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1.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.02 3===================================4The BusLogic FlashPoint SCSI Driver5===================================6 7The BusLogic FlashPoint SCSI Host Adapters are now fully supported on Linux.8The upgrade program described below has been officially terminated effective931 March 1997 since it is no longer needed.10 11::12 13 MYLEX INTRODUCES LINUX OPERATING SYSTEM SUPPORT FOR ITS14 BUSLOGIC FLASHPOINT LINE OF SCSI HOST ADAPTERS15 16 17 FREMONT, CA, -- October 8, 1996 -- Mylex Corporation has expanded Linux18 operating system support to its BusLogic brand of FlashPoint Ultra SCSI19 host adapters. All of BusLogic's other SCSI host adapters, including the20 MultiMaster line, currently support the Linux operating system. Linux21 drivers and information will be available on October 15th at22 http://sourceforge.net/projects/dandelion/.23 24 "Mylex is committed to supporting the Linux community," says Peter Shambora,25 vice president of marketing for Mylex. "We have supported Linux driver26 development and provided technical support for our host adapters for several27 years, and are pleased to now make our FlashPoint products available to this28 user base."29 30The Linux Operating System31==========================32 33Linux is a freely-distributed implementation of UNIX for Intel x86, Sun34SPARC, SGI MIPS, Motorola 68k, Digital Alpha AXP and Motorola PowerPC35machines. It supports a wide range of software, including the X Window36System, Emacs, and TCP/IP networking. Further information is available at37http://www.linux.org and http://www.ssc.com/.38 39FlashPoint Host Adapters40========================41 42The FlashPoint family of Ultra SCSI host adapters, designed for workstation43and file server environments, are available in narrow, wide, dual channel,44and dual channel wide versions. These adapters feature SeqEngine45automation technology, which minimizes SCSI command overhead and reduces46the number of interrupts generated to the CPU.47 48About Mylex49===========50 51Mylex Corporation (NASDAQ/NM SYMBOL: MYLX), founded in 1983, is a leading52producer of RAID technology and network management products. The company53produces high performance disk array (RAID) controllers, and complementary54computer products for network servers, mass storage systems, workstations55and system boards. Through its wide range of RAID controllers and its56BusLogic line of Ultra SCSI host adapter products, Mylex provides enabling57intelligent I/O technologies that increase network management control,58enhance CPU utilization, optimize I/O performance, and ensure data security59and availability. Products are sold globally through a network of OEMs,60major distributors, VARs, and system integrators. Mylex Corporation is61headquartered at 34551 Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont, CA.62 63Contact:64========65 66::67 68 Peter Shambora69 Vice President of Marketing70 Mylex Corp.71 510/796-610072 peters@mylex.com73 74 75::76 77 ANNOUNCEMENT78 BusLogic FlashPoint LT/BT-948 Upgrade Program79 1 February 199680 81 ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT82 BusLogic FlashPoint LW/BT-958 Upgrade Program83 14 June 199684 85 Ever since its introduction last October, the BusLogic FlashPoint LT has86 been problematic for members of the Linux community, in that no Linux87 drivers have been available for this new Ultra SCSI product. Despite its88 officially being positioned as a desktop workstation product, and not being89 particularly well suited for a high performance multitasking operating90 system like Linux, the FlashPoint LT has been touted by computer system91 vendors as the latest thing, and has been sold even on many of their high92 end systems, to the exclusion of the older MultiMaster products. This has93 caused grief for many people who inadvertently purchased a system expecting94 that all BusLogic SCSI Host Adapters were supported by Linux, only to95 discover that the FlashPoint was not supported and would not be for quite96 some time, if ever.97 98 After this problem was identified, BusLogic contacted its major OEM99 customers to make sure the BT-946C/956C MultiMaster cards would still be100 made available, and that Linux users who mistakenly ordered systems with101 the FlashPoint would be able to upgrade to the BT-946C. While this helped102 many purchasers of new systems, it was only a partial solution to the103 overall problem of FlashPoint support for Linux users. It did nothing to104 assist the people who initially purchased a FlashPoint for a supported105 operating system and then later decided to run Linux, or those who had106 ended up with a FlashPoint LT, believing it was supported, and were unable107 to return it.108 109 In the middle of December, I asked to meet with BusLogic's senior110 management to discuss the issues related to Linux and free software support111 for the FlashPoint. Rumors of varying accuracy had been circulating112 publicly about BusLogic's attitude toward the Linux community, and I felt113 it was best that these issues be addressed directly. I sent an email114 message after 11pm one evening, and the meeting took place the next115 afternoon. Unfortunately, corporate wheels sometimes grind slowly,116 especially when a company is being acquired, and so it's taken until now117 before the details were completely determined and a public statement could118 be made.119 120 BusLogic is not prepared at this time to release the information necessary121 for third parties to write drivers for the FlashPoint. The only existing122 FlashPoint drivers have been written directly by BusLogic Engineering, and123 there is no FlashPoint documentation sufficiently detailed to allow outside124 developers to write a driver without substantial assistance. While there125 are people at BusLogic who would rather not release the details of the126 FlashPoint architecture at all, that debate has not yet been settled either127 way. In any event, even if documentation were available today it would128 take quite a while for a usable driver to be written, especially since I'm129 not convinced that the effort required would be worthwhile.130 131 However, BusLogic does remain committed to providing a high performance132 SCSI solution for the Linux community, and does not want to see anyone left133 unable to run Linux because they have a Flashpoint LT. Therefore, BusLogic134 has put in place a direct upgrade program to allow any Linux user worldwide135 to trade in their FlashPoint LT for the new BT-948 MultiMaster PCI Ultra136 SCSI Host Adapter. The BT-948 is the Ultra SCSI successor to the BT-946C137 and has all the best features of both the BT-946C and FlashPoint LT,138 including smart termination and a flash PROM for easy firmware updates, and139 is of course compatible with the present Linux driver. The price for this140 upgrade has been set at US $45 plus shipping and handling, and the upgrade141 program will be administered through BusLogic Technical Support, which can142 be reached by electronic mail at techsup@buslogic.com, by Voice at +1 408143 654-0760, or by FAX at +1 408 492-1542.144 145 As of 14 June 1996, the original BusLogic FlashPoint LT to BT-948 upgrade146 program has now been extended to encompass the FlashPoint LW Wide Ultra147 SCSI Host Adapter. Any Linux user worldwide may trade in their FlashPoint148 LW (BT-950) for a BT-958 MultiMaster PCI Ultra SCSI Host Adapter. The149 price for this upgrade has been set at US $65 plus shipping and handling.150 151 I was a beta test site for the BT-948/958, and versions 1.2.1 and 1.3.1 of152 my BusLogic driver already included latent support for the BT-948/958.153 Additional cosmetic support for the Ultra SCSI MultiMaster cards was added154 subsequent releases. As a result of this cooperative testing process,155 several firmware bugs were found and corrected. My heavily loaded Linux156 test system provided an ideal environment for testing error recovery157 processes that are much more rarely exercised in production systems, but158 are crucial to overall system stability. It was especially convenient159 being able to work directly with their firmware engineer in demonstrating160 the problems under control of the firmware debugging environment; things161 sure have come a long way since the last time I worked on firmware for an162 embedded system. I am presently working on some performance testing and163 expect to have some data to report in the not too distant future.164 165 BusLogic asked me to send this announcement since a large percentage of the166 questions regarding support for the FlashPoint have either been sent to me167 directly via email, or have appeared in the Linux newsgroups in which I168 participate. To summarize, BusLogic is offering Linux users an upgrade169 from the unsupported FlashPoint LT (BT-930) to the supported BT-948 for US170 $45 plus shipping and handling, or from the unsupported FlashPoint LW171 (BT-950) to the supported BT-958 for $65 plus shipping and handling.172 Contact BusLogic Technical Support at techsup@buslogic.com or +1 408173 654-0760 to take advantage of their offer.174 175 Leonard N. Zubkoff176 lnz@dandelion.com177