System Pro WAS RE: Compaq Smart Array 3200 Controller as a SCSI Controller

Funny story about that - I just setup a Systempro XL at home to play with. It is fully decked out w/ dual processor 50MHZ 486s (not DX2), 512MB of memory, a 4GB SCSI Boot Drive and six 2GB SCSI drives in RAID 5. The Compaq systems came standard with what Compaq called the IDA (Intelligent Drive Array). It was IDE based but did not use standard IDE drives. I think it could do RAID 0, 1, and 3 (or the equivalents there of). Compaq even had a few iterations of the controller and cached ones. Interestingly the Systempro XL had a SCSI 2 controller on the MB mainly used for the tape dive or CD while the base config came with an IDA 2 controller and could have up to eight drives. In addition you could install extra IDA controllers for even more drives or to drive external boxes. Or you could upgrade to a SCSI array - which is what I have running in my Systempro XL. Target OS was WinNT 3.1 initially and then 4.0. 2K was also supported but the machine really was not meant for 2k. You could also run OS/2, Novell Netware, Compaq DOS, and supposedly there was even a version of MS LanMan (the full server OS not the client) for the Systempro that allowed SMP. -Ali