Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!rice!sun-spots-request From: ginosko!cg-atla!weber@uunet.uu.net (Jeff Weber) Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun Subject: Re: Can you use SMD disks on a Sun 330? Keywords: Hardware Message-ID: <1744@brazos.Rice.edu> Date: 25 Sep 89 13:18:42 GMT Sender: root@rice.edu Organization: Sun-Spots Lines: 38 Approved: Sun-Spots@rice.edu X-Sun-Spots-Digest: Volume 8, Issue 140, message 2 of 13 In article <1539@brazos.Rice.edu> you write: >X-Sun-Spots-Digest: Volume 8, Issue 125, message 10 of 19 > >The Sun sparcstation 330 has 5 VME slots (3x9U 2x6U). The VME slots can >presumably be used for any reasonable VME board, (like a third party >VME/SMD disk controller) but Sun does not offer the 330 in any >configuration with SMD disks. > >Why? Is it that their SMD-4 controller is 9U and won't fit? (why not? the >cpu takes only one 9U slot?) How about: Sun wants you to buy a bigger machine so they can make more money? Look closely; the framebuffer mounting on the CPU board extends into the next 9u slot preventing you from using it, it seems. This results in having 1-9u and 2-6u slots to grow in. Try a Xylogic 753 SMD controller. It seems pretty well assumed around the net that they are the same as Sun's SMD-4 and it is in a 6u form factor. >Is there anything that would stop me from using someone else's disk >subsystem? Do you know of any that definitely work on the 330? (I know of >lots of SMD systems, but they might not work). Well let's see..... The install tapes are the same between 330 and 370's w/SMD. The CPU is the same. They both are VME bus. I do this type of cross building quite often. Usually you can get away with it. >We are trying to get a SPARC system which for political reasons has to be ><= $30,000 ,but we want to expand it next year into a reasonable server. >SMD disks are preferred for swapping and paging large cpu-intensive jobs. You may try IPI. SMD is dying. >Any comments are appreciated. Please mail me, as I am (our site is) >way behind in News, so I won't see anything there for a while. >Thanks. If I find out anything useful, I'll summarize.