Subject: REVIEW: CyberSCSI Mk II
From: [email-masked] (Maarten D. de Jong)
Date: 27 Jul 1997 22:32:33 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

       CyberSCSI Mk II

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

       A DMA-capable FastSCSI-2 controller for all Cyberstorm Mk II CPU
boards.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

       Name:		phase 5 Digital Products
       Address:		In der Au 27
			61440  Oberursel
			Germany

       Telephone:	+49-6171-583787
       Support:		+49-6171-583788
       FAX:		+49-6171-583789

       WWW:		http://www.phase5.de/
       FTP:		ftp://ftp.phase5.de/

LIST PRICE

       DM 199,-- (approximately US$ 120) in April 1997.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

       HARDWARE

	   - any Cyberstorm Mk II CPU module (whether this includes the
	     PowerPC-based modules is unknown)
	   - at least one SCSI-device to use the controller

       SOFTWARE

	   All required software is provided on-disk by phase 5.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	A4000/030 (upgraded with a Cyberstorm Mk II 040/40 ERC)
	Kickstart 3.0, Workbench 3.0
	2 MB ChipRAM, 26 MB FastRAM
	Harddisks: Quantum LPS270A (270 MB, IDE), Maxtor 7060 AT (60 MB,
		   IDE), Quantum Fireball TM2100I (2100 MB, SCSI-2)
	CD-ROM: Toshiba XM-5701B (12x, SCSI-2)
	Cybervision 64 (4 MB, CyberGfx v40.64)
	GVP I/O Extender (driver software: v1.8)

INSTALLATION

	The CyberSCSI Mk II (from hereon designated as the CyberSCSI-
or SCSI-module) is an additional module for any Cyberstorm Mk II CPU
card. The latter features a connector on which the SCSI-module is
placed. It is simply impossible to connect the two in a wrong way
(especially with a 68040-based Cyberstorm: the cooling fin on this CPU
forms a large blockage). Of course, if you are not comfortable opening
the computer by yourself, have your dealer or a qualified engineer do
the job for you. However, no matter who's performing the installation,
there are a few `ifs and buts' which complicate the procedure.

	Amiga 3000(T) users are informed that their computer may not
work reliably with Zorro III DMA-capable hardware in their system;
this affects the CyberSCSI-module as well. However, I have been
informed that this problem is solved by switching to the latest
revisions of the Buster and Gayle (or was it Gary?) custom chips. Keep
in mind that this is pure hear-say; so please check thouroughly with
your dealer or someone with a good knowledge of the 3000-hardware.

	Additionally, some soldering on the mainboard of all
3000-models is always required if you wish to install the SCSI-module:
it requires a signal which is not provided by the CPU slot of said
computers. Please note that this is NOT necessary if you install the
module in a 4000.

	Regardless of the type of Amiga, READ THE MANUAL FIRST. The
firmware of your Cyberstorm MUST be updated BEFORE you install the
SCSI-module. The manual explains how to do this quite elaborately, but
also informs you that the updating procedure may cripple your
CPU-module beyond repair. These kind of warnings give me the
creeps. It really takes a mental push (read: a few gulps of whisky or
vodka) to start the updating procedure after reading about the
possible consequences. No programs are available to restore your
Cyberstorm to its original state; instead, you are advised to contact
the support department. And then what?? Good going, guys!

	Two remarks here. By chance I spotted a question in the
comp.sys.amiga.hardware newsgroup about unsuccesful updates; after a
week there were still no responses. I therefore conclude (with the
necessary precautions) that a failure is rare. The second remark
concerns the manual: it says that a rainbow pattern should appear
early in the bootprocess to signify the Cyberstorm's presence; this
did not occur with my module (strange), despite the fact that the
updating procedure completed successfully (*releaved sigh*).

	The second problem you run into is the amount of space you
have to position all cables. The SCSI-module itself is not equipped
with termination resistors; they are placed on a separate PCB which
houses the external SCSI-connector. The two are connected with a short
(but very broad 50-wire) ribbon cable which passes squarely over the
Amiga's internal IDE and floppy drive connectors. The effect of this
new cable is that you have to reroute the ribbons of said connectors
in a way which would have Houdini think for a while. And then you
still have to connect the internal SCSI-cable (with connectors for 2
SCSI-devices and the controller)... In one word: messy. I strongly
suggest you test everything before you close up the Amiga while you
still have easy access to all hardware.

	And just when you think you've got it all covered: updating
the firmware, setting the termination resistors and miscellaneous
jumpers, connecting all cables, and so on... you come to the
conclusion that the (large) power cables of the devices in the upper
front drive bay and lower rear drive bay meet head-on before
everything is in place... This is without a doubt strongly dependent
on the type of equipment you are using, but since a warned person
counts for two...

	Strangely enough, the informative manual makes no mention what
to do with the connector for the activity LED. Since I intended to
remove all IDE drives from my system, I simply used the system's
LED. However, I have seen various documents on how to install a
two-colour LED; check out the Aminet for a copy. Keep in mind this
requires you to solder a small circuit, so have a experienced or
qualified person do this for you in case you can't do this by
yourself.

       The above process is clearly described in the manual, but it
will take you a lot longer to _do_ than to _read_ it. Keep your cool
and you'll do fine.
    
       Last but not least, I wish to point out that SCSI-devices in
general are affected by the quality of your cables like no other
equipment in your computer. A full explanantion goes beyond this
review, but I recommend the SCSI-FAQ
(ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/comp.periphs.scsi/) for a full
explanation. You may be interested to know that in a random sampling
of cables which were supposed to adhere to the SCSI-2 standard, only
half actually did.

REVIEW

Hardware
~~~~~~~~

       If you are not familiar with the SCSI-jargon, I recommend you
read the SCSI-FAQ of which I gave the address above.

       This piece of hardware equips your Amiga with an autobooting,
RDB-supporting SCSI-2 controller. With this hardware, you can connect
up to 7 SCSI-devices to your Amiga. This includes hard drives,
CD-ROMs, magneto-optical devices, scanners, tapestreamers, and so
on. If it has a SCSI-interface, you can use it on the Amiga. (Of
course you need some software as well, but there are no problems
concerning the hardware.) Needless to say, this expands the
capabilities of your computer considerably.

       The most important thing you have to care about are the
termination resistors. Without these, the backbone cable remains
`open' at some end, leading to malfunctions. Since it is easy to
forget to place or remove a resistor, phase 5 have equipped the
SCSI-module with an automatic resistor.  This clever circuit finds out
on its own whether it is the last piece of equipment on the backbone
and switches itself on if this is indeed the case.  One exception
exists, but this is clearly documented in the manual. You can of
course also switch the resistor to manual or simply to off.

       Since this resistor is located on a separate PCB and the
controller insists on being at the end of a cable if you are just
using internal SCSI-devices, it follows you always have to install
this PCB -- and thus run into the already mentiond cable routing
problem. (If the latter requirement was dropped, you could make a
device-controller-device connection, and have the termination
resistors reside on both devices, thus eliminating the need for the
second PCB. Perhaps it is possible, but since the documentation does
not mention it, I decided not to try.)

       The main controller PCB has three extra jumpers which aid in
setting up your system. You can extend the waiting period at startup
(useful for old SCSI-devices which are slow starters), put the
controller into `slow cable mode' (if you have very long cables), and
have the controller automatically operate any device using FastSCSI-2
mode. Of course the device has to be able to handle this.

       The external port is a SCSI-2 50-pins connector. In other
words, if you are going to use equipment which uses the more common
25-pins or Centronics 50-pins connector, you will need an adaptor plug
(which are not exactly cheap).

       Finally, the hardware itself looks well made. However, the
design is still something which makes me wonder if it could not have
been done in a smarter way. All the equipment is now stuffed in a
small amount of space, yet there is a huge amount of room left above
the rest of the CPU-module, over the SIMM modules.

Software
~~~~~~~~

       All software is delivered on one disk bearing the name `SCSI
Tool Disk'. When you reach the point that you can start using the
SCSI-devices, you will aready have used it: it also contains the
updating program. It is quite interesting to see that the disk
contains directories for all products by phase 5 which can be extended
with a SCSI-module; this includes hardware such as the Fastlane and
the Blizzard 1230 Mk IV. (The only difference as far as I could tell
were the icons' tooltypes.)

       After installing the software (which consists of a SCSI-bus
control program, a HDToolbox-like program, the AmiCDFS 2.38 filing
system, an audio-CD player, DynamiCache and lots of documentation)
using the normal Installer, you are in business.

       The SCSI-bus control program (UnitControl2) allows you to
change various low-level options of the SCSI-devices and the
controller. This includes parameters like reselection, bus time outs,
and probing of LUNs during start-up. It is especially useful if you
are optimizing the performance of your storage media. The on-disk
manual is quite clear about all options and you should read it
carefully. This is because some gadgets carry rather misleading names
which might cause data loss if they are operated in the wrong way.

       SCSIControl3 is phase 5's replacement for the HDToolbox
program. It works in a similar way and gives you the same options,
save for a few. For example, it lacks a verify option, which can
present a problem if you end up with a `disk not validated'-error. For
this reason and the fact that the graphical display of your partitions
leads to a better overview, I still prefer Commodore's program. There
is enough room for improvement, and I therefore hope that phase 5 will
do so.

       In practice it gets the job of partitioning done without
problems.  However, I did find an annoying bug: in order to access the
information about the partition itself (size, location, type of filing
system, etc.), you have to double-click on the name of the
partition. However, this will not work if the 'Del Partition' gadget
is active. You have to deactivate this one first.

       The AmiCDFS filing system allows you to access CD-ROMs. It can
handle quite an amount of formats: ISO-9660, HFS, RockRidge, PhotoCD
and CDDA are present and accounted for. Not only is it quite
extensive, it is fast as well. AmiCDFS is a shareware program, and I
was amazed to find out that phase 5 don't give us the full
version. This makes phase 5 look a bit stingy to me; especially in
conjunction with the disclaimer that programs may be withdrawn from
the disk at any moment if the author of the program wishes it so.

       Both AmiCDFS and the audio CD-player program (MCDPlayer 1.01)
work as they should. However, since I have never used a CD-ROM in any
computer until now, I have no experience with other
programs. MCDPlayer is quite crude, and I'm sure better alternatives
are easily found. (I happened to see a picture of a rather nice one in
the April or May issue of Amiga Computing, but I forgot its name.)

       The documentation is quite interesting for programmers, since
it contains (amongst other things) a complete list of all SCSI-2
commands, the source to a low-level SCSI-bus program (not
UnitControl2, unfortunately :)) and some tips on how to get MS-DOS
partitions on your mass data storage devices.

Real World Experience
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

       Installing all hard- and software and copying my data from the
old IDE drives to the Fireball proved not be the quick easy task I had
envisaged it would be, but within two hours I could remove the IDE
drives and start the first SCSI-only boot. With IDE drives attached,
nothing out of the ordinary happened; without them no problems
whatsoever occurred as well.

       Well, _any_ problems is perhaps too grand a word. One small,
but _very_ useful utility decided to call it quits: undel by Martin
Mares. This undelete program insists on using the standard scsi.device
to perform its magic. And the CyberSCSI-module is operated with the
cybscsi.device, so... In general, if the program allows to choose your
own .device and unit number, you can use it without problems.

       A small number of people may ask whether you can use the
CyberSCSI-module with NetBSD. At the moment of writing (April 1997)
the best answer I can give is `maybe'. A developmental module exists
for this controller, but from what I read, it still works rather
unreliably. In my opinion, you are better off switching to Linux/m68k
(yes, Linux/m68k!), which _does_ support this controller.

       It is a trifle pointless to present DiskSpeed data here, since
they are highly dependent on the hardware employed. However, I can say
that a fragmented hard disk is a sure speed killer :). However, that's
no problem ReOrg can't handle. I am a little concerned with the amount
of CPU-time the DMA-controller demands, though. Or better put (since
DMA takes no CPU-time at all) the time required by the programs before
the DMA-controller can be put to work. Unfortunately, this is mostly
OS-stuff and therefore cannot be changed easily. On the other hand, at
least the module at least leaves some time free in comparison to the
4000's internal IDE interface!

       Even under heavy multitasking loads with lots of different
programs fighting for control of the hard disk and the CD-ROM, the
module performs without a glitch. No compatibility problems could be
established (admittedly, my list of tested devices is small). All in
all, I am very pleased with the module.

DOCUMENTATION

       The 42-page bilingual (German and English) A6-booklet provides
detailed information about your new toy. The installation procedure is
clearly described and includes a few small photographs. SCSI in
general, termination resistors, jumper settings and common errors are
devoted a few pages each.  Sometimes I read a section in German,
because in my opinion that still describes everything best, but I am
convinced you will have little trouble with the English text, despite
numerous spelling errors. As a special extra, a pin layouts of the
SCSI-2 and Centronics 50-pins connectors are given.

LIKES

       Speed, reliability, the manual and good software.

DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS

       Difficult installation (possibility of damaging the Cyberstorm,
strange location of the controller PCB, two-PCB design, cable
rerouting problem) and the shareware edition of the AmiCDFS filing
system.

       I know that in order to keep the price of the Cyberstorm down,
phase 5 have decided to provide the SCSI-controller as a separately
available option.  There is nothing wrong with such a design, but more
thought should have gone to the problem of installation. I sincerely
hope a Mk III will take care of this.

       A registered version (or at least a discount) for the AmiCDFS
filing system should be included as a standard.

       The SCSIControl3 program (partitioning) can do with a more
user-friendly user interface and a verify option. A selector for
#?scsi.devices and a RDB-backup option could make interesting
additions.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS
    
       Since I don't have extensive experience with SCSI-2
controllers, and tests in magazines were done with different setups
(notably different hard disks), I cannot present an objective
opinion. Sorry!

BUGS

       Various typos in the manual, plus one small bug in the
partitioning program.

VENDOR SUPPORT

       phase 5 is not exactly fast when it comes to handling email. I
suggest you phone or fax the company if you want a quick(-ish?)
answer.

WARRANTY

       phase 5 have devoted quite a lot of text to the issue of
warranty. I will summarize the text in this document, but please refer
to the original in case this becomes a necessity. I accept no
responsibility when this summary and the original text differ!

       You get a 6 month guarantee, during which phase 5 will replace
or repair your module free of cost if the card was broken due to
material or production faults. Excluded are faults caused by `outside
interference': improper usage, unauthorized repair or modifications
and addition of new hardware and software. This includes SCSI-devices,
but upgrades of the _system_ hard- and software as well! AmiCDFS and
the supplied other programs form no exception.

       phase 5 takes no warranty what so ever about the applicability
of the CyberSCSI Mk II; the company also does not hold itself
responsible in case of data loss, even when it has been warned about
the possibility in advance.

       In case of problems you are instructed to turn to your dealer
for assistance first. phase 5 will only accept returns when they have
been assigned a so-called RMA-number; this number is given to you when
the support department sees justifiable cause for you to return the
module to phase 5.

CONCLUSIONS

       The moment you've all been waiting for. The Note. I Have
Decided (c'mon, allow a guy his moment of glory for once :)) on 4.5
out of 5. The installation is a bitch, and not without risk to other
hardware, but once everything is in place, the module performs as any
piece of hardware should: reliably and speedy. The manual is clear and
packed with useful information. A very good addition to any Cyberstorm
Mk II.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

       This review copyright 1997 by Maarten D. de Jong.

       Permission to distribute this text in any form is granted, as
long as no modifications are made. The moderator of the
comp.sys.amiga.reviews newsgroup is exempted from this requirement,
but I trust him not to abuse this fact :-). If you distribute the
text, I'd appreciate it if you dropped me a line informing me about
the where and how.

       Reactions, comments and questions are welcome at my email address:
[email-masked].

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