Re: SCSI controller

[" Raymond A. Ingles" <inglesra@frc.com>]

On Wed, 4 Mar 1998, Peter Paluch wrote:

> Hello,
> ======
> 
> I'm thinking of buying a SCSI for my computer. However, I have no experience
> in this field. I'd like to buy some that works well with Linux. What do you
> think of Adaptec and Western Digital?
> 
> Thanks a lot.

 You probably want to ask this question on linux-scsi@vger.rutgers.edu, 
but just to give you a quick summary:

 Adaptec controllers are very common, and perform fairly well, but 
Adaptec does not cooperate with the Linux community, and does not release 
information about their cards. The drivers for Adaptec cards have been 
reverse-engineered. They do seem to work for most people, but other cards 
are better supported.

 I don't know much about Western Digital, but a friend of mine has one 
and has had a lot of trouble getting it to work under Linux. WD does not 
release their specs either. The drivers for WD cards do not seem to be as 
good as for Adaptec.

 Buslogic/Mylex cards *are* supported. Buslogic is very cooperative with 
the Linux community and I have seen many people say that the cards work 
very well.

 I personally have an NCR53c825 card. NCR/Symbios released their 
programming information, too, and the drivers are very good. All the 
NCR53c8xx cards are supported, and most of the NCR53c7xx cards, from what 
I gather. NCR cards are also very cheap - www.swt.com has an ad in the 
Linux Journal to sell an NCR53c810 (Fast SCSI) for $53 (US).

 I have heard that it's hard to get anything but Adaptec in Europe, so 
that may be your only choice. As I said, it does seem to be supported 
fairly well.

 Sincerely,

 Ray Ingles         (248) 377-7735          ray.ingles@fanucrobotics.com

 "Improvements succeeded each other so rapidly, that machines which had
    never been finished were abandoned in the hands of their makers,
       because new improvements had superceded their utility."

       Charles Babbage 'On the Economy of Manufactures' 1832



--
TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS MAILING LIST: e-mail the word "unsubscribe" to
debian-user-request@lists.debian.org . 
Trouble?  e-mail to templin@bucknell.edu .