[KLUG Members] New or Used SCSI Boards

[Bruce Smith]

> > I used to respect your opinion on hardware, until I read that!   :-)
> 
> You gotta realize that I've got just about _any_ Adaptec card ever
> produced.  From the 1542, to the VLB 2842 (which I attempted to fix
> the Adaptec driver back in 1995 -- partially successful at it too)
> to the 2940 and 3940s.  Anything wide, ultra or more than one
> channel has always result in hangs.  I've got a few that work fine,
> but many take issues with just about any driver I throw at it.

You've got me beat there.

We have a bunch of IBM Intellistations with onboard dual-channel
Adaptec 7895 controllers, and I haven't run into any problems
running Linux on those from Redhat 6.2 and beyond.

> > I run Adaptec 2490 & 7895 controllers on about a dozen Linux servers
> > and workstations and they ALL WORK GREAT!!!
> 
> The 7850/60 (AVA-2902/2906/2910) and similar "peripherial only"
> fast/narrow cards are fine.  And even an old 1542 and fast/narrow
> 2940 works fairly good for me.  But the 2940s and most newer cards
> are "iffy."  I've got a 50/50 chance the driver will work perfectly
> or bomb when I especially don't need it to!

I also have a handful of 2940UW cards, and 2930 narrow cards.
(the KLUG web server is running all SCSI disks on a 2940UW)
Again, I haven't had any problems since prior to Redhat 6.2.

> And forget multiple channels -- I've had more success with Symbios
> Logic chipsets and multiple channels than Adaptec even outside of
> Linux!

The onboard dual channel 7895's on my Intellistations are all fine.

> > In all fairness, there was one point in time in the 2.2.x kernel
> > lifecycle where the driver was being rewritten (with Adaptec's help)
> > where there were major problems with those controllers.  Since the
> > rewrite, all the Adaptec controllers I've tried work great!
> 
> That has happened 6 times now over the past 5 years!  _That's_ why I
> can*NOT* trust Adaptec!

I only recall one time period where I had problems.
Maybe I haven't been using Adaptec controllers long enough.

> When the kernel developers used to create their own drivers, they
> worked great!  Then Adaptec finally started supporting Linux circa
> 97/98 -- and introduced "official" drivers, which the kernel
> maintainers blindly took.  They sucked!  And since then I've gone
> back and forth, back and forth with drivers and firmware updates
> (usually by requesting a PROM, as older devices don't have flash) --
> usually its a combo of a new driver *NOT* supporting an old
> firmware/BIOS revision.  This seems to _still_ plague even the 2.4.x
> kernel to a good extent.
> 
> RedHat has tried its best to keep its kernel RPMs in-sync with the
> latest Adaptec releases, but even that seems to backfire half the
> time.  And when it comes to the stock kernel -- forget it, at least
> RedHat tests their RPMs for months before release.
> 
> Symbios Logic and Advansys cards are cheaper, faster and have more
> stable drivers.  Advansys has been producing drivers for Linux
> themselves since 1994/95 (the first SCSI vendor to do so), and
> Symbios Logic is open with their technical details.  Hence why
> you'll find Symbios Logic on non-Intel mainboards, whereas Adaptec
> is largely a Wintel-only proposition.
> 
> Adaptec _continues_ to _withhold_ technical information from driver
> developers.  They also _fail_ to produce Linux drivers for their
> RAID cards (the only ones that have Linux drivers are the products
> they acquired from DPT).  This is _very_sad_.  I _refuse_ to support
> such a vendor.  Especially when superior products are available from
> others.
> 
> People buy Adaptec for the "brand name."  People are even more
> foolish to buy Promise for the "brand name."  Both of these vendors
> are the _worst_ supporters of free OSes, and their products regulary
> _lose_ on both benchmarks and price comparisons versus other vendors
> products -- vendors who support Linux better.  No, Adaptec won't
> ever get my money again -- given them $10K in sales over the years
> and they fail me _way_too_much_.

Okay, you've restored some of my faith in your hardware expertise!  :-)

> -- TheBS
>    Linux user since 1993

I'm a Linux user since 1994, and I still have my original 
(date stamped) Yggdrasil CD to prove it!   :-)

Support for Adaptec 154x/174x is printed right on that CD!

I wonder if the 900 number for tech support (@ $2.95/min)
printed on the CD still works?  ;-)

Maybe I should add my 1994 Yggdrasil to the list of CD's 
KLUG sells?   :-)

--------------------------------------------
Bruce Smith                bruce@armintl.com
System Administrator / Network Administrator
Armstrong International, Inc.
Three Rivers, Michigan  49093  USA
http://www.armstrong-intl.com/
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