Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Fri, 26 Mar 1999 10:14:53 -0700 (MST)
From:      "Kenneth D. Merry" <ken@plutotech.com>
To:        klh@us.oracle.com (Ken Harrenstien)
Cc:        freebsd-bugs@FreeBSD.ORG, klh@us.oracle.com
Subject:   Re: $$ Error in Handbook sect 2.1.1
Message-ID:  <199903261714.KAA93926@panzer.plutotech.com>
In-Reply-To: <CMM.0.90.4.922437992.klh@churchy20.us.oracle.com> from Ken Harrenstien at "Mar 26, 1999  0:46:32 am"

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Ken Harrenstien wrote...
> In 2.1.1 of the current Handbook, "Disk Controllers", last updated
> 2-Mar-1999, there is a list of devices known to be supported.  This
> includes:
> 
> 	NCR5380/NCR53400 (``ProAudio Spectrum'') SCSI controller. 
> 
> However, for the current FreeBSD release (3.1) this is incorrect.
> 
> I found this the hard way by purchasing a surplus Compaq Deskpro XL,
> even though RedHat Linux doesn't support it, based largely on the fact
> that its devices *were* supported by FreeBSD.  But after much
> struggling I noticed that the install root floppy had a HARDWARE.TXT
> list of its own, which *specifically* excludes the above controller (as
> well as others that the Handbook claims are supported!) with the terse
> explanation that 3.1 moved to a new CAM subsystem without bringing the
> old stuff along.
> 
> (1) Would someone please update the Handbook so others aren't
>     victimized?

All it'll take is someone to SGMLize the hardware stuff.  You can do it if
you like, and send-pr it as a doc bug.  Or just mail it to
freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.ORG.

> (2) Is it really considered normal for stable releases to drop previously
>     supported devices/systems?

It is when you want to get new functionality in.  We had a limited number
of developer hours, and made a decision to drop support, for a while, of
some little-used SCSI controllers that we didn't have time to write drivers
for.  Unfortunately, you happen to have one of them.

This was well publicized ahead of time, perhaps a year in advance of the
CAM integration.  So many (most?) folks knew it was coming.

If someone wants to port some of the drivers that are no longer supported
under CAM from the old SCSI layer to CAM, they're more than welcome, and
will receive whatever assistance we can provide.

> (3) Am I completely hosed, or will there eventually be some way to
>     use this XL for anything but a boat anchor?  I could loan/donate
>     it to someone willing to fix the driver, if that would help.

Sure, you can use it.  You'll just need to either run 2.2.8 on it, or get
another SCSI controller if you want to run 3.x.  If you get another SCSI
controller and run 3.x or 4.0-current, maybe you can work on the driver
for that PAS board.

We do support ISA SCSI controllers, if that's what you're looking for.  The
Adaptec 154x controllers are supported (but not the 152x controllers!), and
Advansys and BusLogic ISA controllers are supported as well.  I've got an
ISA Advansys card in my test box, and it seems to work fine.  (It is slow,
though, but that's to be expected with most any ISA board.)

Ken
-- 
Kenneth Merry
ken@plutotech.com


To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-bugs" in the body of the message




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?199903261714.KAA93926>