Re: [Qemu-devel] XP install cores with SCSI LSI 53C895A disks

[Gerhard Wiesinger <lists@wiesinger.com>]

On Fri, 9 Mar 2012, Gerd Hoffmann wrote:

>  Hi,
>
>>>> #2 isn't an issue actually, at least for Debian users --
>>>
>>> Well, it is, to some degree.  Because vanilla upstream doesn't support
>>> booting from lsi it has alot less users and alot less regression testing
>>> (like autotest runs of lsi-scsi installs), which sums up to more bugs
>>> staying unnoticed like the one which triggered this thread.
>>
>> What's the holdup to integrate it into QEMU?
>
> Extboot is considered obsolete and thus several attempts to merge it
> into upstream qemu failed.  It started its life as hack to allow
> qemu-kvm boot from virtio-blk devices, which happened to work for lsi
> too.  virtio-blk is supported by seabios natively these days.
>
> Adding lsi support to seabios shouldn't be that hard.  Paolo paved the
> way by restructing the existing scsi disk/cdrom bits in seabios so they
> work for both usb-storage and virtio-scsi.  Adding support for yet
> another scsi hba should be easy, all the support bits for handling disks
> and booting from cdrom are there already.
>
> It just needs someone to sit down for a week or two and hack it up.

@Paolo: Would that be easily possible?

BTW: What do you think anout that:
Handling INT13h always directly through virtio-scsi regardless of selected 
SCSI adapter, or when OS driver is loaded through SCSI adapter, so just 
have 2 ways to the disks:
1.) Through INT13h to virtio-scsi and then to the disks
2.) Through SCSI adapter and then to the disks (OS driver loaded)

Ciao,
Gerhard

--
http://www.wiesinger.com/