Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!rochester!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!tekcrl!tekgvs!keithe
From: keithe@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Keith Ericson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: RLL disks / pros & cons
Message-ID: <5561@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM>
Date: 12 Jul 89 22:21:14 GMT
References: <26246@agate.BERKELEY.EDU<
Reply-To: keithe@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Keith Ericson)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
Lines: 31

In article <26246@agate.BERKELEY.EDU< ilan343@violet.berkeley.edu writes:
<Sorry if this question has been answered millions of times before,
<but here it goes:
<
<I am setting up a 386 clone for home use. I would like to have as large
<a hard disk as possible for < $600. The most attractive option I've
<seen in adds in the local computer rags is a TOSHIBA MK72PC which
<formats at 110MB with an RLL controller.
<Is there any counter indications to using RLL drives?
<What other drives in this price range are recommended for RLL?
<I plan to move to UNIX eventually, do  386 UNIXs support RLL drives?
<
<Thanks for your help

Standard issue around here is a Maxtor XT-1085 connected to an
Adaptec 2372B RLL controller formatted to 1200 or so cylinders.
That yields about 130 Megabytes.  The XT-1085's can be had for around
$580 or so.  The Adaptec controller is about $140.  So for something
in the neighborhood of $720 you get a fast (1:1 interleave, CORE27
tests at 650+Kbytes/sec) hard disk system with a fair-sized capacity.

I run DOS 3.30A and 4.01, AT&T UNIX 5.2.3 and ESIX 3.2.01 all with
no difficulty on this combination.  (The UNIX installs don't even
realize they're going onto an RLL drive.)  Don't ask about XENIX -
I've never used it.

kEITHE

PS - I buy the drives from KIS Computer Center, Milpitas CA,
     (408-942-8088) and the controllers from our local Wyle
     distributor.