Subject: Re: Sigh, will DSSI disks *ever* work with NetBSD?
To: None <port-vax@netbsd.org>
From: None <roart@nvg.ntnu.no>
List: port-vax
Date: 07/22/2003 12:30:18
On Wed, Nov 20, 2002 at 02:00:34PM +0100, Johnny Billquist wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Nov 2002, Jochen Kunz wrote:
> 
> > On Wed, Nov 20, 2002 at 04:27:02AM -0800, Thomas Dzubin wrote:
> > 
> > > Will DSSI ever work with NetBSD?
> > Not in the near future and possibly never. DSSI is a only different 
> > physical interface for CI. I.e. it is the same as the big star coupler 
> > coax cable based CI found on big VAXen, only with a "cheap" physical
> > interface. If we want support for DSSI disks, we have to implement a 
> > complete CI framework. This is doable, but it will be a big task and 
> > we would need documentation about CI and the accompanying protocols.
> > This stuff is made out of solid unobtainium. I had to learn this 
> > when I tried st start with DSSI support... 
> 
> The best (and perhaps only) realistic approach is to free the Ultrix

Do HP or someone else still care?
I have seen the sources for Ultrix 4.2/4.3 and OSF1 2.0 available on ftp,
and the oldest site (main?) is still there.
(The socalled International Free Computing Task Force has "freed" Ultrix)

> source, and use the mscp framework from there. Then we'd have the DSSI, CI
> and everything else supported right away.

The SCA/SCS (System Communication Architecture/System Communication Services)
protocols are used here, are they not?

I have found some publicly available specs for SCA/SCS on CI.
There is also implementation code and drivers (but not for DSSI.)
(This has nothing to do with IFCTF and has a different legal status)

-Roar Thronęs