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From: tim@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu (Timothy L. Kay)
Newsgroups: comp.periphs
Subject: Re: SGI IRIS 80GTB SCSI bus problem solved
Message-ID: <12289@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Date: 18 Oct 89 22:09:47 GMT
References: <12249@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> <43065@sgi.sgi.com> <12492@polya.Stanford.EDU>
Reply-To: tim@cit-vax.UUCP (Timothy L. Kay)
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Lines: 44

Let me put an end to the not-so-constructive discussion about Silicon
Graphics that has resulted from a simple informative posting I made
last week.  I posted the _fact_ that SGI shipped our 80GTB with the
SCSI bus over-terminated.  Jim Barton and others from SGI
misinterpretted what I said in the posting and said that I was
configuring the bus incorrectly.

He was refering to my having placed devices on the SCSI bus after the
tape drive.  He claimed that the tape drive was supposed to be the
last device on the bus.  It wasn't that way when they shipped it, and
he missed an even more important point.  The disk drive was the last
device on the bus, and *both* the disk drive and the tape drive had
their terminators in place.

The manufacturing people (not the FE's) were responsible, and they did
something they shouldn't have.  I talked to Jim Barton on the phone
and explained again what I had said in the article.  He agreed that
the machine was shipped misconfigured.  He said that he would make
sure that it doesn't happen again.  Thank you, Mr. Barton!

Since I fixed the problem, our SCSI bus has worked rock solid with
five devices on it.  We plan to add another one or possibly two
devices (five 300 MB disks and two tape drives).

Now, let me comment on the equipment.  We use the machine as part of
our work in the Caltech Computer Graphics Lab.  It is a fabulous
machine.  It out performs its competitors' top-of-the-line machines,
and it isn't even the fastest machine you can get from SGI (by a long
shot).  If you ask me by email, I'll tell you whose equipment I am
refering to.

In conclusion, I think SGI makes *great* equipment.  They were
slightly slow at taking constructive criticism, but I firmly believe
that Jim Barton will see (has seen?) to it that the problem is fixed.
If it weren't for this newsgroup, I would have only the salesperson to
tell the problem, and that would probably have gone nowhere.  So, this
forum served a good purpose.

Tim Kay
Caltech
818-449-6017

P.S.  I hope the damage from the earthquake is repaired soon enough
for the people at SGI to see my comments.