Re: fujitsu-siemens primergy rx300 s2
On Thu, Mar 24, 2005 at 12:43:56PM -0800, Larry Doolittle wrote:
> Len Sorensen wrote -
>
> > Do [Broadcom] provide a driver that works without a firmware file? Do they
> > include sources to any firmware files required? If not they can call it
> > GPL all they want, but it still won't be GPL. They wouldn't be the only
> > company to make that mistake (For example Sangoma's wanpipe drivers
> > claim to be GPL but have binary only modules and firmware files in
> > them).
>
> AFAICT, binary-only firmware is OK, if that blob is redistributable.
> That's why hooks to allow user-space firmware loading were added,
> it keeps those blobs out of the GPL-covered binary. Not everything on
> a Debian CD has to be GPL. The firmware file is "merely aggregated".
>
> This is the situation with my Prism54 wireless card. Supplying the
> firmware from the main CPU saves the manufacturer a few bucks and
> square cm of board space for the PROM, makes firmware upgrades less
> tricky. The only technical downside is the few milliseconds it takes
> to schlep the bits onto the card. The legal issues arise if the
> manufacturer fails to license the binary for redistribution, then
> Debian etc. can't put it on the general-issue CD, and the end-user
> has to cajole the file from the manufacturer before they can use the
> hardware.
>
> Binary-only modules for the main CPU are, of course, deadly.
I believe all my examples include binary only modules for the main CPU.
If it is just a file to load into an fpga or other loadable device, then
I don't personally have a problem with it, but some people do.
Len Sorensen
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