sshws@convx1.lerc.nasa.gov (Herb Schilling) (05/23/91)
We are looking to buy a tape drive for backup of our Macs. We also have some PC's we would like to backup. I was hoping to get a drive such as a TEAC 150 and use it for both. I thought it would be possible by buying the appropriate SCSI adapters, software, drivers and cables,etc... Of course we would have to disconnect the drive and move it but we would put up with the hassle in order to save money. I have called several vendors and have gotten mixed answers. Some say the drives can be used with either PC's or Mac's and others say it is impossible. Is this a vendor specific issue ? Why can't a TEAC drive for be used for either platform ? Does anybody else have any backup solutions for PC and Mac drives ? ( I already know Tecmar can do it, but their drives are bigger and more expensive. ) Thanks. -- Herb Schilling , NASA Lewis Research Center , 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44135 . (216) 433-5058 sshws@convx1.lerc.nasa.gov
sshws@convx1.lerc.nasa.gov (Herb Schilling) (05/24/91)
Thanks to all who replied to my posting. A summary of the posts is given below. Here is my question: >We are looking to buy a tape drive for backup of our Macs. We also >have some PC's we would like to backup. I was hoping to get a drive >such as a TEAC 150 and use it for both. I thought it would be possible >by buying the appropriate SCSI adapters, software, drivers and >cables,etc... Of course we would have to disconnect the drive and move >it but we would put up with the hassle in order to save money. > > I have called several vendors and have gotten mixed answers. Some say >the drives can be used with either PC's or Mac's and others say it is >impossible. Is this a vendor specific issue ? Why can't a TEAC drive >for be used for either platform ? > > Does anybody else have any backup solutions for PC and Mac drives ? >( I already know Tecmar can do it, but their drives are bigger and >more expensive. ) Thanks. >-- ---------- From: jon@nmr-r.MGH.Harvard.Edu (Jon Parmet) Herb, The company I last programmed at sells 4mm DAT, 8mm and 9-track drives that most definitely work on BOTH the IBMs and Macs. For the Macs, it's plug and play as the SCSI port is built-in. For the IBMs, it depends on which type of drive/interface used. In the case of the 9-tracks, the IBM can talk directly to the Pertec interface, bypassing the SCSI interface (better performance by not having to go through another interface). One of the hardware people there built an "a/b" switch which will allow you to have the drive plugged in all the time and be switchable between two different hosts. If you would like to get some data sheets or whatever, here's their address,etc.: J&J Associates 225 East Street Winchester,ma,01890 617-729-5770 ask for Bob Orman or Jack McDonough Regards, Jon ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Dan Pleasant <dan@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com> I don't know if this is supposed to be public knowledge yet or not, but for what it's worth... If you are willing to wait for a month or two, Fifth Generation Systems will have a good solution for you. Fastback II on the Mac supports "most any" tape drive already. Soon, a version of Fastback Plus on the PC will be available which also supports tape drives. I think they're going to call it Fastback Tape. FGS will also sell you a tape drive to go with it. On the PC, you'll have to get a SCSI board. The likely candidates for support are Future Domain and IBM (PS/2) SCSI boards. Hope this helps! Dan Pleasant [One of Fastback II's authors, and also the person who ported the tape drive code from the Mac to the PC.] --------------------------------------------------- From vakselro@jarthur.Claremont.edu Thu May 23 12:17:06 1991 I have the TEAC 60 meg tape drive and this is my version: It is not quite standard SCSI, so you need a SCSI driver that's kinda smart. It's easy on the Mac side - it's done in software, and almost all backup packages support the TEAC mechanism. As for the IBM side, most of the control is done in hardware (interface card). So if you get a card that can talk to the TEAC in TEAC-SCSI, then you're all right. The vendors' confusion comes due to this fact: most IBM boards don't talk in TEAC-SCSI. However, as of about a year ago, TEAC changed its mechanism design a bit so that it is faster and talks normal SCSI. So you're all right in one of 2 cases: 1) You have one of the new TEAC mechanisms [most vendors carry the old ones] 2) You have an IBM SCSI controller card that can talk to TEACs. Hope that helps. Cheers, -Josh -- Herb Schilling , NASA Lewis Research Center , 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44135 . (216) 433-5058 sshws@convx1.lerc.nasa.gov