Questions about Pyramid/Sequent

[bob at uxf.cso.uiuc.edu]

We have 3 pyramids purchased years ago. one of them had to get swapped out
it failed so miserably. we average 1 or 2 board failures every quarter.
we have a source license with them and now we learn as of the current
version of the operating system they will no longer provide source code
(unless you 'subscribe' at the everyday low price of $2000/month) at the
$1500 snapshot price. we do self-maintenance (and this is the only reason
we still have these machines). the local sales office is absolutely the
worst thing i've ever had to deal with. we subscribe to monthly PTF service
(it's the ONLY reasonable and reliable way to get anything out of the
support center) and refer to it as the "operating system of the month club".

on the other hand we've had one sequent for nearly 5 years without any
board failures (until an extremely ugly power glitch last friday --
Good Friday -- hmmm). it has recently been upgraded to a b21 and i have seen
126 concurrent users all editting and compiling with good response.

i always use the analogy of a grocery store checkout lane. if you have a
store-full of people trying to get out and there is only one checker you
wait and wait. if there are four checkers, everyone, even the ones with
full carts, get serviced quicker.

we just bought a s81 for database users. if your choice comes down to more
processors or more memory, go for the memory. in the long run you'll be
ahead of the game. although since the system is easy scalable, you can
add anything later simply by sliding in another board. (this really is
the case as we added more processors and more memory when we upgrade to
the B21)

the support folks at sequent are reasonable people who treat any problem you
encounter as THEIR problem and resolution is quick.

"from the rumor mill" --- pyramid announced a big mis-server that now won't
see light of day for another year or so. it is also rumored that at&t is going
to buy pyramid. pyramid stock dropped more than 5 points recently.