Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!cs.dal.ca!lane
From: lane@cs.dal.ca (John Wright/Dr. Pat Lane)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Dumb question: what is ESDI? (was Re: ESDI or SCSI or RLL?)
Message-ID: <1990Apr10.081001.315@cs.dal.ca>
Date: 10 Apr 90 08:10:01 GMT
References: <1990Apr5.210406.6207@cimcor.mn.org> <8761@pt.cs.cmu.edu>
Reply-To: lane@cs.dal.ca.UUCP (John Wright/Dr. Pat Lane)
Distribution: na
Organization: Math, Stats & CS, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Lines: 32

OK, I know I should look this up somewhere and I've been meaning to but
I haven't stumbled over it yet and I can't resist any more.

What exactly is ESDI and how is it distinguished from ST506 and SCSI?

I am aware, as the article I reference stated, that ST506, ESDI and SCSI
are competing interfacing standards for hard disk drives (and other
peripherals, I assume).  I gather they are successors to the old ST412
standard that we all used to hook out ST225's to our WD1002's.  I gather
ST506 is physically the same as ST412.  I am vaguely aware of SCSI as a
very high speed serial interface where devices are daisy chained on a
single cable.  (I even remeber the old HP GPIB interface!)  But I have
no idea what ESDI is.

Could some kind soul give me a quick comparative description on ST412, 
ST506, SCSI, ESDI and any other notable inteface (and correct me if I've
said anything incorrect above)?

Lately, I've been working with drives from Western Digital and Miniscribe
that have the controller built into the drive (now called an "intelligent
storage peripheral" or somesuch) and are connected to a simple "adapter"
card by a single ribbon cable which can be daisy chained to other devices.
Where do these fit into the scheme of thinks.

Thanks very much for any information and please mail me a copy even if
you post a response because I miss alot of news.  Thanks, again.

-- 
John Wright      //////////////////     Phone:  902-424-3805  or  902-424-6527
Post: c/o Dr Pat Lane, Biology Dept, Dalhousie U, Halifax N.S., CANADA B3H-4H8 
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