[LinuxBIOS] USB Support

[Bari Ari]

Stefan Reinauer wrote:
> * Peter Stuge <stuge-linuxbios at cdy.org> [060707 19:52]:
>   
>> This is a nice idea.
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 07, 2006 at 04:18:25PM +0200, Stefan Reinauer wrote:
>>     
>>>> what you need is a debug device, which mostly looks like a usb
>>>> style null modem cable. No idea where to get this hardware
>>>> though.
>>>>         
>>> D'uh - it reads any usb 2 to usb 2 data link cable can be used for
>>> this purpose. Such cables are available for ~ 10$
>>>       
>> Where did you read this?
>>
>> I doubt they will work, unless the manufacturers were exceedingly
>> clever and actually implemented the DEBUG_MODE feature in the
>> device..
>>     
>
> You are right. The cable would need to implement the DEBUG_MODE feature.
>
> I read over page 5 of
> http://www.intel.com/technology/magazine/computing/it09021.pdf
> and it actually says so.
>
> The question is now: what devices/cables can be used for this purpose.
> Or is it maybe trivial to build such a device yourself in a low
> quantity?
>  
>   
>> I'm not sure if this requirement is compatible with the CDC spec that
>> USB-serial adapters implement, but it would indeed be very handy if
>> minicom+the kernel USB-serial driver could be used with the host end
>> of the debug device.
>>     
>
> That would indeed be great! 
>
>   
>> It's quite possible that the device requires a special application,
>> but in any case such an application would be trivial to hack up.
>>     
>
> Or just a small dummy serial driver so minicom or whatever could be
> used.
>
>   
>> I think the hard part is to find or make the hardware. Or maybe not
>> so hard if you have a proven USB2 HS platform and are comfortable
>> with tweaking USB descriptors. All I have handy is USB2 FS. :(
>>     
>  
> The idea is probably to get a cost effective solution, otherwise a lot
> of volunteers might get locked out of joining the project.
>
> Stefan
>   
Let me know what it actually needs (if it needs to be custom) and I'll 
see about manufacturing them in low volumes (100's, k's) for cheap.

-Bari