Subject: Re: SMD disk support status? Does it WORK?
To: Elijah Wright <ewright@multipro.com>
From: Jason Thorpe <thorpej@nas.nasa.gov>
List: port-sun3
Date: 07/14/1996 08:17:08
On Sat, 13 Jul 1996 23:35:49 -0500 
 Elijah Wright <ewright@multipro.com> wrote:

 > I'll be getting a 3/260 with the Xylogics SMD disk controller and disk pack
 > on monday, and want to know what the current state of the driver is.  Is
 > anyone out there using it with NetBSD?  Does it work decently?  If so, I'll
 > blast SunOS off the drive and NetBSD it all the way on that box.  After all,
 > I get install media for Sunos too.  =)

Some months ago, someone submitted a PR that got the SMD (at least one 
flavor; xd, I believe) working.  The same problems existed in the xy 
driver, and they were fixed as well, I believe.  I've put the author of 
the drivers (Chuck Cranor) on the CC line; he should be able to answer 
this accurately.  I know chuck is using the drivers under NetBSD/sparc.

 > On another note, is the tape support still "broken" as was rumored a few
 > months ago?  I'm getting a tape drive as well, and suspect that it may also
 > be as cranky as the SMD stuff.  <cheesy grin>

If it's the QIC tape behind Emulex bridge, I don't know.  I have, 
however, recently resurrected my 3/60 (which has been running NetBSD 
ever since I bought it from a friend of mine, but was turned off mostly 
due to the weather getting warmer in San Jose :-).  I have one of these 
tape bridges and matching Wangtek drive.  I was thinking of going on a 
bug hunt...

BTW, other port-sun3'ers who had been experiencing "everything dumps 
core" lossage... Once I got the kernel and libraries up to date, I 
decided to go ahead and use X while I build the world.  That's been 
running for a day and a half, now, and the system is thusfar rock-solid.
The only thing odd so far is that my emacs appears to have wedged while 
the dailies were running, though it _is_ emacs, so it's not really that 
odd, I guess... *duck*  :-)

Ciao.

 -- save the ancient forests - http://www.bayarea.net/~thorpej/forest/ -- 
Jason R. Thorpe                                       thorpej@nas.nasa.gov
NASA Ames Research Center                               Home: 408.866.1912
NAS: M/S 258-6                                          Work: 415.604.0935
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