EnVista FS works effectively as a standalone or in a cluster
Amdahl's EnVista Frontline Server is a fast, reliable server that is easily upgradeable. Amdahl, well-known for its mainframe-size systems, offers three enterprise systems to the NT market: EnVista Frontline Server (FS), EnVista FS/R, and EnVista Server Model ES. This review looks at EnVista FS, a system for datamart,
groupware, and intranet applications. Amdahl sells Envista FS as a standalone
system or in a cluster configuration.
EnVista FS is an excellent component in a cluster solution because it has
built-in fault-tolerant features, such as two 420-watt power supplies (you can
add a third power supply), error controlling and correcting memory,
hot-swappable Ultra Wide SCSI-3 drive bays, and two embedded SCSI controllers to
control the drive bays. These features also make EnVista FS a superb standalone
system for mission-critical applications.
You can easily upgrade a standalone system to a cluster solution using
Microsoft's Wolfpack, VERITAS FirstWatch, or NCR's LifeKeeper clustering
solutions. In fact, EnVista FS is one of the few systems certified for Microsoft
Wolfpack. (For information about clustering solutions, see Joel Sloss, "Clustering
Solutions for Windows NT," June 1997.)
Performance Features
EnVista FS offers many performance features, including four 200MHz Pentium
Pros (each with 512KB of cache), dual PCI buses, and dual embedded Adaptec Ultra
Wide SCSI-3 adapters. Other system features include support for up to 1GB of
memory, 6 PCI slots, 4 EISA slots, 12 hot-swappable drive bays, a video graphics
adapter (VGA) video connector, a 3.5" floppy drive, a CD-ROM, 2 RS-232
serial ports, a printer port, a PS/2 keyboard port, and a PS/2 mouse port.
A nice-looking beige case with doors houses all these components. The 3.5"
floppy and CD-ROM drives hide behind one door, and the 12 hot-swappable drive
bays hide behind the other. The system I tested also included a 17"
monitor, a mouse, and a keyboard.
Amdahl pre-installs Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0 and includes Intel LANDesk
Server Manager in the EnVista FS package. You can get the system preconfigured
from Amdahl with SQL Server, SMS Server, SNA Server, Symantec pcANYWHERE32, or
Amdahl's EnVista Database Gateway (which lets you connect two existing mainframe
databases).
A Solid Performer
In the past several months, I've used EnVista FS for various projects in the
Windows NT Magazine Lab. The system was a solid performer. Initially, I
used this system as a bundled cluster solution. Later I used it as the host for
fibre channel testing. (For more information on fibre channel testing, see my
article "Fibre Channel, SCSI, and You," September 1997.)
The only problem I encountered was when I installed a RAID controller on the
primary PCI bus. After I installed the RAID controller, the system insisted on
initializing it before initializing the embedded SCSI controllers. This
insistence prevented the system from booting from its internal hard drive.
To solve this problem, I simply moved the RAID controller to the second PCI
bus. A nice feature would be a BIOS option to let you control the initialization
sequence of the embedded SCSI controllers and the PCI card buses.
A Thumbs UP
I was impressed with the Amdahl EnVista FS. I recommend that you give it
serious consideration if you are looking for a fast, reliable server that you
can easily upgrade. The price is comparable to similarly equipped systems from
other vendors, and Amdahl is a reputable company.
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Emily October 31, 2003