Subject: Re: What's the state of USB 2.0 support in VMS 8.2? From: "John Smith" Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 08:36:28 -0500 Newsgroups: comp.os.vms FredK wrote: >> We're working on it. >> >> In fact, internally we've booted a rx2600 from a 2.5G Seagate pocket >> drive. >> >> 1) No (sorry JF) you will not see it on VAX. >> 2) You will not see booting from USB on Alpha. >> 3) Actual "support" for a USB HD as a system disk may never happen on >> IPF. The true reason for supporting USB disks is to plan for the >> future where DVD/CD drives are USB based (this looks like a trend to >> replace IDE for such devices). As I mentioned earlier, it would be at least useful for 'smaller' VMS customers to be able to 'image' their system disk to an external USB/Firewire drive and lock it in a vault, and them be able - in the instance of a fried system disk - to be able to 'restore' that image onto a new SCSI system disk from the boot prompt once the new Dk or whatever device type the Itanic recognizes the scsi drive to be. Might even be a decent way to 'archive' working point releases of a system disk, ie. one or more images/savesets might be able to be stored on the external drive...at boot with the external drive, the system manager might be presented with a list of options... 1) boot from [device], or 2a) restore from [device] 2b) list of [image/saveset names] read from device in 2a) 2c) to [device] ....followed by reboot when restore is complete >> 4) The important thing that needs to be finished is USB 2.0 so that >> the speed is reasonable (although even 1.0 is about as fast as the >> crummy IDE stuff). >> >> For those Alpha hobbyists out there who go to V8.2... I've found that >> WalMart carries a twenty dollar 5 port USB PCI card from Belkin that >> has a NEC USB controller on it that is compatible with the chip used >> on Itanium servers - I use this on my DS10. >> >> In terms of USB vs Firewire. USB is less of a "crummy Wintel >> standard" than it is an example of design by committee. It has some >> good points, and a bunch of "tear your hair out" points. It has and >> will continue to dominate FireWire simply on the basis that it is >> part of the core logic for every PC. Not if Apple makes an offer to buy the ESG from HP :-)