[svlug] Odd install problem w/ Etch on Dell 1950

[Ivan Sergio Borgonovo]

On Fri, 25 May 2007 15:52:47 -0700
"Satyen Sheth" <satyen.sheth at gmail.com> wrote:

> From my experience kernel 2.6 did not work.  I auto installed Etch
> using kernel 2.4.x

Overkill for my needs. I've 2 Poweredge and one is still running
sarge.
It's a pity Debian (the kernel?) lost compatibility with that
hardware.

I've followed a bit the thread on bugs.debian.org but I didn't
understand if there is any chance that a kernel upgrade on the stable
branch will take back compatibility for CERT ATA ctl.
The situation is a bit confusing, it doesn't look there is no
support, just they dropped some PCI ID to avoid overlapping and older
firmware get recognised by new drivers, newer firmware don't.
And someone said that LSI/Dell refuses to support old firmware.
Supposedly there are patches by Andrew Morton making it work and some
make their way in 2.6.20 and in Ubuntu Feisty.

Babysitting boxes is not my job and I really enjoy solving most of my
needs with an aptitude update upgrade.
When I bought those boxes I choose them so they wouldn't have any
compatibility problem, it's a bit annoying to see they aren't
supported anymore.
I admit that ATA RAID shouldn't be one of the most popular choices
but I'm wondering what I should buy next time I'll have to buy a
server.

If by any chance there is a repository with custom kernels for these
poweredges working similarly as backport with security updates I could
consider the effort of building up a custom install CD and then add
that repo.


-- 
Ivan Sergio Borgonovo
http://www.webthatworks.it