Re: AIC94xx SAS question.

[Keith Hopkins <lnxgnome@hopnet.net>]

On 04/26/2008 10:56 PM, Wakko Warner wrote:
> Keith Hopkins wrote:
>> On 04/22/2008 07:19 AM, Wakko Warner wrote:
>>> Can either of these be done:
>>> 1) Embed the firmware into the driver so that it can be used before the
>>> rootfs id mounted.
>> I think this is generally not done because firmware tends to be 
>> closed-source.
> 
> I can understand this from the point of the distrobution of the linux
> kernel, but it still can be done.  If there were a patch or something that
> would convert the file, that's all I care.  This for me would be preferred.

Sorry, no idea if it can actually be done.

> 
>>> 2) Can the firmware be loaded in an initr{d,amfs}?
>> Sure.  openSuSE does it in their mkinitrd.
> 
> I'm not sure if you got the point of #2 or not.  I do *NOT* want the driver
> as a module, I want it compiled into the kernel and then load the firmware
> from an initramfs.

I think I got you all right.  My answers were just too short :)

SuSE loads the driver as a module and the firmware in initrd.  I haven't tried initramfs, nor compiling it into the kernel.

I unpacked my current initrd, and in it I found:

lib/firmware/aic94xx-seq.fw
+ some ql firmware that I don't need.

I'm not sure if the driver compiled for SuSE "just knows" to look in /lib/firmware, or how it finds the file.  It might have something to do with the firmware_class module in SuSE.
I do remember that I needed to load 'edd' before 94xx, or it would not init the firmware.

As for compiling the driver in the kernel, and putting the firmware in initrd/initramfs, you would have to force the init of the 94xx module to be after the initrd/initramfs was initialized, loaded and mounted.  I have not checked to see if that is currently possible.

--Keith