AHA®-2740A Series
Adaptec's Fastest EISA SCSI I/O solution ever for servers and performance workstations
PRODUCT FAMILY HIGHLIGHTS
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Delivers Adaptec's fastest EISA-to-Fast SCSI-2 I/O solution ever, adding more advanced SCSI functionality through advanced ASIC design
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Accelerates system performance with PhaseEngine™ RISC processor and Adaptec® 7700 Family Manager Set software
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Improves reliability over previous generation host adapters through highly integrated design
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Expands storage capability from 7 devices to 14 Fast SCSI devices using the TwinChannel® host adapter (AHA-2740AT/42AT)
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Supports both 8-bit and 16-bit Wide SCSI devices (AHA-2742W)
- AHA-2740:
- Bus master EISA-to-Fast SCSI host adapter
- AHA-2742:
- Bus master EISA-to-Fast SCSI host adapter with floppy controller
- AHA-2740AT:
- TwinChannel bus master EISA-to-Fast SCSI host adapter
- AHA-2742AT:
- TwinChannel bus master EISA-to-Fast SCSI host adapter with floppy controller
- AHA-2742W:
- Bus master EISA-to-Fast and Wide SCSI host adapter with floppy controller
OVERVIEW
The AHA-2740A series is the fastest and most versatile EISA-to-Fast SCSI host adapter from Adaptec. This family utilizes 32-bit bus
mastering at 33 Mbytes/seconds and is powered by Adaptec's 8 MIPS PhaseEngine RISC processor, accelerating system performance by
reducing SCSI I/O command processing overhead by 90%. The AHA-2740A series of host adapters can process hundreds of SCSI requests
simultaneously using command swapping to improve I/O throughput up to 50%. The result is maximized EISA system performance for your
demanding multitasking applications such as client/server, engineering CAD/CAM and transaction processing.
The AHA-2740A series is supported under DOS/Windows, Windows NT, OS/2®, NetWare®, SCO® UNIX®, UnixWare, and
Banyan® VINES® operating systems, ensuring compatibility with all popular applications supported by previous generations
of Adaptec EISA host adapters.
KEY BENEFITS
High-performance I/O for mission-critical EISA applications
With the availability of extremely fast CPUs and multitasking operating systems, demanding mission-critical applications are
rapidly being downsized to EISA bus systems. This demand for higher performance I/O and increased storage expansion capability
at an affordable price makes Adaptec's RISC-based SCSI I/O an essential technology for the next generation of "bet-the-business"
applications.
The powerful 8 MIPS Phase-Engine RISC processor provides built-in processing intelligence dedicated to SCSI I/O needs. To accelerate
EISA system performance, the PhaseEngine processor automates SCSI I/O transfers and offloads SCSI command processing overhead from
the host CPU by 90%.
Maximize system performance in multitasking environments
The Adaptec 7700 Family Manager Set software, in conjunction with the AIC-7770 EISA SCSI bus master chip, increases the SCSI
performance of the AHA-2740A family of host adapters under multitasking operating systems. The sequencer can simultaneously
manage up to 32 tagged or 2 non-tagged SCSI commands for each SCSI device, up to a maximum of 255 simultaneous SCSI commands.
Configuration flexibility through expanded functionality
AHA-2740AT/42AT TwinChannel host adapters double storage expansion capability from 7 to 14 SCSI devices. Two independent 8-bit
Fast SCSI channels incorporate a set of control and data lines with on-board, programmable termination for direct connection to
SCSI-2 devices. This expanded functionality enables connection of disk arrays, CD-ROM, tape and optical devices as well as scanners
on a single host adapter while only occupying one EISA expansion slot.
The AHA-2742W Wide SCSI host adapters maximize I/O performance by doubling SCSI bus band-width to 20 Mbytes per second and
enabling connectivity of 16-bit as well as 8-bit SCSI devices. It is the perfect solution for cost-effective upgrades in concert
with the growing selection of 16-bit Fast SCSI disk drives available now.
Compatibility and reliability make Adaptec an industry leader
The AHA-2740A series of host adapters has undergone extensive functional, compatibility, and field testing by Adaptec, as well as
by OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and third-party software developers using hundreds of systems, peripherals, and
applications to ensure compatibility and reliability in EISA environments. In addition, the AHA-2740A series has been certified to
support fault tolerance, disk array, and data backup solutions through the Adaptec Compatibility Advantage Program (ACAP).
Adaptec's manufacturing facility has earned ISO-9002 international certification which ensures compliance to a high-level standard
of product quality in production, testing and service.
IOware® products by Adaptec
Adaptec's IOware products combine hardware and software technology into I/O solutions which ensure the level of performance
required for today's data- and graphics-intensive applications.
ADAPTEC AHA-2740 SERIES TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- Computer Bus:
- EISA
- Interface Protocol:
- Bus master DMA
- Device Protocol:
- SCSI-2/SCSI-3
- Peripheral Device Support:
- Up to 7 single-ended SCSI peripheral devices (AHA-2742W supports up to 15 devices)
- Simultaneous synchronous and asynchronous peripheral support
- Hard Disk Capacity:
- Extended translation scheme supports up to eight (8) Gbytes per disk
- Adaptec BIOS:
- Supports up to seven (7) disks under DOS 5.0
- Floppy Drive Support:
- AHA-2742A, AHA-2742AT, AHA-2742W only support two floppy drives (31/2" and 51/4")
- Advanced SCSI Features:
- Advanced SCSI Programming Interface (ASPI) compliant, multithreaded I/O, scatter/gather, tagged queuing, disconnect/reconnect, synchronous and asynchronous data transfer, 8- and 16-bit data transfers
- Bus Width:
- 32-bit
- Host Bus Data Transfer Rate:
- 33 Mbytes/sec
- SCSI Synchronous Data Rate:
- 10 Mbytes/sec (Fast SCSI)
- 20 Mbytes/sec synchronous Fast and Wide (AHA-2742W only)
- SCSI Asynchronous Data Rate:
- 3 Mbytes/sec
- Electrical Termination:
- Single-ended, active, software-controlled
- MTBF:
- 110,000 hours (calculated per Mil Spec 217 E)
PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATIONS
- Length:
- 7 inches (17.8 cm)
- Height:
- 5 inches (12.7 cm)
- Internal Connector:
- See chart
- External Connector:
- See chart
- Operating Temperature:
- 0°C to 55°C (32°F to 131°F)
- Storage Temperature:
- -40°C to 75°C (-40°F to 167°F)
- Humidity (operating):
- 10% to 95%, non-condensing
- Power Requirements:
- +5.0 ± 0.25 Volts at 2.0 amps maximum
CONFIGURATION OVERVIEW
| RISC-based | AHA-2740A/42A | AHA-2740AT/42AT | AHA-2742W |
|---|
| SCSI I/O | Single-Channel | TwinChannel | Wide |
| Interface | Fast SCSI | Fast SCSI | Fast & Wide SCSI |
| Connector | 50-pin SCSI-2 internal, flat 50-pin SCSI-2 external high density |
Two 50-pin SCSI-2 internal, flat 50-pin SCSI-2 external high density |
50-pin SCSI-2 internal, flat 68-pin SCSI-3 internal & external |
| SCSI Data Bus | 8-bit | 8-bit | 8-bit and 16-bit |
| Maximum Data Rate | 10 MB/sec | 10 MB/sec | 20 MB/sec |
| Maximum Devices | 7 | 14 | 15 |
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