[comp.sys.dec] non-DEC disks on VAXstation 3100?

rlm@ceres.physics.uiowa.edu (02/08/89)

Has anyone tried to attach a non-DEC disk to the SCSI port on a VAXstation-3100
yet? I have ordered a diskless unit and am hoping one of the fast, high capacity
CDC 5.25" disks  (e.g. Wren 3-6) will work...

Robert Mutel 

(BITNET: rlm%iowa.physics.uiowa.edu@cunyvm)
(ARPA: rlm%iowa.physics.uiowa.edu)

abstine@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Arthur Stine) (02/08/89)

From article <270@ceres.physics.uiowa.edu>, by rlm@ceres.physics.uiowa.edu:
> Has anyone tried to attach a non-DEC disk to the SCSI port on a VAXstation-3100
> yet? I have ordered a diskless unit and am hoping one of the fast, high capacity
> CDC 5.25" disks  (e.g. Wren 3-6) will work...
> 
Note that the purely diskless VAXStation-3100 does NOT have a SCSI controller
as part of its configuration. Only the DECStation-3100 has an integral
controller.

You have to purchase a VS3100 with the RZ22 or 23 (or RZ55 or TZ30) in order 
to get the SCSI controller. Check the VAX Systems book from the Reference
service to check the configs. It shows all the configs and also states
that the diskless VS3100 does not have a disk controller. I think that DEC
is falling short on the VS3100 by not making the SCSI adapter integral to
all configs like Sun does with its workstations... sigh...

art stine
sr network engineer
clarkson u
abstine@clvms.clarkson.edu

rsp@decvax.dec.com (Ricky Palmer - (603)881-0370 - ZK3-3/T74) (02/08/89)

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The VAXstation 3100 is an NCR 5380 asynchronous only SCSI based
system. It may work but your disk would most likely have to "trick" the
system into thinking it is a DEC disk. Now on the DECstation 3100
(supports either synchronous or asynchronous devices) I don't think you
would have this problem. I posted an article in this notesfile several
days ago that describes the DECstation 3100 and how to add 3rd party
disks to that system. The above assumes Ultrix as the OS.  I don't know
what VMS does on the VAXstation 3100.


---   Ricky Palmer	 Ultrix Advanced Development
---   Digital Equipment Corporation
---   Nashua, New Hampshire

mason@Feanor.Stanford.EDU (Tony Mason) (02/08/89)

I couldn't help but noticing that in scsi_data.c there is a "tz88" defined
claiming to be an Exebyte EXB-8200.  I plugged our EXB-8200 in and the system
did, in fact, recognize it and claim it had an attached TZ88.  When trying to
use said, it complains: "drive selftest failed, code = 0x8".  Sigh.  The
question then becomes is DEC assuming something about this Exebyte drive that
I don't know.  (Someday, kernel sources will arrive which will make this
question much easier to answer...)

Tony Mason
Distributed Systems Group
Stanford University
mason@pescadero.stanford.edu

rsp@decvax.dec.com (Ricky Palmer - (603)881-0370 - ZK3-3/T74) (02/09/89)

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You could have one of two things wrong: your distribution is pre-FRS,
i.e., your running bits that are field test or some pre-release
version or your Exabyte has a problem. We have noticed that some
earlier Exabytes have some microcode problems. Try to get ahold of
the latest version of the drive, microcode, and Ultrix kit and then
try it.


---   Ricky Palmer	 Ultrix Advanced Development
---   Digital Equipment Corporation
---   Nashua, New Hampshire
---   ... One of the fathers of PMAX ...