164 lines
8.4 KiB
Plaintext
164 lines
8.4 KiB
Plaintext
|
The BusLogic FlashPoint SCSI Host Adapters are now fully supported on Linux.
|
|||
|
|
The upgrade program described below has been officially terminated effective
|
|||
|
|
31 March 1997 since it is no longer needed.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
MYLEX INTRODUCES LINUX OPERATING SYSTEM SUPPORT FOR ITS
|
|||
|
|
BUSLOGIC FLASHPOINT LINE OF SCSI HOST ADAPTERS
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
FREMONT, CA, -- October 8, 1996 -- Mylex Corporation has expanded Linux
|
|||
|
|
operating system support to its BusLogic brand of FlashPoint Ultra SCSI
|
|||
|
|
host adapters. All of BusLogic's other SCSI host adapters, including the
|
|||
|
|
MultiMaster line, currently support the Linux operating system. Linux
|
|||
|
|
drivers and information will be available on October 15th at
|
|||
|
|
http://sourceforge.net/projects/dandelion/.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"Mylex is committed to supporting the Linux community," says Peter Shambora,
|
|||
|
|
vice president of marketing for Mylex. "We have supported Linux driver
|
|||
|
|
development and provided technical support for our host adapters for several
|
|||
|
|
years, and are pleased to now make our FlashPoint products available to this
|
|||
|
|
user base."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The Linux Operating System
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Linux is a freely-distributed implementation of UNIX for Intel x86, Sun
|
|||
|
|
SPARC, SGI MIPS, Motorola 68k, Digital Alpha AXP and Motorola PowerPC
|
|||
|
|
machines. It supports a wide range of software, including the X Window
|
|||
|
|
System, Emacs, and TCP/IP networking. Further information is available at
|
|||
|
|
http://www.linux.org and http://www.ssc.com/.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
FlashPoint Host Adapters
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The FlashPoint family of Ultra SCSI host adapters, designed for workstation
|
|||
|
|
and file server environments, are available in narrow, wide, dual channel,
|
|||
|
|
and dual channel wide versions. These adapters feature SeqEngine
|
|||
|
|
automation technology, which minimizes SCSI command overhead and reduces
|
|||
|
|
the number of interrupts generated to the CPU.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
About Mylex
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Mylex Corporation (NASDAQ/NM SYMBOL: MYLX), founded in 1983, is a leading
|
|||
|
|
producer of RAID technology and network management products. The company
|
|||
|
|
produces high performance disk array (RAID) controllers, and complementary
|
|||
|
|
computer products for network servers, mass storage systems, workstations
|
|||
|
|
and system boards. Through its wide range of RAID controllers and its
|
|||
|
|
BusLogic line of Ultra SCSI host adapter products, Mylex provides enabling
|
|||
|
|
intelligent I/O technologies that increase network management control,
|
|||
|
|
enhance CPU utilization, optimize I/O performance, and ensure data security
|
|||
|
|
and availability. Products are sold globally through a network of OEMs,
|
|||
|
|
major distributors, VARs, and system integrators. Mylex Corporation is
|
|||
|
|
headquartered at 34551 Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont, CA.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
####
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Contact:
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Peter Shambora
|
|||
|
|
Vice President of Marketing
|
|||
|
|
Mylex Corp.
|
|||
|
|
510/796-6100
|
|||
|
|
peters@mylex.com
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
ANNOUNCEMENT
|
|||
|
|
BusLogic FlashPoint LT/BT-948 Upgrade Program
|
|||
|
|
1 February 1996
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT
|
|||
|
|
BusLogic FlashPoint LW/BT-958 Upgrade Program
|
|||
|
|
14 June 1996
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Ever since its introduction last October, the BusLogic FlashPoint LT has
|
|||
|
|
been problematic for members of the Linux community, in that no Linux
|
|||
|
|
drivers have been available for this new Ultra SCSI product. Despite its
|
|||
|
|
officially being positioned as a desktop workstation product, and not being
|
|||
|
|
particularly well suited for a high performance multitasking operating
|
|||
|
|
system like Linux, the FlashPoint LT has been touted by computer system
|
|||
|
|
vendors as the latest thing, and has been sold even on many of their high
|
|||
|
|
end systems, to the exclusion of the older MultiMaster products. This has
|
|||
|
|
caused grief for many people who inadvertently purchased a system expecting
|
|||
|
|
that all BusLogic SCSI Host Adapters were supported by Linux, only to
|
|||
|
|
discover that the FlashPoint was not supported and would not be for quite
|
|||
|
|
some time, if ever.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
After this problem was identified, BusLogic contacted its major OEM
|
|||
|
|
customers to make sure the BT-946C/956C MultiMaster cards would still be
|
|||
|
|
made available, and that Linux users who mistakenly ordered systems with
|
|||
|
|
the FlashPoint would be able to upgrade to the BT-946C. While this helped
|
|||
|
|
many purchasers of new systems, it was only a partial solution to the
|
|||
|
|
overall problem of FlashPoint support for Linux users. It did nothing to
|
|||
|
|
assist the people who initially purchased a FlashPoint for a supported
|
|||
|
|
operating system and then later decided to run Linux, or those who had
|
|||
|
|
ended up with a FlashPoint LT, believing it was supported, and were unable
|
|||
|
|
to return it.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
In the middle of December, I asked to meet with BusLogic's senior
|
|||
|
|
management to discuss the issues related to Linux and free software support
|
|||
|
|
for the FlashPoint. Rumors of varying accuracy had been circulating
|
|||
|
|
publicly about BusLogic's attitude toward the Linux community, and I felt
|
|||
|
|
it was best that these issues be addressed directly. I sent an email
|
|||
|
|
message after 11pm one evening, and the meeting took place the next
|
|||
|
|
afternoon. Unfortunately, corporate wheels sometimes grind slowly,
|
|||
|
|
especially when a company is being acquired, and so it's taken until now
|
|||
|
|
before the details were completely determined and a public statement could
|
|||
|
|
be made.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
BusLogic is not prepared at this time to release the information necessary
|
|||
|
|
for third parties to write drivers for the FlashPoint. The only existing
|
|||
|
|
FlashPoint drivers have been written directly by BusLogic Engineering, and
|
|||
|
|
there is no FlashPoint documentation sufficiently detailed to allow outside
|
|||
|
|
developers to write a driver without substantial assistance. While there
|
|||
|
|
are people at BusLogic who would rather not release the details of the
|
|||
|
|
FlashPoint architecture at all, that debate has not yet been settled either
|
|||
|
|
way. In any event, even if documentation were available today it would
|
|||
|
|
take quite a while for a usable driver to be written, especially since I'm
|
|||
|
|
not convinced that the effort required would be worthwhile.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
However, BusLogic does remain committed to providing a high performance
|
|||
|
|
SCSI solution for the Linux community, and does not want to see anyone left
|
|||
|
|
unable to run Linux because they have a Flashpoint LT. Therefore, BusLogic
|
|||
|
|
has put in place a direct upgrade program to allow any Linux user worldwide
|
|||
|
|
to trade in their FlashPoint LT for the new BT-948 MultiMaster PCI Ultra
|
|||
|
|
SCSI Host Adapter. The BT-948 is the Ultra SCSI successor to the BT-946C
|
|||
|
|
and has all the best features of both the BT-946C and FlashPoint LT,
|
|||
|
|
including smart termination and a flash PROM for easy firmware updates, and
|
|||
|
|
is of course compatible with the present Linux driver. The price for this
|
|||
|
|
upgrade has been set at US $45 plus shipping and handling, and the upgrade
|
|||
|
|
program will be administered through BusLogic Technical Support, which can
|
|||
|
|
be reached by electronic mail at techsup@buslogic.com, by Voice at +1 408
|
|||
|
|
654-0760, or by FAX at +1 408 492-1542.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
As of 14 June 1996, the original BusLogic FlashPoint LT to BT-948 upgrade
|
|||
|
|
program has now been extended to encompass the FlashPoint LW Wide Ultra
|
|||
|
|
SCSI Host Adapter. Any Linux user worldwide may trade in their FlashPoint
|
|||
|
|
LW (BT-950) for a BT-958 MultiMaster PCI Ultra SCSI Host Adapter. The
|
|||
|
|
price for this upgrade has been set at US $65 plus shipping and handling.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I was a beta test site for the BT-948/958, and versions 1.2.1 and 1.3.1 of
|
|||
|
|
my BusLogic driver already included latent support for the BT-948/958.
|
|||
|
|
Additional cosmetic support for the Ultra SCSI MultiMaster cards was added
|
|||
|
|
subsequent releases. As a result of this cooperative testing process,
|
|||
|
|
several firmware bugs were found and corrected. My heavily loaded Linux
|
|||
|
|
test system provided an ideal environment for testing error recovery
|
|||
|
|
processes that are much more rarely exercised in production systems, but
|
|||
|
|
are crucial to overall system stability. It was especially convenient
|
|||
|
|
being able to work directly with their firmware engineer in demonstrating
|
|||
|
|
the problems under control of the firmware debugging environment; things
|
|||
|
|
sure have come a long way since the last time I worked on firmware for an
|
|||
|
|
embedded system. I am presently working on some performance testing and
|
|||
|
|
expect to have some data to report in the not too distant future.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
BusLogic asked me to send this announcement since a large percentage of the
|
|||
|
|
questions regarding support for the FlashPoint have either been sent to me
|
|||
|
|
directly via email, or have appeared in the Linux newsgroups in which I
|
|||
|
|
participate. To summarize, BusLogic is offering Linux users an upgrade
|
|||
|
|
from the unsupported FlashPoint LT (BT-930) to the supported BT-948 for US
|
|||
|
|
$45 plus shipping and handling, or from the unsupported FlashPoint LW
|
|||
|
|
(BT-950) to the supported BT-958 for $65 plus shipping and handling.
|
|||
|
|
Contact BusLogic Technical Support at techsup@buslogic.com or +1 408
|
|||
|
|
654-0760 to take advantage of their offer.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Leonard N. Zubkoff
|
|||
|
|
lnz@dandelion.com
|