6400R - What speed/kind of SCSI drives can I use ?

[Ayman Altounji]

Hi all:

I recently acquired a Compaq 6400R dual 550 xeon box. It has
a build in Ultra SCSI 3 dual channel SCSI controller but some
of the documentation is not clear as to the following:

a) Can I use Ultra 3 drives or am I limited to Ultra 2 drives with
the build in controller ? The docs say that although the controller
is ultra 3, one channel is devoted to the external SCSI connector
and the other one to the internal drive bays and that the speed
of the internal channel in this config is limited to SCSI 2 (not 3).
What do they mean by this and why would this be the case if
this controller is advertised as Ultra 3 ?

b) I *don't* need hot plug capability. Do I still need to buy compaq
hot plug drives for this server (due to it's 80 pin connector) or
can I buy a conventional ultra 160 drive (from say, seagate) and
then install it in this machine ? If so, what kind of adapter, tray
or cabling do I need to do this?

c) Are all 4 drives bays attached to one channel of the dual channel
controller or can I use 2 bays on 1 channel and the other 2 on
another channel *if* I don't use the external SCSI connector ?

Please help !

Best regards,

--Hursh

[Ayman Altounji]

In order to store data at Wide Ultra3 SCSI speeds (160MB/sec), customers need three components:
Wide Ultra3 SCSI Adapter or Array Controller
Wide Ultra3 SCSI Hard Drives
Wide Ultra3 SCSI capable cable or server backplane
The ProLiant 6400R 500 MHz and 550 MHz Models are not configured with an Ultra3 SCSI capable cable. Therefore, customers are encouraged to purchase and install the Internal Ultra3 Cable Option Kit, HP (PN 166390-B21) when upgrading their server to use Wide Ultra3 SCSI Adapters, Array Controllers, and hard drives.