Interviewed by Thomas Burniece on 2018-05-02 in Mountain View, CA
© Computer History Museum
The second part of the oral history with Richard “Richie” Lary traces the maturation of Digital Equipment Corporation’s storage architecture from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s. Lary describes the evolution of the Digital Storage Architecture, the development of the Hierarchical Storage Controller (HSC), and DEC’s shifting technological landscape as bus speeds increased and system demands expanded. He reflects on engineering challenges in controller design, the emergence of solid-state disk concepts, and the role of error-correction innovations in enabling performance gains.
The interview documents DEC’s transition from vertically integrated, proprietary storage systems to more modular, standards-based approaches that culminated in StorageWorks. Lary also offers insight into internal organizational dynamics, including tensions between engineering ideals and market pressures, leadership changes, and the broader corporate struggle to adapt to an industry moving toward openness and high-volume commodity manufacturing. This narrative captures a pivotal period in computing history when storage architecture reshaped DEC’s identity and fate.
- Note: Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information – http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102738795
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Catalog number: 102738796
Acquisition number: X7581.2016
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