Stan wrote:
 
>I was concerned about the "sector atomicity" that HP sales reps tell us
>is so important, so I did a PTC power cycle during write-intensive
>tests four or five times, with nary a parity error.  (PTC = Pull The Cord)
 
Before proceeding with internal recommendations on 3rd party discs, I
decided to read up on "sector atomicity" so I could explain the details
to those who dole out the money around here.  I fired up LaserROM, selected
all sections, and searched for documents containing both "sector" and
"atomicity".
 
Nada.
 
Could someone elaborate on "sector atomicity" and why this feature would
confound the firmware in off-the-shelf SCSI discs?
 
Also, Rick Ehrhart wrote:
 
>CSY could be OEMing disks from DEC or Seagate.  But you have to be careful,
>because those drives could have different firmware than the ones you could
>buy off the street.
 
This is what I originally suspected, especially once I saw the different
lists of devices in SYSDIAG and SYSGEN/IODFAULT.  A quick scan of Computer
Shopper shows that the specific models documented in IODFAULT are rare, but
a few phone calls confirm that they can be had and for prices similar to
models with similar model numbers (often the difference in the model number
is the suffix).
 
So . . . . the $64,000 question:  does HP support these drives (at least for
diagnostics during disasters)?
 =======================================================================
Guy Smith                                Voice:  804-527-4000 ext 6664
Circuit City Stores, Inc.                  FAX:  804-527-4008
9950 Mayland Drive                      E-Mail:  [log in to unmask]
Richmond, VA 23233-1464         Private E-Mail:  [log in to unmask]
 
The thoughts expressed herein are mine and do not reflect those of my
employer, or anyone with common sense.