From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: erik quanstrom To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu, Nigel Roles References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 In-Reply-To: Subject: RE: [9fans] Writing device drivers Message-Id: <20060418013410.E7A9998D64@dexter-peak.quanstro.net> Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 20:34:10 -0500 Cc: Topicbox-Message-UUID: 3a06dee8-ead1-11e9-9d60-3106f5b1d025 thanks for the excellent information. i have the fortune of having a dac960 controller and an adaptec 7898n in the same machine. lucky me. a quick look at the dac960 driver for linux doesn't immediately reveal any firmware. do you think that would be an easier driver to build than the adaptec? i don't know a think about scsi bus protocol and i don't have a bus analyzer. is such a beast affordable? (i am running old va linux boxen after all.) - erik "Nigel Roles" writes | | 9fans-bounces+ngr=9fs.org@cse.psu.edu wrote: | >> it looks like all the code for aic-7xxx is in the linux kernel tree, | >> including an assembler. | >> | >> does anybody know what processor it uses? | > | > it probably doesn't matter. it's unlikely that the | > microcode is written in a real processor's assembly | > language. usually it is a virtual processor defined | > by the card. | | Originally Adaptec has an on-board 8035 which presented a mailbox (aka scb | (aka Scsi Command Block)) interface to the host. You load up the command | block, enable it, and wait for an interrupt. The firmware was fixed in an | EPROM next door. This conforms to Russ'es idea that it is a virtual | processor. [etc]