atom feed16 messages in org.freebsd.freebsd-stableRe: Dump takes ages on SCSI. (several...
FromSent OnAttachments
David GilbertJul 2, 2000 1:24 pm 
Kent StewartJul 2, 2000 2:53 pm 
David GilbertJul 2, 2000 5:42 pm 
Kent StewartJul 2, 2000 6:50 pm 
Chad R. LarsonJul 2, 2000 8:44 pm 
David GilbertJul 2, 2000 9:25 pm 
Kenneth D. MerryJul 2, 2000 10:55 pm 
David MaloneJul 3, 2000 12:01 am 
kostikJul 3, 2000 1:35 am 
Gerhard SittigJul 3, 2000 10:38 am 
Mike SmithJul 3, 2000 6:57 pm 
Mike SmithJul 4, 2000 4:08 am 
Mike SmithJul 4, 2000 5:22 am 
Gerhard SittigJul 4, 2000 10:16 am 
Mike SmithJul 6, 2000 2:36 am 
Don LewisJul 14, 2000 1:36 am 
Subject:Re: Dump takes ages on SCSI. (several times faster on IDE)
From:Mike Smith (msm@freebsd.org)
Date:Jul 6, 2000 2:36:11 am
List:org.freebsd.freebsd-stable

On Tue, Jul 04, 2000 at 05:22 -0700, Mike Smith wrote:

The Problem with aha1542 (ISA busmaster capable controller) in PCI boards is that it is located "at the end" of a long chain to memory. Chances are, busmastering will not work at all behind the PCI to ISA bridge since all the PCI devices have higher priority and the ISA gadget never gets any access granted or at least always too late. You're better off with a PCI controller.

This is Just Not True.

Can you please tell me more about it? I'm not sure of the priority thing I mention above, but the fact that ISA busmaster devices and PCI boards somewhat collide or counter operate (sorry, lacking better words once more) is what I got from serious papers here.

Even this isn't the case. The critical issue is simply that the ISA busmaster has to operate correctly in the presence of other masters. The ISA bridge is responsible for translating the master operations from the ISA bus to the PCI bus.

In your previous statement, you allude to "priority" wrt. PCI busmaster DMA - there is no such thing. As far as a busmaster device like the 1542 is concerned, there is no such thing as "too late" for DMA to/from memory.

How direct is the access method an ISA controller has to the memory when sitting behind a bridge? I would be glad to believe a 1542B/C in a PCI machine is A Good Thing(TM). :)

It's not a "good thing" - it's a slow controller behind two bridges, and it's not going to perform _well_, but modulo broken hardware it _will_ work correctly.

You're quite correct when you say that you're better off with a PCI controller, however.

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