We run a small, mostly "lights out" operation. When we do turn the
lights on, there are local, MCS consoles (Visara NCTs) coax-attached to
a Visara SCON-11L controller which multiplexes channel connections for
eight LPARs over a single point-to-point ESCON attachment.
Each physical Visara NCT console is seen as eight separate devices by
the host and each device appears attached to a different LPAR. An
operator can walk up to any NCT, power up the monitor, use the
keyboardto rotate through the eight LPARs, stop on any one of them, and
then interact with that LPAR. There is also remote access capability;
there are additional "virtual" MCS consoles being maintained by the
SCON-11L to which we can connect using ordinary TN3270 clientsfrom our
offices, from home, etc.
We're quite happy with this very functional console solution. However,
when we upgrade our processor to a zBC12 (or whatever the next mid-range
processor ends up being called), it won't support ESCON anymore. So, we
need to do something:
1. Install ESCON <-> FICON converters. Do they work for this sort of
application?
2. Upgrade to Visara's latest FICON-attached offerings. Any experiences?
3. Consider other console technologies. How do they stack up to Visara?
Experiencesand recommendationsmuch appreciated.
--
Edward E Jaffe
Phoenix Software International, Inc
831 Parkview Drive North
El Segundo, CA 90245
http://www.phoenixsoftware.com/
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