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Application of Wide SCSI on AlphaServer 2000/2100/2100A: Revision/Update
Information
Version 1.5 - December 15, 1995
Also available as a pdf
document that contains diagrams of typical configurations.
Contents
Introduction
AlphaServer 2000, AlphaServer 2100, and AlphaServer
2100A pedestal systems support wide (16-bit) SCSI devices. Wide SCSI disks
can improve the performance of applications that need very high bandwidth
I/O data transfers. Also, wide devices allow migration to the newest PCI
SCSI controllers.
System Requirements for Wide Operation
The four system elements required for wide operation are
- Wide drives
- Wide shelves
- Wide controller
- Cables and terminators
Wide Drives
RZ29B-VW 4.3 GB 3.5-inch 7200 RPM Drive
RZ28D-VW 2.1 GB 3.5-inch 7200 RPM Drive
RZ28-VW 2.1 GB 3.5-inch 5400 RPM Drive
RZ28M-VW 2.1 GB 3.5-inch 5400 RPM Drive
RZ26L-VW 1.05 GB 3.5-inch 7200 RPM Drive
RZ26N-VW 2.1 GB 3.5-inch 5400 RPM Drive
Wide Shelves
The wide (16-bit) drives require wide (16-bit) shelves. Wide drives
may not be used in narrow (8-bit) shelves.
- All the AlphaServer 2100A models (4/275, 5/250, 5/300) have
a wide internal StorageWorks shelf .
- The following models of AlphaServer 2100 have a wide internal
StorageWorks shelf: 4/233, 4/275, 5/250, 5/300.
- The AlphaServer 2000 systems have a "wide-ready"
shelf; that is, the internal StorageWorks shelves are electrically
compatible with wide (16-bit) devices.
The first internal shelf that is integral to the AlphaServer
2100 4/200 is narrow. However, a wide BA35E enclosure can be added as
the optional second internal shelf.
The BA356 storage external expansion unit supports wide (16-bit) devices.
Wide Controllers
The following SCSI controllers allow wide devices to operate in wide
(16-bit) mode:
- KZPSC fast, wide controller for either RAID array or native SCSI operation
- KZPSA fast, wide differential connection to disks in BA35x- shelves.
Cables and Terminators
Requirements for cables and terminators depend on the particular platform
and controller. See the section Rules for
Cables and Terminators .
The sections describing specific drives list the minimum revisions of
operating system software and console firmware required to support the
various SCSI devices and controllers.
Mixing Narrow and Wide Devices, Controllers,
and Shelves
Wide drives may ONLY be used in wide shelves. However,
wide drives may operate in narrow (8-bit) mode when connected to a narrow
SCSI controller such as the AlphaServer 2000/2100 internal B2110/B2111
controller or the KZPAA PCI backplane controller or the 2100A backplane.
There is no performance advantage to running wide drives in narrow (8-bit)
mode. However, it allows a new drive such as the RZ29B-VW to run in a
current AlphaServer 2000/2100/2100A configuration without modification,
and later upgrade to a wide controller.
Narrow devices will work in wide shelves and can be mixed with wide
devices. The narrow devices always run in narrow (8-bit) mode, even when
connected to a wide SCSI controller. Minimum revision levels for the narrow
devices are listed in the section Narrow Drive
Revision Matrix .
The permitted combinations of controllers, shelves, wide and narrow
drives, and cables are as follows:.
Backplane
Adapter/
Controller Shelf Drive Cables Mode
N N N N N
N W N N N
N W W N N
W N N N N
W W N W N
W W W W W
Frequently Asked Questions
- QUES: Can a narrow device plug into a wide shelf?
ANS: Yes, the physical connections on the wide and
narrow StorageWorks Building Blocks (SBBs) are the same. However,
the device must be at the correct revision level. These revision levels
are clearly labeled on the side of the SBB. For example, all narrow
disk drives shipped in SBB since Nov. 1993 (see Narrow
Drive Revision Matrix ) will function properly as a narrow disk
drive when installed in a wide shelf.
- QUES: Can narrow and wide devices be mixed into a
wide shelf?
ANS: Yes. If the controller is narrow, all drives run
in narrow mode. If the controller is wide, wide drives run in wide mode
and narrow drives run in narrow mode.
- QUES: Can a wide device plug into a narrow shelf?
What happens if it is plugged in?
ANS: No! The device would not be seen by the console.
- QUES: Can narrow shelves and wide shelves be mixed
in the same cabinet?
ANS: Yes. Narrow drives must be in the narrow (lower
address bits) shelf.
- QUES Are wide devices clearly labeled so that they
can be easily identified?
ANS: Yes, on the front of the StorageWorks Building
Block (SBB) bezel.
- QUES: Are there wide and narrow choices for all devices
(including disks/tapes/CD/loader)?
ANS: The strategy is to provide both wide and narrow
devices at the system building block (SSB) level for all devices, as
wide devices become available. (Currently, only disks are available).
- QUES: Can wide and narrow add-on storage enclosures
be attached to the same system?
ANS: If the system configuration rules permit it. Requires
special adapter cables or boards if wide and narrow shelves are daisy
chained. Requires that system supports both wide and narrow SCSI.
- QUES: Can customers with narrow devices convert these
to plug into wide shelves and will they function properly?
ANS: Yes, see ANS. 2 above.
- QUES: What functional/performance advantages will
the customer see when they use wide drives without wide controllers?
ANS: There will be neither a functional nor performance
advantage. However, once the wide device is operated in wide mode on
a wide controller, there will be an improvement in the data throughput
performance, depending on the configuration and the application.
Configuration Rules
Rules for Narrow Drives
- Can be used in narrow shelf.
- Can be used in wide shelves. If wide drives are in the same shelf,
the narrow drives must be at the minimum device revision level listed
in the Narrow Drive Revision Matrix . (Wide
drives would not be seen by the console firmware or the operating system
if an older narrow drive were present.)
- Can be used with HSD05/HSD10.
- Can be used on narrow controllers such as AlphaServer 2100A
backplane, AlphaServer 2100 B2110 standard I/O, or AlphaServer
2000 B2111 I/O backplane and KZESC.
- Can be used on wide controllers such as KZPSA (requires DWZZA) and
KZPSC. Will run in narrow mode.
- Can be installed behind DWZZA and DWZZB.
Narrow Drive Revision Matrix
The following narrow device revisions are required in order to mix them
with wide drives in a wide shelf. These revisions are clearly labeled
on the bottom of the StorageWorks Building Block (SBB).
StorageWorks Description Min. Rev
Device No.
EZ51R-VA 100 Mbyte Ele Disk E03
EZ45R-VA 300 Mbyte Ele Disk E03
EZ58R-VA 800 Mbyte Ele Disk C03
RRD42-VB CDROM B03
RRD42-VU CDROM B04
RRD43-VA CDROM 2x B05
RRD43-VC CDROM 2x B05
RRD43-VU CDROM 2x hi per B05
RRD44-VA CDROM 2x hi per B03
RRD44-VU CDROM 2x hi per B03
RRD45-VA CDROM 4x A01
RRD45-VU CDROM 4x A01
RWZ52-VA Optical B03
RX26-VA 2.88 MB floppy B03
RZ25-VA 426 MB floppy D01
RZ25L-VA 535 MB disk all
RZ26-VA 1.05 GB disk H02
RZ26L-VA 1.05 GB disk B01
RZ28-VA 2.1 GB disk C01
RZ28B-VA 2.1 GB disk A01
RZ28M-VA 2.1 GB disk B01
RZ29B-VA 4.3 GB disk
RZ73-VA 2 GB disk B04
RZ74-VA 4 GB disk C04
SWXTE-AA 8 mm tape B03
SWXTE-AB 8 mm tape B03
TZ86-VA 6 GB DLT C01
TX87-VA 20 GB DLT all
TLZ06-VA 2 GB DAT B04
TLZ07-VA 5 GB DAT B04
TKZ09-VA 8 mm tape fh B03
TKZ15-VA 8 mm tape hh B03
TZK10-VA QIC tape C04
TZK10-VU QIC tape C04
TZK11-VA QIC tape B03
TZK11-VU QIC tape B03
Rules
for Wide Drives
- Can be used only in wide shelves.
- Cannot be used behind HSD05/HSD10. Wide drives will not be seen at
console or operating system level.
- Cannot be used in a shelf with any narrow drive having a revision
level less than that listed in the revision matrix..
Wide Drives
- RZ26L-VW 1.05 GB 3.5-inch Wide Drive
- RZ28-VW 2 .1 GB 3.5-inch Wide Drive
- RZ28D-VW 2.1 GB 3.5-inch Wide Drive
- RZ29B-VW 4.3 GB 3.5-inch Wide Drive
New Wide Disk Storage Device Information:
Minimum Revision and Operating System Requirements
RZ26L-VW
FW = 442E
Tru64 UNIX V1.3
OpenVMS V6.1
Windows NT V3.5
RZ28-VW
FW = 442E
Tru64 UNIX V1.3
OpenVMS V6.1
Windows NT V3.5
RZ29B-VW
FW = 0007
Tru64 UNIX V3.2
OpenVMS V6.1 *
Windows NT V3.5
* You cannot build OpenVMS V6.1 from distribution media to RZ29B.
Patch AXPDRIV02_061.1 is required. This is corrected in OpenVMS
V6.2.
Rules for Shelves
- All AlphaServer 2000 systems have internal shelves that run
wide and narrow devices.
- The AlphaServer 2100 4/233, 4/275, and 5/250 systems have internal
shelves that run wide and narrow devices.
- The AlphaServer 2100 4/200 system has one internal shelf that
is narrow.
- The AlphaServer 2100 4/200 second (optional) internal shelf
runs wide and narrow devices. (System shipments after December 1994.)
- All AlphaServer 2100A systems have internal shelves that run
wide and narrow devices.
Narrow Shelves
Internal: BA35E-SA, Rev. A01 Narrow internal 8 bay
RZXX shelf. (First/default shelf for AlphaServer 2100 4/200 systems)
External: BA350-KB Modular storage pedestal includes
BA350-SB basic shelf, BA35X-HA universal AC power supply, pedestal mounting
kit, and 120 V power cord, requires SCSI cable (BN21H-xx).
Rules for Narrow Shelves
- Narrow drives only
- Can use DWZZA
- Can use HSD05/HSD10
Wide Shelves
Internal: BA35E-SA, Rev. B01 Wide internal 8 bay RZXX shelf.
(Add-on shelf for all AlphaServer 2100 systems.) Default internal
shelf for AlphaServer 2000 and 2100 4/233, 4/275, and 5/250 systems
currently shipping.
External: BA356-KC Modular storage pedestal includes BA356-xx
basic shelf, BA35X-HA universal AC power supply, pedestal mounting kit,
and 120 V power cord, requires SCSI cable (BN31S-1E).
Rules for Wide Shelves
- Can use both wide and narrow drives. Narrow drives must have the revision
listed in the revision matrix if both narrow and wide drives will reside
in the same shelf. Otherwise, the wide drives will not be seen at console
or at the operating system level. (All of the narrow drives will be
seen.)
- Can use DWZZB.
- Can use HSD05/HSD10 only if all drives in the shelf are narrow.
- Split bus/shelf configuration requires that a terminator module be
ordered (BA35X-ME).
- Left-most connector (on recessed side) of Personality module is input
connector and right-most connector (at front) of Personality module
is output connector, for daisy-chaining/expanding enclosures. Personality
card provides bus termination for the enclosure. Plugging a cable into
the right-most connector disables the termination.
- OpenVMS and Tru64 UNIX currently support only IDs 0-7.
Windows NT supports 0-15.
If running Windows NT in an expanded (two BA356 enclosures daisy chained)
configuration containing a mixture of narrow and wide drives, the narrow
drives must be located in the BA356 shelf containing drive IDs 0-7. (Refer
to StorageWorks Solutions 16-Bit shelf and SBB Users Guide, part
no. EK-BA356-UG , for appropriate switch settings.)
Rules for Controllers
The following SCSI controllers can be used with both the narrow and
wide SCSI devices:
2100A backplane
B2110
B2111
KZESC
PB2HA
KZPAA
KZPSA
KZPSC
Only the wide SCSI controllers (KZPSA and KZPSC) will allow wide drives
to operate in wide mode.
2100A backplane/B2110/B2111 Internal Standard
Controller
- Supports wide drives in wide shelves. Drives run in narrow mode. Use
existing narrow cable.
- Supports mixed (narrow/wide) configurations in wide shelves.
KZESC EISA RAID Controller
- Controller is fast narrow single ended.
- Each channel supports SCSI IDs 0-7.
- A total of 8 logical drives can be created per controller.
- Supports both narrow and wide drives within the internal shelves.
- Wide drives are supported externally ONLY through the bulkhead, that
is, not through the expansion bulkhead using the CD-SWXCR-AA cable kit.
- Minimum supported operating system:
- OpenVMS V6.1 (four-controller support; does not support
host-based shadowing)
- Windows NT Server V3.5 (two-controller support)
- Tru64 UNIX V3.0B (four-controller support)
- ARC console bug : Cannot see beyond first logical drive if a RAID
controller is installed. Affects Windows NT only. Drives are seen once
booted. Will be fixed in Rev 4.0 of console (contains 4.2x ARC).
- HW = C02, FW = 2.15
- Sable SRM V3.8 (4-controller support)
- RAID Standalone Configuration Utility (RCU)=
V3.08 for Rev V3.xx console
V3.11 for Rev V4.xx of console (backwards compatible)
V3.11 supports AlphaServer 2100 5/250
NOTE: Using V3.08 RCU with Rev V4.xx of console will likely
render the KZESC unusable.
KZPSA PCI Fast Wide Differential SCSI Controller
- Controller is fast wide, so must connect to either a DWZZA, DWZZB
or HSZ40.
- Minimum supported operating system:
OpenVMS V6.2 (support is to be determined)
Windows NT Server V3.5
Tru64 UNIX V3.2A
HW = F01, FW = A07*, FW update Utility = V1.2
Sable SRM V3.11-19
ARC V3.5-31
- AlphaServer 2100A PCI Option Restrictions:
The AlphaServer 2100A system has an on-board PCI-to-PCI bridge
(DECchip 21050).
Physical slots 4, 5, 6, and 7 are the bottom 4 slots in front of the
bridge (primary PCI).
Physical slots 0, 1, 2, and 3 are the top 4 slots behind the bridge
(secondary PCI).
On 2100A systems, install the KZPSA only in front of the bridge for
correct configuration with ARC firmware utilities. Once configured,
the KZPSA can be moved behind the bridge on systems running OpenVMS.
* FW = A08 (currently) for OpenVMS V6.2
KZPSC PCI RAID Controller
- Controller can run either fast wide single ended or fast narrow single
ended. In mixed (wide/narrow) drive configurations, the controller will
negotiate to capabilities of individual drives.
- In a mixed (narrow/wide) configuration, if the wide drives are not
seen and a drive appears with FMT (format required) status (seen at
the RAID Configuration Unit Level), then the drive is not at the correct
revision level (See the Narrow Drive Revision
Matrix .)
- Adapter plug (H4086-AA) required to cable to narrow internal shelf.
- Each channel supports SCSI IDs 0-7.
- A total of 8 logical drives can be created per controller.
- Wide drives require wide shelves.
- Minimum supported operating system:
- OpenVMS V6.2 (supports host-based shadowing support and on-line
GUI monitor utilities).
- Windows NT Server 3.5
- Tru64 UNIX V3.0B
- HW = B01, FW = 2.19
- Sable SRM V3.8
RAID Standalone Configuration Utility (RCU)
V3.08 for Rev V3.xx console
V3.11 for Rev V4.xx of console (backwards compatible)
DWZZA Fast Wide Differential to Fast Narrow Single
Ended Converter
- Slot 0 for -VA version
- Min. revision level: DWZZA-AA/VA E01/F01
- Used in narrow shelves only.
DWZZB-Fast Wide Differential to Fast Wide Single
Ended Converter
- Slot 0 for -VW version.
- Min. revision level: DWZZB-AA/VW A01/A01.
- Used in wide shelves only.
- Will support both narrow and wide drives.
Rules for Cables and Terminators
AlphaServer 2100/2100A Internal Cables
- KZPSC to an internal narrow shelf (field upgrades or AlphaServer 2100
4/200), the BC25R-3B cable would be used along with H4086-AA 68/50-pin-adapter-plug.
- KZPSC to internal (wide) BA35E shelf: BC25T-3L
- KZPSC to EISA cable bracket (to route outside of enclosure): BN31K-0E
- KZPSA is a fast wide differential device. FWD is not supported internal
to the 2100; hence there is no connection. (Also, there is no internal
connector on the KZPSA.)
AlphaServer 2000 Internal Cables
- KZPSC to internal (wide) BA35E shelf: BC25U-2H
- KZPSC to EISA cable bracket(to route outside of enclosure): BN31K-0E
- KZPSA is a fast wide differential device. FWD is not supported internal
to the AlphaServer 2000; hence there is no connection. Also, there is
no internal connector on the KZPSA.
KZPSA External Cables
- BN21K-** from KZPSA to DWZZA/DWZZB/HSZ40 (straight to right angle)
- BN21W-0B Y SCSI-2 Cable 68 pins for using KZPSA in mid-bus (daisy-chained)
configurations.
** = Variants depend on cable length
KZPSC External Cables
- BN31L-1E from KZPSC to BA350
- BN31S-1E from KZPSC to BA356
Cable Length
The maximum cable length for the SCSI-2 bus depends on whether it is
Fast or Slow
Single Ended or Differential
Fast Slow
*Single Ended 3 meters 6 meters
Differential 25 meters 25 meters
* This includes .5 meter cable length
used inside the AlphaServer 2000 and 2100 systems. BA35X includes 1.0
meter internal etch.
Terminators
- H879-AA SCSI-3 Terminator Block 68-pin male passive terminator (terminate
the end of a wide differential bus)
- H8862-AA (Future) 68-pin active terminator (terminates the end of
a wide single-ended bus)
- H885-AA SCSI-3 tri-link connector block for DWZZA/DWZZB
Diagrams of Typical Configurations
For diagrams of typical wide SCSI configurations, download
the pdf version
of this document.
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