[Info-vax] KZPAC / RAID Array 230 questions

[Ben Lambert]

On Friday, 18 December 2020 at 16:00:14 UTC, John H. Reinhardt wrote:
> On 12/17/2020 7:36 PM, Alan Frisbie wrote: 
> > I recently acquired a DS20 with a KZPAC (RAID Array 230/Plus) SCSI 
> > controller. The firmware "show config" command also reports it as 
> > a Mylex DAC960. 
> > 
> > The DS20 QuickSpecs show the KZPAC as a supported option, but says 
> > that 18.2 GB (or greater) drives are not supported. Elsewhere, it 
> > says that RAID sets can only be up to 32 GB. 
> > 
> > Does anyone know the reason for these restrictions? The manual for 
> > the Mylex DAC960 says that it supports drives up to 2 TB, although 
> > this might be for a later firmware version. 
> > 
> > Oddly, the RAID Array 230/Plus User's Guide (AA-R07GA-TE) makes 
> > no mention of these restrictions. Are they real? Are they a 
> > function of the DS20 firmware or VMS version (QuickSpecs says a 
> > minimum of v7.1-2)? 
> > 
> > Were there any later updates that removed these restrictions? 
> > 
> > Can someone please enlighten me? 
> > 
> > Thanks, 
> > Alan Frisbie
> Unfortunately the restrictions are real, as Richard says. While I no longer have any KZPAC cards, I did have several in my AlphaServer 1200's and 800's a few years ago. The restrictions are due to the DEC firmware and not the DS20 nor VMS. I can't remember what the latest firmware was to come on the DEC firmware CD, but none that I know of lifted these restrictions. 
> 
> If possible, I might suggest getting a SmartArray 5300 series. Either a 2-channel 5302 or a 4-channel 5304. They support newer, faster, larger disks and will work with the ones you probably already have in the DS20, though you might have to change cables also as I believe they only have the HD68 internal and the VHDCI external connections. 
> 
> I'd suggest a Smart Array 6400, but they didn't work in my DS10 because they are 3.3v only and the DS10 had a 5V PCI slot. I believe your DS20 is the same. While they are not listed on the DS20 Quickspecs as compatible, the SA5300 is. Technically it's the SA5300A that is compatible with OpenVMS, but if you download the Alpha Firmware CD you can upgrade the firmware and then it becomes the "A" model. 
> 
> If you go this route, then when searching you want to make sure you get the cache memory. 128M is the largest I believe. 64M or sometimes 32M are also seen. 
> If Ebay is acceptable and you are in the US, then this is a good example: 
> <https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Smart-Array-Controller-Card-5300-128MB-SDRAM-171383-001-COMPAQ-ULTRA3/124194267189?hash=item1cea8e2035:g:Pg8AAOSwV-BfkH3m> 
> 
> If not in the US then search for something similar. 
> 
> -- 
> John H. Reinhardt

Just a note of caution that the DS20 is not listed as a supported configuration for the SA5300A per the SA5300A Release Notes (AV-RT16F-TE)

Supported HP AlphaServer Systems
Smart Array 5300A controllers are supported on the following AlphaServer systems:
• DS10
• DS15
• DS20E EV68, EV67 p2.6
• DS25
• ES40 EV68
• ES45
• GS80, GS160, GS320
• ES47, ES80, GS1280

Also, for the DS20e it specifically lists only Pass 2.6 of the EV67 is supported, although I ran one for 5 years on a DS20e that was only a Pass 2.3 EV67 666MHz with no observed issues.
I've never found any information on what the tweak was at pass 2.6 to guess the background to this stipulation.

Ben.