Experiences with SUN

[Roy Smith]

In article <147 at wgivax.UUCP> fpt at wgivax.UUCP writes:
> The above mentioned disk controller is designed to operate 4 SMD drives.
> As supplied by Sun it will run only 2.  The reason for this is that
> Sun takes the industry standard socket connectors on the Xylogics board
> and jumpers them out to D-connectors on the back panel.  This 
> arrangement only has room for 2 drives to connect.

	Far be it from me to defend Sun against bad press (and yes, I agree
that their peripherals are priced out of this world), but the problem with
the disk attachments may be more due to FCC rules than any fault of Sun's
engineering.  As of about 2 years ago, the FCC has strict rules on RFI
emissions from computers which are creating packaging headaches for
manufacturers.

	Pre-FCC, nobody paid much attention to packaging; all you needed
was a 19-inch rack to hold everything off the floor and enough switched
outlets to plug everything into.  Side panels and fans helped move cooling
air around, but other than that it was mostly just decoration.  You used to
be able to simply run flat cables from the controller, out the back of the
CPU box, and across the floor to the drive.  Now you now have to go
through shielded bulkheads and use shielded external cables.

	There is extra cost involved, and a lot of re-thinking in the
packaging department.  Why do you think DEC's MSCP cables cost so much?
All that shielded coax with those crazy bulkhead connectors ain't cheap.
I't hard to see how a regular flat cable connector could meet the FCC
requirements.  It may be a pain, but in the long run I guess it's all for
the best.  I'm sure the radio astronomers and hams appreciate the effort.
-- 
Roy Smith, {allegra,philabs}!phri!roy
System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016