Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2000 10:27:46 -0400 From: Bryan -TheBS- Smith <thebs@theseus.com> To: linux-kernel@vger.rutgers.edu, freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org Subject: Supporting non-commodity mainboard chipsets (2/4-way memory, multiple-PCI) in Linux ... Message-ID: <0004061320410I.00996@spanky.theseus.com>
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Supporting non-commodity mainboard chipsets (2/4-way memory, multiple-PCI) in Linux ... I've dabbled in some searches on the 450GX chipset and glanced through the kernel source code, but I was wondering if someone could give me the "straight shot" to understanding non-commodity mainboard chipsets in non-Windows OSes (Linux, FreeBSD, etc...), or unpatched/unsupporting Windows OSes. E.g., server chipsets like the Intel 450GX, the ServerWorks' (fka Reliance Computer Corporation) new ServerSet IIILE/HE/WS chipsets with multiple memory busses and multiple PCI busses. The main driving force behind my inquiry is the ServerWorks ServerSet IIIHE which powers the new Tyan S1867DLUAN Thunder 2500 (http://www.tyan.com/products/html/s1867.html). This product is finally going to bring high-performance I/O to a sub-$1,000 mainboard c/o the ServerSet IIIHE. It's about time as I am sick of seeing vendor after vendor just use a commodity i440BX/GX solution with a single 64-bit memory channel, and a single, shared 32-bitx33MHz PCI bus (the IIIHE is a 4-way memory, although I think Tyan uses only 2-way so it fits in a standard ATX case, 2x64-bit PCI -- one 66MHz, one 33MHz -- plus 1x32-bit PCI). [ Hence what is _my_problem_ because (thanx to all the help on this and other lists with my problem, which really wasn't a Linux problem), that is my problem with my server (Linux is doing a fine job, but the hardware cannot handle the I/O load we have on my server because high-throughput PCI devices are contending with each other). ] Basically, I'm making the following assumptions and/or have the following questions (TOTAL IGNORANCE HERE): A. Assumption: Stock Linux, FreeBSD and even unpatched Windows NT will work with any x86 mainboard, but will only use the components that the BIOS reports -- e.g., on a 450NX with (2) PCI channels and (4) Slot-2 , the older, early 2.0 kernels would work on the board, but only use one PCI channel (or two?) and one (or two?) processors (but not four)? B. Assumption: It didn't take much modification to support the 450NX and its 4-way Xeon, dual-PCI bus systems once someone reverse engineered the actual, undisclosed Intel specifications (e.g., detections, register settings, etc...). C. Question: What is the status of [full] support for the ServerWorks/RCC chipsets? Thanx in advance, and sorry about the ignorance factor here. -- TheBS -- Bryan "TheBS" Smith -- Engineer, IT Professional and Hacker E-mail: mailto:thebs@theseus.com,b.j.smith@ieee.org Disclaimer: http://www.SmithConcepts.com/legal.html ************************************************************* TheBS ... Serving E-mail filters to /dev/null since 1989 To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hardware" in the body of the message
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