Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site sdcc3.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!teddy!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!hao!hplabs!sdcrdcf!sdcsvax!sdcc3!muller 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