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From: muller@sdcc3.UUCP (Keith Muller)
Newsgroups: net.periphs
Subject: Re: 6250 tape drive experience ??
Message-ID: <2636@sdcc3.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 17-Jan-85 13:32:23 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcc3.2636
Posted: Thu Jan 17 13:32:23 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 21-Jan-85 03:42:00 EST
References: <177@hsi.UUCP>
Organization: U.C. San Diego, Academic Computer Center
Lines: 32

> We're looking for a modestly priced ($10K - $20K) 6250 bpi tape system.
> Talking to Emulex they have the Cipher M990/M991 CacheTape which streams
> at 125 ips with a 128 Kbyte cache for around $13K.  They also have the
> Kennedy 9400 which is a standard Kennedy start/stop at 45 ips for
> 6250 or 75 ips at 800/1600 for around $17K.  Both will interface through
> the Emulex TC7000 Massbus controller to our 11/785 under 4.2 BSD.
> (The prices above include the TC7000.)
> 
> My questions are: has anyone had any experience with either of these ??
> Any other recommendations ??  Do you really think that the Cipher
> with 128 Kbytes of cache will ever stream on a 785 ??  (We don't want to
> make any kernel changes to have the drive stream.)  Thanks.
> 
> 	Richard Stevens
> 	Health Systems International, New Haven, CT
>            ihnp4 ! hsi ! stevens

I have 5 Kennedy 9400 tape drives, 3 connected to vaxes and 2 connected
to pyramid 90x's. I have had no difficulty at all with them. How good your
tape drive works depends a lot on the coupler (the 9400 has a formatter
built in). You will have to make a small mod to the vax device driver
if you want software control for all three densities. If you can live
with just two (you can have either 6250/1600 or 1600/800) then no mods
are required. I have a tc13 coupler on the vaxes which is truely the wrong
coupler as the microcode emulates a ts11. Thus on the vaxes I have no
software control of the density. To switch denisty you have to select the
correct one on the kennedy in the local mode. If I had any say, I would have
purchased the TC7000 also. 

Keith Muller
University of California
Academic Computer Center