Date   : Tue, 13 Mar 1984 09:30:14-PST
From   : Sam Hahn <SHahn@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA>
Subject: Re: Disk Controller Recommendations?

I ran a similar system for 2+ years.  I give unqualified recommendations on
SD Systems boards for reliability and functionality.  They have never ever
given me so much as a glitch, even when I've moved from place to place.

HOWEVER!  There are a few things to think about.  The VfyII I got in Dec '81
was part of their SBC-200,ExpIII,etc board set, which does not strictly
conform to 696 standards.  That's one problem (though I could run any number
of boards I wanted to run with little problem, including SSM I/O, Heuristics
Speechlab, MD MultI/O, a QT clock, and more).  The new boards that SD is
advertising DOES conform to 696, however, so that's a step in the right
direction.

Another problem is that the formats understood by the VfyII and supported by
SD Systems are not widely used.  Practically the only way I could move files
from my SD higher density disks onto my new Compupro system was to do a copy
from the orig's to SSSD 8", and then read that standard format.  A pain for
100+ disks, not to mention what you have to go through if you have more.

These two problems are the only reservations I have about the VFYII,
and their impact on your application is not for me to decide.  Suffice to say
that if I hadn't made the move to Compupro, I'd have little to complain about:
deviations from 696 haven't affected me at all.

                                       -- sam hahn [shahn@sumex]