gary@saturn.ucsc.edu (08/19/89)
We have a 386 running SCO XENIX 2.3.2 with two CDC Wren III (ESDI) disks controlled currently by a WD1007a-WA2. The controller is in need of being replaced. Does anyone have a similar setup and/or have recommendations for a reliable disk controller? The following controllers have been recommended: WD1007-WA2, DTC 60280, and the Adaptec. Any suggestions as to the most reliable? In the near future we plan on replacing one of the disks with an ~300Mb drive. Any and all suggestions/recommendations are appreciated. Thanks.
jbayer@ispi.UUCP (Jonathan Bayer) (08/19/89)
gary@saturn.ucsc.edu writes: >We have a 386 running SCO XENIX 2.3.2 with two CDC Wren III >(ESDI) disks controlled currently by a WD1007a-WA2. The controller >is in need of being replaced. Does anyone have a similar setup >and/or have recommendations for a reliable disk controller? The >following controllers have been recommended: WD1007-WA2, DTC 60280, >and the Adaptec. Any suggestions as to the most reliable? In the >near future we plan on replacing one of the disks with an ~300Mb drive. The adaptec may be a little faster, but I would stick with the WD1007-WA2 because of formatting problems. Specifically, your disks are currently working using a WD1007aa-WA2. If you replace the controller with a different brand you will most likely have to do a low-level format of the drive. Hopefully you have a current backup :-) JB -- Jonathan Bayer Intelligent Software Products, Inc. (201) 245-5922 500 Oakwood Ave. jbayer@ispi.UUCP Roselle Park, NJ 07204
bruce@mdi386.UUCP (Bruce A. McIntyre) (08/20/89)
In article <8771@saturn.ucsc.edu>, gary@saturn.ucsc.edu writes: > We have a 386 running SCO XENIX 2.3.2 with two CDC Wren III > (ESDI) disks controlled currently by a WD1007a-WA2. The controller > is in need of being replaced. Does anyone have a similar setup > and/or have recommendations for a reliable disk controller? The > following controllers have been recommended: WD1007-WA2, DTC 60280, > and the Adaptec. Any suggestions as to the most reliable? In the > near future we plan on replacing one of the disks with an ~300Mb drive. The Caching disk controllers from Distributed Processing Technology would be an excellent choice for your application. With one of these, the average access time of your drives would approach .5 ms (not 5, but .5) and with the cache being able to be set up to 4MB, it would turn that 300Mb drive into a real screamer. Contact: Distributed Processing Technology (407)830-5522 ~or Computer Source in New York... They also offer an add on board for disk mirroring, and can support any variation of ESDI, SCSI or MFM drive. Since the definition of the drive to the PC can be redefined from the actual physical drive config, with the controller doing the translation, you can use virtually any drive. The controller also does the error correction and bad tracking... Give them a call. bruce -- ========================================================================= Bruce A. McIntyre, McIntyre Designs, Inc. VOICE(215)322-1895 143 Bridgetown Pike, Langhorne, Pa. 19047 DATA (215)357-2915 {wells|lgnp1}!mdi386!bruce bruce@wells tbit+
howardl@wb3ffv.ampr.org ( WB3FFV) (08/25/89)
From article <121@mdi386.UUCP>, by bruce@mdi386.UUCP (Bruce A. McIntyre): > > The Caching disk controllers from Distributed Processing Technology would > be an excellent choice for your application. With one of these, the > average access time of your drives would approach .5 ms (not 5, but .5) > and with the cache being able to be set up to 4MB, it would turn that > 300Mb drive into a real screamer. > > They also offer an add on board for disk mirroring, and can support > any variation of ESDI, SCSI or MFM drive. Since the definition of the > drive to the PC can be redefined from the actual physical drive config, > with the controller doing the translation, you can use virtually any drive. > > The controller also does the error correction and bad tracking... Hello All, I just purchased one of the DPT controllers for use on a 15mbps ESDI drive here in the office. I would be very interested to see if anybody else on the net has been using the DPT contorller, and under what configuration. Prior to using the DPT product I had the Adaptec 2322B ESDI controller, but needed a 15mbps (not 10) for the new 780 megabyte harddisk. I decided to give an intelegent harddisk controller a shot, and so far it appers to be working very well. At present I am using the basic configuration of 512K of cache/buffer on the controller, but would like to hear of others experiences with the board. I would also be interested to see if anybody increased the onboard RAM, and how much improvement did the increased RAM give you. I believe the price for the controller is fair, but the cost to add RAM adds up real quick. So as the story goes, I wouldn't buy the additional RAM unless the cost was justified... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Internet : howardl@wb3ffv.ampr.org | Howard D. Leadmon UUCP : wb3ffv!howardl | Fast Computer Service, Inc. TELEX : 152252474 | P. O. Box 171 Telephone : (301)-335-2206 | Chase, MD 21027-0171