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Attaching IDE Disks to SCSI Controllers?

Posted by Cliff on from the dogs-and-cats-LIVING-together dept.

A not-so Anonymous Coward brings this query to the forefront: "A German company has an adaptor that will allow you to use cheaper IDE drives with SCSI controllers. There is also another company selling RAID enclosures that look LVD but take IDE disks internally. Raptor RAID is the name, but I can't find the actual company's web page. I did find This review. Anyway, how do these things work, and does anyone make adapters so an individual can attach an 80gig IDE disk to their LVD chain and save $500+USD per disk."

3 of 23 comments (clear)

  1. err... by Wakko+Warner · · Score: 3
    ...you just pointed us to the website of a company who makes products that convert IDE hard drives to SCSI.

    Then you ask us if you know of a way to convert IDE hard drives to SCSI.

    Is this some sort of trick question? If we lose, do we get thrown off the bridge?

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  2. Why pound the square peg into the round hole. by TBone · · Score: 4

    You want to use a moped to pull an RV. Use the correct tool for the job.

    IDE is an end-user driven and targeted technology. It's cheap, as you see in the proce difference between IDE and SCSI drives. However it's also cheap. The protocol is not as robust, or expandable, or bulletproof. IDE is meant for home users who need lots of space but aren't as concerned about reliability.

    SCSI is a business, server-targeted technology. It's a stronger, faster, more expandable technology. It's meant for stacking ridiculous abouts of space into small areas. It's intended for corporate applications where you need wide data paths to move lots of data very quickly, or need redundant pathing, or lots of other motivations that 99% of your home users don't need. Regardless of how much data you THINK you move, you have not moved data until you start running systems that load 2G datafiles into a Data Warehouse multiple times a day.

    Get an IDE controller that supports the 3rd/4th channel, and quit screwing around with silly adaptors that are a hack to a problem that's trivial to fix if you use the right tools.


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  3. Bridge Boards by Detritus · · Score: 4
    These things have been around for a long time. Back in ancient times, many SCSI drives were actually ST-506 or ESDI drives with a SCSI bridge board bolted on top. Similar boards are made today to convert IDE drives to USB or FireWire.

    Be aware that an IDE drive with a SCSI bridge board is unlikely to be as fast or reliable as a native SCSI drive. SCSI and IDE drives are designed with different goals.

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