On Fri, Jan 12, 2007 at 08:47:05PM -0500, Grok Mogger wrote: > Hey everyone, > > If the default kernel that comes with Debian has all these built > in drivers and modules, then shouldn't there be some way to just > get a list of every supported device? > > If I want to buy a new piece of hardware, and I want to figure > out if it's supported or not (BEFORE I buy it), then shouldn't > there be some way for me to just dig through my system and find > the appropriate driver to confirm that it's supported? > > This is just something that's puzzled me for a long time now. > If the kernel and its modules basically have all the drivers, > then why is it so hard to find a reliable list of supported and > unsupported hardware? It's like we have this giant pot full of > junk, tons of people have thrown stuff into it, and no one knows > what's inside... > > If anyone can clear up some of that for me, I'd appreciate it. > > Thanks, Hi GM, The question has been asked -- over and over -- but the solution is not easy to implement. Every piece of hardware has 2 names: the product name and the chipset name. A kernel module supports the chiptset name. Now here is the first twist: sometimes product X is produced with chipset A and then sometime later they make a revision of it which uses chiptset B. So when you see product X, it could use chiptset A or B. To know which, you need to get the revision number. This is not always able to be obtained without inspecting the item. so: wizbang 1000 (chipset A) uses kernel module P wizbang 1000 (rev. 2, chipset B) uses kernel Q. Second issue. Wizbang 1000 could be also called Newfoo 2000. So you have to have a list for other names for the same item. The other name could be because its sold in another location or it could be a different brand in a differnt company. so: wizband 1000 by foo (the usa) = wizband 2000 by foo japan (japan) = Newfoo 2000 by joes shop (England) The most used tool to determine the chipset is lspci or lsusb. So now you need all Gnu/linux, bsd and related projects to get a list of all products by all companies for all years and get the lspci or lsusb output and collect this in a single location. Its a mammoth task. One Debian developer has a database that has a few pieces of data but its small considering the task. Good work nonetheless. There is also assembled hardware like servers and laptops. There also needs to be a database of what parts are in a server so that you can determine what chipsets and thus the modules needed. cheers, Kev -- | .''`. == Debian GNU/Linux == | my web site: | | : :' : The Universal | 'under construction' | | `. `' Operating System | go to counter.li.org and | | `- http://www.debian.org/ | be counted! #238656 | | my keysever: subkeys.pgp.net | my NPO: cfsg.org |
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