2. Introduction. Black Box IC501A

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SCSI FIBER OPTIC BUS EXTENDERS

2. Introduction

2.1 Description

The SCSI Fiber Optic Bus Extender lets you surpass the distance limitation of the single-ended and differential SCSI bus. The SCSI bus is one of the most popular interfaces used to connect additional devices to a computer system. With the SCSI

Fiber Optic Bus Extender, SCSI components such as disk drives, CD-ROM memory systems, RAID arrays, tape backups, and SCSI laser printers can be located up to

6500 feet (2 km) from the host computer.

Because the SCSI Fiber Optic Bus Extender is completely transparent to your SCSI system, additional computer software is not needed for installation or operation.

Wide SCSI

SCSI Fiber Optic

Bus Extender

30 to 10,000-ft.

Fiberoptic Link

Wide SCSI

SCSI Fiber Optic

Bus Extender

Figure 2-1. Typical SCSI Fiber Optic Bus Extender Configuration.

2.2 Features

• Extends SCSI bus to 6500 feet (2 km)

• 40 MB per second throughput

• Ultra SCSI compatible

• 30-foot (100-meter) coax link standard

• RS-232 serial-port passthrough

• SCSI 1, SCSI 2, SCSI 3 compatible

• Single-ended or differential SCSI interface

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CHAPTER 2: Introduction

• Fiber-channel-compatible optical link

• Standard SC connectors

• Internal bus termination

• No additional software required

• Advanced SCSI Fiber Optic Bus Extender Control software for remote control

• Transparent to the SCSI system

• Does not require a SCSI bus ID

The SCSI Fiber Optic Bus Extender supports Ultra SCSI, 40-MB-per-second, wide and narrow devices in asynchronous or synchronous mode. The Extender gives you the Ultra and Fast SCSI performance available in top-of-the-line computers and peripheral devices. Its advanced proprietary design enables the Extender to maintain complete SCSI command functionality while remaining transparent to you.

The Extender includes 68- and 50-pin high-density SCSI-2 connectors for narrow and wide devices.

Internal bus terminators are switch-selectable to support flexible installations.

A standard SC duplex fiberoptic connector supports a fiberoptic interface between local and remote units.

The SCSI Fiber Optic Bus Extender also includes two duplex coaxial interfaces to support shorter SCSI extender distances.

The SCSI Fiber Optic Bus Extender can be operated and controlled via the remote

RS-232 interface using the included SCSI Fiber Optic Bus Extender Control software. Standard modem software can also be used to control the Extender. Up to 8 units can be connected together and controlled from one serial port using the internal RS-485 multidrop interface. Simple ASCII commands control SCSI Fiber

Optic Bus Extenders in addition to the supplied Windows software.

The RS-232 serial port can also be configured to pass-through the interface to a remote SCSI Fiber Optic Bus Extender, thus letting you operate a remote RS-232 device. This feature is often used in tape-storage systems where control information is provided on a separate RS-232 interface.

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SCSI FIBER OPTIC BUS EXTENDERS

The SCSI Fiber Optic Bus Extender also contains a universal power-cord receptacle, and it auto-switches any AC input voltage between 100 and 240 VAC.

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