Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!romp!auschs!awdprime!tanstaafl.austin.ibm.com!johnson
From: johnson@tanstaafl.austin.ibm.com (Fred L. Johnson)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.aix
Subject: Re: 9-Track Tape Drive on RS6000
Message-ID: <5756@awdprime.UUCP>
Date: 6 Mar 91 00:16:29 GMT
References: <1991Mar4.203348.3058@uoft02.utoledo.edu>
Sender: news@awdprime.UUCP
Reply-To: johnson@tanstaafl.austin.ibm.com (Fred L. Johnson)
Organization: IBM
Lines: 23

> 	1. Is IBM's RS6000 SCSI, an Industry Standard SCSI?

Yes.  To quote from the SCSI adapter spec, "This adapter conforms to the SCSI
ANSI standard X.131-1986.  The adapter acts as an initiator with a conformance
level of 2 as defined in the standard.  Fused terminal power is supplied 
through a diobe by the adapter, and parity is implemented."
 
> 	2. Can I buy a Cipher 9-track tape drive and hook it
> 	   up, without any hardware additions?
 
I don't know.

> 	3. Do we need a special driver written for this?

Probably.  The SCSI tape device driver was written to specifically support the
3 IBM tape drives (unlike the disk drive that has an osdisk definition to 
handle other SCSI disks).

Fred L. Johnson               Internet:     johnson@aixwiz.austin.ibm.com
IBM Austin                    IBM Internal: johnson@tanstaafl.austin.ibm.com
AIX BOS Field Quality         IBM VNET:     FJOHNSON at AUSVMQ
11400 Burnet Road,  994/3401  phone:        (512) 823-4706
Austin, TX  78758-3493        tie line:     793-4706