Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 14:19:51 -0600 (CST) From: Joe Greco <jgreco@brasil.moneng.mei.com> To: bminazzi@w3page.com (Blaine Minazzi) Cc: isp@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Newsserver running NCR815 cards Message-ID: <199611222019.OAA11196@brasil.moneng.mei.com> In-Reply-To: <329538BC.53BBB886@w3page.com> from "Blaine Minazzi" at Nov 21, 96 10:23:08 pm
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> > Since many things have changed in the ~ 1 year since 2.1.0R came out, I > > would certainly suggest you try 2.1.6R. > > 2.1.6??? I am running 2.1.5R... Whoever started this claimed to be running 2.1.0R. > > I am running a dozen and a half of the ASUS SC-200 cards (do not scrimp and get cheapies, they can be problematic) to run ninety three drives of > > various types (including Quantum ProDrive/Atlas, Seagate Hawk/Barracuda, > > and some older HP drives, probably some others too, I know that the > > HP-C3323 works great but the 3724 does not work right under 2.1.0R, but > > that is reportedly due to firmware bugs in the drive.) > > I have some of the 3725 (?) methinks. If it is a firmware bug in the > _DRIVE_ , why does it work like a champ with the 2940. or, on the same > note, why does the same card and drive work fine under Linux? ( exact > same drive, Card, MB type... ) Probably because the 2940 does not support tagged queueing (or at least, did not by default, with the previous FreeBSD drivers for the Adaptec), and the NCR does. That is a problem. (And if that is indeed the problem, it is the fault of the drive, not FreeBSD). Reports of problems under Solaris with tagged queueing and the 372X drives makes me suspicious of them in general, as do a lot of firmware bugs in the younger cousin, the C3323. Therefore, I would tend to suspect that the NCR controller's default of using tagged queueing (a performance feature) is what is causing the problem, and is therefore not really a FreeBSD "bug" per se. It is something that FreeBSD could probably work around, however. > Maybe it is the drive... But the IBM 615 E 1.2 Gig that I have, which > Did work with 2.1.0 R quit working with 2.1.5 and the Same controller > card. Both Drives will work with these cards under Linux, no problem. ( > At first, I suspected the card, so I got another one. Same results.) Dunno. I have not seen that happen to me. > Kinda leads me to suspect the FreeBSD code. But, It matters not, > as I need something that works *today*... So, you get a 2940 and life > goes on. The $120 per controller is chicken feed where each server > is worth thousands per month in revenue. Sure. Personally I would want to pick up a faster drive that worked correctly... but that is just my opinion. Tagged queueing is particularly desirable on anything where lots and lots of stuff is going on. > I am not bashing the NCR stuff, I run it on my Linux workstation, > and it works like a champ... And, if it DID work for me under FreeBSD > I would certainly run them. They have a great reputation, and they are > cheaper to buy initially, and performance is similar. No desire to spend > money needlessly! Agreed. > I am curious about the "cheapies" you mention. These cards are only > $45 - $60 wholesale... What is a cheapie? Do I have to spend more than The ASUS SC-200's are about $60-$65 wholesale. The cheapies (I could probably come up with Curt's source if I needed to) are $30-$45. > that... I only pay $175 on the 2940's. To me that is appx $120 price > diff. I figure that the 4 - 5 hours I spent when doing the upgrade from > 2.1.0 to 2.1.5 trying to figure out why my hard drives wouldn't work > anymore is about $500 worth of my time. ( If I was billing it out. ) or, > put another way, that is about 4 controllers worth. Or two drives worth. > Anyway, my logic is thus... > ( Standard disclamer, YMMV. IMHO, CYA, RTFM, TTYL. ) > > 1: My HP Drives DO work with the 2940. > 2: My HP drives do NOT work with the NCR. > 3: I cannot fix the above problem. > 4: Beating head against wall for hours will not fix problem. > 5: Spending a couple extra bucks for 2940 will fix problem. 6: Spending a couple extra bucks for better drives will fix problem and also get you tagged queueing if you usr NCR controllers. Better fix. > ( I found answer by using DeJa News. Others had reported exact same > problem. ) > > Therefore, since I have limited time, I will wait for someone else > who is a far better programmer than I, ( most anyone ? :-) > to fix the problem. In the meantime. my servers run fine with the > Adaptec cards, and life goes on.... Servers serve, hard drives drive > hard, > lights flash, modems squeel and all is well in my corner of the > universe. Here too, ... JG
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