SCSI-3 External Hi D-Sub (Single-Ended) SCA 80 pin

SCA-2 80-pin single-ended SCSI-3 backplane connector combining 68 SCSI signals with power, ground, and drive address pins for hot-swap storage.

SCSI-3 External Hi D-Sub (Single-Ended) SCA 80 pin – 80-pin connector 80 pin SCSI SCA-2 female connector.

Drive connector: AMP Champ 557613-1 or AMP Champ 557114-5

Cable connector: AMP Champ 2-557103-1 or AMP Champ 2-557101-1

The SCA-2 (Single Connector Attachment 2) 80-pin connector is a SCSI-3 backplane interface that combines the full 68-pin wide SCSI signal set with power supply rails (+5 V, +12 V, +3.3 V), grounds, DIFFSENSE, TERMPWR, and drive address bits in a single miniature D-style housing. Defined to support hot-plug operation in server backplanes and RAID enclosures, it carries either Single-Ended (SE) or Low Voltage Differential (LVD) SCSI signalling; in SE mode bus cable length is limited to 3 m at Ultra speeds or 6 m at Slow/Fast speeds. The connector superseded the practice of fitting separate power and signal connectors to 3.5-inch SCSI drives, and was widely used from the mid-1990s onwards in enterprise storage systems supporting SCSI-3 parallel interface standards up to Ultra160 and beyond.

PinNameDirDescription
112V-+12 VDC
212V-+12 VDC
312V-+12 VDC
412V-+12 VDC
53.3V-+3.3 VDC
63.3V-+3.3 VDC
7-DB(11)IN/OUTData Bus 11
8-DB(10)IN/OUTData Bus 10
9-DB(9)IN/OUTData Bus 9
10-DB(8)IN/OUTData Bus 8
11-I/OOUTInput/Output
12-REQOUTRequest
13-C/DOUTControl/Data
14-SELIN/OUTSelect
15-MSGOUTMessage
16-RSTIN/OUTReset
17-ACKINAcknowledge
18-BSYIN/OUTBusy
19-ATNINAttention
20-P_CRCA?
21-DB(7)IN/OUTData Bus 7
22-DB(6)IN/OUTData Bus 6
23-DB(5)IN/OUTData Bus 5
24-DB(4)IN/OUTData Bus 4
25-DB(3)IN/OUTData Bus 3
26-DB(2)IN/OUTData Bus 2
27-DB(1)IN/OUTData Bus 1
28-DB(0)IN/OUTData Bus 0
29-DB(P1)?
30-DB(15)IN/OUTData Bus 15
31-DB(14)IN/OUTData Bus 14
32-DB(13)IN/OUTData Bus 13
33-DB(12)IN/OUTData Bus 12
345V-Ground (Signal)
355V-Ground (Signal)
365V CHARGE-Ground (Signal)
37SPINDLE SYNC?Spindle Sync
38RMT_START?Remote Start
39SCSI ID (0)-SCSI ID Bit 0
40SCSI ID (2)-SCSI ID Bit 2
4112V GROUND-+12 VDC Ground
4212V GROUND-+12 VDC Ground
4312V GROUND-+12 VDC Ground
44MATED 1?
453.3V CHARGE-+3.3 VDC Charge
46GROUND-Ground
47SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
48SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
49SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
50SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
51SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
52SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
53SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
54SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
55SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
56SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
57SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
58SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
59SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
60SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
61SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
62SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
63SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
64SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
65SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
66SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
67SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
68SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
69SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
70SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
71SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
72SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
73SIGNAL RETURN-Ground (Signal)
74MATED 2?
755V GROUND-+5 VDC Ground
765V GROUND-+5 VDC Ground
77ACTIVE LED OUT?
78DLYD_START?
79SCSI ID (1)-SCSI ID Bit 1
80SCSI ID (3)-SCSI ID Bit 3

Notes

  • Direction is relative to the device with respect to the SCSI bus.
  • Pins 1–4: +12 VDC supply for drive motor; pins 41–43: +12 VDC return ground.
  • Pins 5–6: +3.3 VDC (reserved/NC on many implementations); pin 45: +3.3 V charge (reserved/NC on many implementations).
  • Pins 34–35: +5 VDC supply lines; pin 36: 5 V charge rail (sometimes labelled 5 VOLT).
  • Pins 75–76: +5 VDC ground return; pins 46–73: signal return (ground) for SCSI signal pairs.
  • Pin 20 (-P_CRCA): carries the parity/CRC signal for the lower byte of the wide data bus (equivalent to -DB(P0) in standard 68-pin notation).
  • Pin 29 (-DB(P1)): parity bit for the upper byte (DB8–DB15) of the 16-bit wide data bus.
  • Pins 39, 40, 79, 80: SCSI ID bits 0–3, used by the backplane to assign a fixed SCSI target ID to each slot without jumpers or switches.
  • Pin 37 (SPINDLE SYNC): optional signal allowing the backplane to synchronise spindle rotation across multiple drives to reduce peak power demand.
  • Pin 38 (RMT_START): remote start signal, allowing the backplane to sequence drive spin-up.
  • Pin 44 (MATED 1) and pin 74 (MATED 2): connector presence-detect signals, asserted when the drive is fully seated; used to control hot-plug power sequencing.
  • Pin 77 (ACTIVE LED OUT): open-collector output from the drive indicating I/O activity; drives the backplane activity LED.
  • Pin 78 (DLYD_START): delayed start signal, an alternative spin-up sequencing line used by some backplane implementations.
  • In Single-Ended mode, DIFFSENSE is held at or near 0 V; LVD/MSE devices read DIFFSENSE to determine bus electrical mode and switch accordingly. Connecting any SE device to an LVD bus downgrades the entire segment to SE mode.
  • Active termination is required at both ends of the SCSI bus segment for all speeds above Slow SCSI (5 MB/sec); TERMPWR is supplied through the backplane.

Signals

  • -DB(0) to -DB(7) — Lower byte of the 16-bit wide SCSI data bus (active-low, SE signalling).
  • -DB(8) to -DB(11), -DB(12) to -DB(15) — Upper byte of the 16-bit wide SCSI data bus.
  • -DB(P1) — Odd-parity bit covering the upper data byte (DB8–DB15); direction is IN/OUT.
  • -P_CRCA — Parity/CRC-A signal for the lower data byte (equivalent to -DB(P0)); supports CRC checking introduced in Ultra3/Ultra160 (SPI-3).
  • -BSY — Bus Busy; asserted by any device using the bus.
  • -SEL — Select; used by initiator to select a target or by target during reselection.
  • -C/D — Control/Data; driven by target to indicate whether the bus carries command/status/message bytes (high) or data (low).
  • -MSG — Message; asserted by target during the message phase.
  • -REQ — Request; driven by target to request a data transfer handshake.
  • -ACK — Acknowledge; driven by initiator in response to -REQ to complete the handshake.
  • -ATN — Attention; driven by initiator to signal the target to enter the message-out phase.
  • -RST — Reset; causes all devices on the bus to return to their initial state.
  • -I/O — Input/Output; driven by target to define the direction of data transfer relative to the initiator.
  • SPINDLE SYNC — Optional backplane signal for coordinated spindle rotation across drives in the same enclosure.
  • RMT_START — Remote start; allows the backplane controller to sequence drive spin-up to limit inrush current.
  • DLYD_START — Delayed start; an alternative spin-up control line used by some backplane designs.
  • SCSI ID (0–3) — Four address bits hardwired by the backplane slot, setting the drive’s SCSI target ID without jumpers.
  • MATED 1 / MATED 2 — Presence-detect signals asserted when the drive is fully inserted; used by the backplane for safe hot-swap power sequencing.
  • ACTIVE LED OUT — Open-collector I/O activity indicator output; drives the slot activity LED on the enclosure front panel.

References

Category:Buses Connectors