On 1/23 Lee Gunter wrote:
 
>I'm looking for information on HP's AutoRestart/iX product -
>specifically re: the dump-to-disk feature.  We have experienced (not
>recently) periods where we encounter a rash of system failures on our
>production system, but dumping memory to tape takes 1-1/2 hours, plus
>the time to recover the system.  This has become unacceptable to both
>management and the users (and to me!), and we're investigating this
>product mostly for this feature.
 
>Does anyone use this feature of AutoRestart, and, if so, are there
>significant benefits over dumping directly to tape?  What kinds of time
>savings, if any, have you experienced (HP touts >=50% savings on
>high-end systems)?  What other features have you found of benefit?
 
>Thanks for any input you can provide.
 
We currently use Autorestart on two 995-500s and one 987. We use DDSII drives as
our tape media. The dump portion of autorestart is probably at least 50% faster
going to disk rather than tape. HP support personel can also start reading the
dump faster because you do not have to load the dump back onto disk. Drawbacks
are the allocation of disc space and management of the dumps. For our shop, we
feel the product is very valuable becaused of the decreased downtime.
 
Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
 
Chad Gilles
American United Life
Indianapolis, IN
e-mail [log in to unmask]