[rescue] Sun tape drive

[David L Kindred (Dave)]

>>>>> "Mike" == Mike Finocchio <mikef at mikef.dyndns.org> writes:

    Mike> I rescued a Sun DDS 2 tape drive this weekend; it's in a 611
    Mike> case and it has 68-pin SCSI jacks on the back. Unfortunately,
    Mike> none of my machines has 68-pin SCSI outputs - they're all
    Mike> 50-pin.  Can anyone point me in the right direction to find
    Mike> either a 68-50 pin cable or an adapter?

If this is the same model I have, it has built-in auto termination for
50 or 68 pin connections.  If so, any place that sells SCSI cables can
sell you what you need.  Try Black Box, local computer store, your
favorite catalog, wherever.

    Mike> Also, can anyone give me any information on this drive? 

Sorry, I don't know anything more about the drive, but based on SCSI
probes on non-sun systems I strongly suspect that Sun has custom
firmware in the drive.

    Mike> Specifically, I'd like to know what length DAT tapes it can
    Mike> take. SunSolve lists the drive as 4/8GB, so I'd guess that
    Mike> will determine what size DAT tapes it can take.

I believe that anything bearing the "DDS2" label is supposed to handle
60, 90, and 120 meter tapes, giving you uncompressed capacities of 1.2,
2, and 4 GB respectively.

Do you yourself a favor and buy only new, high-quality tapes.  I have
read too many reports of people having tape problems.  And be sure to
get cleaning cartridges too, DDS drives seem to really need them.


-- 
David L. Kindred <mailto:d.kindred at telesciences.com>
Unix Systems & Network Administrator
Telesciences, Inc. <http://www.telesciences.com>
Support: <http://support.telesciences.com>
2000 Midlantic Drive, Suite 410, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054
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