Subject: Re: uVAX II Q-bus hardware (KZQSA)
To: Paul A Vixie <paul@vix.com>
From: Gunnar Helliesen <gunnar@bitcon.no>
List: port-vax
Date: 03/21/1996 00:47:33
On Wed, 20 Mar 1996, Paul A Vixie wrote:

> > > Which Q-BUS SCSI cards are supported?  Is the KZQSA supported?  If not 
> > > any work being done to support it?  Any help need?
> >
> > If KZQSA is made in the same manner as KFQSA (a MSCP-emulating
> > DSSI controller) then it should work. I haven't tried either
> > of them.
> 
> The KZQSA doesn't do MSCP emulation, it's a pure SCSI animal.  DEC does not
> support it except on the 5400 and 5500 (MIPSco processors), last I checked.

I've personally installed several of these cards in VAX4300 and VAX4500 
machines to connect TZ30 (TK50) tape drives and RRD42 CD-ROMs. The simple 
reason for this was that the KZQSA controller _with_ the TZ30 (in a 
"pizza-box" cabinet, same as uVAX3100) _and_ the RRD42 was _cheaper_ than 
the TK70 drive with controller!

When I ordered this combo for a customer DEC always called me up to warn 
me that this configuration was "not supported for booting from". Didn't 
matter, it still worked fine (including booting from both the TZ30 and 
the RRD42).

VMS uses the DKDRIVER.EXE driver (included from VMS V5.3, same driver 
used for the built-in SCSI controller in VAX3100 and maybe others) to 
access drives on this controller. SCSI drives on this controller are named 
DKnnn (disk) and MKnnn (tape) in VMS, no [T]MSCP emulation going on here...

The KZQSA controller is actually two controllers, each supports a maximum 
of _two_ SCSI devices (don't ask, I don't know why). You can not mix 
disks and tapes on the same controller (i.e. one card can support either 
two disks and two tapes, four tapes or four disks).

Gunnar

--
Gunnar Helliesen   | Bergen IT Consult AS  | NetBSD/VAX on a uVAX II
Systems Consultant | Bergen, Norway        | Jaguar Enthusiast/Ford owner
gunnar@bitcon.no   | http://www.bitcon.no/ | Vicki who? What .sig virus?