Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 13:54:11 -0700 From: Mike Smith <msmith@freebsd.org> To: Darryl Okahata <darrylo@soco.agilent.com> Cc: "Plucker, Prentice" <prentice.plucker@lodgenet.com>, "'freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org'" <freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: New Pormise ATA raid controller Message-ID: <200110232054.f9NKsBI02984@mass.dis.org> In-Reply-To: Message from Darryl Okahata <darrylo@soco.agilent.com> of "Tue, 23 Oct 2001 12:03:59 PDT." <200110231904.MAA15156@mina.soco.agilent.com>
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> Mike Smith <msmith@FreeBSD.ORG> wrote: > > I'm not seeing any sources or documentation. The usual deal applies, > > though; if someone can supply enough reference material to develop a > > driver, and a sample card, I'll take a crack at it. > > The linux sources appear to be in the "Alan Cox tree", and the > linux SX6000 driver is described as using an "i2o_block interface". Thanks for the research! > It's unclear if the monitoring tools will work with linux, though > (Promise's object-only drivers do not support monitoring). *blink* Ok, that's not so great. Let's see what happens there. > The press announcement looks interesting: dedicated i960 processor, > parity HW, and up to 128MB cache RAM. However, for some reason, the > fact that they're hyping their ASIC bothers me. From the press > announcement: > > SuperTrak SX6000 uses Promise Technology's best-selling Ultra > ATA/100 ASIC chip to automatically recognize and configure the > optimal speed for most Ultra ATA/100, Ultra ATA/66, Ultra > ATA/33, and EIDE drives. The ASIC has been used in more than one > million controllers and PCs worldwide through OEMs and > distribution channels. > > Isn't this the same chip that's used in their low-end "raid" > controllers? The ASIC is just the IDE interface. This controller is a much more conventional architecture than the 3ware card; it's just a processor (the i960, which has an XOR engine in it), some RAM and a bunch of dual-channel disk controllers (their ASIC). What makes it more compelling is the low price point (around $300); even a low-end SCSI RAID controller, with less FR1 and fewer parts onboard ends up selling for more. Monitoring may be an issue; I'll have to see whether some of our friends with contacts at Promise can convince them to let us know how to manage the controller. Regards, Mike To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hardware" in the body of the message
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