portuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) (01/03/90)
>>>>> On 3 Jan 90 15:11:14 GMT, cullip@unc.cs.unc.edu (Timothy Cullip) said:
timothy> Can anyone out there give me some information on the Microbotics
timothy> Starboard Stardrive SCSI module (the board that plugs into the Starboard)?
Do you have anything specific in mind? Here's the lowdown on the
StarDrive, from one owner's point of view:
* inexpensive
* non-DMA, still pretty fast nonetheless, certainly enough to
be acceptable (I got diskperf reads of 190K/sec on a 32K
buffer using a 68010)
* has built-in battery backed clock. Not compatible with the
Commodore clocks on the 500/2000, though Microbotics
supplies programs to adjust the clock and set the system
time.
* very solid software driver -- I have never had problems with
it.
* mediocre to poor support software (disk formatter, etc).
* exceptionally poor documentation. They probably still
haven't revised the support software and docs for the
Fast FileSystem, though I'm not sure. You have to know the
relevant parameters (#cylinders, etc) for your drive. Best
bet is to contact the drive manufacturer.
* has a Mac-style 25-pin SCSI plug -- any Macintosh-compatible
SCSI disk will do, or if you are adventurous you can build a
25-50 pin SCSI cable for your Rodime drive. It comes with
no cable.
I have instructions for building the 25-50 pin cable at
home. They were sent to me by several kind members of
comp.sys.amiga. Unfortunately, they exist only in hardcopy
and not in electronic form, so it will take me a little
while to type them back in.
timothy> now I am looking for a CHEAP controller (needs not be fast) so
timothy> I figure the Stardrive is the best route since I already have the Starboard.
If you want cheap and you already have the Starboard, the StarDrive is
definitely the way to go.
timothy> Is the documentation adequate?
Like I said above, the documentation is horrible, but I managed to get
mine set up with the bevy of information I culled off the net.
timothy> How about a mount list - or whatever the StarDrive expects?
You can (and should) use a standard mountlist entry with the
StarDrive. Microbotics supplies this bogus "DHMount" program that
supposedly mounts the drive for you, but 1) it's non-standard, 2) it
doesn't support all of the keywords that a mountlist entry can use, 3)
you won't be able to use the Fast FileSystem. Naturally, the
documentation doesn't describe how to make a Mountlist entry for the
StarDrive. I can supply you with my Mountlist entries if you like --
that way, you can just plug in the parameters for your Rodime drive.
timothy> Any info would be appriciated.
Hope this helps. If you need more detalied info, feel free to send me
email.
--M
--
__
\/ Michael Portuesi Silicon Graphics Computer Systems, Inc.
portuesi@SGI.COM Entry Systems Division -- Engineeringcullip@unc.cs.unc.edu (Timothy Cullip) (01/03/90)
Can anyone out there give me some information on the Microbotics Starboard Stardrive SCSI module (the board that plugs into the Starboard)? I have just acquired an old 20 Meg Rodime 652 SCSI drive, power supply and case; now I am looking for a CHEAP controller (needs not be fast) so I figure the Stardrive is the best route since I already have the Starboard. (don't laugh, the drive, supply, StarDrive module should total $250). Does this board expect a 50 pin SCSI cable or a MAC like 25 pin cable. If its a 25 pin connector, where can I get a 25 pin to 50 cable or adapter since the Rodime has a 50 pin connector on it. Does it come with any cable? Is the documentation adequate? The Rodime came with no documentation at all - does anyone out there have a discription of the drive (model 652) - things like number of cylinders, tracks, access time (I thinks its in the neighborhood of 65 to 80 ms), etc. Any suggested interleave factor? How about a mount list - or whatever the StarDrive expects? Any info would be appriciated. Finally, does anyone have a used StarDrive they want to sell before I go out and buy a new one? Tim Cullip email : cullip@cs.unc.edu
riley@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Daniel S. Riley) (01/04/90)
In article <PORTUESI.90Jan3105636@tweezers.esd.sgi.com> portuesi@sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) writes: >Do you have anything specific in mind? Here's the lowdown on the >StarDrive, from one owner's point of view: [stuff I basically agree with deleted] > * exceptionally poor documentation. They probably still > haven't revised the support software and docs for the > Fast FileSystem, though I'm not sure. You have to know the > relevant parameters (#cylinders, etc) for your drive. Best > bet is to contact the drive manufacturer. There is a software update to the StarDrive software, which includes instructions on setting up a Mountlist entry for the Stardrive, a utility which queries an attached SCSI drive so you can find out what the drive thinks its relevant parameters are, support for Adaptec controllers, an expanded list of supported drives, a decent explanation of interleave, and some improvements to the device driver. Unfortunately, the only place I have seen it is in the listings area of the Microbotics support conference on BIX, and it can't be redistributed (the documentation is very clear on this point). Presumably, if you call them up and ask nicely, they will send you a copy. I do wish they would send out some sort of notification of updates. > * has a Mac-style 25-pin SCSI plug -- any Macintosh-compatible > SCSI disk will do, or if you are adventurous you can build a > 25-50 pin SCSI cable for your Rodime drive. It comes with > no cable. Or you can buy a 25-50 pin SCSI cable. I picked mine up at the campus bookstore. -Dan Riley (riley@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu, cornell!batcomputer!riley) -Wilson Lab, Cornell University
tomb@hplsla.HP.COM (Tom Bruhns) (01/05/90)
portuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) replies: > >>>>>> On 3 Jan 90 15:11:14 GMT, cullip@unc.cs.unc.edu (Timothy Cullip) said: > >timothy> Can anyone out there give me some information on the Microbotics >timothy> Starboard Stardrive SCSI module (the board that plugs into the Starboard)? > > ... > > * has a Mac-style 25-pin SCSI plug -- any Macintosh-compatible > SCSI disk will do, or if you are adventurous you can build a > 25-50 pin SCSI cable for your Rodime drive. It comes with > no cable. But the instructions that came with the one I got about a year ago included schematic and comments about the cable. I built the cable to their spec and have had no trouble with it. I believe similar cables are available commercially, since Macs have a very similar problem. > >timothy> now I am looking for a CHEAP controller (needs not be fast) so >timothy> I figure the Stardrive is the best route since I already have the Starboard. > >If you want cheap and you already have the Starboard, the StarDrive is >definitely the way to go. I concur. I've been pleased with mine. > >timothy> Is the documentation adequate? > >Like I said above, the documentation is horrible, but I managed to get >mine set up with the bevy of information I culled off the net. I found the docs to be adequate, barely. The net info was helpful but not necessary. > >timothy> How about a mount list - or whatever the StarDrive expects? > >You can (and should) use a standard mountlist entry with the >StarDrive. Microbotics supplies this bogus "DHMount" program that >supposedly mounts the drive for you, but 1) it's non-standard, 2) it >doesn't support all of the keywords that a mountlist entry can use, 3) >you won't be able to use the Fast FileSystem. Naturally, the >documentation doesn't describe how to make a Mountlist entry for the >StarDrive. I can supply you with my Mountlist entries if you like -- >that way, you can just plug in the parameters for your Rodime drive. I don't recall just what my docs said, but it, coupled with the Commodore info on Mountlist entries, was enough to bring it up. (It seems like it was just the standard Commodore mountlist entries, with the Stardrive driver called out, and, as noted, appropriate entries for cylinders, sectors, tracks, whatever about the drive.) > >timothy> Any info would be appriciated. > >Hope this helps. If you need more detalied info, feel free to send me >email. One additional comment: I wish they would provide more (any?? :-) info on directly accessing the SCSI command set, so you could write your own drivers for other SCSI devices. On a related note, there are some drives that the thing seems like it should work with but doesn't. One fellow around here had trouble with a Seagate ST-296N that he finally solved with some custom software. I have the feeling that the driver wasn't written with all the corner cases in mind, and now that drive capacity is increasing, the corners are explored more often...
tron1@tronsbox.UUCP (HIM) (01/05/90)
>I have just acquired an old 20 Meg Rodime 652 SCSI drive, power supply A >GREAT< drive , have had mine for 3 years and never ONE error. >The Rodime came with no documentation at all - does anyone out there >have a discription of the drive (model 652) - things like number >of cylinders, tracks, access time (I thinks its in the neighborhood of >65 to 80 ms), etc. Any suggested interleave factor? >How about a mount list - or whatever the StarDrive expects? Here is my mounlist (two 10 mg partitions in use) (C.LTD SCSI card) DH0: Device = SCSI.device Unit = 1 Flags = 17424434 Surfaces = 4 BlocksPerTrack = 17 Reserved = 1 Interleave = 0 LowCyl = 0 ; HighCyl = 296 Buffers = 5 BufMemType = 0 GlobVec = 1 FileSystem=l:FastFileSystem # DH1: Device = SCSI.device Unit = 1 Flags = 17424434 Surfaces = 4 BlocksPerTrack = 17 Reserved = 1 Interleave = 0 LowCyl = 297 ; HighCyl = 592 Buffers = 5 BufMemType = 0 GlobVec = 1 FileSystem=l:FastFileSystem # **************************************************************************** "Perfume and leather baby , you and me together baby, what good is living in paradise, if you don't let yourself once or twice." -Tiffany Kenneth J. Jamieson ---- THE BOSS at Xanadu Enterprises Inc. UUCP: tron1@tronsbox.UUCP BEST PATH ---> uunet!tronsbox!tron1 Sysop, Romantic Encounters BBS - (201)759-8450 / (201)759-8568 ****************************************************************************