I have been monitoring this mailing list for over a month and have pieced
together as much as I can. Luckily, it also has lots of stuff about UDMA,
which I am trying to implement to run the two drives I want to mirror
(RAID1).
Anyway, I am stymied. I am trying to get UDMA66 out of the Promise Ultra 66
card. So far I think I am only getting UDMA 33. I have done all of the
following:
1. Gotten my stock retail box Red Hat version 6.0 from 2.2.5-15 up to
2.2.10
2. Applied the 2_2_10_uniform-ide-6_20_genam_patch
3. Re-compiled so the patched version sees the Promise card at boot time
and identifies both interfaces as UDMA.
4. Am using BRAND NEW IBM 7200rpm/UDMA66 drives with 80 pin cable and UDMA
66 turned on (takes program downloaded from IBM site...). The Promise
pre-boot info screen says the drive and card are in UDMA mode 4.
My main drive with all Linux files on it is a WD 4.3g UDMA 33 model. I have
UDMA turned on for this drive (again, a program from WD web site). Using
"hdparm" to check that dma mode is turned on for _both_ drives (turned on
automatically by option in make config), I get 12 to 13 MB/sec on the WD.
Using "hdparm" on the IBM drive, I get 17 MB/sec. Granted, 17 is faster than
13, but is it UDMA 66?
If I shut off UDMA 66 mode on the IBM drive, I still get 17 MB/sec, so it
does not seem to make any difference if UDMA 66 it is on of off.
I saw a "PDC20262.warning" file at the
ftp.us.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/hedrick/ page. (The PDC20262 is
the chip on the Promise Ultra 66 card). In it Andre Hedrick said
that "you will have to call idex=ata66 to inform the driver of the
existance". I assume he means that one would have to do an "append
ide2=ata66" at boot time to the LILO prompt, or set up a LILO boot option
for the kernel that I complied in support for the Promise card. I have
tried both, but still do not get any higher than 17 MB/sec.
Has anyone gotten anything any faster than 17 MB/sec out of a Promise Ultra
66 card (On one drive, not RAIDed yet)? I tackle the RAID1 setup after I am
happy I have got the Max out of the Promise card....
Somewhere I thought I saw that the code in the UDMA (genam) patch only
supported UDMA mode 2 so far. Is this correct and is this why I can not get
over 17 MB/sec?. I have tried to write to Andre Hedrick, but he is no
longer at Vanderbilt -- someone that responded to one of my messages said he
had gone to work for Suse..I have not tried to contact him there yet.
Any advice anyone would have regarding this setup would be appreciated. As
I mentioned, I have been monitoring the [EMAIL PROTECTED] for over
a
month and have tried to integrate all the bits and pieces of information
contained here. I think maybe we need a separate UDMA mailing list since
about 25 to 40% of posts there seem to be about UDMA questions/problems.
Thanks is advance for any help.
Skip Harrison
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Online Computer Supply
152 NE 70th
Newport, OR 97365
541-265-9612
