🚀 go-pugleaf

We are forced to get rid of our 8650 due to budget cuts and the
relatively high cost of hardware maintenance for the machine.
Rather than leave our VMS users hanging, I'd like to get a smaller
machine to replace the 8650--perhaps a VAXstation 3100/76.
The main problem that I see with this
(and I'm sure there are plenty others) is the difficulty of
configuring a VAXstation with lots of disk space.

I want an RRD40 and TZ30 on the VAXstation for software distribution
purposes, and a helical scan tape drive for backup.  According to
my calculations & DEC literature, this leaves me with only 3 spaces
available on the SCSI chain for disks.  (Maybe not even that; DEC literature
says there is room for 3 external storage boxes, but I assume they 
really mean 6 devices.)  I want at least 4 GB of disk space.
There is an internal SCSI bus on the VS 3100's, but DEC's RZ22/
RZ23/RZ24 drives are so small in capacity that I feel I shouldn't
bother messing with them.  Is there some way I can tap the 
internal SCSI bus and use external drives with it?

Also, does anyone know of SCSI drives >1GB in size?  If I could find
2 GB drives, maybe 3 free SCSI "slots" wouldn't be so bad.

Any other comments on the proposed 8650->VS3100 migration will
be appreciated.  I'm not going to try to fool myself into thinking that
a VS can fully replace an 8650, but the 8650 must go and I need
to find a low-cost, low-maintenance replacement--or face some very
unhappy VMS-less users.  

Thanks!

Mark Riordan  Michigan State University   riordanmr@clvax1.cl.msu.edu