From owner-freebsd-hardware Tue Oct 23 13:41:58 2001 Delivered-To: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org Received: from mass.dis.org (mass.dis.org [216.240.45.41]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B287337B401 for ; Tue, 23 Oct 2001 13:41:53 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mass.dis.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by mass.dis.org (8.11.6/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f9NKsBI02984; Tue, 23 Oct 2001 13:54:11 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from msmith@mass.dis.org) Message-Id: <200110232054.f9NKsBI02984@mass.dis.org> To: Darryl Okahata Cc: "Plucker, Prentice" , "'freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org'" Subject: Re: New Pormise ATA raid controller In-Reply-To: Message from Darryl Okahata of "Tue, 23 Oct 2001 12:03:59 PDT." <200110231904.MAA15156@mina.soco.agilent.com> Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 13:54:11 -0700 From: Mike Smith Sender: owner-freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk List-ID: List-Archive: (Web Archive) List-Help: (List Instructions) List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: X-Loop: FreeBSD.org > Mike Smith 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