KEY APPLICATIONS
• Intersystem connections - server
and workstation to RAID and
network management
• Upgrading existing Fast or
Ultra SCSI systems
• Adding Ultra2 SCSI hard drives
to servers, workstations and
RAID storage subsystems
LSI8951U
SCSI Host Adapter
The LSI8951U PCI-to-Ultra2
SCSI host adapter combines
Ultra SCSI data transfer rates
with reliable data integrity.
OVERVIEW
At up to 80 MBps, the LSI8951U host adapter combines the highest
Ultra2 SCSI data transfer rates with the high performance PCI system bus.
Based on an industry first, the LSI53C895 Ultra2 SCSI I/O processor, the
LSI8951U provides Universal Low Voltage Differential (LVD) signaling for
SCSI. LVDlink™technology, the implementation of LVD transceivers, eliminates
the distance and device constraints that exist in today’s Ultra SCSI single-
ended designs while offering higher data transfer rates.
Installing and configuring the LSI8951U host adapter couldn’t be easier.
With built-in SCAM (SCSI Configured AutoMatically) and SCSI bus configuration
utilities, setting up the SCSI bus is a snap. The powerful SCSI Device
Management System (SDMS) software, and on-board BIOS and configuration
utility make installation of the SCSI I/O subsystem easy and virtually automatic.
And with no jumpers, switches, IRQs, system DMA or addresses to budget,
installing the LSI8951U to connect up to 15 Ultra2 devices becomes a matter
of plugging in the host adapter and loading the drivers.
Whether you are migrating from Ultra SCSI or Fast SCSI, Ultra2 SCSI
provides a high performance I/O migration path while preserving your existing
PCI-SCSI software investment. As compared to Ultra SCSI designs, the
LSI8951U provides twice the performance and allows four times the cable
length and number of connected devices. The high SCSI bus bandwidth of
Ultra2 SCSI, along with improvements in distance, connectivity, and reliability
make the LSI8951U an ideal host connection to a RAID controller. It is also
suitable for other demanding I/O applications in the high performance work-
station and server markets.
The LSI8951U LVDlink transceivers provide the data reliability of differential
signaling without the cost of high-voltage differential transceivers. For critical
data handling applications, LSI Logic offers data and product reliability, software
and hardware compatibility, with easy installability. Extensive host adapter
and software testing ensures OEM compatibility with all major operating systems
and a wide variety of SCSI-1, Fast SCSI-2, Ultra SCSI and Ultra2 SCSI devices.
Bus Interface:
3/5V PCI
PCI Mode:
Bus Master
Plug-and-Play:
Yes
SCSI Rate:
40 MBps synchronous (SE)
80 Mbps synchronous (LVD)
14 MBps asynchronous
SCSI Bus:
16-bit SE and LVD
Bootable:
Yes
No. of SCSI Devices:
15
SCSI Connectors:
Internal: 68-pin HD
External: 68-pin VHDCI
FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Performance
•Synchronous:
up to 80 MBps Ultra2 SCSI
up to 40 MBps Ultra SCSI
up to 20 MBps Fast SCSI
•Asynchronous: up to 14 MBps
•Direct (bus master) memory
access for low overhead
with 32-bit burst data
transfers at 133 MBps PCI
data transfer rates
•Zero wait state PCI transfers
•Up to 64-bit PCI burst size
to maximize the PCI data
transfer rate
HARDWARE FEATURES
PCI Bus Support
•PCI 2.1 compliant
•PCI Extended Access Cycles
•32-bit, 33-MHz PCI bus
•Functions as full 32-bit PCI
DMA bus master
•Operates on 3.3V or
5V PCI buses
SCSI Bus Support
•LVDlink transceivers meet all of
the requirements of the SPI-2
standard and utilize TolerANT™
active negation technology for
improved single-ended SCSI
signal integrity
•Prefetches up to 8 dwords of
SCSI SCRIPTS™instructions to
save PCI bus overhead
•Supports wide variety of 16-bit
SCSI peripherals
SCSI DEVICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE (SDMS)
SDMS Software Features
•Multiple host adapter support
•Scatter/gather
•Tagged command queuing for peak performance in multi-tasking
environments
•Power management for DSSPM support
•Shared interrupts and shared memory to allow multiple PCI devices in a
single-interrupt system
•Autoscan for ease of SCSI configuration
•Multiple LUNs per SCSI ID for RAID and media changer capability
•Supports hard drives > 8 GBytes
•ASPI interface support
•Multi-initiator in most operating systems
•Disconnect/reselect support
•Target initiated negotiation
•CD-ROM, tape backup, hard disk, scanner and removable media support
•On-board, field upgradeable BIOS
•On-board NVRAM for SCSI Plug-and-Play (SCAM) support
SDMS Software Support
Operating systems supported are: DOS (with ASPI support), Windows
3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows 95, Windows NT 3.51 &
4.0, Novell NetWare 3.1 & 4.x, SCO UNIX Open Server 5.0, UNIXWare,
and OS/2 (including WARP). Utilities: Install and FLASH (DOS only), SCSI
format, SCSI configuration, verify.
HOST ADAPTER COMPATIBILITY AND QUALITY
LSI Logic is a key developer and contributor to the original committees
that defined today’s SCSI and PCI standards. Our continuing work with
other industry leaders of core chip sets, processors, system providers, SCSI
device peripherals, BIOS, and operating systems enables us to provide users
with the utmost compatibility and interoperability. Product compatibility and
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LSI8951U SCSI Host Adapter
SCSI Bus Support (Continued)
•Supports SCSI SCRIPTS load
and store instructions for more
efficient moving of data between
memory and chip register space
•Includes 4 KB internal RAM for
SCRIPTS instruction storage to
reduce or eliminate instruction
fetches over the PCI bus
•Improved support for large block
transfers at Ultra2 SCSI speeds
•Termination:
–Active, automatic
–LVDlink provides automatic
switching between single-
ended and LVD signaling
–Automatically enters high-
impedance state when
connected to a HVD signal
•Provides data reliability and
cable distance of differential
SCSI without the cost of
external differential transceivers
•Improves connectivity (up to 15
LVD Ultra2 SCSI devices) and
cable lengths (up to 12.5 meters
of Ultra SCSI - longer cables
may be possible in point-to-
point connections)
•Uses same internal cables as
Ultra SCSI and same connectors
as Fast/Ultra SCSI
•Supports SCAM (SCSI Configured
AutoMatically) Level 1 functionality
•Uses LSI53C895 proprietary
Ultra2 SCSI I/O RISC processor
•With appropriate cables, supports
8-bit hard drives, CD ROMs, tape
backups, hard disks, scanners
and other 8-bit SCSI devices in
Fast/Ultra SE mode only
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interoperability are rigorously tested and our ISO-9001 certified fabrication
facilities assures users of the highest levels of product quality and reliability.
LVDLINK - UNIVERSAL LVD TRANSCEIVERS
Balancing backward compatibility with I/O performance and lower costs,
the LSI53C895 integrates our universal LVDlink transceivers with the Ultra2
SCSI I/O processor. Depending on SCSI bus connections, bus cabling conditions
are sensed and the universal LVDlink transceivers automatically select single-
ended or LVD SCSI modes and indicate the mode with the on-board SE or
LVD LEDs. In single-ended mode, the LSI8951U performs synchronous data
transfers up to Ultra SCSI rates, subject to standard Ultra SCSI cable distance
and connected device constraints. In LVD mode, the host adapter supports up
to 12.5-meter cables and up to 15 LVD devices with the same cables and
connectors as defined in the SCSI-3 Parallel Interface ANSI standard.
LVDlink transceivers also provide fail-safe operation of the receiver by
detecting when the LSI8951U is connected to a high voltage differential
(HVD) signal. When connected to HVD, the LSI8951U’s SCSI bus enters a
high-impedance mode and activates the on-board HVD LED.
LSI8951U KIT CONTENTS
•LSI8951U PCI-to-Ultra2 SCSI host adapter
•On-board SDMS BIOS with built-in, easy-to-use SCSI configuration utility
•SCSI Device Management System (SDMS) software with a full range of
operating system support and SCSI configuration utilities
•LSI8951U Users Guide
•SDMS Users Guide
LSI8951U host adapter diagram
Universal PCI Bus Connector
Fuse
LSI53C895
Flash
BIOS
Oscillator
Serial
EPROM
Terminators
LSI8951U
Voltage
Regulator
TERMPWR
SCSI Activity
HVD
LVD
SE
Internal 68-pin High-Density
SCSI Connector
3.80"
6.75"
External LED
Connector
68-pin VHDCI
SCSI Connector
For more information please visit
the LSI Logic web site at:
http://storageio.lsilogic.com
LSI Logic Corporation
North American Headquarters
Milpitas, CA
Tel: 866 574 5741
Host Adapter Group
Southborough, MA
Tel: 888 429 0425
FAX: 508 485 0303
LSI Logic Europe Ltd.
European Headquarters
United Kingdom
Tel: 44 1344 426544
Fax: 44 1344 481039
LSI Logic KK Headquarters
Tokyo, Japan
Tel: 81 3 5463 7165
Fax 81 3 5463 7820
ISO 9000 Certified
The LSI Logic logo design, LVDlink, SDMS, and
TolerANT are trademarks or registered trademarks of
LSI Logic Corporation. All other brand and product
names may be trademarks of their respective companies.
LSI Logic Corporation reserves the right to make
changes to any products and services herein at
any time without notice. LSI Logic does not
assume any responsibility or liability arising out of
the application or use of any product or service
described herein, except as expressly agreed to
in writing by LSI Logic; nor does the purchase,
lease, or use of a product or service from
LSI Logic convey a license under any patent
rights, copyrights, trademark rights, or any other
of the intellectual property rights of LSI Logic or
of third parties.
Copyright ©2001 by LSI Logic Corporation.
All rights reserved.
Order No. S20067
8/01-1M – Printed in USA
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LSI8951U SCSI Host Adapter
Technical Specifications
PCI Bus 32-bit, 3.3/5 V local bus (versions 2.0 and 2.1)
PCl Modes Bus master DMA
PCI Transfer Rate up to 133 MBps
SCSI Asynchronous up to 14 MBps
SCSI Synchronous SE up to 40 MBps
SCSI Synchronous LVD up to 80 MBps
PCI Voltage +5V ±5% (1.5 A max), 12V ±5% (50mA max)
PCI Form Factor 3.8” x 7.0”
Bracket ISA/EISA
Certification Level PCI 2.1 compliant
SCSI Bus 16-bit wide
SCSI Processor LSI53C895
Connectors External Internal
68-pin VHDCI 68-pin HD
Termination Active, automatic terminating, universal LVDlink SCSI with automatic
switching to single-ended
Termination Power Self-resetting
LED Indicators On-board: TERMPWR shorted, SCSI Activity, HVD, LVD, and SE
Off-board: 4-pin header
Environments Operating Storage
Temperature 5°C to 55°C -40°C to +85°C
Relative Humidity 5 to 90% non-condensing 5 to 90% non-condensing
Max Dew Point Temp 32°C
MTBP >500,000 hours
Compliances CE VDE, VCCI, FCC and CISPR class B, UL 94VO
Software Support
OS Support Versions
DOS with ASPI support
Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, NT4.0 SP4 and above
NetWare 4.2, 5.0 and 5.1
UnixWare 2.1 & 7.x
SCO Unix Open Server 5.x
OS/2 Warp 4.x
Utilities Install, FIash (DOS only, SCSI format, SCSI configuration, verify
