Does FreeBSD 4.11-STABLE support the 8237R?

[Mark]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
> [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org] On Behalf Of Danial Thom
> Sent: vrijdag 2 juni 2006 18:28
> To: Scott Hiemstra; 'FreeBSD-Questions Questions'
> Subject: RE: Does FreeBSD 4.11-STABLE support the 8237R?
>
> --- Scott Hiemstra <shiemstra at h2.com> wrote:
>
> > > Did you say you are running a server? That MB is only suitable for
> > > desktop use, as it has the slowest ethernet controller known to man
> > > on a 32/33Mhz bus. Running this MB as a server is like putting
> > > cheap, skinny tires on your porsche.
> > >
> > > DT
> >
> > Personaly, I appreciate your dedication to maximum performance but
> > please notice this thread is in reference to swapping a MB for another
> > MB and coments like yours are not appreciated.
> >
> > Would you prefer if I had stated?
> >
> > "I have the same board in a crappy server running 4.11 (FreeBSD
> > 4.11-STABLE #0) and no problems to report."
> >
> > Please notice I never said what the box was doing nor did I ask for
> > your opinion of what MB/NIC I use in my systems. This SERVER is pur-
> > pose built and runs stable 24/7 as a low volume outbound mail server
> > so the performance of the NIC is not my primary concern. Please keep
> > your useless comments to yourself as they do nothing but waste disk
> > space, CPU time and the valuable time of people who attempt to help
> > others on this list.
> >
> > Scott
>
> So if someone is planning on using a crappy motherboard as a server its
> not appropriate to mention that the replacement is not suitable for the
> task? So since you're replacing the MB, why not take the opportunity to
> use something suitable.

Because it means introducing a whole slew of new, unknown variables. :)

When I first installed 4.10R, it did not even support the 8237; and disk
performance on that board was limited to a terribly slow Multi-World DMA 2
mode (I think it was that; very slow, at least). So, imagine my delight
when 4.11-STABLE supported the 8237 at last. Buying a newer type
motherboard for 4.11-STABLE (where would you find one for socket 754, so
soon replaced by socket 939, anyway?) would likely mean an unsupported
south-bridge chip, and being back to square one. Nope. I'm gonna stick
with what works for 4.11-STABLE (as that is still my preferred FreeBSD
version; and if I cannot find a new motherboard after the new one dies, I
will just continue to run the whole thing in a Vmware box).

As for the LAN, since I only have a 100 Mb network, I see no reason to
assume even a less than ideal performing gigabit LAN would slow things
down (unless its performance dropped below 10%; and I'm sure it's not that
bad).

In fact, not to be unnecessarily contrary, but I would ere say this
motherboard is totally unsuited for desktop use (I have a shiny P5WD2
Premium for that), and that this board is rather ideally suited for a
FreeBSD 4.11 system.

- Mark