DEC VAX 7000

This VAX 7000 Model 710 system was connected to the VAX 8650, VAX 6000/510, VAX 6000-410, and disks on the HSC90 through the CI interface. The Model 7710, code-named "Laser/Neon", was announced 1994. This system has one 137.5 MHz NVAX++ microprocessor and 384 MB RAM.

VAX 7000 Enterprise Servers are part of a family of OpenVMS-based systems designed for the rigorous demands of data center computing. They have a modular platform which enables users to improve performance in a number of different dimensions— symmetric multiprocessing, larger memory, more I/O bandwidth, greater disk capacity, and OpenVMS Cluster systems. VAX 7000 servers support additional I/O controllers, storage, user licenses, database software.

With up to 6 CPUs in a symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) configuration and up to 400 Mbytes/second of I/O, a single VAX 7000 system offers the powerful features needed in data center systems. VAX 7000 systems in OpenVMS Cluster configurations provide support for as much as 10 terabytes of data.

An optional N+1 redundant power system allows for higher system availability in the event of a power regulator failure. Systems can be configured with up to three power regulators. Optional system-level UPS (Uninterruptible Power System) capability is available to support CPU and I/O expansion cabinets.

The VAX 7000 Enterprise Server provides substantial I/O capacity, one 12-slot XMI I/O channel is standard, with the ability to add up to three additional 12- slot XMI I/O channels. These XMI I/O channels offer a bandwidth of 100 Mbytes/second each, making this system capable of providing very high I/O bandwidth performance—up to 400 Mbytes/second.

XMI devices supported include adapters for Ethernet, CI, FDDI, and DSSI interconnects. Support for up to 16 Ethernet adapters, 10 CI adapters, 12 DSSI adapters, and eight FDDI adapters demonstrates the large expansion potential of these systems. StorageWorks controllers enable SCSI-2 devices to provide reliable high-end storage on the CI bus.

Enterprise Expansion Packages may be ordered with a single part number to provide the hardware and licensing necessary to start an OpenVMS Cluster or add another node to an existing cluster.

The LSB Card Cage

The XMI Card Cage

The VAX-7000

The inside of the front of the VAX-7000. The LSB is located at the top left. The LSB has four slots in the front, four in the rear, plus a special slot for the IOP. The three slots for the 48V power supplies are at the top right. Only one power supply is installed. The double giant fan assembly is in the middle. The XMI PIU is at the bottom left. The empty area at the bottom right could hold a large variety of I/O and storage assemblies.

The VAX-7000 LSB located in the top left of the cabinet containing a single processor module.

The LSB is a 128 bit bus capable of transferring 640 Mbytes/sec in 64 byte blocks.

There is an IOP to connect the LSB to either an XMI or Futurebus+ I/O chassis.

The single 48V power regulator loated in the top right of the cabinet. Its really big considering that it only makes 2160W.

Multiple regulators can be installed in an N+1 configuration to improve reliability.

The double fan assembly. The upper fan pulls air through the top of the cabinet and out the front.

The lower fan pulls air through the bottom of the cabinet and out the front.

The 12-slot XMI PIU I/O channel containing the CIXCD-AC XMI CI controller located in the bottom left of the cabinet.

The rear view of the XMI I/O backplane. The four coax cables at the bottom left are for the CI interface.