1917 lines
80 KiB
Plaintext
1917 lines
80 KiB
Plaintext
From ra!darwin.sura.net!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!das.wang.com!wang!garyf Fri Dec 3 10:21:49 EST 1993
|
|
Article: 17193 of comp.periphs.scsi
|
|
Xref: ra comp.periphs.scsi:17193 comp.answers:2836 news.answers:103463
|
|
Newsgroups: comp.periphs.scsi,comp.answers,news.answers
|
|
Path: ra!darwin.sura.net!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!das.wang.com!wang!garyf
|
|
From: garyf@wang.com (Gary Field)
|
|
Subject: comp.periphs.scsi FAQ (TOC & Volume I)
|
|
Version: %W%
|
|
Expires: Sat, 1 Jan 1994 05:00:03 GMT
|
|
Last-Modified: %G%
|
|
Reply-To: garyf@wiis.wang.com (Gary Field)
|
|
Archive-Name: scsi-faq
|
|
Organization: Wang Labs, Lowell MA, USA
|
|
Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1993 16:00:48 GMT
|
|
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
|
|
Message-ID: <CHF0HC.Ar8@wang.com>
|
|
Followup-To: comp.periphs.scsi
|
|
Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked
|
|
Questions (and their answers) about SCSI. It
|
|
should be read by anyone who wishes to post to the
|
|
comp.periphs.scsi newsgroup.
|
|
Sender: news@wang.com
|
|
Nntp-Posting-Host: gfield.wiis.wang.com
|
|
Lines: 823
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SCSI FAQ:
|
|
Frequently Asked Questions for comp.periphs.scsi
|
|
|
|
FAQ history: Created by Johnathan Vail (vail@tegra.com) from articles
|
|
submitted to him by comp.periph.scsi readers.
|
|
Maintained by Jonathan Vail until November 1993.
|
|
|
|
Current Editor: Gary Field (garyf@wiis.wang.com)
|
|
|
|
Table of contents:
|
|
|
|
Volume I
|
|
Is it possible for two computers to access the same SCSI disks?
|
|
What is the problem with the Adaptec 1542C and external cables?
|
|
Where can I get SCSICNTL.EXE and other Adaptec files?
|
|
What is the difference between the Adaptec 1542A and 1542B?
|
|
What kinds of Optical Drives are available?
|
|
Where can I get FTP/download SCSI documents?
|
|
Where can I get SCSI documents?
|
|
Where can I get information on various disk drives and controllers?
|
|
What is the telephone number of Adaptec?
|
|
What is the telephone number of Archive Corporation?
|
|
What is the address and telephone number for Quantum?
|
|
What is the telephone number for Seagate?
|
|
What is the telephone number and address of Conner Peripherals?
|
|
What is the number for NCR?
|
|
What is the address and telephone number of UltraStor?
|
|
What is the address and telephone number of Wangtek?
|
|
What is the address and telephone number of Western Digital?
|
|
What is FAST SCSI?
|
|
SCSI terminators should measure 136 ohms?
|
|
Can someone explain the difference between 'normal' and differential scsi?
|
|
What are the pinouts for differential SCSI?
|
|
What are the pinouts for SCSI connectors?
|
|
|
|
Volume II
|
|
What is the difference between SCSI-1 and SCSI-2?
|
|
Is SYNCHRONOUS faster than ASYNCHRONOUS?
|
|
Is the 53C90 Faster than spec?
|
|
What are the jumpers on my Conner drive?
|
|
What are the jumpers for my Wangtek 5150 drive?
|
|
What is CAM?
|
|
What is FPT (Termination)?
|
|
What is Active Termination?
|
|
Why Is Active Termination Better?
|
|
Why is SCSI more expensive than IDE?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: Is it possible for two computers to access the same SCSI disks?
|
|
ANSWER From: burke@seachg.uucp (Michael Burke)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
Yes, two (or more) systems can be on the same scsi bus as scsi disk and
|
|
tape drives. As long as the scsi requirements are met - cable lengths,
|
|
termination and type - the devices can share the scsi bus.
|
|
|
|
The question should be - Are there any O/S' that will allow the sharing of
|
|
file systems? It would not make sense for two hosts to go about treating
|
|
shared disks as if they owned the device. Data would be destroyed pretty
|
|
quickly.
|
|
|
|
On the issue of tape devices, however, O/S' tend to give exclusive usage
|
|
to an application. In this way, tape drives can be shared much more easily.
|
|
|
|
Disks can be best shared by having two (or more) partitions on a disk. Each
|
|
host "owning" it's own file system.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is the problem with the Adaptec 1542C and external cables?
|
|
ANSWER From: Scot Stelter, Adaptec (Product Manager for the AHA-1540)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
Several articles lately have cited the importance of SCSI-2-compliant
|
|
cables when cabling SCSI bus subsystems. Perhaps the most accurate
|
|
and technically detailed one was published in Computer Technology
|
|
Review in March (Volume XIII, No. 3. PP. 6). In short, it explains
|
|
the double-clocking mechanism that can occur due to cables whose
|
|
impedance falls below the 90-Ohm SCSI-2 spec. Steep edge speeds on
|
|
the REQ and ACK lines of the SCSI bus exacerbate the problem, but
|
|
non-compliant cables are the root cause. Both LAN TIMES in the US
|
|
(5/24/93, page 115) and CT Magazine in Germany (7/93, page 18) cite
|
|
this cable problem.
|
|
|
|
In an extensive survey of cables available in the US and Europe, we
|
|
found that more than half of the cables available have single-ended
|
|
impedances in the 65 to 80 Ohm range -- below the 90 to 132 Ohms
|
|
specified in the SCSI-2 spec. It seems that some (not all) cable
|
|
vendors do not understand the specification, describing their cables
|
|
as SCSI-2 compliant when they are not. A common misconception is that
|
|
SCSI-2 means a high-density connector. In fact, there are several
|
|
connector options. I have published a technical bulletin that
|
|
summarizes the critical requirements (TB 001, April 1993). An artifact
|
|
of its faster design left the AHA-1540C with faster edge-speeds than
|
|
its predecessor, the AHA-1540B. As I have said, this can exacerbate
|
|
the effect of bad cables. This explains why some users could get
|
|
their AHA-1540B to work when an early AHA-1540C might not.
|
|
Essentially, the 1540B was more forgiving than the early 1540Cs. Good
|
|
cables fixed the problem, but unfortunately for the user, good cables
|
|
are hard to find.
|
|
|
|
After surveying the cable market and many of our customers, we decided
|
|
that bad cables were going to be here for a while, and we had to make
|
|
the 1540C as forgiving as the 1540B was. At the end of April we made
|
|
a change to the AHA-1540C that involved using a passive filter to
|
|
reduce the slew rate of the ACK line, the signal that the host adapter
|
|
drives during normal data transfers. Extensive testing with many
|
|
intentionally illegal configurations confirms that we succeeded. Prior
|
|
to release, we tested the AHA-1540C with over 200 peripherals, systems
|
|
and demanding software programs with no failures. Then, a second team
|
|
retested the AHA-1540C across a wild combination of temperatures,
|
|
humidities and other stresses. This testing gives me confidence that
|
|
the AHA-1540 line continues to serve as the gold standard for SCSI
|
|
compatibility.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is the difference between the Adaptec 1542A and 1542B?
|
|
ANSWER From: fishman@panix.com (Harvey Fishman)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
The AHA-1542A is obsolete and no longer supported by Adaptec. They
|
|
stopped providing firmware upgrades at some level prior to the equivalence
|
|
to the 3.10 level of the AHA-1542B firmware. I am not sure just where
|
|
though. The present latest AHA-1542B firmware is version 3.20, and
|
|
supports drives up to 8GB under MS-DOS.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: Where can I get SCSICNTL.EXE and other Adaptec files?
|
|
ANSWER From: randy@psg.com (Randy Bush)
|
|
and Timothy Hu timhu@ico.isc.com
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
New files from Roy as follows:
|
|
|
|
ftp.psg.com:~/pub/adaptec/...
|
|
|
|
-rw-rw-r-- 1 randy staff 110689 Feb 25 00:29 SCSICNTL.EXE.Z
|
|
-rw-rw-r-- 1 randy staff 368640 Feb 25 00:27 adse.dd
|
|
-rw-rw-r-- 1 randy staff 1959 Feb 25 00:25 adse.dd.readme
|
|
-rw-rw-r-- 1 randy staff 17896 Feb 25 00:37 list
|
|
-rw-rw-r-- 1 randy staff 99545 Feb 25 00:20 os2drv.zip
|
|
-rw-rw-r-- 1 randy staff 70801 Feb 25 00:20 scsi_drv.Z
|
|
-rw-rw-r-- 1 randy staff 66508 Feb 25 00:24 scsi_drv.readm
|
|
-rw-rw-r-- 1 randy staff 118697 Feb 25 00:17 update.pkg.Z
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can get the ASPI specs from Adaptec's Bulletin Board (408)945-7727.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What kinds of Optical Drives are available?
|
|
ANSWER From: joungwoo@mensa.usc.edu (John Kim)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
As I promised I am posting the summary of what I learned about 128mb optical
|
|
drives through many kind replies and some effort on my part. The purpose of
|
|
this informal survey was to aid people (starting from myself) in deciding on
|
|
which 128mb optical drive to buy.
|
|
|
|
When I posted my questions, it was done only on comp.mac.sys.hardware and
|
|
forgot to do the same also on comp.arch.storage and comp.periphs.scsi where
|
|
are less traffic than c.m.s.h. However, as a Macintosh owner myself, this
|
|
survey was biased toward the Mac world and the mail order houses mentioned
|
|
specializes in Mac-related products, although the below mentioned optical
|
|
drives might be usable also with non-Mac platforms (Sun, NeXT,
|
|
PC-compatibles).
|
|
|
|
My questions were:
|
|
|
|
o what kind of drive you bought from whom at what price
|
|
o what drive mechanism (MOST, Epson, Fujitsu, Sony, ...) it uses
|
|
o how fast it is in terms of average seek time & data transfer rate
|
|
o how noisy the drive is
|
|
o how large and heavy the drive is
|
|
o what drive formatting program (eg, FWB or Silver Lining) you use what its
|
|
goods/bads
|
|
o the quality of the service of the seller (mail order company, retail store,
|
|
etc.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summary
|
|
|
|
In general, these days, some magneto-optical (MO) drives seem to be
|
|
almost as fast as (if not faster than) ordinary hard drives (HD). The
|
|
access time of fastest 128MB MO drives (around 30ms) are slower than
|
|
average HD's access time (15ms) but the transfer rate seems to be
|
|
about the same (764KBytes/sec) or not much slower. The advantages of
|
|
the MO drives over the HDs are that your storage space is almost
|
|
limitless, expandable at a relatively cheap price ($40/120MB = 34
|
|
cents/MB) compared to $1/MB rate of HDs or that of SyQuest drives, and
|
|
the life of the media is very long (they say it's 30 years or
|
|
rewritable 100,000 times.)
|
|
|
|
Fijitsu 128 REM Portable: At this moment, to my knowledge, 128 MByte
|
|
optical drives based on Fujitsu mechanism seems to be the fastest,
|
|
roughly having average seek time of 30ms and average transfer rate of
|
|
768KBytes/sec. Another good thing about this Fujitsu drive is that it
|
|
is more compact in size than previous 128mb optical drives, ie,
|
|
"portable". I don't know how Fujitsu mechanism (FM) is different from
|
|
Epson mechanism (EM) and how FM provides a similar performance at a
|
|
cheaper price in a smaller frame. Maybe using split-head
|
|
implementation to make the read-write head lighter? Could anybody post
|
|
info on this? One person tells me that the eject mechanism is too
|
|
strong, sometimes shooting the cartridge out making them land on the
|
|
floor. He says Fujitsu told him that the FM's coming out in April will
|
|
have gentler eject.
|
|
|
|
Epson: The next fastest (or maybe just about the same speed) are Epson
|
|
mechanism (EM) drives, having average access time of 34ms and transfer rate of
|
|
768KB/sec. These achieve faster speed compared to other old mechanisms by
|
|
having a higher rpm (3600rpm vs. past 2400 rpm).
|
|
|
|
Slower ones: Other mechanisms (Sony, Panasonic, etc.) seem to have
|
|
been dominating the optical drive market before FM and EM's advent.
|
|
These have a typical access rate of ~45ms. I don't know if now there
|
|
are new implementations that make them perform better then FM and EM.
|
|
Maybe someone can tell us.
|
|
|
|
Noise Level: One thing to consider might be noise of the drive. Different
|
|
mechanisms may have typical noise level, but one thing sure is that different
|
|
resellers/companys' drive's noise level differs even for the same drive
|
|
mechanism, eg, Sony. It looks like different casing produces different noise
|
|
levels? (Could someone confirm/disconfirm this aspect?) Base on the report
|
|
in Nov '92 issue of MacWorld, the noise level of MacDirect, MacProduct and
|
|
DGR 128mb MO drives seem to be OK or quite quiet.
|
|
|
|
This issue of MacWorld deals with removable media drives (optical drives of
|
|
various capacity, SyQuest, Bernoulli and Flopticals) and you can get some
|
|
idea on what the differences among different drive mechanisms are.
|
|
|
|
Formatting Software: Another thing to consider is what kind of media
|
|
formatting software you will use. All companys (or mail order places) seemed
|
|
to provide for free formatting program with their drives. I don't have the
|
|
details on this. But an inefficient formatting can result in slow drive
|
|
performance. The most popular one used to be FWB's Hard Disk Toolkit but
|
|
Anubis (advertised to improve performance up to 35% [compared to what?]) is
|
|
beginning to be used also. I don't know if all formatting program and the
|
|
drive hardware allows to have read and write verify off but by having these
|
|
turned off you can obtain significant speed boost at the risk of less secure
|
|
data transfer. MacWorld's report warned that drives from some companys don't
|
|
let you turn on/off the verify. In the worst case, some come with verify off
|
|
and no option to toggle it back to ON.
|
|
|
|
256mb MO drives: In general these have better transfer rate (1.23MB/sec) and
|
|
a little slower access time (35ms). I feel that this capacity will soon be
|
|
the next standard. These drives are able to also read/write 128mb cartridges
|
|
and 256mb will soon be new ANSI and ISO standard. I once heard from a
|
|
saleperson at a mail order place that these are not reliable yet and he saw
|
|
many they sold came back with complaints. This may be a non-general instance
|
|
on a typical drive mechanism (seems to be MOST mechanism). Personally, I feel
|
|
128mb is accomodating enough for personal usage at home unless you are
|
|
dealing with very large data files (eg, large graphic images).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: Where can I get FTP/download SCSI documents?
|
|
ANSWER From: news@mgse.UUCP (News Administator)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last Changed: Thu Sep 24 23:31:09 CDT 1992 (New BBS Phone number)
|
|
|
|
This is a periodic posting of information about some of the archives at
|
|
ftp.cs.tulane.edu and the available files from the SCSI-BBS, including
|
|
SCSI, ESDI, IPI, and Fiber Channel documents from the standards committees.
|
|
|
|
These files are available for FTP from ftp.cs.tulane.edu in the directory
|
|
pub/scsi. Files are stored in file areas as they are found in the BBS with
|
|
each area having a file named 'files.bbs' that tells what each file is. The
|
|
file pub/scsi/index.Z list each file area, it's descriptions and it's files.
|
|
|
|
Thanks to John Lohmeyer of NCR, a majority of the SCSI related files from the
|
|
SCSI BBS are now available for anonymous ftp. These files were sent to me by
|
|
Mr. Lohmeyer at his expense so that more people would have access to them.
|
|
The SCSI BBS (719-574-0424) contains a large amount of data relating to SCSI,
|
|
and ESDI as well as SCSI-2, IPI, and Fiber Channel, as well as the last
|
|
revision of the SCSI-1 standard before it went to publication by ANSI.
|
|
|
|
Most of the files in the SCSI archive are either archived with the ZIP utility
|
|
or compressed with the 'compress' program. Most of the text files are stored
|
|
as Wordstar word processing files. PKzip for PC/MS-DOS is included in the
|
|
archive to allow users to break up the .ZIP files, and the PC/MS-DOS binaries
|
|
and .C source are also in the archive to convert the Wordstar documents to
|
|
ASCII text.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: Where can I get SCSI documents?
|
|
ANSWER From: kev@hpcpbla.bri.hp.com (Kevin Jones)
|
|
and jmatrow@donald.WichitaKS.NCR.COM (John Matrow
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
The only literature that I'm aware of is:
|
|
|
|
The SCSI specification: Available from:
|
|
|
|
Global Engineering Documents
|
|
15 Inverness Way East
|
|
Englewood Co 80112-5704
|
|
(800) 854-7179
|
|
SCSI-1: X3.131-1986
|
|
SCSI-2: X3.131-199x
|
|
SCSI-3 X3T9.2/91-010R4 Working Draft
|
|
|
|
(Global Engineering Documentation in Irvine, CA (714)261-1455??)
|
|
|
|
|
|
SCSI-1: Doc # X3.131-1986 from ANSI, 1430 Broadway, NY, NY 10018
|
|
|
|
|
|
IN-DEPTH EXPLORATION OF SCSI can be obtained from
|
|
Solution Technology, Attn: SCSI Publications, POB 104, Boulder Creek,
|
|
CA 95006, (408)338-4285, FAX (408)338-4374
|
|
|
|
THE SCSI ENCYLOPEDIA and the SCSI BENCH REFERENCE can be obtained from
|
|
ENDL Publishing, 14426 Black Walnut Ct., Saratoga, CA 95090,
|
|
(408)867-6642, FAX (408)867-2115
|
|
|
|
SCSI: UNDERSTANDING THE SMALL COMPUTER SYSTEM INTERFACE was published
|
|
by Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0-13-796855-8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: Where can I get information on various disk drives and controllers?
|
|
ANSWER: ekrieger@quasar.hacktic.nl (Eric Krieger) (Updated Nov. 29, 1993)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
Drive and Controller Guide, Version 4.3
|
|
|
|
THEREF(tm) is a comprehensive Directory of Hard Drives, Floppy Drives,
|
|
Optical Drives, and Drive Controllers & Host Adapters. It is designed to
|
|
help the novice and pro alike with integration problems and system setups.
|
|
|
|
Information is provided in two handy formats; Portrait mode, for those
|
|
who prefer a normal book-binding type print format, and(or) do not have a
|
|
printer with Landscape capability. And Landscape mode, for those who pre-
|
|
fer a computer-printout type format.
|
|
|
|
For printing, a Laserjet is preferred, but not necessary, and setup
|
|
info is provided. For viewing, LIST(tm) by Vernon Buerg, will provide an
|
|
excellent result, and allow text searches for finding specific models.
|
|
|
|
By F. Robert Falbo
|
|
|
|
|
|
The archive is available at the following sites, all members of AmiNet
|
|
(list valid in November '93):
|
|
|
|
USA (MO) ftp.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 pub/aminet/
|
|
USA (TX) ftp.etsu.edu 192.43.199.20 pub/aminet/
|
|
USA (CA) ftp.cdrom.com 192.153.46.2 pub/aminet/
|
|
Scandinavia ftp.luth.se 130.240.18.2 pub/aminet/
|
|
Germany ftp.uni-kl.de 131.246.9.95 pub/aminet/
|
|
Germany ftp.uni-erlangen.de 131.188.1.43 pub/aminet/
|
|
Germany ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de 130.149.17.7 pub/aminet/
|
|
Germany ftp.th-darmstadt.de 130.83.55.75 pub/aminet/
|
|
Germany ftp.uni-paderborn.de 131.234.2.32 pub/aminet/
|
|
Germany ftp.uni-oldenburg.de 134.106.40.9 pub/aminet/
|
|
Switzerland ftp.eunet.ch changing pub/aminet/
|
|
Switzerland litamiga.epfl.ch 128.178.151.32 pub/aminet/ (*)
|
|
UK src.doc.ic.ac.uk 146.169.2.1 pub/aminet/
|
|
Australia splat.aarnet.edu.au 192.107.107.6 pub/aminet/ (*)
|
|
(*) closed 6:30am to 4pm weekdays
|
|
|
|
|
|
The archive is present at:
|
|
|
|
pub/aminet/text/docs/TheRef43.lha [197 K]
|
|
pub/aminet/text/docs/TheRef43.readme
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: When extracting the archive on non-Amiga machines (i.e.
|
|
MS-DOS with LHA213, etc.) please use the option -a0 to disable
|
|
the preservation of the file-attributes (otherwise LHA will
|
|
skip the files inside the archive with the message "special
|
|
attributes").
|
|
|
|
|
|
The file is also on ftp.funet.fi:
|
|
|
|
pub/doc/disks/TheRef43.lha.2 [197 K]
|
|
pub/doc/disks/TheRef43.readme.2
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is the telephone number of Adaptec?
|
|
ANSWER From: jcaples@netcom.com (Jon D Caples)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
800 959 7274 tech support
|
|
800 442 7274 orders doc, new bios, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adaptec's general inquiry number, 800-959-7272, affords access
|
|
to a FAX-based information retrieval system. In order to
|
|
preserve the accuracy of this information, I won't go into details
|
|
about how to use it (since Adaptec may change things without telling
|
|
me :).
|
|
|
|
For those outside the CAN-US area, or local to Adaptec the direct
|
|
FAX info number is (408) 957-7150.
|
|
|
|
There are three general topics as of this writing:
|
|
|
|
General Information
|
|
Sales Information
|
|
Technical Information
|
|
|
|
Give it a call and request the directory! As of this writing
|
|
there are over 130 documents available. You need a touchtone phone
|
|
and the fax number. You'll also be asked for an extension number to
|
|
stamp on the FAX which will be used to identify the recipient.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is the telephone number of Archive Corporation?
|
|
ANSWER From: jdp@caleb.UUCP (Jim Pritchett)
|
|
====
|
|
Archive Corporation (800) 537 2248
|
|
Tech Support (800) 227 6296
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is the address and telephone number for Quantum?
|
|
ANSWER From: kmartine@qntm.com (Kevin Martinez)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
Quantum Corporation
|
|
500 McCarthy Blvd.
|
|
Milpitas, CA
|
|
95035
|
|
|
|
Technical Support Telephone Numbers:
|
|
|
|
800 826-8022 Main Technical Support Number
|
|
408 894-3282 Technical Support Fax
|
|
408 894-3214 Technical Support BBS V.32 8N1
|
|
408 434-9262 Technical Support for Plus Development Products
|
|
408 894-4000 Main Quantum Phone number
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is the telephone number for Seagate?
|
|
ANSWER From: landis@sugs.tware.com (Hale Landis)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
Here are the numbers for Seagate's Technical Support.
|
|
|
|
SeaBOARD - Bulletin Board System available 24 hours. Use 8 data
|
|
bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8-N-1).
|
|
|
|
USA/Canada 408-438-8771 9600 baud*
|
|
England 44-62-847-8011 9600 baud*
|
|
Germany 49-89-140-9331 2400 baud*
|
|
Singapore 65-292-6973 9600 baud*
|
|
Australia 61-2-756-2359 9600 baud*
|
|
|
|
* - Maximum baud rate supported.
|
|
|
|
SeaFAX 408-438-2620
|
|
|
|
Use a touch-tone phone to have information returned to you via
|
|
FAX. Available 24 hours.
|
|
|
|
Technical Support Fax 408-438-8137
|
|
|
|
FAX your questions or comments 24 hours. Responses are sent
|
|
between 8:00AM and 5:00PM PST Monday through Friday.
|
|
|
|
SeaFONE 408-438-8222
|
|
|
|
Provides recorded information 24 hours or talk to a technical
|
|
specialist between 8:00AM to 5:00PM PST Monday through Friday.
|
|
|
|
SeaTDD 408-438-5382
|
|
|
|
Using a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, you can send
|
|
questions or comments 24 hours or have a dialog with a
|
|
technical support specialist between 8:00AM and 5:00PM PST
|
|
Monday through Friday.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is the telephone number and address of Conner Peripherals?
|
|
ANSWER From: ekrieger@quasar.hacktic.nl (Eric Krieger)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
CONNER PERIPHERALS, Incorporated WATTS LINE:
|
|
3081 Zanker Road PAY LINE: (408)456-4500
|
|
San Jose CA 95134 FAX LINE:
|
|
BBS LINE: (408)456-4415 (V.32)
|
|
CONNER (408)456-3200
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is the number for NCR?
|
|
ANSWER From: gkendall@ncr-mpd.FtCollinsCO.NCR.COM (Guy Kendall)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
For data manuals for any NCR chips, please call 800-334-5454 or
|
|
719-630-3384.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is the address and telephone number of UltraStor?
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
UltraStor Corporation
|
|
47061 Warm Springs Blvd.
|
|
Fremont, CA 94539
|
|
|
|
General (714)581-4100
|
|
Tech. Support (510)623-8955
|
|
FAX (510)623-8953
|
|
BBS (510)623-9091
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is the address and telephone number of WANGTEK?
|
|
ANSWER From: "Terry Kennedy, Operations Mgr" <uunet!spcvxa.spc.edu!TERRY>
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
Wangtek can be reached at:
|
|
|
|
WANGTEK Incorporated
|
|
41 Moreland Road
|
|
Simi Valley, CA 93065
|
|
(805) 583-5255 [voice]
|
|
(805) 583-8249 [FAX]
|
|
(805) 582-3370 [BBS]
|
|
|
|
WANGTEK-Europe
|
|
Unit 1A, Apollo House
|
|
Calleva Industrial Park
|
|
Aldermaston, Reading
|
|
RG7 4QW England
|
|
(44) 734-811463 [voice]
|
|
(44) 734-816076 [FAX]
|
|
851-848135 [telex]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is the address and telephone number of Western Digital?
|
|
ANSWER From: uunet!whale.st.usm.edu!rniess (Rick Niess)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
1-714-753-1068 Western Digital
|
|
1-714-756-8176 Western Digital
|
|
1-714-753-1234 Western Digital
|
|
1200/2400 baud: 714-753-1234
|
|
9600 baud (Hayes): 714-753-1068
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: what is FAST SCSI?
|
|
ANSWER From: kev@hpcpbla.bri.hp.com (Kevin Jones)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
There are 2 handshaking modes on the SCSI bus, used for transferring data:
|
|
ASYNCHRONOUS and SYNCHRONOUS. ASYNCHRONOUS is a classic Req/Ack handshake.
|
|
SYNCHRONOUS is "sort of" Req/Ack, only it allows you to issue multiple
|
|
Req's before receiving Ack's. What this means in practice is that
|
|
SYNCHRONOUS transfers are approx 3 times faster than ASYNCHRONOUS.
|
|
|
|
SCSI1 allowed asynchronous transfers at up to 1.5 Mbytes/Sec and
|
|
synchronous transfers at up to 5.0 Mbytes/Sec.
|
|
|
|
SCSI2 had some of the timing margins "shaved" in order that faster handshaking
|
|
could occur. The result is that asynchronous transfers can run at up to
|
|
3.0 Mbytes/Sec and synchronous transfers at up to 10.0 Mbytes/Sec.
|
|
The term "FAST" is generally applied to a SCSI device which can do
|
|
syncrhonous transfers at speeds in excess of 5.0 Mbytes/Sec. This term can
|
|
only be applied to SCSI2 devices since SCSI1 didn't have the timing margins
|
|
that allow for FAST transfers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: SCSI terminators should measure 136 ohms?
|
|
ANSWER From: stevel@coos.dartmouth.edu (Steve Ligett)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
Yes, that is what you should measure. Let's see how that is so. The
|
|
terminator contains 18 220-ohm resistors from signals to termpower, and
|
|
18 330-ohm resistors from those signals to ground. I've drawn that
|
|
below:
|
|
|
|
termpower--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
220 ohms-> R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
signals -> o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
330 ohms-> R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
ground --+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
|
|
|
|
When you measure from any one signal to termpower, you aren't measuring
|
|
that resistor in isolation, you are measuring that resistor IN PARALLEL
|
|
with the combination of the corresponding 330 ohm resistor plus 17
|
|
220+330 ohm resistor pairs in series. I've redrawn the schematic to
|
|
make this easier to see:
|
|
|
|
termpower--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
| R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R <- 220 ohms
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
| o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
| R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R <- 330 ohms
|
|
220 ohms R | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
| +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-- ground
|
|
| |
|
|
| R <-- 330 ohms
|
|
| /
|
|
signal -> o-/
|
|
|
|
<our resistor><--------- other stuff that's in parallel ---------->
|
|
|
|
We're trying to measure that one resistor from a signal to termpower,
|
|
but there's a ton of other stuff in parallel. The resistance of that
|
|
"stuff" is 330 + 550/17 ohms (the 330 ohm resistor, in series with a
|
|
parallel combination of 17 550 ohm resistors). The general formula for
|
|
the equivalent of two resistances in parallel is r1*r2/(r1+r2).
|
|
Whipping out my trusty spreadsheet, I find that the "stuff" has a
|
|
resistance of about 362 ohms, and that in parallel with 220 ohms is
|
|
about 137 ohms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: Can someone explain to me the difference between 'normal' scsi
|
|
and differential scsi?
|
|
ANSWER From: ralf@wpi.WPI.EDU (Ralph Valentino)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
"Normal" SCSI is also called "Single-ended" SCSI. For each signal
|
|
that needs to be sent across the bus, there exists a wire to carry it.
|
|
With differential SCSI, for each signal that needs to be sent across
|
|
the bus, there exists a pair of wires to carry it. The first in this
|
|
pair carries the same type of signal the single-ended SCSI carries.
|
|
The second in this pair, however, carries its logical inversion. The
|
|
receiver takes the difference of the pair (thus the name
|
|
differential), which makes it less susceptible to noise and allows for
|
|
greater cable length.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What are the pinouts for differential SCSI?
|
|
ANSWER From: ralf@wpi.WPI.EDU (Ralph Valentino)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
Differential SCSI Connector Pinouts
|
|
|
|
_____________________________________ _____________________________________
|
|
| SCSI | | MINI | | | SCSI | | MINI | |
|
|
| SIGNAL| DD-50P | MICRO | DD-50SA | | SIGNAL| DD-50P | MICRO | DD-50SA |
|
|
------------------------------------ -------------------------------------
|
|
| -GND | 2 | 26 | 34 | | (open)| 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
|
| -DB(0)| 4 | 27 | 2 | | +DB(0)| 3 | 2 | 18 |
|
|
| -DB(1)| 6 | 28 | 19 | | +DB(1)| 5 | 3 | 35 |
|
|
| -DB(2)| 8 | 29 | 36 | | +DB(2)| 7 | 4 | 3 |
|
|
| -DB(3)| 10 | 30 | 4 | | +DB(3)| 9 | 5 | 20 |
|
|
| -DB(4)| 12 | 31 | 21 | | +DB(4)| 11 | 6 | 37 |
|
|
| -DB(5)| 14 | 32 | 38 | | +DB(5)| 13 | 7 | 5 |
|
|
| -DB(6)| 16 | 33 | 6 | | +DB(6)| 15 | 8 | 22 |
|
|
| -DB(7)| 18 | 34 | 23 | | +DB(7)| 17 | 9 | 39 |
|
|
| -DB(P)| 20 | 35 | 40 | | +DB(P)| 19 | 10 | 7 |
|
|
| GND | 22 | 36 | 8 | |DIFSENS| 21 | 11 | 24 |
|
|
| GND | 24 | 37 | 25 | | GND | 23 | 12 | 41 |
|
|
|TERMPWR| 26 | 38 | 42 | |TERMPWR| 25 | 13 | 9 |
|
|
| GND | 28 | 39 | 10 | | GND | 27 | 14 | 26 |
|
|
| -ATN | 30 | 40 | 27 | | +ATN | 29 | 15 | 43 |
|
|
| GND | 32 | 41 | 44 | | GND | 31 | 16 | 11 |
|
|
| -BSY | 34 | 42 | 12 | | +BSY | 33 | 17 | 28 |
|
|
| -ACK | 36 | 43 | 29 | | +ACK | 35 | 18 | 45 |
|
|
| -RST | 38 | 44 | 46 | | +RST | 37 | 19 | 13 |
|
|
| -MSG | 40 | 45 | 14 | | +MSG | 39 | 20 | 30 |
|
|
| -SEL | 42 | 46 | 31 | | +SEL | 41 | 21 | 47 |
|
|
| -C/D | 44 | 47 | 48 | | +C/D | 43 | 22 | 15 |
|
|
| -REQ | 46 | 48 | 16 | | +REQ | 45 | 23 | 32 |
|
|
| -I/O | 48 | 49 | 33 | | +I/O | 47 | 24 | 49 |
|
|
| GND | 50 | 50 | 50 | | GND | 49 | 25 | 17 |
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Please note that I can only verify the DD-50P connector. The Mini
|
|
Micro and DD-50SA pinout above is a pin for pin mapping from the SCSI
|
|
pinout in the FAQ.
|
|
|
|
How to tell if you have a single ended or differential drive:
|
|
- Use an ohm meter to check the resistance between pins 21 & 22.
|
|
On a single ended system, they should both be tied together
|
|
and tied to GND. On the differential drive, they should
|
|
be open or have a significant resistance between them. Note
|
|
that most drives today are single ended so you usually only
|
|
have to worry about this with old drives scavenged from
|
|
other systems.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What are the pinouts for SCSI connectors?
|
|
ANSWER From: snively@scsi.Eng.Sun.COM (Bob Snively)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
Originally dated May 23, 1990
|
|
|
|
The connector families described by the drawings have standard
|
|
pin numberings which are described the same way by all vendors
|
|
that I have encountered. The SCSI-2 specification identifies the
|
|
standard numbering, using that convention. It happened to be
|
|
documented by AMP, but all the vendors use the same convention.
|
|
|
|
The following diagrams have the outline drawings of connector
|
|
sockets at the bottom. This is really for reference only, because
|
|
the connector sockets and plugs are both specified as to their
|
|
numbering and usually are labeled.
|
|
|
|
There are some minor problems in naming the microconnector conductor
|
|
pairs, which I have corrected in the enclosed diagram. All the conductor
|
|
pairs of the Mini-Micro (High Density) connector are in fact passed
|
|
through on the cables. SCSI-2 defines the RSR (Reserved) lines as
|
|
maybe ground or maybe open, but they are still passed through the cable.
|
|
Most present standard SCSI devices will ground those lines.
|
|
|
|
-------------------- microSCSI to SCSI Diagram ---------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
SCSI Connector Pinouts
|
|
|
|
_____________________________________ _____________________________________
|
|
| SCSI | | MINI | | | SCSI | | MINI | |
|
|
| SIGNAL| DD-50P | MICRO | DD-50SA | | SIGNAL| DD-50P | MICRO | DD-50SA |
|
|
------------------------------------ -------------------------------------
|
|
| -DB(0)| 2 | 26 | 34 | | GND | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
|
| -DB(1)| 4 | 27 | 2 | | GND | 3 | 2 | 18 |
|
|
| -DB(2)| 6 | 28 | 19 | | GND | 5 | 3 | 35 |
|
|
| -DB(3)| 8 | 29 | 36 | | GND | 7 | 4 | 3 |
|
|
| -DB(4)| 10 | 30 | 4 | | GND | 9 | 5 | 20 |
|
|
| -DB(5)| 12 | 31 | 21 | | GND | 11 | 6 | 37 |
|
|
| -DB(6)| 14 | 32 | 38 | | GND | 13 | 7 | 5 |
|
|
| -DB(7)| 16 | 33 | 6 | | GND | 15 | 8 | 22 |
|
|
| -DB(P)| 18 | 34 | 23 | | GND | 17 | 9 | 39 |
|
|
| GND | 20 | 35 | 40 | | GND | 19 | 10 | 7 |
|
|
| GND | 22 | 36 | 8 | | GND | 21 | 11 | 24 |
|
|
| RSR | 24 | 37 | 25 | | RSR | 23 | 12 | 41 |
|
|
|TERMPWR| 26 | 38 | 42 | | OPEN | 25 | 13 | 9 |
|
|
| RSR | 28 | 39 | 10 | | RSR | 27 | 14 | 26 |
|
|
| GND | 30 | 40 | 27 | | GND | 29 | 15 | 43 |
|
|
| -ATN | 32 | 41 | 44 | | GND | 31 | 16 | 11 |
|
|
| GND | 34 | 42 | 12 | | GND | 33 | 17 | 28 |
|
|
| BSY | 36 | 43 | 29 | | GND | 35 | 18 | 45 |
|
|
| -ACK | 38 | 44 | 46 | | GND | 37 | 19 | 13 |
|
|
| -RST | 40 | 45 | 14 | | GND | 39 | 20 | 30 |
|
|
| -MSG | 42 | 46 | 31 | | GND | 41 | 21 | 47 |
|
|
| -SEL | 44 | 47 | 48 | | GND | 43 | 22 | 15 |
|
|
| -C/D | 46 | 48 | 16 | | GND | 45 | 23 | 32 |
|
|
| -REQ | 48 | 49 | 33 | | GND | 47 | 24 | 49 |
|
|
| -I/O | 50 | 50 | 50 | | GND | 49 | 25 | 17 |
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
* NC = NOT CONNECTED
|
|
|
|
CONNECTOR TYPES:
|
|
DD-50SA
|
|
________________________ MINI-MICRO
|
|
DD-50P | ------------------- | _____________________
|
|
______________ |17 \o o o o o o o o o/1 | | _________________ |
|
|
49| o o o o o o |1 | 33 \ o o o o o o o /18 | |25\ o o o o o o o /1|
|
|
50| o o o o o o |2 | 50 \o o o o o o o/ 34 | | 50\o o o o o o o/26|
|
|
--------------- | ------------- | | -------------- |
|
|
-------------------------- ----------------------
|
|
|
|
(VIEWED FROM FACE OF CONNECTOR - USE VENDOR NUMBERING SYSTEM AS SPECIFIED)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
--
|
|
--/* Gary A. Field - WA1GRC, Wang Labs M/S 019-72B, 1 Industrial Ave
|
|
Lowell, MA 01851-5161, (508) 967-2514, email: garyf@wiis.wang.com, EST5EDT
|
|
A waist is a terrible thing to mind! */
|
|
|
|
|
|
From ra!darwin.sura.net!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!das.wang.com!wang!garyf Fri Dec 3 10:21:52 EST 1993
|
|
Article: 17194 of comp.periphs.scsi
|
|
Xref: ra comp.periphs.scsi:17194 comp.answers:2837 news.answers:103464
|
|
Newsgroups: comp.periphs.scsi,comp.answers,news.answers
|
|
Path: ra!darwin.sura.net!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!das.wang.com!wang!garyf
|
|
From: garyf@wang.com (Gary Field)
|
|
Subject: comp.periphs.scsi FAQ (Volume II)
|
|
Version: %W%
|
|
Expires: Sat, 1 Jan 1994 05:00:03 GMT
|
|
Last-Modified: %G%
|
|
Reply-To: garyf@wiis.wang.com (Gary Field)
|
|
Archive-Name: scsi-faq
|
|
Organization: Wang Labs, Lowell MA, USA
|
|
Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1993 16:02:03 GMT
|
|
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
|
|
Message-ID: <CHF0JF.AsM@wang.com>
|
|
Followup-To: comp.periphs.scsi
|
|
Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked
|
|
Questions (and their answers) about SCSI. It
|
|
should be read by anyone who wishes to post to the
|
|
comp.periphs.scsi newsgroup.
|
|
Sender: news@wang.com
|
|
Nntp-Posting-Host: gfield.wiis.wang.com
|
|
Lines: 963
|
|
|
|
SCSI FAQ:
|
|
Frequently Asked Questions for comp.periphs.scsi
|
|
|
|
VOLUME II
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: what is the difference between SCSI-1 and SCSI-2?
|
|
ANSWER From Dal Allen:
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
SCSI-1_versus_SCSI-2
|
|
|
|
In 1985, when the first SCSI standard was being finalized as an American
|
|
National Standard, the X3T9.2 Task Group was approached by a group of
|
|
manufacturers. The group wanted to increase the mandatory requirements of
|
|
SCSI and to define further features for direct-access devices. Rather than
|
|
delay the SCSI standard, X3T9.2 formed an ad hoc group to develop a working
|
|
paper that was eventually called the Common Command Set (CCS). Many products
|
|
were designed to this working paper.
|
|
|
|
In parallel with the development of the CCS working paper, X3T9.2 sought
|
|
permission to begin working on an enhanced SCSI standard, to be called SCSI-2.
|
|
SCSI-2 would include the results of the CCS working paper, caching commands,
|
|
performance enhancement features, and whatever else X3T9.2 deemed worthwhile.
|
|
While SCSI-2 was to go beyond the original SCSI standard (now referred to as
|
|
SCSI-1), it was to retain a high degree of compatibility with SCSI-1 devices.
|
|
|
|
How is SCSI-2 different from SCSI-1?
|
|
|
|
1. Several options were removed from SCSI-1:
|
|
|
|
a. Single initiator option was removed.
|
|
b. Non-arbitrating Systems option was removed.
|
|
c. Non-extended sense data option was removed.
|
|
d. Reservation queuing option was removed.
|
|
e. The read-only device command set was replaced by the CD-ROM command
|
|
set.
|
|
f. The alternative 1 shielded connector was dropped.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2. There are several new low-level requirements in SCSI-2:
|
|
|
|
a. Parity must be implemented.
|
|
b. Initiators must provide TERMPWR -- Targets may provide TERMPWR.
|
|
c. The arbitration delay was extended to 2.4 us from 2.2 us.
|
|
d. Message support is now required.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3. Many options significantly enhancing SCSI were added:
|
|
|
|
a. Wide SCSI (up to 32 bits wide using a second cable)
|
|
b. Fast SCSI (synchronous data transfers of up to 10 Mega-transfers per
|
|
second -- up to 40 MegaBytes per second when combined with wide SCSI)
|
|
c. Command queuing (up to 256 commands per initiator on each logical unit)
|
|
d. High-density connector alternatives were added for both shielded and
|
|
non- shielded connectors.
|
|
e. Improved termination for single-ended buses (Alternative 2)
|
|
f. Asynchronous event notification
|
|
g. Extended contingent allegiance
|
|
h. Terminate I/O Process messaging for time- critical process termination
|
|
|
|
4. New command sets were added to SCSI-2 including:
|
|
|
|
a. CD-ROM (replaces read-only devices)
|
|
b. Scanner devices
|
|
c. Optical memory devices (provides for write-once, read-only, and
|
|
erasable media)
|
|
d. Medium changer devices
|
|
e. Communications devices
|
|
|
|
|
|
5. All command sets were enhanced:
|
|
|
|
a. Device Models were added
|
|
b. Extended sense was expanded to add:
|
|
+ Additional sense codes
|
|
+ Additional sense code qualifiers
|
|
+ Field replaceable unit code
|
|
+ Sense key specific bytes
|
|
|
|
c. INQUIRY DATA was expanded to add:
|
|
+ An implemented options byte
|
|
+ Vendor identification field
|
|
+ Product identification field
|
|
+ Product revision level field
|
|
+ Vital product data (more extensive product reporting)
|
|
|
|
d. The MODE SELECT and MODE SENSE commands were paged for all device types
|
|
e. The following commands were added for all device types:
|
|
|
|
+ CHANGE DEFINITION
|
|
+ LOG SELECT
|
|
+ LOG SENSE
|
|
+ READ BUFFER
|
|
+ WRITE BUFFER
|
|
|
|
f. The COPY command definition was expanded to include information on how
|
|
to handle inexact block sizes and to include an image copy option.
|
|
g. The direct-access device command set was enhanced as follows:
|
|
|
|
+ The FORMAT UNIT command provides more control over defect management
|
|
+ Cache management was added:
|
|
- LOCK/UNLOCK CACHE command
|
|
- PREFETCH command
|
|
- SYNCHRONIZE CACHE command
|
|
- Force unit access bit
|
|
- Disable page out bit
|
|
|
|
+ Several new commands were added:
|
|
- READ DEFECT DATA
|
|
- READ LONG
|
|
- WRITE LONG
|
|
- WRITE SAME
|
|
|
|
+ The sequential-access device command set was enhanced as follows:
|
|
|
|
- Partitioned media concept was added:
|
|
* LOCATE command
|
|
* READ POSITION command
|
|
|
|
- Several mode pages were added
|
|
- Buffered mode 2 was added
|
|
- An immediate bit was added to the WRITE FILEMARKS command
|
|
|
|
+ The printer device command set was enhanced as follows:
|
|
- Several mode pages defined:
|
|
* Disconnect/reconnect
|
|
* Parallel printer
|
|
* Serial printer
|
|
* Printer options
|
|
|
|
+ The write-once (optical) device command set was enhanced by:
|
|
- Several new commands were added:
|
|
* MEDIUM SCAN
|
|
* READ UPDATED BLOCK
|
|
* UPDATE BLOCK
|
|
|
|
- Twelve-byte command descriptor blocks were defined for several
|
|
commands to accommodate larger transfer lengths.
|
|
|
|
=============================================================================
|
|
|
|
The following article was written by Dal Allan of ENDL in April 1990. It
|
|
was published nine months later in the January 1991 issue of "Computer
|
|
Technology Review". While it appeared in the Tape Storage Technology
|
|
Section of CTR, the article is general in nature and tape-specific. In
|
|
spite of the less than timely publication, most of the information is still
|
|
valid.
|
|
|
|
It is reprinted here with the permission of the author. If you copy this
|
|
article, please include this notice giving "Computer Technology Review"
|
|
credit for first publication.
|
|
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
What's New in SCSI-2
|
|
|
|
Scuzzy is the pronunciation and SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) is
|
|
the acronym, for the best known and most widely used ANSI (American National
|
|
Standards Institute) interface.
|
|
|
|
Despite use of the term "Small" in its name, everyone has to agree that
|
|
Scuzzy is large - in use, in market impact, in influence, and unfortunately,
|
|
in documentation. The standards effort that began with a 20-page
|
|
specification in 1980 has grown to a 600 page extravaganza of technical
|
|
information.
|
|
|
|
Even before ANSI (American National Standards Institute) published the first
|
|
run of SCSI as standards document in 1986, ASC (Accredited Standards
|
|
Committee) X3T9.2 was hard at work on SCSI-2.
|
|
|
|
No technical rationale can be offered as to why SCSI-1 ended and SCSI-2
|
|
began, or as to why SCSI-2 ended and SCSI-3 began. The justification is much
|
|
more simple - you have to stop sometime and get a standard printed. Popular
|
|
interfaces never stop evolving, adapting, and expanding to meet more uses
|
|
than originally envisaged.
|
|
|
|
Interfaces even live far beyond their technological lifespan. SMD (Storage
|
|
Module Drive) has been called technically obsolete for 5 years but every
|
|
year there are more megabytes shipped on the SMD interface than the year
|
|
before. This will probably continue for another year or so before the high
|
|
point is reached, and it will at least a decade before SMD is considered to
|
|
be insignificant.
|
|
|
|
If SCSI enhancements are cut off at an arbitrary point, what initiates the
|
|
decision? Impatience is as good an answer as any. The committee and the
|
|
market get sick of promises that the revision process will "end soon," and
|
|
assert pressure to "do it now."
|
|
|
|
The SCSI-3 effort is actively under way right now, and the workload of the
|
|
committee seems to be no less than it was a year ago. What is pleasant, is
|
|
that the political pressures have eased.
|
|
|
|
There is a major difference between the standards for SCSI in 1986 and SCSI-
|
|
2 in 1990. The stated goal of compatibility between manufacturers had not
|
|
been achieved in SCSI in 1986 due to a proliferation of undocumented
|
|
"features."
|
|
|
|
Each implementation was different enough that new software drivers had to be
|
|
written for each device. OEMs defined variations in hardware that required
|
|
custom development programs and unique microcode. Out of this diversity
|
|
arose a cry for commonality that turned into CCS (Common Command Set), and
|
|
became so popular that it took on an identity of its own.
|
|
|
|
CCS defined the data structures of Mode Select and Mode Sense commands,
|
|
defect management on the Format command and error recovery procedures. CCS
|
|
succeeded because the goals were limited, the objectives clear and the time
|
|
was right.
|
|
|
|
CCS was the beginning of SCSI-2, but it was only for disks. Tape and optical
|
|
disks suffered from diversity, and so it was that the first working group
|
|
efforts on SCSI-2 were focused on tapes and optical disks. However, opening
|
|
up a new standards effort is like lifting the lid on Pandora's Box - its
|
|
hard to stay focused on a single task. SCSI-2 went far beyond extending and
|
|
consolidating CCS for multiple device types.
|
|
|
|
SCSI-2 represents three years of creative thought by some of the best minds
|
|
in the business. Many of the new features will be useful only in advanced
|
|
systems; a few will find their way into the average user's system. Some may
|
|
never appear in any useful form and will atrophy, as did some original SCSI
|
|
features like Extended Identify.
|
|
|
|
Before beginning coverage of "what's new in SCSI-2," it might be well to
|
|
list some of the things that aren't new. The silicon chips designed for SCSI
|
|
are still usable. No new features were introduced which obsolete chips. The
|
|
cause of silicon obsolescence has been rapid market shifts in integrating
|
|
functions to provide higher performance.
|
|
|
|
Similarly, initiators which were designed properly, according to SCSI in
|
|
1986, will successfully support SCSI-2 peripherals. However, it should be
|
|
pointed out that not all the initiators sold over the last few years behaved
|
|
according to the standard, and they can be "blown away "by SCSI-2 targets.
|
|
|
|
The 1986 standard allows either initiators or targets to begin negotiation
|
|
for synchronous transfers, and requires that both initiators and targets
|
|
properly handle the sequence. A surprisingly large percentage of SCSI
|
|
initiators will fail if the target begins negotiation. This has not been as
|
|
much of a problem to date as it will become in the future, and you know as
|
|
well as I do, that these non-compliant initiators are going to blame the
|
|
SCSI-2 targets for being "incompatible."
|
|
|
|
Quirks in the 1986 standard, like 4 bytes being transferred on Request
|
|
Sense, even if the requested length was zero have been corrected in SCSI-2.
|
|
Initiators which relied on this quirk instead of requesting 4 bytes will get
|
|
into trouble with a SCSI-2 target.
|
|
|
|
A sincere effort has been made to ensure that a 1986-compliant initiator
|
|
does not fail or have problems with a SCSI-2 target. If problems occur, look
|
|
for a non-compliant initiator before you blame the SCSI-2 standard.
|
|
|
|
After that little lecture, let us turn to the features you will find in
|
|
SCSI-2 which include:
|
|
|
|
o Wide SCSI: SCSI may now transfer data at bus widths of 16 and 32 bits.
|
|
Commands, status, messages and arbitration are still 8 bits, and the B-Cable
|
|
has 68 pins for data bits. Cabling was a confusing issue in the closing days
|
|
of SCSI-2, because the first project of SCSI-3 was the definition of a 16-
|
|
bit wide P-Cable which supported 16-bit arbitration as well as 16-bit data
|
|
transfers. Although SCSI-2 does not contain a definition of the P-Cable, it
|
|
is quite possible that within the year, the P-Cable will be most popular
|
|
non-SCSI-2 feature on SCSI-2 products. The market responds to what it wants,
|
|
not the the arbitrary cutoffs of standards committees.
|
|
|
|
o Fast SCSI: A 10 MHz transfer rate for SCSI came out of a joint effort
|
|
with the IPI (Intelligent Peripheral Interface) committee in ASC X3T9.3.
|
|
Fast SCSI achieves 10 Megabytes/second on the A-Cable and with wider data
|
|
paths of 16- and 32-bits can rise to 20 Megabytes/second and even 40
|
|
Megabytes/second. However, by the time the market starts demanding 40
|
|
Megabytes/second it is likely that the effort to serialize the physical
|
|
interface for SCSI-3 will attract high-performance SCSI users to the Fiber
|
|
Channel.
|
|
|
|
A word of caution. At this time the fast parameters cannot be met by the
|
|
Single Ended electrical class, and is only suitable for Differential. One of
|
|
the goals in SCSI-3 is to identify the improvements needed to achieve 10 MHz
|
|
operation with Single Ended components.
|
|
|
|
o Termination: The Single Ended electrical class depends on very tight
|
|
termination tolerances, but the passive 132 ohm termination defined in 1986
|
|
is mismatched with the cable impedance (typically below 100 ohms). Although
|
|
not a problem at low speeds when only a few devices are connected,
|
|
reflections can cause errors when transfer rates increase and/or more
|
|
devices are added. In SCSI-2, an active terminator has been defined which
|
|
lowers termination to 110 ohms and is a major boost to system integrity.
|
|
|
|
o Bus Arbitration, Parity and the Identify Message were options of SCSI,
|
|
but are required in SCSI-2. All but the earliest and most primitive SCSI
|
|
implementations had these features anyway, so SCSI-2 only legitimizes the de
|
|
facto market choices. The Identify message has been enhanced to allow the
|
|
target to execute processes, so that commands can be issued to the target
|
|
and not just the LUNs.
|
|
|
|
o Connectors: The tab and receptacle microconnectors chosen for SCSI-2 are
|
|
available from several sources. A smaller connector was seen as essential
|
|
for the shrinking form factor of disk drives and other peripherals. This
|
|
selection was one of the most argued over and contentious decisions made
|
|
during SCSI-2 development.
|
|
|
|
o Rotational Position Locking: A rose by any other name, this feature
|
|
defines synchronized spindles, so than an initiator can manage disk targets
|
|
which have their spindles locked in a known relative position to each other.
|
|
Synchronized disks do not all have to be at Index, they can be set to an
|
|
offset in time relative to the master drive. By arraying banks of
|
|
synchronized disks, faster transfer rates can be achieved.
|
|
|
|
o Contingent Allegiance: This existed in SCSI-1, even though it was not
|
|
defined, and is required to prevent the corruption of error sense data.
|
|
Targets in the Contingent Allegiance state reject all commands from other
|
|
initiators until the error status is cleared by the initiator that received
|
|
the Check Condition when the error occurred.
|
|
|
|
Deferred errors were a problem in the original SCSI but were not described.
|
|
A deferred error occurs in buffered systems when the target advises Good
|
|
Status when it accepts written data into a buffer. Some time later, if
|
|
anything goes wrong when the buffer contents are being written to the media,
|
|
you have a deferred error.
|
|
|
|
o Extended Contingent Allegiance (ECA): This extends the utility of the
|
|
Contingent Allegiance state for an indefinite period during which the
|
|
initiator that received the error can perform advanced recovery algorithms.
|
|
|
|
o Asynchronous Event Notification (AEN): This function compensates for a
|
|
deficiency in the original SCSI which did not permit a target to advise the
|
|
initiator of asynchronous events such as a cartridge being loaded into a
|
|
tape drive.
|
|
|
|
o Mandatory Messages: The list of mandated messages has grown:
|
|
|
|
+----------------------+--------------------------+-------------------+
|
|
| Both | Target | Initiator |
|
|
+----------------------+--------------------------+-------------------|
|
|
| Identify | Abort | Disconnect |
|
|
| | | |
|
|
| Message Reject | No Operation | Restore Pointer |
|
|
| | | |
|
|
| Message Parity Error | Bus Device Reset | Save Data Pointer |
|
|
| | | |
|
|
| | Initiator Detected Error | |
|
|
+----------------------+--------------------------+-------------------+
|
|
|
|
o Optional messages have been added to negotiate wide transfers and Tags to
|
|
support command queueing. A last-minute inclusion in SCSI-2 was the ability
|
|
to Terminate I/O and receive the residue information in Check Condition
|
|
status (so that only the incomplete part of the command need be re-started
|
|
by the initiator).
|
|
|
|
o Command Queueing: In SCSI-1, initiators were limited to one command per
|
|
LUN e.g. a disk drive. Now up to 256 commands can be outstanding to one LUN.
|
|
The target is allowed to re-sequence the order of command execution to
|
|
optimize seek motions. Queued commands require Tag messages which follow the
|
|
Identify.
|
|
|
|
o Disk Cacheing: Two control bits are used in the CDB (Command Descriptor
|
|
Block) to control whether the cache is accessed on a Read or Write command,
|
|
and some commands have been added to control pre-fetching and locking of
|
|
data into the cache. Users do not have to change their software to take
|
|
advantage of cacheing, however, as the Mode Select/Mode Sense Cache page
|
|
allows parameters to be set which optimize the algorithms used in the target
|
|
to maximize cache performance. Here is another area in which improvements
|
|
have already been proposed in SCSI-3, and will turn up in SCSI-2 products
|
|
shipping later this year.
|
|
|
|
o Sense Keys and Sense Codes have been formalized and extended. A subscript
|
|
byte to the Sense Code has been added to provide specifics on the type of
|
|
error being reported. Although of little value to error recovery, the
|
|
additional information about error causes is useful to the engineer who has
|
|
to analyze failures in the field, and can be used by host systems as input
|
|
to prognostic analysis to anticipate fault conditions.
|
|
|
|
o Commands: Many old commands have been reworked and several new commands
|
|
have been added.
|
|
|
|
o Pages: Some method had to be found to pass parameters between host and
|
|
target, and the technique used is known as pages. The concept was introduced
|
|
in CCS and has been expanded mightily in SCSI-2.
|
|
|
|
A number of new Common Commands have been added, and the opcode space for
|
|
10-byte CDBs has been doubled.
|
|
|
|
o Change Definition allows a SCSI-2 initiator to instruct a SCSI-2 target
|
|
to stop executing according to the 1986 standard, and provide advanced SCSI-
|
|
2 features. Most SCSI-2 targets will power on and operate according to the
|
|
1986 standard (so that there is no risk of "disturbing" the installed
|
|
initiators, and will only begin operating in SCSI-2 mode, offering access to
|
|
the advanced SCSI-2 capabilities, after being instructed to do so by the
|
|
initiator using the Change Definition command.
|
|
|
|
o The Mode Select and Mode Sense pages which describe parameters for
|
|
operation have been greatly expanded, from practically nothing in 1986 to
|
|
hundreds of items in SCSI-2. Whenever you hear of something being described
|
|
as powerful and flexible tool, think complicated. Integrators are advised to
|
|
be judicious in their selection of the pages they decide to support.
|
|
|
|
o the Inquiry command now provides all sorts of interesting data about the
|
|
target and its LUNs. Some of this is fixed by the standard, but the main
|
|
benefit may be in the Vendor Unique data segregated into the special
|
|
designation of Vital Product Data, which can be used by integrators as a
|
|
tool to manage the system environment.
|
|
|
|
o Select Log and Sense Log have been added so that the initiator can gather
|
|
both historical (e.g. all Check Conditions) and statistical (e.g. number of
|
|
soft errors requiring ECC) data from the target.
|
|
|
|
o Diagnostic capabilities have been extended on the Read/Write Buffer and
|
|
Read/Write Long commands. The ways in which the target can manage bad blocks
|
|
in the user data space have been defined further and regulated to reduce
|
|
inconsistencies in the 1986 standard. A companion capability to Read Defect
|
|
Data permits the initiator to use a standard method to be advised of drive
|
|
defect lists.
|
|
|
|
o A new group of 12-byte command blocks has been defined for all optical
|
|
devices to support the large volume sizes and potentially large transfer
|
|
lengths. The Erase command has been added for rewritable optical disks so
|
|
that areas on the media can be pre-erased for subsequent recording. Write
|
|
Once disks need Media Scan, so that the user can find blank areas on the
|
|
media.
|
|
|
|
o New command sets have been added for Scanners, Medium Changers, and CD
|
|
ROMs.
|
|
|
|
All of this technical detail can get boring, so how about some "goodies" in
|
|
SCSI-2 which benefit the common man and help the struggling engineer? First,
|
|
and probably the best feature in SCSI-2 is that the document has been
|
|
alphabetized. No longer do you have to embark on a hunt for the Read command
|
|
because you cannot remember the opcode.
|
|
|
|
In the 1986 standard, everything was in numeric sequence, and the only
|
|
engineers who could find things easily were the microprogrammers who had
|
|
memorized all the message and opcode tables. Now, ordinary people can find
|
|
the Read command because it is in alphabetic sequence. This reorganization
|
|
may sound like a small matter but it wasn't, it required a considerable
|
|
amount of effort on the part of the SCSI-2 editors. It was well worth it.
|
|
|
|
Another boon is the introduction for each device class of models which
|
|
describe the device class characteristics. The tape model was the most
|
|
needed, because various tape devices use the same acronym but with different
|
|
meanings or different acronyms for the same meaning.
|
|
|
|
The SCSI-2 tape model defines the terms used by SCSI-2, and how they
|
|
correspond to the acronyms of the different tapes. For example, on a 9-track
|
|
reel, End of Tape is a warning, and there is sufficient media beyond the
|
|
reflective spot to record more data and a trailer. Not so on a 1/4" tape
|
|
cartridge, End of Tape means out of media and no more data can be written.
|
|
This sort of difference in terms causes nightmares for standardization
|
|
efforts.
|
|
|
|
So there it is, a summary of what is in SCSI-2. Its not scary, although it
|
|
is daunting to imagine plowing through a 600-page document. Time for a
|
|
commercial here. The "SCSI Bench Reference" available from ENDL Publications
|
|
(408-867-6642), is a compaction of the standard. It takes the 10% of SCSI-2
|
|
which is constantly referenced by any implementor, and puts it in an easy-
|
|
to-use reference format in a small handbook. The author is Jeff Stai, one of
|
|
the earliest engineers to become involved with SCSI implementation, and a
|
|
significant contributor to the development of both the 1986 standard and
|
|
SCSI-2.
|
|
|
|
SCSI-2 is not yet published as a standard, but it will be available later
|
|
this year. Until then, the latest revision can be purchased from Global
|
|
Engineering (800-854-7179).
|
|
|
|
Biography
|
|
|
|
Consultant and analyst I. Dal Allan is the founder of ENDL and publisher of
|
|
the ENDL Letter and the "SCSI Bench Reference." A pioneer and activist in
|
|
the development and use of standard interfaces, he is Vice Chairman of ASC
|
|
X3T9.2 (SCSI) and Chairman of the SCSI-2 Common Access Method Committee.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: Is SYNCHRONOUS faster than ASYNCHRONOUS?
|
|
QUESTION: Is the 53C90 Faster than spec?
|
|
From: kstewart@ncr-mpd.FtCollins.NCR.COM (Ken Stewart)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
I've seen a few comments about our 54C90 being faster than spec. While
|
|
I doubt the author was really complaining (I got twice as much as I paid
|
|
for--sure makes me mad ;) I'd like to explain the situation.
|
|
|
|
Along the way, I'll also show that asynchronous is faster on short cables,
|
|
while synchronous is faster on long cables. The cross-over point occurs
|
|
somewhere around six feet--assuming that you have our 53C90 family devices
|
|
at both ends of the cable. The reason has to do with the propagation delay
|
|
of the cable; the turn around time of the silicon; and the interlocked nature
|
|
of the asynchronous handshake.
|
|
|
|
1) We have measured propagation delays from various cables and found an
|
|
average of 1.7 nanoseconds per foot, which is roughly 5.25 ns per meter.
|
|
|
|
2) The turn-around time is the amount of time the SCSI chip takes to
|
|
change an output in response to an input. If REQ is an input then ACK
|
|
is an output. Or if ACK is an input then REQ is an output. Typical
|
|
turn-around time for the 53C90 is 40 nanoseconds.
|
|
|
|
3) The asynchronous transfer uses an interlocked handshake where a device
|
|
cannot do the next thing until it receives positive acknowledgment that
|
|
the other device received the last thing.
|
|
|
|
First REQ goes true /* driven by Target */
|
|
then ACK is permitted to go true /* driven by Initiator */
|
|
then REQ is permitted to go false
|
|
then ACK is permitted to go false
|
|
|
|
Thus we have four "edges" propagating down the cable plus 4 turn-around
|
|
delays. Asynchronous transfer requires 55 ns setup and no hold time
|
|
(paragraph in 5.1.5.1 in SCSI-1 or SCSI-2) which gives an upper speed
|
|
limit around 18 MB/s. A detailed analysis (assuming 53C90 family) shows that
|
|
the setup time subtracts out. This is mostly because we are running at
|
|
one-third the max rate, but also because setup for the next byte can begin
|
|
anytime after ACK is received true or REQ is received false, depending on who
|
|
is receiving. You can either take my word for it or draw the waveforms
|
|
yourself. Thus, the asynchronous transfer reduces to:
|
|
|
|
(4 * 1.7 * 1) + (4 * 40ns) = 167 ns /* 1 foot cable */
|
|
= 6 MB/s
|
|
|
|
(4 * 5.25 * 6) + (4 * 40ns) = 286 ns /* 6 meter cable */
|
|
= 3.5 MB/s
|
|
|
|
(4 * 5.25 * 25) + (4 * 40ns) = 685 ns /* 25 meter cable */
|
|
= 1.5 MB/s
|
|
|
|
note: cables longer than 6 meters require external differential transceivers
|
|
which add delay and degrade the performance even more than indicated here.
|
|
|
|
Our simulations say that under very best conditions (fast silicon, low
|
|
temperature, high voltage, zero length cable) we can expect more than 8 MB/s
|
|
asynchronously. In the lab, I routinely measure 5 MB/s on 8 foot cables.
|
|
So, if you were writing the data manual for this, how would YOU spec it?
|
|
|
|
|
|
The framers of the SCSI spec threw in synchronous mode to boost the
|
|
performance on long cables. In synchronous mode, the sending device is
|
|
permitted to send the next byte without receiving acknowledgment that the
|
|
receiver actually received the last byte. Kind of a ship and pray method.
|
|
The acknowledgment is required to come back sometime, but we just don't have
|
|
to wait for it (handwave the offset stuff and the ending boundary
|
|
conditions). In this mode any external transceivers add a time shift, but
|
|
not a delay. So if you negotiate for 5 MB/s, you get 5MB/s regardless how
|
|
long the cable is and regardless whether you are single-ended or
|
|
differential. But you can't go faster than 5.5 MB/s, except in SCSI-2.
|
|
Synchronous mode does have a hold time (unlike asynch) but again, setup and
|
|
hold times subtract out. In SCSI-1 synchronous mode, the speed limit comes
|
|
from the combined ASSERTION PERIOD + NEGATION PERIOD which is
|
|
90ns + 90ns = 180ns = 5.5 MB/s. Our 53C90 family doesn't quite hit the max,
|
|
but we do guarentee 5.0 MB/s. In SCSI-2, anything above 5.0 MB/s is
|
|
considered to be FAST. Here the maximum transfer rate is explicitly limited
|
|
to 100 ns or 10MB/s; you don't have to read between the lines to deduce it.
|
|
|
|
Interesting tid-bit: given a SCSI-2 FAST period of 100 ns and a cable delay
|
|
of 131 ns on a 25 meter cable, you can actually stack 1.31 bytes in the 8-bit
|
|
cable. In FAST and WIDE SCSI you can stack 5.24 bytes in this copper FIFO.
|
|
Hummm...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What are the jumpers on my Conner drive?
|
|
ANSWER From: ekrieger@quasar.hacktic.nl (Eric Krieger)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
QUICK INSTALLATION GUIDE
|
|
|
|
SCSI
|
|
|
|
Most SCSI host adapters are compatible with Conner drives.
|
|
Software drivers and installation instructions are provided with
|
|
the host adapter.
|
|
|
|
The drives are shipped with SCSI ID set to 7. To select a
|
|
different ID refer to the following:
|
|
|
|
Table A Table B
|
|
ID E-1 E-2 E-3 ID E2 E3 E4
|
|
0 out out out 0 out out out
|
|
1 in out out 1 in out out
|
|
2 out in out 2 out in out
|
|
3 in in out 3 in in out
|
|
4 out out in 4 out out in
|
|
5 in out in 5 in out in
|
|
6 out in in 6 out in in
|
|
7 in in in 7 in in in
|
|
|
|
Parity is always ENABLED on the CP3200,CP30060,CP30080,CP30100.
|
|
All other models, jumper E-4 to disable parity.
|
|
|
|
SCSI drive parameters:
|
|
|
|
Model Hds Cyl Sec Table LED
|
|
CP2020 2 642 32 A n/a
|
|
CP340 4 788 26 B 1
|
|
CP3020 2 622 33 A 1
|
|
CP3040 2 1026 40 A 1
|
|
CP3180 6 832 33 A 1
|
|
CP3100 8 776 33 A 1
|
|
CP30060 2 1524 39 A 2
|
|
CP30080 4 1053 39 A 2
|
|
CP30100 4 1522 39 A 2
|
|
CP30200 4 2119 49 A 2
|
|
CP3200 8 1366 38 A 2
|
|
CP3360 8 1806 49 A 2
|
|
CP3540 12 1806 49 A 2
|
|
|
|
LED 1 LED 2
|
|
J-4 Pin 1 = + J-1 Pin 3 = +
|
|
Pin 2 = - Pin 4 = -
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What are the jumpers for my Wangtek 5150 drive?
|
|
ANSWER From: "Terry Kennedy, Operations Mgr" <uunet!spcvxa.spc.edu!TERRY>
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
First, the disclaimer: This is not an official representation of Wangtek
|
|
or of my employer. This is info I've discovered by reading publicly avail-
|
|
able reference material. When changing jumpers, always observe proper anti-
|
|
static precautions and be sure you have the current configuration written
|
|
down so you have a known starting point.
|
|
|
|
Ok. Here's the complete scoop on Wangtek 5150ES drives:
|
|
|
|
The current part number for a "generic" 5150ES is:
|
|
|
|
33685-201 (black faceplate)
|
|
33685-202 (beige faceplate)
|
|
|
|
These are referred to as the "ACA version" of the drive.
|
|
|
|
There are _many_ other part numbers for 5150ES drives. If you have one that
|
|
isn't one of the above, it doesn't mean you have an old or an out of rev drive,
|
|
it just means its a special version created for a distributor or OEM, or with
|
|
different default jumper settings.
|
|
|
|
You can order the Wangtek 5150ES OEM Manual from Wangtek. It is part number
|
|
63045-001 Revision D.
|
|
|
|
There are 5 possible logic boards. Here are the jumper options for each:
|
|
|
|
Logic assembly #33678
|
|
---------------------
|
|
|
|
(J10)
|
|
0 - SCSI unit LSB
|
|
1 - SCSI unit
|
|
2 - SCSI unit MSB
|
|
K - not documented
|
|
|
|
J32 - Diagnostic test connector, default is not installed
|
|
E1, F1 - SCSI termination power. E1 in = power from drive and to cable,
|
|
E1 out - power from cable. F1 = terminator power fuse, 1.5A FB.
|
|
Default is IN.
|
|
E2 - Chassis ground. E2 in jumpers logic to chassis ground. E2 out isolates
|
|
through a .33 uFD capacitor. Default is IN.
|
|
E5 - Master oscillator enable. Test only. Must be IN.
|
|
E20 - Factory test. Must be OUT.
|
|
RP1, RP2, RP3 - SIP terminators. Default is IN, remove for no termination.
|
|
|
|
Logic assembly #30559
|
|
---------------------
|
|
|
|
HDR1 - Factory testing. Setting depends on drive. Don't touch.
|
|
HDR2 - Factory testing. Defaults are pins 15-16, 17-18, 19-20. Don't touch.
|
|
HDR3 pin 1 - A-B enables buffered mode. B-C disables. Can be overridden by
|
|
SCSI Mode Select.
|
|
HDR3 pin 2, 3 - Default data format. Set to B-C for a 5150ES.
|
|
HDR3 pin 4 - parity enable. A-B enables, B-C disables.
|
|
|
|
(J10)
|
|
0 - SCSI unit LSB
|
|
1 - SCSI unit
|
|
2 - SCSI unit MSB
|
|
K - not documented
|
|
|
|
E1 - SCSI termination power. E1 in = power from drive and to cable,
|
|
E1 out - power from cable.
|
|
E2 - Chassis ground. E2 in jumpers logic to chassis ground. E2 out isolates
|
|
through a .33 uFD capacitor. Default is IN.
|
|
E3 - Master oscillator enable. Test only. Must be IN.
|
|
E4 - Write test mode. Test only. Must be OUT.
|
|
E5 - Write oscillator enable. Test only. Must be IN.
|
|
E6 - Disable HDR2. Test only. Must be IN.
|
|
E7 - Microcontroller clock select. In for a 5150ES.
|
|
E8 - Write precomp select. Set on a per-drive basis. Don't touch.
|
|
E9 - RAM size. Don't touch.
|
|
E10 - Erase frequency. Don't touch.
|
|
RP2, RP3 - DIP and SIP terminators. Default is IN, remove for no termination.
|
|
|
|
Logic assembly #30600
|
|
---------------------
|
|
|
|
HDR1 - Factory testing. Setting depends on drive. Don't touch.
|
|
HDR2 - Write precomp select. Set on a per-drive basis. Don't touch.
|
|
HDR3 pin 1, 2, 3 - SCSI device address. 1 is LSB, 3 is MSB. A-B=1, B-C=0
|
|
HDR3 pin 4 - Parity enable. IA-B is enabled.
|
|
HDR3 pin 5, 6 - Default data format. B-C for a 5150ES.
|
|
HDR3 pin 7 - Buffered mode select. A-B is enabled.
|
|
HDR3 pin 8 - Reserved. Must be OUT.
|
|
HDR4 - Write frequency select. Don't touch.
|
|
E1 - SCSI termination power. E1 in = power from drive and to cable,
|
|
E1 out - power from cable.
|
|
E2 - Chassis ground. E2 in jumpers logic to chassis ground. E2 out isolates
|
|
through a .33 uFD capacitor. Default is IN.
|
|
E3 - Hard/soft reset. IN enables hard reset.
|
|
E4 - Write precomp select. Don't touch.
|
|
E5 - Clock speed. Don't touch.
|
|
E6 - Tape hole test. Don't touch.
|
|
|
|
Logic assembly #30552
|
|
---------------------
|
|
|
|
HDR1 - Factory testing. Setting depends on drive. Don't touch.
|
|
HDR2 - Write precomp select. Set on a per-drive basis. Don't touch.
|
|
HDR3 pin 1, 2, 3 - SCSI device address. 1 is LSB, 3 is MSB. [Note - HDR3
|
|
pins 1-3 are duplicated at another location on the board]
|
|
HDR3 pin 4 - Parity enable. IN is enabled.
|
|
HDR3 pin 5, 6, 7, 8 - Default data format. 5,5 B-C, 7-8 A-B for a 5150ES.
|
|
HDR4 - Write frequency select. Don't touch.
|
|
E1 - SCSI termination power. E1 in = power from drive and to cable,
|
|
E1 out - power from cable.
|
|
E2 - Chassis ground. E2 in jumpers logic to chassis ground. E2 out isolates
|
|
through a .33 uFD capacitor. Default is IN.
|
|
E3 - Hard/soft reset. IN enables hard reset.
|
|
E4 - Write precomp select. Don't touch.
|
|
E5 - Clock speed. Don't touch.
|
|
E6 - Tape hole test. Don't touch.
|
|
|
|
Logic assembly #30427
|
|
---------------------
|
|
|
|
HDR1 - Factory testing. Setting depends on drive. Don't touch.
|
|
HDR2 - Write precomp select. Set on a per-drive basis. Don't touch.
|
|
HDR3 pin 1, 2, 3 - SCSI device address. 1 is LSB, 3 is MSB. A-B=1, B-C=0
|
|
HDR3 pin 4 - Parity enable. IA-B is enabled.
|
|
HDR3 pin 5, 6, 7, 8 - Default data format. 5,5 B-C, 7-8 A-B for a 5150ES.
|
|
E1, E3 - Factory test. Must be IN.
|
|
E2 - SCSI termination power. E2 in = power from drive and to cable,
|
|
E2 out - power from cable.
|
|
E4 - Chassis ground. E4 in jumpers logic to chassis ground. E4 out isolates
|
|
through a .33 uFD capacitor. Default is IN.
|
|
|
|
Firmware - There are many flavors of firmware. I have seen the following
|
|
parts:
|
|
|
|
24115-xxx
|
|
24144-xxx
|
|
21158-xxx
|
|
|
|
the -xxx suffix changes as the firmware is updated. According to the folks
|
|
I spoke to at Wangtek, the standard firmware is the 21158. The latest version
|
|
as of this writing is 21158-007. All of these will work with the Adaptec and
|
|
GTAK.
|
|
|
|
The firmware options (as returned by a SCSI Identify) are on the end of the
|
|
product string, which is "WANGTEK 5150ES SCSI ES41C560 AFD QFA STD" for the
|
|
21158-007 firmware. The 3-letter codes have the following meaning:
|
|
|
|
AFD - Automatic Format Detection - the drive will recognize the format (such
|
|
as QIC-24, QIC-120, or QIC-150) that the tape was written in.
|
|
|
|
QFA - Quick File Access - the ability to rapidly locate a tape block, and
|
|
to implement the "position to block" and "report block" SCSI commands.
|
|
This is compatible with the Tandberg implementation.
|
|
|
|
STD - Standard feature set.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is CAM?
|
|
ANSWER From: ctjones@bnr.ca (Clifton Jones)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
Common Access Method.
|
|
|
|
It is a proposed ANSI standard to make it easier to program SCSI applications
|
|
by encapsulating the SCSI functions into a standardized calling convention.
|
|
|
|
ANSWER From: landis@sugs.tware.com (Hale Landis)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
You may be able to get the CAM spec(s) from the SCSI BBS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is FPT (Termination)?
|
|
ANSWER From: jvincent@bnr.ca (John Vincent)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
|
|
FPT is actually really simple, I wish I had thought of it. What it does
|
|
is use diode clamps to eliminate over and undershoot. The "trick" is
|
|
that instead of clamping to +5 and GND they clamp to the output of two
|
|
regulated voltages. This allows the clamping diodes to turn on earlier
|
|
and is therefore better at eliminating overshoot and undershoot. The block
|
|
diagram for a FPTed signal is below. The resistor value is probably in the
|
|
120 to 130 ohm range. The actual output voltages of the regulators may not
|
|
be exaclty as I have shown them but ideally they are matched to the diode
|
|
characteristics so that conduction occurs when the signal voltage is
|
|
greater than 3.0 V or less than 0.5 V.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
+--------------- TERMPWR
|
|
|
|
|
____|____
|
|
| |
|
|
| Vreg 1 |-------*-------------------------*--------------- 3.? V
|
|
|________| | |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| \
|
|
+------------* / pullup resistor
|
|
| | \
|
|
| | /
|
|
| ____|___ |
|
|
| | | |
|
|
| | Vreg 2 |----------*----------|--------------- 3.0 V
|
|
| |________| | |
|
|
| --+-- |
|
|
| / \ |
|
|
+-----------+ /___\ |
|
|
| | |
|
|
| | | terminated
|
|
| *----------*------------- signal
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| --+--
|
|
| / \
|
|
| /___\
|
|
| |
|
|
___|____ |
|
|
| | |
|
|
| Vreg 3 |----------*------------------------- 1.0 V (?)
|
|
|________|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: What is Active Termination?
|
|
ANSWER From: eric@telebit.com (Eric Smith)
|
|
and brent@auspex.com (Brent R. Largent)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
|
|
An active terminator actually has one or more voltage regulators to produce
|
|
the termination voltage, rather than using resistor voltage dividers.
|
|
|
|
This is a passive terminator:
|
|
|
|
|
|
TERMPWR ------/\/\/\/------+------/\/\/\/----- GND
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SCSI signal
|
|
|
|
Notice that the termination voltage is varies with the voltage on the
|
|
TERMPWR line. One voltage divider (two resistors) is used for each SCSI
|
|
signal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
An active terminator looks more like this (supply filter caps omitted):
|
|
|
|
+-----------+
|
|
TERMPWR -----| in out |------+------/\/\/\/-------SCSI signal
|
|
| gnd | |
|
|
+-----------+ |
|
|
| +------/\/\/\/-------SCSI signal
|
|
| |
|
|
GND ---------------+ |
|
|
+------/\/\/\/-------SCSI signal
|
|
|
|
|
etc.
|
|
|
|
Assuming that the TERMPWR voltage doesn't drop below the desired termination
|
|
voltage (plus the regulator's minimum drop), the SCSI signals will always
|
|
be terminated to the correct voltage level.
|
|
|
|
Several vendors have started making SCSI active terminator chips,
|
|
which contain the regulator and the resistors including Dallas
|
|
Semiconductor, Unitrode Integerated Circuits and Motorola
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: Why Is Active Termination Better?
|
|
ANSWER brent@auspex.com (Brent R. Largent)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
|
|
Typical pasive terminators (resistors) fluctuate directly in relation to the
|
|
TERM Power Voltage. Usually terminating resistors will suffice over short distances,
|
|
like 2-3 feet, but for longer distances active termination is a real advantage. It
|
|
reduces noise.
|
|
|
|
Active Termination provide numerous advantages:
|
|
- A logic bit can disconnect the termination
|
|
- Provides Negative Clamping on all signal lines
|
|
- Regulated termination voltage
|
|
- SCSI-2 spec recommends active termination on both ends of the scsi cable.
|
|
- Improved Resistance tolerences (from 1% to about 3%)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
QUESTION: Why is SCSI more expensive than IDE?
|
|
ANSWER From: landis@sugs.tware.com (Hale Landis)
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
In a typical single drive PC system, ATA (you call it IDE, the
|
|
proper name is ATA) is faster than any SCSI. This is because of
|
|
the 1 to 2 millisecond command overhead of a SCSI host adapter
|
|
vs. the 100 to 300 microsecond command overhead of an ATA drive.
|
|
Also, ATA transfers data 16-bits at a time from the drive
|
|
directly to/from the system bus. Compare this to SCSI which
|
|
transfers data 8-bits at a time between the host adapter and the
|
|
drive. The host adapter may be able to transfer data 16-bits at
|
|
a time to the system bus.
|
|
|
|
Of course you could go to Fast SCSI or Wide SCSI but that costs
|
|
a whole bunch more!
|
|
|
|
But then you asked about cost.
|
|
|
|
The real reason SCSI costs more has to do with production volume.
|
|
There are about 120,000 drives made per day on this planet. 85%
|
|
of those drives are ATA. The remainder are SCSI, IPI, SMD and a
|
|
few other strange interfaces. The actual percent that are SCSI
|
|
is falling at a very very slow rate. Without the production
|
|
volume, componet prices are higher, therefor drive prices are
|
|
higher.
|
|
|
|
And then you must add in the host adapter cost. Compare $15 for
|
|
ATA vs. $50 for a simple SCSI host adapter. But you probably
|
|
want a higher quality SCSI host adapter so plan on spending $100
|
|
to $500 for one.
|
|
|
|
You figure out how to get people to buy more SCSI drives, say
|
|
50,000 per day, and maybe the prices will come down to ATA price
|
|
levels. Plus you could probably get a very good marketing job at
|
|
any of the disk drive companies! Of course, each day more and
|
|
more people are discovering the performance advantage of ATA so
|
|
your job may not be as easy as you would like.
|
|
|
|
|
|
====
|
|
End.
|
|
====
|
|
|
|
|
|
--
|
|
--/* Gary A. Field - WA1GRC, Wang Labs M/S 019-72B, 1 Industrial Ave
|
|
Lowell, MA 01851-5161, (508) 967-2514, email: garyf@wiis.wang.com, EST5EDT
|
|
A waist is a terrible thing to mind! */
|
|
|
|
|
|
From ra!darwin.sura.net!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!news.claremont.edu!nntp-server.caltech.edu!rspangle Fri Dec 3 10:23:01 EST 1993
|
|
Article: 17198 of comp.periphs.scsi
|
|
Xref: ra comp.periphs.scsi:17198
|
|
Path: ra!darwin.sura.net!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!news.claremont.edu!nntp-server.caltech.edu!rspangle
|
|
From: rspangle@merope (Randy Spangler)
|
|
Newsgroups: comp.periphs.scsi,comp.sys.ibm.pc.storage
|
|
Subject: Group purchage of REAL 2GB DAT drives - $375
|
|
Date: 2 Dec 1993 22:44:14 GMT
|
|
Organization: California Institute of Technology
|
|
Lines: 59
|
|
Distribution: world
|
|
Message-ID: <2dlr3u$lqb@gap.cco.caltech.edu>
|
|
Reply-To: rspangle@micro.caltech.edu (Randy Spangler)
|
|
NNTP-Posting-Host: merope.micro.caltech.edu
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am setting up a group purchase of Wangtec 6200HS 2GB DAT drives.
|
|
These drives differ from the other group purchases (HP 35470, Wangtec
|
|
6130HS) in that the 6200HS drive was designed as a 2GB drive from the
|
|
ground up. The 35470 and 6130HS are 1.3GB DAT drives with a firmware
|
|
update for 2GB 90min cartridges. However, the _tensioning_ systems
|
|
were not designed to handle the thinner 90min tapes. Several people
|
|
on the net have reported that this may eventually cause the 90min
|
|
tapes to stretch and/or break. This won't happen with the 6200HS.
|
|
|
|
Normally, these drives are $529. If we order 10 or more drives, they
|
|
are $395 each. If we order 20 or more, they are $375 each. This is
|
|
about $30 more than the 6130HS - a small price for peace of mind when
|
|
using the 90min tapes.
|
|
|
|
I will be ordering the drives from
|
|
|
|
Corporate Systems Center
|
|
1294 Hammerwood Ave.
|
|
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
|
|
(408) 734-3475
|
|
|
|
(the same place the previous group purchase ordered from)
|
|
|
|
Some specs from the Wangtec fax-back service for the 6200HS:
|
|
|
|
Tape length: 90 or 60 meters
|
|
Formatted capacity: 2.0 or 1.3 gigabytes
|
|
Recording format: DDS
|
|
|
|
Interface: SCSI-1 or SCSI-2 (8 bit)
|
|
Data buffer size: 512KB
|
|
|
|
Data transfer rate:
|
|
Asynch 2.8 MB/sec
|
|
Synch 4.8 MB/sec
|
|
Average sustained rate: 183 KB/sec to the tape
|
|
|
|
Dimensions: half-height 5 1/4" drive bay
|
|
|
|
You can get the full spec sheets and jumper settings from the Wangtec
|
|
fax-back service at (805) 582-3381 - documents #3014 (6130HS) and
|
|
#3015 (6200HS).
|
|
|
|
If you are interested in going in on this group purchase, please send
|
|
me e-mail at rspangle@micro.caltech.edu. Do NOT send any money yet -
|
|
I need to confirm that enough people are interested. If there is
|
|
adequate interest, I would like to order the drives by the end of next
|
|
week. If you have any questions, you can reach me by e-mail (I check
|
|
it frequently) or at (818) 792-1765.
|
|
|
|
- Randy Spangler
|
|
|
|
|
|
--
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Randy Spangler | Author of HOWITZER (386 tank game), available
|
|
rspangle@micro.caltech.edu | via anon. ftp at wuarchive.wustl.edu as
|
|
CNS grad student | /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/games/hwitz095.exe
|
|
|
|
|