S T 3 9 1 0 2 F C C H E E T A H 9 L SEAGATE
Native| Translation
------+-----+-----+-----
Form 3.5"/SLIMLINE Cylinders 6962| | |
Capacity form/unform 9100/ MB Heads 12| | |
Seek time / track 6.0/ 0.7 ms Sector/track | | |
Controller FIBRE CHANNEL DUAL Precompensation
Cache/Buffer 1024 KB MULTI-SEGMEN Landing Zone
Data transfer rate 20.000 MB/S int Bytes/Sector 512
100.000 MB/S ext
Recording method 8/9 PR4 operating | non-operating
-------------+--------------
Supply voltage 5/12 V Temperature *C 5 50 | -40 70
Power: sleep W Humidity % |
standby W Altitude km |
idle 13.0 W Shock g |
seek W Rotation RPM 10025
read/write W Acoustic dBA
spin-up W ECC Bit SMART
MTBF h 1000000
Warranty Month 60
Lift/Lock/Park YES Certificates
**********************************************************************
L A Y O U T
**********************************************************************
SEAGATE ST39102FC PRODUCT MANUAL
+---------------------------------------------+
| |
| |
| |
| INTERFACE |
| +-----------------------+ |
+----------+XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX+----------+
+-----------------------+
40-PIN
**********************************************************************
J U M P E R S
**********************************************************************
SEAGATE ST39102FC PRODUCT MANUAL
Hot plugging the drive
----------------------
Inserting and removing the drive on the FC-AL will interrupt loop
operation. The interruption occurs when the receiver of the next
device in the loop must synchronize to a different input signal. FC
error detection mechanisms, character sync, running disparity, word
sync, and CRC are able to detect any error. Recovery is initiated
based on the type of error.
The disc drive defaults to the FC-AL Monitoring state, Pass-through
state, when it is powered-on by switching the power or hot plugged.
The control line to an optional port bypass circuit (external to the
drive), defaults to the Enable Bypass state. If the bypass circuit is
present, the next device in the loop will continue to receive the
output of the previous device to the newly inserted device. If the
bypass circuit is not present, loop operation is temporarily
disrupted until the next device starts receiving the output from the
newly inserted device and regains synchronization to the new input.
The Pass-through state is disabled while the drive performs self test
of the FC interface. The control line for an external port bypass
circuit remains in the Enable Bypass state while self test is
running. If the bypass circuit is present, loop operation may
continue. If the bypass circuit is not present, loop operation will
be halted while the self test of the FC interface runs.
When the self test completes successfully, the control line to the
bypass circuit is disabled and the drive enters the FC-AL
Initializing state. The receiver on the next device in the loop must
synchronize to output of the newly inserted drive.
If the self-test fails, the control line to the bypass circuit
remains in the Enable Bypass state.
Note. It is the responsibility of the systems integrator to assure
that no temperature, energy, voltage hazard, or ESD potential hazard
is presented during the hot connect/disconnect operation. Discharge
the static electricity from the drive carrier prior to inserting it
into the system.
Caution. The drive motor must come to a complete stop prior to
changing the plane of operation. This time is required to insure data
integrity.
Installation
------------
Cheetah 9LP FC disc drive installation is a plug-and-play process.
There are no jumpers, switches, or terminators on the drive. Simply
plug the drive into the host's 40-pin Fibre Channel backpanel
connector (FC-SCA) - no cables are required.
Use the FC-AL interface to select drive ID and all option
configurations for devices on the loop.
If multiple devices are on the same FC-AL and physical addresses are
used, set the device selection IDs (SEL IDs) on the backpanel so that
no two devices have the same selection ID. This is called the hard
assigned arbitrated loop physical address (AL_PA). There are 125
AL_PAs available. If you set the AL_PA on the backpanel to any value
other than 0, the device plugged into the backpanel's SCA connector
inherits this AL_PA. In the event you don't successfully assign
unique hard addresses (and therefore have duplicate selection IDs
assigned to two or more devices), the FC-AL generates a message
indicating this condition. If you set the AL_PA on the backpanel to a
value of 0, the system issues a unique soft-assigned physical
address automatically.
Loop initialization is the process used to verify or obtain an
address. The loop initialization process is performed when power is
applied to the drive, when a device is added or removed from the
Fibre Channel loop, or when a device times out attempting to win
arbitration.
- Set all option selections in the connector prior to applying power
to the drive. If you change options after applying power to the
drive, recycle the drive power to activate the new settings.
- It is not necessary to low-level format this drive. The drive is
shipped from the factory low-level formatted in 512-byte logical
blocks. You need to reformat the drive only if you want to select a
different logical block size.
**********************************************************************
I N S T A L L
**********************************************************************
SEAGATE ST39102FC PRODUCT MANUAL
Notes on installation
=====================
Installation direction
----------------------
horizontally vertically
+-----------------+ +--+ +--+
| | | +-----+ +-----+ |
| | | | | | | |
+-+-----------------+-+ | | | | | |
+---------------------+ | | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
+---------------------+ | +-----+ +-----+ |
+-+-----------------+-+ +--+ +--+
| |
| |
+-----------------+
The drive will operate in all axis (6 directions).
Media description
-----------------
The media used on the drive has a diameter of approximately 84 mm
(approximately 3.4 inches). The aluminum substrate is coated with a
thin film magnetic material, overcoated with a proprietary protective
layer for improved durability and environmental protection.
Performance
-----------
- Programmable multi-segmentable cache buffer
- 106 Mbytes/sec maximum instantaneous data transfers per port.
- 10,025 RPM spindle; average latency = 2.99 msec
- Command queuing of up to 128 commands
- Background processing of queue
- Supports start and stop commands
- Adaptive seek velocity; improved seek performance
Unformatted and formatted capacities
------------------------------------
Standard OEM models are formatted to 512 bytes per block. You can
order other capacities by requesting a different sparing scheme and
logical block size.
The standard OEM model capacities are listed below.
Users having the necessary equipment may modify the data block size
before issuing a format command and obtain different formatted
capacities than those listed. The ST39102FC uses a zone sparing
scheme. The drive is divided into frequency zones with a variable
number of spares in each zone.
Factory-installed accessories
-----------------------------
OEM standard drives are shipped with the Cheetah 9LP FC Installation
Guide (part number 83329340).
Factory-installed options
-------------------------
You may order the following items which are incorporated at the
manufacturing facility during production or packaged before shipping:
- Single-unit shipping pack. The drive is normally shipped in bulk
packaging to provide maximum protection against transit damage.
Units shipped individually require additional protection as
provided by the single unit shipping pack. Users planning single
unit distribution should specify this option.
User-installed accessories
--------------------------
The following accessories are available. All kits may be installed in
the field.
- Evaluation kit, part number 73473641.
This kit provides an adapter card ("T-card") to allow cable
connections for two FC ports and DC power. Two twin axial cables, 6
feet in length, are included for the input and output connections
to the FC interface.
Shipping
--------
When transporting or shipping a drive, use only a Seagate-approved
container. Keep your original box. Seagate approved containers are
easily identified by the Seagate Approved Package label. Shipping a
drive in a non-approved container voids the drive warranty.
Seagate repair centers may refuse receipt of components improperly
packaged or obviously damaged in transit. Contact your authorized
Seagate distributor to purchase additional boxes. Seagate recommends
shipping by an air-ride carrier experienced in handling computer
equipment.
Product repair and return information
-------------------------------------
Seagate customer service centers are the only facilities authorized
to service Seagate drives. Seagate does not sanction any third-party
repair facilities. Any unauthorized repair or tampering with the
factory seal voids the warranty.
Hot plugging the drive
----------------------
Inserting and removing the drive on the FC-AL will interrupt loop
operation. The interruption occurs when the receiver of the next
device in the loop must synchronize to a different input signal. FC
error detection mechanisms, character sync, running disparity, word
sync, and CRC are able to detect any error. Recovery is initiated
based on the type of error.
The disc drive defaults to the FC-AL Monitoring state, Pass-through
state, when it is powered-on by switching the power or hot plugged.
The control line to an optional port bypass circuit (external to the
drive), defaults to the Enable Bypass state. If the bypass circuit is
present, the next device in the loop will continue to receive the
output of the previous device to the newly inserted device. If the
bypass circuit is not present, loop operation is temporarily
disrupted until the next device starts receiving the output from the
newly inserted device and regains synchronization to the new input.
The Pass-through state is disabled while the drive performs self test
of the FC interface. The control line for an external port bypass
circuit remains in the Enable Bypass state while self test is
running. If the bypass circuit is present, loop operation may
continue. If the bypass circuit is not present, loop operation will
be halted while the self test of the FC interface runs.
When the self test completes successfully, the control line to the
bypass circuit is disabled and the drive enters the FC-AL
Initializing state. The receiver on the next device in the loop must
synchronize to output of the newly inserted drive.
If the self-test fails, the control line to the bypass circuit
remains in the Enable Bypass state.
Note. It is the responsibility of the systems integrator to assure
that no temperature, energy, voltage hazard, or ESD potential hazard
is presented during the hot connect/disconnect operation. Discharge
the static electricity from the drive carrier prior to inserting it
into the system.
Caution. The drive motor must come to a complete stop prior to
changing the plane of operation. This time is required to insure data
integrity.
AC power requirements
---------------------
None.
DC power requirements
---------------------
The voltage and current requirements for a single drive are shown
below. On-board +3.3V current is derived entirely from the +5V
supply. Values indicated apply at the drive connector. Parameters,
others than spindle start, are measured after a 10-minute warm-up.
General DC power requirement notes.
1. Minimum current loading for each supply voltage is not less than
2% of the maximum operating current shown.
2. The +5V and +12V supplies should employ separate ground returns.
3. Where power is provided to multiple drives from a common supply,
careful consideration for individual drive power requirements
should be noted. Where multiple units are powered on
simultaneously, the peak starting current must be available to
each device.
Conducted noise immunity
------------------------
Noise is specified as a periodic and random distribution of
frequencies covering a band from DC to 10 MHz. Maximum allowed noise
values given below are peak-to-peak measurements and apply at the
drive power connector.
Power sequencing
----------------
The drive does not require power sequencing. The drive protects
against inadvertent writing during power-up and down.
Power dissipation
-----------------
Typical seek power dissipation is 15.6 watts (53 BTUs per hour) of DC
power average at nominal voltages. Typical power dissipation under
idle conditions is 13.7 watts (47 BTUs per hour).
Environmental limits
--------------------
Temperature and humidity values experienced by the drive must be such
that condensation does not occur on any drive part. Altitude and
atmospheric pressure specifications are referenced to a standard day
at 58.7*F (14.8*C). Maximum wet bulb temperature is 82*F (28*C).
Shock and vibration
-------------------
Shock and vibration limits specified in this document are measured
directly on the drive chassis. If the drive is installed in an
enclosure to which the stated shock and/or vibration criteria are
applied, resonances may occur internally to the enclosure resulting
in drive movement in excess of the stated limits. If this situation
is apparent, it may be necessary to modify the enclosure to minimize
drive movement.
Orientation of the side nearest the LED may be up or down.
a. Operating (normal)
The drive, as installed for normal operation, will operate error free
while subjected to intermittent shock not exceeding 2.0 Gs at a
maximum duration of 11 msec (half sinewave).
Shock may be applied in the X, Y, or Z axis.
b. Operating (abnormal)
Equipment as installed for normal operation will not incur physical
damage while subjected to intermittent shock not exceeding 10 Gs at a
maximum duration of 11 msec (half sinewave). Shock occurring at
abnormal levels may promote degraded operational performance during
the abnormal shock period. Specified operational performance will
continue when normal operating shock levels resume. Shock may be
applied in the X, Y, or Z axis. Shock is not to be repeated more than
two times per second.
c. Non-operating
The limits of non-operating shock apply to all conditions of handling
and transportation. This includes both isolated drives and integrated
drives. The drive subjected to non-repetitive shock not exceeding 75
Gs at a maximum duration of 11 msec (half sinewave) will not exhibit
device damage or performance degradation.
Shock may be applied in the X, Y, or Z axis.
The drive subjected to non-repetitive shock not exceeding 140 Gs at a
maximum of 2 msec (half sinewave) will not exhibit device damage or
performance degradation. Shock may be applied in the X, Y, or Z axis.
d. Packaged
Disc drives shipped as loose load (not palletized) general freight
will be packaged to withstand drops from heights as defined in the
table below. For additional details, refer to Seagate specifications
30190-001 (under 100 lbs/45 kg) or 30191-001 (over 100 lbs/45 kg).
Air cleanliness
---------------
The drive is designed to operate in a typical office environment with
minimal environmental control.
Mechanical specifications
-------------------------
The following nominal dimensions are exclusive of the decorative
front panel accessory.
Height 1.0 in 25.4 mm
Width 4.00 in 101.6 mm
Depth 5.75 in 146.05 mm
Weight 1.3 lb 0.588 kilograms
Acoustics
---------
Sound power during idle mode is 4.4 bels typical when measured to ISO
7779 specification. There will not be any discrete tones more than 10
dB above the masking noise on typical drives when measured according
to Seagate specification 30553-001. There will not be any tones more
than 24 dB above the masking noise on any drive.
Mounting holes are 6-32 UNC 2B, three on each side and four on the
bottom.
Max screw penetration into side of drive is 0.15 in. (3.81 mm). Max
screw tightening torque is 6.0 in-lb (3.32 nm) with minimum full
thread engagement of 0.12 in. (3.05 mm).
Installation
------------
Cheetah 9LP FC disc drive installation is a plug-and-play process.
There are no jumpers, switches, or terminators on the drive. Simply
plug the drive into the host's 40-pin Fibre Channel backpanel
connector (FC-SCA) - no cables are required.
Use the FC-AL interface to select drive ID and all option
configurations for devices on the loop.
If multiple devices are on the same FC-AL and physical addresses are
used, set the device selection IDs (SEL IDs) on the backpanel so that
no two devices have the same selection ID. This is called the hard
assigned arbitrated loop physical address (AL_PA). There are 125
AL_PAs available. If you set the AL_PA on the backpanel to any value
other than 0, the device plugged into the backpanel's SCA connector
inherits this AL_PA. In the event you don't successfully assign
unique hard addresses (and therefore have duplicate selection IDs
assigned to two or more devices), the FC-AL generates a message
indicating this condition. If you set the AL_PA on the backpanel to a
value of 0, the system issues a unique soft-assigned physical
address automatically.
Loop initialization is the process used to verify or obtain an
address. The loop initialization process is performed when power is
applied to the drive, when a device is added or removed from the
Fibre Channel loop, or when a device times out attempting to win
arbitration.
- Set all option selections in the connector prior to applying power
to the drive. If you change options after applying power to the
drive, recycle the drive power to activate the new settings.
- It is not necessary to low-level format this drive. The drive is
shipped from the factory low-level formatted in 512-byte logical
blocks. You need to reformat the drive only if you want to select a
different logical block size.
J6 connector requirements
-------------------------
Recommended mating connector part number: Berg receptacle,
6-position, Berg part number 690-006.
Drive orientation
-----------------
The drive may be mounted in any orientation. All drive performance
characterizations, however, have been done with the drive in
horizontal (discs level) and vertical (drive on its side)
orientations, which are the two preferred mounting orientations.
Cooling
-------
Cabinet cooling must be designed by the customer so that the ambient
temperature immediately surrounding the drive will not exceed
temperature conditions.
Specific consideration should be given to make sure adequate air
circulation is present around the printed circuit board (PCB) to
meet the requirements.
Air flow
--------
The rack, cabinet, or drawer environment for the drive must provide
cooling of the electronics and head and disc assembly (HDA). You
should confirm that adequate cooling is provided using the
temperature measurement guidelines described below.
The drive should be oriented, or air flow directed, so that the least
amount of airflow resistance is created while providing air flow to
the electronics and HDA. Also, the shortest possible path between the
air inlet and exit should be chosen to minimize the travel length of
air heated by the drive and other heat sources within the rack,
cabinet, or drawer environment.
To confirm that the required cooling for the electronics and HDA is
provided, place the drive in its final mechanical configuration,
perform random write/read operations and, after the temperatures
stabilize, measure the case temperature of the components listed
below. The typical ambient air temperature associated with the list
is 25*C and the resulting MTBF is 1,000,000 hours.
Local average air velocities were 235 lpm (1.2 m/s) and air
temperature was 77*F (25*C) plus a 5*C temperature rise in the test
enclosure (30*C ambient local to the drive).
PCB and HDA temperatures
------------------------
To obtain the maximum temperature for each of the reference
components listed, add 20*C to the 1,000,000 hour MTBF case
temperatures. The maximum allowable HDA case temperature is 60*C.
Operation of the drive at the maximum case temperature is intended
for short time periods only. Continuous operation at the elevated
temperatures will reduce product reliability.
Drive mounting
--------------
Mount the drive using the bottom or side mounting holes. If you mount
the drive using the bottom holes, ensure that you do not physically
distort the drive by attempting to mount it on a stiff, non-flat
surface.
The allowable mounting surface stiffness is 80 lb/in (14.0 N/mm). The
following equation and paragraph define the allowable mounting
surface stiffness:
where K is the mounting surface stiffness (units in lb/in or N/mm)
and X is the out-of-plane surface distortion (units in inches or
millimeters). The out-of-plane distortion (X) is determined by
defining a plane with three of the four mounting points fixed and
evaluating the out-of-plane deflection of the fourth mounting point
when a known force (F) is applied to the fourth point.
Grounding
---------
Signal ground (PCBA) and HDA ground are connected together in the
drive and cannot be separated by the user. Maximizing the conductive
contact area between HDA ground and system ground may reduce radiated
emissions. If you do not want the system chassis to be connected to
the HDA/PCBA ground, you must provide a nonconductive (electrically
isolating) method of mounting the drive in the host equipment;
however, this may increase radiated emissions and is the system
designer's responsibility.
K x X = F < 15lb = 67N
Connector requirements
----------------------
Recommended mating SCA part number:
Part Positions Part number Features
AMP Vertical (SCA sequence) 40 787317-1 With polarization
Berg 40 71781 With polarization
Methode 40 512-220-91-101N With polarization
Molex 40 717431040 With polarization
Electrical description
----------------------
Fibre Channel drives use the FC-SCA connector for:
- DC power
- FC-AL interface
- Drive select (device identification)
- Option selection
- Enclosure Services interface
This 40-pin connector is designed to plug directly into a backpanel.
External cables are not required.
**********************************************************************
G E N E R A L
**********************************************************************
SEAGATE FC-AL INTERFACE
An Overview of Fibre Channel
---------------------------
Introduction
------------
Everyone has accepted the fact that we have moved into the Age of
Information. In this paradigm information itself is a commodity, and
therefore there is great value in its efficient disbursement.
Unfortunately, industry has placed greater value in creating
information, than distributing it. We often hear about new machines
which are capable of performing prodigious calculation at the blink
of an eye. New reports of ever faster computers are commonplace.
Sharing this information, however, has become a priority only
recently. It seems that although we have moved into the Age of
Information, one of our biggest challenges is to efficiently
distribute the information for everyone to use.
Luckily, a viable solution is at hand. Conceived and supported by
such industry giants as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun Microsystems,
the Fibre Channel is aimed at providing an inexpensive, flexible and
very high-speed communications system. Most of the popular network
implementations today can claim to have any two of these elements.
Since Fibre Channel encompasses all three, it has everything
necessary to become a resounding success.
Not the Network
Fibre Channel has significant advantages over common networks. The
first difference is speed. The fastest network implementations today
support transfer data at a little over 100 megabits per second. For
smaller data files, where a single computer is directly communicating
with a file server, such speeds are adequate. However, for realtime
video and sound, or systems where two machines must operate on common
data even 200 megabits per second is hopelessly inadequate. Fiber
Channel provides significantly higher rates, from 10 to 250 times
faster than a typical Local Area Network (LAN). In fact, Fibre
Channel can transfer data at speeds exceeding 100 megabytes, or 800
megabits, per second. This speed is sufficient to allow transfer of a
1024x768 image with 24-bit color at 30 frame per second, and CD-
quality digital sound.
This overcomes the bandwidth limitation, which is probably the most
serious impediment for LAN performance. As the number of computers
communicating on a common network increases, the amount of data
packets increases accordingly.
This is because data on a LAN is common to all computers on that
network. The software must decide if a particular message is relevant
for a particular machine. When several machines are communicating
with one another, every other machine on the network must contend
with all of the messages. As the number of messages increases, the
load for the entire system is increased.
Fiber channel is a switched system. Much like a telephone system, a
connection is established between only the parties that need to
communicate. These parties can share the entire bandwidth of Fibre
Channel, since they do not have to contend with messages not relevant
to their communication. LANs attempt to compensate for this by
increasing the transfer speed, which places an even greater burden on
the software. Since all protocol for Fibre Channel is handled by
the hardware, the software overhead is minimal. Fibre Channel also
supports full parallelism, so if greater capacity is needed, more
lines can be added. The common analogy for showing the advantages of
parallelism is the effect of doubling the number of lanes on a
freeway instead of doubling the speed limit.
The physical distance between computers is another limiting factor
for conventional LANs. Ethernet cables usually have a limit of 1000
feet between machines whereas Fibre Channel can support a link
between two up to 10 kilometers apart.
Finally, Fibre Channel is not software intensive. All of the
essential functions are handled by hardware, freeing the computer's
processor to attend to the application at hand. Even the error
correction for transmitted data is handled by the Fibre Channel
hardware. In standard LANs this requires precious processor
resources.
Advantages for Computing
------------------------
The obvious advantage for Fibre Channel is to facilitate
communication between machines. Several workstations clustered
together already surpass the speed and capacity of a VAX, and begin
to rival the power of a super computer, at a much lower cost. The
power of concurrent processing is awesome. For example, a single
neuron inside our brain is much less complex, and operates far slower
than a common 286 processor. However, millions of neurons working in
parallel can process information much faster than any processor known
today. Networking simple logical units, and operating them in
parallel offers advantages simply unavailable for the fastest single
processor architectures. These shared architectures require a huge
amount of communication and data sharing which can only be handled by
high-speed networks. Fibre Channel not only meets these requirements,
but meets them inexpensively.
The hardware industry is partly responsible for the I/O bottleneck.
By using the processor speed as the primary focus for their sales
efforts, the bus speeds have languished. With respect to the new
class of processors, current system bus speeds are greatly lagging.
This is something like building a mill which can process 1000 pounds
of grain a day, and supplying that mill with a single donkey. There
is little use for a fast processor that spends most of its time
waiting for data to act upon. Whether this data comes from disc
drives, peripherals, or even other processors, today's bus speeds
would leave most processors idle, and the next generation of
processors will be many times faster. Fiber Channel provides the
data transfer capability which can keep current and upcoming
processors busy.
Impact on Mass Storage
----------------------
Today's fastest interfaces are capable of transferring data at around
20 megabytes per second. However, this speed rating is only for
transferring data. All protocol intercommunication occurs at much
slower speeds, resulting in a lower effective data transfer rates,
typically around 11 megabytes per second. This represents about
one-tenth of Fibre Channel's current capability. Fibre Channel drives
do not suffer from device protocols occurring at slower speeds, since
all communication occurs at 100 megabytes per second, including
device intercommunication. In addition to this, the drive itself can
be placed up to 10 kilometers away from the computer. This would have
two effects on the way mass storage is implemented.
First, the amount of data a machine could receive would only be
limited to the transfer speed of the drive. For high performance disc
arrays this could exceed 50 megabytes per second. Machine and disc
storage could finally work to provide real-time, full motion video
and sound for several machines simultaneously. With Fibre Channel's
ability to work across long distances, these machines could
conceivably reside many miles apart. For medical applications,
computer design centers, and real-time networks such as reservations
systems, this capability would be invaluable.
Second, such support for transmitting data over large distances would
allow disc drives to be placed away from the computer itself. This
would allow for centralized data resource areas within a business
office, simplifying everything from site planning to maintenance
procedures. Indeed a centralized data resource center would be
possible for an entire office complex.
The development of the Loop will also provide a huge advantage in
implementing large capacity disc sub systems. The Fast/Wide SCSI
specification has a theoretical upper limit of 16 total devices
attached to a single host. The practical maximum is 6 devices. Fibre
Channel supports a theoretical limit of 256 devices for a common
host, with a practical implementation of 64 devices. This practical
limit is a very conservative figure, and implementation with more
devices are easily possible. The Loop allows system designers to
build high capacity configurations, well into the terabyte range,
with much lower overall cost.
Finally, Fibre Channel is a serial communications device which has
two immediate advantages. First, the cabling necessary to
interconnect Fibre Channel devices is very inexpensive when compared
to SCSI cabling. Fibre Channel cabling is also much easier to
connect, and replace than SCSI cables, which simplifies the entire
process of integration and maintenance for a high capacity data
storage system. For corporations that are currently grappling with a
the complexity of installation, and high-cost of SCSI cables, this
feature will prove invaluable for cutting costs and simplifying
installation and upkeep.
Secondly, implementing Fibre Channel requires less space on the
circuit board than SCSI drives. This reduced space requirement would
allow the drive designers to include extended features which cannot
currently be implemented. For example, a 3.5-inch form-factor drive
with Fibre Channel could be designed with dual-port capability, a
feature necessary for use with many mainframes and mini-computers.
The space saved on the circuit board by using Fibre Channel would
allow for the extra connector and additional circuitry needed for
dual-port drives.
Conclusion
----------
The Fibre Channel will provide the corporations with data in much the
same way the freeway system provided motorists mobility. Access to a
vast, interconnected information network which is fast, inexpensive,
and flexible. With the adoption of Fibre Channel as an open ANSI
standard, its effect on the horizon of computing will be nothing
short of revolutionary.
We have become very good at processing data; Fibre Channel allows us
to move it. The ability to share information will provide the impetus
for communication, design and development on a scale not previously
possible. By facilitating the fabled data-highway, Fibre Channel
will accelerate to the Age of Information, as the steam engine moved
us into the Age of Industry.