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Date:	Wed, 4 May 2005 22:45:26 PDT7
From:	Steve Carter <scarter@vcnet.com >
Reply-To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
Subject:	SCOUG-Help: Re: ULTRA II SCSI card

Content Type: text/plain

JR:

SCSI4me is currently selling the 29160N for $82.

http://www.scsi4me.com/?menu=menu_scsi&pid=27&display=29160N.htm

The external 50-pin connector and the separate SE bus on a single
channel HA makes it especially useful to me. The Adaptec 29160N is
a special case and has most of the advantages of a dual-channel HA,
in a single-channel, cost-effective implementation.

However, in an attempt to be loyal to a former employer and
avoid Adaptec, I actually bought:

Tekram DC-390U3W (external 68-pin connector, but dual channel)
and the very similar
LSI Logic SYM21040 (external 68-pin connector, but dual channel)

I decided that I could add an external 50-pin connection with an
end-of-cable adapter like I'm doing now, putting the HA in the
middle of the narrow bus, for the legacy 50-pin SCSI channel.

80-pin drives are frequently available at bargain prices as "surplus".
If you use a quality 80-68pin adapter they can easily be connected
to a LVD SCSI bus. The (any) adapters add a discontinuity to the SCSI bus,
so caution is required and not too many drives, if you want the
fastest bus speeds. One or two drives should present no problem
with quality adapters and cabling.

I've not installed either HA, I'm sorry to say. I've been away a lot
(on family business) over the last 8 months, and I've got a lot
of catching up to do. Installing a new SCSI HA has taken a back
seat to other things (I hope to get caught up before Christmas).

-- Steve

Although I'll probably never use it, I did get HPFS386 from Hobbes
before it disappeared. The potentially huge disk cache was irresistible.
It's really too bad that the regular HPFS driver is limited to 2MB.

++++++++++++++++++++++++
On 5/4/05, JR Fox wrote, in part:
>Steve Carter wrote:
>
>> I especially like the specs of the Adaptec 29160N, since all my
>> external devices are slow and narrow (or can be). Dual channel is
>> the way to go if you have a mix of SCSI devices, as I do. Single
>> channel is great for just SCSI HDs.
>
>Hi Steve,
>
>Over a year ago, I bought what was supposed to be a 29160N on Ebay, but
>it turned out to be an OEM 29160, with an external 68 pin connector --
>not what I wanted. (I'm not even sure it is dual-channel, like the
>"N".) I should have determined that right away, instead of months later
>. . . but I didn't spend that much on it.
>
>> In the end, however, I chose LSI because of driver issues and because
>> I got what I wanted a a good price.
>
>Yes, but did LSI have anything that was feature equivalent to the 29160N?
>If so, what was the model # ? Their U320 cards all seems to have
>RAID, which is well beyond anything I plan to do.
>
>> At one time, HPFS386 was available on Hobbes.
>
>Must have been a short-lived error. HPFS386 sold separtely for hundreds
>of $$, I thought.
>
>btw, you never replied to my follow-up queries (email dated 2/20/05).
>I have since made a couple purchases, one of which proved to be a mistake,
>but I'd still value your comments. >Jordan
>=====================================================

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