Realtek RTL8111/8168B IRQ clash with IDE driver?

madbrad · 04-12-2008, 09:24 PM

Well, the boot messages are pretty clear in which SATA ports belong to which controller, and then which disks are found on the various ports.

As to when the system is up and running ... I guess you could probably find out via the /proc or /sys filesystems. I don't know.

Electro · 04-13-2008, 01:02 AM

FYI, Intel ICH9 SATA is software RAID not hardware RAID. Also Marvell, Silicon Image, JMicron are software RAID.

The P and X of any Intel chip sets and the future models does not come with PATA/ATAPI. Motherboard manufactures are just adding PATA/ATAPI controller to fill in what these chip sets lost for users that prefer PATA/ATAPI devices like hard drives and optical drives. JMicron, ITE, and Marvell is what motherboard manufactures selects to fill in this gap. Also motherboard manufactures does a trick to sell their models better by putting more SATA slots. Users see motherboard A that has 6 SATA slots while motherboard B has 8 SATA slots. Users will select motherboard B because it has more SATA slots.

Gigabyte uses ITE as an PATA/ATAPI replacement which seems to work well now compared to other controller brands.

H_TeXMeX_H · 04-13-2008, 04:13 AM

Here's the section from dmesg on AHCI, it looks like both the DVD-RW drive and HDD are using the Intel controller, right ?

Code:

ahci 0000:00:1f.2: version 2.3
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:1f.2[B] -> GSI 19 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
ahci 0000:00:1f.2: AHCI 0001.0200 32 slots 4 ports 3 Gbps 0x33 impl SATA mode
ahci 0000:00:1f.2: flags: 64bit ncq sntf stag pm led clo pmp pio slum part 
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:00:1f.2 to 64
scsi0 : ahci
scsi1 : ahci
scsi2 : ahci
scsi3 : ahci
scsi4 : ahci
scsi5 : ahci
ata1: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cbc100 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata2: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cbc180 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata3: DUMMY
ata4: DUMMY
ata5: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cbc300 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata6: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cbc380 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata1: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300)
ata1.00: ATAPI: TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S203B, SB00, max UDMA/100
ata1.00: configured for UDMA/100
ata2: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300)
ata2.00: Host Protected Area detected:
	current size: 312579695 sectors
	native size: 312581808 sectors
ata2.00: ATA-7: ST3160815AS, 3.AAD, max UDMA/133
ata2.00: 312579695 sectors, multi 0: LBA48 NCQ (depth 31/32)
ata2.00: Host Protected Area detected:
	current size: 312579695 sectors
	native size: 312581808 sectors
ata2.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata5: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300)
ata6: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300)
scsi 0:0:0:0: CD-ROM            TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S203B  SB00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 5
sr0: scsi3-mmc drive: 48x/48x writer dvd-ram cd/rw xa/form2 cdda tray
Uniform CD-ROM driver Revision: 3.20
sr 0:0:0:0: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr0
sr 0:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 5
scsi 1:0:0:0: Direct-Access     ATA      ST3160815AS      3.AA PQ: 0 ANSI: 5
sd 1:0:0:0: [sda] 312579695 512-byte hardware sectors (160041 MB)
sd 1:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
sd 1:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00
sd 1:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
sd 1:0:0:0: [sda] 312579695 512-byte hardware sectors (160041 MB)
sd 1:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
sd 1:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00
sd 1:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
 sda: sda1 sda2
sd 1:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI disk
sd 1:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:03:00.0[A] -> GSI 19 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
ahci 0000:03:00.0: AHCI 0001.0000 32 slots 2 ports 3 Gbps 0x3 impl SATA mode
ahci 0000:03:00.0: flags: 64bit ncq pm led clo pmp pio slum part 
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:03:00.0 to 64
scsi6 : ahci
scsi7 : ahci
ata7: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cc0100 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata8: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cc0180 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata7: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300)
ata8: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300)

You think I could get more performance if I put one on the other controller ? If so, how would I do that ? It says both have speed of 1.5 Gbps, but the maximum is 3.0 Gbps, does that mean it splits the throughput among the two ?

Also, here's the new 'cat /proc/interrupts' just to have it here, as you said before the libata is no longer there:

Code:

           CPU0       CPU1       CPU2       CPU3       
  0:        402          0          1          0   IO-APIC-edge      timer
  1:          1          1          0          0   IO-APIC-edge      i8042
  7:          0          0          0          0   IO-APIC-edge      parport0
  8:          1          2          0          0   IO-APIC-edge      rtc
  9:          0          0          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   acpi
 12:          3          1          0          0   IO-APIC-edge      i8042
 16:     103111          1          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   uhci_hcd:usb2, eth0, nvidia
 17:      20527          7          6          5   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ahci, ahci, uhci_hcd:usb7
 18:          1          1          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ehci_hcd:usb1, uhci_hcd:usb5, uhci_hcd:usb8
 19:          0          0          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ehci_hcd:usb3, uhci_hcd:usb6
 20:      58752          1          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   uhci_hcd:usb4
 21:        177          1          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   HDA Intel
NMI:          0          0          0          0 
LOC:     245135     251446     189040     136172 
ERR:          0
MIS:          0

H_TeXMeX_H · 04-13-2008, 06:57 AM

I opened the case and saw that there are 4 ports for the Intel controller and 2 ports for the JMicron one, just as is reported by dmesg, so I connected the HDD to the JMicron one, and left the DVD-RW on the Intel one, and the new dmesg is:

Code:

ahci 0000:00:1f.2: version 2.3
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:1f.2[B] -> GSI 19 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
ahci 0000:00:1f.2: AHCI 0001.0200 32 slots 4 ports 3 Gbps 0x33 impl SATA mode
ahci 0000:00:1f.2: flags: 64bit ncq sntf stag pm led clo pmp pio slum part 
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:00:1f.2 to 64
scsi0 : ahci
scsi1 : ahci
scsi2 : ahci
scsi3 : ahci
scsi4 : ahci
scsi5 : ahci
ata1: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cbc100 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata2: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cbc180 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata3: DUMMY
ata4: DUMMY
ata5: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cbc300 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata6: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cbc380 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata1: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300)
ata1.00: ATAPI: TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S203B, SB00, max UDMA/100
ata1.00: configured for UDMA/100
ata2: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300)
ata5: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300)
ata6: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300)
scsi 0:0:0:0: CD-ROM            TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S203B  SB00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 5
sr0: scsi3-mmc drive: 48x/48x writer dvd-ram cd/rw xa/form2 cdda tray
Uniform CD-ROM driver Revision: 3.20
sr 0:0:0:0: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr0
sr 0:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 5
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:03:00.0[A] -> GSI 19 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
ahci 0000:03:00.0: AHCI 0001.0000 32 slots 2 ports 3 Gbps 0x3 impl SATA mode
ahci 0000:03:00.0: flags: 64bit ncq pm led clo pmp pio slum part 
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:03:00.0 to 64
scsi6 : ahci
scsi7 : ahci
ata7: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cc0100 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata8: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0xf8cc0180 ctl 0x00000000 bmdma 0x00000000 irq 17
ata7: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300)
ata7.00: Host Protected Area detected:
	current size: 312579695 sectors
	native size: 312581808 sectors
ata7.00: ATA-7: ST3160815AS, 3.AAD, max UDMA/133
ata7.00: 312579695 sectors, multi 0: LBA48 NCQ (depth 31/32)
ata7.00: Host Protected Area detected:
	current size: 312579695 sectors
	native size: 312581808 sectors
ata7.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata8: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300)
scsi 6:0:0:0: Direct-Access     ATA      ST3160815AS      3.AA PQ: 0 ANSI: 5
sd 6:0:0:0: [sda] 312579695 512-byte hardware sectors (160041 MB)
sd 6:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
sd 6:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00
sd 6:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
sd 6:0:0:0: [sda] 312579695 512-byte hardware sectors (160041 MB)
sd 6:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
sd 6:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00
sd 6:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
 sda: sda1 sda2
sd 6:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI disk
sd 6:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0

Note that each is on a different controller, but each still has throughput of 1.5 Gbps. Somehow I think the speed limit lies not with the controller, but with the way the board is designed. Right ? If not, how can I get them both up to 3.0 Gbps, even tho it's probably not necessary.

On the other hand, I did get a faster boot time when doing it this way, probably because I enabled 'Asynchronous SCSI scanning' in the kernel.

Edit:
Wiki says:

Quote:

SATA 3.0 Gbit/s offers a maximum bandwidth of 300 MB/s per device

and that

Quote:

In practice, some older SATA controllers do not properly implement SATA speed negotiation. Affected systems require the user to set the SATA 3.0 Gbit/s peripherals to 1.5 Gbit/s mode, generally through the use of a jumper.
...
According to the hard drive manufacturer Maxtor, motherboard host controllers using the VIA and SIS chipsets VT8237, VT8237R, VT6420, VT6421L, SIS760, SIS964 found on the ECS 755-A2 which was manufactured in 2003, do not support SATA 3 Gbit/s drives. To address interoperability problems, the largest hard drive manufacturer Seagate/Maxtor have added a user-accessible jumper-switch known as the Force 150, to switch between 150 MB/s and 300 MB/s operation.[3] Users with a SATA 1.5 Gbit/s motherboard with one of the listed chipsets should either buy an ordinary SATA 1.5 Gbit/s hard disk, buy a SATA 3 Gbit/s hard disk with the user-accessible jumper, or buy a PCI or PCI-E card to add full SATA 3 Gbit/s capability and compatibility. Western Digital uses jumper setting called "OPT1 Enabled" to force 150 MB/s data transfer speed.

After looking into it a bit more, it seems the max transfer rate of the DVD-RW drive is 1.5 GBps, but of the HDD is 3.0 GBps. So, there is a problem.

H_TeXMeX_H · 04-13-2008, 08:07 AM

Nevermind about the last post, the problem is solved, the ones who assembled the computer forgot to remove a jumper that limits the speed to 1.5 GBps. Or rather they added it because they failed to understand what it was for, morons.

Moral: If you did not personally assemble your computer, check to make sure they didn't add extra jumpers where they don't belong.

In all actuality, it isn't my computer, it is my brother's computer, he didn't trust me to build it for him, and let the guys at the store do it ... that's what he gets for not trusting me, not caring, and not reading about it either.

Electro · 04-13-2008, 05:11 PM

Both the hard drive and DVD drives does not transfer data greater than 150 MB per second. They transfer a little more than a fifth of the speed of 150 MB per second. Also SATA ports is independent to the other ports. One port could be handling SATAI drive while the other is handling SATAII drive.

I think the immaturity of AHCI counts for the slow boot time and additional problems. Also I think storage controller manufactures include hidden commands that increases speed of their controller using their drivers instead of AHCI. When I switch to AHCI on my notebook computer that is using Intel ICH9 SATA controller, it took longer to boot.

What I do not get is this thread. First you had a problem with your Realtek NIC. Then you provided more information that was not noted in your first post. It seems it is a user related problem that wanted to use AHCI instead of using the SATA controllers in a native way. I recommend use AHCI as your last resort.

I agree, the kernel developers are now screwing up the 2.6.x kernel since 2.6.14. The "revised" changes has been created chaos. I can not compile drivers from alsa-project.org if I wanted to. Also it is keeping me on my toes to make sure I use the correct ivtv version for the kernel version that I am using. I do think nVidia is having problems keeping up with the dramatic changes of the kernel while keeping Windows users in an OK state.

H_TeXMeX_H · 04-14-2008, 04:24 AM

But, the HDD says it supports SATA II (a misnomer, I know) but it means a maximum speed of 3.0 Gbps. I also know that the HDD doesn't really use all of this 'bandwidth', but I'm sure it must use more than 1.5 Gbps, or else I was ripped off by buying a SATA II drive instead of a SATA I drive.

Electro · 04-14-2008, 05:22 PM

Be careful mixing Gb versus MB. A 300 MB is about 2.3 Gb.

The electronics could handle 300 MB, but the mechanics may not. A port multiplier could be used to come close to the maximum bandwidth of one SATA 3 Gb port.

The so called "SATA-II" drive has too much confusion. I suggest compared the capabilities of your present 300 drive to a drive that is 150 MB. Though I am confused and skeptical about the 3 Gb and how they (SATA-IO) got this number. I suggest read the following page.

http://www.sata-io.org/namingguidelines.asp

H_TeXMeX_H · 04-15-2008, 07:13 AM

Thanks for the link. I do not have a 1.5 Gbps drive, so I can't compare. However, I could put the jumper back in and test with and without the jumper. I think that would be pointless tho, I'm sure it'll go faster without the jumper.