26 Nov
2008
26 Nov
'08
4:25 p.m.
On 26 Nov 2008 at 18:39, Richard Hadsell wrote:
The INQUIRY command is listed in what I assume is the
original SCSI
standard (ANSI X3.131-1986). It is given this notation: "Command
implementation is required for SCSI devices that support
device-independent self-configuring software." So the standard gave it
somewhat more than "optional" status, implying that this would be the
standard way for a device to send its configuration data to the driver
software, if it wanted to.
That's right--INQUIRY is SCSI; IDENTIFY is ATA.
A lot of the bridge boards were from very early in SCSI history,
where the "standard" hadn't yet set. I've got to go back to my SMS
OMTI bridge board manuals, but I think the drive geometry could be
obtained there by simply reading the bridge board buffer right after
initialization. I'm also trying to remember if the bridge board kept
the information on a reserved sector on the drive.
It's been too long...
Cheers,
Chuck