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An intelligent magnetic tape controller
This thesis describes a system to allow a mass storage device to be installed in a position remote from the computer system which controls it. This system is intended to allow undergraduate students in the Electrical Engineering department at UCT to make use of two nine channel tape drives installed...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Electrical Engineering
2023
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| _version_ | 1867613320832352256 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | McGuffog, Alexander Donald |
| author2 | Eva, Tony |
| author_browse | Eva, Tony McGuffog, Alexander Donald |
| author_facet | Eva, Tony McGuffog, Alexander Donald |
| author_sort | McGuffog, Alexander Donald |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This thesis describes a system to allow a mass storage device to be installed in a position remote from the computer system which controls it. This system is intended to allow undergraduate students in the Electrical Engineering department at UCT to make use of two nine channel tape drives installed in the undergraduate interfaced to accessed by laboratory for project work. The drives are the department's PDP-11/23 computer, and may be standard operating system directives, as the controller simulates a conventional computer peripheral. The system consists of an SA-Bus based tape transport controller which interfaces to the host computer system via a serial line. The following hardware was designed and built specifically for this system : 1. A CPU card based on the in Tel 80188 microprocessor, incorporating high speed DMA (direct memory access) channels and two interrupt driven serial lines. 2. A timing and control module for the tape transports. This consists of two SA-Bus cards. Two sets of software were written for the system. These are the following : 1. Software to operate the tape controller. This consists of six modules written in Pascal-86 and 8086 assemblers. 2. Software to allow the PDP-11/23 to control the tape drives. This is in the. form of an RSX-11 device driver written in PDP-11 assembler. To allow the particular to proposed local system allow area highly modular form. to be easily the system to network) , the upgraded in the future (in be incorporated into UCT's software was written in an addition to being controlled by a host system in remote mode the tape controller also has the ability to perform a variety of operations in local mode. These include the ability to copy and erase tapes, as well as a comprehensive set of diagnostic functions. When in local operations mode the controller is menu driven, making its use by persons who are not familiar with it quick and easy. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/38870 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:34:14.045Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | Department of Electrical Engineering |
| publisherStr | Department of Electrical Engineering |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/38870 An intelligent magnetic tape controller McGuffog, Alexander Donald Eva, Tony Jack, Graham Magnetic tape controller This thesis describes a system to allow a mass storage device to be installed in a position remote from the computer system which controls it. This system is intended to allow undergraduate students in the Electrical Engineering department at UCT to make use of two nine channel tape drives installed in the undergraduate interfaced to accessed by laboratory for project work. The drives are the department's PDP-11/23 computer, and may be standard operating system directives, as the controller simulates a conventional computer peripheral. The system consists of an SA-Bus based tape transport controller which interfaces to the host computer system via a serial line. The following hardware was designed and built specifically for this system : 1. A CPU card based on the in Tel 80188 microprocessor, incorporating high speed DMA (direct memory access) channels and two interrupt driven serial lines. 2. A timing and control module for the tape transports. This consists of two SA-Bus cards. Two sets of software were written for the system. These are the following : 1. Software to operate the tape controller. This consists of six modules written in Pascal-86 and 8086 assemblers. 2. Software to allow the PDP-11/23 to control the tape drives. This is in the. form of an RSX-11 device driver written in PDP-11 assembler. To allow the particular to proposed local system allow area highly modular form. to be easily the system to network) , the upgraded in the future (in be incorporated into UCT's software was written in an addition to being controlled by a host system in remote mode the tape controller also has the ability to perform a variety of operations in local mode. These include the ability to copy and erase tapes, as well as a comprehensive set of diagnostic functions. When in local operations mode the controller is menu driven, making its use by persons who are not familiar with it quick and easy. 2023-09-27T07:55:48Z 2023-09-27T07:55:48Z 1986 2023-09-27T07:29:22Z Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38870 eng application/pdf Department of Electrical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment |
| spellingShingle | Magnetic tape controller McGuffog, Alexander Donald An intelligent magnetic tape controller |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | An intelligent magnetic tape controller |
| title_full | An intelligent magnetic tape controller |
| title_fullStr | An intelligent magnetic tape controller |
| title_full_unstemmed | An intelligent magnetic tape controller |
| title_short | An intelligent magnetic tape controller |
| title_sort | intelligent magnetic tape controller |
| topic | Magnetic tape controller |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38870 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mcguffogalexanderdonald anintelligentmagnetictapecontroller AT mcguffogalexanderdonald intelligentmagnetictapecontroller |