> From port-vax-owner-clowenst=ucsd.edu@netbsd.org Mon Sep 18 09:25 PDT 2000
> From: NetBSD Bob <nbsdbob@weedcon1.cropsci.ncsu.edu>
> Subject: Drive formatting capacity in VAX prom formatters?
> To: port-vax@netbsd.org
> Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 12:23:42 -0400 (EDT)
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> Delivered-To: port-vax@netbsd.org
> 
> Out of curiousity, is there any limit to the size of drives that can
> be low level formatted on a test 75 run in a VAX 3xxx series machine?

After the 1GB limit imposed by 6-byte SCSI commands, the next barrier
is imposed by 10-byte "extended" SCSI commands.  They have an address
limit of 2^32 blocks, which is 2048 GB.  That used to sound like a lot,
but disk drives are now within a factor of 40 of reaching it.

Actually, if the test75 just issues a "Format Unit" command to the
drive, everything else is handled in the drive's firmware.

    carl

        carl lowenstein         marine physical lab     u.c. san diego
        {decvax|ucbvax} !ucsd!mpl!cdl                 cdl@mpl.ucsd.edu
                                                  clowenstein@ucsd.edu