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SCSI or Fibre Interface Considerations

No device is faster than its connection to its data source. Current backup devices connect using standard SCSI or fibre interfaces. The following table lists the common varieties.

Version

Bus Width

Approximate Maximum Data-transfer Rate

Wide Ultra SCSI

16 bits

40 MB/seconds=144 GB/hour

Ultra2 SCSI

8 bits

40 MB/seconds=144 GB/hour

Wide Ultra2 SCSI

16 bits

80 MB/seconds=288 GB/hour

Ultra 160 SCSI

16 bits

160 MB/seconds=576 GB/hour

Ultra 320 SCSI

16 bits

320 MB/seconds=1152 GB/hour

Fibre Channel

1 Gb

100 MB/seconds=360 GB/hour

Fibre Channel

2 Gb

200 MB/seconds=720 GB/hour

You can see that many of the SCSI interfaces and fibre interfaces will be able to handle your requirement of 200 GB per hour. For example, if you are using a Wide Ultra2 SCSI you can achieve 200 GB in less than an hour. Even if you are using a slower SCSI controller you can use multiple SCSI controllers to achieve the aggregate data transfer rate of 200 GB per hour.

Obviously, the SCSI bus or fibre interface should seldom limit your ability to achieve your required data transfer rate. Any of these SCSI varieties could easily meet the 40 GB per hour requirement in our example. Indeed, most could handle the whole 200 GB job in under two hours. A Wide Ultra 160 SCSI could do it in about 30 minutes.