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Re: It depends... Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS

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On 5/21/26 06:38, Louis Ohland wrote:
> Kevin, there is no available detailed documentation on the Korvetten- 
> class production or functions. We have documented the Tribble, Spock, 
> and DFW variants. There is no simular RS/6000 SCSI adapter collection :(
> 
> I used that RS/6000 boot support list as a guide to identifying RS/6K 
> systems that came with / supported the F/W. Tis true that's pretty 
> darned paltry.
> 
> It is interesting that the T1 / T2 enhanced complex BIOSes were 
> available in '92, and the requisite refdisks were also fielded in '92. 
> That does NOT prove that the F/W was available then, but suggests that 
> IBM had engineered the SCSI functionality to support providing the SCSI 
> BIOS code in IML at that time.
> 
> One RETAIN tip states that ver 1.3x / 1.2 Refdisks are version 05, this 
> must be a typo. SC.EXE never got above ver 3.1
> 
> http://ps-2.kev009.com/ohland/Setup/SC_EXE_Versions.html
> 
> The Type 4 SurePath BIOS must be 05+
> 
> Your thoughts on ROS and the SCSI-2 standard are spot-on, but do not 
> address the actual functioning of the Korvette's SCSI Firmware "stub" 
> and the complex IML code [aka BIOS].

So does it carry a BIOS hook and "install" itself on Intel systems? 
That was "common" on PC hardware later on.  I am not familiar, someone 
with more BIOS expertise will have to weigh in.

> Unit 5 needs more data!
> 
> Kevin Bowling wrote:
>> On 5/20/26 20:51, Louis Ohland wrote:
>>> Folks, as usual with IBM, we are left with suspicions and suggestive 
>>> passages.
>>>
>>> This morning, I fed my Brittanies around 0510, brewed up a pot of 
>>> French Press coffee. Then the utterances of Saint Katherine of Rohl 
>>> came to me, unbidden.
>>>
>>> The Corvette lacks a SCSI BIOS and the SCSI firmware has a "stub". 
>>> What this stub does, or what procedure it calls, or what address it 
>>> points to, I dunno.
>>>
>>> Since the Corvette is an RS/6000 adapter, there is no announcement 
>>> letter for it, instead, it is part of a system announcement letter, 
>>> fer instance, for the 580. The POWER2 systems seem to be the first 
>>> ones to support the Corvette's need for the SCSI BIOS internalized in 
>>> IML code.
>>
>> Is it?  I know the 4-C Corvette Turbo is but I think the standard one 
>> was always intended for dual use.
>>
>>> If we look at the "Enhanced Complex BIOS" or "Dual Boot" upgrade 
>>> complex BIOS for the T1 -AND- T2, both are from Mar '92. The upgrade 
>>> needs the T1 ver 1.31 refdisk or the T2 ver 1.21 refdisk are both 
>>> from Nov '92.
>>>
>>> The RETAIN tip about the Corvette in a 8595 says there are 
>>> improvements in SCSI stuff, but no mention of the F/W.
>>>
>>> The earliest POWER2 systems that offered the F/W are in mid-'94. But 
>>> that doesn't mean the Corvette couldn't be ordered separately from 
>>> the system. RPQ or special bid...
>>
>> https://www.ardent-tool.com/IBM_SCSI/SCSI-FW.html#RS6000_Boot_Support
>>
>> Note that the way these (early) RS/6000s boot is opposite of a PC.  
>> The ROS code enumerates the devices and selects a boot record from a 
>> default search order or a persisted nvram order.  So it needs to know 
>> enough about the device to do that.  That's why it can't boot the 
>> older systems.
>>
>>>
>>> My SWAG is the Korvetten-class were under development in '92, and IBM 
>>> most likely planned for introduction on the high-end 90/95 and on 
>>> POWER2 and better RS/6000.
>>>
>>> Another thought, offering a high-end SCSI adapter that requires an 
>>> upper-end product seems like pure IBM marketing.
>>
>> SCSI-2 was formally ratified in 1994 although products were shipping 
>> earlier.  It took a bit more horse power for everything (HBA, drive 
>> ASICs) to run F/W and the cabling was once more complicated.  Until 
>> drives started to push the speeds, there wasn't yet a big need for a 
>> PC class system to worry about it.  The 0664 HDD was contemporary, 
>> offered in F/W, and might peak at 5MB/s.  So you'd need a few 
>> simultaneously accessed for F/W to show a major improvement.

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Thread

Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Louis Ohland <ohland@charter.net> - 2026-05-20 22:51 -0500
  Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Kevin Bowling <kevin.bowling@kev009.com> - 2026-05-20 21:53 -0700
    It depends... Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Louis Ohland <ohland@charter.net> - 2026-05-21 08:38 -0500
      Re: It depends... Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Kevin Bowling <kevin.bowling@kev009.com> - 2026-05-21 19:24 -0700
        Finally! A coherent question! Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Louis Ohland <ohland@charter.net> - 2026-05-22 06:10 -0500
          Re: Finally! A coherent question! Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Kevin Bowling <kevin.bowling@kev009.com> - 2026-05-22 11:17 -0700
    Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Louis Ohland <ohland@charter.net> - 2026-05-21 08:50 -0500
      Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Kevin Bowling <kevin.bowling@kev009.com> - 2026-05-21 11:26 -0700
        Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Louis Ohland <ohland@charter.net> - 2026-05-21 16:33 -0500
          Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Kevin Bowling <kevin.bowling@kev009.com> - 2026-05-21 15:46 -0700
  Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Rick Ekblaw <ekblaw@vnet.ibm.com> - 2026-05-21 18:57 -0400

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