SUMMARY: IPC internal disk

From: Aline Runde (runde@krusty.mms.com)
Date: Thu Oct 03 1996 - 17:39:18 CDT


Thanks so much for the overwhelming answers. I've included below all answers
I got because they are all very useful.
We found a spare Quantum fireball, and installed it. It works great using
the format.dat created by scsiinfo tool from John Dimarco, thanks John.

Aline...

Original question:

> Dear Sun Managers,
>
> The internal disk of out SUN IPC workstation is toasted and needs to be replaced
> but because IPC is too old now that Sun Express and some vendors I called don't carry it annymore. Is there any other drive out there that I can buy to replace it? Your help is very much appreciated.
 
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From: "Patrick L. Nolan" <pln@egret1.Stanford.EDU>

Just about any 3.5" SCSI disk with the 50-pin connectors will work.
These are really common. We have all Seagates here. My workstation
has an ST31200N. I recently installed an ST31230N in another machine.
The Seagate web page at www.seagate.com has a list of all their
products. Other manufacturers to consider would be Connor, Maxtor,
Hewlett-Packard(?), Quantum.

You won't be able to find anything smaller than 1 GB capacity any more.
That's probably why no one can find an exact replacement.

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From: Stephen Harris <sweh@mpn.com>

In my IPC, I'm using a bog standard Conner 1080S (1Gb disk). I've also
used a bog standard Seagate ST12400N (2Gb disk) in it as well.

Basically any reasonable SCSI disk can work inside an IPC - just make
sure it doesn't run too hot.

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From: edz@bsn.com (Edward C. Zimmermann)

If you can find one, my favorite internal disk for IPC and IPX
machines is the Quantum Capella 2 GB drive.. fast, cool, low current
drain. Don't know their replacement (if they even have one).. With
some luck one should be able to locate a Capella...
The important issue is current drain and heat.. Never install
a 7200 RPM disk in a IPC--- and since the IPC is SCSI-2 its not just
foulish but silly. And beware some 5400 RPM disks run hot (for
example the HPs).
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From: allan@nmhg.com (Allan Warrior)

I have been installing new disks from Andataco in my older SPARC machines.
A 2.1-GB disk is $769.00 and they have a 1.?-GB disk for about $400.00. The
disks work well, run cooler, and are more efficient than the Sun 208 or 424
disks than were in the IPCs.

I don't know what area you live in, but you can contact their national office in
San Diego at 619-453-9191 or http://www.andataco.com

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From: bismark@alta.jpl.nasa.gov (Bismark Espinoza)

Use any disk as long as it is equal or less
than 1 GB and up to 5400 RPM. This is because
of heat problems.

Get the manufacuterers data sheet to find what
to write in the /etc/format.dat file.

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From: Rich Kulawiec <rsk@itw.com>

What size disk do you have in there? (There are any number of drives
that will work just fine in an IPC; in fact, I think I have a SUN207
drive sitting here that I'm in the process of disconnecting from my
system because I'm upgrading.)

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From: Rudy Yu <lcyu@pacbell.net>

you do NOT need drive from Sun Express! Any 3rd party SCSI drive will
work (you need to know the format.dat information) . If you are running
Sun OS 4.1.x, you need to create multiple partitions if the drive > 2GB.
If you are running Solaris 2.x, no such limitation!

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From: frode@venus.mms.com (Frode Stromsvag)

Just use any single ended (narrow SCSI disk). I've had
no problem putting other disks inside the IPC. Of course
some disks create more heat than others but.....

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From: Herbert Wengatz <hwe@uebemc.siemens.de>

Nearly any will do!

You only should take care that the drive is jumpered for Parity checking enabled.
Suns need that.

And since the IPC has a very tight housing, you should not go for a disk with
more than 5400 rpms. 7200er are getting FAR too hot!!!

So a good choice should be an IBM DPES 31080, for example. Cheap (300$ or lower)
and quite fast (up to 4.5 MB/s throughput compared to 2.5 MB/s with the original
sun disks) and quite reliable. :-)
And it has far more room on it (1 GB !) Sun use these babies also (in modern boxes).
BTW: Power comsumption should be lower, also! ;-)))))

But this shall not be advertising for IBM! - You can use any other 3.5" Disk
you like!

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From: meh@wisdom.maf.nasa.gov

Why don't you just use an external drive?

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>From magi@csd.uwo.ca Wed Oct 2 05:46:09 1996

I just went out and bought a "standard" 3.5", half height drive. I ended up
with a Fujitsu-M1606S (1Gb); it works just fine.

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From: "Christopher L. Barnard" <cbarnard@cs.uchicago.edu>

any old SCSI drive will work fine. There may or may not be a problem with
the heat generated by 7200RPM drives (opinion on this mailing list seems
to be split) but as long as you get a 5400RPM drive, you'll be fine.
Probably the smallest you'll find will be 1gig. Just pick up a mac or
pc catalog and flip to the ads in the back.

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From: Paulo Licio de Geus <paulo@dcc.unicamp.br>

Any SCSI disk would in theory fit your machine, but I have found that
today's larger drives are more sensitive to bad ventilation, since
they tend to dissipate more thermal energy than previous drives (4 and
9 GB 1.6" high drives are delivering 15-18 W, they feel hot). A
sure bet is any 1" high drive, since all of them dissipate less than
10 W (they only feel warm).

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From: tom.ryan@edwardjones.com (Tom Ryan)

Call Alberta Pritchett at 800-566-4786 ex 32. She works for a used
computer dealer and will have the product you need at a reasonable price.
Tell her Tom Ryan at Edward Jones sent you.

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From: rich@loopexpert.com (Rich Casto)

You can buy an external SCSCI disk from many vendors, like Sun or Box
Hill. You don't need an internal disk at all. This is what I've done on
one of my IPX's.

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From: Daniel Clemons <dsc@newton.cssgroup.com>

We used a Sony Lightning 540S intended for a Macintosh

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From: Benjamin Cline <benji@hnt.com>

Just about any 3 1/2" half-height SCSI drive should work. I would stay
with a smaller (<= 1GB) slower (<= 5400 rpm) drive, to help avoid power
consumpton and cooling problems.

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From: D. Ellen March <demarch@ptes.com>

I put a brand new 1 gig seagate in my IPX a few months ago.

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From: Dan Pritts <danno@us.itd.umich.edu>

most "generic" scsi drives should work fine. A quantum fireball, for
example.

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From: "Daniel J Blander - Sr. Systems Engineer for ACS" <Daniel.Blander@ACSacs.Com>

Since Seagate probably doesn't make the 424mb disks anymore - and since a 1.0
will toast the insides and blow a fuse, I would recommend any external
box and just pull the internal - just set the scsi id to 3.....



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