DTB saves time, effort inside Prime
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Gary Repella, Group Leader of Prime's Engineering Operations, is
responsible for keeping Prime Engineering's many computers in good shape.
The Diagnostic ToolBox has been a big help to him and his "techs."

"It's saved a lot of time on debugging memory boards," he says. The disk
event analyzer? "That one is really helpful for the techs."

The crash analyzer, DOC, has saved time, too. Configuring a machine
involves knowing a lot of special rules, and sometimes in the rush to set
things up, people forget one. "We had a 6550 that kept crashing, and the
analyzer told us that we had an illegal configuration -- the URC board
couldn't be where it was."

The status word decoders are useful too. Previously, Gary had to find the
correct manual and search for a table describing the meaning of the bits.
Now, "We've had a lot of success. They are definitely a help -- the
information is at your fingertips."

And, with dozens of machines under his care, "The configuration lists are
really helpful."

Release 1.3 will be available approximately March 1st. It includes a
number of new tools, including a memory board configurator, new DOC rules,
and an easier to use PDEV calculator. CSEs should contact their usual
sources for this rev.