[illumos-Developer] Illumos device drivers (Was: Solaris Future?)

[Garrett D'Amore]

On 07/28/2011 09:21 AM, Gary Mills wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 11:24:35PM +1000, James C. McPherson wrote:
>> On 27/07/11 11:19 PM, Gary Mills wrote:
>>> Where do we start in writing illumos drivers?  Is there a document and
>>> a set of examples?  I'd like to help, but I understand that I'd also
>>> need both the associated hardware and the specifications for that
>>> hardware.  The selection of hardware I have now is quite limited.  I
>>> have no specifications for it.
>> I'm pretty sure that the Writing Device Drivers Guide
>> on OTN would be your best best.
>>
>> http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E19963-01/index.html, search for
>> the above title.
> Thanks.  I've reviewed that document and the tutorial as well.  It's
> quite clear that the operating system aspect of device drivers is
> well-described and well-documented.  All I have to do is to follow the
> rules scrupulously.  The other aspect is, of course, the hardware.
>
> The only hardware I have that doesn't work with Illumos now is my Acer
> AS3810T-6827 laptop.  It hangs part way through the boot process,
> apparently because of a USB problem.  This happens with both a USB
> stick and a USB DVD reader.  It doesn't have an internal DVD drive,
> making it difficult to debug this problem.  Is there a way to proceed
> with this one, or should I try something else?

It can be hard to debug... if you're up to it, try booting with kmdb, 
and then see if you can break into the kernel when it appears hung.  
Examining the threads may be useful.

Admittedly, this is a quite different task than writing a new driver, 
but its also a good way to learn more about the system.

     - Garrett