msc_wdqn@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Daniel Q. Naiman) (06/16/89)
I am considering purchasing a dec3100 and the TK50 that dec sells, even with the academic discount at $2658 seems a bit steep. Sun's tape drive is only around $1168 for me. This state of affairs seems a bit odd. Does anyone know what less expensive options I have? I am somewhat new at this sort of thing. Are there inexpensive and reliable tape drives that I can use to load the same distribution tapes? What is really going on here? Please post message, call or send mail. Thanks. Dan Naiman Department of Math Sciences Johns Hopkins University 301-338-7203
envbvs@epb2.lbl.gov (Brian V. Smith) (06/17/89)
In article <1934@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>, msc_wdqn@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Daniel Q. Naiman) writes: > > I am considering purchasing a dec3100 and the TK50 that dec sells, even with > the academic discount at $2658 seems a bit steep. Sun's tape drive is > only around $1168 for me. This state of affairs seems a bit odd. > > Does anyone know what less expensive options I have? > I am somewhat new at this sort of thing. Are there inexpensive and > reliable tape drives that I can use to load the same distribution tapes? > What is really going on here? > > Please post message, call or send mail. > In the first place, the Sun tape drive (if you are talking about the 1/4 inch cartridge system) only holds about 60 megabytes and, the biggest pain: YOU CANNOT >>>ADD<<< TO A 'TAR' FILE. You have to create a whole new tar file from scratch ('tar c') because it can't extend a file. It is true that the DEC TK50 drive is overpriced (everything sold on the component level by DEC is overpriced), but you do get 95 megabytes on a cartridge and it is faster (true, not much) than the Sun drive. _____________________________________ Brian V. Smith (bvsmith@lbl.gov) Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory We don't need no signatures!
hurf@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Hurf Sheldon) (06/19/89)
What about the Exabyte drive - it is a SCSI device - is there
enough info to write a SCSI driver to use this drive directly on the
3100 scsi bus? - Has anyone tried? We have been using this device on
uVaxen for a year and are delighted (2.4 Gigabytes at approx 90mins/gig
on a $9.00 tape) - restoring single files from a 1.4 gig dumptape takes
15 minutes, not 3 hours (tk50 time)
Just thought I'd ask...
hurf
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Lab of Plasma Studies Bitnet: hurf@CRNLION
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I sold my Elan, got a job in science; Now, no one takes me seriously.khb@chiba.Sun.COM (chiba) (07/23/89)
In article <2836@helios.ee.lbl.gov> envbvs@epb2.lbl.gov (Brian V. Smith) writes: >> > >In the first place, the Sun tape drive (if you are talking about the >1/4 inch cartridge system) only holds about 60 megabytes and, the biggest The current crop are 150Mb and faster than the old ones. I don't have a price book handy; so check with your local sales office for price. Keith H. Bierman |*My thoughts are my own. Only my work belongs to Sun* It's Not My Fault | Marketing Technical Specialist ! kbierman@sun.com I Voted for Bill & | Languages and Performance Tools. Opus (* strange as it may seem, I do more engineering now *)
neff@pitstop.West.Sun.COM (Mike Neff) (07/23/89)
In article <2836@helios.ee.lbl.gov> envbvs@epb2.lbl.gov (Brian V. Smith) writes: >In article <1934@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>, msc_wdqn@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Daniel Q. Naiman) writes: >> >> I am considering purchasing a dec3100 and the TK50 that dec sells, even with >> the academic discount at $2658 seems a bit steep. Sun's tape drive is >> only around $1168 for me. This state of affairs seems a bit odd. >> >> Does anyone know what less expensive options I have? >> I am somewhat new at this sort of thing. Are there inexpensive and >> reliable tape drives that I can use to load the same distribution tapes? >> What is really going on here? >> >> Please post message, call or send mail. >> > >In the first place, the Sun tape drive (if you are talking about the >1/4 inch cartridge system) only holds about 60 megabytes and, the biggest >pain: YOU CANNOT >>>ADD<<< TO A 'TAR' FILE. You have to create a whole new >tar file from scratch ('tar c') because it can't extend a file. > >It is true that the DEC TK50 drive is overpriced (everything sold on the >component level by DEC is overpriced), but you do get >95 megabytes on a cartridge and it is faster (true, not much) than >the Sun drive. > What Brian said was true a few months ago, but not any more. The newer Sun tape drives that go with the SPARCstation 1 and the other new Sun products are not Qic24 60MB tape drives but Qic150 150MB tape drives ( However you can still use the old shoeboxes with the newer machines if so desired ). The list price for the Qic150 drive is $1,600. I suspect that with his discount, Dan was being offered one of the new drives. The speed is roughly the same as the older drive ( 90 ips ) and the newer drive offers higher density ( 10,000 bpi as opposed to 8,000 bpi ). Rewind time is also roughly the same ( 1.5 min. ). Not being able to add to a tar file can be overcome to some degree by winding past the end-of-tape mark of the existing image and creating a new tar image. Mike Neff mneff@sun.com >_____________________________________ >Brian V. Smith (bvsmith@lbl.gov) >Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory >We don't need no signatures! <rnstuff> <rnstuff> <rnstuff> <rnstuff> <rnstuff> <rnstuff> <rnstuff> <rnstuff> <rnstuff>
envbvs@epb2.Berkeley.EDU (Brian V. Smith) (08/03/89)
Neff) writes: > In article <2836@helios.ee.lbl.gov> envbvs@epb2.lbl.gov (Brian V. Smith) writes: > >In the first place, the Sun tape drive (if you are talking about the > >1/4 inch cartridge system) only holds about 60 megabytes and, the biggest > >pain: YOU CANNOT >>>ADD<<< TO A 'TAR' FILE. You have to create a whole new > >tar file from scratch ('tar c') because it can't extend a file. > > > >It is true that the DEC TK50 drive is overpriced (everything sold on the > >component level by DEC is overpriced), but you do get > >95 megabytes on a cartridge and it is faster (true, not much) than > >the Sun drive. > > > > What Brian said was true a few months ago, but not any more. > That is because I wrote it 'a few months ago', and several followup articles were posted informing me and the net of the newer Qic150 tapedrives. How did this subject come up again? > The newer Sun tape drives that go with the SPARCstation 1 and the other > new Sun products are not Qic24 60MB tape drives but Qic150 150MB tape drives > ( However you can still use the old shoeboxes with the newer machines if > so desired ). The list price for the Qic150 drive is $1,600. I suspect > that with his discount, Dan was being offered one of the new drives. > The speed is roughly the same as the older drive ( 90 ips ) and the newer > drive offers higher density ( 10,000 bpi as opposed to 8,000 bpi ). > Rewind time is also roughly the same ( 1.5 min. ). > > Not being able to add to a tar file can be overcome to some degree by > winding past the end-of-tape mark of the existing image and creating a > new tar image. > Yuck! Then you have to keep track of how many files are on the tape and which one contains the latest version of your file. Why can't Sun make a tape drive that can extend a tape file? _____________________________________ Brian V. Smith (bvsmith@lbl.gov) Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory We don't need no signatures! ... -> .