Re: [PATCH 0/5] Bring the BusLogic host bus adapter driver up to Y2021

[Maciej W. Rozycki]

On Mon, 19 Apr 2021, Khalid Aziz wrote:

> >  Khalid: I have skimmed over these documents and I infer 24-bit addressing 
> > can be verified with any MultiMaster adapter, including ones that do have 
> > 32-bit addressing implemented, by using the legacy Initialize Mailbox HBA 
> > command.  That could be used to stop Christoph's recent changes for older 
> > adapter support removal and replace them with proper fixes for whatever 
> > has become broken.  Is that something you'd be willing as the driver's 
> > maintainer to look into, or shall I?
> 
> Do you mean use OpCode 01 (INITIALIZE MAILBOX) to set a 24-bit address
> for mailbox in place of OpCode 81? Verifying the change would be a
> challenge. Do you have an old adapter to test it with? If you do, go
> ahead and make the changes. I will be happy to review. I have only a
> BT-757 adapter.

 Yes, but upon inspection it looks like our driver doesn't use that opcode 
and relies solely on 32-bit Mode Initialize Mailbox (0x81) even with ISA 
devices.  That makes sense as documentation indicates the firmware has 
been designed to be unified so that the same binary microcontroller code 
runs across all BusLogic MultiMaster devices.

 Anyway given the unified API it should be straightforward to simulate an 
older adapter with a newer one, except for host bus protocol differences.  
So verifying the workaround for broken BT-445S adapters continues to work 
once modernised is not going to be a problem as it can be unconditionally 
activated in a debug environment.  That would verify correct DMA bounce 
buffer operation under the new scheme.

 Verifying actual ISA operations (third-party DMA, etc.) cannot be made 
this way, but as I understand the issue there is merely with passing data 
structures around and that may not require too much attention beyond 
getting things syntactically correct, which I gather someone forgot to do 
with a change made a while ago.  So that should be doable as well.

 NB as noted before I only have a BT-958 readily wired for operation.  I 
don't expect I have any other BusLogic hardware, but I may yet have to 
double-check a stash of hardware I have accumulated over the years.  But 
that is overseas, so I won't be able to get at it before we're at least 
somewhat closer to normality.  If all else fails I could possibly buy one.

 I have respun the series now as promised.  Does your BT-757 adapter avoid 
the issue with trailing allocation somehow?

  Maciej

Re: [PATCH 0/5] Bring the BusLogic host bus adapter driver up to Y2021

[Khalid Aziz]

On 4/19/21 10:01 AM, Maciej W. Rozycki wrote:
> On Mon, 19 Apr 2021, Khalid Aziz wrote:
> 
>> On 4/18/21 2:21 PM, Ondrej Zary wrote:
>>>
>>> Found the 3000763 document here:
>>> https://doc.lagout.org/science/0_Computer Science/0_Computer 
>>> History/old-hardware/buslogic/3000763_PCI_EISA_Wide_SCSI_Tech_Ref_Dec94.pdf
>>>
>>> There's also 3002593 there:
>>> https://doc.lagout.org/science/0_Computer Science/0_Computer 
>>> History/old-hardware/buslogic/
>>>
>>
>> Thanks!!!
> 
>  Ondrej: Thanks a lot indeed!  These documents seem to have the essential 
> interface details all covered, except for Fast-20 SCSI adapters, which I 
> guess are a minor modification from the software's point of view.
> 
>  Khalid: I have skimmed over these documents and I infer 24-bit addressing 
> can be verified with any MultiMaster adapter, including ones that do have 
> 32-bit addressing implemented, by using the legacy Initialize Mailbox HBA 
> command.  That could be used to stop Christoph's recent changes for older 
> adapter support removal and replace them with proper fixes for whatever 
> has become broken.  Is that something you'd be willing as the driver's 
> maintainer to look into, or shall I?
> 

Hi Maciej,

Do you mean use OpCode 01 (INITIALIZE MAILBOX) to set a 24-bit address
for mailbox in place of OpCode 81? Verifying the change would be a
challenge. Do you have an old adapter to test it with? If you do, go
ahead and make the changes. I will be happy to review. I have only a
BT-757 adapter.

Thanks,
Khalid

Re: [PATCH 0/5] Bring the BusLogic host bus adapter driver up to Y2021

[Maciej W. Rozycki]

On Mon, 19 Apr 2021, Khalid Aziz wrote:

> On 4/18/21 2:21 PM, Ondrej Zary wrote:
> > 
> > Found the 3000763 document here:
> > https://doc.lagout.org/science/0_Computer Science/0_Computer 
> > History/old-hardware/buslogic/3000763_PCI_EISA_Wide_SCSI_Tech_Ref_Dec94.pdf
> > 
> > There's also 3002593 there:
> > https://doc.lagout.org/science/0_Computer Science/0_Computer 
> > History/old-hardware/buslogic/
> > 
> 
> Thanks!!!

 Ondrej: Thanks a lot indeed!  These documents seem to have the essential 
interface details all covered, except for Fast-20 SCSI adapters, which I 
guess are a minor modification from the software's point of view.

 Khalid: I have skimmed over these documents and I infer 24-bit addressing 
can be verified with any MultiMaster adapter, including ones that do have 
32-bit addressing implemented, by using the legacy Initialize Mailbox HBA 
command.  That could be used to stop Christoph's recent changes for older 
adapter support removal and replace them with proper fixes for whatever 
has become broken.  Is that something you'd be willing as the driver's 
maintainer to look into, or shall I?

  Maciej

Re: [PATCH 0/5] Bring the BusLogic host bus adapter driver up to Y2021

[Khalid Aziz]

On 4/18/21 2:21 PM, Ondrej Zary wrote:
> On Friday 16 April 2021 23:25:18 Maciej W. Rozycki wrote:
>> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021, Khalid Aziz wrote:
>>
  Sadly I didn't get to these resources while they were still there, and 
 neither did archive.org, and now they not appear available from anywhere 
 online.  I'm sure Leonard had this all, but, alas, he is long gone too.
>>>
>>> These documents were all gone by the time I started working on this
>>> driver in 2013.
>>
>>  According to my e-mail archives I got my BT-958 directly from Mylex brand 
>> new as KT-958 back in early 1998 (the rest of the system is a bit older).  
>> It wasn't up until 2003 when I was caught by the issue with the LOG SENSE 
>> command that I got interested in the programming details of the adapter.  
>>
>>  At that time Mylex was in flux already, having been bought by LSI shortly 
>> before.  Support advised me what was there at Leonard's www.dandelion.com 
>> site was all that was available (I have a personal copy of the site) and 
>> they would suggest to switch to their current products.  So it was too 
>> late already ten years before you got at the driver.
>>
>>  I'll yet double-check the contents of the KT-958 kit which I have kept, 
>> but if there was any technical documentation supplied there on a CD (which 
>> I doubt), I would have surely discovered it earlier.  It's away along with 
>> the server, remotely managed, ~160km/100mi from here, so it'll be some 
>> time before I get at it though.
>>
>>  Still, maybe one of the SCSI old-timers has that stuff stashed somewhere.  
>> I have plenty of technical documentation going back to early to mid 1990s 
>> (some in the hard copy form), not necessarily readily available nowadays. 
>> Sadly lots of such stuff goes offline or is completely lost to the mist of 
>> time.
>>
>>   Maciej
>>
> 
> Found the 3000763 document here:
> https://doc.lagout.org/science/0_Computer Science/0_Computer 
> History/old-hardware/buslogic/3000763_PCI_EISA_Wide_SCSI_Tech_Ref_Dec94.pdf
> 
> There's also 3002593 there:
> https://doc.lagout.org/science/0_Computer Science/0_Computer 
> History/old-hardware/buslogic/
> 

Thanks!!!

--
Khalid

Re: [PATCH 0/5] Bring the BusLogic host bus adapter driver up to Y2021

[Ondrej Zary]

On Friday 16 April 2021 23:25:18 Maciej W. Rozycki wrote:
> On Fri, 16 Apr 2021, Khalid Aziz wrote:
> 
> > >  Sadly I didn't get to these resources while they were still there, and 
> > > neither did archive.org, and now they not appear available from anywhere 
> > > online.  I'm sure Leonard had this all, but, alas, he is long gone too.
> > 
> > These documents were all gone by the time I started working on this
> > driver in 2013.
> 
>  According to my e-mail archives I got my BT-958 directly from Mylex brand 
> new as KT-958 back in early 1998 (the rest of the system is a bit older).  
> It wasn't up until 2003 when I was caught by the issue with the LOG SENSE 
> command that I got interested in the programming details of the adapter.  
> 
>  At that time Mylex was in flux already, having been bought by LSI shortly 
> before.  Support advised me what was there at Leonard's www.dandelion.com 
> site was all that was available (I have a personal copy of the site) and 
> they would suggest to switch to their current products.  So it was too 
> late already ten years before you got at the driver.
> 
>  I'll yet double-check the contents of the KT-958 kit which I have kept, 
> but if there was any technical documentation supplied there on a CD (which 
> I doubt), I would have surely discovered it earlier.  It's away along with 
> the server, remotely managed, ~160km/100mi from here, so it'll be some 
> time before I get at it though.
> 
>  Still, maybe one of the SCSI old-timers has that stuff stashed somewhere.  
> I have plenty of technical documentation going back to early to mid 1990s 
> (some in the hard copy form), not necessarily readily available nowadays. 
> Sadly lots of such stuff goes offline or is completely lost to the mist of 
> time.
> 
>   Maciej
> 

Found the 3000763 document here:
https://doc.lagout.org/science/0_Computer Science/0_Computer 
History/old-hardware/buslogic/3000763_PCI_EISA_Wide_SCSI_Tech_Ref_Dec94.pdf

There's also 3002593 there:
https://doc.lagout.org/science/0_Computer Science/0_Computer 
History/old-hardware/buslogic/

-- 
Ondrej Zary

Re: [PATCH 0/5] Bring the BusLogic host bus adapter driver up to Y2021

[Maciej W. Rozycki]

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021, Khalid Aziz wrote:

> >  Sadly I didn't get to these resources while they were still there, and 
> > neither did archive.org, and now they not appear available from anywhere 
> > online.  I'm sure Leonard had this all, but, alas, he is long gone too.
> 
> These documents were all gone by the time I started working on this
> driver in 2013.

 According to my e-mail archives I got my BT-958 directly from Mylex brand 
new as KT-958 back in early 1998 (the rest of the system is a bit older).  
It wasn't up until 2003 when I was caught by the issue with the LOG SENSE 
command that I got interested in the programming details of the adapter.  

 At that time Mylex was in flux already, having been bought by LSI shortly 
before.  Support advised me what was there at Leonard's www.dandelion.com 
site was all that was available (I have a personal copy of the site) and 
they would suggest to switch to their current products.  So it was too 
late already ten years before you got at the driver.

 I'll yet double-check the contents of the KT-958 kit which I have kept, 
but if there was any technical documentation supplied there on a CD (which 
I doubt), I would have surely discovered it earlier.  It's away along with 
the server, remotely managed, ~160km/100mi from here, so it'll be some 
time before I get at it though.

 Still, maybe one of the SCSI old-timers has that stuff stashed somewhere.  
I have plenty of technical documentation going back to early to mid 1990s 
(some in the hard copy form), not necessarily readily available nowadays. 
Sadly lots of such stuff goes offline or is completely lost to the mist of 
time.

  Maciej

Re: [PATCH 0/5] Bring the BusLogic host bus adapter driver up to Y2021

[Khalid Aziz]

On 4/14/21 4:38 PM, Maciej W. Rozycki wrote:
> Hi,
> 
>  First of all, does anyone have a copy of: "MultiMaster UltraSCSI Host 
> Adapters for PCI Systems: Technical Reference Manual" (pub. 3002493-E)?  
> It used to live in the "Mylex Manuals and Documentation Archives" section 
> of the Mylex web site , 
> specifically at: .
> 
>  Another useful document might be: "Wide SCSI Host Adapters for PCI and 
> EISA Systems: Technical Reference Manual" (pub. 3000763-A), which used to 
> live at: , linked from the 
> same place.
> 
>  Sadly I didn't get to these resources while they were still there, and 
> neither did archive.org, and now they not appear available from anywhere 
> online.  I'm sure Leonard had this all, but, alas, he is long gone too.

These documents were all gone by the time I started working on this
driver in 2013.

--
Khalid