Subject: Re: SCSI disks & controllers
To: None <current-users@sun-lamp.cs.berkeley.edu>
From: Drew Hess <dhess@CS.Stanford.EDU>
List: current-users
Date: 02/26/1994 15:23:10
Roland McGrath writes:
> 
> I am currently using an ultrastor 34f, and also have an adaptec 1542c
> I used before.  I can generally recommend the Ultrastor as working
> fairly well, and it's supposedly real fast, VESA and all that (my SCSI
> devices are too slow for me to notice).
> 
> I did have to disable the external cache on my machine to avoid
> occasionally wedging with the Ultrastor controller.  I get the
> impression this is supposed to be the fault of my motherboard's VESA
> hardware though (I have a Gateway 2000 4DX2-66V).  Ultrastor sent me a
> firmware upgrade which didn't fix the problem (I am still running
> fine, just with no external cache, which would probably be a notable
> performance hit if I weren't already paging-bound).


This is the reason I avoided the Ultrastor 34F.  I have the same Gateway
system (Micronics JX-30 motherboard) and had heard about these problems
with the 34F.  I bought a Buslogic BT445S instead and have never had
a problem with it under NetBSD, OS/2 2.1, MS-DOS, or Windows NT.  Of course,
I have an older version of the firmware so I don't have the "round-robin
mailbox" problem that newer Buslogic boards have with the current bt742a.c
driver.


-dwh-
dhess@cs.stanford.edu

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