Subject: Re: Decent SCSI card for AlphaStation 200?
To: Ross Harvey <ross@teraflop.com>
From: Wilko Bulte <wilko@yedi.iaf.nl>
List: port-alpha
Date: 08/31/1999 12:23:03
As Ross Harvey wrote ...
> There are pluses and minuses. My non-scientific impressions (take these
> with a grain of salt, my experience with these has not been deep) ...
> 
> 	ncr-based cards	
> 		* SRM can boot them (as long as the chip isn't newer
> 			than your SRM)
> 		* the driver has been a royal pain, but does seem to
> 		  always get beat into shape

The DEC name for the NCR810 board is a KZPAA-AA. There are also
ethernet/scsi combo boards, I think these are KZPSM (10Mbit enet &
fast SCSI NCR810) and KZPCM (10/100Mbit enet & dual ultra SCSI ncr875(?))

KZPAA is a plain NCR board (the ones I have have the NCR logo on them)
PSM and PCM are DEC designs.

> 	isp
> 		* hi end, but rare, you may get to "discover" new problems
> 		* I'm told srm can boot them :-)

The DEC name for the isp based cards is KZPBA-CA (single ended) and 
KZPBA-CB (differential). Both are Qlogic buyouts. Recent SRM's can boot
them (on machines that support KZPBA of course). The SRM also loads 
firmware into the isp IIRC.

> For SE scsi, buying new kind of makes sense, see the above URL. For
> differential, the stuff is extra-expensive new, but extra-cheap used,
> as people don't generally appreciate the value. I got my buslogic 
> differential card new, since buslogic is usually quite cheap, but
> I got my differential ncr cards used, and got used or new-but-surplus
> diff drives. For some reason, there are lots of WD Quantum Atlas II's
> around...
> 
> To find something like a "used ncr differential pci scsi" adapter on
> the net is a real challenge, but I did accomplish it once...

Differential stuff is a bit of a pain as it is not mainstream.
Alternatively, using a differential host adapter you could find yourself
something like a StorageWorks shelf, pop a DWZZA/DWZZB differential/se
converter in it and use single ended devices inside the shelf.

> Hope this helps...
    ditto ;-)
-- 
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