Non-Compaq Hard Drives

[Jeremy Maynor]

I recently bought a Compaq 1850R with 1 9.1G Hdd. I want to add storage space to the server, butr the Compaq drives are too expensive. What drives can I use while still using the Array Controller in the server?

[Joshua Scott]

I looked for about 15 seconds, and under $200 doesn't seem that expensive.

I'm not sure how you're going to be able to use 'other' drives since the Compaqs have proprietary mounting & interface issues. you can't just get a hard drive and stick it in the server.

I would recommend getting some external storage if you are concerned about the price.

[Frank Kaufman]

The Compaq 1850R comes with a Wide-Ultra SCSI-3 Drive Cage that can accomodate up to 3 drives. You can install a second cage for a total of 6 drives.

You can use any SCSI drive installed in an appropriate Compaq hot plug SCSI drive tray. They come in 3 versions. 50pin connector, 68pin connector and 80 pin SCA connector.

The array controller will handle any of the SCSI drive types, but it will work at a lesser throughput with the older SCSI or SCSI-II drives. It will even akkow you to mix different drive types and drive sizes, but the array will only be using the same capacity on the drives as the smallest drive and the array will run at the speed of the slowest drive.

For example, if you have an array of 5 drives, 3 9,1GB, 1 18.2 GB and 1 36.4, the array will configure as if you had 5 9.1GB drives. The extra space on the 18.2 36.4GB drives is "lost".

Hot plug drive trays as well as used Compaq drives are readily available at very reasonable prices.