The following USB 2.0 features are included:
Better performance – Increased data throughput for devices connected to USB 2.0 controllers, up to 40 times faster than USB 1.1 devices.
You can take advantage of the high-speed USB protocol when accessing high-speed USB devices, such as DVDs and hard disks.
Backward Compatibility – Compatibility with 1.0 and 1.1 devices and drivers so that you can use the same cables, connectors, and software interfaces.
For a description of USB devices and terminology, see Overview of USB Devices.
USB 2.0 devices are defined as high-speed devices that follow the USB 2.0 specification. You can refer to the USB 2.0 specification at http://www.usb.org.
To identify the speed of your USB device in the Solaris 10 releases, check the /var/adm/messages file for messages similar to the following:
Dec 13 17:05:57 mysystem usba: [ID 912658 kern.info] USB 2.0 device (usb50d,249) operating at hi speed (USB 2.x) on USB 2.0 external hub: storage@4, scsa2usb0 at bus address 4 |
Here are some of the USB devices that are supported in this Solaris release:
Mass storage devices, such as CD-RWs, hard disks, DVDs, digital cameras, diskettes, tape drives, memory sticks, and multi-format card readers
Keyboards and mouse devices
Audio devices, such as speakers and microphones
For a full listing of USB devices that have been verified on the Solaris release, go to:
http://www.sun.com/io_technologies/USB.html
Additional storage devices might work by modifying the scsa2usb.conf file. For more information, see scsa2usb(7D).
Solaris USB 2.0 device support includes the following features:
Increased USB bus speed from 12 Mbyte/sec to 480 Mbyte/sec. This increase means devices that support the USB 2.0 specification can run significantly faster than their USB 1.1 counterparts, when they are connected to a USB 2.0 port.
A USB 2.0 port might be one of the following possibilities:
A port on a USB 2.0 PCI card
A port on a USB 2.0 hub that is connected to USB 2.0 port
A port on a SPARC or x86 computer motherboard
A USB 2.0 PCI card might be needed for older SPARC platforms.
For a list of USB 2.0 PCI cards that have been verified for the Solaris release, go to:
USB 1.1 devices work as they have in the past, even if you have both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 devices on the same system.
While USB 2.0 devices operate on a USB 1.x port, their performance is significantly better when they are connected to a USB 2.0 port.
A USB 2.0 host controller has one high-speed Enhanced Host Controller Interface (EHCI) and one or more OpenHCI Host Controller Interface (OHCI) or Universal Host Controller Interface (UHCI) embedded controllers. Devices connected to a USB 2.0 port are dynamically assigned to either an EHCI or OHCI controller, depending on whether they support USB 2.0.
USB 2.0 storage devices that are connected to a port on a USB 2.0 PCI card, and that were used with a prior Solaris release in the same hardware configuration, can change device names after upgrading to this release. This change occurs because these devices are now seen as USB 2.0 devices and are taken over by the EHCI controller. The controller number, w in /dev/[r]dsk/cwtxdysz, is changed for these devices.
Also note that the speed of a USB device is limited to what the parent port can support. For example, if a USB 2.0 external hub is followed by a USB 1.x hub and a USB 2.0 device downstream, devices that are connected to the USB 2.0 external hub run at full speed and not high speed.
For more information on USB 2.0 device support, see ehci(7D) and usba(7D).
Bus-powered hubs use power from the USB bus to which they are connected, to power devices connected to them. Special care must be taken to not overload these hubs, because the power these hubs offer to their downstream devices is limited.
Starting in the Solaris Express release, power budgeting is implemented for USB devices. This feature has the following limitations:
Cascading two bus-powered hubs is prohibited.
Each bus-powered hub is allowed a maximum of 100 mA only for each port.
Only self-powered or low bus-powered devices are allowed to connect to a bus-powered hub. High bus-powered devices are denied the connection. Some hubs or devices can report a false power source, such that the connection might be unpredictable.