Actifio and the curious affair of the AIX copy reduction tech

Actifio seems to having a few problems getting its virtualised file copy reduction technology working with AIX, support for which came with its v6.0 software release. Here's a note from a customer: We are attempting to use Actifio here at -----. Unfortunately, we can't get it to work on AIX, nor can Atifio, apparently. They …

[James 100]

"Limited availability phase"

Sounds like it's still a beta to me - which would explain why they haven't got the documentation polished up properly. If a client has paid to become a beta tester, though, I'd expect a much more pro-active response to their problems - apart from anything else, because that's the whole point of the beta phase, to find these problems before you release it fully!

[Version 1.0]

Re: "Limited availability phase"

Given the number of different configurations that they may have to deal with this isn't too surprising - everything lives in beta land for much longer periods of time these days.

[tentimes]

wtf is AIX?

Never heard of it.

[ElReg!comments!Pierre]

Re: wtf is AIX?

that sarcasm?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: wtf is AIX?

Have you heard of the following...

1. Unix.

2. IBM.

If no, Google will help.

[Peter Gathercole]

AIX since 1986

Well. I doubt very strongly that there are any 6150/1 systems running in anger any more, or any PS/2's running AIX PS/2 or mainframes running AIX/ESA, so they really only need to worry about POWER boxes, and they started in 1990. That takes out anything before AIX 3.1.

And since then, the Microchannel architecture AIX boxes can't run a supported version of AIX, nor can any 32 bit POWER systems or any with RS64 processors, so they really only have to worry about 64 bit CHRP systems that run AIX6.1 and later. That means that they only have to worry about systems built since about 2000! And as the basic OS running under 6.1 and 7.1 is not really different under the covers, and basically is compile once/run anywhere, it's a much smaller target than Solaris or HP/UX.

So a bit of diversion going on here to detract from the fact that they really must be a bit thick!

[David 14]

Re: AIX since 1986

I would add that AIX 5.3 is not a bad target to possibly include given the large number of enterprise customers "stuck" at that version for various reasons. But, your point is quite true and valid... the variability is much smaller than they let on.

[Anonymous Coward]

"We will try to help"

Is that all the customer gets? An attempt at helping?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "We will try to help"

Pretty much. I've been doing alphas and betas, mainframes to embedded, for three decades now (wtf, where did the time go?!?!) so I'm right at home with out-of-synch with current version (??) xeroxed manuals, translated from Klingon as near as I can tell, and having to disassemble binary or IL to figure out wtf this api/program is *doing* as opposed to what's its supposed to do as per the manual, .... You get the idea. I'm used to it. Anybody else? I pity them.

[Denarius]

Re: "We will try to help"

have you read any EULA ? that all you get from anyone. Just some vendors are more honest about it than others. AIX is complex because it was very advanced in its day and has to cover a _lot_ of legacy situations in critical Big Corp (tm) and not so big corp systems. The programmers who wrote the AIX6/7 virtualisation are brilliant. Very configurable and while a bit hard to get head around virtualised hardware running virtualised machines which may contain containers in Solaris speak. With dynamic hardware movement. RAM and CPU can be added or removed on the run. Setting up any software to run reliably on such an OS is a big ask. That there are issues is not unusual.

I still know of some IBM MCA AIX 4.2 units still doing useful work. Fortunately, they don't need this articles kind of software magic.