Subject: Linux-Development Digest #875
From: Digestifier <Linux-Development-Request@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU>
To: Linux-Development@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU
Reply-To: Linux-Development@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU
Date:     Thu, 30 Jun 94 17:13:10 EDT

Linux-Development Digest #875, Volume #1         Thu, 30 Jun 94 17:13:10 EDT

Contents:
  ARP broken ?! (H.P.Heidinger)
  Re: sendmsg() and recvmsg() (Matthias Urlichs)
  Re: Kenrel hacking tips (Drew Moseley)
  Re: Slackware Linux: gcc bug (Elaine Walton)
  Re: DOSEMU and Novell (Andrew Anderson)
  IPX networking with Linux (Andrew Anderson)
  Cyrix Cx486DRx^2 33/66GP 386-33 to 486-66 Upgrade Will it work? (Robert Sink)
  Re: computer science (Onno Hovers)
  Re: Slackware Linux: gcc bug (Archie Cobbs)
  E2FS panics - can't read inode on my IDE HD after installing SCSI (Matthew E Cross)
  Parallel port print speed:  advice? (John Ackermann)
  Possible bug in e2fs in 1.0.9 (Dale Shuttleworth)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: hph@hphbbs.E.open.DE (H.P.Heidinger)
Subject: ARP broken ?!
Reply-To: hph@hphbbs.ruhr.de
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 1994 09:11:34 GMT


  Hello Net-World!

  I'm now trying for some days Jamie Honan's `netboot' code.
  One curious thing is, that all requests to the server seem to
  work somehow (the servers HW address is returned) -- but my syslog
  file is also cluttered up with messages:

   Jun 28 ... bootpd[322]: ioctl(SIOCSARP): Protocol family not supported 

  The bootpd does also not return the Clients IP address (perhaps
  since it crashes on this early level ?) and the tftp process cannot
  be introduced, though.

  Is anything wrong with ARP protocoll?
  (I'm running Slackware-Distribution 1.2 and kernel 1.1.21)

  Any pointers are appreciated (Email please) ...

  

Regards, Peter
-- 
#########################=====================================================*
# H.P. Heidinger        # Call     : +49-201-287433 (data/FAX) V{22|32|42}bis *
# Steeler Str. 121      # E-Mail   : hph@hphbbs.ruhr.de                       *
# 45138 Essen /Germany  # Publogin : guest          * anon-UUCP: nuucp/nuucp  *

------------------------------

From: urlichs@smurf.noris.de (Matthias Urlichs)
Subject: Re: sendmsg() and recvmsg()
Date: 30 Jun 1994 11:49:05 +0200

In comp.os.linux.development, article <2untnk$7de@agate.berkeley.edu>,
  chaffee@bugs-bunny.cs.berkeley.edu (Gordon Chaffee) writes:
> multimedia applications.  The scatter/gather mechanism saves
> one level of copying, so it signicantly reduces load on machines
> where it is available.  I am a bit concerned that data transfer
> on Linux will suffer if data has to be copied to a single buffer 
> before it can be sent out.
> 
Apparently, Linus thinks that the data volume is usually so small that
allocating a buffer and copying it in is a negligible overhead.
(For the same reason, readv() and writev() are emulated by
malloc+read()/write() in the library.) He's right in 99% of the cases, but
the 1% with serious amounts of noncontiguous data which want to be
transferred with one system call are relly hurt by this decision.

Implementing readv/writev would require some kernel and driver changes, but
IMHO it's necessary.

-- 
The church is the only place where someone speaks to me and I do not
have to answer back.
                                -- Charles deGaulle
-- 
Matthias Urlichs        \ XLink-POP N|rnberg  | EMail: urlichs@smurf.noris.de
Schleiermacherstra_e 12  \  Unix+Linux+Mac    | Phone: ...please use email.
90491 N|rnberg (Germany)  \   Consulting+Networking+Programming+etc'ing     42

Click <A HREF="http://smurf.noris.de/~urlichs/finger">here</A>.

------------------------------

From: dmoseley@brtph8df.bnr.ca (Drew Moseley)
Subject: Re: Kenrel hacking tips
Date: 28 Jun 1994 20:17:07 GMT
Reply-To: ddm@cis.ufl.edu

In article <1994Jun28.193625.24021@imec.be>, buytaert@imec.be (Steven Buytaert) writes:
-->maizeli@md2.huji.ac.il wrote:
-->[ ... ]
-->  I found 4 things very usefull:
-->
-->  1) A book on the workings of the x386 processor. I mean, not
-->     only explaining opcodes but also protected mode memory
-->     segments, GDT, LDT, Task switching structure
-->
-->Steven Buytaert 

Any personal recommendations for a book of this sort?


Drew Moseley

------------------------------

From: ewalton@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Elaine Walton)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help
Subject: Re: Slackware Linux: gcc bug
Date: 30 Jun 1994 01:16:43 GMT

I just tried this program and it worked for me.  My compiler date is
1/26/94 21:39
-Sean

In article <robinson.772918705@ichips.intel.com>,
David Lyle Robinson <robinson@ichips.intel.com> wrote:
>
>I just installed slackware 1.2.0.  I don't know how to get
>the version number of gcc, but I found a bug in it.  Is there
>a special place to report bugs for gcc?  Is there a place
>to obtain patches for gcc?  Perhaps this has already been
>fixed.
>
>Alas... the following simple segment should supposedly
>get a double from stdin, then print what it just obtained.
>In this case, scanf stores zero in the variable, rather
>than what was given at stdin.  The same happens with
>fscanf(stdin, ...)
>
>#include <stdio.h>
>main ()
>{
>double LongFloat;
>
>scanf("%lf", &LongFloat);
>printf("You entered: %lf\n", LongFloat);
>}
>
>
>
>-David Robinson

------------------------------

From: andersoa@news.db.erau.edu (Andrew Anderson)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help
Subject: Re: DOSEMU and Novell
Date: 29 Jun 1994 01:43:23 GMT

Andrew Anderson (andersoa@news.db.erau.edu) wrote:
: James B. MacLean (jmaclean@fox.nstn.ns.ca) wrote:
: : In article <2ulg8s$2ps@blackbird.db.erau.edu> andersoa@news.db.erau.edu (Andrew Anderson) writes:


: : >I had an idea on getting 2 ethernet cards to work with DOSEMU so that it
: : >can access a Novell *Netware* (for the picky person who keeps pointing that
: : >out! ;) file server without triggering the intruder lockout.  I have
: : >to wait until tomorrow to test this for sure, but I'll let you know what
: : >I find out.

: : We'll all be interested in your results.

: : >Ok, with all that said, how about enableing the ports that the second 
: : >ethernet card uses so that DOSEMU can access it directly, bypassing
: : >linux entirely?  Is there any reason that I shouldn't be able to do this?

: : The method you require is possible via a Silly Interrupt Generator located
: : at:
: : tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux/ALPHA/dosemu/private/devel/SIG.tgz
: : This gives DOSEMU the ability to be informed when hard interrupts occur as 
: : most NICs that I know of need.

: I'll try this next.  I tried enabling the range of ports from 0x260 - 0x330,
: and sure enough, no go.

I got this and installed it...he he he...what an adventure!  Some of the
files have moved around a bit! :)  If you want, I'll send you some 
updated docs (if you plan on keeping this around a while, that is).

: : >I had previously tried compiling DOSEMU with all references to eth0 changed
: : >to eth1 so that it could co-exist with linux, but with no success.

: : Rob mentioned that there is a bit more to it than this and I believe he is 
: : waiting for us to do a bit of cleanup on the interrupt and ports calls.

: Any idea what time frame? :) Just kidding...you guys have done a
: tremendous job with the screen updates in 0.52.  That was one of the few
: barriers to me getting the go-ahead with development on my "little"
: project down here.

: : >I think I'll have to play with the NET.CFG and try to figure out how to
: : >get the odi drivers to load (had trouble with it before, but I'll try 
: : >again).  This method should be akin to enableing port 0x378 so that
: : >DOSEMU can access the printer port, right?
: : >I'd appreciate hearing from anyone using the odi drivers already,
: : >because I hate having to re-invent the wheel! :)

: : Hmm, pdether loads in DOSEMU now and allows you to load your typical:

: : lsl
: : pdether
:   ^^^^^^^  I loaded the odi driver that came with the card (Etherexpress)
:          here, and it couldn't find the card...I may try this driver
:          also to see if that works better, after I see if the the SIG program
:          solves my problems.
: : ipxodi
: : netx

I tracked down pdether with archie, and this setup just locks the dosemu
program.  I'm not quite sure where to go from here.  I have SIG installed,
and apparently working correctly, but I still can't access the card
enough to get the odi driver that came with the card to work.

: Well right now if I can't get one machine to run multiple sessions, it looks
: like I'll have to arrange a cluster of machines dedicated to handling
: incoming telnet DOSEMU sessions.  Have one machine as the main connect
: point that rsh's to the others using a UUCP-type locking system to know
: which machine is avialable for an emulation session.  I'd rather sacrifice
: a card in a machine than dedicate a machine to just running DOSEMU. :(

This second option is looking more like a possibility.

Andrew

--
|===========================================================================|
|  Andrew Anderson                              andersoa@erau.db.erau.edu   |
|  Novell Network System Administrator          andersoa@bart.db.erau.edu   |
|  Linux System Administrator                   andrew@wilbur.db.erau.edu   |
|                                                                           |
| I don't speak for ERAU, and God knows I don't want them to speak for me!  | 
|===========================================================================|

------------------------------

From: andersoa@news.db.erau.edu (Andrew Anderson)
Subject: IPX networking with Linux
Date: 29 Jun 1994 01:52:18 GMT

I was talking to a friend today, and he said that "there is new ipx
network support in one of the new Linux kernels".  Is this true, or
did he misunderstand a post saying that work was being done on this
area?  Being able to mount Netware drives under Linux would really
help me out.

--
|===========================================================================|
|  Andrew Anderson                              andersoa@erau.db.erau.edu   |
|  Novell Network System Administrator          andersoa@bart.db.erau.edu   |
|  Linux System Administrator                   andrew@wilbur.db.erau.edu   |
|                                                                           |
| I don't speak for ERAU, and God knows I don't want them to speak for me!  | 
|===========================================================================|

------------------------------

From: sinkr@universe.digex.net (Robert Sink)
Subject: Cyrix Cx486DRx^2 33/66GP 386-33 to 486-66 Upgrade Will it work?
Date: 28 Jun 1994 21:45:28 -0400

I received a couple of weeks ago from a company in in Chandler, AZ called
DataCal a couple fliers on single-chip processor upgrades for many different
speeds of 386s.  Specifically I'm concerned with the 33 to 66 MHz upgrade
which, according to the company will be released in a couple of weeks here.

I suppose I find it too good to be true.  Supposedly, this chip is to have 
the on-board cache of the 486, the 487(co-processor) and operate @66MHz.

My biggest concern, is, is it a flim-flam?  Is it a glorified 486?  Will
Linux be able to address this chip correctly (actually this is the biggest
concern).  Has anyone heard and stories good or bad about this chip?
Furthermore is it worth the $357.00 for the price (which is BTW, fully
refundable w/in a 30 or 60 day period) or should I just save my pennies and
buy a 486DX4-100 or a P5 motherboard?

Any info @ all would be greatly appreciated!

--

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
|:| Robert Sink              | "I don't want  to start  any blasphemous |:|
|:| sinkr@universe.digex.net |  rumors, but I think that GOD has a sick |:|
|:|--------------------------|  sense of humor and when I die  I expect |:|
|:| (c) 1994 Gurkware, Inc.  |  to find him laughing."  -- Depeche Mode |:|
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
         *PGP 2.3a Public Key Available By Fingering This Account*

------------------------------

From: onno@stack.urc.tue.nl (Onno Hovers)
Subject: Re: computer science
Date: 30 Jun 1994 14:22:18 GMT

Albert D. Cahalan (adc@bach.coe.neu.edu) wrote:
> I would like to know what some of the Linux developers think of their
> jobs.  I am considering switching my major from electrical engineering
> to computer science.  What would be important to learn?  What might I
> end up doing?
> --

Well, sometimes I wish I could change my study. When I started doing Physics 
I really was interested in it. I liked to learn about how the world was put
together and all those interesting things like Quantum-Mechanics, 
Relativity Theory  etc. 
It's an interesting study, but because I got a new computer (a PC),
internet access etc. computing became my hobby and gradually won my
interest. I also think the C.S. people on my university are a lot more
interested in the things they study. There are only a few Physics students at 
my university I met that are really interested in it. Physics is considered 
a very difficult study out here, that is done by people that are outstanding
in maths and physics. 
I don't know about how things are at other universities.
But I must note that there is an excellent Maths and C.S. department here. 
The (in)famous Dijkstra was once a professor at our university. 
It is not difficult for me to find someone that wants to discuss if PCs,
Macintoshes, Amigas or Suns are better computers.   

Anyway, my advice is that you must do what you like to do, and what you are 
interested in. But you may not need to switch your major. It may also 
be possible to do some CS courses nest to your major, and try to find 
the fields in EE that overlap with CS. That's just the thing I'm planning 
to do now. I have also met too many CS students at my university that 
like computers, but hate their study. 
 
The fact that you posted this on a comp.os.linux newsgroup 
shows that you are interested in Linux. Well, the wonderfull thing about
Linux is that it is composed by so many hackers, who were willing to spare 
some time in this project.

--
==============================================================================
    /-------/       / | Onno Hovers
   /       /-------/  | 2nd Year student Physics  
  /       /-------/   | email:  onno@stack.urc.tue.nl
 /-------/       /    | tel. :  013-676622
 Ask for OHware (TM)  | addr.:  Wandelboslaan 105, 5042 PC Tilburg, Nederland 
==============================================================================
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"--G.Orwell  

------------------------------

From: archie@qin.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Archie Cobbs)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help
Subject: Re: Slackware Linux: gcc bug
Date: 30 Jun 94 03:20:10 GMT

robinson@ichips.intel.com (David Lyle Robinson) writes:

>I just installed slackware 1.2.0.  I don't know how to get
>the version number of gcc, but I found a bug in it.  Is there
>a special place to report bugs for gcc?  Is there a place
>to obtain patches for gcc?  Perhaps this has already been
>fixed.

>#include <stdio.h>
>main ()
>{
>double LongFloat;

>scanf("%lf", &LongFloat);
>printf("You entered: %lf\n", LongFloat);
>}

Works fine for me, Slackware 1.2.0 (=> gcc 2.5.8).
Probably something else...

-Archie


------------------------------

From: profesor@world.std.com (Matthew E Cross)
Subject: E2FS panics - can't read inode on my IDE HD after installing SCSI
Date: Thu, 30 Jun 1994 20:08:32 GMT

I recently installed a SCSI controller and tape drive into my system.
Specs:

        386sx-40 MB
        8 megs ram (2 4mb simms)
        340mb Maxtor IDE HD
        generic IDE/floppy/io card
        2nd i/o card used for serial ports (on irq's 5 & 7)
        Realtek 256k VGA
        Adaptec 1522a SCSI controller (default: irq 11)
                Archive Viper 150 tape drive

        Linux 1.1.22 (other than kernel, everything else is from
                      Slackware 1.1.12)

Problem:

        After I access the tape drive, the kernel usually (but not
always) panics with 'e2fs panic: cannot read inode block (device 3/1)'
[sometimes device 3/3].  It doesn't crash, it just kinda sits there,
and any disk accesses fail halting the process that made them.  Then,
if I reboot without powering off, (with the reset button, ctrl-alt-del
does not work and neither do any commands), I get a 'HD Controller
Diagnostics Failure' from my BIOS at startup.  If I power down then
reboot, it boots fine.  Or, if I unplug the power to the hard drive
and plug it back in before I reboot it works fine.

        Has anyone else seen this?  Does anyone know a workaround?  Is
anyone looking into this?

        If noone's looking into this, I'm going to grab the kernel
hacker's guide and try taking a look into it myself - anyone got any
good hints for starting places?

        Thanks,
                -Matt (profesor@world.std.com)

P.S. After July 10th, you can mail me at profesor@harmless.gweep.net
     (my Linux box.  Woo hoo!)

------------------------------

From: jra@lawdept.daytonOH.ncr.com (John Ackermann)
Subject: Parallel port print speed:  advice?
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 1994 22:11:49 GMT

I know there was some discussion a while ago about the performance of the 
parallel port driver under Linux, and patching things for better speed.  I 
didn't see what the final consensus was, but I'm sure interested in any hints 
on speeding data transfer to my printer.

I'm running kernel 1.1.21 on a 486/66 with 16MB RAM.  The printer is an 
NCR 6436 (8 ppm Ricoh engine) running on /dev/lp1.  I print through apsfilter.

Last night, I tried printing a large (~11MB) graphics file -- actually, the 
output of a Word for Windows mail merge sent over the network via Samba (but 
that's another story).  The job was about 45 pages of text, fed to the printer 
in graphics mode.  The pages were nearly identical, so we're it's safe 
to assume that there was about 256k of data per page of output.

Once the file was spooled, the pages came out of the printer at about one page 
every 2 1/2 minutes -- nearly two hours total.  Also, top showed that the 
process cat'ting the spool file to the printer was using 85 to 90 percent of 
the CPU -- the machine was otherwise quiet but for X, and idle time was in the 
5 to 15 percent range.  There was no swapping going on.

So, given this is there anything I can do to the printer driver to improve the 
transfer rate?

Thanks for any tips...

John Ackermann   AG9V
jra@lawdept.daytonOH.ncr.com

------------------------------

From: dale@giskard.demon.co.uk (Dale Shuttleworth)
Subject: Possible bug in e2fs in 1.0.9
Reply-To: dale@giskard.demon.co.uk
Date: Wed, 29 Jun 1994 09:03:47 GMT

Hi,

My news partition ran out of inodes yesterday (its only a 16MB partition
with nothing else on it).  Apart from cursing slightly, I backed up the
contents and set about re-creating the filesystem with more inodes.
I didn't want the problem to happen again so I decided to specify one
inode per 1024 bytes (the maximum number of inodes possible according
to the man page).  I therefore typed 'mke2fs -i 1024 /dev/hda4'.  This
seemed to succeed (apart from stating that 107 blocks were unused or
words to that effect).  I then mounted the partition and restored the
news files.  On the next reboot e2fsck complained about errors on the
partition.

Fair enough I thought, I must have not unmounted it cleanly or something,
however, I have found that the following sequence is guaranteed to produce
an error on the filesystem:

  mke2fs -i 1024 /dev/hda4
  mount -t ext2 /dev/hda4 /var/spool/news
* cd /var/spool/news
* ls
* cd /
  umount /var/spool/news
  e2fsck /dev/hda4

I didn't test to see whether the commands marked * were needed to cause
the problem or not.  The sequence:

  mke2fs -i 1024 /dev/hda4
  e2fsck /dev/hda4

does not report errors.

Does anybody have any ideas?  This may of course be fixed in 1.1, but I
haven't got round to playing with that yet, I'm pretty happy with 1.0.

System info: 486/66, 16MB RAM, IDE HD, Kernel v1.0.9, e2fsprogs 0.5a.

        Thanks,

                Dale.

-- 
******************************************************************************
*  Dale Shuttleworth                                                         *
*  Email: dale@giskard.demon.co.uk                                           *
******************************************************************************

------------------------------


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