Keith Parris

You can contact me here, or here, or here.

Business-Related Info

I'm an independent computer consultant, specializing in the area of using clusters of computers running the VMS operating system in high-availability and disaster-tolerant configurations, and in scaling VMS clusters to meet the incredible growth rates of businesses in areas such as e-commerce.

Summary of background and experience
Brief resume
Detailed resume

DECUS session notes and other publications

DECUS is the Digital Equipment Computer Users' Society, the users group covering the former Digital marketplace. The U.S. Chapter of DECUS holds a yearly or twice-yearly symposium, as do other chapters around the world. Here are the session notes for some of my sessions:

To attempt to answer many of the questions I got while I was the developer maintaining the VMS Connection Manager code, I presented the session Understanding VAXcluster State Transitions, which was aimed at helping folks minimize the duration of and impact on cluster users of state transitions (which occur when a node joins or leaves a cluster). I also have a version with speaker's notes. These were written in 1992. I also have slides providing updated information as of Fall 1998 and Spring 1997, two occasions when I presented the material again.
While I was in VAXcluster Systems Engineering, and continuing while I worked in VMS Engineering, I had the challenge of helping Ben Brock of Dow Chemical in Houston build what we believe is still the record-holding VMS cluster in terms of numbers of nodes: it grew to a peak of 151 nodes around 1993. Based on what we learned from that experience, I wrote an article in the VAXcluster Systems Quorum Journal on Building Large Local Area VAXcluster (LAVC) Configurations (c. 1992).
I have worked with quite a number of different disaster-tolerant VMS cluster sites. I presented sessions on BRS User Experiences in Fall 1998 and Spring 1997 based on what these folks and I had learned in working together in the design, installation, and operation of this type of configuration.
In the Spring of 1999, I explored Lock Manager Performance and Long-Distance Cluster Performance, which is based on the experience of building at E*Trade what we believe is the longest-distance VMS cluster in the world, at a site separation distance of 130 miles (200 kilometers). I also spoke on Disk Partitioning on OpenVMS.
I gave a presentation on the topic of Comparing Host-Based and Controller-Based RAID in Spring 2000 and Fall 1999.
In the Fall of 1999, based on my work with the International Securities Exchange, which is a new options exchange using software from OM Group on a disaster-tolerant VMS cluster with RTR (Reliable Transaction Router) software, I presented a session Comparing VMS Clusters and RTR.
I presented a session on Using Load-Balancing Mechanisms in VMS Clusters in Spring 2000 and Fall 1999 .
In the Spring of 2000, at the Compaq Engineering Update (DFWdays) sponsored by the Dallas-Ft. Worth Compaq Users Group, I reported on recent work in the area of Monitoring and Controlling the VMS Lock Manager
In October of 2000, at the Compaq Enterprise Technical Symposium, I presented 1-day seminars on VMS Clusters: Basic and Intermediate Concepts and VMS Clusters: Advanced Concepts, 4-hour interactive workshops on VMS Cluster State Transitions in Action and the VMS Lock Manager in Action, and a session Comparing VMS Clusters and Tru64 Unix TruClusters.
To help folks considering going out on their own, as opposed to continuing to work as an employee, I presented a session on Starting Out as an Independent Computer Consultant. Here are the versions presented in Fall 1998, Fall 1997, and Spring 1997.

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Personal Info

I live in Colorado, have a beautiful wife and 3 wonderful kids, and strive to live by Christian principles as a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

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