Hot Topics

ExpressPCI Host Adapter and Apple G5 Compatibility
  • Apple's G5 platform introduces new levels of performance for professional and individual use. Among the many enhancements in this system is the addition of PCI-X bus support in several, G5 models. This provides a huge data pipe on the expansion bus for today's most-demanding applications. The latest iteration of the PCI specification, PCI-X supports up to 1GB/second shared bandwidth across the bus. This provides up to four times the bandwidth of the PCI bus in the G4!

    Many of ATTO's ExpressPCI host adapters support PCI-X throughput in OS X. For SCSI connectivity, the UL4D and UL4S Ultra320 SCSI adapters both support PCI-X. For Fibre Channel connectivity, the FC 3300 and FC 3305 host adapters support it. If you have purchased a G5 system with PCI-X bus, we recommend these cards for your connectivity needs and for maximum performance. Driver support for all of these products is available on our driver download page.

    Will ATTO ExpressPCI host adapters with a standard 33 MHz or 66 MHz PCI interface (not PCI-X) work in a G5 system? Certainly. ATTO has released updated drivers to support our Ultra3 and FC 3321 host adapters. These drivers are available on our driver download site.

    How does using a PCI adapter in a PCI-X slot affect performance? The three G5 PCI-X slots are configured as two independent banks. One bank (comprising one slot) operates at 133 MHz, and the remaining bank (comprising two slots) operates at 100 MHz. Refer to your G5 documentation to properly identify the location and performance characteristics of these slots for your G5 model. Using a PCI adapter in any of the PCI-X slots will result in a performance degradation for that specific bank since the bus will revert to PCI speeds, either 33 MHz or 66 MHz PCI, depending on the bus and adapters that you are using. As such, the UL3D-66 or UL3S-66 is the more appropriate match for the high-end G5 with a PCI-X bus because these will result in the least amount of performance degradation. The standard UL3S/UL3D host adapter is appropriate for the entry-level G5 because both support 33 MHz PCI, which results in a good match. Each of our PCI Fibre Channel adapters supports 66 MHz PCI operation. For best performance, use these with the high-end G5 systems. However, they will work in the entry-level G5 at 33 MHz speeds.

    Unfortunately, the ExpressPCI DC and PSC SCSI host adapters are not supported in the G5 because of signal voltage limitations.

    Additional questions about G5 support should be directed to our technical support staff (available between 8am and 8pm ET by telephone at 716-691-1999 or e-mail at techsupp@attotech.com). They will be able to answer additional questions about G5 support and guide you to the best host adapter solution for your system.
Aladdin Systems Stuffit 8 Compatibility
  • ATTO recommends using Aladdin Stuffit version 8.02 for driver and firmware updates. This version is available from Aladdin Systems at http://www.stuffit.com/mac/expander/updates.html
  • Some Mac OS X .sit files do not retain executable permissions when Stuffit 8 is used to compress the file. This prevents the file from being unstuffed until these permissions are restored.

    We have updated ATTO's Mac OS X utility and driver download files to work properly with all versions of Stuffit, including version 8. However, some older download files that we may have provided may not work with Stuffit version 8. To restore the needed permissions, Aladdin offers the following information :

    • Manually go to the Terminal program and modify the permissions to the file by navigating to the directory the application is in (via the 'cd' command) and typing the following command:
      chmod -R 755 applicationname.app
    • Aladdin has created a drag-and-drop applet that will perform the above command for you. It is available from Aladdin at
      ftp://forJS:911files@ftp2.aladdinsys.com/support/JS/FixPermissionsOnPackages.stix

    Additional information on this issue is available from Aladdin Systems on their web site at www.aladdinsys.com
Java Support Resources
  • Java is a computing platform that enables applications to run in almost any computer or device. Available for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and UNIX operating systems, the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) allows you to take advantage of the benefits of Java-enabled applications. Several ATTO applications are Java-enabled. As such, the JRE must be installed on your computer for these applications to run. The JRE is available for download at the Java technology web site (www.java.com). This site also provides a wealth of technical support resources to help you, if needed.
Quantum Atlas 10K and Atlas IV disk drives in Mac OS X and Windows XP/Server 2003
  • Quantum Atlas 10K and Atlas IV disk drives are not supported in MAC OS X or Windows XP/Server 2003. These drives may not show up at all, may show up intermittently, or can lock up after an error. Refer to the Quantum web site (www.quantum.com) for additional information on this topic.
Updating pre-2.81 ExpressRAID/ExpressPro-Tools Volumes for Use in OS X
  • Due to minor differences in how specific partition information fields are interpreted between Mac OS and Mac OS X, customers may not be able to write to some volumes created using ExpressRAID or ExpressPro-Tools prior to v2.81 when these volumes are mounted in OS X. Volumes created using ExpressRAID or ExpressPro-Tools v2.81, or later, will work properly in both Mac OS and Mac OS X and do not require changes. ATTO has developed utilities that update these 'pre-v2.81' volumes so that they can be used properly in both Mac OS and Mac OS X. Selecting the appropriate utility for the OS you are currently running, download the Mac OS Utility or Mac OS X Utility to your desktop. Instructions for using these utilities are contained in each download package.
Using StorCase Chassis with ExpressPCI SCSI Host Adapters
  • There have been reports of erratic system behavior and system hangs when connecting some StorCase drive chassis and configurations. In these installations ATTO's Wide host adapters (ATTO ExpressPCI UL3D, ExpressPCI UL3S, ExpressPCI UL2D, ExpressPCI UL2S, ExpressPCI DC, ExpressPCI PSC, ExpressPCI DCd and ExpressPCI PSCd) are connected to the StorCase chassis which provides a narrow SCSI connector. This requires a special wide-to-narrow cable be used to terminate the upper byte of information (two bytes are transferred at a time in a Wide configurations as opposed to one for narrow). This Wide-to-narrow solutions works; however, an issue is introduced when a Wide drive is installed into the StorCase chassis through a removable carriage. With a Wide host adapter and a Wide drive connected, the upper byte is blocked - this means that the two devices can only function when the host is communicating to the drive in a narrow mode. However, at boot time the host queries the drive to determine if it can communicate in Wide mode. The drive, being a Wide device, replies that it can. Both the host and the drive have no way of knowing that the upper byte is not connected, therefore they attempt to communicate in Wide mode. With every other byte of information lost, neither the host nor the drive can communicate effectively. According to the SCSI specification, this is not a valid configuration.
  • Solution
    The optimal solution is to replace the narrow chassis with a wide chassis, making the configuration legitimate. This will ensure no further problems as well as improve performance of the drives. For some this may not be an attractive option; therefore, ATTO has produced a version of our host adapter firmware that will block wide negotiation for any specified SCSI ID.
  • Steps to Resolve this Issue
    1) Turn off and disconnect device with the Wide-Narrow-Wide configuration.
    2) Boot the Mac.
    3) Download and launch our 1.63 or later firmware update (this is an Alpha release and is not supported by ATTO) for the adapter you have (for the ATTO ExpressPCI PSC or DC card use the Pro Updater).
    4) Update the firmware (select option 2 - Unconditional Update).
    5) Reboot the Mac.
    6) Launch ATTO Express ProTools V2.3.2 or later(available in our downloads section).
    7) Change view mode to "Busses and All IDs" using popup menu above the device list (all the IDs should now show up on the list, whether or not a device is seen there).
    8) Double click on the ID to which the problem device is set (it should indicate "No Device Detected").
    9) Uncheck the box for "Wide Transfers" and click apply (clicking on "Apply to All" will force the entire bus to not negotiate wide)
    10) Reboot the machine with all devices on.

    The drive should now be functioning properly.