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From: terry@spcvxb.spc.edu (Terry Kennedy, Operations Mgr.)
Subject: Re: Adaptec licensing
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Organization: St. Peter's College, US
Date: Mon, 4 Sep 1995 23:54:55 GMT
Message-ID: <1995Sep4.195455.1@spcvxb.spc.edu>
Lines: 38
In article <42f6uu$6ng@hops.entertain.com>, dwatson@abwam.com (Darryl Watson) writes:
> 2) No Adaptec support for greater than 174x controllers.
>
> #2 is a total bummer... I understand that Adaptec won't license the
> necessary info to BSDi without the condition that they (Adaptec) can
> jerk the license any time they want. Unfortunately, Adaptec makes the
> most popular controller cards on the market, and they perform well.
Adaptec may be most popular, but there are a number of other vendors that
are doing well. I've been using BusLogic exclusively for a few years now.
BusLogic has a complete line of ISA/EISA/VLB/PCI controllers, all supported
under BSD/OS. They all have the same programming interface (handy if you're
writing drivers) unlike the Adaptec 2-series. BusLogic sends out free ROM
updates just for the asking, and likewise for technical info.
If you're building new systems, just get a BusLogic card.
> Is there any chance BSDi or Adaptec might back off on their respective
> stances? (Eyelash bat-bat-bat) Pretty please?
It's unlikely Adaptec will change their mind. I doubt (and I have no inside
info) that BSDI would license the Adaptec driver developer's kit due to Adap-
tec's restrictions. Writing a driver from scratch without the kit should be
possible - the FreeBSD or Linux (I forget which) folks have done it. Of course,
that wouldn't be "supported" as well as the BusLogic driver, which was done
with vendor cooperation. Adaptec could change their cards at any time (in fact,
they have said they plan to do so).
> If not, are there any other controller manufacturers that compare in
> performance to Adaptec, that are supported by BSDi?
See above for info on BusLogic. If you're a reseller, Tech Data carries
them. If you're an end user, most dealers can special order the cards if they
don't stock them.
Terry Kennedy Operations Manager, Academic Computing
terry@spcvxa.spc.edu St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ USA
+1 201 915 9381 (voice) +1 201 435-3662 (FAX)