By Wade Herman, Tampa PC Users Group
wherman1@tampabay.rr.com
Some time ago I purchased an Adaptec AHA-8945 combination SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) and Firewire (IEEE-1394) card. For those not familiar with Firewire, it is a Very High Speed serial port allowing multiple devices to be chained together. Currently it is used mainly for Digital Video, but increasingly other devices such as CD-ROM burners are being made for this interface because the data transfer rates are much faster than either SCSI or USB (Universal Serial Bus) connections.
The external SCSI connector on this card is a special Extremely High Density (Lots of connections in a very small space) 68 pin connector which is not available at local computer stores. Also it is a SCSI-2 bus, and to connect my external scanners I need a plain 50 Pin SCSI bus connection. To use these devices you not only have to have a conversion to the proper connector but also the now unused terminals must be terminated. When you ask the local computer emporium about this you get a blank stare. I have been using a separate SCSI card for my scanners but now find that I need to free up that slot for another card. So I decided the only way to solve my problem was to contact Adaptec. The same card is also used to connect an internal high speed Seagate SCSI-2 HD (Hard Drive) and a SCSI Yamaha CD-ROM burner. Hello, Napster. The HD has never seemed to have the speed it should, so I would inquire if I was correctly connecting things.
I searched the Adaptec web site for what I thought I needed. I find their web site a bit confusing. Still unsure, I decided to call them. You cannot reach tech support either by phone or the net without some sort of special password . So the only alternative is to call and "Speak with a Friendly and Knowledgeable Adaptec Sales Associate……". So I called and the computer talked to me while I pressed buttons. Finally I was connected to a voice who assured me he was a real live human being (always check that), and he was very Friendly. One Down. I proceeded to explain about my need to connect my external scanners. After some initial confusion about the connector on the card and being told no can do, he found that they had a new cable that would do the job for only $60. OUCH.
Now for the internal devices. They have a cable, adapter and terminator that would allow me to do what I wanted, sort of. Then he asked why would I want to do dat? Now for the meat of this whole diatribe! If I did what I wanted, he assured me, I would severely compromise the performance of the HD as the data transfer would be limited to the speed of the slowest device, the CD-ROM. That was not my understanding of SCSI so I double checked and was assured he had given me the correct poop. Now who am I to question a "Knowledgeable Adaptec Sales Associate….". Should I decide to purchase all the aforementioned stuff anyway, what would be the damage? $175. OOOOOUCH. Nonetheless I decided to place the order as I would eventually need most items. Next I spent several hours searching for confirmation of what I had been told to no avail. Finally, I returned to the Adaptec site, found a searchable knowledge base containing an article dealing with the exact performance question, and Guess What? It said what I had been told is a "Common Misconception" (abortion), and each device would operate at its maximum data rate. So what I got was poop. I will have the proof of the pudding next week.
The moral of this story is Trust but Verify. u