Very Computer

by **Paul Kordi** » Thu, 14 Nov 1996 04:00:00

I have a 9 track tape drive thats connected to a SUN system. I would
like to know if that 9 track tape drive can be connected to another
system other than SUN.
Thanks in advance.

by **Sash** » Fri, 15 Nov 1996 04:00:00

YES.

> I have a 9 track tape drive thats connected to a SUN system. I would
> like to know if that 9 track tape drive can be connected to another
> system other than SUN.
> Thanks in advance.

by **r..** » Mon, 18 Nov 1996 04:00:00

>I have a 9 track tape drive thats connected to a SUN system. I would
>like to know if that 9 track tape drive can be connected to another
>system other than SUN.
>Thanks in advance.

There are two likely situations:
1. The tape drive has a SCSI interface (you should be able to tell
from the connecting cable), or
2. The tape drive has a "Pertec" interface (two flat cables from the
controller to the tape transport).

In (1), it is a no-brainer: Just adjust the SCSI address and plug
into your SCSI controller. I move a SCSI 8mm Exabyte from Mac to PC
to UNIX workstation.

In (2), it's a bit more difficult, perhaps. There are SCSI to Pertec
adapters, expect to pay $600 more or less. There are Pertec interface
ISA cards, expect to pay $250 m.o.l. There are SCSI interface adapters
from tape drive manufacturers (Cipher was getting $2500 about 5 years
ago).

Most operating systems (always UNIX; Mac shareware; don't know about
PCs) will directly support 9-track transports. It's just another mag
tape serial access device.

Cheers,
Rob Lake
Environmental Modeling Inc.

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QUESTION ON SUN SYSTEM

QUESTION ON SUN SYSTEM

QUESTION ON SUN SYSTEM

QUESTION ON SUN SYSTEM