patch-2.0.21-2.1.0 linux/drivers/scsi/README.in2000

Next file: linux/drivers/scsi/advansys.c
Previous file: linux/drivers/scsi/Makefile
Back to the patch index
Back to the overall index

diff -u --recursive --new-file lx2.0/v2.0.21/linux/drivers/scsi/README.in2000 linux/drivers/scsi/README.in2000
@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+
+UPDATE NEWS: version 1.29 - 24 Sep 96
+
+   The memory-mapped hardware on the card is now accessed via
+   the 'readb()' and 'readl()' macros - required by the new
+   memory management scheme in the 2.1.x kernel series.
+   As suggested by Andries Brouwer, 'bios_param()' no longer
+   forces an artificial 1023 track limit on drives. Also
+   removed some kludge-code left over from struggles with
+   older (buggy) compilers.
+
+UPDATE NEWS: version 1.28 - 07 May 96
+
+   Tightened up the "interrupts enabled/disabled" discipline
+   in 'in2000_queuecommand()' and maybe 1 or 2 other places.
+   I _think_ it may have been a little too lax, causing an
+   occasional crash during full moon. A fully functional
+   /proc interface is now in place - if you want to play
+   with it, start by doing 'cat /proc/scsi/in2000/0'. You
+   can also use it to change a few run-time parameters on
+   the fly, but it's mostly for debugging. The curious
+   should take a good look at 'in2000_proc_info()' in the
+   in2000.c file to get an understanding of what it's all
+   about; I figure that people who are really into it will
+   want to add features suited to their own needs...
+   Also, sync is now DISABLED by default.
+
+UPDATE NEWS: version 1.27 - 10 Apr 96
+
+   Fixed a well-hidden bug in the adaptive-disconnect code
+   that would show up every now and then during extreme
+   heavy loads involving 2 or more simultaneously active
+   devices. Thanks to Joe Mack for keeping my nose to the
+   grindstone on this one.
+
+UPDATE NEWS: version 1.26 - 07 Mar 96
+
+   1.25 had a nasty bug that bit people with swap partitions
+   and tape drives. Also, in my attempt to guess my way
+   through Intel assembly language, I made an error in the
+   inline code for IO writes. Made a few other changes and
+   repairs - this version (fingers crossed) should work well.
+
+UPDATE NEWS: version 1.25 - 05 Mar 96
+
+   Kernel 1.3.70 interrupt mods added; old kernels still OK.
+   Big help from Bill Earnest and David Willmore on speed
+   testing and optimizing: I think there's a real improvement
+   in this area.
+   New! User-friendly command-line interface for LILO and
+   module loading - the old method is gone, so you'll need
+   to read the comments for 'setup_strings' near the top
+   of in2000.c. For people with CDROM's or other devices
+   that have a tough time with sync negotiation, you can
+   now selectively disable sync on individual devices -
+   search for the 'nosync' keyword in the command-line
+   comments. Some of you disable the BIOS on the card, which
+   caused the auto-detect function to fail; there is now a
+   command-line option to force detection of a ROM-less card.
+
+UPDATE NEWS: version 1.24a - 24 Feb 96
+
+   There was a bug in the synchronous transfer code. Only
+   a few people downloaded before I caught it - could have
+   been worse.
+
+UPDATE NEWS: version 1.24 - 23 Feb 96
+
+   Lots of good changes. Advice from Bill Earnest resulted
+   in much better detection of cards, more efficient usage
+   of the fifo, and (hopefully) faster data transfers. The
+   jury is still out on speed - I hope it's improved some.
+   One nifty new feature is a cool way of doing disconnect/
+   reselect. The driver defaults to what I'm calling
+   'adaptive disconnect' - meaning that each command is
+   evaluated individually as to whether or not it should be
+   run with the option to disconnect/reselect (if the device
+   chooses), or as a "SCSI-bus-hog". When several devices
+   are operating simultaneously, disconnects are usually an
+   advantage. In a single device system, or if only 1 device
+   is being accessed, transfers usually go faster if disconnects
+   are not allowed.
+
+
+
+The default arguments (you get these when you don't give an 'in2000'
+command-line argument, or you give a blank argument) will cause
+the driver to do adaptive disconnect, synchronous transfers, and a
+minimum of debug messages. If you want to fool with the options,
+search for 'setup_strings' near the top of the in2000.c file and
+check the 'hostdata->args' section in in2000.h - but be warned! Not
+everything is working yet (some things will never work, probably).
+I believe that disabling disconnects (DIS_NEVER) will allow you
+to choose a LEVEL2 value higher than 'L2_BASIC', but I haven't
+spent a lot of time testing this. You might try 'ENABLE_CLUSTERING'
+to see what happens: my tests showed little difference either way.
+There's also a define called 'DEFAULT_SX_PER'; this sets the data
+transfer speed for the asynchronous mode. I've put it at 500 ns
+despite the fact that the card could handle settings of 376 or
+252, because I'm not really sure if certain devices or maybe bad
+cables might have trouble at higher speeds. I couldn't find any
+info in my various SCSI references that talk about this in language
+I could understand, so decided to compromise with 500. This is still
+faster than the old driver was set at (I think). Can someone explain
+the significance of the bus transfer speed setting? Do devices on
+the bus ever care what it is? Is cable quality a factor here?
+Regardless, you can choose your own default through the command-
+line with the 'period' keyword.
+
+
+------------------------------------------------
+***********  DIP switch settings  **************
+------------------------------------------------
+
+   sw1-1 sw1-2    BIOS address (hex)
+   -----------------------------------------
+    off   off     C8000 - CBFF0
+    on    off     D8000 - DBFF0
+    off   on      D0000 - D3FF0
+    on    on      BIOS disabled
+
+   sw1-3 sw1-4    IO port address (hex)
+   ------------------------------------
+    off   off     220 - 22F
+    on    off     200 - 20F
+    off   on      110 - 11F
+    on    on      100 - 10F
+
+   sw1-5 sw1-6 sw1-7    Interrupt
+   ------------------------------
+    off   off   off     15
+    off   on    off     14
+    off   off   on      11
+    off   on    on      10
+    on    -     -       disabled
+
+   sw1-8 function depends on BIOS version. In earlier versions this
+   controlled synchronous data transfer support for MSDOS:
+      off = disabled
+      on  = enabled
+   In later ROMs (starting with 01.3 in April 1994) sw1-8 controls
+   the "greater than 2 disk drive" feature that first appeared in
+   MSDOS 5.0 (ignored by Linux):
+      off = 2 drives maximum
+      on  = 7 drives maximum
+
+   sw1-9    Floppy controller
+   --------------------------
+    off     disabled
+    on      enabled
+
+------------------------------------------------
+
+   I should mention that Drew Eckhardt's 'Generic NCR5380' sources
+   were my main inspiration, with lots of reference to the IN2000
+   driver currently distributed in the kernel source. I also owe
+   much to a driver written by Hamish Macdonald for Linux-m68k(!).
+   And to Eric Wright for being an ALPHA guinea pig. And to Bill
+   Earnest for 2 tons of great input and information. And to David
+   Willmore for extensive 'bonnie' testing. And to Joe Mack for
+   continual testing and feedback.
+
+
+            John Shifflett    jshiffle@netcom.com
+

FUNET's LINUX-ADM group, linux-adm@nic.funet.fi
TCL-scripts by Sam Shen, slshen@lbl.gov