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SCSI isn't dead yet – new SSD for old or obsolete systems

tomshardware.com

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Re: SCSI isn't dead yet – new SSD for old or obsolete systems

#4
SCSIFlash-Fast uses CF or M.2 SSD cards

IDE-SATA adapters are very common (and cheap), but this seems like SCSI-SATA which is definitely far less common; I know there is also SAS, but I'm not sure how that compares. There have been IDE-SCSI adapters made in the past too, but they've also become rare and expensive:

https://duxbridge.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/creating-ssd-for-...

as well as the device being firmware upgradable via USB

My first thought upon reading that was "that seems overly complex". Looking at the rest of the features, this seems more like an embedded system doing the translation rather than a simple (hardware IP) adapter.

Re: SCSI isn't dead yet – new SSD for old or obsolete systems

#5
the reality of debugging novel SCSI drivers is not for the weak. The layered, embedded and terse protocols that pass through those wires have tons of legacy junk and 80s engineering thinking .. like saving 5 bytes by combining into awkward flags.

Serial connections can actually be faster in practice due to syncing problems of parallel (SCSI-like) transfers at speed.

Re: SCSI isn't dead yet – new SSD for old or obsolete systems

#7
post #3

I guess the is the industrial version of things like BlueSCSI.

They look to be a bit more flexible, with the ability to mimic the firmware of specific drives. They also seem to be a bit older - I don't think BlueSCSI supports CF cards, and these don't seem like they support Wi-Fi.

Re: SCSI isn't dead yet – new SSD for old or obsolete systems

#8
There's a server room right down the hallway with racks of SCSI and SAS drives, some even running 2007 Opterons. I have no clue who's using them, but there's a ton of spares in the room leading into it, so there's definitely demand for these things.

As with all technologies though, the cost first starts out high as it's introduced, is reduced as it becomes popular, and climbs back up as it's obsoleted and nobody makes them anymore but some people are stuck using them.

Re: SCSI isn't dead yet – new SSD for old or obsolete systems

#9
This is pretty interesting as a retro PC hobbyist. I have Pentium 3 1400-S rig currently running an Adaptec PCI-to-SATA adapter but have a few SCSI drives laying around, so I'm thinking about running the system on SCSI instead of SATA. Probably won't feel as fast but it would feel more "workstation-y". Did anyone run SCSI on a P3 system back in the day?
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