Date: Fri, 29 May 1998 02:32:52 -0400 From: tcobb <tcobb@staff.circle.net> To: "'Mike Smith'" <mike@smith.net.au> Cc: "'freebsd-current@freebsd.org'" <freebsd-current@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: RE: DPT driver fails and panics with Degraded Array Message-ID: <509A2986E5C5D111B7DD0060082F32A402FAC9@freya.circle.net>
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> -----Original Message----- > From: Mike Smith [mailto:mike@smith.net.au] > It would have been useful to make this discussion public. -stable is > meant to be our "production quality" release, and if these > problems are > not isolated to a particular driver (in your case they may), then I > would imagine that many people would like some accountability > attached > to the decision not to resolve them. I did, on -hackers. See: http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/getmsg.cgi?fetch=344895+347871+/usr/local/www /db/text/1998/freebsd-hackers/19980510.freebsd-hackers Interestingly enough, I got 10 or so PRIVATE posts as a result of the above email, and no public ones. There is a still-open pr on the biodone panics in -stable and -release. Apparently, CAM was tendered as a solution to this, but with no DPT support in CAM (yet) and no surety that CAM would solve it, I had to test and implement a -current implementation. These biodone panics appear to be NOT hardware specific. > > This, plus > > deficiencies in the -stable NFS code (and other > > -stable instabilities) caused me to have to upgrade this machine to > > -current in order to keep using FreeBSD for it. I was > quite reluctant > > to do this, believe me. But it was the best recommendation > I was given. > > NFS is being addressed in both -current and -stable. You could > probably obtain the services of a FreeBSD-savvy consultant to > bring any > remedies back from -current to -stable for significantly less > than the > cost of the downtime and aggravation you are currently experiencing. The determination was that a carefully tested -current snapshot was going to be more stable than -stable in the situations I use FreeBSD. I carefully tested it, the -current snapshot I'm using IS working well, the exception is the DPT software driver. > It does sound like you've found some serious problems, yes. Are all 15 > systems exploding on a daily basis? No. They are not. My busiest NFS server is the one having the problems, and the only one with DPT hardware, too. My posting was regarding DPT hardware, my reason for moving to a -current snapshot was NOT due to DPT hardware but rather due to -stable instabilities. > Rushing to the "latest and greatest" is a stupid idea, particularly > when it is plastered with black and yellow striped signs. > > Resolving the problems that you are specifically encountering in a > generally stable (and static) branch limits your risk exposure, and > greatly raises your chances of success. Any investment in such a > resolution will have a far longer life insofar as it is less > likely to > be obsoleted or defeated by other substantial changes. A valid point and one I agree with. I believe that my remarks would've incited less anger had I not posted them to -current. I perhaps erred in posting to -current as well as -scsi. My point was that the DPT driver is not ready for prime time, NOT that -current is such. I've found that my own self-rolled -current snapshot release to be faster and more stable than the -stable branch, actually. -Troy Cobb Circle Net, Inc. http://www.circle.net To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-current" in the body of the message
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