Subject: Re: binary kernel drivers re. hpt370 and redhat
From: Alan Cox <alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk>
To: Stephen Hemminger <shemminger@osdl.org>
Cc: joe briggs <jbriggs@briggsmedia.com>,
       Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
In-Reply-To: <20030827145755.7e1ce956.shemminger@osdl.org>
References: <200308271840.30368.jbriggs@briggsmedia.com>
	 <20030827145755.7e1ce956.shemminger@osdl.org>
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Date: 27 Aug 2003 23:17:00 +0100
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On Mer, 2003-08-27 at 22:57, Stephen Hemminger wrote:
> On Wed, 27 Aug 2003 18:40:30 -0400
> joe briggs <jbriggs@briggsmedia.com> wrote:
> 
> > I have a client who has a raid controller currently supported under windows, 
> > and now wants to support linux as a bootable device.  Currently, some of 
> > their trade secrets are contained in the driver as opposed to the controller

Standard practice - its not IMHO so much trade secrets as "improving the
barrier to vendor change" 8). Pretty much all of the older PATA
controllers don't actually do hardware raid but bios/driver raid - ie
its the equivalent (or roughly so) of the md layer but locks you into
the vendor. The notable exception here is the 3ware card (there are a 
couple of others too - Promise Supertrak100, SX6000)

We know some of these formats (eg see the hptraid driver in 2.4.2x)

> The problem is more in the bootloader (LILO or GRUB) would not no how
> to do raid. The /boot partition would have to be on a non-raid partition.
> Same problem if driver is statically linked in the kernel.

Plus little issues like the GPL 8)


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