Re: Multi-function PCI devices

[Michael Reinelt <reinelt@eunet.at>]

Jeff Garzik wrote:
> 
> > Another (design) question: How will such a driver/module deal with
> > autodetection and/or devfs? I don't like to specify 'alias /dev/tts/4
> > netmos', because thats pure junk to me. What about pci hotplugging?
> 
> pci hotplugging happens pretty much transparently.  When a new device is
> plugged in, your pci_driver::probe routine is called.  When a new device
> is removed, your pci_driver::remove routine is called.

Thats clear to me. But the probe and remove routine can only be called
if the module is already loaded. My question was: who will load the
module? (I'll call it 'netmos.o')

devfs in its standard configuration knows about loading serial.o or
parport.o when /dev/tts/* or /dev/parport/* is accessed. Some other
module loads are triggered by module dependancies (e.g. lp.o requires
parport.o)

If I do a 'modprobe serial', how should the serial driver know that the
netmos.o should be loaded, too?

There is a file called 'modules.pcimap', which contains modules for
specific PCI devices. That's how hotplugging could detect that there's a
netmos card and that netmos.o should be loaded. That looks clean to me,
but I'm not shure if this sort of PCI hotplugging is already
implemented.

bye, Michael

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