Did I order the wrong SCSI Hard Drive?

[Blammo300]

I ordered a Seagate Cheetah 15K.4 36.7GB SCSI Ultra320 68pin Hard Drive. The Dell server I am installing it into has front ports for hard drives but they are using the 80 pin connection.

So do I have to buy an 68pin to 80pin adapter or can I just install the 68pin inside the server?

 

[Zepper]

Generally there aren't any 68 to 80 adapters, just vice versa. As SCA (80 pin) drives are usually less expensive than the 68-pin versions, that's what people buy if that's what they need. Maybe you can exchange it.

.bh.

 

[OdiN]

SCA drives are usually installed onto a backplane. They are what you put in removable, hot swap trays and they are generally what you see in servers that have drives that pull right out of the front.

68-pin is internal only mostly.

SCA has integrated power/data right into the connector.

You can convert from 80-pin back to 68-pin with adapters, but not the other way since the 80-pin connector goes right into the backplane.

 

[Blammo300]

What are the chances of a Dell poweredge server having the internal spots for a 68 pin scsi?

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: Blammo300
What are the chances of a Dell poweredge server having the internal spots for a 68 pin scsi?

If it has the SCA backplane, then it probably doesn't as there probably isn't space to put any internal drives.

 

[redbeard1]

It is possible that there are open bays that could fit a reglar scsi drive, but there may not be a ready means of getting it plugged into the system.

There may be an open scsi port on the motherboard that you could get a 68 pin ultra 320 scsi cable, with a terminator on it, to plug into. Each server has it own differences so it is tough to say what is there.

To put a drive in the front bays, you will need the Dell drive carrier/sled to mount the drive into, as well as needing a sca drive. Plugging it into the front will probably put the drive onto some sort of array as well. So you probably would need to configure the array to let windows see the drive properly.

What is your intended use for this drive?

 

[Zepper]

It is possible they use a 68-pin cable to connect the backplane to the SCSI host bus adapter (often mistakenly called the controller), so it would theoretically be possible to add a 68 pin drive. Perhaps someone will happen along with the knowledge you seek. If your mobo/hba has a second SCSI channel with a 68 pin connector, then you're in like Flynn.

Edit the tread title to reflect your new question. Like: "How to add a 68 pin SCSI drive to a Dell (model) server with an existing SCA backplane?"

.bh.