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The Question is:
I have a VAX8250 using an RA60 as a boot device. I would like to boot from any
type of hard drive is there a unibus card that can do this function.
The Answer is :
The VAX 8250 series system is a BI-based dual-processor-capable
VAX system (known as the VAX 8350 when configured for SMP), and
was originally released in 1986.
You likely have either a Unibus UDA50 or a BI KDB50 DSA disk controller
in your VAX 8250 system. These controllers permit access to various
RA- and TA-series storage devices, such as the 205 MB RA60. The largest
disks in this DSA disk series are members of the RA7x and RA9x series.
The OpenVMS Wizard will assume that you do not truely want a disk
controller that will connect to "any" disk -- as no such universal
controller exists for any platform -- but rather that you seek a
controller that permits connections to commodity or Compaq SCSI disks.
The easiest approach for a system with a BI or Unibus (such as various
members of the VAX 8250 series systems) involves the replacement with or
the clustering with a newer MicroVAX 3100 or VAXstation 4000 series
system supporting native SCSI access. This upgrade also typically
provides a significantly faster VAX (or Alpha) CPU and significantly
smaller cabinetry.
The direct connection would involve the addition of a CI controller
and HSJ-series storage controllers, or the acquisition of a (rather
rare) BI-to-SCSI adapter, the KZBSA, or the acquisition of a
third-party Unibus-to-SCSI adapter -- and a Unibus-based adapter may
or may not be entirely reliable "behind" the BI-to-Unibus adapter.
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