AHA(4)

📦 version 12.2, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

✨ AHA(4) — the Adaptec SCSI host adapter driver, bestie edition ✨

okay so welcome to the aha(4) page, part of the Kernel Interfaces Manual 🎀 this is the whole vibe on the Adaptec SCSI host adapter driver and we're gonna go through it together, no skimming, no skipping, i promise 💖

🌸 NAME 🌸

aha — the Adaptec SCSI host adapter driver. that's it. that's the name. iconic behavior honestly 💅

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

so you wanna get this driver into your kernel? say less. drop these lines into your kernel configuration file, exactly like this:

device scbus
device aha

orrrrr, if you're feeling modular (main character energy tbh), you can load it as a module at boot time instead by putting this line in loader.conf(5):

aha_load="YES"

and in /boot/device.hints:

hint.aha.0.at="isa"

periodt. ✨

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so what does this thing even do?? it gives you access to the SCSI bus that's connected to your Adaptec AHA-154x SCSI host adapters 🫶 and quick note on that x — it's 0 for controllers without a floppy drive, and 2 for controllers that do have them. keeping track of that, bestie 📝

now, the system needs one device hint entry for every card it's gonna attach. you can specify exact values for the port address, IRQ, and DRQ if you want to be specific like that 💁‍♀️ but if you use wildcard values instead, the driver will literally just go ask the device for its current settings and use those. lowkey efficient.

and if the port address is a wildcard? the driver consults an internal table of possible port address locations and attaches to the first unattached card it finds 🔍 the possible port addresses for this card are:

0x330, 0x334, 0x230, 0x234, 0x130, and 0x134

slay. memorized. ✅

🔥 HARDWARE 🔥

the aha driver supports these SCSI host adapters, and yes, this is the full list, we don't gatekeep here:

  • Adaptec AHA-154xB
  • Adaptec AHA-154xC
  • Adaptec AHA-154xCF
  • Adaptec AHA-154xCP
  • DTC 3290 SCSI controller in 1542 emulation mode
  • Tekram SCSI controllers in 154x emulation mode

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

go read these too, they're all part of the fam:

ahc(4), aic(4), cd(4), da(4), sa(4), scsi(4)

🌈 AUTHORS 🌈

the aha driver was ported by M. Warner Losh from the bt driver written by Justin T. Gibbs. shoutout to them fr fr 🫡✨

💀 BUGS 💀

okay bestie, this is the part where we get real. technical caveats incoming, pay attention 🙈

  • the AHA-154xA card does not support residuals on data transfers. because of that, this card is no longer supported. rip to the 154xA, it's giving discontinued 💀
  • there have been some reports that the AHA-154xB does not work well under heavy load. so… keep that in mind, ngl.
  • the AHA-154xCP is a plug and play controller. however, its resources are set using the on-board BIOS and cannot be moved. so if you're failing to attach this card, it's often because the resources set in the BIOS are conflicting. that's the tea 🍵
⚠️ real talk: those caveats are not a vibe check you can skip. unsupported is unsupported, and BIOS resource conflicts are a whole thing.

and that's the page, babe 🎀 this was AHA(4) from the Debian fam, dated July 4, 2004 — mwah, love that for us. now go forth and configure your SCSI bus responsibly 💖✨🦋

📦 where this page comes from