Hey all,
I found out the hard way after buying a small form factor AMD system that while AMD’s motherboards have eSATA with port multiplier support, on some chipsets (at least the 7xxSB and possibly the 8xxSB) the Port Multiplier does not function properly in Linux.
Here is what the problem looks like on boot:
[code]
dmesg| grep ata3
[ 0.956381] ata3: SATA max UDMA/133 irq_stat 0x00400040, connection status changed irq 22
[ 1.880037] ata3: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300)
[ 1.880430] ata3.15: Port Multiplier 1.1, 0x1a62:0x0003 r23, 14 ports, feat 0x0/0x0
[ 1.880434] ata3.15: Asynchronous notification not supported, hotplug won’t
[ 1.881194] ata3.00: hard resetting link
[ 2.410350] ata3.00: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 320)
[ 2.410399] ata3.01: hard resetting link
[ 2.760497] ata3.01: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 2.760581] ata3.02: hard resetting link
[ 3.110580] ata3.02: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 3.110677] ata3.03: hard resetting link
[ 3.460581] ata3.03: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 3.460677] ata3.04: hard resetting link
[ 3.810588] ata3.04: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 3.810685] ata3.05: hard resetting link
[ 4.160584] ata3.05: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 4.160681] ata3.06: hard resetting link
[ 4.510543] ata3.06: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 4.510631] ata3.07: hard resetting link
[ 4.860586] ata3.07: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 4.860684] ata3.08: hard resetting link
[ 5.210580] ata3.08: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 5.210676] ata3.09: hard resetting link
[ 5.560584] ata3.09: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 5.560681] ata3.10: hard resetting link
[ 5.910579] ata3.10: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 5.910675] ata3.11: hard resetting link
[ 6.260585] ata3.11: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 6.260682] ata3.12: hard resetting link
[ 6.610599] ata3.12: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 6.610689] ata3.13: hard resetting link
[ 6.960590] ata3.13: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 320)
[ 6.960972] ata3.00: ATA-6: Drobo 3rd Gen DRDR3-A, v1.0.0, max UDMA/133
[ 6.960976] ata3.00: 17179869184 sectors, multi 0: LBA48
[ 6.961352] ata3.00: configured for UDMA/133
[ 6.961407] ata3: PMP SError.N set for some ports, repeating recovery
[ 6.961465] ata3.00: hard resetting link
[ 7.890351] ata3.00: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 320)
[ 7.891063] ata3.00: configured for UDMA/133
[ 7.891114] ata3: PMP SError.N set for some ports, repeating recovery
[ 7.891167] ata3.00: hard resetting link
[ 8.820354] ata3.00: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 320)
[ 8.821063] ata3.00: configured for UDMA/133
[ 8.821121] ata3.00: failed to recover link after 3 tries, disabling
[ 8.821124] ata3.00: disabled
[ 8.821128] ata3.00: PHY status changed but maxed out on retries, giving up
[ 8.821131] ata3.00: Manully issue scan to resume this link
[ 8.821137] ata3: EH complete[/code]
It has been suggested to me that this is a hardware bug in the south bridge and can not be fixed with a driver workaround (well, there is a fix that allows eSATA to function, but it does not allow PMP to function)
Have you experienced the same? Actually, what I am more interested in is, has anyone used an AMD system with eSATA in Linux and NOT had this issue? I want to know what chipsets might work properly.
Personally I am currently stuck. I wired my house with gigabit ethernet, got the small form factor system as a server to stick in my closet with my drobo, and now I am having to use it over USB2 with the bandwidth limitations that implies. Since its a small form factor system there is no expansion slot so I can’t use a third party eSATA controller.
I am - however - considering building myself a new low-power server based off of AMD’s new Zacate (E-350) platform, and I am hoping that eSATA will work properly under linux.
Anyone have any experiences you’d care to share?
Thanks,
Matt