5 February 2016

Question -- does Debian 8 Linux (Linux kernel 3.16) have solidly reliable driver support for the HP SC11Xe Ultra320 PCIe SCSI Host Bus Adapter when connected to a DAT 72 tape drive via SCSI-2 Ultra Wide LVD?

I am developing a detailed configuration for buying a new x86_64 desktop PC to run Debian 8 Linux (to replace an x86_32 Windows XP PC).

The SCSI-2 (LVD) external tape drive for the new Debian 8 PC is going to be:

Either: Quantum DAT 72 DDS external SCSI tape drive ("LVD / Ultra Wide SCSI connection")
Or: HP StorageWorks DAT 72 DDS external SCSI tape drive ("Wide Ultra SCSI(LVD/SE)");

For the SCSI controller card, my preference is a PCIe (PCI Express) host bus adapter (HBA), rather than a plain PCI bus SCSi adapter. I am not at all interested in PCI-X bus adapters for this desktop PC configuration.

The HP SC11Xe Ultra320 PCIe SCSI Host Bus Adapter has caught my interest.

Here are quotes from HP document <c04111643.pdf>:
...
QuickSpecs
HP SC11Xe Host Bus Adapter
Overview
c04111643 – DA – 12566 Worldwide — Version 27 — June 10, 2014 Page 1
HP SC11Xe Host Bus Adapter
The HP SC11Xe Host Bus Adapter provides customers with the flexibility and speed they have come to expect from HP.
This HBA is ideal for HP tape customers needing to
attach Ultra320 tape backup devices
on servers using the PCI-Express interface,
and provides support for
Ultra320 SCSI,
Wide Ultra3 SCSI,
and Wide Ultra2 SCSI protocols.
It is the primary building block for
SCSI backup solutions that provide the maximum of 320 MB/second bandwidth,
twice the speed of previous-generation SCSI adapters.
...

My research indicates that the HP SC11Xe HBA is based on the LSI20320-R SCSI processor chip:
http://www.experts-exchange.com/ques...s-2012-R2.html

After spending many hours searching the web, I am unable to determine if the HP SC11Xe HBA is supported by Debian 8 Linux (which I understand uses the Linux 3.16 kernel).

So I am posting a question here in the hope that someone has experience / knowledge that might help clarify the question -- as to whether or not Debian 8 Linux (Linux kernel 3.16) has solidly reliable driver support for the HP SC11Xe Ultra320 PCIe SCSI Host Bus Adapter connected to a DAT 72 tape drive via SCSI-2 Ultra Wide LVD?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Steve

One thing about HP is that they almost for sure used a device that was supported in some linux. I'd give it more than a 90% chance of working on some linux distro. One issue is that a lot of that period stuff used an older kernel and lib's. If you had the card installed you could boot to a few distro's live and see how far you get. I'd bet OpenSuse and maybe CentOS would be supported out of the box.

I'd have to fire up my old Dell server that has the LSI to be sure.

This has some info that may help maybe. http://community.hpe.com/t5/System-A...x/td-p/4178217

6 February 2016

Jefro -- thanks for your reply -- much appreciated.

* * *
* * *

You are correct about HP "period stuff" being supported on some Linux distro or other.

HP does provide support for their SC11Xe Ultra320 PCIe SCSI Host Bus Adapter on an older Linux distro:

HP doc last updated in 2010, accompanying file <kmod-mptbase-4.00.13.09-3.el6.x86_64.rpm>:

"Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (AMD64/EM64T) ... The kernels of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (AMD64/EM64T) supported by this binary rpm are: 2.6.32-71.el6 - Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (AMD64/EM64T) and future update kernels ... SUPPORTED DEVICES AND FEATURES ... HP SC11Xe Host Bus Adapter.

The LSI website has a page http://www.avagotech.com/support/download-search

Product Family ==> Legacy Host Bus Adapters
Product ==> LSI20320-R
Asset Type ==> Driver

These search parameters find two downloads for Linux (Red Hat & SuSE):

"LinuxMPT_SCSI_RHEL4_SLES9
Version: 3.13.04.00-2
File Size: 56243 KB
Language: English
08/19/2008"

"LinuxMPT_SCSI_RHEL5_SLES10
Version: 4.00.43.00-1
File Size: 119981 KB
Language: English
08/19/2008"

* * *
* * *

But I definitely want to use Debian Linux 8 (Linux kernel 3.16) on the new workstation (not Red Hat, not SuSE).

And nowhere on the web can I find conclusive answers regarding Debian 8 support for the HP SC11Xe Ultra320 PCIe SCSI Host Bus Adapter attached to an HP StorageWorks DAT 72 DDS external SCSI tape drive.

* * *
* * *

I do not have any of the hardware yet. I'm trying to pre-qualify the configuration before ordering the new PC.

There is no way I can afford to buy a new desktop PC with a SCSI host bus adapter and a SCSI DAT 72 tape drive, just for the sake of experimenting.

I'm going to contact HP tech support and LSI tech support, and will report back here to LinuxQuestions.org what I learn.

* * *
* * *

I do plan to run an OEM version of Windows 7 under QEMU / KVM with Debian Linux 8 as host operating system. Maybe I could use the Win 7 under QEMU / KVM to operate the SCSI DAT tape backup?

It looks like I may have to ask the PC vendor (NCIX) if they will be able to obtain the components on spec from HP (SCSI host bus adapter and SCSI DAT 72 tape drive) to try them out on an experimental Debian Linux 8 configuration.

* * *
* * *

There is one other possibility -- Paralan P79320 Ultra320 SCSI Host Bus Adapter:

http://www.paralan.com/hba320.html

This Paralan HBA is a PCI bus card (not PCIe bus) and does come with some Linux support:

Red Hat 2.1 & 7.0 to 8.0
SuSE 7.2 to 8.1
Caldera 3.1 & 3.1.1
<Linuxmpt-2.05.00.zip> (23.4 MB)

This Paralan product is based on the LSI53C1020 SCSI processor -- the same chip that is used in the HP SC11Xe Ultra320 PCIe SCSI Host Bus Adapter.

So I will also contact Paralan tech support.

* * *
* * *

Being a complete Linux newbie -- a Windows XP "orphan" who is trying to leave behind the world of Microsoft Windows -- now I really understand why Microsoft has such a powerful grip on the market!!

Steve

9 February 2016

The reason I started this thread asking about Debian 8 Linux support for the (LSI chip-based) HP SC11Xe Ultra320 PCIe SCSI Host Bus Adapter, was because I was under the mistaken impression that LSI SCSI controller ships were the only ones well supported by Linux. That Adaptec SCSI controller chips were not well supported.

Further research shows that Adaptec SCSI controller chips and HBAs are in fact extremely well supported by Linux.

Therefore, instead of the (LSI-based) HP SC11Xe I have decided to use an Adaptec card:

"Adaptec SCSI Card 29320LPE Single Channel 64-bit Low Profile PCI-E to Ultra320 SCSI Card"

It looks like the Linux aic79xx driver module has support for this card.

Steve

Thanks for the update. Wish I could have said some answer 100%. I do know my pci-x lsi has booted to a few linux distro's in the past. Just haven't gotten around to booting it on Debian 8.

9 February 2016

jefro -- I appreciate your interest -- no worries about your trying the pci-x LSI with Debian 8. I'm going to stick with Adaptec for the SCSI controller.

* * *
* * *

It seems it's very difficult to get any big name PC retail seller to show much interest in helping a buyer with the Debian 8 Linux compatibility issue. Can't say as I blame the resellers.

Now I'm working to develop a complete configuration for the desktop PC using:

pcpartpicker.com

Very useful functional site. They even have good coverage for Canadian sources for components.

I'm tending towards building my own PC from parts. Worst case, I'll be donating some unusable parts to the local Linux User group in Toronto

Either way -- no doubt I'll be returning to LinuxQuestions.org when time comes to get the Debian 8 working on the new PC ...

Steve