Info-3b2 Digest, Number 79

[Ken Davis]

                           Info-3b2 Digest, Number 79
 
                             Tuesday, May 2nd 1989
 
Today's Topics:
 
                        Seeking info on disk drive upgrde
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Subject: Seeking info on disk drive upgrde
From: info-3b2 at netsys.COM
Date: Tue, 02 May 89 12:43:57 -0400

Presently, we are running a 3B2/400 with 2 internal drives, a 72 Mbyte
and a 121 Mbyte.  We are looking to increase our total capacity and have
decided to go the standalone SCSI route.  This would let us move the
drive to a new machine should we purchase a new and larger cpu.

My information on AT&T products is as follows:

Order No.	  Description			List Price
 36205		300 MB Hard Disk Module		 $10,500
 73263		Single ended Host Adapter	 $ 2,000

Although I've shown the list prices, I believe the 2 items can be had
for something around $9,000 total.  So question one:

Does anyone have experience with this drive and/or this configuration?
Any problems with the drive or mixing of ST506 and SCSI in same system?

I guess that is two questions, but there are more to come.

Recently, a company called Reality Computer Systems, inc. has been
advertising in Unix World non-AT&T, standalone SCSI modules for use
with the AT&T host adapter, which they also sell.

Prod. No.	  Description			Price
 RCS300S	300 MB SCSI Disk Module		$4,995
 RCS600S	600 MB SCSI Disk Module		$5,495
 3B2HA		SCSI Host Adapter		$1,400

I called and found that the drives used by Reality were not the same
brand as those in the AT&T products, they are CDC drives.  Also, the
host adapter is the AT&T product.  Sounds like for $6,400 we could get
the same capability as the AT&T products and for $500 more, double the
capacity (600 MB).  Access time on the CDC drives is listed as 18 msec.
I think this is the same as the AT&T drives and faster than our current
drives.

Anyone have opinion on the CDC drives relative to those in the AT&T
modules?  Any experience with Reality?  What other questions should I
be asking?  Does any software come with the AT&T products that I will
need and perhaps not get from Reality?

I've no connection with either vendor.  In anticipation of the question
Reality can be reached at:

	Reality Computer Systems, Inc.
	8868 Research Blvd.  Bldg. A-104
	Austin, Texas  78758

	(800) 333-8649
	attmail: reality1!scsi

Thanks for the input,

Jon LaBadie, Ph.D.
The CBIS Institute
(201) 981-8900
{attmail, att, bcr}!auxnj!jon   or   {princeton, att, bcr}!jonlab!jon

 
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