>> Uh, are there more than one Adaptec 2940's out there?  (Other than the 2940W
>> Fast/Wide appelation, that is)

>There's the 2940UW and I think there's one that specifically does 
>differential SCSI as well.  I have a 2940W.  I'm installing a machine 
>tommorow -- either NetBSD or FreeBSD.  I'm making install tapes and 
>floppies for both -- not sure yet which I'll use (I've been leaning 
>towards Free becasue of these issues with the 2940 drivers, but if they 
>work fine then I'll prolly do Net.).  Regardless of which one I choose, 
>I'll attempt a NetBSD install and upgrade to -current just to see how it 
>works and will post my results.

Uh, I hate to sound like a repetitive commercial.  But, Adaptec isn't
the only company that makes SCSI controllers that work with *BSD.  I
don't make any commission off preaching BusLogic, but people seem to
continue following Adaptec like little lemmings, in spite of the
problems with the controllers under *BSD.  Adaptec controllers are
proprietary.  As new versions come out that are sufficiently
different, they will continue to have to be reverse engineered, and
drivers updated.  I don't know why everyone is so eager to support
Adaptec, still, when they really couldn't care less about the free
unix market.

There are two good alternatives: NCR 53c8xx cards, and BusLogic cards.
The NCR cards are excellent bang for the buck.  But, there are some
subtle bugs in that driver too.  Consult http://www.buslogic.com/ for
more info on BusLogic (one warning: the FlashPoint LT is a different
beast, and there currently is no driver for it, so don't buy that).

The only reasons I push BusLogic as the best alternative is: 1) they
are the only one with drivers as mature as the Adaptec drivers in *BSD
(actually, much more mature than the Adaptec 2xxx) drivers; 2) they
are the only company with cards that work on all busses, with the same
driver; 3) and they are the only company that makes cards that are as
powerful as the Adaptec cards (the NCR 53c8xx cards are close, but
don't quite have the high-end processing muscle, from my experience).
I would be happy to quote a second and third alternative to Adaptec,
if there were a good one to quote.  Unfortunately, I don't know of any
others.

You don't *have* *to* buy Adaptec cards and use the buggy driver.
There *are* other controllers that are just as good.  I've been
incredibly satisfied with both of my BusLogic (EISA and PCI)
controllers.

End commercial.  I hate harping on this repeatedly, but it seems every
time I do, there are a whole new group of people who didn't know that
there was anything you could use besides Adaptec.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Michael L. VanLoon                                 michaelv@HeadCandy.com
       --<  Free your mind and your machine -- NetBSD free un*x  >--
     NetBSD working ports: 386+PC, Mac 68k, Amiga, HP300, Sun3, Sun4,
                           DEC PMAX (MIPS), DEC Alpha, PC532
     NetBSD ports in progress: VAX, Atari 68k, others...
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