FYI Subjects IN THIS SECTION: o Session Support Utility (SSU) V2.0 o EZ58R SCSI Solid State Disk Now Available o Storage Solutions for IBM RS/6000 and AS/400 o More Denali 3D Graphics Subsystems for AXP Platform o DECamds V1.0 Available with OpenVMS Cluster Licenses o Changes in Workstation Options o VRC21 21 Inch Color Monitor o Highlights of DECUS '94/New Orleans o Products Being Retired SESSION SUPPORT UTILITY (SSU) V2.0 Session Support Utility V2.0 is a layered software product that allows users with multisession terminals to log into and maintain multiple independent sessions on OpenVMS systems using a single communications port. It implements Digital's proprietary Terminal Device/Session Management Protocol (TD/SMP), providing multiple sessions in environments that support TD/SMP and use XON/XOFF flow controls. Users on multisession terminals can switch between sessions executing on OpenVMS hosts. SSU can be used on OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS AXP systems by single-line, multiple-session terminals, such as the VT330, VT340, and VT420, by simply activating either of the two communication ports on these video terminals. Session Support Utility V2.0 is available now, at a reduced price. A variety of service options is offered. Order No. Description SSU V2.0 Licenses, Kits, and Services: QL-VE3**-AA Session Support Utility OpenVMS VAX Traditional licenses QL-2T7**-AA Session Support Utility OpenVMS AXP Traditional licenses QA-VE3*A-GZ Session Support Utility OpenVMS VAX media and documentation kit QA-VE3*A-H5/HM Session Support Utility OpenVMS VAX upgrade media and documentation kit, TK50/16MT9 QA-2T7*A-GZ Session Support Utility OpenVMS AXP media and documentation kit QT-VE3**-** Session Support Utility OpenVMS VAX services QT-2T7**-** Session Support Utility OpenVMS AXP services EZ58R SCSI SOLID STATE DISK NOW AVAILABLE The 856 Mbyte EZ58R solid state disk, including an integrated data retention system with continuous backup, is now available, at a very attractive price. It provides the highest capacity in 5.25 inch packaging (a StorageWorks building block) you can obtain today, along with the highest online/offline availability. The EZ58R disk is a capacity extension of the popular EZ54R solid state disk and will mirror the support available on EZ54R and EZ51R drives. Use of a solid state disk is the surest way to overcome the poor application performance caused by slow access to small- and medium-sized volumes of randomly distributed data. Solid state disk technology provides consistent, predictable, extremely fast access to frequently requested data, alleviating I/O bottlenecks and unleashing application performance. For further information on solid state disks, please consult the "EZ5x High Performance SCSI-2 Solid State Disks" article in the August 2, 1993, issue of Digital's Customer Update and the "Additional Support for EZ5x Solid State Disks" article in the December 20, 1993, issue. Order No. Description EZ58R Solid State Disks: EZ58R-VA EZ58R 856 Mbyte SCSI solid state disk StorageWorks building block with data retention system; includes user documentation; field installed EZ58R-AA EZ58R 856 Mbyte SCSI solid state disk with data retention system; includes user documentation; field installed STORAGE SOLUTIONS FOR IBM RS/6000 AND AS/400 Digital supports storage solutions across multiple system vendors' platforms, which now include the IBM RS/6000 and AS/400 systems. Two Digital OEM partners, Cambex and IPL Systems, Inc., are adapting Digital modular storage subsystem hardware to create high availability storage solutions for these IBM systems. The solutions are being sold under the companies' own brand names, not as part of the StorageWorks family. Cambex offers two product families for RS/6000 systems. The Certainty ARRAY/6000 is a RAID 0/1/3/5 solution, packaged in both a Digital deskside pedestal and a datacenter cabinet. The Certainty ARRAY/6000 Modula series is a non-RAID SCSI disk array that is also packaged in a deskside pedestal (and upgradable to the RAID subsystem). These subsystems include Digital's SZ200 RAID controller, 1.6 Gbyte and 2.1 Gbyte drives, and shortly the TZ87 tape drive. IPL sells the ESP 7000 storage platforms, which offer RAID 0 and 5 functionality to AS/400 systems. The IPL solutions incorporate 1 and 2 Gbyte drives, packaged in Digital storage building blocks and shelves. There are two major benefits in these offerings. First, you gain access to a flexible, open storage solution that helps protect your multivendor platform investment. Second, you can install a reliable, high performance RAID subsystem today, with an upgrade path for the future. For information on establishing a relationship with Cambex or IPL, please contact your local Digital Sales Representative. MORE DENALI 3D GRAPHICS SUBSYSTEMS FOR AXP PLATFORM Digital has made several additions to its offering of Kubota's Denali 3D graphics subsystems, and you can now select from worksystems featuring a full family of 3D graphics and imaging solutions. The new offerings include two new Denali subsystems -- Models P410 and V520 -- and two field installable upgrade kits. These new Denali offerings thus provide you with both a wider range of graphics/imaging solutions and a flexible growth path. They complement the Denali products described in the September 27, 1993, issue of Digital's Customer Update. Denali graphics are compatible with Digital's Alpha AXP workstations, but because of evolving changes in the software and hardware, not all software applications may be qualified on the Denali graphics. Please consult your local Digital sales office for the latest list of certified applications. The end goal is full compatibility with Digital's graphics application environment. The Denali graphics options require an Alpha AXP workstation (DEC 3000 Model 800, 600, 500X, 500, 400, or 300) with at least 64 Mbytes of memory and one TURBOchannel slot. Order No. Description Denali Graphics Options and Upgrade Kits: PEXGA-AB Denali P410 TURBOchannel based P series graphics; four transformation engines and 10 frame buffer modules PEXGA-AC Denali V520 TURBOchannel based V series graphics; five transformation engines and 20 frame buffer modules, type 3 PEXGA-DB Upgrade kit, Denali P510 to V520; 20 frame buffer modules, type 3 PEXGA-DA Upgrade kit, Denali P310 to P410, P410 to P510, or V520 to V620; one transfer engine module DECamds V1.0 AVAILABLE WITH OpenVMS CLUSTER LICENSES Since it began shipping, DECamds V1.0 has been widely appreciated by OpenVMS cluster users as a leadership cluster management tool. Now Digital has made DECamds functionality part of its VAXcluster and VMScluster products and has retired the separate DECamds order numbers (QL-GW3** and QL-GVZ**). Beginning with the next release of the OpenVMS operating system, cluster users will have the right to use DECamds software as part of their VAXcluster and VMScluster licenses. If you own nonclustered systems and want DECamds functionality, you will need to buy a VAXcluster or VMScluster software license (you can run your systems clustered or nonclustered). As of April 1994, OpenVMS releases will include DECamds software kits and documentation. DECamds software is installed with a separate command procedure. The inclusion of DECamds software in the cluster software products means that users with NAS 250, NAS 300, and NAS 400 packages will have access to DECamds functionality, since VAXcluster or VMScluster software is part of these packages. Layered Product Support (LPS) service will be provided under your VAXcluster or VMScluster LPS contract. No Media and Documentation Distribution Service (MDDS) or Documentation Update Service (DS) is required for the DECamds product, as updates will be provided as part of the OpenVMS MDDS service, just as VAXcluster and VMScluster updates are provided today. Existing LPS, MDDS, or DS service contracts for the DECamds product will continue in force until expiration, up to but not beyond May 16, 1994. After that time, LPS service will be provided as part of VAXcluster or VMScluster LPS service, and media and documentation updates as part of OpenVMS LPS service. For additional information on DECamds software, please refer to VAXcluster and VMScluster for OpenVMS SPD 34.88.XX. CHANGES IN WORKSTATION OPTIONS Digital is now providing a number of new options for various workstations. The functionality of these options is equal to or greater than the functionality of the options being replaced, and there is no effect on system package prices. The systems affected by these changes are DEC 3000 Models 300, 300L, 300X, 300LX, 400, 400S, 500, 500S, 600, 600S, 800, and 800S; VAXstation 4000 systems; and DECstation 5000 systems. The options affected are three system monitors and the RRD42 CDROM drive. The new options are being substituted for the old options on orders for workstations, servers, and options. The substitutions are as follows: o The new RRD43 CDROM drive (see the accompanying article in this issue) is replacing the RRD42 drive. o The VRC16 monitor is replacing the VRT16 monitor. (A 17 inch color monitor is planned for future replacement.) o The VR319 monitor is replacing the VRM17 monitor-- except that in DEC 3000 Model 300L AXP systems the replacement monitor is the VRC16. (A monochrome monitor is planned for future replacement.) o The VRC21 monitor (see the following section) is replacing the VRT19 monitor. VRC21 21 INCH COLOR MONITOR The VRC21 is a 21 inch (20 inch viewable) color display produced by Mitsubishi Electronics America. With its microprocessor based electronics and autoscanning, it supports resolutions from VGA to 1280 x 1024, noninterlaced, at a 72 Hz refresh rate. The screen area is 8 percent larger than that of 19 inch monitors. The monitor features Mitsubishi's new DiamondTron 21 inch, cylindrical, vertically flat, square cornered faceplate CRT with an aperture grill mask. DiamondTron CRT technology, while similar to Trinitron technology, uses a proprietary Dynamic Beam Forming electron gun to provide improved beam focus, screen uniformity, and color brightness. The VRC21 meets the EPA Energy Star power management standards and international MPR-II emission standards. The VRC21-HA/H4 models will be available this month, replacing VRT19 19 inch monitors on Alpha AXP platforms. Standard Digital services will be offered for this product. Order No. Description VRC21 Monitors: VRC21-HA/H4 VRC21 21 inch (20 inch viewable) color monitor, 1280 x 1024, 72 Hz, 120V/240V, Northern/Southern Hemisphere HIGHLIGHTS OF DECUS '94/NEW ORLEANS Information technology professionals dealing with rapid changes brought on by the advent of multivendor, multiplatform computing environments will have the opportunity to find solutions to help them succeed during DECUS '94/New Orleans, May 7 to 12, 1994, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA. Following the theme of "Managing Complexity: Succeeding in a Multivendor, Multiplatform World," DECUS '94/New Orleans will present the most comprehensive forum for finding solutions through the use of products, services, and technologies of Digital Equipment Corporation and Digital related vendors. Seminars and symposium sessions will cover virtually every area of computing and will provide attendees with the unique opportunity to learn from, and interact with, thousands of their technical peers, experienced product users, industry leaders, and product engineers and developers. As a member driven users society, DECUS understands the problems facing today's IT professionals and is committed to addressing those issues with the most comprehensive and unbiased information available. An enhanced symposium format will make it easier for attendees to plan their event participation and to follow tracks of sessions that address topics in their areas of interest. Highlighted tracks of DECUS '94/New Orleans and the topic areas they will address include: o Application Development: Repository and Code Re-Use; Adopting Object-Oriented Tools; High Quality Application Development; and Porting Legacy Systems. o Avant Garde Technologies: Imaging; Groupware; Enterprise E-mail Services; Managing the Data Explosion; and a LinkWorks Spotlight. o Client/Server Computing: Strategies and Technologies; Design and Implementation; and Digital's Client/Server Strategy. o The Internet: Making; Supporting; Using; Managing; and Exploiting the Connection. o Networks: Fundamentals; Hints and Kinks; Linkages; and High Speed and Large Scale Networks. o Network Operating Systems: Fundamentals; and Spotlights on PATHWORKS and NetWare. o OpenVMS: Migration to AXP; VMSclusters, POSIX, and DCE; Novice Use and Management; Internals and Advanced Programming. o UNIX, ULTRIX, and OSF/1: Introduction to UNIX; UNIX for Masters; OSF/1 Developers' Conference; and OSF/1 for OpenVMS System Managers. o Windows and NT: NT Conference; and the Windows 3.1 Family. As in past DECUS events, DECUS '94/New Orleans will feature symposium sessions and seminars addressing the wide variety of topics important to today's IT professionals, including education, security, advocacy, business practices, realtime computing, artificial intelligence, desktop publishing disaster recovery, and much more. An interactive Digital Technology Center will give attendees an opportunity to test many of the products, services, and technologies of Digital Equipment Corporation. In addition, the DECUS Trade Show will showcase applications and software solutions for UNIX, Windows NT, and OpenVMS environments. Representatives from over 100 vendors who support and sell in the Digital marketplace -- including Digital, Xerox, WRQ, Software Partners/32, Oracle, SAS Institute, and Ross Systems -- will be on hand. Attendees will realize substantial savings over onsite fees by registering for DECUS '94/New Orleans by April 20, 1994. To register, contact DECUS Customer Service at 1-800-DECUS55. For additional information, use the mailing address, phone numbers, or Internet address listed below: o 334 South Street SHR3-1/T25 Shrewsbury, MA 01545-4195 FAX: 1-508-841-3357 TTY: 1-508-841-2222 Internet: information@decus.org Complete details on DECUS '94/New Orleans are available electronically through: o Gopher: GOPHER.DECUS.ORG o Anonymous FTP: FTP.DECUS.ORG o E-mail: MAILSERV@DECUS.ORG (send message HELP) o Telnet: DECUS.ORG or via modem to 508-842-1930 (enter DECUSPROGRAM; no password is required). This option provides an interactive search and query facility. The U.S. Chapter of DECUS, the Digital Equipment Computer Users Society, is an association of Information Technology professionals interested in the products, services, and technologies of Digital Equipment Corporation and related vendors. The Association's purpose is to promote the unimpeded exchange of information, with the goal of helping its members and their organizations to be more successful. The Chapter provides each member with means to enhance their professional development, forums for technical training, mechanisms for obtaining up-to-date information, advocacy programs, and opportunities for informal disclosure and interaction with professional colleagues of like interest. PRODUCTS BEING RETIRED Last Last Recommended Description Order Date Ship Date Migration DEC 3000 Model 300L Upgrades: DECstation 5000 Models 20, 25, 3/25/94 6/24/94 DEC 3000 Model and 33 and VAXstation 4000 Model 300LX ADVANTAGE- VLC upgrades to DEC 3000 Model 300L UPGRADES Other Products: RZ24L 3.5" 245 MBF disk drive (1) 4/1/94 7/1/94 RZ25L, 535 MBF MicroVAX 3100 Model 30 systems 7/1/94 9/30/94 MicroVAX 3100 and MicroVAX 3100 WAN packages Model 40 (2) MIPS R3000 based workstations See Note 3 Alpha AXP (DECstation and DECsystem 5000 systems Models 133 and 240) and R4000 based upgrades VAX P.S.I. V4.3, VAX P.S.I. 5/6/94 5/30/94 DECnet/OSI for Access V4.3, and VAX WAN Device OpenVMS VAX (5) Drivers V1.2 (4) RA71/72/73 5.25" disk drives 5/6/94 7/29/94 RZ26L and RZ28 and related subsystems (6) SCSI 3.5" drives All TK50Z expansion boxes 4/1/94 4/29/94 None All SZ16 expansion boxes 4/1/94 7/1/94 StorageWorks All SZ12 expansion boxes with 4/1/94 4/29/94 StorageWorks RZ26 and RZ58 drives NOTES: (1) Digital will continue to support the RZ24L with its complete range of service products for a minimum of five years after the end of the product's manufacturing life. The availability of refurbished drives, spare parts, and trained engineers is ensured as a part of the standard end-of-life plan. (2) Refurbished systems will continue to be offered, subject to availability. The Model 40 systems have the same 5.0 VUPs CPU as the Model 30, plus a larger enclosure (BA42-B) that offers greater internal storage capacity. It is available at the same price as the MicroVAX 3100 Model 30. In-cabinet upgrades are available from the Model 40 to Models 80 and 90. Individual components of the WAN package will continue to be available for order as separate items. (3) Models 133 and 240 will be retired no earlier than September 1994, with a last ship date of December 1994. The R4000 upgrades will be retired after the R3000 systems. (4) You have the option of staying with OpenVMS V5.5-2; however, support for these products will end April 1995. OpenVMS V6.0 does not support these products. (5) In keeping with existing practice, X.25 "Native" is provided under a separate license (VAX P.S.I., UPI 071) as defined in SPD 25.03 for DECnet/OSI for OpenVMS VAX software. VAX P.S.I. V4.3 software has been replaced with updated software components of DECnet/OSI for OpenVMS VAX V5.7. The media and documentation for the VAX P.S.I. product are now provided as part of the DECnet/OSI for OpenVMS VAX kit and therefore will not be sold separately. The functionality for VAX P.S.I. Access and WAN device drivers is now incorporated into DECnet/OSI for OpenVMS VAX software. The DECnet/OSI end system license grants the right to use P.S.I. Access and WAN device drivers. These products will no longer be sold separately. In support of its open network products and programs, Digital provides the following services: - A DECnet/OSI transition planning service, to ensure that your transition to open network environments is smooth. - Open network user training, which offers network managers, application developers, and network planners access to Digital Learning Services courses on a variety of open networking subjects. - NETsupport operations management services, Digital's most comprehensive service offering for open networks, provide ongoing management of your DECnet/OSI and/or TCP/IP network resources. (6) For CI connection, you can substitute an HSC or HSJ40. For subsystem migration: From Array To StorageWorks Modular Subsystem Components SA71/72/73 BA350 enclosures + RZ26L/28-VA with HSJ40 controllers or K.SCI HSR packages. SA3xx and SA9xx StorageWorks 500 and/or 800 cabinets + arrays that BA350 enclosures + RZ26L/28-VA with HSJ40 contain RA71/72/73 controllers. ---------- DiamondTron is a trademark of Mitsubishi Electronics America. AS/400 is a trademark and IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. POSIX is a registered trademark of the IEEE. NetWare is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc. OSF/1 is a registered trademark of the Open Software Foundation, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of Unix System Laboratories, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Novell, Inc. Windows and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.