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Date:      Mon, 24 Feb 2003 09:59:03 -0800
From:      Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com>
To:        "Daniel O'Connor" <doconnor@gsoft.com.au>, Tenebrae <tenebrae_BSD@niceboots.com>
Cc:        Charles Sprickman <spork@inch.com>, FreeBSD Stable List <freebsd-stable@freebsd.org>
Subject:   Re: Maxtor Firewire Drives
Message-ID:  <200302240959.03513.wes@softweyr.com>
In-Reply-To: <1046049424.26736.1.camel@chowder.gsoft.com.au>
References:  <20030222163739.C16106-100000@steeltoe.niceboots.com> <1046049424.26736.1.camel@chowder.gsoft.com.au>

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On Sunday 23 February 2003 17:17, Daniel O'Connor wrote:
> On Sun, 2003-02-23 at 14:22, Tenebrae wrote:
> > I'm looking at using aforementioned hardware to back up my server. 
> > There aren't any more available IDE channels or even places inside the
> > case to put another drive, so external is what I'm looking at.
> > My favourite vendor also has an external PARALLEL drive enclosure. 
> > With the potential data corruption mentioned with Firewire, would I be
> > better off with getting the parallel enclosure?
> > I have too much data to back up to tape.

Really?  Even to those multi-drive parallel AIT network backup devices?
Or must too much data to backup to tape on your budget?

I've had good luck with VXA-1 tape drives in the past and Ecrix now has the 
VXA-2 drive with 80GB uncompressed capacity at roughly 20GB/hour 
throughput.  The VXA-2 drive uses Ultra-2 SCSI interface, so finding a 
controller that is well supported on FreeBSD won't be a problem.

(I've no stake in Ecrix or Exabyte who now owns them, other than as a 
satisfied customer twice.)

> Parallel is hideously slow and inefficient.

Uh, yeah, don't even consider it.

> Personally I'd try Firewire, but I haven't had any problems with it
> [yet].
>
> Actually, I am wondering what sort of chipset the person who was having
> corruption issues was using..
>
> Older VIA chipsets have a bug which affects bus master transfers :(

Please post information on your known good source.  A known good provider of 
PCI firewire cards might be helpful for those whose motherboard features 
faulty or NO support for firewire, if anyone can recommend one or more of 
those...

Ecrix makes the VXA-1 drive in external SCSI and FireWire enclosures.  The 
VXA-2 is only available in Ultra-2 LVD SCSI, internal or external.

Good luck with your backup solution, whatever it is. ;^)

-- 
         "Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"

Wes Peters                                                   Softweyr LLC
wes@softweyr.com                                     http://softweyr.com/



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