Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1759711AbWLFCrH (ORCPT ); Tue, 5 Dec 2006 21:47:07 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S1759737AbWLFCrH (ORCPT ); Tue, 5 Dec 2006 21:47:07 -0500 Received: from rwcrmhc11.comcast.net ([204.127.192.81]:60156 "EHLO rwcrmhc11.comcast.net" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1759711AbWLFCrE (ORCPT ); Tue, 5 Dec 2006 21:47:04 -0500 Message-ID: <45762F1E.4030805@comcast.net> Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2006 21:46:54 -0500 From: Ed Sweetman User-Agent: Icedove 1.5.0.8 (X11/20061129) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Robert Hancock CC: linux-kernel Subject: Re: Why SCSI module needed for PCI-IDE ATA only disks ? References: <45761B2F.9060804@shaw.ca> <457625CF.2080105@comcast.net> <45762781.8020207@shaw.ca> In-Reply-To: <45762781.8020207@shaw.ca> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 2639 Lines: 48 Robert Hancock wrote: > Ed Sweetman wrote: >> What's not a legitimate configuration is libata drivers, no low level >> scsi drivers, no ide drivers and no sd,sr,sg drivers. Yet, that is >> the configuration the kernel currently gives you. How is that more >> correct than any of the 3 solutions I have suggested? > > You can't build libata without low-level SCSI drivers. CONFIG_ATA > automatically selects CONFIG_SCSI. > config scsi isn't low level. There are no scsi controllers selected by selecting config_ata. Mening, that the user hasn't bothered going into the SCSI section. In effect you have a system that detects the ata controllers but nothing that can use the drives on them. How is that a valid system, a system where no drives are usable, but having some mention of the configuration in the Help of libata or automatically selecting those scsi_sd, sr, and sg drivers and letting the user deselect them as needed instead of the other way around Not a valid are more correct system? No matter what when you select a scsi controller or libata controller you are going to need to select one or more of those scsi device drivers (sr,sg,sd) the issue is that when you are only using libata, you have no reason to bother with the scsi section so it's not readily apparent that you would need those block device drivers. I'm not saying we should auto select them, but I am saying that auto selecting is way better than keeping the kernel configuration the way it is and selecting none. In the end the problem is in the layout of the config. SCSI is _THE_ device interface protocol but most people dont have scsi physical interfaces. The kernel differentiates between the two inside the SCSI section. This made sense before ide was marked for eventual replacement by libata. Now everything uses that scsi top level for block device access. That effectively makes those scsi block devices generic block devices. SCSI and LIBATA sections should have configuration options that are relevant to those physical devices and interfaces and not require options from eachother's sections to get drivers in their own sections to work. Massively shared config options shouldn't be stuck in some sub menu below where all the things that use it are located. But that's for some much later version of the kernel to deal with (when ide is removed and such). - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/