8 Sep
2004
8 Sep
'04
12:49 p.m.
Hello all, new guy here, first post, help?
I saw some info about some DEC SCSI enclosures, probably RAID boxes,
holding 7 drives each, with power supply and "personality module." There
wasn't enough info in the post I saw to get me going.
I wonder if anyone might consider attempting
answering a question or two for me, as I have a pair of these myself. They
are marked MODEL SHDA2-ZZ on the back, and have 7 empty drive containers
each. The fan modules say BA35X-MD 2x which makes me suspect that I have a
pair of DEC Storageworks BA356 enclosures. They are gray in color.
They each have a personality module, apparently both BA35X-MH.
What do the switches do? The personality module with the sticker on it
that says SHELF 2 does NOT have the switches set according to the decal
on the module-- they are all off, whereas on the decal, one is advised
to turn switches 1-3 on and leave 4-7 off.
The module from the other unit is marked SHELF 1 and is in fact set the
way the decal advises.
Are these personality modules in fact RAID controllers?
Are they meant to provide logical unit control, so that the enclosure
looks like one SCSI ID to the outside world, with logical units on it?
Or do the SCSI ID numbers assigned by the enclosure get passed through
to the SCSI connector?
Is there any software out there to configure these units as to what
flavor of RAID to use? E.g. for Windows XP or Red Hat Linux?
Many thanks in advance if you can help or point me in the right
direction.
-Tom
8 Sep
8 Sep
1:32 p.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces(a)classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctalk-bounces@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Tom Peters
Sent: 08 September 2004 22:49
To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: DEC Storageworks BA356 questions
drive containers each. The fan modules say BA35X-MD 2x which
makes me suspect that I have a pair of DEC Storageworks BA356
enclosures. They are gray in color.
They each have a personality module, apparently both BA35X-MH.
16bit personality modules for wide-SCSI drives - the 8bit version was
BA35X-MG. This means you should have 2 68 pin plugs on there; make sure you
use the one down the side of the module rather than on the end. The end one
was for cascading.
What do the switches do? The personality module with
the
sticker on it that says SHELF 2 does NOT have the switches
set according to the decal on the module-- they are all off,
whereas on the decal, one is advised to turn switches 1-3 on
and leave 4-7 off.
I never had to change the switches on those; typically they were left unless
you were cascading shelves. I can check some -MH modules in the office
tomorrow if you're still stuck then.
The module from the other unit is marked SHELF 1 and
is in
fact set the way the decal advises.
You've got a cascaded pair there then.
Are these personality modules in fact RAID
controllers?
Nope, purely personality modules to support 16bit disks.
Or do the SCSI ID numbers assigned by the enclosure
get
passed through to the SCSI connector?
Correct; the SCSI ID is based on shelf number and which port on the host
machine you're plugged into.
Is there any software out there to configure these
units as
to what flavor of RAID to use? E.g. for Windows XP or Red Hat Linux?
No need - it's all hardware based - plug disks into shelf, plug shelf into
host machine and use disks :)
Cheers
--
Adrian/Witchy
Owner/Curator of Binary Dinosaurs, quite probably the UK's biggest private
home computer collection
www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the online museum
www.aaghverts.co.uk - *the* site for advert whinges!
www.snakebiteandblack.co.uk - former gothic shenanigans :(
9 Sep
9 Sep
5:08 a.m.
Thanks so much for your help!
Not knowing, I plugged the outside (on the end) scsi connection into a
AHA-2940 and was able to see the drive (only had one handy) I had put
inside. But later it did something twitchy, like complaining it could no
longer WRITE to the drive, although reading seemed ok. I didn't care so
much, it was just a basic test.
I was hoping the blinkenlights on the outside of the drive carriers would
work, but alas, they don't seem to.
At 11:32 PM 9/8/2004 +0100, you wrote:
[Computing] A language that doesn't affect the way you think about
programming is not worth knowing.
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
tpeters(a)nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio)
"HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB ADDRESS http//www.mixweb.com/tpeters
43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square
EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, Cisco Certified CCNA
-----Original
Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces(a)classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctalk-bounces@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Tom Peters
Sent: 08 September 2004 22:49
To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: DEC Storageworks BA356 questions
drive containers each. The fan modules say BA35X-MD 2x which
makes me suspect that I have a pair of DEC Storageworks BA356
enclosures. They are gray in color.
They each have a personality module, apparently both BA35X-MH.
16bit personality modules for wide-SCSI drives - the 8bit version was
BA35X-MG. This means you should have 2 68 pin plugs on there; make sure you
use the one down the side of the module rather than on the end. The end one
was for cascading.
What do the switches do? The personality module
with the
sticker on it that says SHELF 2 does NOT have the switches
set according to the decal on the module-- they are all off,
whereas on the decal, one is advised to turn switches 1-3 on
and leave 4-7 off.
I never had to change the switches on those; typically they were left unless
you were cascading shelves. I can check some -MH modules in the office
tomorrow if you're still stuck then.
The module from the other unit is marked SHELF 1
and is in
fact set the way the decal advises.
You've got a cascaded pair there then.
Are these personality modules in fact RAID
controllers?
Nope, purely personality modules to support 16bit disks.
Or do the SCSI ID numbers assigned by the
enclosure get
passed through to the SCSI connector?
Correct; the SCSI ID is based on shelf number and which port on the host
machine you're plugged into.
Is there any software out there to configure
these units as
to what flavor of RAID to use? E.g. for Windows XP or Red Hat Linux?
No need - it's all hardware based - plug disks into shelf, plug shelf into
host machine and use disks :)
Cheers
--
Adrian/Witchy
Owner/Curator of Binary Dinosaurs, quite probably the UK's biggest private
home computer collection
www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the online museum
www.aaghverts.co.uk - *the* site for advert whinges!
www.snakebiteandblack.co.uk - former gothic shenanigans :(
6:39 a.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces(a)classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctalk-bounces@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Tom Peters
Sent: 09 September 2004 15:09
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: RE: DEC Storageworks BA356 questions
longer WRITE to the drive, although reading seemed ok. I
didn't care so
much, it was just a basic test.
Yeah, if you just get the shelf with the personality module already in
you automatically assume that the outside one is the one to use :)
I was hoping the blinkenlights on the outside of the
drive
carriers would work, but alas, they don't seem to.
They should - the outermost one is the activity light (green) and the
innermost one (orange) is the fault light. Mind, they're just jumpered
off the drive itself so it's possible the drive in the carrier's been
replaced and the connector not refitted.
Cheers
--
adrian/witchy
owner & curator, Binary Dinosaurs - the UK's biggest online home
computer collection?
www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the Museum
www.snakebiteandblack.co.uk - former gothic shenanigans
www.aaghverts.co.uk - the place to whinge at adverts!
12:20 p.m.
On Thu, Sep 09, 2004 at 09:08:58AM -0500, Tom Peters wrote:
Not knowing, I plugged the outside (on the end) scsi
connection into a
AHA-2940 and was able to see the drive (only had one handy) I had put
inside. But later it did something twitchy, like complaining it could no
longer WRITE to the drive, although reading seemed ok. I didn't care so
much, it was just a basic test.
Hmm... that seems odd... does the drive still work if you pull it from the
canister and hook it up to a controller in a more traditional arrangement?
I have a BA-356 at home attached to a SPARC5 - I literally just loaded up
a few canisters, hooked the cable to a free SCSI port, and all the drives
just showed up. No voodoo. Between the backplane of the BA-356 and the
personality module, things should just be "taken care of".
IIRC, the reason for picking one SCSI connector over the other on the
personality module has to do with auto-termination. I don't recall
which one I have (it's 12,000 miles away), but mine came with the
wrong variety of SCSI cable (the host end was high-density connector
that's common to ultra-modern adapters, not found on vintage equipment),
so I had to cobble something together - I think I had to use an ordinary
68-pin HP SCSI cable to the "wrong" port on the BA-356, then use a 68-pin
ribbon cable to access the other port, then explicitly terminate it.
If you can use the "normal" StorageWorks cables, you shouldn't have
that problem.
-ethan
--
Ethan Dicks, A-130-S Current South Pole Weather at 09-Sep-2004 21:10 Z
South Pole Station
PSC 468 Box 400 Temp -36.3 F (-38.0 C) Windchill -67.09 F (-55.1 C)
APO AP 96598 Wind 14.3 kts Grid 315 Barometer 672.9 mb (10896. ft)
Ethan.Dicks(a)amanda.spole.gov http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html
5:23 p.m.
Thanks for the additional info.
At 09:20 PM 9/9/2004 +0000, you wrote:
On Thu, Sep 09, 2004 at 09:08:58AM -0500, Tom Peters
wrote:
This is believe was after monkeying with the dip switches. Good show I
wrote down how they were set before I tampered with them, eh? Drive still
works elsewhere and didn't have time to check into this further.
Not knowing, I plugged the outside (on the end)
scsi connection into a
AHA-2940 and was able to see the drive (only had one handy) I had put
inside. But later it did something twitchy, like complaining it could no
longer WRITE to the drive, although reading seemed ok. I didn't care so
much, it was just a basic test.
Hmm... that seems odd... does the drive still work if you pull it from the
canister and hook it up to a controller in a more traditional arrangement? I have a BA-356 at home attached to a SPARC5 - I
literally just loaded up
a few canisters, hooked the cable to a free SCSI port, and all the drives
just showed up. No voodoo. Between the backplane of the BA-356 and the
personality module, things should just be "taken care of".
I have some Compaq RAID controllers -- SmartArray 2H I think -- that work
famously with any old stack of SCSI drives, from 3 to 15, and does various
flavors of RAID. Might be the ticket.
IIRC, the reason for picking one SCSI connector over
the other on the
personality module has to do with auto-termination. I don't recall
which one I have (it's 12,000 miles away), but mine came with the
wrong variety of SCSI cable (the host end was high-density connector
that's common to ultra-modern adapters, not found on vintage equipment),
Mine came with no cables at all, so I'm cooking it all up on my own.
Ethan Dicks, A-130-S Current South Pole Weather at
09-Sep-2004 21:10 Z
South Pole Station
PSC 468 Box 400 Temp -36.3 F (-38.0 C) Windchill -67.09 F (-55.1 C)
APO AP 96598 Wind 14.3 kts Grid 315 Barometer 672.9 mb (10896. ft)
Ethan.Dicks(a)amanda.spole.gov http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html
[Philosophy] Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts, perhaps the fear
of a loss of power. ---John Steinbeck
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
tpeters(a)nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio)
"HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB ADDRESS http//www.mixweb.com/tpeters
43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square
EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, Cisco Certified CCNA
7251
days inactive
7252
days old
5 comments
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dickset＠amanda.spole.gov -
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