Device support

[Farhad Zarrindej]

Our DLT 8000 which was connected to a D-class running HP-UX 11.0 via a FWD SCSI-2 (A4107A) has failed and is beyond repair. The replacement unit purchased is a HP DLT VS80 and unfortunately the hardware is not seen nor recognized (after reboot) by the server?

Does a FW SCSI-2 support a VS80?
Do we need to install additional drivers?

In my experience if a devise in seen (picked up by ioscan) but not recognized, then you need to install additional drivers. In our case the devise is not seen at all?

Please advise.

Thanks - Farhad.

[Robert-Jan Goossens]

Hi Farhad,

http://www5.itrc.hp.com/service/cki/patchDocDisplay.do?patchId=PHKL_29247

Enables support for HP branded SuperDLT 320 (257319),
VS80 Autoloader (C9264CB-VS80), and HP branded VS80
tape drives (C7503A/C7504A/C7507A). Without this
change, the stape driver may not set the density and
compression optimally for the tape drive.

Hope this helps,
Robert-Jan

[Leif Halvarsson_2]

Hi,
Is your A4107A card HWD (high voltage differential). I am afraid it is. In that case a DLT 80 will NOT work (and can perhaps be damage if you try).

If I remember correct there was a SE SCSI bus on the D series (at least some of them). It will be compatible with a DS 80 if you use a 68-50 pin cable but, perhaps some performance limitations.

[Farhad Zarrindej]

Well, I think SE-SCSI is out of the question. This device is definitely a F/W SCSI.
As it happens the unit was shipped with a cable which has a standard 68-pin F/W SCSI for connection to the DLT and a HVD (High Voltage Differential SCSI) for the server end. This make me suspect that we need a new style SCSI controller. But I have been unable to confirm it as the main cause. I am reluctant to install the patch that was suggested by Robert-Jan, until I know for sure that F/W SCSI-2 supports this device.

Thanks - Farhad.

[Leif Halvarsson_2]

Hi,
The VS 80 has a LVD/SE interface (it is compatible with both LVD and SE buses). Wide (68 pin) devices is also compatible with the Narrow SE (50 pin) bus (if a Wide device is connected to a Narrow bus , it switch to Narrow mode). The Narrow SE bus has a performance of about 5MB/s and the VS 80 a transfer rate of 6MB/s compressed 3MB/s native so there may be some limitations if using hardware compression.

[Pete Randall]

Farhad,

It appears, from what I can gather at Partsurfer ( http://partsurfer.hp.com ), that the VS80 is an LVD device and should have come with an LVD cable: C6282-61606 SCSI interface cable with thumbscrews on both ends - 68 pin high density (M) to 68 pin high density (M) - 2.0m (6.6ft) long. It needs to be connected to a LVD adapter:
Ultra 160 LVD SCSI adapter board (Adaptec ASC-29160) - 64 bit, 66MHz PCI - External 68 pin high density LVD connector, internal 68 pin Ultra 160 LVD connector, internal 68 pin single-ended connector, internal 50 pin narrow single-ended connector

-or-

PCI Ultra2 Wide Low Voltage Differential SCSI (LVDS) host bus adapter (Adaptec AHA-2940U2B)


Pete

[Farhad Zarrindej]

Pete,

The unit was shipped with the cable however, our HP D-Class doesn't have any SCSI LVD/SE
interfaces on it!

Our HP DLT 8000 was connected to a 68 pin FW SCSI-2 card. I can overcome the physical connectivity problem by using a 68-pin to 68 pin cable, but I am worried about the possibilities of damaging the drive as it is only a SE.

Do you know if we could purchase a LVD/SE for a D-class?

Thanks - Farhad.

[A. Clay Stephenson]

The D-box does have a built-in SE-SCSI that has a connector on the back panel. However, your new drive would be absolutely starved for data and would perform terribly. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU CONNECT YOUR LVD DRIVE TO an HVD SCSI bus. They are completely incompatible and you could damage every component on the bus. Because the cables physically fit means absolutely nothing. If you can't find another DLT8000 on the used-equipment market then you need to purchase an LVD/HVD SCSI bus convertor. One source is Blackbox Corp.

There an no LVD controllers for the D and R boxes.

[Farhad Zarrindej]

Thank you all,

We have decided to look for a replacement DLT 8000. This seems to be the safest option.

Thanks again,

Farhad.