... not that VLB didn't suck badly with several devices attached at the same
time. I would be rather surprised if that board would work if fully populated
with VLB cards, all in active use. IOW, a likely explanation is that it
had a warning along the lines of "use of more than <number> of VLB cards
at the same time may use instability" buried in documentation and proud
"6 VLB slots!!!" touted by marketing...
I can't find VLB specs online, but IIRC 3 had been the limit and anything
past that had been very much out of spec and likely to screw you.