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From: summus!craig@uunet.uu.net (Craig Petty)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun
Subject: Re: 8mm off a VME/SCSI adaptor
Keywords: Software
Message-ID: <798@brazos.Rice.edu>
Date: 14 Aug 89 21:27:11 GMT
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Organization: Sun-Spots
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X-Sun-Spots-Digest: Volume 8, Issue 96, message 1 of 15

In article <569@brazos.Rice.edu> abrams@bnlux0.bnl.gov (The Ancient Programmer) writes:
>X-Sun-Spots-Digest: Volume 8, Issue 86, message 8 of 18
>
>I'm trying to get an Exabyte 8mm tape unit for my Sun 3/280 with a VME
>buss, running SUNOS 4.0.1, and I would rather not have to install a
>"foreign" driver in the kernel.  Salesmen, who all lie, have been giving
>me conflicting information.
>

Foreign drivers have a lot to offer over the Sun scsi drivers.  For one
thing, many work.  This definitely cannot be said about the Sun drivers.
Just try using a SCSI disk with the  SUN-SCSI driver.  Chances are it
won't work.  And as any regular readers of this newsgroup know, the
Exabyte has problems running under 4.0.1. (Unless you remove the st patch
or something, but the patch must have been put there for *some* reason)

I realize that many people are dealing with these shortcomings because
they already have the SUN-SCSI combination.  But for those who have a VME
bus I would recommend considering that foreign driver.  They often cost
less than official Sun alternatives and support a much wider range of
hardware.  And with the Sun product, you will be purchasing several "known
bugs" and "Sorry, the Exabyte is not a supported product".

I'm sitting here using a system with our foreign :-) Host adapter and
driver.  Attached I have a 8mm tape drive, a 4mm tape drive, a Magneto
Optical disk, a Maxtor XT-8760S, and a Wren V.  All work like a charm.
None require changes to the driver.  None involved Sun support. :-))))


Craig Petty

Summus Computer Systems
P.O. Box 219270
Houston, TX 77218

713-492-6611
800-255-9638
fax: 713-492-0092
-- 
craig