- Data General Resources Required for Converted NWIS

TO:       DC - All District Chiefs<distribution@usgs.gov>,
          DA - All Data General System Administrators<distribution@usgs.gov>
CC:       cpac@qvarsx.er.usgs.gov
From:     Kathy D Peter, District Chief, OK, Oklahoma City, OK <kdpeter>
Date:     Sat, 03 Aug 1996 13:15:53 -0500
Subject:  COMMITTEES - Recommendations from CPAC subgroup on hardware
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During the last CPAC meeting a subgroup was charged to document the DG
resources needed in order to run a converted NWIS.  Included below are
the findings of this subgroup.  This information is being provided to
you for planning purposes.  We recommend that you consult with your
Regional Computer Specialist for further information.  Please extend
my thanks to the members of your staff who helped prepare this
recommendation.


						Kathy D. Peter
						Chair, CPAC

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          Data General Resources Required for Converted NWIS

RECOMMENDATION

Initial testing of specific components of the NWIS-I software converted from
the Prime to the Data General under a variety of configurations indicates
that a DG 8500 server provides equal or better performance than a Prime
9955-II for a single user.  Multi-user testing with eight users shows that
the quad processor DG 8500 server is more than two and one-half times as
fast as the Prime 9955-II.

CPAC recommends the following as a minimum configuration for an
average district to run the converted NWIS-I software:

        o A dedicated DG 8500 deskside server with:
                o quad processor
                o 192 MB memory
                o CSS-3 deskside housing unit with 4-four GByte disk drives
                o Wide differential SCSI controller card

The four disk drives (a minimum) are for efficient database installation
and performance.  A deskside CSS-3 housing for the disk drives and
controller providing wide differential SCSI are recommended.  The 16 GBytes
of disk capacity are more than adequate for all but the larger districts,
and provides an allowance for growth.  More detailed data on disk
requirements will be forthcoming prior to installation of the converted
NWIS-I software.  Additional testing is also being conducted so that more
refined recommendations can be made based on the specific circumstances in
each office (such as the size of the data base, the amount of use, and the
existing Data General hardware).  Every office should consult with their
Regional Computer Specialist for more specific configuration and
alternative recommendations.

The recommendation is to dedicate a server to the NWIS-I software and data
base and sites should consider carefully if this is a viable alternative.
Districts having an under-utilized DG 8500 may be able to move existing
applications to other servers and upgrade the DG 8500 to meet the above
specifications.