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List:       linux-poweredge
Subject:    RE: Any drivers available for RedHat6.0
From:       Matt_Domsch () Dell ! com
Date:       2001-10-19 8:59:01
[Download RAW message or body]

> > 	Do you by any chance have a driver for the Perc3 
> > controller in the
> > Dell-2550 Power Edge machineswork on Redhat Linux 6.0. 
> > Specifically for the
> > kernel versions 2.2.5-15. I would like to get there, where I 
> > can  install
> > RedHat 6.0 on these boxes. Any help will be highly appreciated.
> 
> I have to ask:  Why run a 2.5 year old OS on a brand new system?
> Dell started doing Linux work for real with the RHL 6.1 
> release.  We haven't
> tested 6.1 or 6.0 on the PE2550.

On reflection, you probably meant the on-board RAID controller (PERC3/Di),
which uses the aacraid driver, also at http://domsch.com/linux.

> The joys of enterprise computing often have to be done in this way....
> :-(
> But gives us a chance to learn more about linux and deploy it *ahem*
> :-)

So, here are the gotchas I can recall.  Really, beyond this, you're on your
own...  :-)
1) 2.2.x kernel didn't trust BIOS to properly enumerate the PCI busses in a
system.  On the new (new at the time) ServerWorks chipsets, the kernel then
couldn't find all the PCI busses and PCI controllers (like, say, your disk
controller). :-(  This was fixed in RHL 6.1 SBE1 (not in 6.1 even, RH
released it before we released the PE2400,2450,4400 with the ServerWorks
chipsets which exhibited this for the first time).  I think the PE2550 will
have the same problem.

2) The ServerWorks IDE chip may not have a driver in the RH 6.0 kernel, so
even if you manage to get past #1, you can't mount the CD.  Network installs
may work fine with a bootnet floppy.

3) The aic7xxx driver may need the option "aic7xxx=no_probe" passed to it
(use expert mode install) to avoid an EISA bus probe that locks up the chip
sometimes (the system doesn't have EISA).

4) The RAID controller (PERC 3/Di) certainly isn't known to the 6.0
installer.  There's no facility in 6.0 for a "driver disk" (that came in
6.1).  So, you're stuck hacking up boot.img or bootnet.img to add the
aacraid driver (see http://domsch.com/linux).

5) The aacraid driver was never released for 6.0 or 6.1, nor tested, nor
even built to my knowledge.  It may or may not build against a 6.0 kernel.
2.2.13 was the first thing we tried building against.


A few other points.  The 2.2.x kernel series has known security holes.  We'd
recommend upgrading to a very recent 2.2.x kernel.  Within RHL 6.0, 6.1,
6.2, they all use the same glibc 2.1 library.  So, an application written
for RHL6.0 *should* work on 6.2.  Maybe not 7.x (but the compat-glibc
packages are provided to give you the same glibc 2.1 libraries, so that
*should* work too).  I'd certainly try 7.1, which we know works great on
that system, with your application, just to see if it works and you can
avoid all the above headaches.

Good luck!
Matt

--
Matt Domsch
Sr. Software Engineer
Dell Linux Solutions
www.dell.com/linux
#2 Linux Server provider with 17% in the US and 14% Worldwide (IDC)!
#3 Unix provider with 18% in the US (Dataquest)!



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