From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: James Smart Subject: Re: Recommended HBA management interfaces Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:59:17 -0400 Message-ID: <4A65D7C5.8050101@emulex.com> References: <6C678488C5CEE74F813A4D1948FD2DC7A998698F@cosmail02.lsi.com> <4A609A55.9040404@linux.vnet.ibm.com> <6C678488C5CEE74F813A4D1948FD2DC7A99EFDC7@cosmail02.lsi.com> <4A64A20A.5080908@emulex.com> <6C678488C5CEE74F813A4D1948FD2DC7A99EFE16@cosmail02.lsi.com> <4A64C0BD.5040503@emulex.com> <6C678488C5CEE74F813A4D1948FD2DC7A99EFE88@cosmail02.lsi.com> <4A65B4A2.70402@emulex.com> <6C678488C5CEE74F813A4D1948FD2DC7A99EFF96@cosmail02.lsi.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Return-path: Received: from emulex.emulex.com ([138.239.112.1]:44679 "EHLO emulex.emulex.com" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1751000AbZGUO7W (ORCPT ); Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:59:22 -0400 In-Reply-To: <6C678488C5CEE74F813A4D1948FD2DC7A99EFF96@cosmail02.lsi.com> Sender: linux-scsi-owner@vger.kernel.org List-Id: linux-scsi@vger.kernel.org To: "Mukker, Atul" Cc: Drew , "linux-scsi@vger.kernel.org" There's some interesting dichotomies in this question/response: Drivers exist : 1) Within the ESX kernel for physical hardware, with ESX leveraging the api's from the linux kernel/midlayer/etc in order to pick up linux drivers for device support in their kernel/hypervisor. This was my discussion area. Management of this area wants to happen via VMware-based paradigms. 2) Within a guest OS for : a) emulated hardware or b) direct pci function passthru to the guest os. 3) VMware emulates a LSI adapter as a guest-os-to-hypervisor abstraction point (e.g 2a). Thus LSI drivers could/can exist in both ESX and in the Guest OS simultaneously, and if the guest is running linux, both driver instances are effectively the linux driver. Atul/LSI is trying very hard to make the one linux driver work in both environments. Hope this helps. -- james s Mukker, Atul wrote: > We _are_ talking about the "optimized" driver :-) > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: linux-scsi-owner@vger.kernel.org [mailto:linux-scsi- >> owner@vger.kernel.org] On Behalf Of Drew >> Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 9:49 AM >> To: linux-scsi@vger.kernel.org >> Subject: Re: Recommended HBA management interfaces >> >>> VMware attempts to emulate the linux driver/midlayer api's, but >> emulation is done >>> in their own way, with their own semantics, for their own purposes.. >> Anyone >>> that believes they just drop a linux driver into vmware and it works w/o >>> change has a screw loose. >> I must confess to some confusion James. I thought that VMware emulates >> hardware and that outside of optimized drivers they don't get involved >> in the higher layers of the guest OS. >> >> >> -- >> Drew >> >> "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." >> --Marie Curie >> -- >> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-scsi" in >> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org >> More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html > -- > To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-scsi" in > the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org > More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html >