Solaris Developer Chat Sessions

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October 26, 2000

Chat Title: Device Driver Verification Program for Intel
Guest Speakers: Liam Grogan and Rory O'Donnell

Links are no longer active because downloads have moved from Solaris developer site to the sun.com downloads site.

This is a moderated forum

LizA: Hello, and welcome to Solaris Live. With us in Dublin are Liam Grogan and Rory O'Donnell. Liam is a Sun QA Test Engineer and part of the team that developed, and that continues to update, the DVTS test suite. Rory manages the team (DVTS + Device Driver Verification Program for Intel).

PerryW: How do I install the DVTS?

Liam Grogan: First you have to register online at the soldc website: http://soldc.sun.com/developer/support/driver/DVTS/verify-index.html and download the DVTS package, unzip and untar. Then untar the dvts.xxx.tar file .su to root and run the install.dvts script.

Test: What web server does it use?

Rory: We use the Sun web server.

Test: What technologies does it support?

Rory: At the moment we support testing the following: Network - FDDI, Token ring, Ethernet, FastEthernet and Gigabit Ethernet; Storage Side - SCSI, Raid & Fibre Channel.

Test: What technologies will it support in the future?

Liam Grogan: In the near future we will add support for testing Serial I/O.

Test: What happens if my driver fails...what should I do?

Rory: To try and narrow down the area which is failing, you can use the Create Custom Test Configuration button. This will allow you to run individual tests. You can also review the error reports from the Prosum file.

PerryW: Who has used the verification tool so far?

Rory: To find the current list of verified drivers please visit http://www.sun.com/io/ihv-drivers.html. The following IHVs have drivers listed on this page: Agilent Technologies, AMI, Compaq, LSI Logic, QLogic, and SysKonnect.

Test: Are there any more drivers in the pipeline?

Liam Grogan: To find the list of upcoming drivers take a look at: http://www.sun.com/io_technologies/whatscoming.html. If you wish to be notified of driver related promotions, email dv-chat@sun.com.

Test: Who do I contact if I find bugs?

Rory: There are two levels of verification, for level1 issues, email dv-one@sun.com and for Level2 issues, email dv-two@sun.com.

PerryW: Does this program mean Sun has deserted the desktop forever?

Rory: The Free Solaris program has been very successful, and most of the 284,000 Intel platform installations have been on desktops. Some of the drivers IHVs that are developing now are for peripherals most often used on desktop systems. No one can say where the greatest market demand will be in the future, but we haven't turned our backs on the desktop market. We're watching it along with all the other markets.

PerryW: Isn't Sun providing any drivers at all?

Liam Grogan: For Solaris on the Intel platform, Sun is now following the practice of other OS vendors in the Intel space supporting IHVs through programs that help them develop and verify drivers for their devices. Occasionally customers may need a driver for a widely used device, and circumstances prevent the IHV from writing the driver. In such circumstances, Sun may decide to provide the driver.

PerryW: If I decide to use Solaris in a major deployment, how do I know an IHV providing a Solaris driver today will continue to do so for the next few years?

Liam Grogan: An IHV who has invested developer staff time in writing a Solaris driver will probably want to maintain that driver as long as the device is selling well, especially since the number of Solaris users is growing. Also, most of the devices with Solaris drivers today are the top-selling products in their respective technology categories and have been developed by industry leaders like Adaptec, Intel, and Agilent. These IHVs became leaders by knowing their markets and aren't likely to change their minds once they've committed to Solaris support for one of their products.

Test: How can I, as a developer, keep up with changes in Solaris that affect how I write drivers if I don't have time to take a class? Are there online resources that track these changes and report them to the development community?

Liam Grogan: If you search on http://docs.sun.com/ for "What's new", you will get a list of publications that have "what's new" information in them. Release specific material is put on the Driver Ddeveloper Site, marked by specific release. You'll find the link to the DDS on http://soldc.sun.com, the top page you went to to participate in this chat.

PerryW: How much will it cost, in dollars and headcount, to develop a storage or network driver?

Rory: This will vary from IHV to IHV, and we really don't have enough information to give you an answer that will be accurate most of the time. It's important to plan for costs of maintaining your driver, as well as initial development cost.

PerryW: Will you be offering verification for devices used in mission-critical systems?

Rory: This depends on whether there is significant demand for verification services at this level. It's an idea worth exploring, but for the present we're focused on delivering the best possible programs for Level 1 and Level 2 verification.

Test: Do I need to sign some sort of agreement to verify my drivers?

Rory: When you decide to verify your product under this program, you will sign a standard legal agreement. This is similar to those used in the verification programs offered by other OS vendors. You will not incur any liability by signing this agreement.

Surya: Do you verify/certify STREAMS modules (not STREAMS device driver)?

Liam Grogan: Surya, at the moment, we only verify device drivers for specific hardware devices.

Oreo: Will any part of this program allow me to be "bundled " with Solaris, as happens in the Windows world?

Rory: If there is sufficient demand, Sun might offer additional verification levels. These will be offered free of charge if possible.

LizA: Liam and Rory, we're at the end of the hour. Do you have any comments for our audience before we leave?

Rory: Well, now that you mention it - If you are interested in SPARC you can go to http://soldc.sun.com/developer/support/driver and http://www.sun.com/io. If you are interested in the Solaris Ready program, go to http://www.sun.com/solarisready/SRHandbk.html.

LizA: Thank you both!

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