On Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 07:08:32PM +0000, Rob Groner wrote: > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Greg KH [mailto:[email protected]] > > Sent: Friday, September 25, 2015 2:37 PM > > To: Rob Groner <[email protected]> > > Cc: [email protected]; [email protected] > > Subject: Re: [PATCH] 8250_pci: Prevent Exar/RTD Boards from binding. > > > > On Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 05:37:03PM +0000, Rob Groner wrote: > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > > > > Sent: Friday, September 25, 2015 12:48 PM > > > > To: Rob Groner <[email protected]> > > > > Cc: [email protected] > > > > Subject: Re: [PATCH] 8250_pci: Prevent Exar/RTD Boards from binding. > > > > > > > > On Fri, 25 Sep 2015 11:46:29 -0400, Rob Groner said: > > > > > Serial boards made by RTD using the Exar XR17V358 chip rely on the > > > > > extra capabilities of the Exar-provided driver to allow > > > > > configuration of the board. When support for the Exar chip was > > > > > added to the kernel 8250_pci driver, this then prevented easy use > > > > > of the board by customers for anything other than standard serial > > > > > usage > > in RS232 mode. > > > > > > > > Was it your intent to also prevent the use of this board in standard > > > > serial usage in RS232 mode (which I'd expect is the most common use > > case)? > > > > > > That is a byproduct of giving the non-average user the ability to > > > reconfigure their board. This will basically move us back to pre-3.8, > > > where the customer would simply have to insmod the provided Exar > > > driver. The small inconvenience to that more common user seems (to us > > > in Tech Support) outweighed by the much greater inconvenience to the > > > user who wants to reconfigure. > > > > Where is the exar driver, in the kernel already? > > > > confused, > > I'm sorry for the confusion. Let me summup: > > We produce a serial port board that uses the Exar XR17V358 chip. The board > features a jumperless configuration so that to change the board from RS232 to > RS422/RS485, you use the GPIO available on the Exar chip, via the Exar > driver. That driver is provided by Exar (from their website, and repackaged > on our website and with the board). > > Recently, we began to hear from customers who purchased the board but could > not get the driver to find the board (and thus could not reconfigure it, nor > use the non-standard high baud rates the chip is capable of). We discovered > that in 3.8, support for the Exar chip was added to the 8250_pci driver, thus > binding it to the kernel. > > Until (and probably if) Exar decides to submit their driver to the kernel, > then it leaves us with a problem that we didn't have prior to 3.8...namely > that the board won't do what it is advertised to do unless the customer > rebuilds the kernel (that is the only supported workaround from Exar). The > only other workaround we know of (unbind) has met with mixed success which I > won't go into unless you want me to, and is already resisted by some > customers. > > The goal of this patch is to get to a point where a customer can install > Linux and have full use of this RTD board (using the driver Exar/RTD > provides). No one who has an RTD board is going to feel this is an > inconvenience.
Can you point me at the driver and I'll be glad to add it to the kernel so that the proper driver will bind to the device and this will not be an issue for users? thanks, greg k-h _______________________________________________ Kernelnewbies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.kernelnewbies.org/mailman/listinfo/kernelnewbies
