Storage and Related Peripherals for Workstation PC 97

This section summarizes the requirements for storage devices for Workstation PC 97. For system requirements related to CD-ROM, see the "System Buses and I/O Devices for Workstation PC 97" section earlier in this chapter.

Tips for Selecting Performance Components for Storage. For PC manufacturers who want to select high-performance components for Workstation 97 systems, these are design features to look for in storage components:

Controller supports bus mastering (a Workstation PC 97 requirement).
Disks support reduced latency and fast rotational speeds.
Disks support at least 2:1 memory interleaving when SDRAM is not used.
Drivers are tuned for 32-bit performance.

26. Host controller for storage device meets PC 97 requirements

Required

Recommended to support multiple storage devices: SCSI host controller.

The host controller must meet requirements defined for the bus it uses; for SCSI or IDE controllers, it must also meet the requirements in the "ATA and ATAPI" or "SCSI" chapter in Part 3 of this guide.

27. Primary host controller supports bus mastering

Required

For Workstation PC 97, the primary host controller must support bus mastering, whether using IEEE 1394, IDE, or SCSI.

28. Workstation PC 97 meets storage requirements defined for Basic PC 97

Required

This includes the following specific requirements, as defined in the "Basic PC 97" chapter in this guide:

Support Int 13h Extensions in system and option ROMs (for x86-based systems only)
Hard disk drive meets requirements defined in the "Storage and Related Peripherals" chapter in Part 4 of this guide
Media status notification support for removable media

29. DVD-ROM drive

Recommended

Any DVD device included in a Workstation PC 97 system must meet the requirements defined for DVD in the "Storage and Related Peripherals" chapter in Part 4 of this guide.
Note If a Workstation PC 97 system includes DVD-Video support, the PC must also provide PC 97 playback support for DVD content, as defined in the "Video Components" chapter in Part 4 of this guide.