>    I got a Multima when they were selling at low prices and have used
> NetBSD on it.  The one I got came with a 3 1/2" internal drive which
> had it's SCSI connector on a small daughter board.  This board has no 
> PCI connector.  Other Multima's apparently have a different daughter board
> which allow for a PCI connector and connect to a 2 1/2" internal drive.
>     I would like to add a PCI Ethernet card to my Multima and would like
> to know where I could get the type of daughter card.  The company I 
> purchased the Multima from will solder a PCI connector on my daughter
> card but that means sending it away and if there is a problem getting
> back to working state may be difficult.

Saw the answer to this in the Linux/Alpha mailing list some while ago...

Firstly, many people will strongly advise that you don't use any
internal HD (neither the 2.5" nor the 3.5") in a Multia for both 
heat and marginal PSU reasons. On Linux, it is recommended that
the built-in IDE connector NOT be used, as this uses 100% CPU whilst 
the drive is active (!!). (IDE connector is below the end of the floppy
drive, BTW).

Most people were more interested in the other route - adding an
external SCSI connector to the backplane. There are two routes to
this:

i)	Solder on the bits you want
ii)	Buy the bits from DEC and fit them


Here's an answer to a similar query giving part numbers etc:

> > Can I order the backplane from DEC, part number 54-22563-02? What is the
> > cost? I prowled around the DEC web-site but could not find much of anything.
> > Is there a substitute from another source? Any ideas welcomed.
 
> The official source for such parts is the Digital Service Store, although
> not necessarily cheap, the following is what you need
 
>   54-22563-02 PCI BACKPLANE WITH SCSI BUS - UK price (pounds) 59.00
 
> Which gives you a US price of about $95 or so...:-) Just call 1-800-DIGITAL
> and ask for the Service Store, otherwise get your soldering iron out - I have
> not yet come across a SCSI PCI riser card that has the 40-pin IDC connector
> holes filled with solder so it should be a cinch to make up a cable.