scsi help

[kevin97]

Hey all, i'm new to scsi devices so I need a bit of help.

I have a scsi controller card (IBM ULTRA320 Scsi Controller)

The card is preset to ID 7 for each channel.

If I hook up a hardware device to it, I'm assuming I have to use ID 0-6 or 8-15, is that correct?

It also states that each device you connect to it must have a unique scsi id from 0-15 on each channel. What do they mean by channel?

Also, the card came with a 4 pin cable on both ends. What is this used for and where do I hook it up on the mobo?


Second question: I'm hooking up a tape drive to this scsi controller and i'm a bit confused in regards to the scsi ID.

There's a diagram on the tape drive itself and theres also another diagram from the manual that came with the drive.

Below is how the tape drive looks:

It has 10 pins, the first 5 are for testing, the 6th is for tpwr and the last four are for the scsi ID

The scsi id's are as follows:

1 2 4 8

The drive from the factory has the one pin for the tpwr and one right beside it (scsi id 1) I'm assuming by factory, this drive is configured for SCSI ID#1.

Below is 2 links to the diagram in my manual

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/ddzc/scsi.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/ddzc/scsiid.jpg

As stated above, the last 4 pins are used for the scsi ID. The 4th last one which is set by factory, indicated that it's scsi id #1. In the diagram above, it shows that the current config is scsi id #8. It looks like the labels on the drive might be backwards or the manual diagram is backwards.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[edfair]

You are dealing with a more recent card than I'm familiar with but I will try to help.

You assumptions on ID are correct. But most systems will be looking for a boot device at ID0 or ID1. And generally ID0 (no ID jumpers) is always safe to use.

Some controllers have multiple doors to let data in and out. There will be a separate header connection for each channel.

I would suspect that you have a 4 wire cable for audio from you CD. But this is SWAG.

If the ID pins used are next to the TP set the ID is probably 8. You might see further ID marking on the tape controller board itself, or possibly embossed on the header plastic itself.

You know about termination being used on 1 device only?

There is no problem changing pins around between boots to sort out the addressing. Most controller cards will geve attached ID info during bootup and it won't hurt anything to power down before you get to boot.



Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[kevin97]

thanks for the response, So you think the diagram in the manual is correct and the label on the drive is incorrect?

The ID label on the tape drive is in this format:

TP 1 2 4 8

So if I put the jumper in the 4th last one, it should be ID #1. But in the diagram from the tape drive manual, the 4th last slot is ID 8.

I'm totally confused..

 

[wahnula]

kevin97,

That 4-wire cable/plug is for case activity LEDs. (Good SWAG edfair) Not to worry. For a complete guide go here:

ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/systems/support/system_x_pdf/13n2249_installation_guide.pdf

In the old days you had to terminate both ends of the bus, but I believe most modern devices have built-in terminators. Make sure your SCSI ID is correct (experiment like the venerable edfair suggests), device drivers are at hand, and termination is properly done and voila! you have a working SCSI chain. I cut my teeth on these and the robust performance, once configured, will not let you down.

Tony

 

[kevin97]

Thanks for the response.

It's currently working fine. At this point, i'm trying to determine if i'm running on ID 1 or 8. Is there any way I can find out from the OS or bios?

 

[edfair]

Kevin,
Confusion is good. It makes you think of how you are going to figure it out for yourself.
Any indication during POST that the SCSI card sees anything? Or any indication that it can be manually configured? Some boards can be configured by getting into their BIOS code and if so may have a bus scan available. A manual might help, although you've found that manuals are not always consistent with how parts are built. Tony's link indicates Adaptec, so a [CTRL][A] during post may get you into the board BIOS.

What kind of hardware is the board going into? And what kind of operating system. Some systems will indicate drives identified during their POST.


Tony,
IBM must add the 4 wire cable for some special case then. The Adaptec connector is for 2 activity lights but normally only 1 is used.
My experience started while it was SASI, then about a 10 year break, currently stuck at narrow due to OS & hardware considerations.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[wahnula]

Kevin,

I apparently linked to the wrong document, I saw a drawing of a 4-conductor cable as "LED case connector" elsewhere on the site.

Tony