On 23 Sep 1999, Oleg Polyanski wrote:

> 	Too many magic,  IMO. In both  cases.  I vote for  good device naming
> 	scheme that will prevent from annoying mistakes.

Well, you're certainly welcome to your opinion. But:

1) you can't get deterministic numbers with just cloning devices (sd* at
scsibus? ...). That's why we tell folks you've got to wire things down.

2) a number of storage systems, like fibre channel, need cloning devices.
There's no way to wire things down a la c0tXlYpZ - it just won't work. :-)

Remember, you're using the GENERIC kernel, a one-size-fits-all kernel. We
use only cloning devices so that this one kernel will work with whatever
folks have. Also, it reduces the foot print in /dev.

While I think everyone will agree that the present system isn't that
friendly to the new user, I think a better fix is to help set up custom
config files for given hardware setups.

Take care,

Bill