Re: Proposal to remove ARCNET support

Den Tue, 14 Jan 2020 06:21:36 -0800
skrev Jason Thorpe <[email protected]>:

> Hey folks --
> 
> I am proposing that we remove support for ARCNET.  For those not
> familiar, ARCNET (Attached Resource Computer Network) is/was a
> 2.5Mb/s token passing network that had some popularity in the
> late-80s due to its lower cost and relative simplicity compared to
> the Ethernet of the same era, which still used a linear cabling
> scheme.  It was common with some Tandy and Commodore systems, and
> NetBSD supports the Standard Microsystems ARCNET chip that was widely
> used.
> 
> Ignatios Souvatzis wrote our ARCNET code, including the driver for
> the SMC90c26 / SMC90c56 ARCNET controller chip.
> 
> These days, ARCNET is largely obsolete.  It still has a niche use in
> industrial control, but it's long-gone from general purpose
> computing.  This code is not MP-safe, and while hardware is available
> (ARCNET hubs and some VME, ISA, and other controller board
> form-factors) from the Internet's auction house, it's relatively
> expensive for the performance you can get out of it and I see it as
> unlikely that any updates to this code would ever be tested.
> 
> I believe it's time to let it go.
> 
> Code in question:
> 
> net/if_arc.h
> net/if_arcsubr.c
> 
> dev/ic/smc90cx6.c
> dev/ic/smc90cx6reg.h
> dev/ic/smc90cx6var.h
> 
> arch/amiga/dev/if_bah_zbus.c
> 
> Are there any objections?

For whatever it may be worth, arcnet was one of the ways I hoped to
be able to transfer files from my Amigas to other machines, as a better
solution that what I currently do.


-- 
Eivind Nicolay Evensen