Hi,
I am planning to get an external Tape Drive to be used with my Desktop PC. This is an IDE supporting ASUS PC. I do not have SCSI ports or support on my PC.Most of the latest support DAT tape drives in my region are SCSI based and I don't have a choice but to try and use a slot for a SCSI to PCI card- and then connect the device.
There's no real difference between an on-board or PCI SCSI card. Both are connected to the PCI bus and the same types will use the same drivers.
My question- has anyone of you done something similar (le me no!). How is the kernel support if I go for such a card.
As long as you buy a supported SCSI card it will work. You'll need to make sure the card can handle the data transfer rate from the tape drive and use the correct cables and termination.
Adaptec cards are expensive, but I've had zero problems with the Linux drivers. Symbios (former NCR) cards were working fine last time I checked (and are a lot cheaper).
For less known brands you may need to do some research to find out if they are supported.
