  Fibre Channel and SAN configurations? 
 The Question is:
 
Dear Wizard,
 
I work in the storage group for Unisys and have a question. Here is an idea
of the environment:
     *DEC 7720
     *Alpha 4100
     *Alpha 2100
     *Alpha 1000
     *VAX 8200
     *VAX 4100 OpenVMS V 6.2
     *VAX 7800
All of these are running OpenVMS V 7.1 except for the VAX 4100. The customer
also has a number of Compaq Proliant Servers, running a mixture of NT 4.0,
Netware 4.11, and Unisys Servers running UnixWare V 7.1
 
We are trying to maximize their backup issues, and would like to suggest a
SAN configuration.
 
QUESTION:
 
Can you put a PCI Fibre Channel HBA in the above VAX &amp; Alpha servers. Also,
are there any case studies of customers moving to a SAN with VAX &amp; Alpha
servers.
 
 
 The Answer is:
 
  A Storage Area Network (SAN) environment or similar may or may not
  be particularly applicable here -- without rather more detailed
  information on the current activity and the current configuration,
  a specific answer is not possible with any degree of certainty.
  (For assistance in establishing and then configuring your specific
  storage requirements, please contact the Compaq StorageWorks team
  or your local Compaq reseller.)
 
  The usual solution for consolidating management and storage access
  on OpenVMS is an OpenVMS Cluster -- all of these systems can be
  configured into an OpenVMS Cluster, and can have full read-write
  access to all storage from all cluster members.  (What has recently
  become known as a SAN has effectively been available with OpenVMS
  -- and particularly with the various generations of cluster storage
  hardware controllers -- for many years, and in various forms, and
  with differing capabilities.  The addition of access to SAN and
  SAN-like devices from other platforms is, however, new...)
 
  As for attaching storage to the network, there are options ranging
  from various FDDI and Ethernet devices to Fibre Channel controllers.
  Yes, Alpha systems can be configured with Fibre Channel controllers,
  and access to this Fibre Channel storage can be served (transparently)
  to the VAX systems in the OpenVMS Cluster.
 
  For the current information on Fibre Channel support on OpenVMS,
  please see the following URL:
 
    http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/fibre/index.html
 
 
