From owner-freebsd-hardware Sun Dec 22 03:41:09 1996
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To: tarkhil@aha.ru
cc: hardware@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: A _very_ old streamer controller
From: "Julian H. Stacey" <jhs@freebsd.org>
Reply-To: "Julian H. Stacey" <jhs@freebsd.org>
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In-reply-to: Your message of "Fri, 20 Dec 1996 20:18:10 +0300."
<199612201718.UAA05800@minas_tirith.aha.ru>
Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 16:23:16 +0100
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Hi, Reference:
> From: Alex Povolotsky <tarkhil@minas_tirith.aha.ru>
> Reply-to: tarkhil@aha.ru
> Subject: Re: A _very_ old streamer controller
> Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 20:18:10 +0300
> Message-id: <199612201718.UAA05800@minas_tirith.aha.ru>
>
> Hello!
>
> Maybe someone will help me with my old but still working QIC-02
> controller. It's 8-bit, fullsize and probabily was made by Everex. It
> has a LOT of undocumented jumpers, some of caps were lost :-(
>
> I need to know which jumpers should be shorted. Everex doesn't support
> these devices anymore...
>
Insufficient Info !
By now you will have seen a posting by me on this list, asking for info
on other cards, but offering _card component_ & _DIP header_ geographical
layout so people have a chance to compare & match,
If you provide this info I may be able to help, as I have some old 8 bit
full length sheets here, my card is 16 bit I think,
but a friend's is 8 bit I recall.
It runs a drive that answers
wt0 at 0x200-0x203 irq 9 drq 1 on isa
wt0: type <Archive>
Julian
--
Julian H. Stacey jhs@freebsd.org http://www.freebsd.org/~jhs/
From owner-freebsd-hardware Sun Dec 22 03:41:16 1996
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To: hardware@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: e-mail forwarding
From: "Julian H. Stacey" <jhs@freebsd.org>
Reply-To: "Julian H. Stacey" <jhs@freebsd.org>
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In-reply-to: Your message of "Fri, 20 Dec 1996 14:10:01 +0100."
<199612201310.OAA00241@vector.jhs.no_domain>
Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 16:00:17 +0100
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FreeBSD harware people,
Reference My:
> From: "Julian H. Stacey" <jhs@freebsd.org>
> Subject: Re: e-mail forwarding
> Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 14:10:01 +0100
> Message-id: <199612201310.OAA00241@vector.jhs.no_domain>
>
> I would much appreciate anyone who could shed light on
> jumper settings etc, for a motherboard & combi card
> that I was given without any docs:
Ref. That mail with MIME encoded picture of a motherboard & ascii pic of
a combi IO board that I sent a day or 2 ago ....
The 486DX motherboard & combi card are both _VESA_ (not PCI as I previously
wrote), as before ... any info on jumpers for these cards is most welcome,
Anyone who previously didnt look at the mime encoded gif, thinking:
"I don't have PCI, just VESA" is requested to glance at
http://www.freebsd.org/~jhs/hardware/unknown.html
to see if you might have the same layout I have.
Thanks :-)
BTW extra info from the Motherboard at boot time is:
CL-GD542X VGA BIOS Version 1.41
Copyright 1992-1993 Cirrus Logic, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 1987-1990 Quadtel Corp.
01/07/94
AMIBIOS (C) 1993 American Megatrends Inc.,
Release 10/01/93
40-0100-001437-00101111-080893-4386-F
Julian
--
Julian H. Stacey jhs@freebsd.org http://www.freebsd.org/~jhs/
From owner-freebsd-hardware Sun Dec 22 06:15:47 1996
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Message-Id: <199612221415.JAA20229@home.winc.com>
Subject: pnp modem
To: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org (FreeBSD Hardware)
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 1996 09:15:29 -0500 (EST)
From: mgessner@aristar.com
Organization: Aristar Software Development, Inc.
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Hi, all,
Does FreeBSD 2.1.5-RELEASE have support somewhere for PnP
modems/hardware? I have a non-PnP BIOS, BTW.
TIA,
Matt
From owner-freebsd-hardware Sun Dec 22 21:36:30 1996
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From: stumpy <stumpy@darkhorse.triad.net>
To: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.com
Subject: sporster isdn
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is the usr sporster isdn ta compatible with freebsd?
From owner-freebsd-hardware Sun Dec 22 23:24:02 1996
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From: grog@lemis.de
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Subject: Re: your mail
In-Reply-To: <Mutt.19961222213404.se@x14.mi.uni-koeln.de> from Stefan Esser at "Dec 22, 96 09:34:04 pm"
To: se@freebsd.org (Stefan Esser)
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 07:25:05 +0100 (MET)
Cc: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org (FreeBSD hardware Users),
aat81@pop.dial.pipex.com
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Stefan Esser writes:
> On Dec 22, grog@lemis.de wrote:
>>>> Warning: Quality control on these drives varies greatly. One FreeBSD
>>>> core-team member has returned 2 of these drives. Neither lasted more than
>>>> 5 months.
>>
>> Well, this sounds very much like a report from me. But two things
>> don't fit:
>>
>> 1. I'm not a Core Team member.
>>
>> 2. I was talking about 37480As. These are an older version of DDS-1
>> drive. I do have a C1533A, and so far I've had no trouble with it
>> (more than 6 months, anyway :-) I think, in fact, I've had it
>> about 15 months, and I do a nightly backup which usually fills a
>> tape.
>
> Simon had previously sent mail directly to my address, and
> I told him to ask you and RGrimes for your experiences.
I'm assuming that, since you're writing in English, and WRT what you
say below, you'd like me to copy -hardware on this one, so I'm doing
so.
> He really wasn't that clear about what didn't work for him,
> and it may be something silly like using audio grade tapes,
> which can't be written to (unless some DIP switch is set to
> a non-default position, which might have been the case for
> his HP drive).
Yes, that's correct. It was one of the problems I was thinking of,
too. Let's wait for his reply.
>> I tried a Sony a long time ago. I think it was a 3000 or a 4000, and
>> they gave it to me in exchange for one of the broken 37480As. It
>> seemed to work OK, but it didn't have hardware compression, so I
>> returned it (couldn't read the old tapes written with the HP).
>
> The Sony SDT 7000 is even faster than the HP C1533A, which is
> a 3x speed drive. The Sony is 5x speed, taking advantage of a
> head drum developed for DDS-3. (And in fact, Sony is the first
> to announce availability of a DDS-3 drive, the SDT 9000, with
> 24GB (compressed) capacity, ie. 12GB native.)
Now there's some interesting information. For some reason, they don't
mention this in the data sheets. While I'm on the subject, what do
you know about the Archive 4586 NP tape changer? I've just bought one
of these, and so far (not really far enough to know), I'm happy. I
will report.
>> That's definitely not the direction of my problem. Mine worked fine
>> initially and then gradually faded, getting more and more read/write
>> errors as time went on.
>
> Hmm, that seems to be a good reason to return a drive before
> the end of the warranty :)
>
> But the head drum is generally not covered by warranty, since
> its useful life is typically in the 1000 to 2000 hours range.
> (Some 1000 8GB (compressed) backups at full speed, or 300 at
> 33% of the nominal streaming data rate !!!)
This, again, is interesting information for a number of reasons:
1. I haven't seen any information that the drum isn't covered. Maybe
I just forgot it. Unfortunately, I can't find any warranty
information.
2. The time you quote is *horribly* short. How can this compare with
the documented MTBF. According to HP, the MTBF for the 35470A is
50,000 power-on hours, and the MTBF for the C1533A is 200,000
power-on hours. In each case, they're assuming a duty cycle of
12% (which I exceed), so the real MTBFs would be 6,000 operating
hours for the 35470A or 24,000 operating hours for the C1533A.
My backups typically write a whole tape and take about 8 hours per
day. Tonight's backup started at 9 pm and finished (after a
verification read) at 5:07. That's a 33% duty cycle, which would
have the 35470A die after about 2 years.
If we took your figures, they should die after about 4 to 8
months, which is pretty much my experience. The only thing is,
this is the first I have heard of the figures. There's nothing in
any documentation I've seen which suggests that the drum is a
high-wear component. Laser printer documentation does indicate
that the print drum requires frequent replacement, for example.
> I've read about the new high capacity QIC drives, which offer
> identical capacity and data rate as a DDS-2 DAT. Typical long
> term cost might be about the same (expencive cartridges versus
> short lived head drums) ...
Interesting possibility. The oldest component I still (sometimes) use
in my system is my old Tandberg TDC 3800, now about 5 years old, which
has never given me any trouble. The current TDC 4222 can apparently
store 2.5 GB (5 GB with hardware compression) on a DC9250 tape (which
costs DM 48 or $32). They also mention a 13 GB cartridge (DC13GB) for
DM 127 ($83), but it's not clear what it's supposed to fit into.
Also, I recently got a brochure on Digital Linear Tapes, which use
conventional head technology. They apparently store between 30 and 40
GB on a single tape, but the cost is high: wholesale prices are DM
3790 ($2500) for the 30 GB model (Quantum DLT2000XT), and DM 6690
($4500) for the 40GB model (DLT4000). The tapes are comparatively
affordable: from DM 66 ($44) for a 20 GB tape to DM 175 ($115) for a
40 GB tape.
> Please post your findings to the hardware list. We'd need a lot
> more information like this in a place, where it is easily found.
> The Linux How-To concept beats anything FreeBSD has in this area!
What's Linux? Seriously, can you give me a pointer to the How-To
stuff? Maybe we should think about copying?
> (But I do also lack the time, to do anything else about this,
> other than to complain :)
What? Why do you lack time? Everybody else has plenty :-)
Greg
From owner-freebsd-hardware Mon Dec 23 09:57:15 1996
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Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 10:57:11 -0700 (MST)
From: Brandon Gillespie <brandon@glacier.cold.org>
To: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
Subject: Adaptech 2940UW causes reboots?
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I'm wondering if there are any 'known' problems with using this
controller? I just upgraded one of my servers to SCSI (from EIDE off the
motherboard). I have the AHA 2940 UW SCSI controller and a Seagate Hawk
UltraSCSI drive. Since the upgrade last thursday my server has rebooted
itself three times, without any sort of log or other message (I was not
around to read the console message as its stuffed in a machine room and no
errors were reported in any of the /var/logs). Everything SEEMS to work
fine, the install went flawlessly and I have not noticed any other
problem--short of these reboots.
Help? I really can't have this server rebooting all of the time..
From owner-freebsd-hardware Mon Dec 23 11:59:08 1996
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Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 11:52:59 -0800
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To: stumpy <stumpy@darkhorse.triad.net>
CC: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.com
Subject: Re: sporster isdn
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stumpy wrote:
>
> is the usr sporster isdn ta compatible with freebsd?
Apparently NOT,
but I'm trying to get programming info...
From owner-freebsd-hardware Mon Dec 23 14:57:23 1996
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Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 22:56:02 +0000
To: grog@lemis.de, se@freebsd.org, freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
From: Simon Reading <aat81@dial.pipex.com>
Subject: DAT reliability
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Thanks to those of you who are participating in this thread.
In my original post:
>I had an HP C1533A DDS-2 drive which worked fine, but which I exchanged
for a sony SDT-7000 DDS-2 because of the reliability warnings given in the
FreeBSD Handbook. Unfortunately my sony drive is broken - I/O errors on
read, can't format tapes using the Adaptec EZ-SCSI utility etc.
In this email, I explain what my setup was for both the HP and Sony DDS
drives. I RETURNED THE SONY TODAY because it was the last day I could do
so and get my money back. I have not purchased a replacement yet as my
choice is dependent on the outcome of this thread :-)
I think there are a number of issues:
+ How reliable is DDS/DDS-2 (DAT) technology?
+ Is any one brand of DDS drive better or worse than another?
(or 'Do the HP drives warrant their Freebsd warnings?')
+ Can anything be done to extend DDS drive life?
+ Is there a common failure mode for DDS?
>From mail that I have received I am beginning to believe that the DDS
mechanism, or more precisely the head, wears out and break down.
I don't know if HP drives are better or worse than any others. That said,
I have been put off the Sony SDT-7000 as 1) my problems with the unit
supplied to me, 2) on the basis of replies, few seem to be in circulation
(are sony users at bleeding edge?) and 3) I can't see how the high
rotational speed of the SDT 7000 can do anything but degrade reliability
(cf HP).
Dave (dtsao@puc.edu) wrote:
>If you can purchase the Sony 7000 for $40 more than the Sony 5000 DAT, and
>the *only* difference is that the 7000's RPM is 8503 while the 5000's is
>4000, would you buy the 7000? Is it as reliable and safe when running at
>that speed? My HDD doesn't even come close!
On the general subject of DAT reliability, phr@netcom.com (Paul Rubin) writes:
>I have a C1533a now a little over 1 year old. I've had no problems
>with it but my usage has been pretty light. Any DAT drive will
>wear out after a year or so of heavy usage. DAT is built around
>consumer audio media designed for low cost, and the mechanisms
>are too fiddly to be really durable. Same goes for 8mm only more so.
>If you want reliable backup and can pay for it, get DLT. Otherwise
>DAT is the best bet.
Unfortunately I can't afford DLT, so DAT it is . .
Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.de> enquired of my setup:
>> He really wasn't that clear about what didn't work for him,
>> and it may be something silly like using audio grade tapes,
>> which can't be written to (unless some DIP switch is set to
>> a non-default position, which might have been the case for
>> his HP drive).
>
>Yes, that's correct. It was one of the problems I was thinking of,
>too. Let's wait for his reply.
Here are my setup details:
Hardware setup 1:
Adaptec 2940 (non ultra)
HP C1533A DDS-2 (internal, connected via adaptec internal cable).
The DAT drive is the only device on the SCSI chain.
Tapes which I used successfully on the C1533A:
+ HP DDS 60 metre.
+ Sony 90 metre computer grade DDS-2.
Dip switch settings:
+ Compression enabled at power on, with host control.
+ Media recognition active.
+ Caution on hard error.
+ Parity on.
+ Data phase disc.
+ Truncate request sense off.
+ Variable block size mode.
+ SCSI id 3
Hardware setup 2:
Unsuccesful Setup with sony SDT-7000 (connection as above).
+ SCSI id same as for HP DAT
+ DC disable (tried both ON and OFF) - what is this?
+ SCSI parity on. (both settings tried)
+ Termination on. (both settings tried)
The Sony package which I received had evidence that it had been opened (a
faulty return?).
Problems with the sony were:
- Excessive lacing and unlacing of the tape on boot up (it really seemed to
be making a meal of it).
- Inability to format Sony DDS-2 tape using the Adaptec EZ-SCSI utility:
(read errors, tape removed from drive during format etc).
- device I/O errors when trying to read a tar archive created by the HP and
another DDS drive.
Simon
From owner-freebsd-hardware Mon Dec 23 19:22:15 1996
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From: Michael Smith <msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au>
Message-Id: <199612240321.NAA19559@genesis.atrad.adelaide.edu.au>
Subject: Re: DAT reliability
In-Reply-To: <3.0.32.19961223225320.006855dc@pop.dial.pipex.com> from Simon Reading at "Dec 23, 96 10:56:02 pm"
To: aat81@dial.pipex.com (Simon Reading)
Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 13:51:47 +1030 (CST)
Cc: grog@lemis.de, se@FreeBSD.ORG, freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.ORG
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Simon Reading stands accused of saying:
> In my original post:
> >I had an HP C1533A DDS-2 drive which worked fine, but which I exchanged
> for a sony SDT-7000 DDS-2 because of the reliability warnings given in the
> FreeBSD Handbook. Unfortunately my sony drive is broken - I/O errors on
> read, can't format tapes using the Adaptec EZ-SCSI utility etc.
I don't understand this; you don't "format" DAT tapes. The sony
units ignore the "erase" command because it makes no sense.
Are you sure you're conditioning your DATs correctly? You will find
that a tape that's been in storage should retensioned (wind to end of
media, rewind), and must be at room temperature for best results.
Instructions on this sort of thing are included with most decent
blank tapes.
We've been using and recommending to our customers the Sony SDT-5200
(DDS2, no compression) for over a year now, with no problems at all.
Several of these units are operating in arctic/antarctic conditions,
and there's one in a hut in Indonesia. We receive tapes from all of
these sites on an occasional basis and, modulo conditioning shortcuts,
have never had any trouble reading them.
> Simon
--
]] Mike Smith, Software Engineer msmith@gsoft.com.au [[
]] Genesis Software genesis@gsoft.com.au [[
]] High-speed data acquisition and (GSM mobile) 0411-222-496 [[
]] realtime instrument control. (ph) +61-8-8267-3493 [[
]] Unix hardware collector. "Where are your PEZ?" The Tick [[
From owner-freebsd-hardware Mon Dec 23 20:55:32 1996
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Subject: Re: DAT reliability
In-Reply-To: <3.0.32.19961223225320.006855dc@pop.dial.pipex.com> from Simon Reading at "Dec 23, 96 10:56:02 pm"
To: aat81@dial.pipex.com (Simon Reading)
Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 05:47:39 +0100 (MET)
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Simon Reading writes:
> Thanks to those of you who are participating in this thread.
>
> In my original post:
>> I had an HP C1533A DDS-2 drive which worked fine, but which I exchanged
> for a sony SDT-7000 DDS-2 because of the reliability warnings given in the
> FreeBSD Handbook. Unfortunately my sony drive is broken - I/O errors on
> read, can't format tapes using the Adaptec EZ-SCSI utility etc.
>
> In this email, I explain what my setup was for both the HP and Sony DDS
> drives. I RETURNED THE SONY TODAY because it was the last day I could do
> so and get my money back. I have not purchased a replacement yet as my
> choice is dependent on the outcome of this thread :-)
>
> I think there are a number of issues:
>> How reliable is DDS/DDS-2 (DAT) technology?
>> Is any one brand of DDS drive better or worse than another?
> (or 'Do the HP drives warrant their Freebsd warnings?')
>> Can anything be done to extend DDS drive life?
>> Is there a common failure mode for DDS?
>
>> From mail that I have received I am beginning to believe that the DDS
> mechanism, or more precisely the head, wears out and break down.
Sure. That's valid for all tape drives. The real question is, how
quickly? The jury's still out on that one.
> I don't know if HP drives are better or worse than any others. That said,
> I have been put off the Sony SDT-7000 as 1) my problems with the unit
> supplied to me, 2) on the basis of replies, few seem to be in circulation
> (are sony users at bleeding edge?) and 3) I can't see how the high
> rotational speed of the SDT 7000 can do anything but degrade reliability
> (cf HP).
It can also improve performance.
> Dave (dtsao@puc.edu) wrote:
>> If you can purchase the Sony 7000 for $40 more than the Sony 5000 DAT, and
>> the *only* difference is that the 7000's RPM is 8503 while the 5000's is
>> 4000, would you buy the 7000? Is it as reliable and safe when running at
>> that speed? My HDD doesn't even come close!
>
> On the general subject of DAT reliability, phr@netcom.com (Paul Rubin) writes:
>> I have a C1533a now a little over 1 year old. I've had no problems
>> with it but my usage has been pretty light. Any DAT drive will
>> wear out after a year or so of heavy usage. DAT is built around
>> consumer audio media designed for low cost, and the mechanisms
>> are too fiddly to be really durable. Same goes for 8mm only more so.
>> If you want reliable backup and can pay for it, get DLT. Otherwise
>> DAT is the best bet.
I don't know if I agree with that. Sure, it's built on the original
DAT technology, but that doesn't make it a consumer grade article.
Note that the estimated MTBF of the C1533A is 4 times that of the
35480A. They're obviously doing something there.
> Unfortunately I can't afford DLT, so DAT it is . .
>
> Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.de> enquired of my setup:
>>> He really wasn't that clear about what didn't work for him,
>>> and it may be something silly like using audio grade tapes,
>>> which can't be written to (unless some DIP switch is set to
>>> a non-default position, which might have been the case for
>>> his HP drive).
>>
>> Yes, that's correct. It was one of the problems I was thinking of,
>> too. Let's wait for his reply.
>
> Here are my setup details:
>
> Hardware setup 1:
> Adaptec 2940 (non ultra)
> HP C1533A DDS-2 (internal, connected via adaptec internal cable).
> The DAT drive is the only device on the SCSI chain.
>
> Tapes which I used successfully on the C1533A:
>> HP DDS 60 metre.
>> Sony 90 metre computer grade DDS-2.
To the best of my knowledge, there ain't no such beast. The 90 metre
tapes are all DDS-1. You need the much more expensive 120 metre tapes
to get DDS-2. But at least you weren't using audio grade tapes.
> Dip switch settings:
>> Compression enabled at power on, with host control.
>> Media recognition active.
>> Caution on hard error.
>> Parity on.
>> Data phase disc.
>> Truncate request sense off.
>> Variable block size mode.
>> SCSI id 3
>
> Hardware setup 2:
>
> Unsuccesful Setup with sony SDT-7000 (connection as above).
>> SCSI id same as for HP DAT
>> DC disable (tried both ON and OFF) - what is this?
Data compression. Unless you're exchanging data with somebody who
doesn't have data compression, leave it on.
>> SCSI parity on. (both settings tried)
>> Termination on. (both settings tried)
>
> The Sony package which I received had evidence that it had been opened (a
> faulty return?).
>From what you say below, it's beginning to sound like it.
> Problems with the sony were:
> - Excessive lacing and unlacing of the tape on boot up (it really seemed to
> be making a meal of it).
Ah, yes, this sounds familiar. That's typically the way my 35480As
died. Was this a brand new tape? I've had cases where a tape written
on a bad drive can confuse a good drive.
> - Inability to format Sony DDS-2 tape using the Adaptec EZ-SCSI utility:
> (read errors, tape removed from drive during format etc).
I don't understand this. DDS tapes don't need formatting. What did
the documentation say on the subject? EZ-SCSI is a DOS utility, and
you don't need it. Or are you running this under DOS? EZ-SCSI
supports all tape drives, some of which need formatting, and I
wouldn't put it past the program to run into trouble if you try to
format a drive that doesn't support formatting.
> - device I/O errors when trying to read a tar archive created by the HP and
> another DDS drive.
It's always better to give the error messages rather than just a
statement like this. What were the errors? For example, my newly
repaired Exabyte still shows the same problems :-(
Dec 23 12:02:03 freebie /kernel: st1(aha0:5:0): MEDIUM ERROR info:10000 csi:0,0,0,13 asc:3,2 Excessive write errors
Dec 23 12:02:04 freebie last message repeated 2 times
Dec 23 12:02:05 freebie /kernel: st1(aha0:5:0): MEDIUM ERROR info:10000 csi:0,0,0,13 asc:3,2 Excessive write errors
Dec 23 12:02:05 freebie /kernel: st1(aha0:5:0): MEDIUM ERROR info:10000 csi:0,0,0,13 asc:3,2 Excessive write errors
Dec 23 12:02:05 freebie /kernel: st1(aha0:5:0): MEDIUM ERROR info:10000 csi:0,0,0,13 asc:3,2 Excessive write errors
Dec 23 12:02:06 freebie /kernel: st1(aha0:5:0): MEDIUM ERROR info:10000 csi:0,0,0,13 asc:3,2 Excessive write errors
Looking at the first item on your list, however, I think I'd agree
that you do (did) have a defective drive. You will probably not have
any problems with a replacement.
Greg
From owner-freebsd-hardware Tue Dec 24 07:09:14 1996
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To: Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.de>, Michael Smith <msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au>
From: Simon Reading <aat81@dial.pipex.com>
Subject: Re: DAT reliability
Cc: se@freebsd.org, freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
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At 05:47 24/12/96 +0100, Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.de> wrote:
>Simon Reading writes:
>> On the general subject of DAT reliability, phr@netcom.com (Paul Rubin)
writes:
>>> I have a C1533a now a little over 1 year old. I've had no problems
>>> with it but my usage has been pretty light. Any DAT drive will
>>> wear out after a year or so of heavy usage. DAT is built around
>>> consumer audio media designed for low cost, and the mechanisms
>>> are too fiddly to be really durable. Same goes for 8mm only more so.
>>> If you want reliable backup and can pay for it, get DLT. Otherwise
>>> DAT is the best bet.
>
>I don't know if I agree with that. Sure, it's built on the original
>DAT technology, but that doesn't make it a consumer grade article.
>Note that the estimated MTBF of the C1533A is 4 times that of the
>35480A. They're obviously doing something there.
Mmm. I wonder what they _are_ doing?
>> Problems with the sony were:
>> - Excessive lacing and unlacing of the tape on boot up (it really seemed to
>> be making a meal of it).
>Ah, yes, this sounds familiar. That's typically the way my 35480As
>died. Was this a brand new tape? I've had cases where a tape written
>on a bad drive can confuse a good drive.
Brand new Sony 90m DDS tape.
>> Tapes which I used successfully on the C1533A:
>>> HP DDS 60 metre.
>>> Sony 90 metre computer grade DDS-2.
>To the best of my knowledge, there ain't no such beast. The 90 metre
>tapes are all DDS-1. You need the much more expensive 120 metre tapes
>to get DDS-2. But at least you weren't using audio grade tapes.
Quite correct. 90m tapes are DDS. On the box it said compatible with
DDS-2, which is where my typo came from. I am using 90m tapes as 1. I
don't have a need (yet) to store 4gb, 2. 120m tapes are thinner, 3. 120m
tapes cost four times as much.
>> - Inability to format Sony DDS-2 tape using the Adaptec EZ-SCSI utility:
>> (read errors, tape removed from drive during format etc).
>I don't understand this. DDS tapes don't need formatting. What did
>the documentation say on the subject? EZ-SCSI is a DOS utility, and
>you don't need it. Or are you running this under DOS? EZ-SCSI
>supports all tape drives, some of which need formatting, and I
>wouldn't put it past the program to run into trouble if you try to
>format a drive that doesn't support formatting.
My previous experience was using a Colorado Trakker 700 (and nobody dare
tell me that was a fast and reliable product :-). The trakker did require
formatting, about 3-6 hours of it, to be precise. My Adaptec 2940 card
comes with Adaptec Backup on the EZ-SCSI disc. When using this utility
under Windows 95, I formatted DDS tapes before initiating a backup. I
would guess that this 'formatting' action would merely write an empty
volume catalog to the tape (containing the name of the tape etc.) which
would mean something to the Adaptec Backup application itself (hence this
operation only took 90 seconds) and might include retensioning.
With the HP C1533A, there were no errors when formatting (writing directory
info) to the tape.
With the Sony SDT7000, it gave errors gallore.
>
>> - device I/O errors when trying to read a tar archive created by the HP and
>> another DDS drive.
>
>It's always better to give the error messages rather than just a
>statement like this. What were the errors? For example, my newly
>repaired Exabyte still shows the same problems :-(
>
>Dec 23 12:02:03 freebie /kernel: st1(aha0:5:0): MEDIUM ERROR info:10000
csi:0,0,0,13 asc:3,2 Excessive write errors
>Dec 23 12:02:04 freebie last message repeated 2 times
Hmm. Where did these diagnostics get output? I executed tar from the
console and was told 'device I/O error', _NOTHING_ more than that!
Unfortunately I can't try it again, since I no longer have the drive ;-)
Is there a kernel config option for specifying the level of diagnostics?
>Looking at the first item on your list, however, I think I'd agree
>that you do (did) have a defective drive. You will probably not have
>any problems with a replacement.
You're probably right. However, my faith in the Sony (which incidentally
was shipped without any installation instructions) has been dented.
Michael Smith <msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au> wrote:
>Simon Reading stands accused of saying:
>> In my original post:
>> >I had an HP C1533A DDS-2 drive which worked fine, but which I exchanged
>> for a sony SDT-7000 DDS-2 because of the reliability warnings given in the
>> FreeBSD Handbook. Unfortunately my sony drive is broken - I/O errors on
>> read, can't format tapes using the Adaptec EZ-SCSI utility etc.
>
>I don't understand this; you don't "format" DAT tapes. The sony
>units ignore the "erase" command because it makes no sense.
See the reply to Greg above.
>Are you sure you're conditioning your DATs correctly? You will find
>that a tape that's been in storage should retensioned (wind to end of
>media, rewind), and must be at room temperature for best results.
>Instructions on this sort of thing are included with most decent
>blank tapes.
The tapes I have used were at 21C, normal pressure and humidity.
I did not retension the tape (unless this was done as part of the Adaptec
Backup 'format' action), but I had used them successfully on the HP C1533,
no problems. I will retension new tapes in future. No instructions were
provided with HP or Sony DDS cartridges.
>We've been using and recommending to our customers the Sony SDT-5200
>(DDS2, no compression) for over a year now, with no problems at all.
>Several of these units are operating in arctic/antarctic conditions,
>and there's one in a hut in Indonesia. We receive tapes from all of
>these sites on an occasional basis and, modulo conditioning shortcuts,
>have never had any trouble reading them.
I doubt whether my problems were to do with conditioning, I am sure that my
SDT-7000 was faulty.
Do you have any experience of the SDT-7000? The SDT-7000 has a drum
rotational speed twice that of the SDT-5200 (as Greg noted, to enhance
performance). Running a drive at a higher speed can only make it more
susceptible to mechanical failure. I would guess that the 5200 has been
out for longer and that any bugs/problems would be more likely to be
observed/sorted out than any with the 7000. The small price difference
between the two models make me think that there has been little change in
the funamental mechanism design and that 8000rpm may be too fast to
transport the tape using the existing mechanism.
Regards,
Simon
PS I hope Greg has more success with his exabyte drive.
From owner-freebsd-hardware Tue Dec 24 09:28:56 1996
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Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 10:29:00 -0700 (MST)
From: Brandon Gillespie <brandon@glacier.cold.org>
To: freebsd-hardware@freeBSD.org
Subject: AHA 2940UW? Linux works..
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I REALLY need help with this, our server is continually rebooting since we
installed the AHA 2940UW controller and new UltraSCSI drive. It is not a
heavilly loaded system, but it does run a database system that NEEDS to
syncronize its database before shutting down. Every time this system
reboots we loose critical data to the last backup. This is flat out
unacceptable. I really like FreeBSD much more than Linux, but at this
point others in the group are suggesting we move to Linux because they
know this hardware works fine in Linux. In my experience I've never known
a system to simply reboot when it was a hardware problem (generally if its
a hardware problem it simply freezes up or does not work at all). This is
working for two to three days when suddenly *wham* reboot.
Help??
-Brandon Gillespie
(If anybody responded before I appologize, I was not on this list so I did
not see the replies).
From owner-freebsd-hardware Tue Dec 24 10:25:44 1996
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To: Brandon Gillespie <brandon@glacier.cold.org>
cc: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: AHA 2940UW? Linux works..
In-reply-to: Your message of "Tue, 24 Dec 1996 10:29:00 MST."
<Pine.NEB.3.95.961224102248.27912A-100000@glacier.cold.org>
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Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 12:25:18 -0600
From: "Eric L. Hernes" <erich@lodgenet.com>
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Brandon Gillespie writes:
>I REALLY need help with this, our server is continually rebooting since we
>installed the AHA 2940UW controller and new UltraSCSI drive. It is not a
Have a look at ahc(4), /usr/src/sys/pci/aic7870.c, etc. There are serveral
options to play with.
The 2940's got lots of knobs in the <ctrl-a> bootup menu too, one is
to disable ultra, maybe that'll do it... ahc(4) warns
about some drives (Quantum?) not working properly if the speed is set
to wide open.
I just got a QuickTech motherboard with on-board aic7860; it's not quite
as good as the stand alone version, but it seems ok. I haven't done
a `make world' yet, but several kernel compiles.
What version of FBSD are you running? I've got problems using 2.1.5 with
a Quantum ultra scsi driver on the ncr driver... it won't even boot. But
-current/2.2 works fine. It's not a problem because we're going to use
2.2 anyway...
>
>-Brandon Gillespie
>
eric.
--
erich@lodgenet.com
http://rrnet.com/~erich erich@rrnet.com
From owner-freebsd-hardware Tue Dec 24 10:33:20 1996
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From: Brandon Gillespie <brandon@glacier.cold.org>
To: "Eric L. Hernes" <erich@lodgenet.com>
cc: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: AHA 2940UW? Linux works..
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On Tue, 24 Dec 1996, Eric L. Hernes wrote:
> Brandon Gillespie writes:
> >I REALLY need help with this, our server is continually rebooting since we
> >installed the AHA 2940UW controller and new UltraSCSI drive. It is not a
>
> Have a look at ahc(4), /usr/src/sys/pci/aic7870.c, etc. There are serveral
> options to play with.
>
> The 2940's got lots of knobs in the <ctrl-a> bootup menu too, one is
> to disable ultra, maybe that'll do it... ahc(4) warns
> about some drives (Quantum?) not working properly if the speed is set
> to wide open.
>
> I just got a QuickTech motherboard with on-board aic7860; it's not quite
> as good as the stand alone version, but it seems ok. I haven't done
> a `make world' yet, but several kernel compiles.
>
> What version of FBSD are you running? I've got problems using 2.1.5 with
> a Quantum ultra scsi driver on the ncr driver... it won't even boot. But
> -current/2.2 works fine. It's not a problem because we're going to use
> 2.2 anyway...
FreeBSD 2.1.6. The controller is AHA 2940UW and the drive I have on it is
a Seagate Hawk UltraSCSI 1.05 GB (ST30155N).
I'll peek at the various options..
-Brandon Gillespie
From owner-freebsd-hardware Tue Dec 24 10:50:21 1996
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From: grog@lemis.de
Organisation: LEMIS, Schellnhausen 2, 36325 Feldatal, Germany
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Subject: Re: DAT reliability
In-Reply-To: <3.0.32.19961224150632.00691884@pop.dial.pipex.com> from Simon Reading at "Dec 24, 96 03:08:04 pm"
To: aat81@dial.pipex.com (Simon Reading)
Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 19:03:15 +0100 (MET)
Cc: freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.org (FreeBSD hardware Users)
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Simon Reading writes:
> At 05:47 24/12/96 +0100, Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.de> wrote:
>> Simon Reading writes:
>> On the general subject of DAT reliability, phr@netcom.com (Paul Rubin)
> writes:
>> I have a C1533a now a little over 1 year old. I've had no problems
>> with it but my usage has been pretty light. Any DAT drive will
>> wear out after a year or so of heavy usage. DAT is built around
>> consumer audio media designed for low cost, and the mechanisms
>> are too fiddly to be really durable. Same goes for 8mm only more so.
>> If you want reliable backup and can pay for it, get DLT. Otherwise
>> DAT is the best bet.
>>
>> I don't know if I agree with that. Sure, it's built on the original
>> DAT technology, but that doesn't make it a consumer grade article.
>> Note that the estimated MTBF of the C1533A is 4 times that of the
>> 35480A. They're obviously doing something there.
>
> Mmm. I wonder what they _are_ doing?
Lots of things, I would imagine. For example, making the drums out of
something more durable. Stefan said (in private mail) that Sony have
a special technology for the 7000, he thinks something like an air
cushion under the tape.
>> Problems with the sony were:
>> - Excessive lacing and unlacing of the tape on boot up (it really seemed to
>> be making a meal of it).
>> Ah, yes, this sounds familiar. That's typically the way my 35480As
>> died. Was this a brand new tape? I've had cases where a tape written
>> on a bad drive can confuse a good drive.
>
> Brand new Sony 90m DDS tape.
Seems to eliminate that one.
>> Tapes which I used successfully on the C1533A:
>> HP DDS 60 metre.
>> Sony 90 metre computer grade DDS-2.
>>
>> To the best of my knowledge, there ain't no such beast. The 90 metre
>> tapes are all DDS-1. You need the much more expensive 120 metre tapes
>> to get DDS-2. But at least you weren't using audio grade tapes.
>
> Quite correct. 90m tapes are DDS. On the box it said compatible with
> DDS-2, which is where my typo came from. I am using 90m tapes as 1. I
> don't have a need (yet) to store 4gb, 2. 120m tapes are thinner, 3. 120m
> tapes cost four times as much.
I'll go for (1) and (3). I haven't seen any problems with the
thickness of 120m tapes. I use both in the C1533A (and in the Archive
changer that I have just bought).
>> - Inability to format Sony DDS-2 tape using the Adaptec EZ-SCSI utility:
>> (read errors, tape removed from drive during format etc).
>> I don't understand this. DDS tapes don't need formatting. What did
>> the documentation say on the subject? EZ-SCSI is a DOS utility, and
>> you don't need it. Or are you running this under DOS? EZ-SCSI
>> supports all tape drives, some of which need formatting, and I
>> wouldn't put it past the program to run into trouble if you try to
>> format a drive that doesn't support formatting.
>
> My previous experience was using a Colorado Trakker 700 (and nobody dare
> tell me that was a fast and reliable product :-). The trakker did require
> formatting, about 3-6 hours of it, to be precise. My Adaptec 2940 card
> comes with Adaptec Backup on the EZ-SCSI disc. When using this utility
> under Windows 95, I formatted DDS tapes before initiating a backup. I
> would guess that this 'formatting' action would merely write an empty
> volume catalog to the tape (containing the name of the tape etc.) which
> would mean something to the Adaptec Backup application itself (hence this
> operation only took 90 seconds) and might include retensioning.
DDS tapes don't have a volume catalogue. I suppose the Adaptec backup
might use it anyway, which IMO is another reason not to use it. It
really destroys interchangability.
> With the HP C1533A, there were no errors when formatting (writing directory
> info) to the tape.
> With the Sony SDT7000, it gave errors gallore.
It would be nice to know the messages, but considering it could hardly
load the tape, I suspect that they wouldn't say too much.
>> - device I/O errors when trying to read a tar archive created by the HP and
>> another DDS drive.
>>
>> It's always better to give the error messages rather than just a
>> statement like this. What were the errors? For example, my newly
>> repaired Exabyte still shows the same problems :-(
>>
>> Dec 23 12:02:03 freebie /kernel: st1(aha0:5:0): MEDIUM ERROR info:10000
> csi:0,0,0,13 asc:3,2 Excessive write errors
>> Dec 23 12:02:04 freebie last message repeated 2 times
>
> Hmm. Where did these diagnostics get output? I executed tar from the
> console and was told 'device I/O error', _NOTHING_ more than that!
> Unfortunately I can't try it again, since I no longer have the drive ;-)
> Is there a kernel config option for specifying the level of diagnostics?
They should have appeared on the console. They're output by the
system to syslogd, and syslogd writes them whereever you tell it.
Check /var/log/messages, whence I extracted these messages.
>> Looking at the first item on your list, however, I think I'd agree
>> that you do (did) have a defective drive. You will probably not have
>> any problems with a replacement.
>
> You're probably right. However, my faith in the Sony (which incidentally
> was shipped without any installation instructions) has been dented.
Don't be too sure that that wasn't your retailer. They frequently
sell things in two forms: with tape, software, cables and lots of
packing, or just the naked drive. I have had problems with Sony for
the way they have to do things differently (like putting the SCSI
connector in the wrong way round, so you have to twist the cable to
fit), and I thought the drive itself could have more written on it,
but to my recollection the drive I was given had instructions.
> Michael Smith <msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au> wrote:
>> Simon Reading stands accused of saying:
>> In my original post:
>> I had an HP C1533A DDS-2 drive which worked fine, but which I exchanged
>> for a sony SDT-7000 DDS-2 because of the reliability warnings given in the
>> FreeBSD Handbook. Unfortunately my sony drive is broken - I/O errors on
>> read, can't format tapes using the Adaptec EZ-SCSI utility etc.
>>
>> I don't understand this; you don't "format" DAT tapes. The sony
>> units ignore the "erase" command because it makes no sense.
>
> See the reply to Greg above.
>
>> Are you sure you're conditioning your DATs correctly? You will find
>> that a tape that's been in storage should retensioned (wind to end of
>> media, rewind), and must be at room temperature for best results.
>> Instructions on this sort of thing are included with most decent
>> blank tapes.
>
> The tapes I have used were at 21C, normal pressure and humidity.
> I did not retension the tape (unless this was done as part of the Adaptec
> Backup 'format' action), but I had used them successfully on the HP C1533,
> no problems. I will retension new tapes in future.
Mike wrote this before you mentioned the load problems. I think they
put the whole thing into a very different perspective.
> No instructions were provided with HP or Sony DDS cartridges.
I just opened a brand new HP DDS-2 cartridge (120m). On the back of
the label foil there are pictures suggesting that you should tape a
red cross to the cartridge and then attack it with a horseshoe, that
you should wobble the read-protect tab backwards and fowards while
inserting, and that you should lay a thermometer on the cartridge.
Could be I'm misinterpreting this, but there is no text to go with it.
In addition, they write:
* Cleaning your DDC drive with HP's DDS Cleaning Cartridges is
important to maintaing the performance of your drive.
* Recommended cleaning frequency: (rather silly table)
Another 4 points about cleaning the drive. Nothing about
retensioning. One point to you.
>> We've been using and recommending to our customers the Sony SDT-5200
>> (DDS2, no compression) for over a year now, with no problems at all.
>> Several of these units are operating in arctic/antarctic conditions,
>> and there's one in a hut in Indonesia. We receive tapes from all of
>> these sites on an occasional basis and, modulo conditioning shortcuts,
>> have never had any trouble reading them.
>
> I doubt whether my problems were to do with conditioning, I am sure that my
> SDT-7000 was faulty.
>
> Do you have any experience of the SDT-7000? The SDT-7000 has a drum
> rotational speed twice that of the SDT-5200 (as Greg noted, to enhance
> performance). Running a drive at a higher speed can only make it more
> susceptible to mechanical failure. I would guess that the 5200 has been
> out for longer and that any bugs/problems would be more likely to be
> observed/sorted out than any with the 7000. The small price difference
> between the two models make me think that there has been little change in
> the funamental mechanism design and that 8000rpm may be too fast to
> transport the tape using the existing mechanism.
I honestly don't think so. The C1533A rotates at 5400 rpm,
significantly faster than the 35480A, and despite that it's more
reliable. Remember that they're learning things about the drives as
they build them. HP's suggested MTBF of 200,000 hours for the C1533A
vs. 50,000 for the 35480A suggests that that's the case. From what
I've heard, I would think that the SDT-7000 might just be the best
DDS-2 drive available, and that you've just been given a dud. I
wouldn't let that experience shake your confidence completely: I'd go
back to the dealer and say, "OK, that device may have been a dud.
Give me another, in original packing, and I'll try it again".
> PS I hope Greg has more success with his exabyte drive.
So do I :-) But I fear the guys who repaired it fixed the wrong
problem. They assumed a drum failure, though what I've heard through
other channels (the Exabyte specialist at Siemens-Nixdorf), drum
failures are relatively uncommon. In case anybody out there
recognizes the problem:
When I start a backup, everything runs fine. By observation, the
drive writes without any backing up (i.e. backtracking and
re-reading or writing). After about 30 to 50 minutes, it starts
backing up, and shortly after that it can't recover the data even
after 20 backups, and the backup aborts. I've tried several tapes,
including brand new ones, and of course I have cleaned the drive
with an original Exabyte cleaning cartridge.
Greg
From owner-freebsd-hardware Tue Dec 24 11:00:31 1996
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To: Brandon Gillespie <brandon@glacier.cold.org>
cc: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: AHA 2940UW? Linux works..
In-reply-to: Your message of "Tue, 24 Dec 1996 10:29:00 MST."
<Pine.NEB.3.95.961224102248.27912A-100000@glacier.cold.org>
Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 10:59:58 -0800
Message-ID: <9128.851453998@time.cdrom.com>
From: "Jordan K. Hubbard" <jkh@time.cdrom.com>
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> I REALLY need help with this, our server is continually rebooting since we
> installed the AHA 2940UW controller and new UltraSCSI drive. It is not a
There is next to no chance that someone will find and fix your problem
during the xmas holidays. Just zilch. Justin is off at Christmas
with his folks, I don't know anything about the SCSI subsystem, anyone
with any kind of life at all (and I do not count myself) is off DOING
something right now and will be until the 2nd of January or so. That's
life during the holidays.
It would therefore make a lot more sense for you to either find a more
promising version of FreeBSD on this system (and I don't know if
upgrading/downgrading will affect your symptoms, but it's certainly
worth a try) or, indeed, just migrate it to Linux. If that solution
works then it works, and that's the bottom line.
Jordan
From owner-freebsd-hardware Thu Dec 26 04:23:39 1996
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Date: Thu, 26 Dec 1996 13:34:12 +1100 (EST)
From: Andrew MacIntyre <andymac@bullseye.apana.org.au>
To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
Subject: Problems with HP T4000s tape drive
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I have just acquired a HP T4000s tape drive for my primary FreeBSD
machine, which is a mail/news/file/print server for my home net.
However, it doesn't want to do anything useful :-( (commands & results
below).
The drive is connected to the SCSI bus between the HD & CD-ROM, and
the terminating resistors were removed. I am not aware of any other
system "funnies" which might be attributable to poor SCSI cabling or
bad termination.
I notice from the boot probe (see below) that the drive appears to
have v1.05 firmware, compared to another recent posting to the list
having v1.06.
The system is stock 2.1.0 installed from CD-ROM. I have the 2.1.5 CD-ROM
(have held off installing on this system until I could back it up
adequately), and plan on snarfing a 2.1.6 CD-ROM as soon as they become
available here.
Any thoughts/advice appreciated & compliments of the season to all.
What follows are the results of my attempts to use the drive + the system
config & boot transcript. All commands issued as root.
An "mt status" results in:
---8<---8<---8<---
Present Mode: Density = 0x45 Blocksize = 512 bytes
---------available modes---------
Mode 0: Density = 0x00 Blocksize variable
Mode 1: Density = 0x00 Blocksize variable
Mode 2: Density = 0x00 Blocksize variable
Mode 3: Density = 0x00 Blocksize variable
---8<---8<---8<---
with the console showing:
---8<---8<---8<---
Dec 26 12:13:25 bullseye /kernel: st0(ncr0:4:0): ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:24,0 Invalid field in CDB
Dec 26 12:13:25 bullseye /kernel: st0: Cannot set selected mode
---8<---8<---8<---
An "mt rewind" is rewarded with tape activity, with the console showing:
---8<---8<---8<---
Dec 26 12:16:12 bullseye /kernel: st0(ncr0:4:0): ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:24,0 Invalid field in CDB
Dec 26 12:16:12 bullseye /kernel: st0: Cannot set selected mode
---8<---8<---8<---
A "dump 0ubBf 32 1200000 /dev/nrst0 /usr" fails:
---8<---8<---8<---
DUMP: Date of this level 0 dump: Thu Dec 26 12:21:33 1996
DUMP: Date of last level 0 dump: the epoch
DUMP: Dumping /dev/rsd0s1g (/usr) to /dev/nrst0
DUMP: mapping (Pass I) [regular files]
DUMP: mapping (Pass II) [directories]
DUMP: estimated 264124 tape blocks on 0.22 tape(s).
DUMP: dumping (Pass III) [directories]
DUMP: End of tape detected
DUMP: Closing /dev/nrst0
DUMP: Change Volumes: Mount volume #2
DUMP: Is the new volume mounted and ready to go?: ("yes" or "no")
DUMP: Do you want to abort?: ("yes" or "no")
DUMP: The ENTIRE dump is aborted.
---8<---8<---8<---
with the console showing:
---8<---8<---8<---
Dec 26 12:21:36 bullseye /kernel: st0(ncr0:4:0): ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:24,0 Invalid field in CDB
Dec 26 12:21:36 bullseye /kernel: st0: Cannot set selected mode
Dec 26 12:21:36 bullseye /kernel: st0: oops not queued
Dec 26 12:21:37 bullseye last message repeated 2 times
Dec 26 12:21:37 bullseye /kernel: st0(ncr0:4:0): ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:24,0 Invalid field in CDB
Dec 26 12:21:37 bullseye /kernel: st0: Cannot set selected mode
---8<---8<---8<---
System configuration:
---8<---8<---8<---
#
# BULLSEYE
#
# hardware: Asus PVI-486SP3 rev 1.8 mbd,
# w/ v3.04 BIOS (Award 4.50g) & NCR v3.07 SDMS
# (has UMC 8669F Multi-IO chip, not SMC :-( )
# Intel DX4/100 Overdrive CPU
# 16MB 60ns parity FPM RAM
# Asus SC200 SCSI controller
# - Quantum Capella 2.2G HD (0)
# - HP Colorado T4000s tape drive (4)
# - Toshiba XM-3401 CD-ROM drive (5)
# Accton EN1666 ethernet card
# TLI ET4000/W32 ISA video card
#
machine "i386"
#cpu "I386_CPU"
cpu "I486_CPU"
#cpu "I586_CPU"
ident BULLSEYE
maxusers 32
#options MATH_EMULATE #Support for x87 emulation
options INET #InterNETworking
options FFS #Berkeley Fast Filesystem
options NFS #Network Filesystem
options MSDOSFS #MSDOS Filesystem
options "CD9660" #ISO 9660 Filesystem
options PROCFS #Process filesystem
options "COMPAT_43" #Compatible with BSD 4.3
options "SCSI_DELAY=15" #Be pessimistic about Joe SCSI device
#options BOUNCE_BUFFERS #include support for DMA bounce buffers
options UCONSOLE #Allow users to grab the console
options SYSVSHM
options SYSVSEM
options SYSVMSG
config kernel root on sd0
controller isa0
controller pci0
controller fdc0 at isa? port "IO_FD1" bio irq 6 drq 2 vector fdintr
disk fd0 at fdc0 drive 0
disk fd1 at fdc0 drive 1
#tape ft0 at fdc0 drive 2
#controller wdc0 at isa? port "IO_WD1" bio irq 14 vector wdintr
#disk wd0 at wdc0 drive 0
#disk wd1 at wdc0 drive 1
#controller wdc1 at isa? port "IO_WD2" bio irq 15 vector wdintr
#disk wd2 at wdc1 drive 0
#disk wd3 at wdc1 drive 1
#options ATAPI #Enable ATAPI support for IDE bus
#device wcd0 #IDE CD-ROM
controller ncr0
#controller ahc0
#controller bt0 at isa? port "IO_BT0" bio irq ? vector btintr
#controller uha0 at isa? port "IO_UHA0" bio irq ? drq 5 vector uhaintr
#controller ahc1 at isa? bio irq ? vector ahcintr
#controller ahb0 at isa? bio irq ? vector ahbintr
#controller aha0 at isa? port "IO_AHA0" bio irq ? drq 5 vector ahaintr
#controller aic0 at isa? port 0x340 bio irq 11 vector aicintr
#controller nca0 at isa? port 0x1f88 bio irq 10 vector ncaintr
#controller nca1 at isa? port 0x350 bio irq 5 vector ncaintr
#controller sea0 at isa? bio irq 5 iomem 0xc8000 iosiz 0x2000 vector seaintr
controller scbus0
device sd0
device st0
device cd0 #Only need one of these, the code dynamically grows
#device wt0 at isa? port 0x300 bio irq 5 drq 1 vector wtintr
#device mcd0 at isa? port 0x300 bio irq 10 vector mcdintr
#device mcd1 at isa? port 0x340 bio irq 11 vector mcdintr
#controller matcd0 at isa? port 0x230 bio
#device scd0 at isa? port 0x360 bio
# syscons is the default console driver, resembling an SCO console
device sc0 at isa? port "IO_KBD" tty irq 1 vector scintr
# Enable this and PCVT_FREEBSD for pcvt vt220 compatible console driver
#device vt0 at isa? port "IO_KBD" tty irq 1 vector pcrint
#options "PCVT_FREEBSD=210" # pcvt running on FreeBSD 2.1
#options XSERVER # include code for XFree86
device npx0 at isa? port "IO_NPX" irq 13 vector npxintr
device sio0 at isa? port "IO_COM1" tty irq 4 vector siointr
device sio1 at isa? port "IO_COM2" tty irq 3 vector siointr
#device sio2 at isa? port "IO_COM3" tty irq 5 vector siointr
#device sio3 at isa? port "IO_COM4" tty irq 9 vector siointr
device lpt0 at isa? port? tty irq 7 vector lptintr
#device lpt1 at isa? port? tty
#device lpt2 at isa? port? tty
#device mse0 at isa? port 0x23c tty irq 5 vector mseintr
# Order is important here due to intrusive probes, do *not* alphabetize
# this list of network interfaces until the probes have been fixed.
# Right now it appears that the ie0 must be probed before ep0. See
# revision 1.20 of this file.
#device de0
#device ed0 at isa? port 0x280 net irq 5 iomem 0xd8000 vector edintr
device ed1 at isa? port 0x300 net irq 5 iomem 0xd8000 vector edintr
#device ie0 at isa? port 0x360 net irq 7 iomem 0xd0000 vector ieintr
#device ep0 at isa? port 0x300 net irq 10 vector epintr
#device ix0 at isa? port 0x300 net irq 10 iomem 0xd0000 iosiz 32768 vector ixintr
#device le0 at isa? port 0x300 net irq 5 iomem 0xd0000 vector le_intr
#device lnc0 at isa? port 0x280 net irq 10 drq 0 vector lncintr
#device lnc1 at isa? port 0x300 net irq 10 drq 0 vector lncintr
#device ze0 at isa? port 0x300 net irq 5 iomem 0xd8000 vector zeintr
#device zp0 at isa? port 0x300 net irq 10 iomem 0xd8000 vector zpintr
pseudo-device loop
pseudo-device ether
pseudo-device log
pseudo-device sl 2
# ijppp uses tun instead of ppp device
pseudo-device ppp 2
pseudo-device tun 2
pseudo-device pty 64
pseudo-device gzip # Exec gzipped a.out's
---8<---8<---8<---
Boot transcript (taken from /var/log/messages):
---8<---8<---8<---
Dec 25 11:14:39 bullseye /kernel: FreeBSD 2.1.0-RELEASE #0: Thu Jul 18 21:12:56 EST 1996
Dec 25 11:14:39 bullseye /kernel: root@bullseye.apana.org.au:/usr/src/sys/compile/BULLSEYE
Dec 25 11:14:40 bullseye /kernel: CPU: i486 DX4 (486-class CPU)
Dec 25 11:14:40 bullseye /kernel: Origin = "GenuineIntel" Id = 0x480 Stepping=0
Dec 25 11:14:40 bullseye /kernel: Features=0x3<FPU,VME>
Dec 25 11:14:40 bullseye /kernel: real memory = 16777216 (16384K bytes)
Dec 25 11:14:40 bullseye /kernel: avail memory = 14954496 (14604K bytes)
Dec 25 11:14:41 bullseye /kernel: Probing for devices on the ISA bus:
Dec 25 11:14:41 bullseye /kernel: sc0 at 0x60-0x6f irq 1 on motherboard
Dec 25 11:14:41 bullseye /kernel: sc0: VGA color <16 virtual consoles, flags=0x0>
Dec 25 11:14:41 bullseye /kernel: ed1 at 0x300-0x31f irq 5 on isa
Dec 25 11:14:41 bullseye /kernel: ed1: address 00:00:e8:13:eb:57, type NE2000 (16 bit)
Dec 25 11:14:41 bullseye /kernel: sio0 at 0x3f8-0x3ff irq 4 on isa
Dec 25 11:14:41 bullseye /kernel: sio0: type 16550A
Dec 25 11:14:41 bullseye /kernel: sio1 at 0x2f8-0x2ff irq 3 on isa
Dec 25 11:14:42 bullseye /kernel: sio1: type 16550A
Dec 25 11:14:42 bullseye /kernel: lpt0 at 0x378-0x37f irq 7 on isa
Dec 25 11:14:42 bullseye /kernel: lpt0: Interrupt-driven port
Dec 25 11:14:42 bullseye /kernel: lp0: TCP/IP capable interface
Dec 25 11:14:42 bullseye /kernel: fdc0 at 0x3f0-0x3f7 irq 6 drq 2 on isa
Dec 25 11:14:42 bullseye /kernel: fdc0: NEC 72065B
Dec 25 11:14:42 bullseye /kernel: fd0: 1.44MB 3.5in
Dec 25 11:14:42 bullseye /kernel: npx0 on motherboard
Dec 25 11:14:43 bullseye /kernel: npx0: INT 16 interface
Dec 25 11:14:43 bullseye /kernel: Probing for devices on the PCI bus:
Dec 25 11:14:43 bullseye /kernel: chip0 <SiS 85c496> rev 49 on pci0:5
Dec 25 11:14:44 bullseye /kernel: ncr0 <ncr 53c810 scsi> rev 1 int a irq 12 on pci0:12
Dec 25 11:14:44 bullseye /kernel: ncr0 waiting for scsi devices to settle
Dec 25 11:14:44 bullseye /kernel: (ncr0:0:0): "QUANTUM VP32210 81H8" type 0 fixed SCSI 2
Dec 25 11:14:44 bullseye /kernel: sd0(ncr0:0:0): Direct-Access
Dec 25 11:14:44 bullseye /kernel: sd0(ncr0:0:0): FAST SCSI-2 100ns (10 Mb/sec) offset 8.
Dec 25 11:14:44 bullseye /kernel: 2103MB (4308352 512 byte sectors)
Dec 25 11:14:44 bullseye /kernel: (ncr0:4:0): "HP T4000s 1.05" type 1 removable SCSI 2
Dec 25 11:14:44 bullseye /kernel: st0(ncr0:4:0): Sequential-Access density code 0x0, drive empty
Dec 25 11:14:44 bullseye /kernel: (ncr0:5:0): "TOSHIBA CD-ROM XM-3401TA 3593" type 5 removable SCSI 2
Dec 25 11:14:44 bullseye /kernel: cd0(ncr0:5:0): CD-ROM
Dec 25 11:14:44 bullseye /kernel: cd0(ncr0:5:0): asynchronous.
Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: cd present.[298166 x 2048 byte records]
Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0(ncr0:4:0): ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:24,0 Invalid field in CDB
Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0: Cannot set selected modest0: oops not queued
Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0: oops not queued
Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0: oops not queued
Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0(ncr0:4:0): ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:24,0 Invalid field in CDB
Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0: Cannot set selected mode
Dec 25 11:14:42 bullseye lpd[99]: restarted
Dec 25 11:14:48 bullseye innd: ME descriptors 64
Dec 25 11:14:48 bullseye innd: ME outgoing 51
Dec 25 11:14:49 bullseye innd: ME ccsetup control:11
Dec 25 11:14:49 bullseye innd: ME lcsetup localconn:13
Dec 25 11:14:49 bullseye innd: ME rcsetup remconn:4
Dec 25 11:14:49 bullseye innd: saturn opened saturn:15:file
Dec 25 11:14:49 bullseye innd: f243.n620 opened f243.n620:16:file
Dec 25 11:14:49 bullseye innd: OVERVIEW! spawned OVERVIEW!:18:proc:182
Dec 25 11:14:49 bullseye innd: ME starting
---8<---8<---8<---
The tape devices are as follows:
crw-r----- 2 root operator 14, 1 Dec 26 12:21 /dev/nrst0
crw-r----- 2 root operator 14, 1 Dec 26 12:21 /dev/nrst0.0
crw-r----- 1 root operator 14, 5 Jan 14 1996 /dev/nrst0.1
crw-r----- 1 root operator 14, 9 Jan 14 1996 /dev/nrst0.2
crw-r----- 1 root operator 14, 13 Jan 14 1996 /dev/nrst0.3
crw-r----- 2 root operator 14, 0 Dec 26 11:44 /dev/rst0
crw-r----- 2 root operator 14, 0 Dec 26 11:44 /dev/rst0.0
crw-r----- 1 root operator 14, 4 Jan 14 1996 /dev/rst0.1
crw-r----- 1 root operator 14, 8 Jan 14 1996 /dev/rst0.2
crw-r----- 1 root operator 14, 12 Jan 14 1996 /dev/rst0.3
crw------- 1 root wheel 14, 536870912 Jan 14 1996 /dev/rst0.ctl
crw-rw---- 1 root operator 14, 3 Jan 14 1996 /dev/st0ctl.0
crw-rw---- 1 root operator 14, 7 Jan 14 1996 /dev/st0ctl.1
crw-rw---- 1 root operator 14, 11 Jan 14 1996 /dev/st0ctl.2
crw-rw---- 1 root operator 14, 15 Jan 14 1996 /dev/st0ctl.3
--
Andrew I MacIntyre "These thoughts are mine alone..."
E-mail: andrew.macintyre@aba.gov.au (work) | Snail: PO Box 370
andymac@bullseye.apana.org.au (play) | Belconnen ACT 2616
Fido: Andrew MacIntyre, 3:620/243.18 | Australia
From owner-freebsd-hardware Thu Dec 26 08:56:23 1996
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To: Brandon Gillespie <brandon@glacier.cold.org>
cc: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
From: dkelly@hiwaay.net
Subject: Re: AHA 2940UW? Linux works..
In-reply-to: Message from Brandon Gillespie <brandon@glacier.cold.org>
of "Tue, 24 Dec 1996 10:29:00 MST." <Pine.NEB.3.95.961224102248.27912A-100000@glacier.cold.org>
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Date: Wed, 25 Dec 1996 19:10:08 -0600
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> I REALLY need help with this, our server is continually rebooting since we
> installed the AHA 2940UW controller and new UltraSCSI drive. It is not a
> heavilly loaded system, but it does run a database system that NEEDS to
> syncronize its database before shutting down. Every time this system
> reboots we loose critical data to the last backup. This is flat out
> unacceptable. I really like FreeBSD much more than Linux, but at this
> point others in the group are suggesting we move to Linux because they
> know this hardware works fine in Linux. In my experience I've never known
> a system to simply reboot when it was a hardware problem (generally if its
> a hardware problem it simply freezes up or does not work at all). This is
> working for two to three days when suddenly *wham* reboot.
I recently had "system crash and reboot with hardware SCSI problems."
I read the followups and didn't see any mention of what MB is being used.
Recently I couldn't pass up an opportunity to buy a PCI MB w/ AMD 5x86/133
for $99. Paid $17 more for 256k extra cache. This was to upgrade my 486DX33
FreeBSD system at work. Took this machine (the one I'm on now) down to 48M
from 80M and pulled my 2nd 2940 out, and put it on the new MB. (Hint: you
are supposed to be laughing, I am, $200 of memory and a $150 controller,
another $250 of SCSI drives, on a $116 MB/CPU). Anyhow, FreeBSD 2.1.5
crashed under heavy SCSI usage. Upgraded to 2.2-current, then 3.0-current,
upgraded Adaptec BIOS from 1.10 to 1.16. No change. Compared GENERIC
against my config file and tried all the AHC options. Crash usually said
something like, "Panic: Page Missing".
Finally figured out the cache on the MB was the single cause of my crashes.
Later found a reference that knew everything there was to know about this
cheapie MB: <http://users.aol.com/sdnd/vip.htm>. Thought I'd tried both WB
and WT cache modes, but after reading the above page I got brave (or
bored), put the cache back in, tried WT cahce mode, and its been running a
month or so w/o any SCSI problems.
Interesting thing about this problem was iozone couldn't make the system
fail, "make world" with the source/obj on a SCSI drive was one of the best
ways to crash (boot disk and running system are IDE). Another way to crash
was to put a swap partition on a SCSI disk, but this was too good of a way
to crash the system.
My problem was hardware.
--
David Kelly N4HHE, dkelly@hiwaay.net
=====================================================================
The human mind ordinarily operates at only ten percent of its
capacity -- the rest is overhead for the operating system.
From owner-freebsd-hardware Thu Dec 26 15:29:45 1996
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Date: Thu, 26 Dec 1996 15:28:58 -0800 (PST)
From: Doug White <dwhite@gdi.uoregon.edu>
Reply-To: dwhite@resnet.uoregon.edu
To: Andrew MacIntyre <andymac@bullseye.apana.org.au>
cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: Problems with HP T4000s tape drive
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.91.961226132603.2907A-100000@bullseye.apana.org.au>
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On Thu, 26 Dec 1996, Andrew MacIntyre wrote:
> I have just acquired a HP T4000s tape drive for my primary FreeBSD
> machine, which is a mail/news/file/print server for my home net.
>
> However, it doesn't want to do anything useful :-( (commands & results
> below).
See the Handbook section 10.5.9 on how to properly initialize this tape.
> Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0(ncr0:4:0): ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:24,0 Invalid field in CDB
> Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0: Cannot set selected modest0: oops not queued
> Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0: oops not queued
> Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0: oops not queued
> Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0(ncr0:4:0): ILLEGAL REQUEST asc:24,0 Invalid field in CDB
> Dec 25 11:14:45 bullseye /kernel: st0: Cannot set selected mode
This is interesting. Your NCR doesn't seem to appreciate the tape. You
might verify that your cable is okay and termination correct. Remember,
termination at the ends of the chain only. The NCR will terminate itself
properly; make sure the last thing in the chain is terminated and that
nothing else is.
Doug White | University of Oregon
Internet: dwhite@resnet.uoregon.edu | Residence Networking Assistant
http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~dwhite | Computer Science Major
From owner-freebsd-hardware Thu Dec 26 20:47:44 1996
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To: Brandon Gillespie <brandon@glacier.cold.org>
cc: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: AHA 2940UW? Linux works..
In-reply-to: Your message of "Tue, 24 Dec 1996 10:29:00 MST."
<Pine.NEB.3.95.961224102248.27912A-100000@glacier.cold.org>
Date: Thu, 26 Dec 1996 20:47:40 -0800
From: "Justin T. Gibbs" <gibbs@freefall.freebsd.org>
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Linux uses a ported version of FreeBSD's aic7xxx driver. If the driver is
really the culpret I would expect the results to be much the same
regardless of which OS you use.
I am the author of the driver, but I cannot help you unless I know what the
console messages are and what the panic message is. Please install a
serial console to a stable machine with a scroll back buffer so that you
can capture what happens before the machine reboots.
Even if you do get me this information, I cannot promise immediate action
on this problem. I can't do anything about it until at least the 1st. of
the new year and even then I will be extremely busy. I can, however,
promise that all of my free time will be devoted to aic7xxx driver issues
until your and others problems are solved.
__
Justin T. Gibbs
===========================================
FreeBSD: Turning PCs into workstations
===========================================
From owner-freebsd-hardware Sat Dec 28 01:30:16 1996
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To: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
From: Eddie White <ewhite@ms1.nwla.com>
Subject: cpu selection
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a local hardware vendor has suggested to stay away from the AMD K-5 for linux;
he says he has had a lot of problems. does anyone know this to be a valid
suggestion for freebsd as well?
has anyone had any experience running freebsd on IBM Aptiva's A90 or A92?
these are discontinued boxes, but available on the refirb market (intel cpu's.)
thanks,
eddie
From owner-freebsd-hardware Sat Dec 28 06:20:53 1996
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From: Michael Smith <msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au>
Message-Id: <199612281420.AAA01282@genesis.atrad.adelaide.edu.au>
Subject: Re: cpu selection
In-Reply-To: <199612281041.EAA07061@ms1.nwla.com> from Eddie White at "Dec 28, 96 04:41:45 am"
To: ewhite@ms1.nwla.com (Eddie White)
Date: Sun, 29 Dec 1996 00:50:39 +1030 (CST)
Cc: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org
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Eddie White stands accused of saying:
> a local hardware vendor has suggested to stay away from the AMD K-5 for linux;
> he says he has had a lot of problems. does anyone know this to be a valid
> suggestion for freebsd as well?
We're using the K5-PR100's with no problem at all; very cost-effective
against the P120 (the only other low-end Pentium-class CPU you can get
around here just now).
> eddie
--
]] Mike Smith, Software Engineer msmith@gsoft.com.au [[
]] Genesis Software genesis@gsoft.com.au [[
]] High-speed data acquisition and (GSM mobile) 0411-222-496 [[
]] realtime instrument control. (ph) +61-8-8267-3493 [[
]] Unix hardware collector. "Where are your PEZ?" The Tick [[
From owner-freebsd-hardware Sat Dec 28 22:21:37 1996
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Subject: Re: AHA 2940UW? Linux works..
In-Reply-To: <Pine.NEB.3.95.961224102248.27912A-100000@glacier.cold.org> from Brandon Gillespie at "Dec 24, 96 10:29:00 am"
To: brandon@glacier.cold.org (Brandon Gillespie)
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 1996 22:21:18 -0800 (PST)
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> I REALLY need help with this, our server is continually rebooting since we
> installed the AHA 2940UW controller and new UltraSCSI drive. It is not a
> heavilly loaded system, but it does run a database system that NEEDS to
> syncronize its database before shutting down. Every time this system
> reboots we loose critical data to the last backup. This is flat out
> unacceptable. I really like FreeBSD much more than Linux, but at this
> point others in the group are suggesting we move to Linux because they
> know this hardware works fine in Linux. In my experience I've never known
> a system to simply reboot when it was a hardware problem (generally if its
> a hardware problem it simply freezes up or does not work at all). This is
> working for two to three days when suddenly *wham* reboot.
>
> Help??
My experience in tracking down ``spontainious reboots'' on FreeBSD systems
is that this is usually either memory or a bad motherboard. If I recall
your earlier mail you had converted from IDE to AHA2940, which leads me to
suspect a motherboard problem in the cache invalidation logic with
respect to bus mastered DMA.
You didn't saymuch else about the hardware, and ``it'll run Linux'' doesn't
tell me much, as Linux does not do a lot of the performance enhancements
in FreeBSD that requires _CORRECTLY_ designed boards.
Hardware problems _often_ cause exactly what you are seeing, but then so
do software problems.
--
Rod Grimes rgrimes@gndrsh.aac.dev.com
Accurate Automation, Inc. Reliable computers for FreeBSD