Re: Devices...

Wakko Warner (wakko@animx.eu.org)
Wed, 6 Oct 1999 12:44:40 -0400


> > While the debate on whether or not to create a devfs ensues, I thought I'd
> > thrown in my own two cents.
> >
> > Something I positively hate about Linux now is the way it dynamically
> > assigns drives to device names when you boot. So I have for example,
> > controller 0 with drives on ID 1, 3, and 5, and it maps them to /dev/sda,
> > /dev/sdb, and /dev/sdc, then I add a device on ID 2, and it changes the mapping
> > for the last two drives, or remove a device, etc. This is really a PITA.
>
> I would like to see something along the lines of a hardware configuration map:
> /hw
> pci0
> slot0
> ctlspec (assume SCSI or USB ... this is text)
> target0 (the first real device)
> lun0 (assuming multiple luns/device)
> s0 (if disk device this would be partition)
> s1
> ...
> lun1
> ...
> lunn
> target1
> ...
> targetn
> slot1
> ...
> slotn
> pci1
> ...

What about ISA cards, pcmcia (or would that come under the fact that these
are isa->pcmcia or pci->pcmcia busses), eisa, vlb, etc? Esp if it's not x86
arch, say a sparc. we have the vme bus (I'm curious as to if/when it'll get
supported), sbus. I'm not sure about the other sparc busses. Then what do
we do about multi function cards? I have an sbus scsi/network controller.
How about cards that take 2 slots. I have an sbus framebuffer that does
just that. The only dynamic part in solaris is the fact that the
controllers are on a first come first serve basis (unless there's an order
specified. Don't take my word for it, I'm not 100% sure, but I'm reasonably
sure). After the controller on solaris, you have target, lun, slice
(partition).

-- 
 Lab tests show that use of micro$oft causes cancer in lab animals

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