Cream of the Crop 20/Cream of the Crop 20 (Terry Blount) (1996).iso/os2/pcii0696.zip/PCISCSI.TXT

Text File | 1996-06-08 | 33KB | 653 lines

      Document:  PCI SCSI controllers for OS/2 list
    Maintainer:  Patrick Duffy, [e-mail]
    Revision Dates:  11/2/95, 11/26/95, 12/3/95, 5/18/96, 5/26/96,
              6/2/96
       Archived at:  ftp.netcom.com, in directory /pub/ab/abe/
             CompuServe (GO BENCHMARK)
     Web pages:  http://warp.eecs.berkeley.edu/os2/workbench/work.htm
             http://www.os2forum.or.at/english/info/os2hardwareinfo/
             (note that the first URL may not have up-to-date
             versions of the lists)

This document is intended for use by individuals and corporations in a
non-commercial manner.    It may be distributed freely within those
limitations.  Commercial use of this document in any manner requires
prior written permission of the author.

This is the PCI SCSI controllers for OS/2 list. I've placed a '*' beside
the cards which I would recommend for anyone assembling an OS/2 system.
If you see '**' beside a particular card, this is an indication that I
would choose it myself when picking a PCI SCSI card for my own system.
The PCI vendor name and ID have been added in brackets below each card's
description.  The first number is HEX and the second is decimal. Dates
in brackets indicate the last revision date for the related entry.

As usual, please feel free to correct any continuing misconceptions I
might have, or to insist that I should recommend a component I don't, or
to add a new card/bit of information to what's here already.  Your
contributions and/or corrections are always welcome and certainly
appreciated.

General comments: (12/3/95)

Make sure that for any SCSI device (if you have an Intel Premiere board)
you have at least the seventh or eighth revision of the Intel PCI BIOS
on your motherboard (rev. 14 is out for the 90/100 MHz boards, and is
preferred). Earlier AMI BIOS revisions would not work properly with SCSI
and (apparently) protected mode.  In addition, it turns out that some
SCSI cards will only work with some motherboards. If you're not sure
what card to pick, cross-check this list with the PCI motherboard list.
Note also that the Intel PCI Saturn chipset (rev. 1) had problems with
cache integrity, and rev. 2 had problems with PCI to CPU burst mode, so
that you're probably really better running these motherboards without
SCSI controllers, or at the very least with all caches off.  See the PCI
chipsets list for further details on known problems with (Intel) PCI
chipsets.

One other motherboard-related issue apparently is that not all PCI slots
on all motherboards allow busmastering.  As all the cards in this list
_are_ busmastering, ensure that the slot in which you put your SCSI card
will accommodate a busmaster.  Certain controllers (the Adaptecs most
prominently) behave very erratically when put in a non-busmastering
slot.

Many motherboard manufacturers simplify the choice of SCSI controller
further by including an NCR SCSI chip (for which there are OS/2 drivers)
in their boards, so there is the potential that if you buy one of the
cards listed below you could be buying a redundant SCSI interface. Check
first.    Make sure too that you are running version 3.02 or later of the
drivers for the NCR chip (available from ftp.symbios.com); earlier
versions did not allow DMA transfers above 16 MB.  Note too that PCI
SCSI controllers do not include floppy controllers on-board, as most PCI
motherboards have these built in already, and fixed-address devices like
floppy drives are not a good thing to put on a PCI bus.

Also note:  OS/2 2.1/2.11 treats PCI as a (very fast) ISA bus.    It
therefore is unaware of PCI's ability to share interrupts, and so if you
put two of any one controller in any slot you're likely to have
problems.  This has been fixed in Warp, which is now apparently PCI
2.0-compliant.

One more thing:  If you have a motherboard with the NCR BIOS built in
and you get an NCR card, make sure you get a card without the NCR bios
on it, to save yourself some potential trouble that some card BIOSes
seem to have coexisting with motherboard BIOSes (which cannot be
disabled).  I'm told that the newest rev. of the Intel BIOS
(1.00.14.AX1) will also fix this problem for those of you with Intel
Premiere boards.

If, after all this, you're having problems getting your OS/2 SCSI setup
to work, a very useful resource on the .net is the document "SCSI - A
Game With Many Rules and no Rulebook?", compiled by Gary Field
([e-mail]).    The document may be found at
ftp://ftp.wang.com/pub/garyf/scsi/.  You might also check out the SCSI
FAQ:

Where to get the latest copy of the SCSI FAQ:
  The comp.periphs.scsi FAQ is posted to Usenet during the first week
  of each month. In addition, a recent version can be obtained
  via anonymous ftp from:
  ftp.wang.com:
      garyf/scsi/scsi-faq.part*
  OR
  rtfm.mit.edu:
      pub/usenet-by-group/comp.periphs.scsi/comp.periphs.scsi_FAQ_part_*
  OR
  via World Wide Web (WWW):
  http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/scsi-faq/
  OR
  (in HTML format)
  http://www.paranoia.com/~filipg/HTML/LINK/F_SCSI.html

                 NEW THIS WEEK
                 -------------

I've added the Tyan Yorktown controller to this list, and added the Tyan
contact information to the useful numbers section below.  I've also
added the WD 7197 controller, also reported to work well with Warp.

Apparently the DPT controllers require the latest driver (not the one
that comes with Warp) to avoid traps with OS2ASPI.DMD.  That can be
obtained from the DPT web site.  I've had another report of success with
the BusLogic Flashpoint controller, and a report of qualified success
with the WD 7296 controller.  The NCR controllers apparently do not
support drives with more than 64 heads and 1024 cylinders.  In addition,
the 2940 controller may not work with the Asus PVI-486SP3.

I've also learned that the PCI slots in 2.0-compliant boards are
edge-triggered.  This is in direct contradiction to information which
I've had before...

I've also added new (and expanded) contact information for Intel.

Useful Numbers: (6/2/96)
---------------
Adaptec:     [phone] (tech. support)
         ftp.adaptec.com (ftp site)
         www.adaptec.com (web site)
         ftp.adaptec.com (ftp site)

Advansys:     [phone] (main desk)
         [phone] (direct credit card sales)
         [phone] (tech. support -- 24 hours)
         [phone] (FAXback)
         [phone] (FAX)
         [phone] (BBS - N81)
         ftp.advansys.com (FTP site)
         www.advansys.com (WWW site)

BusLogic:     [phone] (Voice)
         [phone] (tech. support -- 7 A.M. - 5 P.M.
                 Pacific Time, Mon. - Fri.)
         [phone] (FAX)
         [phone] (BBS - N81)
         [e-mail] (E-Mail tech. support)
         ftp.buslogic.com (FTP site)
         www.buslogic.com (WWW site)

DPT:         (800) 322-4DPT (sales)
         [phone] (tech. support)
         [phone] (BBS)
         ftp.dpt.com (FTP site)
         www.dpt.com (WWW site)

Intel:           [phone] (tech. support)

                 FAXBack:
                 --------
                 [phone]  (US or Canada)
                 [phone] (Europe)
                 [phone]    (Singapore)
                 [phone] (Hong Kong)
                 [phone] (Taiwan)
                 [phone]   (Korea)
                 [phone]  (Australia)
                 [phone]  (World wide)

                 BBSes:
                 ------
                 [phone]  (US or Canada/World wide)
                 [phone] (Europe)
                 [phone]    (Singapore)
                 [phone] (Hong Kong)
                 [phone] (Taiwan)
                 [phone]   (Korea)
                 [phone]  (Australia)

                 ftp.intel.com (FTP site)
                 www.intel.com (WWW site)

NCR:             [e-mail] (OS/2 tech. support)
                 ftp.symbios.com (NCR SCSI drivers)

QLogic:          [phone] (sales)
                 [phone] (tech. support)
                 s