Subject: Re: Risc PC as a network server?
To: Ben Harris <bjh21@netbsd.org>
From: Mike Pumford <mpumford@mpc-data.co.uk>
List: port-arm32
Date: 02/19/2002 10:43:40
> In article <0591f80a4b.peter@riscpc01.reading.fourcom.com> you write:

> >I would like to configure a server on the network - mainly to act as
> >a file server, but also handling mail and news.  Would it be
> >reasonable to use a RPC/StrongARM for this function, running
> >ARMLinux or NetBSD.  I realise that the RPC bus is not particularly
> >fast and I should really be thinking in terms of either one of the
> >neat 1U rack-mount units, a PC box with Linux/NetBSD or one of the
> >(Strong)ARM based embedded/prototype boards.  However, I do fancy
> >trying to do it with a RPC.
> 
> There's no particular reason why it shouldn't work.  NetBSD/acorn32 (the new
> name for NetBSD/arm32 on Acorn machines) is in somewhat of a state of flux
> at the moment, but it basically works well.
> 
It works pretty well for this. I have been doing this with my RiscPC for the 
last couple of years. Its not as fast as PC but it is more limited by the 
10Mbit network rather than anything else.

> Either that or buy two cards and give one to a friendly developer.
> 
Some information from APDL would be required as well.

> >I believe that the claims for the Arcin card are that it will achieve
> >more than 4MB/s under RISC OS and the Blitz ~7.5MB/s.  Would these figures
> >be matched by the Linux/NetBSD driver.
> 
> I'm not sure, but I'd expect it to be close.  If we can set the IDE modes
> used by the card correctly, it basically comes down to how fast we can do
> bulk reads off the card, and there's no reason we should be slower than
> RISC OS there.  There's interrupt latency and stuff to consider as well, of
> course, but that should be a minor concern.
> 
I think BSD matches RISC OS performance for the other IDE podules so I don't 
see why this would be different.

> >Does anyone intend to make a driver for the forthcoming Castle 100bT
> >network cards (which use the SMSC LAN91C111 controller)?
> 
> I'd like to support them (and we've already got a driver for the chip), but
> I'd need some hardware and I'm reluctant to pay full price.  Also, my home
> network is only 10BASE, so I may not be the best candidate for testing
> 100BASE-TX support.
> 
Well I have the 100M network and could probably afford the card providing that 
Castle are helpful with respect to technical info. Does anyone know if it uses 
DMA? The RiscPC DMA code in NetBSD is somewhat lacking. I have been looking at 
it recently with a view to using it in some of the SCSI drivers.

Mike