5712-8203 - PCI-X Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter
The IBM Power6 8203-E4A (#5712) PCI-X Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter
The PCI-X Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter The IBM Power6 8203-E4A (#5712) is a 64-bit 3.3 volt adapter and is an excellent solution for high-performance SCSI applications. The PCI-X Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter provides two SCSI channels (busses), each capable of running 320 MBps (max.), up to twice the maximum data transfer rate of the previous Dual Channel Ultra3 SCSI adapter (160 MBps). Each SCSI bus can either be internal (on systems that support internal SCSI device or backplane attachments) or external. Internally attached Ultra320 devices are designed to run at a data rate of up to 320 MB per second on systems that have internal backplanes that are capable of supporting Ultra320 speeds.
In order to achieve an Ultra320 SCSI bus data rate of up to 320 MB per second and also maintain a reasonable drive distance, the adapter utilizes Low Voltage Differential (LVD) drivers and receivers. To fully utilize this 320 MB per second performance, all attaching devices should also be Ultra320 LVD devices. But, if Ultra2, Ultra3, or Ultra320 devices coexist on the same bus, each device will operate at its rated speed. For lower speed single-ended (SE) devices, the SCSI bus will switch to single-ended (SE) performance and interface to all devices on that SCSI bus at the lower SE bus data rate of the device.
Two industry standard VHDCI 68-pin connectors are mounted on the adapter's end bracket allowing attachment of various LVD and SE external subsystems. A 0.3 meter converter cable, VHDCI to P, Mini-68 pin to 68-pin, The IBM Power6 8203-E4A (#2118) can be used with older external SE devices or subsystems to allow connection to the VHDCI connector on the PCI-X Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter.
The two external ports provide connectivity to an IBM 2104-DS4 Expandable Storage Plus Drawer or 2104-TS4 Expandable Storage Plus Tower at up to 320 MB/s SCSI bus data rate. The two external ports also provide connectivity to an IBM 2104-DU3 Expandable Storage Plus Drawer or 2104-TU3 Expandable Storage Plus Tower at up to 160 MB/s SCSI bus data rate and to an IBM 2104-DL1 Expandable Storage Plus Drawer or 2104-TL1 Expandable Storage Plus Tower at up to 80 MB/s SCSI bus data rate. Also the two external ports provide connectivity to numerous other SCSI external subsystems. Check the external subsystem sales/web pages for verification of connectivity support with this adapter.
The PCI-X Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter The IBM Power6 8203-E4A (#5712) is a native boot adapter with AIX 5.1 or AIX 5.2 software in a supported pSeries or RS/6000 systems. The adapter also supports target mode.
Limitations:
The two external ports do not support the connection to the IBM 7131-105 IBM Multi-Storage Tower Model 105.
Even though the Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI RAID Adapter has ports that run at ultra320 SCSI speeds (up to 320 MBytes/s), the internally attached disk drives will run at a maximum SCSI bus data rate specified by that supporting system disk backplane.
Disk drives internal to the pSeries system shipped prior to September 1, 2003 require a disk drive microcode update to run at Ultra320 speed. To obtain the appropriate microcode update, go to the following web page URL:
http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/server/mdownload/
Attributes provided: Attachment of internal SCSI devices (on systems that support an internal SCSI device or backplane attachment with this adapter) and external SCSI devices
Attributes required: One available 3.3 volt PCI or PCI-X slot
For 8203-E4A: The IBM Power6 8203-E4A (#5712)
Minimum required: 0
Maximum allowed: 36 (Initial order maximum: 0)
OS level required: IBM i V5R4 with V5R4M5 machine code, or later.
Initial Order/MES/Both/Supported: Supported
CSU: Yes
Return parts MES: Does not apply
Note: Not supported in CEC. System maximum of 36 under IBM i. Not supported under AIX or Linux.