Hewlett-Packard's new Direct-Connect CD-ROM Tower

Throughout 1995 and 1996, various vendors began to offer CD-ROM towers with built-in modular servers. Although simple and straightforward, the towers didn't create a massive sell-through for resellers. The times may be a-changing, however, thanks to Hewlett-Packard's new CD-ROM server and integrated tower. Although the HP offering is a middle-of-the-road system compared to more cutting-edge systems from Procom and Ornetix, corporate and educational users will appreciate the worldwide HIP support network and the company's well-trained dealers and resellers.

We tested a system that included seven 20X drives and the server module. The module is the now-familiar Axis device with slight modifications from earlier OEM versions. Changes include support for long filenames and a fix for ARP storms, which sometimes occur with the Axis unit on enterprise-sized networks. Future versions of the Axis product will also include these enhancements, so they are not exclusive to HP.

SUPPORT AND SET-UP: EMPOWERING THE TOWER

Like all Axis-based solutions, the HP Tower offers simultaneous NetWare, Windows NT, UNIX, and HTTP support for system management and CD-ROM title access. The easy-to-use Web-based management program is accessible from any browser. Users run conventional utilities such as Windows Explorer to access the tower's drives.

System configuration can also be performed from any text editor. Administrators familiar with this procedure will find no challenge here either. The manual includes a complete listing of parameters used in the CONFIG.INI file. There's also a handy "restore default settings" button on the unit itself just in case an administrator changes an inappropriate parameter and the server vanishes from the network.

The system itself is a well-built tower with three fans in the rear. One fan is for the power supply and two larger, separate units are used to cool the drive bays. Unlike several other network-attached towers, the HP system lacks a SCSI connector for add-ons. The HP tower uses LUNs in supporting disc changers with up to 56 CD-ROMs in the tower (eight discs in each of seven drives). This means that LUNs aren't available for attaching additional SCSI devices on the same server. This limits the expandability of the unit.

There is a standard RJ-45 10BaseT connector in the rear for attaching to the network (10Base5 and 10Base2 adapters are options for sites requiring those topologies). The unit does not support 100BaseT, although HP's just-announced Sure-Store CD-ROM server/tower solutions--due for second quarter 1998 release--do. (HP will continue to market both types of towers.)

HP has opted to not use a front door to secure the CD-ROM drives. The tower does have a removable facia, however, allowing access to the CD-ROM drives. There are no side doors in the unit. Some other doors or hatches in the sides or rear of the unit would be useful at least for diagnostic purposes if not for repair and replacement of components. Access to the interior requires disassembling the case.

Once the facia is removed, the drives can be removed readily using tabs at the sides for hot-swapping, which makes the HP tower one of the easiest drives to upgrade or repair. This could include mini-changers as well as single-disc CD-ROM drives. The drives that ship with the system are HP-branded 20X caddyless drives.

AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTATION

Okay, HP's documentation may not have actually won any awards, but it should. Two books ship with the device, a management and a hardware reference. Such amenities should not be underestimated. Other vendors often neglect to include such complete reference sets in their boxes.

These profusely illustrated guides with their well-thought-through presentations are impressive and should win new fans as users buy these systems. Even novices can find their way to setting up, managing, and repairing the CD-ROM server and tower using these guides.

For example, who would have known about disc-changer flutter if HP didn't describe it in the manual? HP's manual is the first to explain this problem clearly, even though flutter is a common problem with disc-changers in a network environment.

HOW THE SERVER SERVES: THROUGHPUT-PACKING PERFORMANCE

The Axis/HP drive combo has enough horsepower to fill a 10BaseT network. Our test network used a NetWare 32-bit client running on Windows 95 over 10BaseT. It was an unloaded system--no other users, one NetWare server, and only one hub. So these numbers should represent the maximum throughput users are likely to see on their systems.

In other words, it's all downhill from here. But in HP's case, it's a long way down because the performance tests showed the HP unit close to the top in comparison to other integrated server/tower systems. The initial tests shown here involved accessing one CD-ROM disc from the tower to the workstation. The second test included two workstations accessing separate discs on the tower.

By way of comparison, 10BaseT offers a theoretical throughput of IMB/sec. A locally installed 20X CD-ROM drive would deliver about 3MB/sec.

The tower was tested for data transfer on a one disc/one workstation configuration using a 4.2MB AVI file. Over seven tests, the server's data transfer rate averaged 718.9KB/sec. Using the same 4.2MB AVI file and a 3.9MB database file on a two-disc/two-workstation set-up, data transfer rates over ten tests averaged 404.24KB/sec per client or about 800KB/sec total. In the last two tests, the network was actually able to send 890KB/sec--almost a 25 percent improvement over the early, single workstation test.

Needless to say, these two workstations took 90 percent of the available network bandwidth, so if this were a real situation, the administrator had better start looking seriously at 100BaseT. These numbers place the HP tower in line with other- Axis-equipped systems, including the Plextor NetPlex tower. The numbers are about 6-7 percent in favor of the HP unit. In terms of performance, the HP unit matches up with the best of them.

LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE: MISSING, AN AXIS ANOMALY

Unlike other CD-ROM server/tower combinations, the HP unit does not include any CD-ROM library management software such as the Ornetix CD-Vision or Media Path's MediaAgent. (The latter is frequently seen in bundles with the Axis unit, making the lack of software in HP's case even more interesting.)

Management software is not essential to running CD-ROMs across the network, but it makes network life vastly easier. Application setup, handling of automatic updates, and delivery of program icons to the desktop are all available using other management software. Without such software, it is up to users to configure their own systems, rather than the administrator.

HP should reconsider bundling some tools with their tower to bring it in line with contemporary storage offerings.

SOLID SYSTEM, DISTINGUISHED BY DOCUMENTATION

HP also offers the internal CD-ROM server as an external device. This alternate configuration gives users with existing CD-ROM towers or other SCSI devices a way onto the network. The external server would appear no different to users than the integrated tower/server solution reviewed here.

Besides the lack of management software, the other significant drawback to the HP unit is that it only supports 10BaseT. Competing vendors such as Ornetix Network Products run on both 10 and 100BaseT. So administrators looking at upgrading to the faster Ethernet standard might want to look at these other vendors rather than the HP tower.

The HP CD-ROM server and tower, however, is a solid, well-documented system supported by a vast, authorized dealer network. It will appeal to workgroups and other sites where seven drives are sufficient and expansion is not a critical issue. It is ideally suited for the many thousands of sites still running (and will continue to run) 10BaseT.

RELATED ARTICLE: Hewlett-Packard's New Direct-Connect CD-ROM Tower

Synopsis: The HP CD-ROM server and tower is a solid, well-documented system supported by a vast, authorized dealer network. It will appeal to workgroups and other sites where seven drives are sufficient and expansion is not a critical issue. It is ideally suited for the many thousands of sites still running (and will continue to run) 10BaseT.

Price: Server and Tower, $3900; Server only (standalone), $695

For more Information, contact: Hewlett-Packard Company P.O. Box 58059, MS5IL-SJ, Santa Clara, CA 95051; 403/430-2710; Fax 403/430-2740; http://www.hp.com; InfoLink #407

Axis Communications, Inc. 4 Constitution Way, Suite G, Woburn, MA 01801; 617/938-1188; Fax 617/938-6161; InfoLink #404

David Doering (dave@techvoice.com), a contributing editor for EMedia Professional, is also senior analyst with TechVoice Inc., an Orem, Utah-based consultancy.

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