BACKPACK USB Adapter

BACKPACK USB Adapter

[Ken Hahn]

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So I was just on the Linux-USB list and it was recommended I take a look over here.

I'm trying to get the Micro Solutions BACKPACK USB adapter supported under Linux.

It's a simple mass-storage device, but it needs to have a firmware loaded (actually several, but it's a long story). Fxload and hotplug sure sound like the trick.

My question:
What should I be creating?

Should I create a script for people to add the correct files in the right places for hotplug to get at, or should I be working to get firmwares to you folk so that it will be in the hotplug package?
Perhaps there's another package that's going to be the repository of scripts for different devices?

It seems simple enough, and I've got it roughly working on my machine here, 
but how is it going to be easy for the users? I'd like to have this be easy for people to add to their distributions.  Make our own .deb's and .RPM's???? Is there a previously existent repository package?

Thanks for any advice?

Ken Hahn
Engineer, Micro Solutions

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Re: BACKPACK USB Adapter

[Greg KH]

On Thu, Nov 15, 2001 at 02:24:56PM -0600, Ken Hahn wrote:
> So I was just on the Linux-USB list and it was recommended I take a
> look over here.
> 
> I'm trying to get the Micro Solutions BACKPACK USB adapter supported
> under Linux.
> 
> It's a simple mass-storage device, but it needs to have a firmware
> loaded (actually several, but it's a long story). Fxload and hotplug
> sure sound like the trick.
> 
> My question:
> What should I be creating?
> 
> Should I create a script for people to add the correct files in the
> right places for hotplug to get at, or should I be working to get
> firmwares to you folk so that it will be in the hotplug package?
> Perhaps there's another package that's going to be the repository of
> scripts for different devices?
> 
> It seems simple enough, and I've got it roughly working on my machine here, 
> but how is it going to be easy for the users? I'd like to have this be
> easy for people to add to their distributions.  Make our own .deb's
> and .RPM's???? Is there a previously existent repository package?

I have a few ideas on how this can be done, and have been waiting for
2.5 to start work on it.

Basically, there will be a hotplug-firmware package, possibly split up
into the different device types if it gets too big, and firmware for
devices starts changing too often.

This package will contain the firmware for different devices, and the
program that is used to download the firmware to the devices when they
are plugged in.  There is a firmware loader currently in the hotplug
package, and this is a great place to start with.  There needs to be
some way to add hooks into the hotplug scripts to look in a specific
location for what devices need firmware sent to them, but that
shouldn't be that tough to do.

If you already have some code and firmware that does this, I'd love to
look at it.

Did that help?

thanks,

greg k-h

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Re: BACKPACK USB Adapter

[David Brownell]

If you want a solution before Greg's 2.5-ish "hotplug firmware" package,
My suggestion to you and Greg is that you expect the new stuff to use
some directory like "/etc/hotplug/usb.firmware".

Then your current stuff might just append to /etc/hotplug/usb.handmap
when it's installed (via RPM, APT, whatever) and use fxload with a
custom /etc/hotplug/usb/backpack script.  But if RPM/APT/... sees that
firmware directory it could say "get updated software".

That'd let you have a solution that works for now, and it'd give you
a clean upgrade to a better one later ...

- Dave




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Re: BACKPACK USB Adapter

[Oliver.Neukum]

> Should I create a script for people to add the correct files in the right places for hotplug to get at, or should I be working to get firmwares to you folk so that it will be in the hotplug package?
> Perhaps there's another package that's going to be the repository of scripts for different devices?
>
> It seems simple enough, and I've got it roughly working on my machine here,
> but how is it going to be easy for the users? I'd like to have this be easy for people to add to their distributions.  Make our own .deb's and .RPM's???? Is there a previously existent repository package?

IMHO the hotplug packages should not grow to the point of containing every
firmware on the planet. Perhaps you should write a patch to the utilities
which will cause them to look for a firmware named after the vendor:device
ids and distribute the firmware seperately, preferrably as an rpm (LSB)

	Regards
		Oliver



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