Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen
From: davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.COM (Wm E Davidsen Jr)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix
Subject: Non-letters on SLS support
Message-ID: <2265@crdos1.crd.ge.COM>
Date: 29 May 90 18:47:46 GMT
Reply-To: davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.com (bill davidsen)
Distribution: na
Organization: GE Corp R&D Center
Lines: 27


  One of my minor gripes with the SLS updates is that the cover letters
don't clearly state what they are supposed to fix, add, or change. I
have been looking at xnx133, which is a fix for "problems" with the WD1007
controller. Unfortunately, it doesn't say exactly what it cures. Is this
just to be blindly unstalled on all systems with the WD1007? Will it
cure the problem of occasional hangs with the WD1006?

  I think the SLS systems is a great idea, I check it monthly (or more
if I have a problem) and it's been of great use. It would probably save
SCO some time answering questions if the the cover letter was just a
little more explicit, particularly for fixes. The added features are
obvious. One paragraph in the letter might save twenty phone calls.

  As soon as I get a system with a WD1006 hanging (I have seen
repeatable cases of this) I'm going to put in the WD1007 patch which
(probably) addresses the same problem. At any rate the helpful person on
the phone said that it addressed hanging due to overlapping seeks (more
or less). That seems to be a candidate for the 1006 problem as well.

  Now that I have the fix in hand, all RLL systems have been running
without a hang for months. I guess I can't complain, can I. I may
convert to (xomebody's) UNIX before the chance comes to try the fix.

-- 
bill davidsen	(davidsen@crdos1.crd.GE.COM -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen)
            "Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -me