DEC CI Hierarchical Storage Controllers

DEC built a whole series of HSC controllers beginning with the HSC50 and ending with the HSC95.

See the following table for characteristics and upgradability of the HSC models:

DEC HSC Controllers
Model	HSC50	HSC70	HSC40	HSC90	HSC60	HSC95	HSC65
Introduction	1983	1986	1989	1991	1991	1993	1993
Peak I/O per s	550	1150	800	1300	1300	1800	1800
max. # of channels	6	8	3	8	3	8	3
max. # of devices	24	32	12	48	20	48	32
Upgrades to HSC60			x
Upgrades to HSC70			x
Upgrades to HSC90		x	x		x
Upgrades to HSC65			x		x
Upgrades to HSC95		x	x	x	x		x

HSC Channel Interfaces

A Channel is a pluggable HSC interface to either hard drives, tape drives, or both, depending on the channel module. The number of devices that can be connected also depends on the channel module.

HSC controllers may contain a mix of the following data channel module options:

• HSC5X-BA (L0108-YA) K.SDI INTERFACE KIT TO 4 SDI DISK DRIVES
• HSC5X-CA (L0108-YB) K.STI INTERFACE KIT TO 4 STI TAPE FORMATTERS
• HSC5X-LA (?) HSC5X-BA WITH SUPPORT FOR TOPS-10/20 (18 BIT)
• HSC5X-DA (L0119-YA) K.SI INTERFACE KIT TO 4 SDI DISK DRIVES OR 4 STI TAPE FORMATTERS
• HSC5X-FA (L0119-YB) 8-PORT DISK DATA CHANNEL DISK/TAPE DATA CHANNEL (not supported by HSC50, HSC70, and HSC40)
• HSC9X-SX (L0131-AA) K.SCSI SCSI DISK DATA CHANNEL (not supported by HSC50)

Configuration of HSC Controller Models

Configuration of HSC Controller Models
Item Name	Engineering Designation	Module Designation	HSC90	HSC70	HSC60	HSC50	HSC40
Port processor	K.pli	L0107–YA	---	X	---	X	X
	K.pli2	L0124–AA	X	---	X	---	---
Port link	LINK	L0100 E2 L0118–00	---	X	---	X	X
	LINK2	L0118–YA	X	---	X	---	---
Port buffer	PILA	L0109	---	X	---	X	X
	PILA2	L0125–AA	X	---	X	---	---
I/O control processor	P.ioc	L0105–00	---	---	---	X	---
	P.ioj	L0111–00	---	X	---	---	---
	P.ioj	L0111–YA	---	---	---	---	X
	Pioj-18	L0111–YC	X	---	---	---	---
	P.ioj-18	L0111–YD	---	---	X	---	---
Memory	M.std	L0106–AA	---	---	---	X	---
	M.std2	L0117–AA	---	X	---	---	X
	M.std4	L0123–AA	X	---	X	---	---
32-Mbyte Cache	M.cache	L0121–AA	Option	---	Option	---	---
Disk data channel	K.sdi	L0108–YA	Option	Option	Option	Option	Option
Tape data channel	K.sti	L0108–YB	Option	Option	Option	Option	Option
Disk/tape data channel	K.si 4-port	L0119–YA	Option	Option	Option	Option	Option
Disk data channel	K.si 8-port	L0119–YB	Option	---	Option	---	---
SCSI Disk data channel	K.scsi	L0131–AA	Option	Option	Option	Option	---
Maximum data channels	---	---	8	8	3	6	3
Maximum ports	---	---	48	32	20	24	12
Load devices	---	---	RX33	RX33	RX33	TU58	RX33
Aux power supply	---	---	X	X	1)	2)	---

1) The HSC60–AA/AB/BA/BB without the cache option does not have an auxiliary power supply. The HSC60–AA/AB/BA/BB with the cache option has the auxiliary power supply installed. The auxiliary power supply is supplied as part of the HSC6X-BA/BB cache option installation kit.

2) If the HSC50 has four or more requestors, it requires an auxiliary power supply.

External links

• HSC Installation Manual EK-HSCMN-IN-002
• HSC65 and HSC95 Controllers Installation Manual Order Number (EK-HSCCN-IN.A01)