On Fri, 13 Oct 2000, NetBSD Bob wrote:

> > >3.  How many scsi drives will the thing actually handle?  It has
> > 
> > As many as your controller card can handle - probably seven.
> 
> I could not get it to recognize a pair of added in RZ56's.

What I'm surprised at here is the fact that noone seems to have mentioned
that the VAX really don't see this as a SCSI controller.
Anything you might have read about SCSI controllers just don't apply to
what you have.

This is a MSCP controller, using the SCSI interface to hook up the
drives. So the limits are defined by the MSCP protocol, as far as the OS
is concerned, and by the mapping between MSCP and SCSI for the controller.

If this controller handles both tape a disks, it will actually look like
two controllers to the VAX, since tapes are handled by TMSCP controllers,
which are slightly different from MSCP.

> Is there something strange like special formatting or such that
> I need to do to get it to recognize more drives?

It probably requires the disks to be formatted specifically for them to be
visible from MSCP. The MSCP protocol assumes there are more intelligence
than what a SCSI drive have. Thus, the controller adds more intelligence
to the disk. This requires that the controller sets up some extra
information on the disk.

> > You need the MDM FS tape. I've never seen one but they must exist somewhere.
> > Even that probably would not do anything to your 3rd party SCSI drive.
> 
> OK, I have heard of this infamous tape, and I thought I had one in my
> tape collection, but I can't seem to find it.

I don't think that would help you. I suspect that the controller you have
don't respond to the formatting requests a DEC controller have. Not even
sure all DEC MSCP controllers had the same functions for formatting disks.
Anyhow, it's not even MSCP really. There is another protocol which handles
formatting and such stuff. I can't even remember the name of that
protocol. RSP or something similar, I think.

> What is needed for dilogic controller formatting?

The DILOG program, most likely. If you are lucky, they have it onboard,
the same way CMD did it. Otherwise, you're in for a hunt. Let's hope
someone on the list can help you.

	Johnny

Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
                                  ||  on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt@update.uu.se           ||  Reading murder books
pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol