6 Jul
2010
6 Jul
'10
10:36 a.m.
There's no standard on-disk format for SMD drives,
unfortunately.
Within the DEC-compatible SMD world, many controllers (especially the Massbus-emulating)
offered lowest-common-denominator compatibility with DEC RM03/RM05/RP05 packs
in CDC 9762/CDC 9766/Memorex 677-51 drives.
There are some delicate hooks between the software device drivers, Massbus registers, and
the low level format that made it desirable to keep this lowest-common-denominator there
even for SMD drives that had geometries nothing like the 9762/9766/677-51.
But in the Sun/VME world I know of no such lowest-common-denominator standard.
Tim.