On Thu, 31 Mar 2005, abcd efgh wrote: > Hello, > > I have 2 different boards. > > *When I connect one USB board to the linux box, a firmware (a .hex) file is > downloaded on to it. I can see this in /var/log/messages. In this case, the > device ID was changed to one (the device disconnects and reconnects with new > ID - post-renumeration), which is in MODULE_DEVICE_TABLE() of the driver. > Hence, this driver module gets called and loaded. > > *But, if I connect the other board, nothing happens - I cannot see the > message in /var/log/messages. The device ID of this is already in > MODULE_DEVICE_TABLE(). This couldn't be the reason why the firmware is not > loading.. > > But, both the boards work fine after that. (pulls the data and processes it) > > My question is, what exactly is the function of the firmware? What does a > general firmware supposed to do - atleast in USB case? I didn't get much > information when I searched the net. I have also asked the manufacturer - > haven't got any reply yet.
Firmware occupies the gray area between hardware and software. :-) More seriously, firmware is software that's built into a particular device. It might be permanent (stored in ROM for example) or you might be able to update it (stored in flash memory or in RAM). Either way, the firmware is responsible for the operation of the device. > Could it be by luck that my second board is working without the initial > firmware? It can't be luck, but it might be by design. Maybe the second board already contains the necessary firmware updates, so they don't need to be loaded. Alan Stern ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by Demarc: A global provider of Threat Management Solutions. Download our HomeAdmin security software for free today! http://www.demarc.com/info/Sentarus/hamr30 _______________________________________________ Linux-usb-users@lists.sourceforge.net To unsubscribe, use the last form field at: https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/linux-usb-users
