS
license then the trouble begins.  First, DEC will not under any
conditions sell a multiuser VMS license upgrade for a workstation,
period.  Second, this means you must buy non-workstation machines with
multiuser VMS licenses for your multiuser needs.  This sacrifices the
flexibility of upgrading a workstation, causing the purchase of extra
computers and software, and even worse, DEC workstations are available
for purchase by educational/research entities (by and large, your
mileage may vary) at excellent price discounts while the multiuser
system are not.{  VMS itself is priced outrageously high if it cannot
be purchased via the educational library, which is definitely the case
for VMS multiuser licenses.

If you have a scenario that will only call for workstations then these

concerns won't apply, otherwise, give it some thought.

Further concern is warranted in the area of network support costs.  For
VMS DEC offers many network software support tools, but they tend to be
outrageously expensive and are not part of the educational library.  In
my context "outrageous" means pricing that is radically higher than the
cost of any other software/hardware item available at the educational
library or workstation discount pricing.  I consider ratios of greater
than 2/1 very significant.  The encountered ratios of 5/1 to 25/1 are
easily outrageous.

I hope that DEC will someday offer such things as Remote System Manager
(software) at a price scaled to the economies they offer in other
elements of their educational/research sales programs.  Sometimes it
seems that DEC is trying to "make up" some lost profit ground by letting
you buy in cheap and add-on expensive, especially with anything in the
VMS realm.