Topic: SME5.5/Adaptec2400A install

[Rod]

I'm currently trying to install SME5.5 onto a hardware RAID1 setup.
I'm using an Adaptec 2400A controller.
The problem I am having is with the SME 5.5 installer as it seems to bypass the lilo prompt and starts the install without giving me the opportunity to install the drivers for it.
I'm RTFM for ks.cfg and I have tried creating a boot disk and then adding:
driver scsi dpt_i2o
with a copy of Charlie's driver disk for the 2400A.
The startup just progresses past this without asking for the driver disk.
Any clues hints appreciated.
Rod

[Rod]

Further to this.
I've gone back to SME 5.12 and at the command line as it boots from the CD I type in 'accept dd'
bott process proceeds and I am asked for a driver disk.
Driver disk is accepted and it loads the driver ( ok I think, no error messages shown on the other consoles ).
Then it reports that there is no valid devices to install on.
It looks like the driver is not being loaded.
I'm a tad stuck at the moment.
Anyone have any more ideas?
Rod

[Craig]

Rod

I know this doesn't help but I have tried to get the drivers that Charlie compiled to work with an Adaptec 2400A and a 2100S but had no success.

Hopefully someone out there has got somewhere with it.

Regards
Craig

[Rod]

Craig,
which version of SME did you try it on?

I've currently managed to 'fix' things to the point where no drivers are loaded

SME 5.5 doesn't appear to give you the option of using a driver disk.
Modifying the syslinux.cfg to remove the 'default' setting on a SME 5.5 boot disk seems to be in the right direction but I've now got the 'no drivers' problem ( above ).
I'm guessing it is something to do with plug-n-pray with the PCI cards. I'll have to see if I can reset them somehow.
Rod

[Tom Keiser]

I hate to say it, but I've been following the comments on these drivers for many moons, and I've never heard of anyone making them actually work. The only success I've ever had was with the Adaptec factory drivers for RH 7.0 used with e-smith 4.1.2. IIRC, when Charlie originally posted these, he indicated that he had no hardware available for testing.

Tom Keiser

[Craig]

Rod

It was with SME5.0 and 5.1.2.

I went through the 'accept dd' process and the driver disk seems to load but SME does not detect any hard drives. I have tried with a single drive and with a RAID mirror set and still no joy.

Regards
Craig

[Rod]

I've managed to get into the boot prompt with a SME 5.5 install
You need to press alt-x just as the boot process starts.
I did this scientifically by repeatedly pressing alt-x until I got a 'linux:' prompt.
At that point you need to type 'accept dd' and whatever else you feel is needed to load.
I'm beginning to think that there is something fundamentaly wrong with the drivers that Charlie B compiled ( thanks Charlie ).
Linux attemtps to load them but doesn't succeed.
Has anyone had any success with those drivers at all?

Rod

[Rod]

I am fairly certain thaat the driver is not being loaded.
Watching the installer screens as it loads it is attempting to load the driver but is failing for some unknown reason.
checking /proc/modules the driver isn't loaded.
I know the hardware works, the bootable CD that comes with the controller can access it. The adaptec BB has plenty of reports of it working.
It is something to do with the driver/kernel version we are using.
I've posted onto the adaptec BB to see if they will make a driver disk to suit.
I suppose the only other alternatives are to bin the controller or try and build a machine that I can compile on and work out how to make my own.
Rod

[Rod]

Just for the hell of it I tried an install on 4.1.2
Took me 10 minutes from start to finish on the 2400A
Its not the hardware...
Rod

[Charlie Brady]

Rod wrote:
>
> I've managed to get into the boot prompt with a SME 5.5 install
> You need to press alt-x just as the boot process starts.

The syslinux documentation tells me that you will get the boot prompt if "Shift or Alt key is pressed, or Caps Lock or Scroll lock is set".

http://syslinux.zytor.com/faq.php


Charlie

[Mike Foster]

I don't have the answer, but I having the same problem with a On Board Promise FastTrack Series Raid Controller. They have provided the RedHat Drivers but eSmith does not give me the opportunity to load the drivers. What is the alternitive? Use Redhat?

[Craig]

Mike

Wait till SME 5.6 is released. I have tried it on a DPT SCSI RAID card with 2 x 17 GIG Ultra SCSI hard drives configured for RAID 0 without a problem. Or you could of course use any 2.4 based RedHat disto.

Regards
Craig

[Mike Foster]

Thanks Craig
Just a thought, could I use Redhat as and install then use SME as an
Upgrade?
I'm trying to setup a server, Gigabite GA-7VAXP MB with an onboard Promise
Raid SCUSI/IDE . Usig the IDE setting to mirror 2 x 60GB Maxtor Viper ATA133
HDD's. I'm trying to avoid the Windows 2000 solution. I can not get SME to
see IDE' 2 and 3 even with the RAID off. No problems setting it up on 0 and
1.  I have the RedHat drivers from Promise. OR how can I get a copy of 5.6
to try it? I know it is still in development.

Cheers
Mike

[Joe Barnett]

I've been trying to install Adaptec 2400A cards with SME with no success until version 5.6 which installs the DPT_i2o driver on installation.  My two 2400 cards are configured as two raid 5 arrays, but how do I get the raids to appear under linux?  They don't seem to appear as /dev/md0, or /dev/sda so what am I missing?
I cannot install the Adaptec Server Manager as it requires X11 support.

[Rod]

As the 2400A is a hardware raid adapter I would expect that as far as linux is concerned i twould appear as a single hard drive. Definitely not /dev/md0 and as it is an IDE controller then I would expect it to be /dev/hda and not /dev/sda which is a scsi drive.
I have to have another go at this with sme 5.6 as soon as I can get the server off line and spend some time on it.