ATTO Technology 1500D/E Manuel D’Utilisation

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Installation: SCSI connections
Cabling 
Cables and devices must be chosen to maximize 
performance and minimize the electrical noise 
from the high-speed data transfers available with 
the SCSI protocol. Cabling and termination 
methods become important considerations for 
proper performance. SCSI cables and devices are 
subject to specific length and number limitations 
to deal with electrical problems that arise at 
increased operating speeds. 
Cable types
Use high-quality cables rated for the type of SCSI 
transfers required: well-insulated SCSI cables 
ensure error free communications. Try to keep 
cable lengths as short as possible to ensure higher 
signal quality and performance.
Examples
The SCSI specification limits total bus cable 
length for single-ended SCSI in a non-UltraSCSI 
environment to 3 meters (combined length of both 
internal and external cable lengths).
In an UltraSCSI workgroup environment with a 7-
drive tower, you are limited to 1.5 meters between 
the host and the tower, including the cabling for 
the tower. If the 7-drive tower requires 1 meter of 
cabling to connect all of its drives, the distance 
from the tower to the host must be .5 meters. 
Note
UltraSCSI is very sensitive to SCSI bus noise, 
cable distances and the number of devices 
connected on the SCSI bus. Carefully connect 
your devices when working with UltraSCSI. 
Exhibit 1.5-1  Various types of SCSI operate at different speeds and require different bus lengths to support 
a certain number of devices.
STA terms
Bus speed
MB/sec. max.
Bus width
bits
Max. bus lengths in meters
Max. device 
support
Single-ended
Differential
LVD
Fast SCSI
10
8
3
25
n/a
8
Fast/WIDE SCSI
20
16
3
25
n/a
16
UltraSCSI
20
8
1.5
25
n/a
8
Ultra/WIDE SCSI
40
16
n/a
25
n/a
16
Ultra/WIDE SCSI
40
16
1.5
n/a
n/a
8
Ultra/WIDE SCSI
40
16
3
n/a
n/a
4
Ultra2 SCSI
80
16
n/a
n/a
12
8
Ultra2/WIDE SCSI
80
16
n/a
n/a
12
16
Ultra3/WIDE SCSI
160
16
n/a
n/a
12
16