*BSD News Article 47133


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Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!simtel!news.sprintlink.net!psgrain!agora!agora.rdrop.com!sundans
From: sundans@agora.rdrop.com (Craig Keenan)
Subject: 1.1.5.1 Serial Quirks/Phenomena???
Sender: news@agora.rdrop.com (David Greenman)
Nntp-Posting-Host: agora.rdrop.com
Organization: RainDrop Laboratories
Message-ID: <DBvwHr.L5p@agora.rdrop.com>
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 1995 23:41:49 GMT
Lines: 27

I have a system set up to allow dial-in access using a STB 4-Com serial
port sharing a single interrupt.  The machines this is on is a AST 486/66
with a Conner 850MB IDE Drive.  Anyway, the problem is...  I have no
problem using the 4 ports simultaneously with USR 28.8K blazing at a 
DTE of 115.2Kbps, although usually not all at once. (maybe 2 or 3 max)
When I initally boot the machine up, and the modems are used, I get a 
shitpot of ISA strayint f's which Ifigure is flaky hardware, but I have
nothing configured on IRQ 15.  The system quits logging these after
5 or 6 ocurrences, so I can ignore them for the most part.  The problem
happens later.... I have observed maybe a silo overflow error about once
a month, but not enough to really make a difference.  What I am concerned
about are the many 'interrupt-level overflows' I get.... sometimes about
200/day !!!  From the sio manpage, I see these are problems with the
bottom half of the sio dirver.... and I don't think I am losing any data
At least my customers aren't saying anything :)
  So do you think the problem is with the STB 4-Com shitting out flaky 
interrupt signalss, confusing the sio driver???  Or could it be the AST
486/66 (Bravo LC, I think...) is flipping out?  I have heard about using 
IDE drives with multiport serial causing the silo's (due to IDE 
bus-hoggin), but I really would like to clean up my syslog always saying 
I have interrupt-level overflow errors...  Also, how ereliable is the 
serial in 2.0.5R???  I would like to upgrade to 2.0.5 (or maybe 2.1, time 
depending...) but I am so thoroughly astounded with 1.1.5.1's rock solid 
stability that I am a little afraid... Should I be??  Please someone give 
me some good technical answers when you get time.  Thanks in Advance,

CK