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USB 3.0 support for OS/2 & eCS

Started by Mike, 2012.06.24, 18:28:44

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Mike

#15
QuoteA USB 3.0 port WILL run older USB devices. A USB 3.0 device WILL, apparently, run on a USB 2.0 port. However, if all that you have is a USB 3.0 port, and you try to use it with eCS, it isn't going to work, until somebody makes a driver for the USB 3.0 port.

That was exactly the point to start to thread as there is no way out but to have a xhci driver that will enable this controller to make use of it. I also agree that there is maybe soon the situation that no 'legacy' USB port is left and when it comes to hardware like notebooks there is often no option to extend the system with a backwards compatible controller.

Blonde Guy

Quote from: miturbide on 2012.07.01, 17:44:06
Hi Roderick

For me it is not an option to support the development of future abandomware. Creating more close source drivers that can not be open source by any chance beucase it depends on IBM DDK source code, it is just creating software that will have no posibilities to be used/imrpoved in the future and will turn into abamdoware eventually.

The efforst had to be invested in Open Source development, to avoid what had happen in the past with IBM and OS/2.  

It will be better to invest in a long term driver development solution, than create an USB 3 driver to get out quickly of the problem and crippling this driver with IBM DDK license that will limit the posibilities for the community.

I also endorse this position. It makes any device driver development harder at first, because the DDK is there to make things easier. But once any open-source driver is developed, then other drivers can use it as a replacement DDK.

Very likely the sources for the GNU USB 3.0 support are available and open-source. So while the project might be very slow to start, it might finish up pretty quickly.

USB 3.0 is not the last device driver we will need, so for the future of the platform, having one open-source driver would be pretty powerful.
Expert Consulting for OS/2 and eComStation

xchris

Quote from: aschn on 2012.07.01, 10:56:26
...
Not true. USB 3.0 ports are backward compatible. The connection falls back to USB 2.0 if one of
both ports or the cable is not for 3.0.

Andreas


This is hardware compatibility, you will still need IIIRC to install the drivers for the USB 3.0 port..
I installed an old version of FreeBSD on one system that had both 3.0 and 2.0 ports, the 3.0 were dead...

aschn

Quote from: xchris on 2012.07.03, 15:01:18
Quote from: aschn on 2012.07.01, 10:56:26
USB 3.0 ports are backward compatible. The connection falls back to USB 2.0 if one of
both ports or the cable is not for 3.0.

This is hardware compatibility, you will still need IIIRC to install the drivers for the USB 3.0 port..

Sure. But IMO there are still 2 years left to develop an USB 3.0 driver. The current hardware
comes with both generations. Compare this with the other driver problems and you know
where the important game is played.

Andreas

Blonde Guy

I'd like to clarify my comment about developing an open-source USB 3.0 stack.

To do this, someone would have to understand both the OS/2 and the donor operating system's USB stack and device driver model. The OS/2 device driver model would need to be abstracted to a object framework that included low level interfaces to the kernel and the other OS/2 device drivers.

This is not an easy task. I'm not proposing that those driving the eComStation development today change course. Fixing the USB stack and then adding USB 3.0 on top is the most efficient way to go and we have few resources.

But if someone not currently involved was interested in making a new contribution of code and expertise, the USB 3.0 stack would be a pretty clean way to do it. I also think there are quite a few OS/2 developers left who cannot do this work, but could help with testing, debugging and utilities. I see some of this already going on with our current DDK-based device drivers.
Expert Consulting for OS/2 and eComStation

Mike

Quote from: aschn on 2012.07.03, 21:13:53
Sure. But IMO there are still 2 years left to develop an USB 3.0 driver. The current hardware
comes with both generations. Compare this with the other driver problems and you know
where the important game is played.

I don't agree, take a fresh notebook, it has 3 USB ports available, 2x USB 3.0 and 1x for USB 2.0.  When I boot OS/2 then only one port is working, the other two are just dead and there is no way to make them work without a new driver. People would not like to wait for something to happen, other platforms already ship with a generic usb 3.0 driver - that is win8 and newer linux kernel.