>I have been thinking of getting a VESA (VLB) controller that supports
>things like fast 32-bit transfers to the cpu, faster disk transfer rates
>and such like.  The question of course is whether NetBSD will support
>any of this
[...]
>Looking in the -current sources, I see a 32 bit transfer flag, which
>looks like a step in the right direction, but there is no indication
[...]

I don't know the actual answer at this point in time, other than I
don't think it's here yet.  (I'm sure Charles can shed more light...)

>Or is everyone out there running scsi, and just willing to put up with
>a half-baked job of supporting IDE hardware?

Well, everyone who wants good performance, and is willing to save up
and spend a little.  :-)  Seriously, SCSI is the way to go if there's
any way that you can.  But, if you already have IDE and want to use
it...

Windows NT 4.0 has an EIDE driver that actually looks like a SCSI
device to the system.  I think that's an intriguing and promising
direction to pursue.  If you could put a decent bottom-end EIDE driver
under the SCSI subsystem, you'd probably have a very nicely functional
system.  EIDE still has more limitations than SCSI, but this would
bring it a lot closer.

Also, remember that not only do you need an EIDE-capable controller,
but you need drives that can support everything you want to do, as
well.  A couple 5-year-old 200MB Conners probably aren't going to do a
helluva lot, even if you get a nice EIDE/SCSI bottom-end driver and a
fast VLB EIDE controller.

Given this fact, to get the promises of ultimate EIDE performance,
many people are going to have to spend money on new equipment anyway.
If you're going to do that, spend a little more and get SCSI.  It
works better, it's more flexible, it's more "powerful", it's more
extensible, and it's just more pleasant to work with.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Michael L. VanLoon                                 michaelv@HeadCandy.com
        --<  Free your mind and your machine -- NetBSD free un*x  >--
    NetBSD working ports: 386+PC, Mac 68k, Amiga, Atari 68k, HP300, Sun3,
        Sun4/4c/4m, DEC MIPS, DEC Alpha, PC532, VAX, MVME68k, arm32...
    NetBSD ports in progress: PICA, others...

   Roll your own Internet access -- Seattle People's Internet cooperative.
                  If you're in the Seattle area, ask me how.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------