VAX collectors attention

From: Geoff Roberts <geoffrob_at_stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au>
Date: Mon Nov 30 19:50:31 1998

-----Original Message-----
From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis_at_freegate.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp_at_u.washington.edu>
Date: Tuesday, 1 December 1998 10:17
Subject: VAX collectors attention


> (Oh and an HSC50 whatever the heck that is!)

Hierarchical Storage Controller.
Waist high filing cabinet sized box, HEAVY too.
Basically, it's a PDP8 I think, running a little o/s called CRONIC
(Colorado Rudimentary Operating Nucleus for Intelligent Controllers)
Bots off a pair of TU58 mini tape cassette drives.
It's a controller/manager for SDI and STI (+ optional 3rd party SCSI tape)
drives.
You can do backups, and a few other things, just using the HSC without the
host Vax.
Talk to it with a VT100 or whatever terminal, or over the CI with the SET
HOST /HSC command
from VMS, assuming the Vax has the CI hardware installed.
Normally part of a VAXcluster, it serves drives to several machines over a
proprietary
70mbs (I think) thick cable network called the CI (Computer Interconnect).
Needs another box called a Star Coupler (strange transformer gizmo, acts
much like
a hub, but passive) as well. Works with RAxx and TAxx series tape drives.
Though ours had
an Emulex SCSI adapter that drove two HP 4mm 5Gb DAT drives through a
special interface, emulating
a TA78 tape system to the HSC/VAX. (The card's still in the HSC, but the
interface box with the drives
in it died, and is no longer supported by Emulex.) I've now got a VS4000-90
hosting one of the HP DAT
drives, clustered to the 6320, so I can at least access stuff I had saved on
it. It's currently feeding our
Vax 6320, plus I have another complete one for spares.
Uses about 600w IIRC.
BI and XMI adapters were/are available for various Vaxen to allow them to
connect
over the CI bus. Decnet will also run across it, so it made for fairly high
cluster performance.
Pretty much obsolete now. There was a slightly more sophisticated version
called a HSC70
that used RX floppys instead of the tapes, and could handle more drives,
etc.
I think there were a couple of models after that too. I've seen a HSC70 at
a scrap dealer recently.
Not a lot of use unless you have a big (82xx 83xx 85xx 86xx 6000-xxx etc)
Vax that needs one to
talk to it's drives.


Allison or one of the other Master Decologists will doubtless correct any
mistakes in the above. :^)

Cheers

Geoff Roberts
Computer Systems Manager
Saint Marks College
Port Pirie South Australia.
My ICQ# is 1970476
Ph. 61-411-623-978 (Mobile)
      61-8-8633-0619 (Home)
      61-8-8633-8834 (Work-Direct)
      61-8-8633-0104 (Fax)
Received on Mon Nov 30 1998 - 19:50:31 GMT