[2704] in linux-scsi channel archive
NCR 53C720 Linux SCSI Driver ...when?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (highlndr@MNSi.net)
Wed Oct 29 21:27:44 1997
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 21:16:44 -0500
To: linux-scsi@vger.rutgers.edu
From: "." <highlndr@MNSi.net>
The Linux SCSI HOWTO (by Drew Eckhardt), v2.30, 30 August 1996, stated the following:
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Drivers which will work with modifications
NCR53c8x0/7x0:
A NCR53c8xx driver has been developed, but currently will not work
with NCR53c700, NCR53c700-66, NCR53c710, and NCR53c720 chips. A list
of changes needed to make each of these chips work follows, as well
as a summary of the complexity.
NCR53c720 (trivial) - detection changes, initialization changes, change
fixup code to translate '810 register addresses to
'7xx mapping.
NCR53c710 (trivial) - detection changes, initialization changes,
of assembler, change fixup code to translate '810 register
addresses to '7xx mapping, change interrupt handlers to treat
IID interrupt from INTFLY instruction to emulate it.
NCR53c700, NCR53c700-66 (very messy) - detection changes,
initialization changes, modification of NCR code to not use DSA,
modification of Linux code to handle context switches.
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I have an Acculogic, VESApport, VLB SCSI-2 Fast-Wide controller card which uses an
NCR 53C720 chip to run the show. It came with Dos, Win3.11, WinNT, Netware, OS/2,
SCO UNIX drivers! Digital has servers and workstations that run using this chip in single and
RAID systems, DPT has a couple of SMARTCACHE cards that run on it, Always, AMI has
a high end DUAL LAN/MULTI SCSI channel card too, many High end DSP's (ex TMS...) use it to directly
access SCSI channels, NASA built some daughtercards around this chip.
Clearly there are enough demand out there for the "Trivial" to modifications the author
above claims are needed.
Is there a Linux coder out there working on this? I've seen at least 4 kernel updates/patches to the 7xx/8xx
driver in the development kernel, but don't know if any of this covers the 710/720 chips which are very similar,
like brothers. I'm looking for answers. Is someone working on adding support for these chips & their advanced
functions/features or not?
If so, which development kernel will have the updates that would include my 720 based card and which
stable kernel will the non-beta update be released in?
I'm not going to attempt to put Linux on my machine if there is no support for my main SCSI card!
I use the card with 2 SCSI-2 FAST-WIDE drives. A 2GB IBM Ultrastar XP and a Fujitsu M2954QAU 4GB drive,
both 7200 rpm, both use PRML and MR head technology. Its a shame to not have them screamming away
in Linux...definitely wasted in an MS/BS OS !
James
