From: thompson@pan.ssec.honeywell.com ((jt) John Thompson)
Subject: re: 3rd Party Hard Disks for Apollo's
Organization: Electrotechnical Laboratory, Tsukuba Science City
Distribution: fj
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 15:06:39 GMT
Return-Path: <apollo-list-errors@srvr1.engin.umich.edu>



> I am interested in adding non-HP 1.3 Gbyte hard drives to a
> HP/Apollo 425t, 425s, and DN10000 workstations.  I am looking
> for non-HP disks in order to keep the cost of the disks down.
OK, OK, not-OK, GoodForYou.
 
> The 425t has two 200 MByte internal drives, so I plan to buy
> an HP model 660D Mass Storage System.  I would then buy a 1.3
> GByte drive and install it into the 660D.
> 
> The 425s was purchased with a 1.3 GByte (HP) disk and I wish
> to install another disk.
> 
> The DN10000 has one 697 Mbyte internal drive and I would like
> to add a 1.3 GByte drive onto the single controller.
BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD in all likelihood.  
Item 1 -- you can't use SCSI drives on the DN10000.
Item 2 -- unless you've sprung for the new controllers, you can't put
          on anything higher than the 697MB drive that you already have.
Item 3 -- If you still want to, you want a Maxtor XT8760E drive, with 
          a mounting bracket for the DN10000.  You shouldn't need any
          cables, but should shut down the system and verify that you
          have a full cable set (2 data, 1 wide control) going from the
          controller down to the disk area.
Item 4 -- Again, if you decide to do it, make sure that you remove the
          termination resistors from the new drive, since Apollo's setup
          has drive 0 (the one you have) at the END of the control cable.
          That way, they don't have to play w/ the already-installed drive.
          Also, check the jumper-settings against the 'jumper' program.
          They aren't the same as a DNxxxx system's settings.

> My questions are as follows:
> 
>   1.  What non-HP 1.3 GByte drives are compatible with the
>       above mentioned machines and configurations?
With the 9000/4xx line, almost all SCSI-1 drives work.  I haven't seen anyone
complain about one not working (but get your sales person to guarantee it).
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PUT IN A SCSI-2 DRIVE.  IT WILL NOT WORK IN DOMAIN/OS.  PERIOD.

>   2.  What hardware (ie: screws, mounts, etc) if any do I
>       need to mount the drives?
If you're going to install the drive(s) internally, then you need to get the
appropriate mounting bracket. Several of the 3rd-party resellers will include
the necessary brackets/screws (but make sure you ask them to).  If you're going
to use an external cabinet, then you need the cabinet/power supply (of course),
and a SCSI cable.  The computer end is the high-density SCSI connector, and
the cabinet end(s) are up to you to decide on.  FOr instance, we use the low-
density connectors for all our external cabinets.  That lets us specify a hi-
to-low cable for the first one, and then we daisy-chain with low-to-low cables.

>   3.  Should I expect any compatibility problems between the
>       HP and non-HP hardware?
With SCSI drives, not many.  I'd suggest talkking to your friendly reputable
reseller and getting some guarantees.
 
>   4.  What 3rd party vendors sell hard disk upgrades for the
>       above mentioned Apollo's?
Lots.  Consult the FAQ file, check out the HP/Apollo rags, check out the
generic-Unix rags.
 
>   5.  Is there anyone out there in net land that has had
>       some experience with adding disks to their Apollo's?
Lots and lots and lots.  We even have people on this newsgroup who are
employed by the resellers.  (And his information is pretty darned good too!)



-- jt --
John Thompson
Design Services Engineer / Sys-Admin
Honeywell, SSEC
Plymouth, MN  55441
thompson@pan.ssec.honeywell.com

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
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