Technical data

Support Note and System Requirements for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server 2.1 Operating System on HP
Carrier Grade Servers cc3300/cc2300
Preparing your HP Carrier Grade Server cc3300/cc23000 for Operating System Installation
Chapter 110
Enabling the aic7xxx_mod SCSI driver
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server 2.1 includes the aic7xxx and aic7xxx_mod SCSI
drivers. The aic7xxx driver, which is the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server 2.1
default, is not optimized for use with the Adaptec 7899P and 7892A cards in HP Carrier
Grade Servers cc3300/cc2300. The aic7xxx_mod SCSI driver is more robust in its interaction
with these cards. HP recommends using the aic7xxx_mod driver and disabling the option
ROMs for external PCI SCSI cards.
IMPORTANT You must disable the option ROMs for the aic7xxx_mod driver to work with
your system after you install it.
To install the aix7xxx_mod driver:
1. Edit the /etc/modules.conf file to use the aic7xxx_mod driver, modifying the line that
says alias scsi_hostadapter aic7xxx to read:
alias scsi_hostadapter aic7xxx_mod
2. Run mkinitrd -f /boot/initrd-$(uname -r).img $(uname -r) to create a new
initial ramdisk. Because the kernel currently running on your system (assuming you are
running kernel 2.4.9-e.3) does not have an initial ramdisk to load the aic7xxx_mod driver
before you install it, you must create one the first time
After you edit the /etc/modules.conf file, kernel upgrades via Red Hat network or the
rpm command automatically create a new initial ramdisk that examines the contents of
/etc/modules.conf and loads the listed modules when you boot your system.
NOTE The kernel revision is used twice in the mkinitrd command. For example, if
your kernel revision is 2.4.9-e.3.smp, you need to run the following to create
an initial ramdisk:
mkinitrd /boot/initrd-2.4.9-e.3smp.img \
2.4.9-e.3smp
See the uname and mkinitrd man pages for more information.