X-Git-Url: https://git.openpandora.org/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi?a=blobdiff_plain;f=Documentation%2Fcciss.txt;h=9c629ffa0e58ffa5710843a5c389660d46036681;hb=e2414910f212c52d9d7c64c99a22863488ac5b48;hp=c8f9a73111da8371d5ff4b49b68116ffb3353e48;hpb=54522b6613a03807f057fd567794a31267ef85cb;p=pandora-kernel.git diff --git a/Documentation/cciss.txt b/Documentation/cciss.txt index c8f9a73111da..9c629ffa0e58 100644 --- a/Documentation/cciss.txt +++ b/Documentation/cciss.txt @@ -17,7 +17,10 @@ This driver is known to work with the following cards: * SA P600 * SA P800 * SA E400 - * SA E300 + * SA P400i + * SA E200 + * SA E200i + * SA E500 If nodes are not already created in the /dev/cciss directory, run as root: @@ -131,3 +134,32 @@ hardware and it is important to prevent the kernel from attempting to directly access these devices too, as if the array controller were merely a SCSI controller in the same way that we are allowing it to access SCSI tape drives. +SCSI error handling for tape drives and medium changers +------------------------------------------------------- + +The linux SCSI mid layer provides an error handling protocol which +kicks into gear whenever a SCSI command fails to complete within a +certain amount of time (which can vary depending on the command). +The cciss driver participates in this protocol to some extent. The +normal protocol is a four step process. First the device is told +to abort the command. If that doesn't work, the device is reset. +If that doesn't work, the SCSI bus is reset. If that doesn't work +the host bus adapter is reset. Because the cciss driver is a block +driver as well as a SCSI driver and only the tape drives and medium +changers are presented to the SCSI mid layer, and unlike more +straightforward SCSI drivers, disk i/o continues through the block +side during the SCSI error recovery process, the cciss driver only +implements the first two of these actions, aborting the command, and +resetting the device. Additionally, most tape drives will not oblige +in aborting commands, and sometimes it appears they will not even +obey a reset coommand, though in most circumstances they will. In +the case that the command cannot be aborted and the device cannot be +reset, the device will be set offline. + +In the event the error handling code is triggered and a tape drive is +successfully reset or the tardy command is successfully aborted, the +tape drive may still not allow i/o to continue until some command +is issued which positions the tape to a known position. Typically you +must rewind the tape (by issuing "mt -f /dev/st0 rewind" for example) +before i/o can proceed again to a tape drive which was reset. +