USB 2.0 Devices

This description is new in the Solaris Express 2/03 release and updated in the Solaris Express 9/03 release. For Solaris 9 users, USB 2.0 device support is new in the Solaris 9 4/04 release.

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.

Some of the USB devices that are supported in this Solaris release are as follows:

• Mass storage devices – CD-RWs, hard disks, DVD, digital cameras, Zip drives, diskettes, and tape drives

• Keyboard, mouse devices, speakers, and microphones

• Audio devices

For a full listing of USB devices that have been verified on the Solaris release, go to:

http://www.sun.com/io_technologies/ihvindex.html

Additional storage devices might work by modifying the scsa2usb.conf file. For more information, see the scsa2usb(7D) man page.

Solaris USB 2.0 device support includes the following features:

• Increased USB bus speed from 12 Mbps to 480 Mbps. 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 is defined on SPARC and x86 systems as follows:

  • A port on a USB 2.0 PCI card

  • A port on a USB 2.0 hub that is connected to a USB 2.0 port

  • A system USB port, assuming that it has a USB 2.0 port on the motherboard

• USB 2.0 is Solaris Ready on all PCI-based platforms. A USB 2.0 PCI card is needed to provide USB 2.0 ports. For a list of USB 2.0 PCI cards that have been verified for the Solaris release, go to http://www.sun.com/io_technologies/ihvindex.html.

• 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 connected to a USB 2.0 port.

For more information on USB 2.0 device support, see the ehci(7D) and usba(7D) man pages.

For information about USB cables and bus-powered devices, see “About USB in the Solaris OS” in the System Administration Guide: Devices and File Systems.