1394 (FireWire) and Mass-Storage Support on x86 Systems

This feature is new in the Solaris Express 10/04 release.

In this Solaris release, the 1394 OpenHCI host controller driver has been updated to include support for x86 systems. Previously support for 1394 (FireWire) technology was only available on SPARC systems.

IEEE 1394 is also known by the Apple Computer trademark name, FireWire.

1394 is an industry-standard serial bus that supports data rates of 100 Mbit/sec, 200 Mbit/sec, or 400 Mbit/sec. The bus readily handles data from consumer electronics devices, such as video cameras, because of its high bandwidth and isochronous (on-time) capabilities.

For more information, see the hci1394(7D) man page.

In this Solaris release, the scsa1394 driver has been introduced to support 1394 mass-storage devices that are compliant with the Serial Bus Protocol 2 (SBP-2) specification. This driver supports both bus-powered and self-powered 1394 mass storage devices. Previously, only 1394 video cameras were supported.

1394 mass storage devices are treated as removable media devices. A 1394 mass storage device can be formatted by using the rmformat command. Using a 1394 mass-storage device is no different than using a USB mass-storage device. You can mount, eject, hot-remove, and hot-insert a 1394 mass-storage device.

For more information about using these devices, see the hci1394(7D) man page. See also Chapter 8, “Using USB Devices (Tasks),” in the System Administration Guide: Devices and File Systems.