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NETWARE.TXT
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This file describes the features and use of the Symbios Logic SDMS device
drivers for the Novell NetWare v3.12 and 4.xx operating system environments.
It is divided into the following sections:
Introduction
Installing Your SDMS NetWare Drivers
The Power Management Utilities
Important Additional Information
******************************** Introduction *********************************
The Symbios Logic SDMS drivers for the Novell Netware operating system allow
you to utilize a Symbios Logic SCSI controller or processor, controlled by a
Symbios Logic SCSI BIOS, with NetWare. The SDMS software, coupled with a
Symbios Logic SCSI controller or processor, provides a SCSI solution within the
NetWare environment.
Separate drivers are provided for Novell NetWare v3.12, and Novell NetWare
version 4.xx. The following information explains how to install and use the
SDMS SCSI drivers for NetWare.
* Features *
Supports the ASPI interface
Provides synchronous negotiation including Fast and Ultra (Fast-20) SCSI
Supports multiple host adapters
Supports multiple logical unit numbers (LUN)
Large LUN support (larger than 7.844 GBytes) for devices with dedicated NetWare
partitions and volumes
Supports Disconnect/Reselect
Supports scatter-gather
Supports tagged command queuing
Supports ordered queue tags
Allows shared interrupts
Supports Wide SCSI (single-ended and differential)
Supports device exclusion
Supports NW4.10 SFT-III
Supports target initiated negotiation (wide and synchronous)
Displays SCSI Additional Sense Code & Qualifier bytes
Support for removable media devices including CD-ROM, Magneto Optical, and
Bernoulli devices
Supports retries on non-sequential access devices
Extensive error reporting and handling for multi-LUN RAID support
Supports 3.XX BIOS
Supports 4.XX BIOS and ASPI drivers
Power management supported via PMSCHED(a power management utility)
* Description *
There is a separate SDMS device driver and ASPI manager for each of two major
releases of NetWare. For NetWare v3.12, the SDMS device driver is SDMSNET3.DSK,
and the file NETASPI3.NLM is loaded if support for the ASPI interface is
desired (this is required for devices such as tape drives). For NetWare v4.xx,
the SDMS device driver is SDMSNET4.DSK, and the file NETASPI4.NLM is loaded if
support for the ASPI interface is desired.
* ASPI Support *
The Symbios Logic ASPI interface is provided by the NETASPIx.NLM drivers.
NetWare, or third party applications, may use this interface to communicate
with any SCSI-2 device attached to a Symbios Logic controller, including SCSI-2
tape devices.
******************** Installing Your SDMS NetWare Drivers *********************
Install NetWare as described in the Novell NetWare Installation Manual. The
following information is provided to assist in the installation.
You can load these drivers only once. If changes are required (to reconfigure
the driver options), you must remove the drivers and reload them with the new
option settings. If these changes are permanent, and the drivers load
automatically at server boot time, you must specify these options in the
startup.ncf or autoexec.ncf file.
* For An Existing Installation Of NetWare With SDMS Drivers Installed *
If your current SDMS NetWare drivers are version 3.05.00 or older, they are
named NCRSDMSx.DSK and ASPICAMx.NLM. Replace the NCRSDMSx.DSK and ASPICAMx.NLM
drivers with the ones supplied on the new Symbios Logic device drivers
diskette.
If you intend the driver to auto load on NetWare boot, it is necessary to edit
the startup.ncf or autoexec.ncf file and replace the line:
LOAD NCRSDMSx.DSK <options>
with
LOAD SDMSNETx.DSK <options>
where
x is the version of NetWare you are using, and <options> are the command
line options (if any) you intend to use.
If your current SDMS NetWare drivers are version 3.06.00 or newer, they are
named SDMSNETx.DSK and NETASPIx.NLM. Replace the SDMSNETx.DSK and NETASPIx.NLM
drivers with the ones supplied on the new Symbios Logic device drivers
diskette.
No other actions are required to use these new drivers. You may want to review
the command line options to insure you are using the best options for your
configuration.
* For NetWare v3.12 New Installations *
Note:
The SDMSNET3.DSK driver should work on a NetWare 3.11 server. However, this
compatibility is neither tested nor supported.
1. Create a directory in which to install the NetWare file server. Change to
that directory and copy all the files from the NetWare system disks into
that directory.
2. Copy the file SDMSNET3.DSK from the Symbios Logic device drivers diskette
into this directory. If ASPI support is desired, also copy NETASPI3.NLM.
3. To start NetWare and continue the installation, type:
SERVER
4. When prompted, enter the name of the file server and network (IPX) number.
See the chapter on file server installation in the NetWare Installation
Manual for restrictions and further information.
5. At the NetWare prompt, type:
LOAD SDMSNET3 <options>
This command loads the main driver. Without this command, NetWare is unable
to access the hard disk drive. If ASPI support is desired, also type:
LOAD NETASPI3
6. To bring up the Installation menu, at the NetWare prompt type:
LOAD INSTALL
Continue with the installation according to the file server installation
chapter in the Novell NetWare Installation Manual.
7. At the Available System Options menu, select the EDIT STARTUP.NCF option and
check to see that the line LOAD SDMSNET3 is in the file. If not, add this
line to the file. This eliminates the need to load drivers by hand every
time the system is powered up. If the line appears more than once, remove
the duplicate statements and all references to "port=xxxx", "slot=xxxx"
and/or "mem=xxxx".
8. In addition, if ASPI support is required, add the line:
load NETASPI3.NLM
to the file after the line:
load SDMSNET3.DSK
* For NetWare v4.xx New Installations *
1. Begin the file server installation as per the instructions in the file
server installation chapter in the Novell NetWare Installation Manual.
2. When the NetWare installation procedure prompts you for a disk driver,
insert the Symbios Logic device drivers diskette into drive a: or b:. Then
use the INS key to select an unlisted driver. A dialog box appears. If you
are installing the driver from the a: drive, press Enter to continue. If you
are installing the driver from the b: drive, press F3 (to specify the path
to search for the driver), and enter the drive letter:
B:
The SDMSNET4.DSK driver should appear as a selection. Select the driver.
3. Next you are prompted with the available command line options to load the
driver. A description of each option appears in the box at the bottom of the
installation screen. A more detailed description is also given later in this
document, in the section titled Command Line Options. Select any options
needed for your particular installation.
4. When asked to edit the STARTUP.NCF file, make sure SDMSNET4 is loaded only
once. If present, remove the "port=xxxx slot=xxxx mem=xxxx" options from the
command line.
5. After the installation is complete, if ASPI support is also desired, down
the server and copy the NETASPI4.NLM file to the appropriate server
directory. For NetWare 4.0x systems this directory is SERVER.40 by default.
For NetWare 4.1x systems this directory is NWSERVER by default.
Edit the startup.ncf file and add the line:
load NETASPI4.NLM
to the file after the line:
load SDMSNET4.DSK
* For NetWare v4.1x SFT-III Installations *
1. Install your primary server following procedures for native 4.1x
installations.
2. Begin the SFT-III installation as instructed by NetWare installation
procedures.
3. While installing the secondary server, you have the option of copying the
SDMSNET4.DSK driver from the primary server. Press F10 to accept.
4. If ASPI support is required for the secondary server, down the system after
completing the SFT-III installation.
Copy the NETASPI4.NLM file from the device drivers diskette to the NWSERVER
directory on the secondary server.
Edit the IOSTART.NCF file on both servers by adding the line:
load NETASPI4.NLM
to the files after the line:
load SDMSNET4.DSK
* For NetWare v4.1x NWOS2 Installations *
This is not a supported configuration
* Command Line Options *
The SDMSNET3.DSK and SDMSNET4.DSK drivers have many tuning parameters.
Following is a list of tuning parameters available, including the default
option and a list of valid options. Following each parameter is a description
of when to use a parameter, and any impact its use/disuse might incur.
If an option is specified but the assignment is not valid, then the default
value is used. The SDMSNET3.DSK and SDMSNET4.DSK drivers are referred to in the
remainder of this section as SDMSNETx.DSK,
where
x refers to the appropriate NetWare operating system version.
The options described below are used by placing the specified characters on the
load command line for the SDMS driver. For example, if the Verbose Mode command
line option is desired in NetWare 3.1X, the load command line should look like
this:
load SDMSNET3 -v
IMPORTANT:
No spaces are allowed in specifying these command line options. Spaces are
required between different command line options.
Using the Verbose Mode Option
Command line option: -v
Function: Display the current settings of all driver options.
This option shows all the command line option settings for this load of the
driver.
Using the Help Mode Option
Command line option: -? or -h
Function: Display the options available in the driver.
Possible Impact: The driver will not load with -? or -h specified.
This option is specified on the command line for a brief description of each of
the options available in the driver, as well as valid values for each option.
If the -? or -h option is specified along with other options, the help screen
is invoked, the other options are ignored, and the driver is not loaded.
Using the Tagged Queuing Option
Command line option: qtags=<option>
Default value: enable
Valid options: enable, disable
Function: Enable/disable tagged queuing for the devices
Possible Impact: Tagged queuing may result in improved I/O throughput in
devices that support such an option.
Enabling this option results in the driver issuing tagged IO requests to the
devices that support tagged queuing. Devices that do not support tagged queuing
are not issued tagged requests. Depending on the drive controller, throughput
of the device is increased by the use of queue tags. However, the optimal
number of queue tags is based on the specific device type.
Using the Depth of Queue Tags Option
Command line option: qdepth=<option>
Default value: 10
Valid options: 0-128
Function: Set the depth of the queue for tagged queuing. This value
designates the depth of the queue per LUN (I_T_L nexus). That is,
this value designates the depth of the queue per device, or per LUN,
if a device has multiple LUNs.
Possible Impact: Used to optimize the performance of tagged queuing.
This option is valid only when tagged queuing (qtags) is enabled, which it is
by default. Values possible for this parameter range from 0 to 128. 0 is
equivalent to qtags=disable. While the actual depth of the queue depends on the
specific drive controller. For single drives, values of about 10-30 are
typically optimal. Sometimes a greater number is optimal for peripherals such
as disk arrays. You should experiment with various qdepth values to determine
the optimal performance for their particular setup. The optimal qdepth value is
based on different aspects of the system, including but not limited to: the
processor, the available memory, the disk drives, and other peripherals.
Note:
The driver supports a maximum of 128 qtags per controller at a given time. The
driver may allocate fewer qtags per device if this limit is being reached.
Using the Queue Tag Type Option
Command line option: qtag_type=<option>
Default value: simple
Valid options: simple, ordered
Function: Specify the type of tagged commands the device is issued.
Possible Impact: Ordered type is required for certain devices to avoid IO
starvation.
This option is valid only when tagged queuing (qtags) is enabled, which it is
by default. Simple qtags are typically the preferred tag type. It is sometimes
necessary to use ordered tags on certain devices to avoid IO starvation under
extremely heavy IO loads such as a NetWare remirror process.
Using the Base Time-Out Option
Command line option: timeout=<option>
Default value: 30
Valid options: Any integer value 30 to 999999999
Function: Specify the minimum value (in seconds) for command time-out.
Possible Impact: Insure system integrity when using a slow device.
If a device is slow, you should increase this value to insure the device has
adequate time to respond to a command issued to it before the command times
out.
Using the Sorting of Read Requests Option
Command line option: sort=<option>
Default value: enable
Valid options: enable, disable
Function: Enable/disable sorting of read commands to be issued to devices.
Possible Impact: Enabling normally yields increased performance based on the
target device controller.
If the devices connected to a host adapter are of a non-buffered architecture,
such as the Symbios Logic 6298 disk array, then sorting of reads may result in
a performance degradation, since the absence of cache provides no benefit for
sorted requests. In this instance you should disable the sort option. On most
disk drives, an on-board cache allows for reading ahead of data, and by sorting
read requests, the probabilities of achieving a cache hit are greatly increased,
thus increasing the overall performance of the driver.
Using the Shared Interrupts Option
Command line option: shared_int=<option>
Default value: disable
Valid options: enable, disable
Function: Support shared interrupts.
Possible Impact: Enabling may cause a performance degradation.
You should enable the shared interrupt option any time a PCI card other than a
Symbios Logic controller is added to a system which assigns all PCI cards the
same interrupt value. The added card must support shared interrupts. The driver
automatically handles the case of more than one Symbios Logic host adapter
sharing an interrupt.
Using the Wide SCSI Option
Command line option: wide=<option>
Default value: enable
Valid options: enable, disable
Function: Enable/Disable support of wide SCSI.
Possible Impact: No wide SCSI support available.
This option allows the user to disable support of wide SCSI when using a wide
SCSI controller. Set this option to "disable" if a wide SCSI device is present
on the system, but a narrow SCSI cable is connected somewhere on the bus
between the wide SCSI host adapter and the wide device, thus prohibiting the
transfer of wide data. If this option is set to "disable", the wide device
still works, but all data transferred to/from the device is narrow (8 bit).
The driver does not initiate a wide SCSI transfer request negotiation.
Using the Number of Error Recovery Retries Option
Command line option: max_retry=<option>
Default value: 5
Valid options: 0-50
Function: Set the maximum limit on the number of times to retry an IO on a
non-sequential access device in the event of a SCSI error condition.
Possible Impact: Setting this to 0 prevents the driver from retrying an IO in
the event of an error.
If SCSI error conditions occur on a non-sequential access device, the driver
retries an IO operation the set number of times before giving up and returning
the IO to the caller with a failed status. Possible callers are NetWare or an
application via the CAM or ASPI interface. If this option is set to 0, IOs are
not retried in the event of an error condition.
Note:
Some SCSI error conditions (such as DATA PROTECT or ILLEGAL REQUEST) do not
warrant a retry. Such conditions are reported but not retried, even for
positive values of max_retry.
Using the Logging of SCSI Errors Option
Command line option: Log_ScsiErrors=<option>
Default value: Both
Valid options: Off/Console/Syslog/Both
Function: Specify where to log serious SCSI errors.
Possible Impact: Changing this option may result in loss of this information.
If SCSI error conditions occur, the driver normally attempts to log a SCSI
Error Report describing the event to both the console and the system log file
SYS:SYSTEM\SYS$LOG.ERR. This information is valuable in determining when a
device is having problems. It can indicate when a device is beginning to fail,
providing an opportunity to replace the device before complete failure. With
this option you can choose to specify where these messages are logged:
Console - the server console only; Syslog - the system error log; Both - both
the server console and the system error log; or Off - the error messages are
not logged anywhere.
Note:
This option affects the logging of serious SCSI errors only. Non-SCSI errors
are still logged to both the console and system error log.
Using the Exclusion of Devices Option
Command line option: xcl=<device>[:device ...]
Default value: All devices recognized by the driver, i.e. no devices are
excluded.
Valid options: p,i,l (You may specify multiple devices with a colon separator)
where p is the Path designator, and is in the range 0 -7, i is
the SCSI ID designator, and is in the range 0 -31, l is the LUN
designator, and in the range 0 -7. The LUN parameter is
optional. You may exclude multiple devices so long as the
string does not exceed 35 characters in length and devices are
separated by colons.
Examples: xcl=1,2,3 to exclude LUN 3 of the device at SCSI ID 2 on Path 1.
xcl=1,2,3:2,5 to exclude LUN 3 of the device at SCSI ID 2 on Path 1,
and all LUNs on the device at SCSI ID 5 on Path 2
Function: Allows for specifying that the driver not recognize certain devices.
Possible Impact: Cannot directly access devices via the SDMSNETx.DSK driver.
This option is available to exclude recognition and direct access of specific
devices by the SDMSNETx.DSK drivers. These excluded devices are not registered
with the operating system for use by the driver. Other applications/drivers can
then take over the control of such devices. This option is available for
support of third party vendors who write their own SCSI control applications.
You may exclude a maximum of five devices.
Using the Maximum Block Size for Concatenation Option
Command line option: max_kb=<option>
Default value: 32767
Valid options: 0-32767
Function: Set the maximum number of KB written to disk at one time.
Possible Impact: A high number may result in more data transferred in a single
data phase.
Specify the maximum size block in Kilobytes which is written to disk in one
data transfer phase. This ensures that when requests are concatenated, the
maximum size of the concatenated request does not exceed the specified value.
If individual requests are greater than this specified value, no action is
taken.
Note:
The following three options affect the amount of memory used by the driver.
For information on how memory is allocated by the driver, and to get an
approximate feel for the amount of memory which is saved by invoking these
parameters, refer to Memory Allocation under Important Additional Information
at the end of this section. If the product of max_hbas * max_id * max_lun is
small (less than 100), system performance may suffer. These values determine
the number of IO buffers allocated by the driver. Allocation of too few may
degrade performance.
Using the Maximum Host Adapters Option
Command line option: max_hbas=<option>
Default value: 8
Valid options: 1-8
Function: Specify the maximum number of host adapters to support.
Possible Impact: If number is reduced, it may allow for reduction in the
memory used by the driver. Reduction may also result in
performance degradation.
This parameter is used to optimize the use of dynamically allocated memory by
the driver. If your system has less than 8 Symbios Logic based PCI host
adapters, including any Symbios PCI-SCSI controllers designed into the
main board, this parameter allows you to reduce the total memory used for the
driver.
Using the Maximum SCSI IDs Option
Command line option: max_id=<option>
Default value: 32
Valid options: 8-32
Function: Specify the maximum number of SCSI IDs each host adapter board
should support.
Possible Impact: If number is reduced, may allow for reduction in memory used
by the driver. Reduction may also result in performance
degradation.
This parameter is used to optimize the use of dynamically allocated memory by
the driver. If all the host adapters, including any SCSI controllers on the
main board are connected to less than 31 devices, you can reduce the size of
the dynamically allocated memory by setting this value to the maximum number of
devices on any of the SCSI controllers.
Using the Maximum LUNs Option
Command line option: max_lun=<option>
Default value: 4
Valid options: 1-8
Function: Specify the maximum number of LUNs each host adapter board should
support per SCSI id.
Possible Impact: If number is reduced, may allow for reduction in memory used
by the driver. Reduction may also result in performance
degradation.
Use this parameter to optimize the use of dynamically allocated memory by the
driver. If less than 8 LUNs are used per Symbios Logic based PCI host adapter
SCSI id, this parameter allows a reduction in the total memory used for the
driver.
*********************** The Power Management Utilities ************************
Power management support for NetWare is provided by two NLMs, PMMAKE.NLM and
PMSCHED.NLM. Use one or both of these NLMs to activate power management of disk
devices registered with the Netware operating system through the SDMSNETx.DSK
driver.
PMSCHED.NLM allows manual control of power management to individual devices,
while PMMAKE.NLM allows creation of a schedule for power management. You must
not load these two utilities at the same time. If you plan to use power
management regularly, you can have PMSCHED.NLM load from the AUTOEXEC.NCF file.
SDMS power management is supported only on disk devices. Some disk devices do
not support power management. If such a device is detected, PMSCHED indicates
the device is not power manageable. Command line options for the PMMAKE.NLM and
PMSCHED.NLM utilities are described in this document.
Note:
Power management of disk devices connected to Symbios Logic 8XX controllers and
handled by SDMSNETx.DSK is NOT supported in the NetWare 4.10 SFT-III
environment.
* Installing the Power Management Utilities *
Follow these steps to install the Power Management Utilities.
1. Copy PMMAKE.NLM and PMSCHED.NLM to the SYS:\SYSTEM directory of the NetWare
server.
2. Create a subdirectory called SYS:\PM. This is the directory in which the
schedule text and configuration files should reside.
* Using the PMMAKE.NLM Utility *
The PMMAKE.NLM utility is used to compile a power management schedule file from
a standard text file, which you can create using the NetWare EDIT utility, or
some other editor. Place the text file in the SYS:\PM directory on the server.
The format for this text file is given below.
The syntax for the line that loads the PMMAKE utility is:
load PMMAKE <input filename> [<output filename>]
where
<input filename> is the full path name of the text file containing the
power management scheduling directives. If the path is not specified, the
NetWare search path is used.
<output filename> is the full path name of the output configuration (CFG) file
produced. If the output file name is not specified, the output file produced is
named PM.CFG, located in the SYS:\PM directory.
The format for the PMMAKE input (text) file is:
!<DAY INDICATOR>
BEGIN, <START TIME>, <DELAY TIME>, <DEVICE LIST>
END, <STOP TIME>, <DELAY TIME>, <DEVICE LIST>
where
DAY INDICATOR = SUN,MON,TUE,WED,THR,FRI,SAT
START TIME = 24 hour time format: 00:00 - 23:59
STOP TIME = 24 hour time format: 00:00 - 23:59
DELAY TIME = Time to wait during no activity on a device before spinning
it down, in seconds 1 - 3600
DEVICE LIST = ALL or <DEVICE ID>[, <DEVICE ID> ...]
DEVICE ID = BXXIXXLXX
BXX identifies the bus
IXX identifies the SCSI ID
LXX identifies the LUN (if zero you can omit)
You may omit bus identifiers after the first one. It is assumed that multiple
sequential directives are on the same day until another day is specified. It is
assumed that future devices are on the same bus until a new bus id is specified.
For example:
B00I01L01, I02, I03, I04, B01I00, I01,I02
specifies
Devices ID 01 LUN 01, ID 2, ID 3, ID 4 on Bus 0
Devices ID 0, ID1, ID 2 on Bus 1
Here is a PMMAKE sample input file:
!SUN
BEGIN, 00:00, 10, ALL
END, 23:59, 10, ALL
!MON
BEGIN, 00:00, 10, ALL
END, 06:00, 10, B00I00
END, 06:30, 10, B00I01
BEGIN, 18:00, 10, ALL
END, 23:59, 10, ALL
!FRI
BEGIN, 00:00, 10, ALL
END, 06:00, 10, B00I00
END, 06:30, 10, B00I01
BEGIN, 17:30, 10, B00I01
BEGIN, 18:00, 10, B00I00
END, 23:59, 10, ALL
!SAT
BEGIN, 00:00, 10, ALL
END, 23:59, 10, ALL
* Using the PMSCHED.NLM Utility *
You must load the PMSCHED.NLM utility to activate power management for devices
controlled by the SDMSNETx.DSK driver.
The syntax for the line that loads the PMMAKE utility is:
load PMSCHED [<schedule file>]
where
<schedule file> is the name of the power management configuration file to
use. If no file is specified, PMSCHED looks for SYS:\PM\PM.CFG. If PM.CFG
is not found, PMSCHED loads for manual operation of power management.
Manual Operation
In manual operation, power management is initially off on all devices, and
gather / displaying of device statistics is on. PMSCHED.NLM allows manual
enabling and disabling of power management on individual drives. You can also
enable and disable statistics gathering, and clear statistics.
To toggle power management on and off for a device, highlight the device under
PMSCHED.NLM and press the F3 key. A menu appears with these selections:
1. Toggle Power Management
2. Toggle Statistics
3. Reset Statistics
Highlight Toggle Power Management and press Enter. Toggling Power Management
has no effect on the device statistics.
Scheduled Operation
Automatic scheduling of power management cycles is possible only when PMSCHED
remains loaded. For scheduled operation, PMSCHED.NLM requires either:
the file SYS:\PM\PM.CFG, created by PMMAKE.NLM,
or
the name of the schedule file, created by PMMAKE.NLM, loaded with PMSCHED as a
command line parameter.
Unloading the PMSCHED.NLM Utility
Unloading PMSCHED.NLM does not turn power management off. The state of power
management on each device is maintained until the server is downed or
PMSCHED.NLM is reloaded.
Device Statistics
Device statistics are gathered on all devices registered by SDMSNETx.DSK with
the NetWare operating system. These statistics record the number of reads and
writes performed on a device and, if the device is power manageable by the SDMS
driver, the number of times the device is spun up and spun down. Statistics are
viewed, toggled on and off, or reset from the power management utility
PMSCHED.NLM.
********************** Important Additional Information ***********************
* For Information Pertaining to a Specific Driver *
This document addresses options available on the Symbios Logic SDMS NetWare
drivers, version 3.06.00. For information pertaining to a specific driver,
please do one of the following:
- For NetWare version 4.XX, consult the SDMSNET4.DDI file for options available
for SDMSNET4.DSK. This is accessed via the NetWare install utility.
- For versions of the driver 3.05.00 and later, use the -? option on the
command line of the SDMSNETx.DSK driver
* About Memory Allocation *
The driver allocates memory for certain structures based upon the maximum
number of SCSI IDs (max_id), LUNs (max_lun), and paths (max_hbas) that are used
in the system. The amount of memory allocated is based on the following
formula: 414 bytes of memory are allocated for the structure, so
Memory Allocated = 414 * max_hbas * max_lun * max_id.
So for default allocations, the amount of memory allocated is:
Memory Allocated = 414 * 8 * 4 * 32 = 423,936 bytes (414 KB).
If, for example,
- only one host adapter is installed (or when using a Symbios Logic based PCI
SCSI embedded controller and no add-in host adapters),
- only one LUN per device is used, and
- the bus is narrow (up to 8 SCSI IDs),
then by setting the appropriate command line options, the amount of memory
allocated is:
Memory Allocated = 414 * 1 * 1 * 8 = 3,312 bytes (3.4 KB).
* Optimal Use of Command Line Options *
Peripheral Device Dependent Optimizations
Some devices support SCSI tagged queue commands very efficiently, while others
show a significant loss of performance when the number of queued requests
exceed a certain value. (qtags, qdepth, qtag_type)
Most disk drives have an onboard read cache that is used by the drive
controller to read ahead data. The driver may take advantage of this cache by
maximizing the cache hits and ensuring a higher data transfer rate. However,
there are devices that do not have an on board cache, and implementation of the
sorting algorithm results in greater processing overhead and loss of overall
performance. (sort)
Devices differ in their response times to requests. To ensure that the driver
can handle devices with various response times, an option to tune the time-out
value is available. (timeout)
Flexibility
In order to allow flexibility in controlling devices in a system, an option is
provided to determine which devices the driver needs to exclude from taking
over control. This allows independent software vendors to provide value added
applications to directly control certain devices through the ASPI or CAM
interface. (xcl)
Serious SCSI errors are logged to both the console and system error log by
default. If a device is going bad, these errors may provide forewarning to
replace the device before complete failure. However, you may turn off the
logging of these errors to either or both of these locations. (Log_ScsiErrors)
For embedded systems, or other systems with fixed configurations, you can limit
the amount of dynamically allocated memory by choosing to set maximum limits on
the number of host adapters, devices, and logical units to support. The number
of allocated buffers for processing IOs is reduced, which could adversely
affect performance. (max_hbas, max_id, max_lun)
Overall System Timing
A driver designed for a networked file server environment has to optimize
performance in tandem with the other components of the system. To avoid
monopoly on the I/O bus, you can configure the size of the blocks for transfer
across the SCSI bus. This ensures that other components get fair access to the
I/O bus. (max_kb)
* DOS Access Dependencies *
NetWare sometimes requires access to the DOS partition (perhaps to load a file,
or to down the system). The SDMSNETx.DSK driver supports several SDMS DOS
configurations.
SDMSNETx.DSK detects whether an SDMS 3.XX or 4.XX BIOS is present on the system
in addition to the Symbios Logic ASPI8XX.SYS driver.
If there are DOS partitions present on any device connected to a Symbios Logic
controller, an SDMS 3.XX BIOS or 4.XX BIOS is required for DOS support.
The BIOS is either integrated into the system BIOS or resides with the
controller itself.
* Supported DOS Configurations *
The following are the DOS configurations supported by the SDMSNETx.DSK driver:
3.XX BIOS, ASPI8XX.SYS
4.XX BIOS, ASPI8XX.SYS
3.XX BIOS, ASPI8XX.SYS, SYMCD.SYS, MSCDEX.EXE
4.XX BIOS, ASPI8XX.SYS, SYMCD.SYS, MSCDEX.EXE
3.XX BIOS, No DOS Drivers
4.XX BIOS, No DOS Drivers
* When Using An SDMS 3.XX BIOS *
If an SDMS 3.XX BIOS is present, you may load an optional Symbios Logic ASPI
driver (ASPI8XX.SYS) in the CONFIG.SYS file. An optional driver for CD-ROM
support (SYMCD.SYS) works with these drivers in conjunction with MSCDEX.EXE.
Supported DOS Drivers
The SDMS NetWare drivers in a 3.XX BIOS environment only support ASPI8XX
configurations. The following is a list of DOS drivers currently supported by
the SDMSNETx.DSK driver:
ASPI8XX.SYS
The DOS ASPI Manger interface, ASPI8XX.SYS DOS driver in conjunction with the
SDMSNETx.DSK driver is currently the only supported DOS ASPI configuration in a
Netware environment.
SYMCD.SYS
The SYMCD.SYS driver is an ASPI based CD-ROM driver. It requires the
ASPI8xx.SYS driver to be loaded.
MSCDEX.EXE
This driver (provided with DOS) is required in conjunction with SYMCD.SYS to
install NetWare from a CD-ROM. Due to a bug in MSCDEX.EXE, the name assigned to
the CD-ROM device not match the base name of any file installed from the
CD-ROM. A recommended name to assign to the CD-ROM device is MSCD001.
Note:
The NetWare drivers can function independently of any DOS drivers, with the
exception of installation of NetWare from CD-ROM. Performance is impacted on
DOS accesses, but if memory is premium, this option is available.
DOS Drivers Not Supported
The following SDMS DOS drivers are not supported in the NetWare Environment.
ASPICAM.SYS
SCSIDISK.SYS
SYMDISK.SYS
DOSCAM.SYS
MINICAM.SYS
CDROM.SYS
* When Using An SDMS 4.XX BIOS *
The SDMS 4.XX BIOS supports two different configurations, default Boot
configuration and NVRAM configuration. Both configurations are supported.
Default Configuration
In default boot configuration, the 4.XX BIOS supports up to two Symbios Logic
8XX controllers. Disk devices are supported by the BIOS. Other SCSI devices
are not supported without additional DOS drivers.
NVRAM
If NVRAM is present on a controller with a 4.XX BIOS, the SDMSNETx.DSK NetWare
drivers use the on-board parameters to configure the Symbios Logic 8XX
controllers.
Supported DOS Drivers
Currently only the ASPI8XX.SYS driver is supported in a NetWare configuration
utilizing a 4.XX BIOS.
* When Using No SDMS BIOS *
The SDMSNETx.DSK driver operates properly on a system when no SDMS BIOS is
present. In this case, DOS must reside on a device which is not connected to a
Symbios Logic controller based host adapter. As an example, DOS could reside
on an IDE drive.
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.