The HyperNews Linux KHG Discussion Pages

## my first experience with a DiskOnChip

  Forum: Device Drivers
  Re: M-system DiskonChip 2000 EVB (Simeon Gelband)
  Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 10:28:10 GMT
  From: Pete Lynch <unknown>

At the moment I have two devices, one is the ISA card which contains 4MB of flash memory. The other is an 8MB "chip" which plugs into a SBC that I hope to get linux running on - by fair means or foul. So far as I can see, the devices work as a segemnt of shared memory. You plug a command into an address (I don't have any information about what address) and possibly data you want to write, then set an EXECUTE flag and the device will perform the command. In this respect it is a lot like a RAM filesystem, or as the man suggested a SCSI device with a dual port i/o buffer. There seem to be some added difficilties with Flash, that writes are slow, and the device "wears out" after a while. My idea at the moment (which has worked o.k. for the ISA card flash memeory) is to boot into DOS, then use loadlin to boot a kernel with root=nfs. I have got this to work (obviously, you need another linux box - with RARP enabled - to supply the NFS filesystem) to the point where it boots, you can log in etc. So far X windows isn't confiured, stay tuned....