SCSI HDD Connector Help (Inside <100kb)

[Tim_axe]

Hello, I need help figuring out what SCSI drives are compatible with my Dell PowerEdge 4300 -- I'm not very familiar with SCSI. I had about 4-5 18GB HDDs, but only 2-3 of them are still "alive." From what I understand, there are 50 and 68 pin SCSI adapters, but there would also be a power adapter. It seems that my PowerEdge has somehow combined the two (68 pin & power), and it has one connector that is supposed to be hotswapable... I need to find out what this is called so I can get adapters for any other drives as needed, or figure out which drives are native with it / where I need to get them. So any help with that is appreciated.

Also, what brands should I consider when purchasing SCSI HDDs? I'm looking for a drive that is stable and able to last a long time. Pretty much install and forget. I have a hunch that I shouldn't be lookingat the 15k RPM SCSI drives...so what are some recomendations? I'm kind of suspicious of my current IBM Ultrastar drives that have failed quite a bit...but then again I bought all of them used...


Currently, it is pretty much running these HDD's:

The connector that I need help identifying is here:

Thanks for any help / insight.


Edit: This is what my PowerEdge accepts. These drives (apart from being dead) work in my server.

 

[Th3KrawL3R]

Thats an 80pin SCSI connector. To use it you need an 80pin ->68pin. the adapter will split into a molex and a 68pin...oh and about the drives Ive used Segate 15k drives..theyre rock solid

 

[Tim_axe]

Sorry I didn't make it clear in the first post...but this is what my PowerEdge accepts. So how would I get a 68pin drive w/ power working on it?

Is there a 80 -> 64 & Power adapter (or can it be used backwards?), and how much space do they take up? Because there really isn't enough space to fit anything more in there and keep the drive on these hotswapable trays. Or where can I get ahold of drives that already have this 80pin connector? Now that I have a # of pins to work with though, I'll have to check out Dell's website for more info...and also have to figure out where to get these drives cheap(er)...


Thanks again, I now have a # to work with...

 

[animeguru]

Sorry I didn't make it clear in the first post...but this is what my PowerEdge accepts. So how would I get a 68pin drive w/ power working on it?

Is there a 80 -> 64 & Power adapter (or can it be used backwards?), and how much space do they take up? Because there really isn't enough space to fit anything more in there and keep the drive on these hotswapable trays. Or where can I get ahold of drives that already have this 80pin connector? Now that I have a # of pins to work with though, I'll have to check out Dell's website for more info...and also have to figure out where to get these drives cheap(er)...


Thanks again, I now have a # to work with...

If your server has a backplane in place, you don't need to buy an adapter. That's what the 80pin is for... hot swapping HDDs. The connector you see carries all the necessary information and power for the HDD to run. You can find 80pin SCSI drives in just about any size (GB) imaginable... it's a standard connector.

When you go to buy, likely any new SCSI HDD will come in both 68pin and 80pin flavors, just buy the 80pin.

EDIT: An 18GB SCSI drive with an 80pin connector on Dell's website, though you'll likely find them for less at other dealers rather than straight from Dell... they like to mark that kind of stuff up a bit.



Also, why don't you want to run 15k?? I mean, if you've got an existing RAID array, then you'll need matched drives to run it efficiently, but if you're starting from the ground up, buy whatever suits your fancy. People say good things about the Maxtor 15k SCSI drives. Of course, if price is an issue, then staying with 10k drives will be fine. Personally, I've used Quantum (now Maxtor) and IBM (now Hitachi) 10k drives without any serious issues. The ones that did have problems were easily RMA'd. I just picked up a Seagate 10k and it seems to be fine for now, but I haven't really stressed it much so I can't say how well it'll do in the long run.

I'm sure that Ice will be around shortly to point out some awesome SCSI links that will help you get going.

 

[Tim_axe]

Thanks. It's good to know that the drive's pins are standard. I searched around for a few 80 pin SCSI drives on NewEgg, but they were out of stock on the 10k RPM drives I looked at. Dell had a Segate drive on sale for $7 more than NewEgg + shipping, but I'm not in too much of a rush to jump out and buy it.


Price is a concern, so I'm not looking at 15k drives. Although I was suprised to see that their MTBF was the same. My PowerEdge isn't used hard enough to need 15k drives, and the bottle neck of a 100mbit/sec NIC wouldn't let me see the difference anyways. So I'd rather have more capacity with fewer rotations for the same amount of money.

Currently, I don't have a RAID setup (it would have to be a software setup if I did). I have two HDDs that are still alive, and they've been running well for quite some time. Both are 18GB. One has Windows, and the other has Linux. My plans are to get a new HDD some time, install Linux and configure it to host my website, and unplug the other two. I don't like the idea of running the drives at the same time, although I'd be working to keep backups. In my view, running them together theoretically doubles the rate that I'd have to spend $150 to replace the drives -- Who cares about ~x% drive failure in RAID-y with z drives or something when you can sum it up as: z drives * $$$ I don't want to spend
(Formula works for all RAID flavors) & Formula is to be taken as a joke


Thanks for the help so far. Now my worries about compatibility are pretty much settled... I just hope that when the time comes around to replace the drives I can get it done without ripping out my hair trying to get the thing to boot of the the drive or something. Because IIRC, last time I tried to take the Windows drive out, it didn't want to load Linux...probably had something to do with which drives where in ther during installation though...