Probably the single most important part of setting up a high performance SCSI array is choosing the right SCSI Interface card. Being that we are building an Ultra320 array, we should choose an Ultra320 card. However, I would like to point out that for a single drive configuration, an Ultra160 card will work just fine. In our case, we will be pressing on into RAID territory, so it is very important to choose a good Ultra320 RAID card.

     For testing, we choose the Adaptec 29320-R, single channel, 64 bit, PCI-X, RAID, SCSI interface card. Although this is only a single channel card, it does support Ultra320, Ultra160, Ultra 2, Ultra Wide, UltraSCSI, Fast SCSI, and SCSI-2. Obviously, you can't go wrong with this baby!

The Test System

     The Adaptec 29320-R is compatible with both 32 and 64 bit PCI slots, but it's best that we take advantage of the high bandwidth the 64-bit PCI slots have to offer. For this reason, I will only be testing the card and drive on the Iwill MPX2. Here is the setup:

• Iwill MPX2 Dual Socket-A Motherboard

• Twin AMD Athlon MP 1800+ CPUs

• GeForce 4 Ti4200

• 512mb Crucial ECC DDR

• Adaptec 29320-R Ultra320 SCSI Interface Card

Quick Links: Intro & Specs SCSI Benefits SCSI & RAID Basics 15K.3 Close-up Testing: Test System Testing: Single Drive Configuration Testing: RAID 0 Conclusion