Re: DEVFSv50 and /dev/fb? (or /dev/fb/? ???)

Shawn Leas (sleas@ixion.honeywell.com)
Wed, 5 Aug 1998 00:04:06 -0500 (CDT)


On Tue, 4 Aug 1998, Terry L Ridder wrote:
> I have not used dev_fs nor am I likely to, but that is unimportant. What
> is important is what companies and clients, looking to use Linux, think.
> There are two central issues for the companies and clients I have talked
> with.
>
> 1. >2GB files on Intel Hardware.

Stephen, any comments?

> 2. Increasing the SCSI disk limit to something more like 32 or 64 disks,
> up
> from the current limit of 16 disks. The more the better.

The devfs's so-called ugly naming convention provides for this, and with a
minimum of device files to coordinate.

> The reasons for this are simple. Oracle & Informix have annouced support
> for Linux. The companies want to recycle Intel hardware they currently
> have
> and get rid of HP-UX, Solaris, SCO Unix, etc which costs them dearly in
> both
> hardware maintainance and software maintainance.

Agreed. I work in a pretty big Oracle setup, and with the recent court
decisions regarding NDAs on Intel platforms such as the x86, Merced may
not be so proprietory for long. Oracle+Linux+Merced is a pretty damn nice
solution for price/performance, I'd say.

> The Linux Community has asked for this type of support and now we have.
> The question is what are we going to do about it. By the end of the year
> , assuming Oracle & Informix hold to their announced time schedules, we
> need those two issues resolved. If we do not companies which are willing
> to
> give Linux a try will not.

DevFS steps us closer!

> Companies want/desire/demand/need simple answers and dev_fs is not a
> simple
> answer. They read the FAQ and run screaming away because of the naming
> scheme.

Moot point, you are doing it again! Your FEAR(tm) is only because you've
not tried devfs. When you compile a kernel with it, you see options in
black and white, and their meaning is clear... And, BTW, the DEVFS is
about the most stable and accepted "EXPERIMENTAL" fs that I've seen.

[*] /dev filesystem support (EXPERIMENTAL)
[*] Disable major&minor support for devfs-capable drivers
[ ] Disable old device names
[ ] Disable old tty names
[ ] Enable real tty compatibility devices
[*] Automatically mount at boot
[ ] Debug devfs
[*] Boot-time options

-Shawn
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