SMD disk specifications

[Mattis Lind]

lördag 14 december 2019 skrev jim stephens via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org
>:

>
>
> On 12/14/2019 1:10 AM, shadoooo via cctalk wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>> I also was searching about a clear SMD specification years ago, I found
>> something in disk documentation from CDC, but doubts remain, because some
>> disks call the interface SMD, some other CMD, never understood the
>> difference...
>>
> CMD was the name of the division that manufactured the disks, FWIW. Not
> heard of CDC calling it anything other than SMD.  It was their golden
> goose, so though it's not really a spec, reading the specs of any CDC drive
> of an equivalent capability as you are looking for is probably what any
> standard would contain.


I think the name of the division was MPI. CMD was the Cartridge Module
 Drive aka Phoenix.

http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/cdc/discs/CDC_Drive_Models.txt

But as far as I know the interface of the SMD drives and CMD drives were
identical. At least the Norsk Data ND10 used them both on the same
interface in the computer end.

/Mattis


> The big problem they faced was there wasn't a second act for them, despite
> spending huge amounts on a lot of other products.  They continued using
> oddball interfaces to try to pull the same stunt and people didn't fall for
> it twice.
>
> The closesest that anyone came to challenging them was the Trident
> interface, but they crashed and burned anyway.
>
> When did you see something called CMD?
> thanks
> Jim
>
>> Andrea
>>
>>
>>
>